Fargo tenders Western Michigan commit Butrus Ghafari

The Fargo Force used one of two available tenders to lock up 1996-born player and Western Michigan recruit Butrus Ghafari out of Detroit Compuware’s U-16 club. The move was made official today when the paperwork was filed with the United States Hockey League office.

This is the first time the USHL has used the tender process. Each team is granted two tenders to use as a tool to recruit players.

The key is that Fargo had a chance to show Ghafari why he was a good fit for the organization and why the organization was a good fit for him.

“I’ve looked at their history and they are always moving players to the next level,” Ghafari said in a phone interview. “I’ve talked to guys in the USHL and they say that when they go to Fargo, they always have a great atmosphere.”

Not just the next level, but specifically Western Michigan. Ghafari will join the likes of Luke Witkowski, Garrett Haar, and Colton Hargrove as players that came through Fargo and moved on to Western Michigan.

Davis said he expects Ghafari to play for the Force for three seasons, meaning he’d join the Broncos in 2015, which would likely be Hargrove’s senior season.

Detroit Compuware head coach Mike Brown said that Ghafari had a great national camp and that teams have been watching him all year. Miami (OH), North Dakota, and Western Michigan all showed interest after the camp.

“We played a couple times in Kalamazoo and Andy Murray got a chance to look at him and liked what he saw,” Brown said. “When a former NHL player says ‘I want you to run my power play in a couple of years,’ you have to like hearing that.”

Ghafari said that he felt at home on his campus visit to Western Michigan and that he never felt nervous. He knew right away that Western Michigan was the school for him.

“Andy Murray being there with three gold medals and great coaching history, that was very appealing to me,” Ghafari said.

When a team uses a tender, they in turn forfeit their first round pick in the upcoming Futures Draft. If a team uses its second tender, they forfeit their second round pick. In essence, Ghafari is Fargo’s first round Futures Draft selection.

According to league rules, Ghafari will not be able to be traded and he will have to dress in at least 50-percent of Fargo’s games next season. Chief Scout Jesse Davis said that Ghafari will be on the active roster and not the affiliate list next season.

Ghafari is born and raised in Detroit, but his family descends from the Middle East. He is a talented defenseman that is able to play shutdown defense and chip in on the offensive side. He stands around six feet tall and weighs in at roughly 175 pounds.

“Butrus is a very well rounded defenseman, a very solid defenseman,” said Brown. “He sees the ice extremely well. He has very good passing skills, he’s good on power play, he kills penalties, [and] he likes to hit.

“Character just oozes out of him. He’s a good teammate, good player, and a good leader.”

In 24 games, Ghafari has scored one goal and tacked on 12 assists while playing the role of captain for Detroit Compuware’s Midget Minor team. He played on the same team last season as a 1996-born player playing with 1995-born players, where he played against the likes of current Force forward and Minnesota commit Gabe Guertler.

Both Davis and Brown spoke very highly of the young Ghafari. Davis said the Force staff is excited to work with him and develop him. They don’t expect him to step in and be a top player immediately, but Davis thinks that in time that will happen.

The feeling is mutual.

“It was a pretty good talk [with Davis]. I know Jesse wouldn’t lie to me,” Ghafari said. “I’ve known him for a long time and he’s like family to me.”

Ghafari said that he is excited to have both the NCAA commitment and USHL tender out of the way, but there is still pressure to show Western Michigan and Fargo that they made good decisions. He emphasized that he is thrilled to come to Fargo.

As his current coach Brown put it: “It’s good for Fargo to get a player like that. I know Jesse [Davis] will be happy. I know the Force will be happy. I know Butrus and his family are happy.”

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By: Tim How