Boardman native could be called in NHL draft

Boardman may soon have a connection to the National Hockey League.

Michael Houser, son of Boardman allergist Dr. William Houser, is a 17-year-old goaltender with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. The former St. Charles School student who now lives in Wexford, Pa., is expected to be selected during Saturday’s NHL draft, which is being conducted in Los Angeles at the Staples Center.

“It’s been hard not to think about it,” Michael said of the weeks leading up to the draft. “It’s pretty surreal that I could hear my name called.”

No matter when he’s picked (he’s heard it could be as early as the third round and perhaps as late as the sixth), Houser, 17, will return to the Knights so he can finish high school at London’s Saunders Secondary School.