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Kucharski Drafted in USHL Draft

By AK, 05/08/16, 10:30PM EDT

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U16 Esmark Goaltender Selected by Chicago

The Esmark Stars AAA Hockey Club is proud to announce that goaltender Jacob Kucharski was selected by the Chicago Steele in the 2016 USHL Draft on May 3.

Kucharski, who skated for the U16 AAA Esmark Stars last season, was selected in the ninth round (pick #140) by the Steele.

In 14 regular season NAPHL games, Kucharski finished the NAPHL regular season with a 1.77 GAA and a .917 save percentage, including 3 shut-outs. Overall, in 32 games, he finished with a 89.56% save percentage and a a 2.41 GAA with 5 shut-outs.

"We were proud to hear that Jacob was selected in the USHL draft," said Esmark General Manager and U18 Head Coach Dave Kosick. "He garnered a lot of attention over the course of the season and it is good to see he has received some of the rewards for his work." 

Overall it was a successful season year for the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) at the 2016 USHL Draft, as 18 NAPHL players were drafted. That included six players drafted in Phase I on May 2, and 12 players drafted in Phase II on May 3. Over 40 NAPHL players have been drafted in the past two years of the USHL Draft.

The NAPHL, which will be celebrating its eighth season in 2016-17, is composed of Midget Major (18U) and Midget Minor (16U) teams from across North America that compete at the USA Hockey Tier I level. The NAPHL has proved over the years that this league is a great stepping-stone for development and training for young hockey players looking to gain experience and knowledge to work their way up to the National level. 

Phase I of the USHL Draft took consisted of 10 rounds for the “Futures” age players, which are all 2000 birth year players only.  This phase of the draft gives teams a chance to draft these younger players who may not necessarily be ready for the league that following season. This gives the players that have been drafted an opportunity to grow and develop while their respective USHL team still owns their rights as a player. Phase II of the draft, which took the next day, is a chance for all other age eligible players to be drafted with no ties to another USHL team.