USHL: Omaha Lancers Sign First 2000 Tender

The Omaha Lancers of the USHL announced that they have signed 2000-born Norwegian-born forward Emilio Pettersen to a tender for next season.

The tender process allows a team to sign a player prior to being eligible for the USHL Futures Draft. Omaha forfeits their first round Futures pick, and Pettersen must remain on the Lancers roster and dress in at least 50% of Omaha's games next year.

This is by far the earliest a player has signed a USHL tender. Traditionally, tenders are signed after the NTDP has selected the majority of their roster, but with Pettersen being Norwegian, that wasn't an issue.

Pettersen was considered a prodigy at a young age. He moved to the US last year, where he played at Selects Academy, and has been very effective with their U16 team. He reportedly has committed to the University of Denver to play college hockey.

In a USHL press release, Lancers head coach/GM Brian Kaufman said:

"“The Lancers couldn’t be more excited to add Emilio to our family. He’s an extremely gifted hockey player, comes from a great program at Selects Hockey Academy, and knows what it takes to win.”