Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
As far as American hockey has come the leadership at USA Hockey continues to shoot itself in the foot. Player selection and coaching continue to be a significant problem.
American Prospect Update Thread - Part 4
- Thread starter Woodhouse
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Coaches Coroner
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- Mar 12, 2009
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I was wondering if any American's could give me a rundown of US prospects Simon Motew and Declan Mcdonnel.
Dux917
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- Feb 22, 2018
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Team USA with a nice opening win over Slovakia in the 5 Nations Tourney yesterday.
U.S. Opens Five Nations Play With 9-3 Victory Over Slovakia
U.S. Opens Five Nations Play With 9-3 Victory Over Slovakia
That roster is very talented, I don't even think it's that much of a stretch to say that roster could have fared better at the Hlinka than the one we sent. Matt Argentina, Davis Burnside, Kenny Conners, Dylan Gratton, Tyler Haskins, Luke Mittelstadt, Jack Silich etc. That's a ton of talent for the o3 birth year not even counting the NTDPers. This team will do very well at the Hlinka next year similar to how the 01s had so much overflow talent outside of the NTDP.
tealhockey
@overtheboards
William H Bonney
Registered User
I've caught the first two games for the U17 5 Nations Team. Limited viewings, so nothing to stand by per se, but there's some intriguing players on the team.
Quite a few forwards have stood out at certain times (i.e. Matthew Argentina was very good against Slovakia, but I barely noticed him against Switzerland), but I think Jason Blake's kid Jackson has been the most consistently noticeable forward. Seems to always been involved, good hands, just makes things happen. He's been overhandling the puck at times, as have quite a few players, but it's not uncommon at that age. Not the biggest kid but hopefully he grows to his dad's size at least.
On defense, you can certainly understand the hype for Luke Mittelstadt. He looks good and has all the tools to be a high first rounder. His partner here, Dylan Gratton, is interesting. Incredibly small sample size for me, so this could be irrelevant, but I get a Tyler Kleven vibe from him. Not that they're similar players stylistically, but the way you watch Kleven and expect more offensively is kind of how I've felt about Gratton here. Like Kleven, Gratton is very good skater, seems to be involved a lot, can carry the puck up the ice, etc., and yet it hasn't led to much offensively (not points, but chances). I wouldn't hang my hat on that assessment from 2 games though. Luke Peart was good today against Switzerland. A bit of a rover in the game but he certainly has a knack for jumping into the play to make things happen offensively. Beyond his 2 goals, he also had other quality chances.
Quite a few forwards have stood out at certain times (i.e. Matthew Argentina was very good against Slovakia, but I barely noticed him against Switzerland), but I think Jason Blake's kid Jackson has been the most consistently noticeable forward. Seems to always been involved, good hands, just makes things happen. He's been overhandling the puck at times, as have quite a few players, but it's not uncommon at that age. Not the biggest kid but hopefully he grows to his dad's size at least.
On defense, you can certainly understand the hype for Luke Mittelstadt. He looks good and has all the tools to be a high first rounder. His partner here, Dylan Gratton, is interesting. Incredibly small sample size for me, so this could be irrelevant, but I get a Tyler Kleven vibe from him. Not that they're similar players stylistically, but the way you watch Kleven and expect more offensively is kind of how I've felt about Gratton here. Like Kleven, Gratton is very good skater, seems to be involved a lot, can carry the puck up the ice, etc., and yet it hasn't led to much offensively (not points, but chances). I wouldn't hang my hat on that assessment from 2 games though. Luke Peart was good today against Switzerland. A bit of a rover in the game but he certainly has a knack for jumping into the play to make things happen offensively. Beyond his 2 goals, he also had other quality chances.
