Youngstown Phantoms

Last updated
Youngstown Phantoms
Youngstown Phantoms Logo.svg
City Youngstown, Ohio
League United States Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
Founded2003 (in the NAHL)
Home arena Covelli Centre
ColorsPurple, orange, black
   
Owner(s)Bruce J. Zoldan, Alex Zoldan, Ron Zoldan, Black Bear Sports Group
General managerJason Deskins and Ryan Kosecki [1]
Head coachRyan Ward
Media Western Reserve Radio (Internet)
FloHockey
Franchise history
2003–2005Youngstown Phantoms
2005–2009Mahoning Valley Phantoms
2009–presentYoungstown Phantoms
Championships
Regular season titles1 Anderson Cup (2014–15)
Playoff championships1 Clark Cup (2023)

The Youngstown Phantoms are a Tier I junior ice hockey team that plays in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the 5,200-seat Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio. The team was co-owned by Bruce J. Zoldan (founder and CEO of fireworks brand Phantom Fireworks, hence the team's name [2] ) and Troy Loney (who played 12 years in the NHL, primarily for the Pittsburgh Penguins) along with his wife Aafke Loney. In the summer of 2018, the Loney's sold their interests to the Black Bear Sports Group led by CEO Murry Gunty.

Contents

History

From their inaugural season in 2003 until 2009, the Phantoms played in the North American Hockey League's North Division, with home games at the 1,000-seat Boardman Ice Zone in the suburb of Boardman, Ohio. From 2005 until 2009, the team was known as the Mahoning Valley Phantoms, because the Central Hockey League's Youngstown SteelHounds moved into the county. However, soon after the SteelHounds shut down, the Phantoms started playing most of their games in the city of Youngstown, and with the move to the USHL, re-adopted the old Youngstown Phantoms name.

Seventeen players with Youngstown Phantoms ties have been drafted into the NHL. Defenseman Scott Mayfield (2009–11) was drafted in the 2nd round, 34th overall pick, [3] [4] by the New York Islanders in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Goalie Matthew Mahalak (2009–10) was drafted in the 6th round, [3] 163rd overall pick, by the Carolina Hurricanes also in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Forward Nathan Walker (2012–13) was drafted in the 3rd round, 89th overall pick, [5] by the Washington Capitals in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Forward Maxim Letunov (2013–15) was drafted in the 2nd round, 52nd overall pick, [6] by the St. Louis Blues also in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Also, a total of seven alumni have signed NHL contracts, including Nathan Walker, Scott Mayfield, Brandon Saad, Jiri Sekac, Andrej Sustr, and Lucas Craggs. [7] In addition, Mayfield, Saad, Sustr and Sekac have seen action with their respective NHL clubs, and Saad won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. [2] On August 10, 2011, the Youngstown Phantoms announced 29-year-old Chicago native Anthony Noreen as head coach, making him the third head coach in the team's history. Before joining the Youngstown Phantoms, Noreen was an assistant coach for three seasons at his alma mater, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. [8] In April 2012, Noreen's contract was extended through the 2013–14 season. [8] Noreen was hired by the ECHL's Orlando Solar Bears after the 2014–15 season. John Wroblewski was then hired for the 2015–16 season as the fourth head coach in team history. [9] After one season in Youngstown, Wroblewski was hired by the USA Hockey National Team Development Program as the head coach [10] and was replaced by former assistant coach, Brad Patterson. [11] Patterson's contract was not renewed at the end of the 2021-22 season and he was replaced by Ryan Ward. In February 2023, the Phantoms participated in their first outdoor game in franchise history, hosting the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. [12]

Regular season records

SeasonLeagueGPWLOTLPTSGFGAPIMFinish
2003–04NAHL56282176316816913475th, North
2004–05 [13] NAHL56272545820118113654th, North
2005–06 [14] NAHL58342047221418112883rd, North
2006–07 [15] NAHL62471419528316811981st, North
2007–08 [16] NAHL58361847622717312722nd, North
2008–09 [17] NAHL58361757722417310922nd, North
2009–10 [18] USHL60203644417024716077th, Eastern
2010–11 [19] USHL60233075316720511457th, Eastern
2011–12 [20] USHL60322177120219611904th, Eastern
2012–13 USHL64372707421519913483rd of 8, Eastern; 7th of 16, USHL
2013–14 USHL60173764017223012128th of 8, Eastern; 15th of 16, USHL
2014–15 USHL60401468623316611781st of 9, Eastern; 1st of 17, USHL
2015–16 USHL60312097119217710205th of 9, Eastern; 6th of 17, USHL
2016–17 USHL60342067416113510544th of 9, Eastern; 8th of 17, USHL
2017–18 USHL6033207731801899762nd of 9, Eastern; 6th of 17, USHL
2018–19 USHL62362157721420911013rd of 9, Eastern; 6th of 17, USHL
2019–20 USHL502022848146197865Season cancelled
2020–21 USHL4912307311452186896th of 6, Eastern; 14th of 14, USHL
2021-22 USHL62292310681911997754th of 8, Eastern; 7th of 16, USHL [21]
2022-23 USHL62381958122517310522nd of 8, Eastern; 4th of 16, USHL

