Aneloski Adding the Final Touches

When Bryce Aneloski entered the USHL in 2007-08 with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, he stood out due to his size and he because he received a fair amount of powerplay time as a rookie. He was however, an extremely upright skater who lost too many 50/50 battles down low and he went unselected in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Despite needing to make significant improvements, Aneloski chose to leave the USHL after only one season and jump to NCAA D1 hockey with Providence College. It proved to be a misstep. It only took a semester for Aneloski to return to Cedar Rapids, and while it was obvious Aneloski's skating had improved some, he still had a ways to go and went unselected in the 2009 Draft. From the beginning of 2009-10, Aneloski established himself as the top offensive presence from the point in the USHL, at least amongst defensemen, and he certainly was winning a lot more defensive battles than he did early in his career. He's been on track to be a member of the All-USHL First Team the entire season and has had the defense scoring title nearly wrapped up for some time, but only now is Aneloski adding the final touches to his game. Aneloski is starting to skate less upright and in more of a power position, and that's only going to help him become even stronger on the puck and even stronger in his defensive zone. He's also demonstrating quicker hands on the attack. These newfound improvements have already resulted in improved separation, improved speed with the puck, and an increased ability to operate at speed with the puck, making him more dangerous on the attack. It is these final touches on the portrait of Aneloski's USHL career that will likely propel him to a standout three years at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and that now make him a legitimate candidate for selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders six times from January through March and enters notes on top-scoring defenseman Bryce Aneloski, resurgent goaltender Cody Campbell, Montreal Canadiens' prospect Mac Bennett, and a couple RoughRider defensemen in their first year of NHL Draft eligibility.

Bryce Aneloski (2010), D, Cedar Rapids

Has been piling up the goals and assists all season, but his skating has made notable improvements .. acceleration with the puck has improved, giving him better separation .. is also showing increased top speed with the puck and an increased ability to operate at speed with the puck, weaving through traffic in the neutral zone .. was known for his upright skating, but this is improving .. confident with the puck, particularly at the point .. able to make quick stickhandling maneuvers now .. very dangerous pinching in from the point, because he can finish his chances .. has developed strong patience with the puck and doesn't rush things from either the point or down low .. deadly shot from the point .. has a crisp, hard slapshot that he does a good job of getting on net and he uses it often .. also does a good job of keeping his pointshots low .. also sports a crisp wristshot .. mobility at the point with the puck has come so far since he was a rookie in the USHL, as he no longer looks awkward .. makes hard, crisp, accurate breakout passes .. moves the puck crisply at the point, too .. defensively, is showing he can get down lower, putting himself in more of a power position .. was previously fairly upright backwards and needed a wider base, but this too is showing significant improvement .. has the size at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds .. Aneloski proved his offensive sense early in 2009-10, but now his skating is rounding into form, one of my last hang-ups on him .. odds are becoming very strong that Aneloski is selected in his third and final year of draft eligibility .. committed to Nebraska-Omaha .. only has three more years of college eligibility left after skating half a season at Providence College .. as of March 18 he had 14 goals and 35 assists in 53 games .. was 21st in overall USHL scoring with 49 points .. first in USHL defense scoring .. first in USHL defense assists .. second in USHL defense goals .. fifth in USHL shots on goal (193) .. first in USHL shots on goal amongst defensemen.

Cody Campbell (2010), G, Cedar Rapids

Campbell is back to his old self again and is one of the top goalies in the USHL .. masterful when he's at the top of his game now, and still performs very well even if he's slightly "off" .. quick crease movements .. able to go down and up quickly .. able to make going down, up, and over, or other permutations of the three, in one smooth motion .. makes smooth pad slides and does a good job keeping his torso upright doing so .. able to load up with one leg and get across his crease quickly .. resets quickly .. does a good job directing pad saves into the corner .. covers rebounds in front himself quickly .. active tracking the puck prior to the shot, during the shot, and on the rebound .. maintains his poise on dangerous scoring opportunities, such as breakaways and odd-man rushes .. typically makes crisp, confident glove saves, but his glove hand is one area that can become a less sharp when he's "off" his game .. adept at directing blocker saves away from the net .. generally stays square to the shooter, in part thanks to his ability to reset quickly .. could improve his puckhandling in terms of getting more oomph on it .. excels because of his technical game, but does have the athletic base to make sprawling saves and the like if necessary, but this rarely happens .. listed at 5-foot-11, 160 pounds, but may be more in the 5-foot-10 range .. his fantastic play with Cedar Rapids has overcome his dreadful start with Fargo and has placed him amongst the USHL league leaders statistically .. stats with Cedar Rapids, if maintained for an entire season, would be among the very highest the USHL has ever seen .. if Campbell is 6-foot-0 or taller, he's drafted .. as it is, size is Campbell's only "weakness" of any significance, so he's still a possibility for the draft .. will return to Cedar Rapids for one more season .. committed to New Hampshire (2011) .. as of March 18 he had played 721:11 min in over 13 games for Cedar Rapids and had a 9-1-1 record, 2 shutouts, a 1.65 goals-against average, and a .941 save percentage .. played 601:19 min in over 12 games win Fargo and had a 7-4-0 record, , a 3.19 goals-against average, and a .846 save percentage .. despite his time with Fargo, he was still fifth in USHL save percentage (.905), fourth in goals-against average (2.35), and ninth in wins (16).

