Phantoms’ Mainhardt is close to roster

Today he’ll know the approximately 25 players for Youngstown’s 2009-10 team.

By TOM WILLIAMS

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

BOARDMAN — Hockey coaches usually enjoy some down time once their long season ends.

Bob Mainhardt, coach and general manager of the Youngstown Phantoms, is still looking forward to a break even though his last team, the Mahoning Valley Phantoms, played their final game in early May at the North American Hockey League’s Robertson Cup in Iowa.

Since then, Mainhardt and his staff — Curtis Carr and Shane Clifford — have been busy with the creation of the Youngstown Phantoms who will enter the United States Hockey League this fall as an expansion team. The USHL is considered to be the country’s finest amateur league for players ages 16-20.

Today, Mainhardt will conclude the Phantoms’ tryout camp that has attracted 178 players by determining a roster of approximately 25 players.

“Our staff has been very pleased with the talent level,” Mainhardt said Saturday during a break in scrimmages. “We are going to have a big, strong, skilled team with a lot of future NHL players.”

Mainhardt said he’s satisfied that so many players have shown interest.

“It’s what we had planned on, what we wanted,” said Mainhardt, calling the weeklong tryout “very successful.”

Mainhardt, a Detroit native, coached the NAHL Phantoms for six seasons, guiding them to the postseason five times. Twice, the Phantoms finished runner-up in the Robertson Cup and played in the tournament the past four seasons.

Creating a USHL franchise “has been a lot of work,” Mainhardt said. “We prided ourselves on being one of the premier teams in the North American league. We had a great chance to win a championship.

“With the USHL, it’s a much, much higher level [of hockey] and with that comes much more work.

“To be honest, it’s been very nice to watch hockey for the last few days,” Mainhardt said, “because we’ve been doing so much work getting the front office in order, getting our marketing staff and getting the people on the business side who will really make it tick. It’s been an educational experience, to say the least.”

Youngstown businessman Bruce Zoldan owns the Phantoms who will play 32 homes games as the main tenant of the Covelli Centre.

As for a summer vacation, Mainhardt said, “It’s not for a while. We’ve got a lot of scouting to do to make sure we have all our holes filled, to make sure we haven’t missed anybody. We’re already preparing for a year down the road.

“We’ll work right through the summer to make sure we have a successful franchise in Youngstown for years to come.”

After Saturday morning’s two scrimmages, Mainhardt trimmed the remaining hopefuls to two All-Star teams. Those squads played a game Saturday evening and will close the camp with another this morning.

williams@vindy.com