Playoff records

SeasonGPWLOTLGFGAPIMFinish
2006 [22] 82602033166Lost in Quarterfinals
2007 [23] 109104724152Lost in Championship Game
2008 [24] 126513934222Lost in Round 2
2009 [25] 148604237159Lost in Semifinals
2012 [26] 63302025100Lost in East Conf. Semifinals
2013 [27] 95402323121Lost in East Conf. Finals
2015 [27] 4130111395Lost in East Conf. Semifinals
2017 523081579Lost in East Conf. Semifinals
2018 117403935164Lost in Clark Cup Final
2019 20203624Lost in First Round
202220205812Lost in First Round
202398102513100Clark Cup Champions

Roster

As of December 28, 2022. [28]

No. S/P/CPlayerPosHtWtDoBHometownPrevious teamCollege commitment
1 Flag of Florida.svg Jacob Fowler G 6' 1"215 lb2004-11-24 Melbourne, Florida Selects Academy U18 ( Midget AAA ) Boston College
2 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Machů D 6' 4"189 lb2003-03-02 Ostrava, Czech Republic Vítkovice Ridera U20 (Czech Extraliga U20) Colorado College
3 Flag of Michigan.svg Jack Willson D 5' 7"174 lb2005-04-15 Northville, Michigan Compuware U18 ( Midget AAA ) Michigan
5 Flag of North Carolina.svg Conner de Haro D 5' 10"174 lb2005-10-14 Raleigh, North Carolina Fox Motors U16 (Tier I Elite Hockey League 16U) New Hampshire
8 Flag of Minnesota.svg William Whitelaw F 5' 9"173 lb2005-02-05 Rosemount, Minnesota Shattuck-Saint Mary's Prep ( Midget AAA ) Wisconsin
12 Flag of Minnesota.svg Hunter Bischoff F 6' 0"182 lb2003-03-24 Cohasset, Minnesota Anchorage ( NAHL ) Augustana
14 Flag of Alberta.svg Hunter Price F 6' 0"193 lb2003-10-25 Calgary, Alberta Drayton Valley  ( AJHL )None
15 Flag of Missouri.svg Tyler Catalano F 6' 3"230 lb2004-02-26 St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis AAA Blues U18 ( Midget AAA ) Cornell
16 Flag of Michigan.svg Justin Varner F 5' 10"174 lb2004-02-13 Shelby Township, Michigan HoneyBaked U18 ( Midget AAA ) Michigan State
17 Flag of Michigan.svg Chase Pietila D 6' 1"186 lb2004-03-03 Howell, Michigan Lincoln  ( USHL ) Michigan Tech
19 Flag of Massachusetts.svg James Fisher F 6' 2"186 lb2004-04-28 Burlington, Massachusetts Belmont Hill  ( USHS–MA ) Northeastern
20 Flag of Iowa.svg Blake Bechen F 5' 10"165 lb2005-01-25 Dubuque, Iowa Fox Motors U18 ( Midget AAA )None
21 Flag of Minnesota.svg Nick Williams D 5' 9"174 lb2002-09-21 Edina, Minnesota Edina  ( USHS–MN ) Michigan Tech
23 Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Andrew Centrella D 5' 9"185 lb2004-01-29 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Omaha  ( USHL ) Providence
24 Flag of Massachusetts.svg Shane Lachance ( C ) F 6' 4"218 lb2003-08-30 Andover, Massachusetts Boston Junior Bruins  (NCDC) Boston University
25 Flag of Ohio.svg Braiden Clark F 5' 11"203 lb2005-04-08 Upper Arlington, Ohio Ohio Blue Jackets U18 ( Midget AAA ) Providence
27 Flag of Illinois.svg Andrew Strathmann D 5' 10"190 lb2005-02-27 Beach Park, Illinois Chicago Young Americans U16 ( Midget AAA ) North Dakota
29 Flag of Saskatchewan.svg Matthew Perkins F 5' 11"156 lb2004-01-21 Balgonie, Saskatchewan Humboldt  ( SJHL ) Minnesota Duluth
31 Flag of Massachusetts.svg Colin Winn G 6' 0"190 lb2004-08-05 Westford, Massachusetts Boston Junior Bruins  (NCDC)None
42 Flag of Quebec.svg Jake Rozzi F 5' 11"172 lb2004-01-27 Kirkland, Quebec Waterloo  ( USHL ) Ohio State
86 Flag of Japan.svg Kenta Isogai F 5' 9"159 lb2004-08-28 Nagano, Japan Okanagan Hockey Europe U20 (EBYSL) Ohio State
88 Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Brandon Svoboda F 6' 3"212 lb2005-02-04 Level Green, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Penguins Elite U18 ( Midget AAA ) Boston University
92 Flag of Connecticut.svg Andon Cerbone F 5' 9"163 lb2004-04-13 Stamford, Connecticut Omaha  ( USHL ) Quinnipiac

Phantoms drafted into the NHL

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