Bucs Walters Makes Major Changes

After going unselected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft after mysteriously being dropped off of Des Moines' top two lines during the final quarter of the 2008-09 USHL season, Ryan Walters made significant changes in 2009-10. Walters came back stronger physically, which helped make him faster and more powerful, which in turn transformed his game to one that looked less like a junior hockey player and more like a future pro. He also bolstered his offensive game from being a playmaking force in the attack zone to also becoming the best forward in the USHL at advancing the attack through the neutral zone. This upgrade helped Walters become one of the hottest hands in the USHL at midseason (earning MVP honors at the USHL All-Star Game during that span after scoring a hat trick) and he finished the season with an impressive 21 goals and 40 assists in 59 games. On top of his improved skating and offensive exploits, Walters also took it upon himself to play a chippy, physical game (103 penalty minutes) in 2009-10 on a team that lacked a true fighter and where the forwards with much size (save rookie Taylor Wolfe) didn't fulfill that role. This turn from purely offensive forward also led to Walters' biggest change - where he'll play his college hockey.

The University of Minnesota, to which Walters committed as a 16-year-old in 2007, told him just before the end of the season that they were delaying his entry until 2011 (while fast-forwarding Seth Ambroz and Nick Bjugstad to 2010) because they felt he had become too chippy and wanted him to focus again on offense. Walters, however, decided he had little to gain by returning to the USHL for a third full season and de-committed from Minnesota. One month later he committed to WCHA newcomer Nebraska-Omaha, where he'll have a much better chance to become an impact player on a team that had only one NHL draft pick on its roster in 2009-10 (compared to Minnesota's 20), but that had a slightly better record than the Golden Gophers.

The changes on the ice proved Walters could play a third or fourth-line role someday in the AHL to begin his professional career, and the change in where he'll play college hockey will actually improve the odds he gets there. Both changes improve the odds that Walters is drafted in the later rounds of the 2010 Draft.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey caught the Des Moines Buccaneers in action numerous times during the second half of the 2009-10 season and enters notes on Ryan Walters, who's made major changes in the past year and is back on the draft radar, the highly regarded Connor Brickley, USHL All-Rookie Team member T.J. Tynan, and a few other Des Moines forward prospects.

Ryan Walters (2010), LW, Des Moines

Was on fire at midseason, but cooled some at the end of the season .. regardless, still one of the best forwards in the USHL this season in the neutral zone offensively .. able to make hard, crisp passes on the tape and while at speed .. able to quickly move the puck on the attack, and such passes are on purpose and on target .. saw time at the point on the powerplay due to his offensive vision .. made hard, crisp feeds from the point and from the half boards .. able to thread passes through traffic or lead his teammates just right .. conscientious in staying open to the play on the breakout and presents a target .. has a very hard wristshot .. also possesses a hard one-timer .. can shield the puck or use sweeping stickhandling moves to maintain possession .. has always shown above-average hand-eye coordination when it comes to batting down pucks .. has nice cruising speed and is comfortable well out on his edges weaving through traffic .. able to execute tight, powerful turns that send up spray and ditch opponents .. able to make powerful stops and also has fairly powerful acceleration .. checking game seemed to wane a bit toward the end of the season, as Walters was making a fair number of hard hits during his offensive hot streak at midseason, but this was less frequent later .. played a more aggressive game in 2009-10, but bordered on undisciplined at times .. however, his experience and physical strength kind of forced him to take on a fighting role on a Des Moines team that lacked a true fighter .. for pro hockey purposes in the future, it was good to see Walters could fulfill this role .. has sufficient size at 5-foot-11.5, 185 pounds .. worthy of late-round consideration in his second year of draft eligibility, as his prowess to advance the attack should ensure future success, as he plays with better and better players around him at higher levels .. will be someone to watch in his third year of eligibility if he again goes unselected .. decommitted from Minnesota and is now committed to Nebraska-Omaha .. scored 21 goals and 40 assists in 59 games .. finished 12th overall in USHL scoring and 10th overall in assists .. finished 9th overall in powerplay assists (17) .. finished 20th in USHL powerplay goals (8) .. had a 10-game point streak Nov. 26 through Dec. 31 (5-11-16) .. had a 9-game point streak Jan. 2 through Jan. 29 (3-11-14) .. cooled in his final 21 games, scoring 7 goals and 10 assists .. had no goals in his final six games of the season .. named the MVP of the 2010 USHL All-Star Game after scoring a hat trick.

Connor Brickley (2010), LW, Des Moines

Offense was a bit streaky, but physical game was not .. an explosive skater with excellent top speed .. able to beat opponents wide with his sheer speed and even made some of the USA U-18 defensemen look silly at times .. a danger to use his speed to drive wide and then power to the net .. also fairly explosive off the half boards .. drew a fair number of penalties thanks to his speed .. uses his speed on the forecheck and crashed in on opposing defensemen all season .. was good for at least two or three big hits per game finishing his checks on defensemen .. a threat on the backcheck to lay down the body from the side .. sports a hard wristshot .. did have a tendency to reduce his own angle driving off the half boards, though .. makes hard, crisp passes and can do so in stride .. possesses some playmaking ability and displays some peripheral vision, but doesn't possess elite playmaking skills .. projects as more of a third-line NHLer who provides a hard-hitting forechecking game and who can chip in offensively .. now see Brickley as a late second-round pick/early third-round pick (50th to 65th overall) .. is a superior version of Josh Birkholz .. committed to Vermont for 2010 .. scored 22 goals and 21 assists in 52 games for Des Moines .. finished 24th in overall USHL goal scoring .. finished third in USHL goal scoring amongst players in their first year of draft eligibility (behind Jaden Schwartz and Garrett Allen) .. had three 3-point games, one 4-point game, and one 5-point game during the season .. scored 6 goals and 4 assists in 16 games after returning to Des Moines after playing for Team USA at the Six Nations Tournament in early February .. played for Team USA at the World Under-18 Championships in Belarus and tallied 3 assists in 7 games.

