ABOUT THE USHL DRAFT PROCESS

The USHL Draft takes place during the first week of May each year and is completed in two “Phases”.
Phase I of the Draft is ten rounds of “Futures” age players only, which are U-17 players for next year’s season (2005 birth year players only for the 2021 Draft).
Phase II of the Draft will take place the following day beginning with round one. This draft is open to players of all ages eligible to play junior hockey and are not currently protected by another USHL team.  Teams will fill their roster to a total of 45 players on this date; this includes players that were previously on a team’s Affiliate List. The total number of players that a team will draft will vary depending on the number of Affiliate players a team may have.  All veteran roster players from the 2020-21 season are automatically protected by their current team, separate from the list of 45 players.
Teams will have their tryouts in June and July. Teams will typically have 60-80 players at their training camps. By July 10th, teams must be down to a 30-man protected and 18-man affiliate list. Undrafted players have the opportunity to go to any team’s camp and make the team as a tryout player.
Before the season starts, teams will be required to have their team rosters cut down to 23 players and teams are allowed to carry an 18-man affiliate list of players.