The USPHL held its annual National Collegiate Development Conference entry draft Tuesday.

The draft was open only to 16- and 17-year-old players for the second straight year.

The Twin City Thunder drafted 15 forwards, four defensemen and one goalie. They have reached the 70-man protected limit, which also includes players from the 2022-2023 roster eligible to return in 2023-24, tendered players for 2023-24 and past draft picks.

Thunder owner and NCDC coach Dan Hodge said that Tuesday’s draft was about looking toward the future.

“You want to — as Belichikian as it sounds — get the best player available,” Hodge said. “It’s a situation where you get some kids for the future and some kids you may think that can step in and play right away.”

After trading their first-round pick to the Wilkes/Barre Scranton Knights, the Thunder didn’t go far for their opening pick, selecting Maine Nordiques 16U defenseman Leo Mantenuto in the second round. Mantenuto, of Medford, Massachusetts, had 11 goals and 27 assists in 43 games this season.

Hodge said he mostly scouted Mantenuto by video services and through scouts Hodge knows who reached out to him. He said a lot of people wanted to help him out in the draft process after former co-owner and assistant coach Cam Robichaud left the organization to become the New Hampshire Mountain Kings head coach earlier this month.

Mantenuto is a modern defenseman, the type that Hodge wants.

“I was a defenseman when I played, and I know what I like and know what I am looking for and what we need to improve on in the future,” Hodge said. “The game is changing; it’s a highly offensive-skilled game. You have to play with skill and pace.”

The Thunder’s roster this past season included three former defensemen from the Maine Nordiques organization: Kadsen Johnson, Nicholas Pomerleau and Anthony Marra.

Mantenuto was one of two Maine Nordiques 16U players drafted Tuesday. The other was forward Kaden Rehberger, selected by the Idaho Falls Spud Kings — one of six teams in the newly formed NCDC West Division for the 2023-24 season.

Twin City nabbed a high-scoring forward in the third round, selecting 17-year-old Will Hughes of the Nepean Raiders 18u team. Hughes, of Ottawa, Ontario, led the Raiders with 62 points (28 goals and 34 assists). Hughes was selected in the fifth round by the Guelph Storm in the 2022 Ontario Hockey League’s Priority Selection.

“Anytime you get a player with that type of credibility, you hope for the best for him,” Hodge said. “If you get ahold of him and help build him — that’s what you are looking for, to get to that level. If he becomes available, hopefully, his residence will be in Auburn, Maine, next year.”

The OHL is one of the three major junior leagues in the Canadian Hockey League, along with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League.

Hughes was one of nine Ontario-born players selected by the Thunder.

Goaltender Brendan Carberry of the American Hockey Academy 16U team was the Thunder’s fourth-round selection. Hodge said Carberry skated with the Thunder a few times in practice this past season.

Forward Cody Tatar of the Connecticut Chiefs 16U team was Twin City’s fifth-round pick. Tatar led the Chiefs with 74 points (43 goals, 31 assists). Zach Holeschek, a forward with the Sioux Falls (South Dakota) Power 16U team, was picked in the sixth round.

The Thunder took another player who has area ties with their second sixth-round pick, selecting Axel Favreau of Freeport. The 15-year-old forward played his youth hockey in Auburn and had two goals and four assists in 32 games with Cushing Academy — a top prep school program — in Ashburnham, Massachusetts.

“He did well for himself,” Hodge said. “I have known Axel for a couple of years, and he did some clinics with us and skates at the rink in Auburn.

“I had my eye on him for a couple of years and I have watched him develop. Playing at Cushing Academy is a good step for him. I am excited about where he gets to and what his ceiling is. He has a high ceiling, I think.”

Forward Tommy Anderson of Thayer Academy in Massachusetts and the Neponset Valley River Rats 15U team was selected by the Thunder in the seventh round. After having no selection in the eighth round, the Twin City selected defenseman Ryan George of the Palm Beach (Florida) Breakers 16U team in the ninth round.

Hodge picked 16-year-old forward Emerson Taylor of the Mississauga (Ontario) Reps U16 team in the 10th round. Taylor was picked in the 15th round by the Erie Otters of the OHL in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, which was held this past weekend.

The next step in the offseason for the Thunder and Hodge is to name a new assistant coach, to replace Robichaud, and building a roster for the USPHL Spring Showcase held May 5-7 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Hodge said he’s recruiting some of the drafted players to play for the organization at the showcase along with current players, tendered players for next season, and free agents.

“I have been making phone calls all day and all night,” Hodge said. “Hopefully, we will get Axel down there and some of the kids that are local. Some of the kids that have to cross the border might not be (coming), but hopefully, we get them to the (showcase) in July in (New) Jersey.”

OTHER THUNDER PICKS

11th to 15th rounds: Benson Grande, forward, Fargo (North Dakota) High School; Michael Piao, forward, Central Ontario Wolves U16; Cole Davis, defense, Springfield (Massachusetts) Pics 16U; Matthew Ferdinand, forward, Northern Moose 18U; Josh Reaska, forward, Windy City Storm 16U; Charlie Hilton, forward, Oshawa (Ontario) U18.

16th to 20th rounds: Weslee Crosswell, forward, Whitby Wildcats (Ontario) 16U; Jake Soboleski, forward, Springfield (Massachusetts) Pics 16U; Ethan Murray, forward, Guelph (Ontario) Gryphons U16; Andrew Wojnicki, defense, Markham (Ontario) Waxers U16; Nolan Garrard, forward, Grey-Bruce Highlanders (Ontario) U16.

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