Saturday was another big day for the Youngstown Phantoms as three players with a Youngstown connection were selected on the second day of the NHL Draft and took the next step toward their hockey dreams.
A trio of blueliners came off the board on Saturday with Phantom ties, with Luke Osburn highlighting the group.
Osburn got the call in the fourth round, selected at the 108th spot by the Buffalo Sabres.
Joining an already packed young core of defensemen, Osburn is excited to get going and learn.
"It was pretty surreal," he said to the media in Las Vegas. "I'm just honored to be a part of the Buffalo Sabres organization with all the young talent, all the young defensive talent (specifically). It's surreal still."
A fitting selection for Osburn considering Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is one of the players he likes to keep an eye on.
"There's a couple," Osburn said. "Obviously, the top guys -- Rasmus Dahlin -- is always always a pick. (Colorado Avalanche defenseman) Sean Walker (as well). He's just a two-way defenseman. Skates well, defends well, someone like that. I've spent some time watching him. His anticipation, the way he defends while skating is unbelievable."
Osburn will return to Youngstown in the fall for one more season with the Phantoms before moving on to the University of Wisconsin to continue his development.
Chase Pietila, who spent two seasons with the Phantoms, including the Clark Cup-winning 2022-23 season, spent last year in college with Michigan Tech.
His new NHL home won't be too far from the Covelli Centre however, as Pietila was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round, 111th overall.
The news was a surprise, not only because Pietila was out golfing instead of watching the draft, but because throughout the whole process, the defenseman hadn't spoken with the Penguins once.
"It's funny, I actually didn't talk to them one bit," Pietila said. "They called me after they selected me, and they told me that they wanted to keep me under the radar, so they didn't talk to anybody. They didn't talk to me, they didn't talk to my advisor, they didn't talk to any of my coaches or anything, because they didn't want anybody to know that they were going to pick me. I was super shocked that it was Pittsburgh."
Pittsburgh's seventh round selection is someone Pietila is familiar with.
During the Clark Cup Finals, Pietila was defending Fargo's Mac Swanson, and tried to get in his head the entire series.
Now, the two could potentially be teammates.
"I probably will end up protecting him," Pietila said. "He's a great player, so I was just doing my job kind of getting into his head. That's just the way it goes. It's crazy how small the hockey world is sometimes. You wind up playing with the guys that you're trying to beat up."
Chase will be at Penguins Development Camp with his brother Logan, who signed a contract with Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, this past season.
The last Phantoms' pick of the afternoon was defenseman Tory Pitner, who was drafted in the sixth round, 185th overall by the Colorado Avalanche.
Pitner is starting at the University of Denver in the fall, so he'll be just a few blocks away from Colorado's arena.
Excited to take in some games with teammates, including roommate Jake Fisher who was also drafted by the Avalanche on Saturday, Pitner was eagerly awaiting the call each time Colorado took the stage.
"I talked to the Avs a little bit during the year and stayed in contact with some of their scouts," Pitner told the media in Las Vegas. "So every time they picked, I was kind of on the edge of my seat, but I'm happy to be here and really excited."
Colorado has been known over the last few years for letting their defensemen really push play into the offensive zone. The idea of that is something that has Pitner very excited, because it's something he wants to add to his game.
"I love how they're pretty freeing with all their defensemen, even down the lineup. You look at Josh Manson still getting up in the play, joining as a fourth man. Sam Girard obviously loves to do that. They obviously have great defenseman like Cale Makar running their power play, who love being really active. I think that that's something that I'm looking to add more to my game too," Pitner said. "So the freedom to do that in Colorado is something I'm really looking forward to, especially at (Denver) as well having that freedom to fight in the middle on a lot of their breakouts -- not a lot of off the glass plays and up the wall.
"They like to really possess the puck, which I'm really looking forward to being able to hold on the puck a little bit longer and find some middle support, which I think will ultimately help my game. Break down the opponent and add another element which will be really fun."
But Pitner is a defensive stalwart first and foremost. Likening his game to defenseman John Marino, who was traded to Utah on the draft floor early Saturday, Pitner wants to be a guy that other teams' forwards hate seeing.
"I'd say that my defending is probably my biggest strength," he said. "I think that I can use my brain and really just beat other players on the plays that they don't want to make, and then close out and really take away time and space, and ultimately just be a prick to play against."
Each player will be attending their respective team's development camps in the coming weeks.
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