Gaylord's Weber goes No. 1 in USHL Draft

USHL Entry Draft – May 15, 2007

FIRST ROUND
1 -Chicago Steel – Will Weber, defenseman, Gaylord High School
2 -Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets – Alden Hirschfield, forward, Mahoning Valley Phantoms
3 -Green Bay Gamblers – Joe Schiller, forward, Detroit Lakes High School
4 -Indiana Ice – Patrick Cullen, forward, Washington Jr. Nationals
5 -Des Moines Buccaneers – Trent Vogelhuber, forward, St. Louis Bandits
6 -Sioux City Musketeers – Adam Hout, defenseman, Los Angeles Jr. Kings
7 -Sioux Falls Stampede – Jack Connolly, forward, Marshall High School
8 -Chicago (from Lincoln Stars) – Aaron Schmit, defenseman, Culver Academy
9 -Tri-City Storm – Mike Cichy, forward, Boston Jr. Bruins
10-Cedar Rapids RoughRiders – Matt Donovan, defenseman, Dallas AAA
11-Omaha Lancers – Donny Harris, defenseman, NW Regulators AAA
12-Waterloo Black Hawks – Drew McKenzie, defenseman, Taft School

Weber is a left shot defenseman that stands 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds and has already committed to Miami University for 2008.

"We are very excited to select Will with our top pick and have him a part of our program for next season, " said Steel GM Jason Koehler. "Our entire staff has had the chance to see him play and all we could say is ‘wow.’ It's hard to find quality defensemen at any level, but we feel we were able to get the best one in the country that will be playing in the USHL out of this draft. Will has seen his stock go through the roof the last few months with junior, college and NHL attention, yet through it all has remained poised and focused for the future. He's physically and mentally tough and will no doubt succeed at the junior level and beyond. Miami really hit a home run with this commitment and we're proud to have him a part of the Steel family."

Players from Michigan teams taken in the draft:
2nd round, 13th overall – Chicago – Andrew Miller, forward, Cranbrook-Kingswood
2nd round, 24th overall – Waterloo – Chad Billins, defenseman, Alpena IceDiggers
3rd round, 32nd overall – Tri-City – Colin Smith, forward, Belle Tire AAA
4th round, 42nd overall – Ohio – Zach Trotman, defenseman, Victory Honda AAA
5th round, 53rd overall – Omaha – Jake Hauswirth, forward, Marquette Rangers
6th round, 61st overall – Chicago – Eric Alexander, forward, East Kentwood High School
6th round, 69th overall – Waterloo – Kory Kaunisto, forward, Traverse City North Stars
9th round, 82nd overall – Lincoln – Mark Silverman, forward, Victory Honda AAA

12th round, 96th overall – Waterloo – Michael Montrose, defenseman, Little Caesars

12th round, 103rd overall – Sioux Falls – Jeff Rohrkemper, forward, Grosse Pointe North High School

13th round, 110th overall – Ohio – Jon Merrill, defenseman, Little Caesars

13th round, 114th overall – Sioux City – Nate Taurence, defenseman, Little Caesars

13th round, 117th overall – Tri-City – A.J. Treais, forward, Little Caesars
14th round, 121st overall – Chicago – Zach Golembiewski, forward, Belle Tire

15th round, 133rd overall – Chicago – Josh Kesler, forward, Victory Honda

16th round, 156th overall – Waterloo – Anthony Schooley, forward, Traverse City North Stars