KEARNEY, NE. – The Tri-City Storm completed the first phase of the 2024 USHL Draft Monday evening by making ten selections in the ten-round draft of 2008-born players. The Storm drafted six forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender in Monday’s draft. Phase II of the 2024 USHL Draft will begin tomorrow at 11:00 am CT.
The USHL Draft is comprised of two separate Phases, beginning with Phase I, which consists of ten rounds of “Futures” age players, who will be Under-17 players for the next season. Only players born in 2008 are eligible to be selected in this year’s Phase I Draft. Phase II is open to players of all ages who are eligible to play junior hockey, and who are not currently on the Protected List of a Member Club. The Phase II Draft continues until all Member Clubs have filled their Initial Protected List to a total of forty-five players, including those who were previously protected from the Member Club’s affiliate list.
Ilya Morozov, 15, Forward, from Moskva, Russia, was signed to a tender agreement for the 2024-2025 season on December 14th, 2023. The signing replaced Tri-City’s 1st Round draft selection in Monday’s Phase I Draft. Morozov skated in forty-nine games this season with the Windy City Storm. He netted thirty-three goals and notched forty-one assists for seventy-four total points. Morozov previously skated for Orbita Zelenograd in Zelenograd, Russia before beginning his career in North America. Morozov scored five goals and recorded three assists for eight total points for Team Moskva U15 in the 2022-2023 Federal Districts Cup. He also scored four goals and recorded five assists for nine total points in the 2021-2022 edition of the event for Moskva’s U14 team. Morozov is 6’1″, 154 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.
Levi Harper, 15, Defenseman, from Tampa, Florida, was the Storm’s first selection in Monday’s Phase I Draft. Harper was selected 22nd overall in the 2nd round by Tri-City. He scored nine goals and recorded twenty-three points for thirty-two total points in fifty-six games played this season for the Shattuck St. Mary’s Sabres 15U team (AAA, Faribault, Minnesota). Harper scored two goals and notched twenty-one assists for twenty-three total points in forty-two games played last season for Shattuck St. Mary’s 14U squad. He is the younger brother of current Storm defenseman Brandt Harper. He is 5’9”, 143 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.
Will Bent, 16, Forward, from Dover, Massachusetts, was Tri-City’s next selection in Monday’s draft. Bent was drafted 37th overall in the 3rd round, and was the first forward selected by the Storm. He scored fifty-one goals and recorded forty-two assists for ninety-three total points in fifty-eight games played this season for Mount St. Charles Academy’s 15U team (AAA, Woonsocket, Rhode Island). Bent also netted thirty-seven goals and notched thirty-eight assists for seventy-five total points in fifty-two games played last season for the 14U team at Mount St. Charles. He previously skated for the Boston Jr. Eagles program (AAA, Wellesley, Massachusetts) before his time with Mount St. Charles. Bent is 6’1”, 190 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.
Ben MacBeath, 16, Defenseman, from Calgary, Alberta, was the second defenseman drafted by the Storm in Monday’s Phase I Draft. He was selected 39th overall in the 3rd round. MacBeath scored six goals and notched twenty-three assists for twenty-nine total points in twenty-six games played this season for the Edge School Mountaineers U18 team (Prep, Calgary, Alberta). MacBeath scored seven goals and recorded thirty-six assists for forty-three total points in twenty-eight games played last season for Yale Hockey Academy’s 15U squad (Prep, Abbotsford, British Columbia). He is 6’0”, 170 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.
Trevor Theuer, 16, Forward, from Clarkston, Michigan, was selected 41st overall in the 3rd round of the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft by the Storm. Theuer was the third player selected by the Storm during Monday’s 3rd round. He scored twenty-four goals and recorded forty-five assists for sixty-nine total points in fifty-six games played this season for the Honeybaked 15U program (AAA, Farmington Hills, Michigan). Theuer also previously skated for the 14U and 13U Honeybaked teams. He is 5’10”, 172 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.
