Des Moines Buccaneers Fall Classic Part 2

Not only do the Buccaneers have a number of noteworthy first-year-eligible prospects for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft (as discussed in Part I), they also have an NHL draft pick who embodies the most significant change in the Des Moines roster from 2008-09 to 2009-10. Six-foot-six defenseman Eric Knodel, a draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is the tip of the iceberg on a significantly bigger Des Moines roster. The team featured four defensemen under six-foot to start 2008-09 and weren't much bigger to end the year. In 2009-10, the team starts with only one defenseman on their active roster below six foot, and that defenseman plays bigger than he is. Des Moines is also significantly bigger at forward entering the new season, as most of the team's rookie depth forwards are 6-foot-2 or taller.

In part two of his report on the Des Moines Buccaneers, McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey, had the opportunity to catch the bigger Bucs in action at the Battle of Iowa and the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and enters notes on Eric Knodel and three forwards who went unselected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft but who could prove their worth to NHL teams the second time around.

Eric Knodel (Tor), D, Des Moines

Leafs prospect still a rough project .. 6-foot-6, 225-pound blueliner sticks out more for his sticks skills than any physical presence .. makes crisp, fairly accurate passes, which should get better as he adjusts to the USHL pace .. able to execute some nice saucer passes and backhand saucer passes and put them on target .. able to unleash a smooth, hard slapshot with very little wind-up, and which he can keep low .. undecided whether he has unflappable calmness with the puck or a just complete lack of urgency .. would like to see him rely more on backwards acceleration instead of turning, skating forward, and then pivoting, this way he always faces the opponent .. able to push over opponents, but was not much of a physical presence .. compares himself to Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn, but could end up for Des Moines more like Nashville prospect Cody Franson .. committed to New Hampshire .. played midget major for Philadelphia Jr. Flyers in 2008-09 and scored 13 goals and 32 assists in 51 games .. missed the Battle of Iowa due to injuries suffered taking a stick to the face in practice the week before .. was pointless in three games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Ryan Walters (2010), LW, Des Moines

Must be one of Des Moines' offensive leaders if the team is to have any success .. playmaker off the half boards and keeps his head up looking for options .. looks pass too much and/or too long and needs to drive the net himself through traffic with the puck .. goes for wraparounds too often with little success, as he doesn't cut back out in front of the net enough to give himself a prime opportunity .. must be more willing to engage in physical battles around the net .. eliminates himself as a serious scoring threat if opponents know he won't drive the net .. most successful when he hustles to loose pucks, but was a bit lazy at times doing so during the preseason .. able to make very crisp, hard passes .. also has a hard wristshot with a nice release to get it off quickly .. went unselected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and is looking to prove that was a mistake .. if he becomes the player Des Moines needs him to be and does "the hard" necessary to score goals and create chances, he has a chance at late-round selection .. committed to Minnesota .. played for Des Moines in 2008-09 and scored 18 goals and 26 assists in 60 games .. scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. finished the preseason with 2 goals and 1 assist in 5 games.

James Burkemper (2010), LW, Des Moines

Physical attitude now looks like that of a veteran USHLer, which he is .. still has some of the stickhandling problems he displayed as a rookie .. able to execute some impressive lateral stickhandling moves and also bringing it toward his body, but still mishandles the puck too often at inopportune times .. able to make crisp, hard, accurate passes, but also able to successfully feather passes when necessary .. can execute a hard saucer pass .. displays some acceleration with the puck and a fairly powerful stride with the puck, but could use a little more speed to beat defensemen wide .. 6-foot-3, 185-pounder engages physically for the puck and finishes his checks, but is not an elite power forward yet .. overall, looked better than last season, but actually seemed to be accomplishing less .. broke a finger in a fight against Green Bay's Brian O'Rourke at the Fall Classic and is expected to miss at least the first two weeks of the regular season .. not impossible for Burkemper to earn draft consideration after going unselected in the 2009 Draft, but still looks like a distinct long shot .. no college commitment of yet .. played for Des Moines in 2008-09 and scored 6 goals and 16 assists in 55 games .. went without a point in his one game at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. finished the preseason with no points in 3 games.

Dan O'Donoghue (2010), C, Des Moines

Final North American skater ranked by CSS entering 2009 NHL Entry Draft (210th), but went unselected .. Des Moines' needed big center at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, but looks set for more of a third or even fourth-line role .. decent at protecting the puck along the boards, utilizing his reach and even stiff-arming opponents .. engages physically down low to battle for the puck .. finishes his check on the forecheck and will come across the zone for a bit hit now and then .. will drive the net through traffic to get a shot off or to crash the net .. won his share of faceoffs in the preseason .. a long shot to be selected in the 2010 Draft, but one can see how the big center could be of interest if he develops well in 2009-10 and still has one more year of USHL hockey and four years of college hockey after that .. no college commitment of yet .. played Tier III junior A for the New York Bobcats of the Atlantic Junior Hockey League in 2008-09 and scored 17 goals and 18 assists in 39 games .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. finished the preseason season without a point in 5 games.

Also on the Radar

A couple other second-year-eligible Bucs are also now on the radar. Forward D.J. Vandercook (a 6-foot-3, 190-pound right winger who scored 30 goals and 20 assists in 57 games for the Wenatchee Wild of the NAHL in 2008-09) led Des Moines in preseason scoring with 3 goals and 3 assists in 5 games and has thus established himself as an important power forward and member of the powerplay. Goaltender Eric Mihalik (who put up great numbers for the Bay State Breakers of the EJHL in 2008-09) clearly established himself as the number one during the preseason by almost single-handedly winning games against Green Bay and the USNTDP at the Fall Classic by saving a multitude of dangerous shots in both games.

Click the link to read Part 1 of Kevin Wey's report on the Des Moines Buccaneers