The Youngstown Phantoms announced the signing of forward Austin Hall to a tender agreement this week. The Phantoms surrendered their first round pick in the upcoming USHL Phase I Draft to complete the move.

Hall is a 2010-born left-handed forward from Livonia, Michigan, who plays for the Honeybaked AAA program. With Honeybaked this past season, Hall put up an eye-popping 186 points (69 goals, 117 assists) in 89 games.

“Austin is a super, super competitive kid,” Phantoms coach Ryan Ward said. “He’s extremely smart, you know, he plays inside the dots. He’s got a knack for scoring massive goals and being on the ice in critical moments. When you look at the production that he’s had this year and what he’s done for his team and what he did at the OHL Cup, those are the type of kids that fit in perfectly here — kids that are smart, kids that are great teammates and kids that are super competitive.

“We’re super excited about Austin. We’ve been watching for a long time as we were going through our process, he just kept emerging as the guy. I think through all of our conversations and everything that we’ve evaluated as a staff, as we were a little bit more patient this year, it just kept coming back to Austin. We had great conversations with him and his family, and we’re excited to make him a Phantom.”

At the OHL Cup, Honeybaked was one of three American teams that qualified. They were also the first American team to win the tournament in a competition that dates back to 2003. Hall scored twice in the championship game and earned Player of the Game accolades, as well as the tournament MVP after a 14-point (7 goals, 7 assists) tournament performance in seven games. Past MVPs include Shane Wright (2019), Connor McDavid (2012), Sean Monahan (2010) and Steven Stamkos (2006).

Shining in those big moments is one reason he stood out to the Phantoms’ management.

“Over the course of the season, watching him play, he just continuously took steps, and got better and better,” co-GM Jason Deskins said. “He’s a big-game player. Whenever the stakes are higher, he shows up and he’s extremely productive when it matters most. We loved him right away, and as the season progressed, we kind of fell in love with him just in terms of the whole package of the kid and skill set.”

Since Ward, Deskins, and co-GM Ryan Kosecki took over, the Phantoms have gone after specific types of players. They want guys that can slide into the lineup and fit the team’s fast and offensively aggressive playstyle.

Hall is another name on that list.

“Just like Jack Hextall, just like Brody Berard, just like Logan Anderson, we’ve identified what we want to be. We’ve identified the type of people that we want in the organization, and we’re not going to deviate from that, because in the last four years we’ve had some pretty good success,” Ward said. “I think there is a type of player that’s a Phantom, and it’s not everybody. The select few that are able to put on this jersey, it’s a special thing.”

Hall is the 15th tender signing in program history and the sixth in the last four seasons.

AWARD WINNERS

The full slate of USHL regular season accolades have yet to be announced, but the Youngstown Phantoms have fared well so far.

On Tuesday, the league announced that Jack Willson was named USHL Defenseman of the Year, and on Wednesday announced that Tobias Trejbal was named Goalie of the Year.

Lincoln’s Alex Pelletier was named Forward of the Year. Phantoms forward Cooper Simpson was a finalist for that award.

All award winners were nominated and voted upon by team general managers.

The Phantoms were also well-represented on the league’s All-USHL teams.

Simpson, Willson, and Trejbal each qualified for first-team All-USHL. Pelletier, forward Zach Wooten (Green Bay), and defenseman Hawke Huff (Cedar Rapids) round out the first team.

Forward Ryan Rucinski was named All-USHL second team alongside defenseman Carter Murphy, and forward Jack Hextall made the third team.

Trejbal also made first team all-rookie.

Additionally, Ward and Deskins and Kosecki were announced as finalists for Coach of the Year and GM of the Year respectively. Winners for those awards have yet to be announced.

A NEW PATH FORWARD

This month, the USHL announced the creation of its Standard Player Development Agreement, establishing a contract system for its players.

In a press release put out by USHL, it describes the agreement as formalizing the league’s already established expectations.

“The SPDA formalizes expectations that already define the USHL experience, including academic support programming, strength and performance resources, billet family housing, travel support, mental wellness services, and access to elite coaching and competition,” the release said. “It also introduces standardized player benefits, including defined travel support, offseason training reimbursement, accredited secondary education support, and career-ending injury insurance reimbursement, and reinforces League Standards to ensure players receive consistent development support across every USHL market.”

Deskins says this change was overdue, and will benefit both players and teams. As the junior hockey landscape shifts around everyone’s feet, this agreement helps the USHL to both attract and retain high-level talent.

“I think it was needed. It was overdue,” Deskins said. “We’re the only tier-one league in the world that doesn’t have player contracts, so I think that it was time. I think there’s going to be the initial hesitancy, just because it’s new, but I think all in all, what we’ve put together is meaningful in terms of the consideration for the players and the protection for the players, and also the protection for the teams.”

LOOKING AHEAD

The Phantoms lost Games 1 and 2 of their second round series against Madison. In a best-of-5 series, the Phantoms will need to win each of the next three games to advance.

On Friday, the Phantoms will take on Madison in Game 3 of the series. If necessary, Game 4 will take place the following night.

If the Phantoms take both games in Wisconsin, the teams will return to the Covelli Centre for a winner-take-all Game 5 on Tuesday.