Former Saint Ignatius and Cleveland Jr. Barons blue liner Quinn Warmuth headlines a group of five players with Ohio ties that were selected in this week's National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) Draft.

The NCDC is a 13-team junior hockey league entirely located in the Northeastern United States.  It is a tuition-free league, which essentially makes it a “Tier II” circuit, although the NCDC left the USA Hockey umbrella when it was refused Tier II sanctioning.

Warmuth, from Olmsted Falls, has played the last three seasons in the Tier II North American Hockey League (NAHL) with Amarillo, Coulee Region, Maryland (where he served as captain) and Minot.  He could now potentially spend his final season of junior eligibility with the NCDC’s Jersey Hitmen.  The Hitmen were the top team in the NCDC last season, winning 43 of their 50 regular season games, before being upset in the league playoffs.

With 163 Tier II games under his belt, Warmuth would bring experience to the Hitmen blue line as a 20-year-old in 2019-20.

Another Jr. Baron product and former Saint Ignatius student, Tim Manning (2001) went to the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs.  Manning, who attended Ignatius but did not play varsity hockey there, played this past season at Holderness School in New Hampshire.  He is originally from the Mentor Area (Concord).

The Jr. Monarchs also selected Jase Sofo (2002), a native of Sylvania who has been developing in the Michigan AAA scene.

Two Ohio Jr. Blue Jacket players were also selected.  2000-born Walton Hills native Jack Mitchell, a defenseman, was picked up by the New Jersey Rockets while the Connecticut Jr. Rangers nabbed 2000-born forward Trevor Wittkopf of Powell.

Mitchell returned to the Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets this year after a season away to play with the 18U squad.  He played with the Cincinnati Swords 16U club in 2015-16.

Wittkopf has played at both the 16U and 18U levels over the last three years with the OJB program.  He also spent the 2015-16 with the Cleveland Jr. Blue Jackets 16U.

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest