Hall, Gritz among newest Phantoms

Staff report

Two of the Youngstown Phantoms’ newest draft picks only have to drive an hour to join their new team.

The Phantoms selected 27 players this week in the 2016 USHL draft. Phase I was Monday and limited to players born in 2000 and Tuesday’s Phase II was for players born between 1996 and 2000.

“These young men are the present and future of our organization next year and beyond. We are excited to bring these players into our organization and family moving forward,” Phantoms general manager Jason Koehler said.

“We feel we’ve selected a variety of positions and needs, and it will make for some interesting decisions at camp.”

At No. 8 overall on Monday, the Phantoms used their tender to pick up Chagrin Falls teenager Curtis Hall. Hall had signed a tender with the Phantoms in February, taking the place of a first-round draft pick. On Tuesday in the 15th round, the Phantoms picked up Cranberry, Pa., native Alex Gritz.

Hall was born in Princeton N.J., but grew up in Ohio. He’s spent the past three years playing bantam hockey with the Cleveland Barons, the same bantam team for which ex-Phantom and East Palestine product Matt Miller played. In his most recent season with the Barons, Hall scored 10 goals and added 24 assists.

Gritz is a 15-year-old forward who spent last season with the Waterloo Wolves in the Alberta Midget Minor Hockey League, where he contributed 19 goals and 22 assists. Prior to that, he spent two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins Bantam Minor and Major teams.

Other draft picks of note include Phase I seventh round pick Thomas Kramer, who is the younger brother of former Phantom Patrick Kramer. The team used its first-round pick of Phase II on Russian forward German Poddubnyi, who played in the Philadelphia Junior Flyers program.

“German was the most offensively gifted player I saw throughout the course of the year,” Koehler said. “He had an explosive year at the U16 level, and I anticipate him generating a lot of college and pro interest in Youngstown moving forward.”

The Phantoms, who graduated 17 players this past season, will determine their roster during its selection camp on June 8-12 at the Ice Zone in Boardman. The team went 30-20-4 this year, missing the USHL playoffs.