Canucks draft Malone, acquire Miller
Blackhawks select Phantoms goalie in sixth round
By Brian Dzenis
Two hockey players with ties to the Mahoning Valley joined the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
East Palestine native J.T. Miller was traded from the Tampa Bay Lighting to the Canucks.
At the NHL Draft, the Canucks drafted Youngstown Phantoms forward Jack Malone in the sixth round with the 180th pick.
Another Phantom, goaltender Dominic Basse, was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth-round with the 167th pick. Basse will be in Phantoms training camp in August.
Miller was sent from the southeast corner of the NHL to the northwest corner in exchange for goalie Marek Mazanec, a 2019 third-round draft pick that became goalie Hugo Alnefelt and a conditional first-round pick in 2020 or 2021.
Miller scored 13 goals and had 46 assists last season with the Lightning, the NHL’s top team in the regular season. In the playoffs, the Lightning were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round.
The drafting of Malone and Basse marks six years in a row where the Phantoms have had players drafted by an NHL team.
The league the Phantoms play in — the United States Hockey League — had a record 52 players drafted this year.
“It not only speaks to the organization and all the hard work everyone puts in, but it speaks to how good league is,” said Brad Patterson, Phantoms head coach and general manager. “The past few years have been the highest amount of players coming to the NHL.”
Malone spent two seasons with the Phantoms, with last season marking a breakout performance with 19 goals and 40 assists to total 59 points in 57 games. Patterson thought he was NHL material when he initially joined the team.
“I remember being with him in a meeting and telling him you’ll be here in a few years and then be an NHL pick going out the door. He came in the first year and like most players, they struggle,” Patterson said. “Our league is very good, but he showed up everyday and got better everyday. Not only did he reap the benefits, but the organization did as well.
“He drove a lot of plays and had a lot of success.”
Malone will play college hockey for Cornell this fall. The Canucks retain his rights for the next three years if he does not sign with them.
Basse is a 2018 draft pick of the Phantoms and spent the past season on the team’s affiliate list. The 6-feet-6 Virginia native played for the Selects Hockey Academy 18U Midget team and had a .924 save percentage. He visited the team every six weeks for workouts and will be a full-time player this fall.
“With his size, he’s what you want in a goalie and an NHL team saw that. It was just a matter of time before someone selects him,” Patterson said. “It’s great to have someone like that coming into the organization, but we feel like he’s someone we’ve had in our organization for a while now.”