KEARNEY, Neb. – Storm fans will have a chance to get a look at the team’s future during March as Tri-City will be bringing in some of their high school affiliate players in to play games.

In the USHL, affiliate players are selected during the USHL Draft, but play elsewhere the following season. USHL teams maintain the rights to their affiliate players and use them to play on a part-time basis until they are ready to be placed on the roster full-time.

Each team has 18 total affiliate spots for players born in 1995, 1996 and 1997. All current Storm affiliates are ages 16-18.

This past weekend, Storm fans got to see Matthew Freytag, Tri-City’s second round pick in the 2013 USHL Phase I Draft. Freytag, who is from Wayzata, Minn. and is committed to the University of Wisconsin, played in his first three USHL games against Lincoln and Fargo over the weekend.

Three more Storm affiliates will make their USHL debut this weekend. They include Jake Wahlin, Mike Lee and Alec Mehr.

Wahlin was acquired from Sioux City in a trade that sent Joel L’Esperance to the Musketeers in January. A native of St. Paul, Minn., Wahlin was originally drafted by the Des Moines Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2012 USHL Futures Draft.

Wahlin spent his season with White Bear Lake High School in Minnesota and will wear No. 12 for the rest of the year. The forward is committed to play collegiately at the University of Massachusetts.

Lee and Mehr are teammates at The Gunnery Preparatory School in Washington, Conn. and are expected to play in both games this weekend against Muskegon.

Lee, a defenseman who hails from Hamden, Conn., was drafted by the Storm in the seventh round of the 2013 USHL Phase II Draft. He is committed to play in the Hockey East with the University of Vermont and will wear No. 2 for Tri-City.

Mehr, a forward who grew up in Irvine, Calif. before relocating to play in prep school, was picked in the eighth round of the 2013 Phase I Draft. He will wear jersey No. 27.

Other affiliates expected to play in games during the final month of the season include forward Karch Bachman and defensemen Gordie Myer, Jason Krych and Michael Joyaux.

Bachman has two games of USHL experience, playing with the Storm against Team USA in November. Joyaux has also appeared in three games this season.

Tri-City has 10 games remaining in the 2013-14 season, and will play six more contests in Kearney at the Viaero Event Center.

The Storm are back in action Friday night at 7:30 p.m. as they host a weekend series with Muskegon. Saturday’s game will get underway at 7:05.