2016-17 USHL Thread

[No Fun Shogun]

Actually live in relatively close proximity to the Bloomington Thunder's home arena now, so I'll probably be following the USHL a bit more intently than I had in the past.

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[worstfaceoffmanever]

My apartment is literally 10 minutes from Scheels Arena, and I'm going to their home opener tonight, but with my travel schedule for work, it might be the only game I get to go to all year.

 

[NTDP]

They have the coolest colors in the league. Some really high end talent among the member teams this year. Only been following the USHL closely for about 3 years now but the league has gotten better and better.

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

The Force have a lot of talent, but I thought they got out-coached tonight. After Fargo dominated the first 20 minutes and coming up empty, Waterloo made some adjustments, took away the middle of the ice, and caught the Force lollygagging on a change to take the lead. They had some chances, but they got the door slammed on them by Robbie Beydoun - their former backup goalie, who also made the long pass up the ice that led to Waterloo's first goal.

I was mostly watching the Force, but here's who stood out...

Jack Adams, C, Fargo ('97/Union) - He was impossible to miss at 6'5" and just under 200 lbs; he was by far the biggest player on the ice. Good movement, especially for that size. His hands are okay, but he doesn't have to bother with dangling much when he can just plow his way through anybody else on the ice.

Hank Crone, LW, Fargo ('98/BU) - He had a really productive run last year with the Force after coming over from Omaha, and it's not hard to see why with wheels like his. He, like most of the team in the last 40 minutes, struggled to get to the middle of the ice, and several times got caught with his head down rather than looking for a teammate to pass the puck to in space that led to turnovers. But in a game where speed is so important, he'll continue to factor into Fargo's offense.

Blake Lizotte, RW, Fargo ('97/St. Cloud) - I thought he was Fargo's best overall forward. Did a little of everything, and did it well. For a guy to be as small as he is (5'8" and maybe 150 lbs.) I thought he was pretty good at protecting the puck, and he frequently stepped in and finished his checks, even against bigger guys. Definitely some upside here if he keeps growing.

Carson Musser, D, Fargo ('97/Bowling Green) - Stood out for his willingness to play the body and not much else. Looked a step slow and he wasn't great on the puck, which is really an encapsulation of the way Fargo's whole defense played.

Jake Ryczek, D, Waterloo ('98/Providence, 7th Rd. Chicago 2016) - I saw a lot of 16 tonight from my second-row seat. While he struggled to find his feet early against a stout Fargo forecheck - including a pair of defensive zone turnovers in the first 60 seconds - he got much better as the game went on. Seemed like a good skater who did good work in the corners and got involved in the offense quite a bit. Not sure if he has NHL tools, but he should be a good piece for the Friars if nothing else.

Matthew Murray, G, Fargo ('98/UMass) - I was not impressed. Fought the puck all night, gave up a ton of huge rebounds and got bailed out by his defense quite a bit. Got completely fooled on Waterloo's goal on a partial breakaway in the second period, which was one of, if not the only high-percentage shot he faced all night. I'll be interested to see how he grows over the course of the season, and he's only 18, so there's still plenty of time to get things sorted out with college hockey looming, but he didn't make a great first impression.

Robbie Beydoun, G, Waterloo ('96/Uncommitted) - I know he's an over-ager and not a pro prospect at all, but sweet Moses, he absolutely stole the game for the Black Hawks. He made several saves that left me scratching my head. He played the puck very well, including the second assist on the game's first goal (and only goal against a goaltender on the night). He was bouncing around to the music during stoppages, never out of a rhythm, you could tell he wanted this game against the team that cut him loose after two years as a backup. He got no respect from the Force, either; on top of getting ditched for an 18-year-old, they made Beydoun the second star of the game... behind Murray.

 

[NTDP]

The Force have a lot of talent, but I thought they got out-coached tonight. After Fargo dominated the first 20 minutes and coming up empty, Waterloo made some adjustments, took away the middle of the ice, and caught the Force lollygagging on a change to take the lead. They had some chances, but they got the door slammed on them by Robbie Beydoun - their former backup goalie, who also made the long pass up the ice that led to Waterloo's first goal.

