Watertown, SD — The Watertown Shamrocks closed out the 2026 NAHL Draft on Wednesday evening after selecting seven players across the two-day draft.
The Futures Draft kicked off the 2026 draft cycle on Tuesday afternoon with the Shamrocks making a pair of selections. In the Futures Draft, each team makes holds two selections that can only be used on 2010 birth year skaters. With the 19th overall pick, Watertown selected Chicago Fury AAA product Sonny Cantore. Cantore played for Shamrocks Director of Scouting Brett Wall, who is an assistant for the Fury 15U program, and recorded 30 points in 20 contests this season.
“Sonny is a strong, offensive-minded center who uses size, pace and playmaking ability to drive the play,” Wall said of Cantore. “Over the past two seasons with Chicago Fury, he has established himself as the team’s top offensive contributor. His combination of size, skill, competitiveness, and two-way ability allow him to influence the game in all three zones.”
In the second round, the Shamrocks added to their defensive corps with the selection of Nicholas Hahn at 51st overall. Hahn is a big-bodied defenseman at 6’3″ and checks in at 185 lbs. This past season, Hahn recorded 23 points playing for his high school program in 29 games while also etching seven points for Team Wisconsin.
Both Cantore and Hahn are USHL draft picks. Cantore’s USHL rights belong to the Waterloo Black Hawks, while Hahn’s belong to the Lincoln Stars. Each of them were selected in this past seasons USHL Phase 1 Draft.
On Wednesday, the Shamrocks added to all three levels of the organization with their five selections in the Entry Draft portion of NAHL Draft week.
In the opening round, General Manager and Head Coach Casey Kirley nabbed goaltender Lucas Courtney with pick 18.
“Luke is a goalie we’ve had our eye on since he came to our pre-draft camp in Farmington Hills last summer,” Kirley said. “He is poised in the crease and does a great job of controlling his rebounds. He has a high compete level and the athleticism to make big time saves.”
Courtney spent this past season playing for the Little Caesars 18U AAA program posting superb numbers. In 44 games for Little Caesars, Courtney posted a 1.66 goals against average to go along with a .943 save percentage and four shutouts. He also appeared in one NAHL game for the New Jersey Titans on January 10th in an overtime loss to the Maine Nordiques.
After a long layoff, the Shamrocks alternated selecting forwards and defensemen with their final four picks starting with the selection of forward Miles Jinman from the Bishop Kearney Selects 16U AAA program and following it up with selecting Jinman’s teammate, defenseman Michael Bonkov, in the sixth round.
“Miles is a young player with an extremely high ceiling. He has a high-end skill set, sees the ice well, and is an elite playmaker with the puck,” Kirley added. “Michael is an elite skater and playmaker from the blue line. He’s another young player with a high ceiling. He sees the ice and generates a ton of offense from the back end.”
Jinman and Bonkov were steady producers for Bishop Kearney. Jinman led the team in scoring with 61 points and a team best 47 assists. Meanwhile, Bonkov was the team’s leading offensive producer from the blue line with 49 points and second on the team to Jinman in assists with 40.
The Shamrocks rounded out the draft with the selection of Chance Adams from the Markham Royals of the OJHL in the seventh round and Shaun Paulson, a defenseman from Sartell, MN currently playing in the NA3HL with the West Bend Power, in the eighth round.
“Chance is a talented forward who has junior hockey experience,” Kirley added of his final forward selected. “Offensively, he broke out the second half of this past season. Additionally, he’s a solid skater who brings a physical element to his game. Meanwhile, Shaun had a solid season with the West Bend Power this past year. He led his team in goals and points during the playoffs. He has good size and has the ability to make plays as well as a good finishing touch.”
With the draft now complete, the roster constructing process for the Shamrocks now advances to Main Camp. The Shamrocks are set to host prospective players for 2026 Main Camp from July 8-11 at the Prairie Lakes Ice Arena. The event will be open to the public with All-Star games set to take place on Saturday, the 11th. More information on 2026 Main Camp will be made available in the coming weeks.
“We’re very pleased with how the draft played out for us,” Kirley said in closing. “All five players that we drafted have the ability to contribute to our success in the 2026-27 season. Over the next several weeks, we have different scouting opportunities where we will continue to look for players to bring to main camp. We look forward to building our 2026-27 roster beginning with main camp in July.”
