Ahead of the start of the Division Finals, the Maryland Black Bears and the rest of the NAHL took part in the Supplemental Draft. Every team got three selections and it was made up of players under 21 years old as of December 31st, 2021, who weren’t on an NAHL team or played less than 10 games for a team and didn’t accept a tender contract.
For their first pick at #18, the Black Bears took Joona Haarti from Kiekko-Espoo U20 in Finland. The Helsinki defenseman played only nine games this season with two goals and five points, but has grown through the Blues system. In 2018-19, Haarti was the captain of the Blues U18 squad, posting 10 goals and 31 points in 37 games. His first year in U20 saw him struggle a bit with only six points in 41 games, but he seemed to get back on pace this year before the season was halted.
At pick 42, Carter Primo Self was picked from the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints and is scheduled to attend Miami University this fall. After an impressive AAA career with Fox Motors and the Selects Academy, Self went to the BCHL, netting 12 goals and 37 points in 52 games for Cowichan Valley before returning stateside this season with Dubuque, where he had eight goals and 12 points on the year.
The final pick at 46, Maryland chose Zane Demsey, also from Dubuque, and a Michigan State commit. Demsey is no stranger to the NAHL, as he split the 2019-20 season with the Chippewa Steel and Minnesota Wilderness. This past season, he was in the USHL with Waterloo to start before moving to Dubuque in the early part of the season. A more stay-at-home defensive type, Demsey only had three goals and six points in 41 games.
Only introduced last season, the Supplemental Draft allows teams more flexibility when it comes to bringing players to camp and evaluating them in the process. Of the picks last season, Matthew Shanklin made the Black Bears roster and was named alternate captain before having his season cut short due to injury.
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