Des Moines Fall Classic Part I

After a difficult, and often embarrassing, 2008-09, the Des Moines Buccaneers have pressed reset for 2009-10, twice. In June, the team moved J.P. Parise to solely general manager duties and named former Iowa Stars head coach Dave Allison as their head coach, but Des Moines was sent scrambling for a new head coach in August when Allison accepted a scouting position with the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, the Bucs managed to nab as their new head coach Colorado College assistant coach Mike Guentzel, who was one of the top young coaches in the USHL in the early 1990's before becoming an assistant at the University of Minnesota for 14 years and then moving to CC for one.

The team not only has a new coach, they also have an infusion of impressive prospects eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Left-winger Connor Brickley looks set to become one of the top power forwards in the USHL in 2009-10 and could easily find himself as an early-round pick. Small center T.J. Tynan has the potential to put up some big numbers in his rookie USHL season if he makes sure to play bigger than he is, and two-way defenseman Brandon Carlson also looks like a probable pick in the 2010 Draft.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch Des Moines Buccaneers' first-year-eligible prospects in action at the Battle of Iowa and at the 2009 Fall Classic and enters notes on Connor Brickley, T.J. Tynan, Brandon Carlson, and a few others, including a small defenseman who might achieve what other small USHL defensemen have not.

Connor Brickley (2010), LW, Des Moines

If Brickley puts up close to a point per game, he'll be considered for first-round or early second-round selection .. competitiveness is off the charts .. plays an aggressive physical game and finishes his checks with force .. a threat to make an open-ice hit, a hit in his defensive zone, or to level opponents from the side on the backcheck .. throws out more hits in a shift than some players do in a month .. will fight through whatever checks are necessary in driving to the net, at times almost too recklessly for his own good .. 6-foot-2, 195-pound left-winger has the size, too .. offensive game adjusted quickly to the USHL pace during the preseason after looking a bit questionable his first game at the Battle of Iowa .. has fairly quick hands to evade checks or to get shots off from closed quarters in close to the net .. has the agility to make tight switchbacks in the corners to evade checkers .. both his wristshot and snapshot are decent .. despite his intense physical game, he does display some patience with the puck .. able to build good speed with the puck, on the attack, or on the forecheck .. will be difficult to maintain the level of physicality all season that he played with at the Battle of Iowa, but certainly established himself as one of the top power forwards in the USHL in 2009-10 .. easily projects as an energy-line or checking-line forward, but can't count out top-six NHL forward potential, either .. committed to Vermont for the 2011-12 season .. drafted by the Lewiston MAINEiacs in the eleventh round of the 2009 QMJHL Entry Draft .. played prep hockey with Belmont Hill in 2008-09 and scored 20 goals and 23 assists in 30 games .. played for Team USA's Under-18 Select Team at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament .. scored 2 goals in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. finished the preseason with 2 goals and 1 assist in 5 games.

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

A dominant player in midgets, but success not a certainty in USHL .. a playmaking center who can lay down some nice moves and execute accurate centering passes .. patient with the puck .. creative offensively, as he'll even pass the puck through opponents back to himself .. struggled at receiving passes at the Battle of Iowa .. doubtful that some of the spin moves he utilized in the preseason will work long on bigger USHL defensemen .. looks for the centering pass a lot and doesn't drive the net, at least not during the preseason .. appears to shy away from direct physical engagement .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck, but doesn't finish his checks or does so with little oomph .. in place down low to help his defensemen, but also doesn't engage in the physical battles .. when he does engage physically, he actually fares fine .. skating stride features a wide stance and a fair amount of hunching over .. has decent speed, but not elite speed by USHL standards .. undersized at 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, but hope to see him play less small and engage more physically in the offensive and defensive zones .. committed to Notre Dame for either the 2010-11 or 2011-12 season .. played midget major for the Chicago Mission in 2008-09 and scored 23 goals and 44 assists in 45 Tier 1 regular-season games .. played for Team USA's Under-18 Select Team at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament .. scored 1 goal in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. finished the preseason with 1 goal and 1 assist in 5 games.