OldScool
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- Nov 27, 2007
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Good insight. Personally I love Klevens style and upside as a stay at home defensive defenseman. I know the slick, smaller, puck moving offensive dman is all the rage but there is always a great need for that physical dman with a big shot like Kleven. Looks at the Stanley Cup champ dcore and they are full of big solid dman. Playoff hockey is a lot different than regular season hockey and when the playoffs and physicality tick up then the smaller dman become less valuable in my eyes. As far as the rest of the NTDP u18s I think they are going to surprise a lot of people this year. Last years 01 team was so talented and hyped that I think they are underestimating this U18 team.
Jaykay
Registered User
Blake on a high school team with the Mittelstadts and Carter Batchelder will certainly be a show this year.
Why didn’t Gratton make the USNTDP? Bad week of camp, considering juniors (despite a PSU commit) or just a ton of defensive competition on the 03’s?
William H Bonney
Registered User
Probably just a ton of competition and they likely don't see his early hype as justified. Guys like Hreschuk, Hughes, and Schmidt are all highly touted and while time will tell if the '03s are good or not, there's seemingly quality depth too. It's worth noting that while there's 8 d-men on the NTDP U17s, it's quite possible that Gratton wasn't even in their top 10 choices. Mittelstadt turned down an offer, so that's 9, and while I haven't heard of any others, it's possible that another Minnesotan d-man (Peart, Nelson) was offered and chose to return to high school hockey.
William H Bonney
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Huck Cheever
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- Sep 27, 2018
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Anybody watch Colin Kessler (2004)? He played for Alaska North Stars AAA and dominated Bantam AAA tournaments throughout British Columbia this past season. He won mvp awards and was a standout vs WHL prospects taken high in the bantam draft. He avgeraged over 3ppg in the tournament I watched. Fantastic skater and great hands/shot. Kessler played forward and defense (short bench).
Alaska beat Connor Bedard's West Van Warriors 4-3 at the Pat Quinn Classic and won the tournament. Kessler's North Stars also beat the BC Bantam AAA Champions quite easily at Kamloops International Bantam Tournament.
Kessler matched Maddox Fleming in points at the USA S-15.
If all was equal, Kessler would go 1st Round in the WHL Bantam Draft had he been Canadian going the CHL route.
Alaska beat Connor Bedard's West Van Warriors 4-3 at the Pat Quinn Classic and won the tournament. Kessler's North Stars also beat the BC Bantam AAA Champions quite easily at Kamloops International Bantam Tournament.
Kessler matched Maddox Fleming in points at the USA S-15.
If all was equal, Kessler would go 1st Round in the WHL Bantam Draft had he been Canadian going the CHL route.
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Watched the U16 tournaments in Mass this weekend focusing on the most touted 04's in this region (the majority are playing U16). There were two tournaments going on simultaneously - ECC Labor Day and the Tier 1 Faceoff. I did not watch the playoffs for either tournament (Sunday Tier 1 and Monday ECC) because I do not like evaluating players in games 6/7 over a long weekend. Quite frankly I don't think its good hockey and at this age group that is way too many games in 3 days. In addition, both tournaments held quarters, semis and finals all on the same day. This should not be happening at this age group either. With that said, the majority of U16 teams only had 1 or 2 04s (if any) on their rosters, with the exception of the Florida Alliance, Mid Fairfield and North Jersey Avalanche. It's interesting to note that both Mid Fairfield and Florida (playing North Jersey) won their respective tournaments and had the most 04s rostered. I watched top teams with 04's from Tier 1 on Saturday (Boston Jr Eagles, Cape Cod Whalers and Mid Fairfield) and the top teams with 04's from ECC on Sunday (Florida, North Jersey Avs and River Rats).
Top Forwards from both Tournaments
Gavin Brindley - small, quick, shifty and great head for the game. I believe he led the tournament in goals. Very dynamic.
Michael Stenberg - Big body forward who is heavy on pucks, lots of skill, smart and plays hard.
Top Defense
Seamus Casey - no surprise here. He continued to just dazzle with his skating and skill. Even playing up, he was able to elude the defense.
Charlie Leddy - he was the best D on the ice in the morning game. He just does everything well - there are no gaps to his game. He is most likely the best or very close to the best two-way Dman in this age group.
