Costello Waging Solid Campaign for Senate-ors

It's an election year, and Cedar Rapids RoughRider Jeff Costello is on the campaign trail. It's not a campaign for the Cedar Rapids City Council, nor for mayor of Cedar Rapids. It's also not a campaign for Iowa's 2nd Congressional District, nor a campaign against Chuck Grassley to become a U.S. Senator. Rather, it's a campaign to become an Ottawa Senator. Costello's running on a platform of seek-and-destroy forechecking, power-forward goal scoring, and a little cruiserweight fighting, and the crowds are really reacting to his hard-hitting message. It's a campaign that started in Milwaukee but that has really gained momentum in Cedar Rapids, and it's one Costello looks to take to South Bend, and to Binghamton, and then all the way to Ottawa, Ontario, to take back the Eastern Conference. Raaaaah!

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch Cedar Rapids six times from January through March and in Part II of his report on the RoughRiders, he enters notes on Ottawa Senators prospect Jeff Costello, two-way forward Michael Parks, a few other RoughRiders forward eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, and two more eligible in 2011.

Jeff Costello (Ott), LW, Cedar Rapids

One of the premier power forwards in the USHL in 2009-10 .. plays a seek-and-destroy physical game .. forechecks hard and will rock opposing defensemen .. will come across the zone and make a hit .. also a threat to make open-ice hits on the forecheck and in the neutral zone .. at least once a game makes a devastating hit on an opponent in one of their defensive zone faceoff circles as they attempt to skate the puck out .. able to thrust into his opponents and take them off their feet upward .. has to be the hardest-hitting open-ice hitter amongst all USHL forwards this season .. CR needs to make a Costello body-checking highlight reel and let NFL Films dub in the grunts .. will drop the gloves and uses the low center of gravity his 5-foot-11, 200-pound frame gives him to his advantage .. flat-out strong on his skates and gets a lot of takedowns in his fights .. can't forget the skill .. able to drive the net hard and is difficult for opponents to contain .. can take a game on his back with one play and get Cedar Rapids back in the game .. has a hard wristshot and a hard slapper .. able to build significant speed with the puck .. also has the acceleration to get open or separate from opponents .. a heads-up stickhandler who's showing a lot more playmaking ability than last season .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. able to outwait opponents and drag the puck around them .. able to make tight switchbacks to evade checkers .. able to make moves and roof shots from in close .. if Costello is on the goal line, don't rest, he scores from seemingly impossible angles more often than most .. plays through nagging injuries brought about by his physical play, but you wouldn't know he's hurt just by watching .. not hard to see Costello equating to a Matt Cooke someday .. committed to Notre Dame (2010) .. as of March 18 he had 28 goals and 19 assists in 47 games .. was fifth in USHL goal scoring and 23rd in USHL overall scoring.

Michael Parks (2010), RW, Cedar Rapids

Addition of right-winger Doug Boehm from UMass-Amherst shuffled the lineup and left Parks with fourth-line icetime .. was a scratch for the two March viewings .. speed is still impressive .. able to win races to the puck seemingly at 3/4cruising speed and can certainly beat defensemen wide at full speed .. a heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options and can make nice centering passes .. able to make a number of different body jukes with the puck .. a one-man forechecking unit with his speed .. has excellent explosiveness .. a dangerous backchecker who'll come up from the side and body opponents and create turnovers .. will engage physically going for the puck and can thrust into his opponents and come away with the puck .. has proven during the first half of the season that he can play the game at a high rate of speed .. led Cedar Rapids in preseason scoring, so it's disappointing to see him drop on the depth chart .. however, Derek DeBlois complements Costello well, Boehm is putting up over a point per game, and Cason Hohmann is superior offensively to Parks and deserves the powerplay time he gets .. has impressed with his tools during 2009-10, but so did David Gerths in 2008-09, and he went undrafted with 12 goals and 24 assists in 52 games with Lincoln .. Parks is now likely only a possible pick for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. committed to North Dakota (2010 or 2011) .. would be advised to return to the USHL for one more year .. as of March 18 he had 7 goals and 11 assists in 45 games .. in 23 games from Dec. 31 through March 17, he had only 2 goals and 4 assists.

Derek DeBlois (2010), RW, Cedar Rapids

Production has dropped a bit with the addition of Boehm, but still contributing.. had 8 goals and 11 assists in his first 25 games, but only 3 goals and 8 assists in his next 23 .. a lesser version of Costello .. plays with some physicality .. finishes his checks and can do so with force .. will also engage physically in the neutral zone .. opposing pointmen can't watch their play, as DeBlois will finish his check at the point .. displays some playmaking off the boards and can connect with hard, crisp passes .. able to make passes at speed on the attack .. also does a good job of receiving hard passes .. does a good job to take looks when going into the corners or toward the boards for loose pucks .. has a hard wristshot .. has decent speed, but has a fair amount of hunch in his skating, as he drops his chest .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck and the backcheck and can intercept passes or strip opponents of the puck .. a decent all-around hockey player who could use more speed and just continue to hone all other areas .. a long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. would like to see DeBlois return to the USHL for one more season before heading off to college .. committed to Michigan (2010 or 2011) .. as of March 18 he had 11 goals and 19 assists in 48 games.