I was mostly watching the Force, but here's who stood out...

Jack Adams, C, Fargo ('97/Union) - He was impossible to miss at 6'5" and just under 200 lbs; he was by far the biggest player on the ice. Good movement, especially for that size. His hands are okay, but he doesn't have to bother with dangling much when he can just plow his way through anybody else on the ice.

Hank Crone, LW, Fargo ('98/BU) - He had a really productive run last year with the Force after coming over from Omaha, and it's not hard to see why with wheels like his. He, like most of the team in the last 40 minutes, struggled to get to the middle of the ice, and several times got caught with his head down rather than looking for a teammate to pass the puck to in space that led to turnovers. But in a game where speed is so important, he'll continue to factor into Fargo's offense.

Blake Lizotte, RW, Fargo ('97/St. Cloud) - I thought he was Fargo's best overall forward. Did a little of everything, and did it well. For a guy to be as small as he is (5'8" and maybe 150 lbs.) I thought he was pretty good at protecting the puck, and he frequently stepped in and finished his checks, even against bigger guys. Definitely some upside here if he keeps growing.

Carson Musser, D, Fargo ('97/Bowling Green) - Stood out for his willingness to play the body and not much else. Looked a step slow and he wasn't great on the puck, which is really an encapsulation of the way Fargo's whole defense played.

Jake Ryczek, D, Waterloo ('98/Providence, 7th Rd. Chicago 2016) - I saw a lot of 16 tonight from my second-row seat. While he struggled to find his feet early against a stout Fargo forecheck - including a pair of defensive zone turnovers in the first 60 seconds - he got much better as the game went on. Seemed like a good skater who did good work in the corners and got involved in the offense quite a bit. Not sure if he has NHL tools, but he should be a good piece for the Friars if nothing else.

Matthew Murray, G, Fargo ('98/UMass) - I was not impressed. Fought the puck all night, gave up a ton of huge rebounds and got bailed out by his defense quite a bit. Got completely fooled on Waterloo's goal on a partial breakaway in the second period, which was one of, if not the only high-percentage shot he faced all night. I'll be interested to see how he grows over the course of the season, and he's only 18, so there's still plenty of time to get things sorted out with college hockey looming, but he didn't make a great first impression.

Robbie Beydoun, G, Waterloo ('96/Uncommitted) - I know he's an over-ager and not a pro prospect at all, but sweet Moses, he absolutely stole the game for the Black Hawks. He made several saves that left me scratching my head. He played the puck very well, including the second assist on the game's first goal (and only goal against a goaltender on the night). He was bouncing around to the music during stoppages, never out of a rhythm, you could tell he wanted this game against the team that cut him loose after two years as a backup. He got no respect from the Force, either; on top of getting ditched for an 18-year-old, they made Beydoun the second star of the game... behind Murray.

Thank you for your input. This Fargo team will be interesting to watch this year, last year they didn't score a whole lot of goals. What did you think of Shane Bowers for the Hawks? A potential high end prospect for the upcoming draft. He was actually a top 5 pick in the QMJHL draft but chose the USHL. Great for the league.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Caught the Thunder game tonight. Very dominant second period.

 

[herbst20]

Caught the Thunder game tonight. Very dominant second period.

Cedar Rapids is terrible this year.

Lost top 11 scorers from last season.

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

Thank you for your input. This Fargo team will be interesting to watch this year, last year they didn't score a whole lot of goals. What did you think of Shane Bowers for the Hawks? A potential high end prospect for the upcoming draft. He was actually a top 5 pick in the QMJHL draft but chose the USHL. Great for the league.

I apologize that I'm just now seeing this, but it has honestly been so long that I don't remember. Sorry.

Got the chance to attend another Force game last night. I will say this: the USHL's box score for this game is completely wrong. They credited Grant Meyer's (#23) shorthanded breakaway goal in the first period to Martin Sundberg (#22), and a goal by Jacob Paganelli (#12) in the third was credited to Mitch Perrault (#13), who assisted on the goal.

