Sure, some players like Mason Morelli and Michael Booth, who get picked in the Futures Draft, could play for the organization that selected them the following season. The reality is most won’t.

The Fargo Force used its final two picks in the 2012 Futures Draft to really focus on the future in River Rymsha and Steven Quagliata.

Rymsha is a 15-year-old defenseman who plays both hockey and baseball for St. Mary’s Prep in Michigan. There are a lot of connections between Rymsha and the Force, but the kid can also play. The defenseman is already almost six feet tall, 170 pounds and certainly still has some growing to do.

He tallied one goal and one assist in 26 games last season. He finished the season plus-2 and recorded 10 penalty minutes. The numbers would make it appear that Rymsha is a defense-first guy who is still hoping to develop on the offensive end of the rink.

“We feel River is going to be a pretty good player for us when he’s ready,” chief scout Jesse Davis said. “He’s going to finish up his school and play at St. Mary’s, which is a pretty good program in our opinion.

“He’s pretty smart and pretty active with the puck. He’s going to be a piece of the puzzle in two years for us, a big piece.”

Davis has known Rymsha for a long time, as they are both from the Detroit area. St. Mary’s Prep is also a former stop in Davis’s coaching career. He was once an assistant coach there.

Rymsha’s dad, Andy Rymsha, played in the NHL with Quebec after attending Western Michigan. He even played against Davis at one time in his career. Andy is from Ontario, so Rymsha has a little Canadian blood in him.

Rymsha’s uncle also played for current Fargo Force John Marks during his minor league hockey career.

Force use final pick on a relative unknown

Rules are rules. In Chicago, if you miss AAA tryouts, you can’t make the team. There are no exceptions.

Steven Quagliata had a broken arm and missed the AAA tryouts last season. It was an unfortunate break that sent him to the AA Chicago Bruins. Had he not been injured, he probably would have been playing for a AAA club. Instead, he flew under the radar allowing the Fargo Force to draft him late in the USHL Futures Draft.

He played in the Young Guns tournament in Philadelphia and performed well. Davis said that Quagliata was overlooked based on where he played, but he did well in the combine and that was enough to hook the Force.

He is a solid stay at home defenseman that you usually don’t notice on the ice because he doesn’t make many mistakes. In cases like that, it isn’t a bad thing for people not to know your name.

“He wins battles, has good feet, is consistent, and doesn’t turn puck over,” Davis said. “He will play AAA hockey this year for Chicago Fury. I think he can be on our club in two years.”

If you’re looking for a diamond in the rough, Quagliata may be it. Davis believes that he will be a good player in the USHL and beyond. The first step, though, is for him to prove himself at the AAA level.

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By: Tim How

Garcia was drafted in the third round of the Ontario Hockey League draft by the Barrie Colts, all but ending the notion of him playing in the United States Hockey League. The Fargo Force staff essentially crossed him off their list prior to the recent USHL Futures Draft.

Filice was drafted by Brampton in the seventh round of the same draft. His time in at the United States Hockey League combine may have turned his attention to the USHL, however.

Filice came down and attended the USHL combine much to the surprise of Davis, who was set to coach one of the teams at the combine. As fate would have it, Filice was placed on the team Davis was coaching.

“The more I worked with him, the more I saw what kind of a player he was,” Davis said. “He’s very coach-able, he listened, and he is a big, solid, hard-nosed playing defenseman.”

Davis and the rest of the Force coaching staff liked what they saw enough that Davis had a sit down with the family. They were leaning towards having Filice go through the USHL and college route, but weren’t 100-percent set. Davis asked if the Force drafted him, would he come play in Fargo and in the USHL.

As they say, the rest is history.

With the 54^th pick in the recent USHL Futures Draft, the Force went ahead and chose the gritty defenseman from Mississauga, Ontario. He likes to hit and he has a pretty decent shot, certainly a potential piece of the future puzzle for Fargo.

Davis explained that due to agreements between Canada and the United States in regards to junior hockey, Filice would not be able to play with the Force during the 2012-13 season. Instead, the 16-year-old will continue to play junior hockey in Canada while holding a place as a Fargo affiliate. He could ultimately join the team for the 2013-14 campaign.

“He was willing to come down and look at the league and the Force was willing to give him a shot,” Davis said. “It’s a great story for the league and it is great for the Fargo Force organization.”

