Men's Ice Hockey 7/9/2026 12:56:00 PM Joel Norman

PROSPECT HANOWSKI PREPARES FOR U-17 FOUR NATIONS

Avery Hanowski represents one of a large crop of players whom the Omaha Lancers plan to help return the team to repeated postseason success and go beyond just playing NCAA Division-I hockey.

Hanowski, 16, will get an exciting opportunity to represent his country next month when he skates in the 2026 Under-17 Four Nations Tournament in Chomutov, Czechia, from Aug. 15-19. Hanowski was 1-of-20 players selected, and 1-of-14 with USHL ties, to play for the U.S. Under-17 Select Team.

"It's super special being able to wear the jersey with USA on the front," Hanowski said." It will be a great experience. The process was a little different this year. I didn't immediately get a bid to nationals. I got a bid because someone was injured, but I had a solid camp. I went to a camp last year (for Under-15's), so I was a little familiar with it."

The United States will compete against Czechia, Slovakia and Switzerland in the tournament. Team USA has won nine Under-17 Four/Five Nations Tournaments since the inaugural 2007 competition, with its most recent coming in 2024. This will be Hanowski's first opportunity to wear the red, white and blue and play at the international level.

"We're very happy for Avery in his accomplishment," Lancers head coach Ron Fogarty said. "To represent the USA in the Four Nations is a great honor. We look forward to having him in an Omaha jersey in the near future."

The Lancers selected Hanowski with their third-round pick in this past May's USHL Phase I Draft. He spent the 2025-26 season with Rosemount High School in Minnesota and recorded 23 points (7+16) in 31 games.

It was Hanowski's first taste of high school hockey after playing the majority of the previous season with Rosemount Bantam at the 15U AA level. He was well over a point-per-game player in 2024-25, piling up 72 points (32+40) in 60 games.

"We identified Avery as a high-priority player this time last year while he was at the Select 15 Festival in Buffalo," Lancers assistant general manager Rich Michalowski said. "We saw steady progress throughout the season while he was at Rosemount. He has good size and plays a very mature, complete game."

Hanowski helped Rosemount earn a third-place finish in Class 2A. The Irish opened the season 13-4-1 and then went on an 11-game winning streak before falling to Minnetonka in the state semifinal game. That spectacular run included a perfect 8-0 February.

"I thought our season was great," Hanowski said. "We started a little slower but as we got closer to playoffs, we really ramped up. We started to focus more in practice and it showed in the games we played. Our goal now is to win a state championship in 2027."

The Lancers were impressed with Hanowski's aforementioned numbers but his defensive work especially stood out. Finding skilled players at the youth level who can put up points in a hurry is no issue for USHL hockey operations departments. Finding two-way players is what can make the difference between Clark Cup contenders and pretenders.

"During his team's State Tournament run, Avery played in key situations against the opposing team's top players," Michalowski said. "That really spoke volumes as to how important he was to his team and to how much the coaches trusted him. He was able to contribute offensively even as a younger player but what really separates him from others in his peer group was his ability to play in the defensive zone. We are excited to see where he can take his game under Ron Fogarty and the coaching staff."

The Lancers feel that Hanowski is just starting to scratch the surface and that's why they selected him so early this spring. He'll play for Rosemount again this coming season, but might not be too far away from skating in Omaha.

Hanowski takes pride in playing strong on both ends of the ice. For many Lancers fans, the large number of players selected each spring in the USHL Draft may not seem like anything more than names until they finally skate at Liberty First Credit Union Arena. Hanowski has a chance with the Four Nations Tournament to further find a way to stand out among Lancers' prospects.

"I'm a 200-foot, honest center that can play up and down the rink and a heavy hitter on the forecheck," Hanowski said. "I'm looking to improve my overall speed and my first few strides. I'd also like to improve my hands in tight spots and pull off some more moves."

The Lancers ended the 2025-26 season as one of four teams that did not qualify for the Clark Cup Playoffs. It marked Omaha's third consecutive season missing the postseason. The Lancers' seven Clark Cup championships are more than any other USHL team and the franchise is determined to return to the glory days.

Despite falling short of the postseason in 2025-26, the Lancers feel that they began to take meaningful steps forward to consistent contention. Their 19 wins marked 12 more than the previous season and no other USHL team saw as high an improvement in wins from 2024-25 to 2025-26. Omaha also ended the season by playing its best hockey, finishing on an 8-3-1 run.

Michalowski and Lancers' general manager Marc Fritsche are continuing to work to build a core that can keep the Lancers perennial winners, just like when the team qualified for the Clark Cup Playoffs in 23 consecutive seasons from 1990-2012. With 34 players selected or tendered in the 2026 USHL Draft, they feel that there will be plenty of new names for Lancers fans to remember in due time.

"Avery is just one of several players who represent the direction in which we wish to take the Lancers," Michalowski said. "We aren't going to merely identify and develop players to contribute at the NCAA level but we have several players in our system who have the potential to get drafted into the NHL and become pro prospects. In addition to potential picks for the 2027 NHL draft, such as Adam Israilov and Thadeus McMahon, several of the players we selected in Phase I this year have the skills to be drafted in the future. Players such as Matty Lynn, Owen Frick, Ryan Hanutke and Brooks Baukol all bring high-end potential. In fact, one of our draft picks, Thomas Hanson, is already being touted as one of the top European prospects for the 2028 NHL Draft."

The Lancers also know that it's one thing to assemble the talent and another to fully develop it. All of these players are just potential names until they put on the orange and black. With Fogarty in place, Omaha's management is confident in his ability to develop the talent. Fogarty enters his third campaign and second full season behind the Lancers bench in 2026-27 and will look to draw on three decades of coaching at the collegiate and junior hockey level to take the Lancers back to the postseason for years to come.

"Of course, they have to continue to get bigger and stronger," Michalowski said, "but Ron and the coaching staff have shown that they know how to get the most out of players as well as develop the finer details that will be necessary for our players to move beyond the NCAA and on to pro hockey. Our fans are going to love seeing these guys in a Lancer uniform."

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Players Mentioned

#88 Adam Israilov: F; 6' 0"; Redshirt

Players Mentioned

#88 Adam Israilov
: 6' 0"; Redshirt
: F

Players Mentioned

#88 Adam Israilov

Players Mentioned

#88 Adam Israilov