I'm wondering how long it'll take for them to get that right, or if they'll ever go back and fix it. Either way, a couple of players stood out:

Evan Bell, D, Fargo ('97, Uncommitted) - I thought he was Fargo's best player for the first 40 minutes. Moves well, showed exceptional puck skills, and didn't look out of place on the penalty kill. Got a little too flashy at times, passing when he needed to shoot and trying to dangle through traffic in the attacking zone, but kept working hard and kept making plays. If anyone deserved a goal last night, it was him, and he got it on a phenomenal wrister on the power play.

Emilio Pettersen, C, Omaha (2000, Denver) - It took me about 25 minutes of game time to realize he was that Emilio Pettersen. He's wasn't the smallest guy on the ice shockingly enough, and you could definitely see the tools that Denver saw when they recruited him - the tools we've all been seeing for a decade now. He has the hands, and he's making the right reads, but there are still times where the speed of the game will close off the play he wants to make before he can make it. He's not playing poorly at all, but he's still adjusting; he'll only get better.

Brandon McManus, RW, Omaha ('99, U. of Minnesota) - This kid is FAST. Another future Gopher, Clayton Phillips, got pulled away from the left side and ended up giving McManus all sorts of space. The puck came to him, and he was off to the races with a nifty backhand to beat Matt Murray for Omaha's second goal. Tremendous wheels, solid hands, could be an impact player at the collegiate level and, based on what I saw, deserves to have his name called at the draft in June.

The other guys who stood out were players I've already talked about, for very different reasons. I really like Jack Adams and think he will be a force for the Union Dutchmen next year. He was using his size to fight his way to the net a little more last night and got a goal as a result, scooping up a rebound for Fargo's second tally. Blake Lizotte is as snakebitten as any player you'll see - he missed a wide open net on a 5-on-3. He's doing everything else right except the finish, so I think the goals will come eventually, but it's frustrating to watch him fail to break through time and again.

On the other hand, Matt Murray had a disastrous night in goal. The first goal was a shot he got a piece of but had trickle through him. The second goal he got beat stick-high by McManus on the backhand on a breakaway, but the McManus was uncontested for 150 feet down the ice, so I'm less inclined to peg that one on him than on the pinching defender who left McManus all alone. The third goal, he got beat five-hole on pass redirected by Pierce Crawford crashing into the slot; he was VERY late reacting and didn't get his pads down. Then he got torched stick-high AGAIN on a 2-on-1 where he got too worried about the pass. The last one wasn't his fault; I think it was Carson Musser who failed to clear out Paganelli and left him on the doorstep for an easy tap-in off a low pad save. Ultimately, he should have stopped at least two and possibly three of Omaha's goals - if he does that, Fargo wins the game.

It's not like Fargo didn't have chances to cut into the lead, though - they had a 2 minute 5-on-3 with about 10 minutes left, and I think they mounted one or maybe two shots on goal plus Lizotte's miss. They outshot Omaha 17-4 in the third... and got outscored 2-0.

Overall, my takeaways from this Fargo team after two viewings are that the top-end forward talent is good, which explains the generally very effective power play (3rd in the USHL); and the checking forwards are really good, as displayed on their ferocious penalty kill (no PPG allowed yet this season), the success of which is owed almost entirely to the forwards hemming opposition in their own end of the ice. That said, they lack talent on the second and third lines to keep the pressure on, and their defense outside of Bell and a few good plays from Phillips (washed out by his awful positioning on the second goal) is very underwhelming. Their goaltending situation is rocky, especially if Murray is clearly the better of the two. Could be a long year.

 

[Whalers Fan]

Cedar Rapids is terrible this year.

Lost top 11 scorers from last season.

Cedar Rapids was in Plymouth last night to play the NTDP U18 team. Our game program mentioned that the team has encountered a massive turnover since the start of the season, with 13 players who began the season with the RoughRiders having moved on. There has to be more to this story. Does anyone know what happened?

BTW, Cedar Rapids 16-year old rookie goalie, Drew DeRidder from Fenton Michigan, was spectacular. He was the only reason the game was a 1-0 loss instead of a blowout.