Steven Hensley (2010), D, Cedar Rapids

Still showing flashes, but hasn't made the jump over the second half I had hoped to see .. Tommy Fallen firmly established himself as a top-four defenseman over Hensley, relegating Hensley to fifth or sixth defenseman status .. generally makes crisp, accurate breakout passes .. able to shield the puck from defenders down low, using his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame .. there are times when he shows nice poise with the puck under pressure, and there are times when he makes bad giveaways .. needs to improve his shot power .. mostly takes wristshots, which are average at best, but his slapshot also isn't particularly strong .. needs to become more reliable in keeping the puck in the offensive zone and not letting it get by, or mishandling the puck, or having his shot blocked .. defensively, he is doing a better job of letting his gaps close and engaging physically .. skating needs to become more powerful backwards, which would make him faster backwards but also more effective physically .. despite all the necessary improvements that still need to be made, his jump from being an unheralded Michigan high school player to a regular USHLer is impressive in and of itself .. definitely a long shot for the 2010 Draft, but someone to watch for the 2011 Draft, depending on the summer he has .. no college commitment of yet .. as of March 18 he had 2 goals and 8 assists in 46 games.

Nolan Zajac (2010), D, Cedar Rapids

Has made steady improvement in the 2009-10 .. poise with the puck has continued to increase .. remaining calm when pressured with the puck, making him even more reliable on the breakout .. starting to make some of the subtle fakes skating the puck and at the point that made Matt Donovan and Paul Phillips so impressive in 2008-09 .. still showing the ability to make tight turns to circle away from forechecks, but decision-making after doing so is advancing .. has a fairly hard slapshot from the point .. has developed noteworthy one-touch passing to help transition the puck .. displays some offensive vision to connect on passes to teammates through traffic .. still needs to work on his defensive game, especially since his 5-foot-11, 175-pound frame is a bit limiting .. want to see him become more authoritative in his 50/50 battles and not allow himself to be out positioned going for the puck .. offensive game is on a positive track and should be a regular on Cedar Rapids' powerplay next season .. a real long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but the final Zajac brother is on a positive and encouraging development curve .. no college commitment of yet .. as of March 18 he had 10 assists in 42 games.

Mac Bennett (Mtl), D, Cedar Rapids

Hasn't had the offensive numbers in 2009-10 as hoped, but the notes on Bennett are overwhelmingly positive .. a big part of teammate Bryce Aneloski's success with how well he (Bennett) moves the puck at the point .. smooth, yet hard, crisp passes at the point .. utilizes his fellow pointman well (often Aneloski) .. moves the puck quickly but always with purpose, knowing what he's going to do with the puck .. adept at drawing the puck off the boards and quickly making a hard, accurate pass .. very smooth walking the blueline, particularly with his ability to make smooth, powerful one-footed stops with either foot .. has a hard, smooth slapshot and a crisp wristshot .. able to get shots off quickly after receiving a pass .. his ability to move the puck quickly and accurately also helps in transitioning the puck and on the breakout .. can spring teammates for a breakaway with a hard pass .. also reliable in skating the puck out .. makes smooth circles with the puck down low and powers out of his crossovers to generate nice cruising speed .. very nice edge control .. stays calm with the puck on the breakout and assesses his options and, like a good quarterback, will quickly look for the best option and not just the first one .. defensively, he lets his gaps shrink and is an adept poke checker .. similar to Lidstrom in how he isn't overtly physical but relies more on skating, positioning, and intelligent use of his stick .. intercepts a lot more passes than the average defenseman, which speaks of his hockey sense .. listed at 6-foot-0, 170 pounds, but sure doesn't appear to be that slight of build .. still consider Matt Donovan and Nick Jensen superior, but Montreal certainly has a solid prospect on their hands in Bennett .. committed to Michigan .. as of March 18 he had 8 goals and 12 assists in 46 games and currently ranks in the top-15 in scoring for defensemen and in the top-10 with a plus-18 rating.