Top Forwards from both Tournaments
Gavin Brindley - small, quick, shifty and great head for the game. I believe he led the tournament in goals. Very dynamic.
Michael Stenberg - Big body forward who is heavy on pucks, lots of skill, smart and plays hard.
Top Defense
Seamus Casey - no surprise here. He continued to just dazzle with his skating and skill. Even playing up, he was able to elude the defense.
Charlie Leddy - he was the best D on the ice in the morning game. He just does everything well - there are no gaps to his game. He is most likely the best or very close to the best two-way Dman in this age group.
William H Bonney
Registered User
NTDP U17 team played their first ever game together and beat Johnstown (NAHL) 5-1. No box score yet, but Dylan Duke and Cruz Lucius each scored twice.
The current U18 team ('02s) really struggled last year to open their season against Johnstown, losing 6-2 in their opening match before taking the next one 4-3 in OT.
The current U18 team ('02s) really struggled last year to open their season against Johnstown, losing 6-2 in their opening match before taking the next one 4-3 in OT.
tealhockey
@overtheboards
Caught 04s Devin Kaplan and Lane Hutson in the AYHL showcase this weekend. Basically the opposite player but both extremely gifted: Kaplan a monster up front with size and athleticism, extremely appealing playing with and around the puck, attacks the net with confidence. They beat the Jr. Flyers 12-2.
Lane is a slippery small guy on defense who makes play after play. That north jersey avalanche 16 team is pretty good. Lane's older brother Quinn (02 Fwd) isn't bad either. All BU recruits
Lane is a slippery small guy on defense who makes play after play. That north jersey avalanche 16 team is pretty good. Lane's older brother Quinn (02 Fwd) isn't bad either. All BU recruits
How did Mick Thompson look? Pretty sure he's playing on the North Jersey Avalanche. Small, skilled forward.
tealhockey
@overtheboards
He was fine, they have a bunch of good players I was watching. Didn't notice him more than a few shifts but other people were saying he looked good.
Box scores are here, at least for the NTDP U17 team.
Game Schedule - 2019-20 Regular Season - U.S. National Under-17 Team
tealhockey
@overtheboards
Another weekend of hockey watched, another set of games coming away impressed with Lane Hutson. One great matchup was him vs. top Canadian 03 forward Zachary Bolduc from Mount-St. Charles, and I thought he did really well.
Devin Kaplan was good in the games I saw but he is capable of dominating and didn't always execute in that sense. Some other Americans who IMO deserve some attention on the younger side are late 04 D Chris Able (Mission 15) and 04 F Cutter Gauthier (Compuware 16).
Two draft-eligible forwards I was impressed by: Rivers School's Philip Tresca (Yale), Berkshire School's Aidan Thompson (Denver). Tresca is a talent offensively and Thompson is a good athlete from the Colorado area who will play his second year of prep hockey this season after posting a point-per-game last year. I think Thompson had 3 or 4 goals in one of the games I saw. There were a lot of games, four games at once in each timeslot, six timeslots a day, so I saw a lot of other guys, those are just some of them.
To the poster who mentioned Mick Thompson (who is a Canadian, but is looking to go the NCAA route) he was pretty good this weekend.
Devin Kaplan was good in the games I saw but he is capable of dominating and didn't always execute in that sense. Some other Americans who IMO deserve some attention on the younger side are late 04 D Chris Able (Mission 15) and 04 F Cutter Gauthier (Compuware 16).
Two draft-eligible forwards I was impressed by: Rivers School's Philip Tresca (Yale), Berkshire School's Aidan Thompson (Denver). Tresca is a talent offensively and Thompson is a good athlete from the Colorado area who will play his second year of prep hockey this season after posting a point-per-game last year. I think Thompson had 3 or 4 goals in one of the games I saw. There were a lot of games, four games at once in each timeslot, six timeslots a day, so I saw a lot of other guys, those are just some of them.
