Draft yields 18 for USHL team

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Phantoms selected 18 players in the United States Hockey League’s Entry Draft on Wednesday.

The Phantoms had the No. 2 overall selection and took forward John Fritsche of Parma. Fritsche (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) 45 points in 55 games last season with the Alpena (Mich.) IceDiggers of the North American Hockey League.

“John represents everything you want in a hockey player,” said Phantoms coach and general manager Curtis Carr. “He produces offensively and he’s very physical and a high energy player. He’s also a leader and will bring a lot of character to our team and will be great in the community.”

The Phantoms also selected East Palestine native J.T. Miller, a left winger, in the 21st round.

Miller (6-1, 190), played for the U.S. National U-17 team last winter.

Because of past trades, Youngstown’s next pick after Fritsch wasn’t until the fifth round (62nd overall), which they used on goaltender Chris Eisermann. Last season Eisermann was 14-3-1 with a .901 save percentage for the New Hampshire Monarchs of the Eastern Junior Hockey League.

The remainder of the Phantoms’ selections were defenseman Jordan Young (sixth round) of Cave Creek, Ariz.; Ricky DeRosa (seventh) of Aston, Pa.; defenseman Nilan Nagy (eighth) from Canonsburg, Pa.; winger Michael Zalewski (ninth); center Quinn Smith (10th) of Connecticut; forward Mike Ambrosia (11th), from Delbarton (N.J.) School in New Jersey; Jeffrey Stenglein (12th) of Rochester, N.Y.; forward Darcy Greenaway (13th) of Odessa, Ontario; defenseman Alex Temby (14th) of Littleton, Colo.; defenseman Brian Harris (15th) of Bridgewater, Mass.; defenseman Chris Bradley (16th) of Buffalo, N.Y.; forward Ryan Belonger (17th) of Green Bay, Wis.; forwared Teemu Tiitinen (18th) of Suwanee, Ga.; left winger Peter McIntyre (19th) of Norfolk, Mass., and left winger Cam Spiro (20th) of Hingham, Mass.