Neutral Zone scouts will be compiling a team by team recap of the USHL Futures Draft free to the public. We cannot show player rankings, scouting reports or other subscriber only material but our scouts will discuss each player drafted, talk about their game and break down their draft picks. We also used an algorithm similar to the NFL Draft Grading websites based on the players ranking, the teams draft position and the league they come from to assign a point total. This is more of a loose tool to identify how teams did in their draft relative to other teams in the league. You can click on the player names to see their player profile.
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (10 picks) 347 Points
10 Americans Selected: 3 Tier 1 U16, 2 Tier 1 U15, 2 NE Prep, 2 MN HS, 1 MN Bantam
- Grant Silianoff (#1 overall) Shattuck St. Mary’s U16 – F – Notre Dame
- Mitchell Miller (#17 overall) Honeybaked U16 – D – Miami Ohio
- Derek Mullahy (#33 overall) Shattuck St. Mary’s U16 – G – Harvard
- Jackson Jutting (#65 overall) Prior Lake HS – F
- Ben Meehan (#81 overall) Dexter School – D
- Ben Troumbly (#97 overall) Greenway Bantam – F – St. Cloud State
- Adam Varga (#113 overall) Washington Little Caps U15 – F
- James Rayhill (#129 overall) Gunnery School – F – Cornell Commit
- Ethan Haider (#140 overall) Maple Grove HS – G
- Tucker Forte (#145 overall) Philadelphia Jr. Flyers U15
Analysis:
Cedar Rapids stayed in the country for its 10 picks, being the only team in the league to draft 10 Americans. They opened with high skill, high intellect Notre Dame committed forward Grant Silianoff first overall. He’s a proven scorer and playmaker at every level he’s played and we were shocked he was not an NTDP selection. Next, they went after Honeybaked U16 defensive standout Mitch Miller, one of our highest rated defenseman in the country. Miller is a first-round talent but carries some OHL risk (4th round pick to Sarnia). In the third round, they went with a goalie to hit ever position group by taking Harvard commit Derek Mullahy. Mullahy is coming off a major season with the Shattuck U16’s, he has size and athleticism to be a starter in the league. Jackson Jutting was their fourth pick, a strong skater with a hard shot and nifty passing ability out of Minnesota High School (Prior Lake HS). After four straight picks in the Midwest, the RoughRiders went East for their fifth pick in Dexter standout defender Ben Meehan. A mobile, all-around defenseman who plays tight defense, carries the puck well, makes smart decisions and creates scoring chances on the power play. They got a nice value pick in the seventh round with St. Cloud commit Ben Troumbly, a small, speedy, high energy forward with slick hands and playmakers eye’s. In the eighth round, they picked up Washington Little Caps U15 forward Adam Varga, who was recently drafted by Mississauga in the OHL and ranked among top players on our U15 Nationals Rankings. He’s tall, thin and a bit raw at this point but he’s an effortless skater, has a quick first step, soft hands and a hard, accurate shot. The RoughRiders had three picks in the final two rounds and added some nice value including a second goalie pick. The first of those picks was fluid skating defender and Cornell commit James Rayhill out of Gunnery. A mobile, puck carrying defender with poise and swift hands. Their second goalie pick was Ethan Haider, who is a talented, good-sized netminder out of Maple Grove HS who started at the end of the season. He’s a highly mobile puck tracking goalie who has quick reactions. The last pick was another U15 prospect in the Atlantic region in high energy, 200 ft forward Tucker Forte out of Philadelphia Jr Flyers. Forte is a pure goal scorer which makes him a valuable pick late in the draft.
Scout’s Take:
Cedar Rapids had a strong draft overall; they took well known, proven, college committed prospects early and found value in the middle and late rounds of the draft. They took 10 Americans, all of which were on our Draft List, and spread out their picks between Tier 1 U15, Tier 1 U16, NE Prep, MN High School and MN Bantam. Our one criticism is that they took two goalies in the draft and analyzing previous draft results would show that there is a low percentage of Phase 1 goalie picks who will start for the team that drafted them.
Cedar Rapids focused on different skill attributes and finished the draft with two talented, but different style goalies (Mullahy and Haider), speedster (Troumbly and Varga), skilled playmakers and finishers (Silianoff, Jutting and Forte) and fluid skating, puck carrying defensemen (Miller, Meehan and Rayhill).
Best Player: Grant Silianoff Best Value: James Rayhill
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
