CBC sophomore Sam Carosello took a big step up this offseason.Carosello, a 5-foot-10 forward for the Cadets hockey team, was drafted by Cedar Rapids in the sixth round of Phase I of the United States Hockey League futures draft.

Phase I is for 15-year-old players only. Being picked meant heading to Iowa for a training camp with other draftees, putting Carosello on the same ice with some of the most talented sophomores-to-be in the country.

“I noticed I needed to get bigger, stronger, more physical,” Carosello said. “Just use my body more.”

CBC coach John Jost said the experience will only make Carosello better.

“The USHL, that's the best junior hockey,” Jost said. “One of the main reasons why I think that he has a really good chance is not just offensively, but defensively. He plays both ends. He plays a 200-foot game.”

Carosello was born to put on a CBC sweater.

His dad, Nick, is a 1993 graduate and has been a Cadets assistant coach for 22 seasons. Sam has been around the program his entire life.

“He’s been practicing with us since he was a mite,” Jost said. “So he literally has practiced with us since he was in third grade.”

Carosello made the most of his freshman season with CBC, scoring a team-high 22 points (12 goals and 10 assists) in 14 regular-season games.

He added two more goals and six assists in eight playoff games as the Cadets won their 17th Challenge Cup championship, the most of any team in the Mid-States Club Hockey Association.

“I was speechless when we won that state championship,” Carosello said. “It was awesome. Being around all the guys, working all year to finally get what we worked hard for.”

CBC graduated 10 seniors from that team, including Post-Dispatch All-Metro sniper Hunter Bulger.

Carosello has the talent to be the next Bulger-type threat, but the Cadets’ scoring depth allows him not to put that role on himself right away. Jost mentioned Gus Immken, Charlie Wind, Connor McCaffrey, Nick Jones as other Cadets players who can help carry the offensive load.

“We've got limitless options to put players with (Carosello),” Jost said. “And if he's going up against the top line every night, we've got other guys to get out there to take the load off.”

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Carosello is showing no signs of a sophomore slump. 

He had three goals in CBC’s 5-1 win over De Smet last Friday. The Cadets are off to a 3-0 start.