Four OBJ alumni selected in USHL Draft

May 5, 2026

The USHL Draft took place this week and saw four players with OBJ ties get selected. 

Leading the way was Wilson Boumedienne, who signed a tender with the Fargo Force, making him the team's 1st round draft choice. Boumedienne is the younger brother of OBJ alumnus Sascha Boumedienne, a 2025 first-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets who was the last OBJ player to sign a USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms in 2023.

The USHL tender process allows teams to sign up to two 2010 birth-year players in exchange for their first- and second-round picks in the 2026 USHL Phase I Draft. 

Also going in Phase I (2010 players only) were forwards Knox Koukis (Round 10, Pick 142) by the Sioux City Musketeers and Mason Bricker (Round 11, Pick 161) by the Green Bay Gamblers. In their most recent OBJ seasons, Koukis and Bricker led the 2010 birth year in scoring with 120 and 85 points, respectively. 

In Phase II of the draft (2006-2010 born players), longtime OBJ forward Colin Dustin was selected in the 3rd round (pick 40) by the Waterloo Black Hawks. A year after helping lead the 18U team to a MidAm district championship and semifinal finish at Nationals, Dustin had a breakout rookie season at the junior level, tallying 20 goals and 40 points for the Rochester Jr. Americans in the NAHL. He recently committed to play Division I hockey at Niagara University.

The United States Hockey League (USHL) and its 16 teams are committed to being the world's leading junior hockey league. This season, more than 50% of NCAA Division I men's hockey players and nearly 25% of NHL players have USHL experience. The USHL has developed more than 285 direct NHL Draft picks since 2020, and nine of the last 10 Hobey Baker Award winners, including Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel).

The USHL was home to all 6 of OBJ's alumni currently under NHL contract including Connor Murphy (NTDP), Sean Kuraly (Indiana Ice), Kiefer Sherwood (Youngstown Phantoms), Jack Roslovic (NTDP), Carson Meyer (Tri-City Storm) and Hayes Hundley (Fargo Force).

Elevated through the recently announced Declaration of Excellence with the NHL and USA Hockey, the league's player-first approach, including a 2:1 practice-to-game ratio and a schedule with 90% of games played on weekends, provides its players with the optimal environment for athletic and personal growth, creating pathways for the next generation of stars like Auston Matthews (NTDP), Kyle Connor (Youngstown Phantoms), Jeremy Swayman (Sioux Falls Stampede), and Johnny Gaudreau (Dubuque Fighting Saints).