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A total of 85 players with USHL ties were named to NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles, Calif. Of those, 54 played a full season in the league this year, representing all 16 teams.
This gives the USHL an average of 3.4 players per team, more than any other junior hockey league in North America.
Among the top 30 North American skaters with USHL experience are alumni James Hagens (Boston College/NTDP), Logan Hensler (Wisconsin/NTDP), Sascha Boumedienne (Boston University/Youngstown Phantoms), Cullen Potter (Arizona State/NTDP), and Will Horcoff (Michigan/NTDP).
Active USHL players ranked within the top 32 of North American skaters include Mason West (Fargo Force), Ryker Lee (Madison Capitols), and a trio of NTDP players: Will Moore, Jack Murtagh, and Cole McKinney. Ivan Ryabkin and Vaclav Nestrasil of the Muskegon Lumberjacks follow closely behind, with Jacob Rombach of the Lincoln Stars ranked 42nd. Mason Moe (Madison Capitols), Ben Kevan (Des Moines Buccaneers), Adam Benák (Youngstown Phantoms), and Teddy Mutryn (Chicago Steel) also hold spots inside the top 64.
Eight players listed in the rankings played Minnesota high school hockey and in the USHL this season. Leading that group are West, Cooper Simpson (Tri-City Storm), and Blake Vanek (Chicago Steel).
Among North American goalies, Michael Pradel (Tri-City Storm) ranks third, with Jack Parsons (Chicago Steel), Ryan Cameron (NTDP), Patrick Quinlan (NTDP), Kam Hendrickson (Waterloo Black Hawks), and Bjorn Bronas (Sioux Falls Stampede) also listed.
Listed affiliate players include North American skaters Connor Davis (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders), Everett Baldwin (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders), Jeremy Loranger (Dubuque Fighting Saints), and Aidan Lane (Green Bay Gamblers), and Cameron. North American skater Kale Dach (Waterloo Black Hawks) and international skaters Eric Nilson (Chicago Steel) and Michal Svrcek (Lincoln Stars) are also affiliates, although they have not played a USHL game.
The USHL has been the top producer of NHL Draft selections for eight consecutive years, developing more picks than any other league since 2012. Last season, the league produced 10 first-round selections and 49 total picks in the 2024 NHL Draft. Removing players selected from the NTDP, that averaged to 1.67 players per team, highest among all other junior leagues.
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