To the poster who mentioned Mick Thompson (who is a Canadian, but is looking to go the NCAA route) he was pretty good this weekend.
William H Bonney
Registered User
Circling back on comparing the measurements from NTDP camp for the guys that made the U17 team and their official measurements since they're arrived in Plymouth 6 months later. How did the measurements check out?
[TBODY]
[/TBODY]All in all, the camp measurements were pretty accurate. A few guys put on some decent weight, but not unheard of when talking about 15/16 year old athletes. Funny to see Luke Hughes is already the biggest Hughes brother, while Caden Brown is a shrimp compared to his brother Logan.
Team is 1-1 to start the season. Pastujov (1g, 3a), Wilmer (1g, 2a), Lucius (3g), Luke Hughes (2a), and Duke (2g) leading the way in points so far.
Player | Position | Height | Weight | Height - Diff in Inches | Weight - Diff in Pounds |
Caden Brown | Forward | 5'11 | 174 | +1 | +12 |
Chaz Lucius | Forward | 6'0 | 172 | -0.5 | +11 |
Colby Saganiuk | Forward | 5'8 | 154 | +3 | +3 |
Dylan Duke | Forward | 5'9 | 168 | -1 | +3 |
Jack Devine | Forward | 5'10 | 158 | +1 | +1 |
Jack Hughes | Forward | 5'11 | 160 | - | +11 |
Jeremy Wilmer | Forward | 5'6 | 140 | +1 | +13 |
Justin Janicke | Forward | 5'11 | 174 | +1 | +14 |
Liam Gilmartin | Forward | 6'1 | 185 | +1 | +2 |
Redmond Savage | Forward | 5'10 | 167 | - | +7 |
Ryan St. Louis | Forward | 5'9 | 161 | - | +3 |
Sasha Pastujov | Forward | 6'0 | 180 | +1 | +5 |
Tyler Boucher | Forward | 6'1 | 190 | +1 | +10 |
Aidan Hreschuk | Defense | 5'11 | 180 | +1 | +6 |
Ethan Straky | Defense | 5'11 | 163 | +1.5 | +2.5 |
Jacob Martin | Defense | 5'11 | 183 | +0.5 | +11.5 |
Luke Hughes | Defense | 6'0 | 162 | - | +12 |
Roman Schmidt | Defense | 6'5 | 209 | Not at camp | Not at camp |
Sean Behrens | Defense | 5'8 | 173 | +1.5 | +21 |
Ty Gallagher | Defense | 6'0 | 188 | +1 | +6 |
Ty Murchison | Defense | 6'1 | 173 | +1 | - |
Gibson Homer | Goalie | 6'5 | 195 | +2 | +22 |
Kaidan Mbereko | Goalie | 5'11 | 180 | - | +30 |
Team is 1-1 to start the season. Pastujov (1g, 3a), Wilmer (1g, 2a), Lucius (3g), Luke Hughes (2a), and Duke (2g) leading the way in points so far.
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William H Bonney
Registered User
NTDP U18 team measurements are in for the year. Always interesting to see how some of the guys are growing physically as they head into a year where they should have more success.
Notable names with some decent growth (measurements: last year, this year):
Notable names with some decent growth (measurements: last year, this year):
- Drew Commesso (goalie) is now 6'2 (+1) and 180 (+10)
- Jake Sanderson (defense) is now 6'2 (+1) and 186 (+16)
- Landon Slaggert (forward) is now 6'0 (+1) and 182 (+12)
- Luke Tuch (forward) is now 6'2 (+1) and 203 (+6)
- Matt Beniers (forward) is now 6'1 (+1) and 168 (+13)
- Tyler Kleven (defense) is now 6'4 (+0) and 200 (+10)
tealhockey
@overtheboards
Maddox Fleming made Shattuck's prep team this year. He's the only sophomore (and 04) on the roster. There are three '03s. They start their season with MN HS Elite League play this Wednesday.
2019-20 Boys Prep Roster
2019-20 Boys Prep Roster
Artorius Horus T
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