The USHL has kicked around the idea of expansion, even to the U.S. East Coast. Even without adding teams at this point, the league continues to grow and the Filice story shows that. Players from remote parts of the hockey geography are showing an interest in the league and some are even making a difference in the league.

Getting players from remote areas is great for the USHL and it is great for Fargo. That means the USHL is getting its message to those players. Filice coming down to the USHL combine was a surprise to Davis and could end up being important for both the Force and the league.

Filice is obviously a pretty good hockey player, too. Not just anyone with skates gets drafted by an OHL club. He played in 62 total games for the Don Mills Flyers last season, tallying three goals and 16 total points. Filice also tacked on 98 penalty minutes.

He is more of a shutdown defenseman than an offensive minded one. According to Davis, he is a solid shutdown-type guy who doesn’t mind the physical game and has a strong hockey IQ. He can move the puck and shoot it a little, too.

“He might be a good piece for our hockey team down the road…We definitely see him in two years being in our lineup, so we are excited to get him,” Davis said.

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By: Tim How

The United States Hockey League Futures Draft is designed to help teams build for the future. Originally, the Fargo Force only had one pick in the first two rounds until it made a deal with Waterloo to jump up to the 23^rd slot in the draft.

Fargo had previously tendered Butrus Ghafari and selected Mason Morelli from Minot, N.D. in the first round of the draft. The Morelli pick was another that the club traded up for.

The Force swapped futures picks and gave up a fourth round pick in the Entry Draft, plus Fargo’s first pick in the second phase of the Entry Draft to move up and take Michael Booth from Team Illinois in the second round of the Futures Draft. The Force will also receive Waterloo’s fifth round pick in the May 22^nd Entry Draft.

Team Illinois finished 10-13-6 in the High Performance Hockey League last season, and Booth was easily had the best season of any player on the team. Booth scored nine times and added 17 assists for 26 points in 29 regular season contests. He had eight multi-point games on the season.

“He’s very smart and makes good plays.” Force chief scout Jesse Davis said. “He’s a high-end skill guy who makes players around him better, which is a big compliment to say.”

The move to trade up was an intentional attempt for the Force to secure Booth. Davis, who spends much of the year scouting all over the country, has been very high on Booth all year. Davis hoped that Booth would still be available in the third round, but after a solid performance at the combine the team didn’t think he’d still be available.

“I kind of thought right around that spot Michael Booth would be available,” Davis said. “And he was, so we took him.”

Davis said that Booth will attend the team’s camp starting June 1^st in St. Paul. Many players will attend the camp hoping to show the coaching staff that they belong on the team. Players from age 16 to age 20 will be vying for spots on the team.

“He’s got an outside shot of making our hockey team next year,” Davis said. “He might be a little bit young if we take him, but he’s got a good shot.

“We’re excited to get him. He’s excited to be with us.”

Booth is a little bit like former Force youngster Blake Clarke, who is extremely young and talented but needs to add some size and strength. If Booth can do that over the summer, he may earn a spot as a center on the 2012-13 Fargo Force roster. If not, he will certainly be a bright spot on the affiliate list.

Learn more about the Force draft pick in this video:
Michael Booth Interview

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By: Tim How

After combining for 22 points in 60 games between Wichita and Chicago in 2009-10, Young returned to Chicago to start the following season. He put up 10 points in 20 games before being dealt to the Fargo Force, where he finished up the season.

Young helped give the Force a little more offense from the blue line and he was part of a late season run that got Fargo into the second round of the USHL playoffs. Young had 14 points in 38 regular season games in Fargo.

The junior hockey success didn’t immediately parlay into success at the college level. Young played in only 10 games as a freshman, recording three assists. Ice was hard to come by during his rookie campaign.

Colorado College had three pretty darn good offensive defensemen last season. Gabe Guentzel picked up 26 points, while Michael Boivin had 25. Another former Force player, Eamonn McDermott picked up 10 points during the season.

Guentzel is now with Syracuse of the American Hockey League, where he earned one point in 16 games including playoffs.

The Tigers lost one other defenseman, but will potentially return six defensemen including Young for the 2012-13 season. The Red Deer, Alberta native will need to continue to progress if he hopes to get regular shifts next season.

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By: Tim How