Storm select seven forwards, three defenseman in USHL Phase I Draft

KEARNEY, Neb. (Press Release) - The Tri-City Storm completed Phase I of the 2023 USHL Draft Tuesday evening at the Viaero Center in Kearney. The organization made ten picks in the ten-round draft of 2007-born players, including the tender signing of forward Cooper Simpson that replaced the team’s 1st round draft selection. The Storm drafted seven forwards and three defenseman in Tuesday’s draft. Phase II of the 2023 USHL Draft will begin tomorrow at 11:00am CT.

Tri-City signed forward Cooper Simpson to a tender agreement for the 2023-2024 season on April 24th, 2023. Simpson, 16, Forward, of Shakopee, Minnesota, skated in twenty-seven games for the Shakopee High School Sabers during the 2022-2023 season. Simpson led the team with thirty-seven goals, and sixty-three points. He also notched twenty-six assists for the Sabers’ offense. He netted the most goals of any player in Minnesota’s 2AA Section of High School hockey this year. Simpson’s thirty-seven goals ranked in the Top 20 in the state for the 2022-2023 season. He also scored twenty-four goals, and notched fifteen assists, for thirty-nine total points for the Sabers last year. Simpson skated in twenty games for the Minnesota Blades 15U AAA program this season. He led the team in scoring with twenty goals, and thirty-six points. He also notched sixteen assists for the Blades’ offense. Simpson skated in the prestigious USA Under 15-Selects Development Camp prior to the 2022-2023 season.

The Storm’s first selection in Tuesday’s Phase I Draft was forward Easton Pace. Pace, 16, of Chesterfield, Michigan, scored forty-one goals, and notched seventy-one assists, for one hundred and twelve total points in seventy-nine games played this season for Little Caesars 15U AAA program in Detroit, Michigan. He scored eight goals and recorded ten assists for eighteen total points in nineteen games last season for the Compuware 14U AAA team in Plymouth Township, Michigan. He is 5′9′, 164 lbs., and a righthanded shot.

Mason Jenson, 16, of Rogers, Minnesota, was Tri-City’s next selection in Tuesday’s Phase I Draft. Jenson was selected 37th overall in the 3rd Round by the Storm. He scored twenty-three goals, and recorded twenty-six assists, for forty-nine total points in twenty-seven games played this season for Rogers High School in Rogers, Minnesota. Jenson also scored ten goals, and notched twelve assists in twenty games played this season for the Minnesota Blades 15U AAA program. He scored one hundred and eleven goals, and recorded eighty-eight assists for one hundred and ninety-nine total points in sixty-one games played last season for the Rogers Bantam AA program in Rogers, Minnesota. Jenson is 5′10′, 155 lbs., and a lefthanded shot.

The Storm’s next pick in the Phase I Draft was the Windy City Storm’s Owen Chartier. Chartier, 16, Forward, of Excelsior, Minnesota, was selected 40th overall by Tri-City in the 3rd round of Tuesday’s draft. He scored thirty-two goals, and recorded forty-two assists, for seventy-four total points in fifty-seven games played this season for the Windy City Storm 15U AAA organization. Chartier scored thirty-one goals, and recorded thirty-eight assists, for sixty-nine total points in fifty-two games played last season for Shattuck St. Mary’s 14U AAA program. He is 5′10′, 167 lbs., and a righthanded shot.

Ryan White was the first defenseman selected by the Storm during the Phase I Draft with the 46th overall pick in the 4th round. White, 15, Defenseman, of Kanata, Ontario, netted nineteen goals, and recorded thirty assists, for forty-nine total points in fifty-nine games played this season for the Pittsburgh Penguins 15U AAA program. He scored six goals, and notched fifteen assists in twenty-two games played last season for the Ottawa Myers Automotive U15 AAA organization. White is 5′8′, 155 lbs., and a lefthanded shot.

The Storm selected another defenseman with the 79th overall pick in the 6th round of the Phase I Draft, Bode Laylin. Laylin, 16, Defenseman, of St. Michael, Minnesota, scored two goals, and recorded nineteen assists, for twenty-one total points in thirty-eight games played this season for the Northstar Christian Academy 16U AAA program in Alexandria, Minnesota. He also previously skated for the Minnesota Kings and Minnesota Polars AAA organization. Laylin is 5′10, 165 lbs., and a righthanded shot.

The 100th overall selection in the 7th round of Tuesday’s draft was Dylan Nolan of the Los Angeles Jr. Kings AAA organization. Nolan, 16, Forward, of San Jose, California, scored thirty-one goals, and recorded thirty-seven assists in seventy-four games played during the 2022-2023 season. He scored eleven goals and notched nine assists in ten games played last year for Valley Christian High School. Nolan also scored thirty goals, and recorded twenty assists in forty-two games played last season for the San Jose Jr. Sharks AAA organization. He is 5′7′, 132 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.

The final defenseman drafted by the Storm in the 2023 USHL Phase I Draft was Andrew Horn. Horn, 15, Defenseman, of Chicago, Illinois, scored five goals, and notched ten assists in fourteen games played this season for the Chicago Mission 15U AAA organization. He also scored six goals, and recorded eleven assists, in seventeen games played for the Mission last season. Horn is 5′10′, 170 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.

Josh Toll was the Storm’s penultimate selection in Tuesday’s Phase I Draft. Toll, 16, Forward, of Rosemount, Minnesota, was drafted 130th overall by the Storm in the 9th round of the draft. He scored two goals, and recorded seventeen assists, for nineteen total points in twenty-seven games played this season for Rosemount High School. Toll also netted ten goals, and notched eight assists, in eighteen games played for the Minnesota Moose 15U AAA organization. He is 5′8′, 125 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.

Tri-City’s final selection in the 2023 USHL Phase I Draft was Dylan Krayer. Krayer, 16, Forward, of Concord, Massachusetts, scored twenty-three goals, and notched forty-two assists, for sixty-five total points in fifty-one games played this season for the Mount St. Charles Academy 15U AAA program. He also scored twenty goals, and recorded twenty assists, in forty-four games played for the team last year. Krayer is 5′8′, 145 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.

“Today is the culmination of the last eleven months of scouting and getting to know the 2007 birth class by Jason Koehler, Ethan Goldberg, David Nies, Shawn Sramek, and our entire scouting staff. I am extremely appreciative of them and the work they put in. I think this draft has been a key component of us being able to be competitive in his league over the past few seasons. I think we had a clear-cut plan, and time will always tell if it was the right plan. I thought it was filtered through very well, starting with Jason. The guys we took are our type of guys, our type of players, and the kind who we think will thrive here as members of the Tri-City Storm.”- President of Hockey Operations/Head Coach Anthony Noreen

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