Alex Rauter Chosen 23rd in Hockey Draft

The Omaha Lancers, a hockey team with the US Hockey League (USHL), selected former Chatham resident Alex Rauter in the second round of the Endtry Draft Tuesday.

Rauter, 17, was the 23rd pick overall in Tuesday's draft. Rauter is also listed as a 2012 draft prospect for the New York Rangers.

The USHL is an amateur junior ice hockey league with 16 teams and players ages 20 and younger. The 2012 entry draft is open to hockey players born from 1992 and 1997.

Rauter and others selected in the draft will be invited to attend the tryout camp for their respective teams and could possibly earn a spot on the team roster during the 2012-13 season. According to the USHL website, "The purpose of the USHL Entry Draft is for teams to select players that can have an immediate impact in the League."

Rauter received his firt pair of ice skates when he was about 3 years old. “After that, I was hooked," .

When he played for 's hockey team, Coach Harvey Cohen said he "[had] great skating and puck handling abilities.” 

In 2010, Rauter was a member of the North Jersey Avalanche, a traveling team ranked second in the nation. “He is the consummate team player. Everyone who plays with him is made to look better,” Cohen said.

Rauter is now a junior at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, a school with a competitive hockey program and tradition of sending athletes to Division I and III collegiate hockey programs. In the 2011-12 season, Rauter scored 24 goals in 25 games, and made another 29 assists.

Rauter was a legacy at Chatham High. His father Tom and grandfather Robert were both graduates of Chatham's school system. 

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