Peter Sakaris (2010), LW, Cedar Rapids

A hot streak from mid-February through mid-March helped Sakaris pass Parks in offensive production .. scored 4 goals and 3 assists in 8 games from Feb. 12 through March 13 .. somewhat small at 5-foot-9,165 pounds, but still playing a physical game, just as he was earlier in the year .. has very good speed and speed bursts and uses them on the forecheck and in races for the puck .. not only has speed, but he hustles .. finishes his checks and can lay out opposing defensemen .. has the balance to level opponents who try to check him .. will engage physically going for the puck and is willing to drive through punishment to get to the net .. displays some presence with the puck around the net in not rushing shots unnecessarily .. also shows some playmaking ability with crisp passes and the occasional slick drop pass .. still an extreme long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but he's a solid player who should have a strong 2010-11 in the USHL .. committed to Clarkson (2011) .. as of March 18 he had 8 goals and 12 assists in 49 games.

Nick Lappin (2010), RW, Cedar Rapids

Quite possibly Cedar Rapids' most improved player .. looking more confident with the puck and no longer appears rushed .. has become faster over the course of the season .. isn't a speed demon by any stretch, but can drive wide and drive the net .. also showing the confidence to sidestep hits at the blueline .. will drive the net and draws penalties doing so .. becoming a heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options and is able to make crisp passes .. has a decent slapper .. increased speed is allowing him to play his fourth-line role better .. finishes his checks on the forecheck but is now also making some open-ice hits .. hustles off of faceoffs and plays the body off the draw often .. starting to win more battles going for pucks .. was a marginal USHLer to start the season, but he belongs now .. very little chance of being selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but he's on the right track .. no college commitment of yet .. as of March 18 he had 4 goals and 4 assists in 32 games.

Stu Wilson (2010), LW, Cedar Rapids

More proof of how deep Cedar Rapids is at forward .. has excellent speed and agility .. is fearless going for loose pucks and will use his speed to establish position for the puck .. has the speed to beat defensemen wide .. explosive on the forecheck and also uses his quickness to get to rebounds and loose pucks .. able to separate with the puck from packs .. has excellent agility .. able to make tight turns .. has a crisp slapper that he can get off in stride .. a somewhat smaller player at 5-foot-9, 155 pounds .. very little chance of being selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but he's still a solid player .. man has the USHL improved over the past ten years when Stu Wilson is a depth forward .. committed to Yale (2011 or 2012) .. as of March 18 had 1 goal and 5 assists in 32 games.

Cason Hohmann (2011), RW, Cedar Rapids

On track to be one of the top playmakers in the USHL in 2010-11 .. a heads-up stickhandler who has good vision along the half boards and great patience .. very quick laterally and can use it to evade checks along the half boards .. uses his quickness to dart in and out of traffic with the puck .. able to weave through traffic and then make his way to the net .. can execute very tight circles with the puck as well as spin moves .. will utilize Gretzky circles to buy his teammates some time and make a centering pass or a pass to a trailer .. able to receive hard passes in stride .. able to emerge off the boards quickly .. 5-foot-8, 155 pounds, but is more than willing to engage in 50/50 battles and can win them with his agility, positioning, and quick stick .. uses his speed to intercept opponent's breakout passes .. able to unleash a hard blast in stride .. a regular on the CR powerplay .. just may generate enough points in 2010-11 to offset his small stature and earn selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft .. committed to Boston University (2011) .. as of March 18 he had 8 goals and 26 assists in 51 games .. caught on fire for a few weeks, scoring 6 goals and 13 assists in 16 games from Jan. 15 through March 5.

Sam Warning (2011), LW, Cedar Rapids

Playing more of a defensive role in his rookie season, but projects as a solid two-way player .. plays on the penalty kill .. forechecks hard and will come crashing in and finish his check on the opposing defenseman .. also a threat to lay down a hard hit on the backcheck .. will come across the zone and make some big hits, particularly for a 5-foot-9, 175-pounder .. will drop the gloves from time to time .. willing to drop and block shots .. has nice speed and uses his explosiveness to get to loose pucks or to defensive assignments .. has a fairly hard wristshot and can fire it in stride .. also able to make crisp, accurate passes on the attack in stride .. someone to watch for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, particularly if he grows another inch or two .. committed to Minnesota (2011) .. as of March 18 he had 9 goals and 7 assists in 46 games.