Brandon Carlson (2010), D, Des Moines

Appears to have the potential to develop into a mid-or-late-round pick by the end of the 2009-10 season .. has decent size at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds .. shows some promise defensively .. able to make some big hits in the defensive zone and in open-ice, but was sidestepped on some neutral-ice attempts .. played his defensive angles fairly well and let his gap shrink, but backed in too far too often and didn't engage speedy opponents as early as he should have .. displays some aggressiveness around his net .. also shows some promise offensively .. typically makes crisp, accurate breakout passes .. able to execute some nice saucer passes, as well as one-touch passes .. has some poise and patience with the puck in the defensive zone and at the point .. not immune from bad decisions, though, either .. needs to reduce suicide passes and ill-advised shots from the point that are easily blocked out .. possesses a hard slapshot, but it can rise .. sports a hard wristshot, too .. able to execute some nifty toe drags and lateral stickhandling maneuvers .. with only standard improvement for a USHL rookie season, Carlson should end up draft-worthy as a two-way defenseman .. with above-average development in 2009-10, the mid-rounds aren't out of the question .. no college commitment of yet .. selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the third round of the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft .. played midget major for the Chicago Mission in 2008-09 and scored 4 goals and 12 assists in 33 Tier 1 regular-season games .. went without a point in three games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. finished the preseason with 1 goal in 5 games.

Colton Saucerman (2010), D, Des Moines

Listed at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, but plays bigger .. highly competitive defenseman plays a physical game and will step up in the neutral zone to make open-ice hits .. shows no fear in playing the body regardless of how fast the opponent is skating .. also adept at rubbing opponents out along the boards .. needs more powerful acceleration backwards .. also needs to improve speed backwards so he gets beat wide less .. skilled offensively .. makes hard, crisp, accurate pass after hard, crisp, accurate pass .. every shot in his arsenal is hard .. wristshot is crisp, snapshot is hard (and he can keep it low from the point), and also has a quick slapshot .. also sports a hard one-timer .. a mobile, agile skater who uses it at the point to field passes and quickly get shots off .. adept at evading checks with tight turns and switchbacks .. has excellent acceleration forward and is very quick to loose pucks .. excels in closed quarters because of his quickness and agility .. also has strong top-end speed and skates the puck with poise .. does a good job of communicating with his d-partner .. size may be an issue come the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but if a small defenseman in the USHL can overcome it, Saucerman is probably the one .. committed to UMass-Lowell for the 2011-12 season .. played midget minor for the Pikes Peak Miners in 2008-09 and scored 12 goals and 36 assists in 58 games .. went without a point in three games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. finished the preseason without a point in 5 games.

Charles Williams (2010), G, Des Moines

No easy way to put it, but needs to improve in a number of areas .. lateral movement is only average .. pad slides are fairly smooth, but aren't real quick .. also average in getting down and back up .. rebound control needs significant work .. angles are slightly off at times, which lead to some interesting and juicy rebounds in front .. seems to have trouble trapping the puck to the chest .. can be drawn out of his butterfly and into a sprawl, and then can be fairly easy to score on .. can be beaten high both glove side and blocker side .. plays a little deep in his crease, giving the shooter more to shoot at, and he's a sub-six-foot goaltender .. upgrades in the quickness in his crease movements would help him adjust to the pace of the USHL play and give him more confidence .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget major for Honeybaked in 2008-09 and compiled a 20-9-3 record, 8 shutouts, a 1.75 goals-against average, and a .923 save percentage in over 32 games .. played in one game at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and earned the win with 37 saves on 39 shots .. finished the preseason with a 1-1-0 record, a 4.05 goals-against average, and a .869 save percentage in just over three games.

Connor Frick (2010), D, Des Moines

Small defenseman may not quite be USHL caliber yet .. stays low backwards and keeps his gaps reasonably short, but can be overwhelmed by speed .. generally makes hard, crisp, accurate passes, but can be pressured into a mistake .. has decent speed with the puck .. has an average wristshot and needs to improve release, as he can be slow to get it off .. 5-foot-9, 163 pounds, but does play the body .. placed on Des Moines' affiliate list after the Fall Classic .. would struggle to find a spot in the Bucs' lineup when the d-corps is healthy, and thus is unlikely to be selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget major for the St. Louis Selects in 2008-09 .. went without a point in 2 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. finished the preseason without a point in 4 games.

Yasin Cisse (2010), RW, Des Moines

We certainly haven't forgotten about Cisse, he just did not play during the preseason .. a nagging foot problem kept him out of action and the same problem hurt him some last season, too .. the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder has the potential to be one of the top power forwards in the USHL and was dubbed the "Super Collider" by this McKeen's correspondent in 2008-09 .. if Cisse can overcome the condition, through whatever means, and NHL teams can be convinced it's not a long-term problem, the interest will still be there .. strong rumors over the summer that Cisse was going to play in the QMJHL, but has returned to Des Moines .. committed to Boston University .. played for Des Moines in 2008-09 and scored 2 goals and 6 assists in 31 games while battling through nagging injuries.