2025 USHL Draft Review: Fargo Force
Taking a closer look at the Fargo Force's 2025 USHL Draft class with quotes from General Manager and Head Coach Brett Skinner.
The Fargo Force walked away from the 2025 USHL Draft with a deep haul of talent, targeting high-upside forwards and key pieces for the blue line.
In Phase I, the Force selected 11 forwards and four defensemen, building a group they believe can either make an immediate splash or steadily develop into future USHL contributors.
Among the biggest surprises of the day was forward Caden Zasada, a natural scorer with 30 points last season for Hill-Murray. Despite being rated highly by scouts, Zasada fell to the second round, where Fargo eagerly snapped him up.
“He's a kid that can score, you know, which is really hard to teach,” Fargo head coach and general manager Brett Skinner said. “If you come in the door with that ability, there's lots of things that I can work with kids on as far as building their skillset. But if he has that natural ability to put the puck in the net, that was something that was really attractive to us.”
The Force had to wait until the sixth round for their next pick after parting with several earlier selections in recent years. But the wait paid off with the selection of Colton Lien, a 6-foot-3 centerman who racked up a jaw-dropping 73 points (22 goals, 51 assists) for Okanagan HA Colorado’s 15U squad.
“I think [Assistant GM Cary Eades] let out a pretty big celebration when (Lien) was still there,” Skinner added.
Here is the entire Fargo Force’s Phase I Draft class:
2.22 - Caden Zasada, RW
6.84 - Colton Lien, C
7.97 - Trey Wilson, LW
8.112 - Nolan Snyder, RW
9.127 - Grayden Peterson, C
9.134 - Declan Wotton, RW
10.142 - Marcus Matyas, C
11.157 - Maxmilian Mares, LW
12.172 - Finn Spehar, RW
13.187 - Gunnar Schock, LD
14.201 - Luke Christopherson, LD
15.213 - Alex Ferreira, LD
15.224 - Eli McKamey, RW
15.231 - Caden Clark, RD
15.235 - Owen Konrad, LW
In Phase II, Fargo doubled down on offense, selecting 10 forwards, five defensemen, and a goaltender.
The Force wasted no time making noise with the seventh overall pick, landing Boden Sampair, Zasada’s Hill-Murray teammate and leading scorer with 35 goals and 73 points.
Sampair also got a four-game sample in the BCHL, where he had two goals and five points for the Sherwood Park Crusaders. His BCHL experience adds a layer of readiness that caught Fargo’s eye.
“He's a kid that we know for being in Minnesota high school, it's an area that we can get to and scout,” Skinner said. ‘We think his style of play will translate to the USHL. He plays with pace. He's a good skater. He has some grit to his game, so those things are usually things that are gonna help him translate to junior hockey better.”
Just two picks later, the Force selected Swedish blueliner Axel Lofgren, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound defender committed to UMass. With 13 goals and 33 points in 42 BCHL games—plus six more points in the postseason—Lofgren brings both size and skill to Fargo’s blue line pipeline.
Though slightly older—he’s set to turn 20 in June—Lofgren appeared to take a significant step forward in his development during this past BCHL season.
“He’s kind of a hidden gem, we think,” Skinner said of the pick. “He had really good numbers in the BCHL. He can shoot it, but he's a puck mover. He's kind of that classic Swedish style. He's upright, got his head up, can see the ice, can make plays.”
But perhaps the most jaw-dropping pick of the draft came late in the 14th round: Alexander Karmanov, a 7-foot, 283-pound defenseman committed to Penn State.
At just 17, Karmanov is a raw but intriguing talent. He posted 15 goals and 33 points this past season with the WB/Scranton Knights 16U team.
“He is a pretty good hockey player, even for his size,” Skinner said. “If we can get him under our development plan, you never know. It was one of those kind of later Phase II picks where you take a swing a little bit on a kid and you never know what you're gonna get a couple of years from now.”
Here is the entire Fargo Force’s Phase II Draft class:
1.7 - Boden Sampair, C
1.9 - Axel Lofgren, RD
2.24 - Saxton Tess, LW
6.94 - Bryce Mattern, LW
7.119 - Kash Crawford, RD
8.134 - Jacob Sagadin, C
9.147 - Grayson Cohen, RD
9.149 - Domán Kristóf Szongoth, C
10.164 - Jacob Kvasnicka, RW
11.179 - Adam Gionta, C
11.181 - Patrick Tolan, RW
12.194 - Andrew O'Neill, RW
12.196 - Jeremy Poirier, RD
13.209 - Yaroslav Korostelyov, G
14.224 - Alexander Karmanov, LD
15.239 - Chase Watts, LW