Ryder Fetterolf, 16, Goaltender, from Sewickley, Pennsylvania, was the only netminder selected by Tri-City in Monday’s Phase I Draft. Fetterolf was selected 52nd overall in the 4th round. Fetterolf appeared in forty-one games this season in goal for Gilmour Academy (Prep, Gates Mills, Ohio). He recorded a GAA (Goals Against Average) of 2.63, and a Save Percentage (SV%) of .915%. Fetterolf previously played for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 13U team (AAA, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania). He is 6’0”, 165lbs., and catches with his left hand.
Matthew Krayer, 15, Forward, from Concord, Massachusetts, was the next forward selected by the Storm in the Phase I Draft. He was drafted 67th overall in the 5th round during Monday’s draft. Matthew is the younger brother of Dylan Krayer, who was selected 145th overall by the Storm in the 10th round of the 2023 USHL Phase I Draft, and skated in two games with the team this season as an affiliate list callup. Matthew scored thirty-two goals and notched forty-seven assists for seventy-nine total points in fifty-six games played this season for Mount St. Charles Academy’s 15U team (AAA, Woonsocket, Rhode Island). He also scored twenty-nine goals and recorded thirty-four assists for sixty-three total points in fifty-seven games played for the team last season. Krayer previously skated for the Middlesex Islanders’ 13U program (AAA, Tyngsborough, Massachusetts). He is 5’9”, 160 lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.
Jackson Strukel, 15, Defenseman, from Duluth, Minnesota, was drafted 82nd overall in the 6th round by Tri-City, and was the final defenseman selected by the Storm in the first Phase of the 2024 USHL Draft. Strukel netted eleven goals and recorded twenty-four assists for thirty-five total points in twenty-eight games played this season for Hibbing/Chisholm High School (HS, Hibbing, Minnesota). Strukel scored twenty-seven goals and notched thirty-six assists for sixty-three total points in forty-eight games played last season for the Hibbing-Chisholm Bantam program (A, Hibbing, Minnesota). He is 5’9”, 16l lbs., and is a lefthanded shot.
Tri-City executed a trade with the Green Bay Gamblers during the 7th round of Monday’s Phase I Draft. The Storm traded the 97th overall pick in the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft to the Gamblers in exchange for the 100th & 132nd overall picks in the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft.
Hunter Rudolph, 16, Forward, from West Fargo, North Dakota, was selected 100th overall by the Storm in the 7th round of the Phase I Draft following Tri-City’s mid-draft transaction with Green Bay. Rudolph netted twenty-seven goals and notched thirty assists for fifty-seven total points in fifty-one total games played this season for NorthStar Christian Academy’s 16U team (AAA, Alexandria, Minnesota). He also previously skated for Team North Dakota and MN North Dakota AAA programs. Rudolph is 5’7’’, 130 lbs, and is a lefthanded shot.
Jake Gustafson, 16, Forward, from San Jose, California, was the Storm’s penultimate pick of the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft. Gustafson was selected 112th overall in the 8th round by Tri-City, and was the ninth selection made by the Storm in Monday’s draft. He scored thirty-four goals and recorded twenty-nine assists for sixty-three total points in forty-three games played this season for the San Jose Jr. Sharks 15U program (AAA, San Jose California). Gustafson scored twenty-eight goals and notched twenty-three assists for fifty-one total points in thirty-six games played during the 2022-2023 season for the Jr. Sharks’ 14U program. He is 6’2”, 161 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.
Nolan Duskocy, 16, Forward, from Ellington, Connecticut, was Tri-City’s final selection in the first phase of this year’s USHL Draft. He was drafted 132nd overall in the 9th round by the Storm. Duskocy scored twenty-seven goals and notched thirty-four assists for sixty-one total points in sixty-two games played this season with Bishop Kearney Selects’ 15U squad (AAA, Rochester, New York). He also netted thirty-nine goals and recorded thirty-six assists for seventy-five total points in seventy-four games played during the 2022-2023 season for Bishop Kearney’s 14U team. Duskocy is 6’1”, 165 lbs., and is a righthanded shot.
“First off, a warm welcome to all of our new players and families who were selected this evening, and congratulations! It is great to complete an extremely important part of our team-building process today, and add quality talent and human beings to our organization. We are thrilled for the future of our roster and program. I cannot thank our scouting and coaching staff enough for the countless hours and time they’ve put into helping make these important decisions for the future of the Storm.”- General Manager Jason Koehler