FULL DRAFT RECAP PICK-BY-PICK
Futures Draft
Round 1, Pick 19: Sonny Cantore, Forward, Chicago, IL, Chicago Fury 15U AAA, 5’11 / 183 lbs, 07/06/2010, 2026 USHL Phase 1 Draft – Waterloo Black Hawks (5th round, 72nd overall)
“Sonny is a strong, offensive-minded center who uses size, pace and playmaking ability to drive the play. He possesses a mature frame for his age and uses it effectively to protect pucks, win possession battles, and create offense in difficult areas of the ice. One of the major things that stood out about Sonny was his ability to be reliable and effective in the face-off circle. Over the past two seasons with Chicago Fury, he has established himself as the team’s top offensive contributor. His combination of size, skill, competitiveness, and two-way ability allow him to influence the game in all three zones.” – Brett Wall
2025-26 Stats: Chicago Fury 15U AAA – 20 GP, 18 goals, 14 assists, 30 points
Round 2, Pick 51: Nicholas Hahn, Defenseman, Eagle River, WI, Team Wisconsin 15U AAA / Northland Pines High, 6’3″ / 185 lbs, 01/17/2010, 2026 USHL Phase 1 Draft – Lincoln Stars (7th round, 104th overall)
“Nick is a big, strong, mobile defenseman. He uses his size and skating to kill plays defensively and does a great job of moving pucks from the backend.” – Casey Kirley
2025-26 Stats (2 teams): Team Wisconsin – 27 GP, 3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points / Northland Pines High – 29 GP, 6 goals, 17 assists, 23 points
Entry Draft
Round 1, Pick 18: Lucas Courtney, Goaltender, Plymouth, MI, Little Caesars 18U AAA, 6’0″ / 174 lbs, 04/22/2008
“Luke is a goalie we’ve had our eye on since he came to our pre-draft camp in Farmington Hills last summer. He is poised in the crease and does a great job of controlling his rebounds. He has a high compete level and the athleticism to make big time saves.” – Casey Kirley
2025-26 Stats (2 teams): Little Caesars 18U AAA – 44 GP, 1.66 GAA, .943 sv%, 4 SO / New Jersey Jr. Titans (NAHL) – 1 GP, 8.35 GAA, .800 sv%
Round 4, Pick 120: Miles Jinman, Forward, Sion, SUI, Bishop Kearney Selects 16U AAA, 5’9″ / 150 lbs, 11/09/2009, 2025 USHL Phase 1 Draft – Waterloo Black Hawks (12th round, 174th overall)
“Miles is a young player with an extremely high ceiling. He has a high end skill set, sees the ice well, and is an elite playmaker with the puck.” – Casey Kirley
2025-26 Stats (2 teams): Bishop Kearney Selects 16U AAA – 46 GP, 14 goals, 47 assists, 61 points / Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) – 2 GP, 1 assist, 1 point
Round 6, Pick 182: Michael Bonkov, Defenseman, North Babylon, NY, Bishop Kearney Selects 16U AAA, 6’0″ / 165 lbs, 11/17/2009, 2025 USHL Phase 1 Draft – Sioux Falls Stampede (5th round, 70th overall)
“Michael is an elite skater and playmaker from the blue line. He’s another young player with a high ceiling. He sees the ice and generates a ton of offense from the back end.” – Casey Kirley
2025-26 Stats (3 teams): Bishop Kearney Selects 16U AAA – 48 GP, 9 goals, 40 assists, 49 points / Bishop Kearney Selects 18U AAA – 2 GP, 1 assist, 1 point / Sioux Falls Stampede – 1 GP
Round 7, Pick 214: Chance Adams, Forward, Nashville, TN, Markham Royals, 6’0″ / 170 lbs, 04/17/2008
“Chance is a talented forward who has junior hockey experience. Offensively, he broke out the second half of this past season. Additionally, he’s a solid skater who brings a physical element to his game.” – Casey Kirley
2025-26 Stats (3 teams): Markham Royals (OJHL) – 18 GP, 6 goals, 10 assists, 16 points / Janesville Jets (NAHL) – 5 GP, 1 goal, 1 point / Blackfalds Bulldogs (BCHL) – 12 GP
Round 8, Pick 246: Shaun Paulson, Defenseman, Sartell, MN, West Bend Power, 6’1″ / 181 lbs, 08/29/2006
“Shaun had a solid season with the West Bend Power this past year. He led his team in goals and points during the playoffs. He has good size and has the ability to make plays as well as a good finishing touch.” – Casey Kirley
2025-26 Stats: West Bend Power – 37 GP, 13 goals, 19 assists, 32 points