YOUNGSTOWN — After a record-setting draft season in 2023, the Youngstown Phantoms look to produce similar success at this year’s NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas.

Four Phantoms that finished the year in Youngstown, and a handful of others who suited up for Youngstown over the last few years, have caught attention from NHL scouts and could have their names called by one of the 32 teams this weekend.

The Phantoms aren’t expected to see any of their players selected until roughly the third or fourth round on Saturday, but the NHL Draft is always full of surprises.

It’s expected to be another big weekend for the USHL at large, as there are multiple first round-graded players who have suited up against Youngstown including Trevor Connelly (Tri-City), Michael Hage (Chicago), Cole Eiserman (NTDP), and projected top-overall pick Macklin Celebrini, who played with Chicago during the 2022-23 season.

As for the players with Phantom ties on the NHL radar…

LUKE OSBURN – DEFENSE

Luke Osburn headlines the Phantoms as the program’s top-ranked prospect this season and is ranked as high as 50th by DobberProspects.

Osburn is one of the most intriguing prospects in this draft class. The Wisconsin commit is one of the youngest eligible players, just six days before the cutoff, and despite his young age, is fundamentally sound.

“A regular top-4 fixture on a very competitive blue line, Osburn hasn’t been filling up the scoresheet, but has been remarkable at pushing play the other way,” DobberProspects scout David Saad said. “He’s gotten remarkably more confident and has started calling his own number by diving deep into the offensive zone and taking on more pressure with the confidence he can shake it off. Put simply, Osburn’s game is one of pressure.

“Offensively, he knows how to apply it by effectively distributing the puck and making the plays that put his opponents in the most disadvantageous position possible. Defensively, it’s all about suppressing and taking pressure away with good anticipation and removing options before they exist.”

Slightly undersized, but makes up for it with his skill, Osburn is viewed as a project, but if all the pieces of his game are put together, whichever team selects him could have a very solid blueliner in their system.

Osburn is expected to be playing in Youngstown in the fall.

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING RANKING: 87

TORY PITNER – DEFENSE

With the skillset Tory Pitner possesses, it’s easy to see how a team could fall in love with him as a prospect.

Described as “a sort of throwback defender with a new-school twist” by FCHockey scout Kyle Pereira, Pitner is that classic dependable defenseman that coaches love.

Arguably his best skill is his brain. Pitner is great at being in the right place at the right time. He knows when to press, when to poke, and can tie up an attacker in the defensive zone.

“Tory is a special brain,” Phantoms coach Ryan Ward said earlier this season. “I mean he lives, breathes and sleeps hockey. He’s someone that we obviously rely on and someone that we think very highly of in our organization and for us, Tory has done a good job. He’s becoming a leader even though he’s (still a 2006-born player).

“Tory is a very methodical kid. He obviously goes through scenarios in his mind and how he wants to play and how we play, and you can tell by the way he plays on the ice how smart and effective he is at both ends of the rink.”

While not an imposing figure on the backend, listed at 6-foot-1, 183 pounds, he’s not lacking in the physicality department by any means.

Ranking as high as 74 on draft boards, Pitner has all the tools to be a very useful NHL player.

This fall, Pitner will be suiting up for the University of Denver.

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING RANKING: 90

NHL COMPARABLES: Jeff Petry (Detroit)

KUZMA VORONIN – FORWARD

Kuzma Voronin is a speedy winger with a matching intensity that helps him drive play and makes him a shifty defender that can force turnovers.

In his first full season at the USHL level, Voronin’s production wasn’t where scouts had hoped, scoring 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 52 games. His stock dropped, but there’s still plenty to be optimistic about. Voronin has a scoring touch, as just a season prior with the New Jersey Rockets 16U AAA program, Voronin scored 136 points (61 goals, 75 assists) in 73 games.

If Voronin can find his scoring touch again this upcoming season with a full year of USHL experience under his belt, he could be viewed as a ‘diamond in the rough’ selection by whichever team selects him.

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING RANKING: 156

CHARLIE CERRATO – FORWARD

After getting passed over in his first year of draft eligibility, Charlie Cerrato had something to prove.

Cerrato was the Phantoms’ second-leading scorer last season with 50 points (12 goals, 38 assists) and was an overall driving force of the Phantoms’ offense, often centering the top line.

Late in the season against the NTDP U17s, Cerrato took a brutal hit into the boards that sent him to the locker room. In a true “hockey” moment, Cerrato returned to the ice soon after, exemplifying the impact he’s had on the program.

“He is a warrior,” Ward said following that game. “He’s a football player wearing hockey equipment. That was gutsy. The kid is bleeding all over himself, didn’t even get stitched up, he just taped it up and came back. I’ve never seen that before. Charlie, he’s an unbelievable player and obviously makes a gigantic impact on the game, and to see him come out with a full cage on, bleeding all over his face, was pretty inspiring.”

The forward is ranked as high as No. 100 by Gabriel Foley, the Head of North American scouting for RecruitScouting.com, who praised Cerrato’s growth from last season to this past season.

“Charlie Cerrato was on a mission this season,” Foley said in his analysis of the Penn State-bound forward. “He did everything he needed to in Youngstown – driving in hard on the forecheck, using strong stick-battles and hitting hands to force turnovers, and then finding teammates quickly when he regained the puck. I think he found a style that really works for him this year, and looked excited to take it on… which ultimately took away from his play when he wasn’t the first-man-in. Cerrato needs to translate his nifty puck-skills and play-creating to when he’s off-puck as well, though his play was certainly exciting enough to heavily boost his draft stock.”

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING RANKING: 175

OTHER NOTABLE PLAYERS

Other players possibly in the mix to be drafted are goaltender Aiden Wright, forward Grant Young, former forward Kenta Isogai (2020-23), and former defensemen Chase Pietila (2021-23), Finn McLaughlin (2023-24), and Andrew DellaSalla (2023).

The draft starts at 7 p.m. on Friday for the first round, and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday for Rounds 2-7.

Have an interesting story? Contact Brian Yauger by email at byauger@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @_brianyauger.