USHL

Ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft, the USHL will highlight each of its Member Clubs top NHL Draft prospects.

The Lincoln Stars are looking to make it 12 straight NHL Drafts with at least one player selected and goaltender Cameron Whitehead is poised to be picked as he enters the NHL Draft ranked seventh among North American Goaltenders according to NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings. The Orleans, Ontario native posted a 16-8-2-2 record in 31 appearances during the 2021-22 season, finishing with a 3.19 goals against average and 0.892 save percentage. Whitehead registered a 33-save shutout on January 14 against the Sioux Falls Stampede and recorded a season-high five-game winning streak from October 22 to November 13, 2021 posting a 0.933 save percentage and 2.14 goals against average in the streak. The Northeastern University commit was previously ranked 4th among North American Goaltenders in the Midseason Rankings after starting the year as a C-rated goaltender on the Preliminary List. Whitehead's career-high for saves came back on January 28 when he made 41 saves on 44 shots from the Tri-City Storm and the netminder posted 30-or-more saves in nine of his appearances this season.

"Cameron has a lot of pro intangibles," said Lincoln Stars Head Coach Rocky Russo. "He has NHL size, his lateral movement and his puck-tracking skills are elite. He's able to recover and make secondary saves. He's a calm goaltender in the net and he doesn't get rattled. I think his first USHL season was a learning experience for him and he's just scratching the surface of the potential he has long-term."

In the 2021 NHL Draft, former Stars forward Josh Lopina was selected 98th overall by the Anaheim Ducks. Whitehead would be the first Stars goaltender Drafted since Cayden Primeau was selected with the 199th pick in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

Lincoln skaters Michael Mastrodomenico (defenseman), Brennan Ali (forward), and Marian Mosko (defenseman) were ranked 78th, 83rd and 89th in the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings. Former skaters James Stefan (forward, 2020-21) and Luke Mittelstadt (defenseman, 2020-21) were ranked 157th and 168th while former forward Christian Kocsis (2020-22) was named a C-rated skater on the Preliminary List and goaltender Kaidan Mbereko was named a C-rated goaltender on the Preliminary List before being ranked 19th among North American Goaltenders on the Midseason Rankings.

"Michael [Mastrodomenico] is a very talented hockey player," said Russo. He's a very good skater and has great vision. He passes the puck very well, always on the tape, through traffic and sticks. He's a lockdown defender. He has way more offensive upside than what maybe got noticed throughout the year. He shoots the puck really well. He manages to get his pucks through from the blue line. I think he's going to be a great addition to the Notre Dame lineup next year and whoever selects him in the NHL Draft is going to have a player that can man their blue line on a nightly basis."

The USHL has had 50-or-more players Drafted in each of the last four NHL Drafts, dating back to a league-best 57 players at the 2018 Draft. The League has seen 933 of its players selected in total, with at least one player taken in each Draft but one dating back to 1981.

Brennan Ali (Forward) - 2021-22
Jackson Baker (Goaltender) - 2021-22
Jacob Bauer * (Defenseman) - 2018-21
Ben Behrens (Goaltender) - 2021-22
Will Bowman * (Defenseman) - 2018-19
Riley Brueck * (Forward) - 2019-20
Antonio Fernandez (Defenseman) - 2021-22
Doug Grimes (Forward) - 2021-22
Jack Horbach (Forward) - 2020-21
Max Itagaki * (Forward) - 2018-19
Dominic James * (Forward) - 2018-21
Griffin Jurecki (Forward) - 2019-22
Christian Kocsis (Forward) - 2020-22
Noah Laba (Forward) - 2020-22
Jack Larrigan (Forward) - 2021-22
Charles-Alexis Legault * (Defenseman) - 2020-21
Mason Marcellus (Forward) - 2021-22
Michael Mastrodomenico (Defenseman) - 2020-22
Kaidan Mbereko (Goaltender) - 2021-22
Jack Mesic (Forward) - 2021-22
Owen Michaels * (Forward) - 2018-20
Trevor Mitchell * (Forward) - 2020-21
Luke Mittelstadt (Defenseman) - 2020-21
Henry Nelson (Defenseman) - 2020-22
Keaton Peters (Forward) - 2021-22
Joseph Pierce (Defenseman) - 2021-22
Chase Pietila (Defenseman) - 2020-21
Patrick Raftery (Forward) - 2021-22
Casey Roepke (Defenseman) - 2021-22
Yu Sato (Forward) - 2020-22
Carter Schade (Defenseman) - 2019-22
Max Scott (Forward) - 2021-22
Jack Silich (Forward) - 2021-22
Spencer Smith * (Forward) - 2019-21
Brayden Stannard (Forward) - 2021-22
Ben Steeves (Forward) - 2018-19
Tadeas Talafa * (Defenseman) - 2019-20
Aidan Thompson (Forward) - 2018-19, 2020-22
Gleb Veremyev (Forward) - 2019-22
Winter Wallace (Forward) - 2020-21
Cameron Whitehead (Goaltender) - 2021-22