Two NAHL players selected in NHL draft
June 23, 2007 - North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release
FRISCO, TEXAS - Two North American Hockey League players were selected in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft held on Friday and Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
The Philadelphia Flyers picked St. Louis Bandits forward Pat Maroon in the sixth round (161st overall), while fellow Bandits forward Trent Vogelhuber went to the Columbus Blue Jackets with the last pick in the draft (seventh round, 211th overall).
"Being selected in the NHL draft is a dream for any player and the entire North American Hockey League couldn't be happier for these two young men," said NAHL commissioner Mark Frankenfeld. "The NAHL prides itself on not only being a top developer of college players, but top professional prospects as well.
"Credit also has to go to our ownership groups, which provide our players with first-class resources for training and development, and our coaching staffs, whose expertise and hard work can't be understated."
Maroon, from St. Louis, won the North American Hockey League's scoring title with 95 points (40 goals) in 57 games en route to MVP honors and a spot on the All-NAHL First Team while leading the Bandits to a Robertson Cup national championship.
"Pat has everything you can't teach in a player," said Bandits coach Jon Cooper. "He has size, hands and the innate ability to see things happen on the ice before everybody else. He's a special player."
Maroon, who played two seasons in the NAHL, will play for Ferris State University this coming fall.
"The NAHL developed me a lot," said Maroon. "Last year (2005-06), especially, because I played with a lot of older guys; I was the young kid (as a junior in high school). It was a good experience for me. It's a really good league."
A Dublin, Ohio, native, Vogelhuber, who has committed to the University of Miami-Ohio for the 2008-09 season, scored 10 goals for 26 points in 31 regular-season games with St. Louis in 2006-07.
Former Wichita Falls Wildcats forward Andrew Conboy was selected in the fifth round (142nd overall) by the Montreal Canadiens.
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