Former Phantom Jiri Sekac Makes Three...

Former Youngstown Phantoms forward Jiri Sekac has been signed to an NHL contract by the Montreal Canadiens. That makes Sekac only the 3rd former Phantom to sign a deal with an NHL club in the USHL era.


Prior to signing the deal, TSN's Bob MacKenzie was reporting that close to a dozen NHL teams had interest in signing the 22-year-old free agent and had offered him the maximum entry level contract allowed by the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Sekac has spent the past several seasons honing his game in the Kontinental Hockey League, playing in his home country of the Czech Republic.  In three seasons in the KHL, Sekac posted 13 goals, 26 assists in 109 games, adding a goal and 7 assists in the playoffs over 24 games. He had a regular season plus-minus rating of +8 over that same period.

The only other former Phantoms to join NHL franchises since Youngstown joined the USHL were the Tampa Bay Lightning's Andrej Sustr and Scott Mayfield of the New York Islanders.

Former Phantoms Maxim Letunov and J.J. Piccinich have yet to sign NHL deals. Letunov was drafted 52nd overall by the St. Louis Blues and has committed to Boston University. Piccinich, also committed to Boston University, was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs as the 103rd overall pick.