Youngstown Boys: Blue Jackets contingent happy to be reunited

If hockey doesn't work out for James Fisher, perhaps he could become a fortune teller.

Before the start of day two of the NHL draft last week, the 2022 seventh-round draft pick of the Blue Jackets had a feeling that he might able to keep some Youngstown (USHL) teammates with him in Ohio.

He didn't have to wait long to find out he was right. In the third round of the draft, Columbus chose William Whitelaw, a fellow standout with the championship squad, with the 66th overall pick.

"He texted me before the draft and said I hope you're a Blue Jacket with me," Whitelaw said moments after the pick. "It's a pretty exciting thing. I'll open my phone now and there will probably be a couple hundred texts from him."

The day didn't end there, though. About a half hour later, the Blue Jackets came calling to the Mahoning Valley again, choosing another Youngstown player in Andrew Strathmann.

"Fish called me and he was like, 'Let's go!'" Strathmann said. "It was unbelievable. I'm super stoked to be here."

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It's been a memorable year in many ways for the Phantoms, who romped through the Clark Cup playoffs to deliver the first USHL championship in franchise history. The NHL draft was the icing on the cake, as six members of the squad were drafted, including three -- Whitelaw, goalie Jacob Fowler (Montreal, No. 69 overall) and center Brandon Svoboda (San Jose, No. 71 overall) -- in a six-pick span of the third round.

Fisher, of course, was excited for all of them, but particularly for the Blue Jackets-to-be.

"I was watching the draft waiting for their names to get called, and I was pumped when Whitey got picked," Fisher said. "And then I was in the car with my dad and I was like, 'All right, let's see where Stratty went.' Right when I opened it up, it said Stratty went to the Blue Jackets. I was fired up.

"Those guys are my brothers, so spending every day with those guys for the past eight months, winning a championship with those guys, they're just amazing people. I'm happy they're here, too. It's pretty nice."

There was plenty of excitement -- and hugs -- between the Phantoms players at the draft, and it's continued to this week. Fisher, Whitelaw, Strathmann and fellow Phantoms forward Braiden Clark -- the son of CBJ director of player personnel Chris Clark -- all are now in Columbus, back in the state where they made history.

The Phantoms won just two of eight games to start the season but found their game as the year went on. It was clear there was talent -- just look at the draft results -- and once it came together, Youngstown went into the playoffs of America's top junior league red-hot. Despite the tough start to the season, Youngstown finished 38-19-5, including a 26-9-1 run to close the regular season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

In the playoffs, there wasn't a ton of adversity faced, as the Phantoms swept Cedar Rapids to begin things, won a 3-1 series over Chicago and then swept Fargo to capture the Clark Cup.

"I think we were a group of guys who were resilient," Whitelaw said. "We stuck together every day. At the end of the year, we were still having fun going to the rink and we never wanted the season to end. We have a quote that says, 'Live forever,' and I put it in my suit. It's something huge for me and my team. It was an unbelievable experience."

Along the way, the group helped turn a city most known for football and industry into a fervent hockey town. The Phantoms were established in 2009-10 and reached the Clark Cup final in 2018, but this squad turned games into a must-see event.

"It was a ton of fun," said Fisher, who was sidelined with a knee injury in the postseason. "Previously people would say, 'Oh, Youngstown is not a hockey city,' but this is a group that brought a winning culture back to Youngstown, turned it into a hockey city. Game 3 against Fargo, there were 6,200 fans in the building. It was electric. It was a lot of fun. The city was with us every step of the way."

It's perhaps not a huge surprise so many of those players might end up in Columbus. In addition to Clark's tie to the organization and the fact Fisher was playing there, Sascha Boumedienne -- the son of CBJ director of pro scouting Josef Boumedienne -- is set to play in Youngstown next season and was a familiar face around the team this year.

It'll be a little different next year, as Fisher is moving on to the British Columbia Hockey League and Whitelaw will attend the University of Wisconsin. Strathmann is heading back to the Mahoning Valley and hopes to help the Phantoms continue the legacy of success.

"It's unbelievable that those guys and myself could be here (in Columbus) with the other top guys," Strathmann said. "Hopefully next year we'll go back to Youngstown and bring some of that stuff into our team and take it from there."