BUFFALO, N.Y. – Five alumni of the New Jersey Rockets program (junior and youth) wee selected on the second day of the 2016 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Junior alumni Chad Krys (Ridgefield, Conn/Boston), Cam Dineen (Toms River, N.J.) and Patrick Harper (New Canaan, Conn/Boston) were selected by the Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes and the Nashville Predators in the second (45th overall), third (68th overall) and fifth (138th) rounds respectively. Youth alumni Ross Colton (Robbinsville, NJ/Vermont) and Joe Masonius (Spring Lake, NJ/UCONN) were chosen by the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth (118th overall) and sixth round (181st overall).

Of the three 19U alumni selected in the draft, only Dineen began the year with the junior program. Krys and Harper were in-season acquisitions from the Connecticut Oilers youth program.

The trio were each brought in as part of the 1998 birth year class for the junior program’s initial foray into the 19U market.

Kyrs dressed for 42 games in his lone season with the program, scoring 11 goals and 35 assists. His 46 points led all defensemen in the junior program for the 2013-14 season. Immediately partnered with Dineen, Krys showed the ability to be a presence on both sides of the puck, seeing the ice both on special teams and in key faceoff situations in the defensive zone. Krys had a pair of powerplay goals, a pair of shorthanded goals, and two game-winners and finished the season with a +21 rating. Krys also dressed for an exhibition game for the Eastern Hockey League program, scoring the game-winning, powerplay goal, in a 6-3 win over the New England Wolves.

Following his time in New Jersey, Krys advanced to the United States National Team Development Program. It was the fourth consecutive season that the Rockets junior program sent a player directly to the NTDP.

Krys finished his two-year commitment with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals. He dressed in 116 games, scoring nine goals with 69 assists and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team by the United States Hockey League in 2015. The Moncton Wildcats also drafted the standout defenseman with the 114th selection in the 2014 QMJHL Entry Draft.

NHL Central Scouting ranked Krys as the 53rd best skater in North American prior to the draft.

Like his defensive partner, Dineen more than held his own in situations where he was most often the youngest player on the ice. He scored six goals and 30 assists with a pair of game-winning goals. He also finished the season with a +17 rating and earned an invitation to the NTDP’s Top-40 Evaluation Camp and committed to Yale University.

Dineen advanced to the Eastern Hockey League program for the 2014-15 season, scoring 11 goals with 32 assists in 49 games. His 41-point production in 39 EHL regular season games earned the defenseman the circuit’s Rookie of the Year Award, the third consecutive for the program.

Dineen finished the 2014-15 season with the Tri-City Storm, who drafted the defenseman with the third overall selection in the 2014 USHL Phase I Draft. He then moved to the Ontario Hockey League, skating for the North Bay Battalion, who chose him in the 11th round of the 2014 OHL Priority Selection.

Dineen finished the 2015-16 season ranked second among OHL rookies, and second among defensemen, in scoring with 59 points.

NHL Central Scouting ranked Dineen 39th among North American skaters in its final rankings after not including him in its initial draft rankings.

In addition to his time in the junior program, Dineen was a two-year player in the Atlantic Youth Hockey League for the Rockets youth program, spending his Pee Wee Minor through Bantam Minor seasons with the organization. Dineen dressed in 83 games for the youth program, accumulating 65 points.

Arriving just prior to the December 31st roster freeze, Harper appeared in 24 games for the 19U team and immediately displayed a knack for finding the back of the net, scoring a short-handed goal and a power-play goal en route to a five-point night as the Rockets upended the New Jersey Junior Titans 18U, 11-4.

Harper finished the season with 13 goals and 16 assists and led the junior program with a +23 rating while only committing a single minor penalty.

Following his time with the Rockets, Harper enrolled at the prestigious Avon Old Farms School, where he served as captain for the 2015-16 season. In his two seasons with the Winged Beavers, Harper scored 106 points (40G 66A) in 49 games, averaging over two-points-per game.

In addition to his time in Avon, Connecticut, the New Canaan native also played four games with the NTDP and was also on the roster that represented the United States in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

Central Scouting ranked Harper as the 143rd best skater in North America.

Colton spent his final season in the AYHL with the Rockets, appearing in 23 regular season games at the 16U National level. The high-scoring forward tallied 22 goals and 19 assists in his lone season in the organization.

Colton then spent his prep year with the Taft School, where the winger had 43 points in just 24 games. He then moved on to the USHL, where the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders had drafted him with their 11th round selection in 2014.

Spending two seasons with Cedar Rapids, Colton served as team captain for 2015-16. He was named to the USHL’s First All-Star Team in 2016 after finishing tied for second in the league with 66 points. Also named to the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, Colton set a record for points in the highly-scouted event, recording three goals with two assists en route to taking home the game’s Most Valuable Player honors.

Central Scouting recognized Colton as the 89th best skater in North America on its final rankings.

Masonius manned the blueline for the Rockets youth organization for four seasons. He skated his Pee Wee Minor through Bantam Major seasons with the Rockets, appearing in 126 regular season games, tallying 25 goals and 39 assists. He then moved on to the Jersey Hitmen for his first junior hockey experience, splitting his time between the organization’s Eastern Junior Hockey League and the Empire Junior Hockey League programs.

Masonius would then skate alongside junior alumnus Charles McAvoy (Long Beach, NY/Boston/Boston) with the ’97 birth years in the NTDP. He played in 103 games during his two-year commitment to Team USA, registering 37 points.

The Spring Lake, New Jersey native moved on to the University of Connecticut, where he displayed an increased scoring touch, tallying 29 points (6G 23A) in 34 games.

Central Scouting ranked Masonius as the 118th best skater in North America in its final rankings.