The Northstar Knights saw a big number of current players and an alum get selected in last week’s 2023 United States Hockey League draft.
According to a Tuesday Northstar press release, the draft is broken down into phases I and II. Phase I of the draft is 10 rounds, and players 17 and under are eligible to be selected.
Phase II is open to all ages playing junior hockey who are not protected by a USHL team.
Albertville native Brady Krey was the first selection in Phase I of the draft, as the Omaha Lancers in the fifth round (73rd overall). Krey played 12 games as a goaltender for the Northstar 16U team this season and posted an 8-3 record with two shutouts. He had a 2.25 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.
St. Michael native Bode Laylin was selected six spots later (sixth round) by the Tri-City Storm. The defensemen played in 38 games for Northstar and battled through injuries to post 21 points (2 goals, 19 assists) and finished second on the team in points per game (0.55). He and Conor Watson were the only players on the 16U team not to take a penalty this season.
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Northstar 18U forward Caleb Elfering was the first to go off the board in Phase II of the draft as the Green Bay Gamblers selected him in the 10th round (143rd overall). The Richland, Washington native played in 52 games this season and led the team in points with 72 (33 goals and 39 assists).
Duluth native Joe Stauber was next off the board and was one of three Northstar players taken by the Sioux City Musketeers. This season Stauber played in 52 games and scored 29 points (9 goals, 20 assists). Stauber was picked in the 12th round (174th overall).
The other two players that Sioux City also picked were 16U player Jake Spraetz and 18U player Brayden Berg.
Spraetz, who is from Phoenix, Arizona, was selected in the 14th round (204th overall). Spraetz plays forward and scored 40 points this season (19 goals, 21 assists) and led the team in penalty kill points with seven (two goals and five assists).
Berg is an Alexandria native who was the program’s final player selected in the draft. He was selected in the 18th round (264th pick). After leading the 16U Knights in scoring last season, Berg played for the 18U Knights as a forward and had 40 points on the season in 51 games (16 goals, 24 assists).
In the 13th round (198th pick), the Fargo Force selected forward Kade Peterson. The West Fargo, North Dakota native played for Northstar from 2019-2021 and scored 58 points (25 goals and 33 assists) in 95 games. Most recently, he played for the St. Cloud Norsemen in the North American Hockey League from 2021-2023. He scored 81 points (39 goals, 42 assists) in 117 games. He’ll join Northstar alums Jakob Stender, Jacob Napier, and Anthony Menghini as members of the Fargo Force.
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