T.J. Tynan (2010), C, Des Moines

Named to the USHL All-Rookie Team, but cooled considerably at the end of the season .. the number of notes on Tynan per game toward the end of the season dropped significantly, as he became invisible at times in the final quarter of the season .. drops his chest a fair amount when skating, creating some hunch, but still has impressive speed and quickness .. gets down low in his turns and has powerful crossovers .. able to explode from standstills and separate from opponents .. adept at slowing the game down, but can quickly speed it up again .. possesses excellent offensive vision .. able to use his peripheral vision to spot open teammates and can thread passes through traffic .. a heads-up stickhandler who can assess the play .. able to make sweeping stickhandling moves quickly, but is also good at shielding the puck, especially considering his 5-foot-7.5, 165-pound frame .. also an adept toe-dragger .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. has a fairly hard, crisp wristshot and can get his shots off quickly .. when offense dried up a bit, he tried to play a more physical game .. became a bit of a physical presence on the forecheck, finishing his checks .. will engage physically going for the puck .. got a bit chippy at times toward the end of the year .. defensive game came along during the season with increased forechecking and backchecking presence and was even sliding and blocking shots .. had Tynan's offense not cooled so much to end the season, I'd strongly promote him for late-round selection .. now, though, I'd only consider him a potential pick in the late rounds of the 2010 NHL Draft .. committed to Notre Dame for 2010 or 2011 .. scored 17 goals and 55 assists in 60 games .. finished 6th overall in USHL scoring and 1st in assists .. finished 1st in USHL powerplay assists (26) .. was on fire before Christmas, scoring 10 goals and 32 assists in 27 games .. was warm in first 22 games after Christmas break, scoring 7 goals and 17 assists .. cooled down in final 11 games, scoring 0 goals and 6 assists .. goal scoring went ice cold to end the season, as he scored no goals in his final 16 games and only 1 goal in his final 21 games of the season.

Cal Decowski (2010), C, Des Moines

Injected a lot of offensive energy after joining the team at the end of his Minnesota high school season with Andover .. has nice stride extension and good top speed .. a quick and powerful skater who can get well out over his edges .. has the lateral movement with the puck necessary for success for smaller players (5-foot-8, 170 pounds) .. excellent hustle to loose pucks, dumped pucks, and into 50/50 battles .. heads-up stickhandler who can assess the play .. able to make some slick spin moves and an adept toe-dragger .. has good offensive vision and can slow the game down, but can also explode off the boards .. generally makes crisp, accurate passes .. similar to Tynan, but came into his USHL action without the wear and tear of a USHL season behind him that his teammates displayed during his time with the Bucs .. strong chance at being a top-six forward for the Bucs in 2010-11 .. a long shot for selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but he did put big numbers in Minnesota high school hockey .. committed to Minnesota-Duluth for 2011 .. scored 0 goals and 5 assists in 10 games for Des Moines .. scored 25 goals and 54 assists in 27 games for Andover .. was a finalist for Minnesota's Mr. Hockey Award .. scored 12 goals and 15 assists in 24 games for Team Northwest in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League.

Tyler Lapic (2010), LW/C, Des Moines

Ranked by CSS heading into the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, but didn't live up to that billing .. primarily played on the fourth line for both Omaha and Des Moines and was a healthy scratch at times for both .. has some speed, but does need to improve in this area to become a top-six USHL forward .. able to make some tight turns, but is a bit upright in his crossovers .. has some shot power, but only averaged one shot per game from the fourth line .. able to shield the puck with his 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame and can also make lateral stickhandling moves across his body from time to time .. played with the requisite physicality from the fourth line .. finishes his checks on the forecheck, made a fair number of hits on the backcheck, and would engage physically for the puck .. probably would have been better served to play in the NAHL in 2009-10 and likely play a top-six role there .. virtually no chance he's selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, his second year of eligibility .. committed to Wisconsin for 2011 .. scored 4 goals and 2 assists in 30 games with Des Moines .. scored 1 goal and 6 assists in 15 games with Omaha.

Luke Sandler (2011), LW, Des Mones

Acquired by Des Moines at the roster freeze Feb. 6 along with Blake Doerring from Fargo in exchange for Brandon Carlson and James Burkemper .. very limited notes on Sandler, as he received very limited playing time and then contracted mono in mid March .. showed some speed with the puck and tried making some moves, although with limited success .. has a crisp slapshot .. displayed good hustle on the forecheck .. had one notable hit where he knocked Derek Forbort over .. for the limited icetime he received, he probably would have been better served receiving prime icetime at the midget AAA ranks .. did get a head start on what USHL hockey is like prior to his draft year, though .. not a lock for strong consideration for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft as is, as it's no guarantee he'll play a top-nine role for Des Moines in 2010-11 .. no college commitment of yet .. scored 1 goal in 11 games for Des Moines .. scored 1 goal in 13 games with Fargo .. had 1 goal and 1 assist in 8 Tier 1 Elite League games for Team Illinois prior to joining Fargo.