American Prospect Update Thread - Part 4

[tealhockey]

Nice shootout goal by Lane Hutson 23 seconds in. That's followed by Kenny Connors (UMass) and then an attempt by Kaplan later on. The Avs goalie is Anton Castro, a goalie from MN who played for Gentry last year. The younger brother of BC goalie Joe Woll, Michael, is the one tying up Lane Hutson on the PPG at the start of the video.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Anyone have more info on Chaz Lucius???
10+0 so far in 6 games for USNDP U17 Team.
- scored 5 goals in his previous game

 

[Garyboy]

Lucius put up ridiculous numbers on the powerhouse Gentry U15 team last season.

 

[tealhockey]

Lucius put up ridiculous numbers on the powerhouse Gentry U15 team last season.

yeah. both Lucius bros have been highly touted for a long time

 

[Dux917]

Three NTDP players who deserve more spotlight -

Three NTDP Players Who Deserve More Spotlight – Sportsology

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Chaz Lucius has played 43 games so far (2016 ->), 85 goals (1.98 gpg), 40 assists, 125 points (2.91 ppg)
(eliteprospects.com stats)

Where the heck all these American kids who can score goals like no other, are coming from
- this kid has even higher goal per game avg what Cole Caufield...much higher...

 

[tealhockey]

Chaz Lucius has played 43 games so far (2016 ->), 85 goals (1.98 gpg), 40 assists, 125 points (2.91 ppg)
(eliteprospects.com stats)

Where the heck all these American kids who can score goals like no other, are coming from
- this kid has even higher goal per game avg what Cole Caufield...much higher...

It is a smaller sample size vs Caufield and NAPHL 15U is not exactly the best competition for an elite player such as him (it is probably the worst competition, actually). It is exciting though

 

[razor ray]

 

[orangeandblack]

Does this NTDP U17 team have as much upside as the 97s or 01s? It seems pretty strong early on.

 

[Bonin21]

Anyone have an image like the one above for opening rosters 2018? Did the US improve?

 

[William H Bonney]

 

[William H Bonney]

Zegras is centering BU's top line with Curry and Harper to open their season tonight against Union. Hopefully the WJC staff is planning to play him at center too.

In other news, K'Andre Miller was just suspended by Wisconsin for a violation of team rules.

 

[tealhockey]

Zegras is centering BU's top line with Curry and Harper to open their season tonight against Union. Hopefully the WJC staff is planning to play him at center too.

In other news, K'Andre Miller was just suspended by Wisconsin for a violation of team rules.

Miserable way to start the season for UW

Looking forward to see how today goes for Zegras and the rest of the gang at BU.

 

[Bonin21]

Miller will probably play game 1 don't worry

 

[William H Bonney]

Does this NTDP U17 team have as much upside as the 97s or 01s? It seems pretty strong early on.

I caught both of their initial USHL games this weekend against Cedar Rapids and I'd say no based on that admittedly small sample size. They lost both games by 4 goal margins, although the games were more competitive than the scores would indicate, especially Friday's matchup which looked worse than it was because goalie Louden Hogg filled in for Team USA (starter from the Hlinka) and was as atrocious as he was at the Hlinka. It didn't help that Cedar Rapids was playing pretty dirty hockey in both games as well, which is a fitting welcome to USHL hockey for these 15/16 year olds.

I think the '03s will be a good NTDP team but not at the level of the two top teams in the program's history. While I can see the '03 defensemen being a top end group in program history, I don't see the forward talent to match up with those two teams and the jury's still out on the '03 goalies. Offensively there didn't seem to be a ton of chemistry (yet) between the forward lines and the general tendency was to throw hopeful passes to the slot, so it'll be interesting to see if that develops over time.

In terms of the individual players, Luke Hughes and Aidan Hreschuk stood out the most and both look like potential top 15 NHL draft picks if not higher.

• Hughes looked a lot like a bigger Quinn and it seems as if he's been more impressive than Quinn to start their respective U17 careers. Luke missed Saturday's game after taking a dirty knee-on-knee hit late in Friday's game which earned the Cedar Rapids player a suspension, so hopefully he's okay.
• Hreschuk was also impressive: great skater, moves the puck well, generates offense, plays with an edge, etc. He has good size for his age and hopefully he grows a couple of inches because he can already lay big hits and he's not afraid to mix it up either. He was a bit careless with the puck in his own zone, but not in a way I'd be worried about in terms of his long term potential. For example, tonight he had two turnovers in the defensive zone, one which he recovered from by laying out the opposing forward (see video), but one later in the game came at the end of a long shift and he then overcommitted to make up for it and it led to a goal against. He also scored the team's only goal tonight on a great individual effort and nearly did it again later in the game.
• Pastujov looks like he could be the first of the 3 brothers to live up to their hype, although I'm not sure he has elite NHL draft pick potential unless he improves his skating.
• Lucius is intriguing as he's clearly an offensive catalyst for the team and has nice hands and size, but he's a bit lumbering, so hopefully he too can improve his skating.
• I also liked Janicke. He looks to have a lot more skill than his older brother Trevor, and plays with similar tenacity, so that makes him one to watch going forward.
• Gallagher, Schmidt, Martin, and J. Hughes also showed flashes to be intrigued by as well. I don't know if they're high-end players right now based on these 2 games, but if not they showed some nice potential to possibly develop that way. No comment on Wilmer as he's out right now. Saganiuk was pretty hyped last year but he looked more like a Sean Dhooghe level player.

