MASON CITY, Iowa – North Iowa’s draft class will not be a big one in 2018, but it’s safe to say the Bulls got the guy they wanted.

Kingsford High School forward Daunte Fortner went to the Bulls with the 34th overall pick in Wednesday’s draft in a class of one for the three-time North American Tier 3 Hockey League champions.

“I saw Daunte three years ago at a North American Hockey League tryout,” said Coach Todd Sanden. “He was a 14-year-old, maybe working on 15, and he impressed me so much at that time. In the course of conversation with him and his dad over the middle of our season, he told me that he’s not going to play high school (hockey) next year and he wants to be a junior hockey player.”

Fortner turned down a tender offer at the time, looking to keep his options open as he prepares to make his debut at the junior level. He certainly appears ready to impress, though, tallying 115 points for the Kingsford Flivvers in his last two seasons.

Before making a decision on joining the Bulls, Fortner plans to await the upcoming United States Hockey League (May 28) and North American Hockey League (June 5) drafts.

The Flivvers’ star forward was a two-time all-Great Lakes Hockey Conference pick, but also won a national 18-and-under championship earlier this month with Team Copper Country, a team made up of some of the Upper Peninsula’s top youth hockey players.

Sanden decided to forgo the remainder of the Bulls’ draft picks, opting to trade them for tenders that he can offer to potential Bulls players.

“Our tactical decision this year was to focus on tenders and get to kids face-to-face or phone-to-phone, and really try to lock them down for a commitment,” said Sanden. “If they’re not playing in the NAHL, or the United States Hockey League or the British Columbia Hockey League, or the higher junior leagues around us, then they’re coming to the North Iowa Bulls.”

In September, the three-time national champion Bulls begin their eighth season as a member club in the NA3HL.

(Austin Draude is with the North Iowa Bulls of the NA3HL)

Two for Fortner

PLYMOUTH, Minn. — Kingsford’s Daunte Fortner scored two first-period goals and Michigan HP18 opened the CCM High School NIT by beating defending champion Wisconsin 5-1 at the Plymouth Ice Center.

The tournament runs through Sunday.