Muskegon acquires Anthony Spadaro from Cedar Rapids for draft pick

Muskegon added another piece to its blue line on July 1, acquiring defenseman Anthony Spadaro from the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders for a 2027 Phase II third-round pick. The move gave the Lumberjacks a 2008-born blueliner from Scottdale, Pennsylvania, who spent the 2025-26 season with the Minot Minotauros and posted 11 points in 39 games, including four goals and seven assists.

The price makes sense in the context of where Muskegon is operating. The Lumberjacks swept Cedar Rapids in the first round of the 2026 Clark Cup Playoffs, then advanced all the way to the Clark Cup Final against Sioux Falls, returning to the league championship series for the second straight year. This is not a club tearing down and starting over. It is a contender trying to keep its roster sharp, and a future Phase II pick was a manageable cost for a defenseman who can help now and still fit the long-term picture.

Phase II matters because the United States Hockey League says it allows teams to select any player eligible for USHL competition. In a league built on turnover, those picks can become key currency, and this one already carried extra value for Cedar Rapids because Muskegon had acquired it in February as part of the trade that sent Jake Stuart to the Sioux Falls Stampede. The 2026 draft order placed Muskegon ninth and Cedar Rapids tenth in the first round, a reminder that both clubs were already working from tight margins when it came to building depth.

Spadaro’s path gives Muskegon a defenseman with layered resume points. The RoughRiders originally selected him in the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft, he spent two seasons developing with Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, and Elite Prospects lists his commitment to the University of Massachusetts Amherst as a confirmed transaction dated Aug. 16, 2024. That mix of youth, junior production and college commitment gives the Lumberjacks a player with immediate roster utility and a clear development runway.

For Cedar Rapids, the trade turns Spadaro’s rights into a future asset. For Muskegon, it is another aggressive summer bet on the blue line, one that signals the Lumberjacks believe a younger, two-way defenseman can help stabilize the roster as they chase another deep run in 2026-27.