Zac Somers and Riley Ashe (photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Headed down south?

Northeast local reflects on USHL first-round selection

May 15, 2023 | 3:58 PM

A Melfort hockey player was recently selected in the first round of Phase II of the United States Hockey League (USHL) draft.

Hometown Mustangs’ forward Zac Somers was taken 13th overall by the Omaha Lancers.

“I was definitely following it and looking forward to it up to that date, so it was obviously an honour to see my name called that early in the draft,” Somers told northeastNOW. “I’ve done a little bit of research here and there about the league and obviously, spoke to a couple of teams prior to the draft, but just happy that Omaha was able to get me there.”

The 19-year-old has spent the past two seasons with the blue and green, registering a combined 73 points across 110 regular and post-season games.

He added that while he’s enjoyed his time in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) so far, a step up is definitely on the horizon.

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“At some point, I’m gonna need to move up the calibre and spectrum, into a bigger league here, so whether that’s next year or the year after, I’m not too sure right now, but it’s obviously something that needs to happen at some point, sooner rather than later.”

Somers will now take the off-season to decide whether or not he’s played his final days in a Mustangs jersey.

And for someone who has had the privilege to compete at a high level, right in his hometown, it’s a decision that won’t come easy.

“Not many kids get to play in their hometown at a level like that, so it’s an honour, and just thanks to everyone. In the hometown, everyone’s behind you, the fans are great, the town’s great, and it’s just been the best two years of my life. From a hockey perspective, it’s been unreal,” Somers said.

“I don’t really want to get too tied up in with it this early, obviously (a decision) it’s got to be made sooner rather than later, but right now I’m just focused on putting in the work off the ice, keeping the body in good shape and getting stronger and faster, so wherever I play next year I can be effective again. I’m looking forward to having a big summer here and getting after it in the fall.”

For the 5-11, 154-pounder, Omaha isn’t the only place he could end up, as he committed to NCAA Division I hockey earlier in the year, as a member of the University of Maine Black Bears.

Somers, like his fellow teammate Riley Ashe, who was also selected in Phase II of the USHL draft (round 21, 318th overall to the Fargo Force), and has committed to NCAA Division I hockey (University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks), have some exciting times ahead, which could include a potential future matchup.

“I guess it’s a very good possibility, he’s a great player and I’d love to see him move down there at some point too,” Somers said. “It’s crazy how you can go from being brothers one year to potentially looking at each other on the other side of the bench, as soon as a year later, so it’ll be something special if it does come out to be that way.”

The USHL drafts are completed in two separate phases, beginning with Phase I, which consists of 10 rounds of “futures” age players, who will be under-17 players for the next season. For the 2023 Draft, this was 2007 birth year players.

Meanwhile, Phase II of the draft was open to players of all ages who are eligible to play junior hockey and are not currently on one of the protected USHL rosters. The Phase II Draft continued until all teams had filled their Initial protected list to a total of 45 players, including those who were previously protected from the club’s affiliate list.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8