A year after the Fargo Force convinced Roseau's Mike Lee to forego a shot at a Minnesota state high school hockey title and play in the USHL (United States Hockey League), the Force went after another top Minnesota goaltender in the first round of the USHL draft today. The Force selected Thief River Falls' junior goaltender Zane Gothberg as their number one pick, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
In '08-'09, Gothberg finished with a 20-5-2 record, 1.54 GAA, and a .930 save percentage. Thief River Falls fell just short of making the Minneota high school boys hockey state tournament. They lost 3-2 to their Section rival and perrenial hockey powerhouse Warroad in the Section 8A championship game.
In the second round, Fargo went after another Minnesota high school player. This time it was Blake School senior defenseman Blake Doerring.
Gothberg and Doerring were the only two Minnesota high school hockey players selected in the first six rounds of the draft. I think that is a good sign for Minnesota high school hockey as I tend to believe that the USHL teams draft players early that are, of course, very good, and also willing to commit to their programs the entire season. With most of the Minnesota high school players drafted in the later rounds, it tells me that all or most of the underclassmen that were selected will play for their high school team for 2009-2010.
Junior Joey Benik from St. Francis was selected in the ninth round by Indiana. Benik, the St. Cloud State recruit, most likely will play in the USHL next season but there has been no confirmation.
The USHL draft does not guarantee that a player will play in the USHL. The draft only means that a USHL team holds the rights to that player if that player decides to play in the USHL. Also, they have to participate in tryouts to make the team. Check out the USHL Entry Draft FAQ for further information on what being drafted means.
The USHL is a Tier I junior hockey league that consists of 12 teams. Team 13, Youngstown, Ohio, is an expansion team that will play in 2009-2010.
Here is how the Entry Draft went for Minnesota's players:
Round 1, Pick 7: Fargo: Zane Gothberg (11) - Thief River Falls
Round 2, Pick 7, Overall 20: Fargo: Blake Doerring (12) - Blake School
Round 7, Pick 3, Overall 81: Sioux City: Max Gaede (11) - Woodbury
Round 8, Pick 1, Overall 92: Tri-City: Blake Schammel (12) - Red Wing
Round 8, Pick 8, Overall 99: Omaha: Justin Holl (11) - Minnetonka
Round 9, Pick 11, Overall 115: Indiana: Joey Benik (11) - St. Francis
Round 11, Pick 2, Overall 132: Des Moines: Taylor Wolfe (12) - Eden Prairie
Round 12, Pick 2, Overall 145: Des Moines: Joe Faust (11) - Bloomington Jefferson
Round 12, Pick 7, Overall 150: Green Bay: Brock Nelson (11) - Warroad
Round 13, Pick 9, Overall 165: Waterloo: Andrew Prochno (11) - Minnetonka
Round 14, Pick 3, Overall 172: Sioux City: Caleb Herbert (11) - Bloomington Jefferson
Round 14, Pick 4, Overall 173: Chicago: DJ Jones (10) - Wayzata
Round 14, Pick 8, Overall 177: Omaha: Garrett Hendrickson (10) - Virginia/MIB
Round 14, Pick 10, Overall 179: Lincoln: Izaak Berglund (12) - Little Falls
Round 16, Pick 6, Overall 201: Sioux Falls: Adam Knochenmus (11) - Roseau
Round 17, Pick 3, Overall 211: Sioux City: Justin Crandall (11) - St. Thomas Academy
Round 17, Pick 6, Overall 214: Sioux Falls: Sam Windle (11) - Osseo
Round 17, Pick 7, Overall 215: Fargo: Willie Corrin (11) - International Falls
Round 17, Pick 13, Overall 221: Green Bay: Adam Wilcox (10) - South St. Paul
Round 19, Pick 6, Overall 240: Sioux Falls: Sam Coatta (12) - Minnetonka
Round 20, Pick 8, Overall 255: Omaha: Christian Horn (9) - Benilde-St. Margaret's