Just some initial thoughts and on such a small sample size, I wouldn't take any of it to the bank, but I think there's potential for a couple high NHL draft picks from this team and a few other guys with first round potential.

 

[tealhockey]

Agree about Pastujov. He's got a nice upside. Interesting that he chose ND over Michigan

 

[Artorius Horus T]

What ever Lucius minor things in his games are, you can learn, work on those things, you can't teach scoring.
Lucius is like a energizer bunny it seems, keeps on going and scoring goals, what 11? 12? goals already this season in just 7 games.

 

[tealhockey]

2 NTDP guys got 'A' ratings from central, Jake Sanderson and Ty Smilanic. Antonio Stranges (OHL London) A as well. No non-NTDP USHLers 'A' ranked.

 

[tealhockey]

I made a list of the 100+ future college hockey players on Central's list, mostly Americans. Also broke down by conference and league etc: Over the Boards

Here are the A/B ratings from that

A Ratings (First Round projection in 2020 draft)​

C Dylan Holloway - NCAA- Wisconsin
D Jake Sanderson - U18 NTDP - UND
C Ty Smilanic - U18 NTDP - Uncommitted

B Rating (Second or Third Round projection in 2020 draft)​

C Blake Biondi - MNHS-Hermantown - UMD
C Thomas Bordeleau - U18 NTDP - Michigan
RW Sam Colangelo - USHL-Chicago - Northeastern
D Brock Faber - U18 NTDP - Uncommitted (ex-Notre Dame)
LW Danil Gushchin - USHL-Muskegon - Uncommitted
D Wyatt Kaiser - MNHS-Andover - UMD
D Tyler Kleven - U18 NTDP - UND
D Yan Kuznetsov - NCAA-Connecticut
D Mitch Miller - USHL-Tri-City - UND
C Dylan Peterson - U18 NTDP - BU
D Eamon Powell - U18 NTDP - BC
D Jake Ratzlaff - MNHS-Rosemount - Minnesota
D Luke Reid - USHL-Chicago - UND
LW Carsen Richels - MNHS-Blaine - UNH
RW Ryder Rolston - USHL-Waterloo - Notre Dame
LW Carter Savoie - AJHL-Sherwood Park - Denver
LW Luke Tuch - U18 NTDP - BU
LW Zach Urdahl - USHL-Lincoln - Wisconsin

 

[Tube Skates]

Zach Jones playing for thé Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL is having a great start to the year. Playing mostly in the top six with #1 PP duties and PK ability has shone in every game this year. He’s quick and mobile. Very good on the forecheck with nice edges and change of direction. He may never be a household name but it’s surely a pleasure having him up here right now.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Two draft eligible players are leading the USHL in points, Alex Laferriere and Carson Bantle are tied for the league lead in points.

 

[tealhockey]

Two draft eligible players are leading the USHL in points, Alex Laferriere and Carson Bantle are tied for the league lead in points.

Really like Laferriere's play so far. I'm surprised to see Bantle put up big points, he looks fairly good but I didn't expect this pace. Maybe partly because he is in his second year and he gets a lot of ice time to show what he can do with some of Madison's top players but very impressive no matter how you look at it. If he keeps it up he's gonna get a ton of draft looks

 

[William H Bonney]

More details on the new All-American Top Prospects game:

• NTDP team vs USHL team

So they've cut out the CHL, Prep, High School, etc. prospects.

Yes the CHL has its own top prospects game, so those Americans might play in that game, but how on brand for USAH to think reducing the talent available for its prospects game is a good thing for this event or these players.

I'm not opposed to making it NTDP vs Everyone else. While that ensures a few NTDPers that don't deserve the invite get one, it would at least likely lead to a more competitive game with the guys in the program versus a lot of guys that tried out, didn't make it, and want to prove a point. But cutting out the CHL/Prep/HS guys will only cause further division between USAH circles, add validity to the NTDP bias allegations, all the while reducing the talent present in a game with limited value already.

 

[tealhockey]

More details on the new All-American Top Prospects game:

• NTDP team vs USHL team

So they've cut out the CHL prospects.

Yes the CHL has its own top prospects game, so those Americans might play in that game, but how on brand for USAH to think reducing the talent available for its prospects game is a good thing for this event or these players.

I'm not opposed to making it NTDP vs Everyone else. While that ensures a few NTDPers that don't deserve the invite get one, it would at least likely lead to a more competitive game with the guys in the program versus a lot of guys that tried out, didn't make it, and want to prove a point. But cutting out the CHL guys will only cause further division between the CHL and everyone else, add validity to the NTDP bias allegations, all the while reducing the talent and (already limited) worthwhileness of the game.

I don't love it either, but the game is pretty meaningless as it is. I don't think anyone is likely to get drafted off the strength of how they do from this game.

 

[William H Bonney]

I don't love it either, but the game is pretty meaningless as it is. I don't think anyone is likely to get drafted off the strength of how they do from this game.

It's a pointless event and I'd be fine if they cancelled it. But making a worthless event even worse is an odd, but typical USAH move.