Great Grimaldi Leading USA U-17

Rossmoor, California, native Rocco Grimaldi was offered a spot on the U.S. National Developmental Program's 1993 team a year before it was fully assembled, and it's easy to see why. Grimaldi is a near perfect skater, every shot in his arsenal is a laser beam, his passing is superb, he has superior offensive awareness and vision, he puts in a good defensive effort, and he leads by example. He was also leading the USA U-17 team in USHL scoring and in overall scoring as it headed into the 2010 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, where Grimaldi figures to be one of the most dynamic players at the tournament. It was the case at the Four Nations Tournament in November, where he helped lead Team USA to a gold medal and earned himself Best Forward of the Tournament honors. If Grimaldi keeps it up, he could leave the USNTDP as one of its all-time greats.

Having seen the USA U-17 team in action in two games in the first half of the USHL season, McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey enters notes on Rocco Grimaldi, J.T. Miller, Tyler Biggs and four other forwards in the team's top seven.

Rocco Grimaldi (2011), C, USA U-17

Exceptionally talented .. as close to a textbook skater as you're going to find .. not big at 5-foot-6, 167 pounds, but has excellent speed due to a powerful stride that also features quick foot turnover .. excellent knee bend and is able to get very low and well out over his edges in tight turns .. creates a lot of power in his crossovers yet they are very quick, too .. very quick stops and starts, which makes him almost impossible to shake defensively .. has amazing agility with quick pivots, swivels, and tight turns, all of which he can execute with the puck at speed .. quickness and agility with the puck is jaw-dropping and make him very difficult to defend in tight spaces, but also has top-end speed to blow by opponents wide .. short player with shot power a power forward would envy .. wristshot, snapshot, slapshot, and backhand are all hard, and he can snipe .. a heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options and is a playmaker off the half boards with excellent offensive vision to find teammates .. makes crisp, hard, accurate passes .. able to make some nifty stickhandling maneuvers .. demonstrates strong hand-eye coordination to bat down pucks .. has an innate sense of where people are on the ice and anticipates the play very well .. often appears to know what his opponent is going to do well before said opponent does .. uses his speed and hockey sense well on the forecheck and the backcheck or in the defensive zone .. quickness, effort, and hockey sense also puts him on the penalty kill .. also a staple on the powerplay .. skating ability and balance allows him to launch into his hits but also field attempted hits on him .. shows leadership in his communicating with teammates on the ice .. started the season with the "C" and became an "A" after they rotated the letters .. just takes control of the game, even against USHL competition .. unbelievably consistent, as every shift is the same great effort and I've never seen him have an off game .. does everything well .. only thing that may prevent him from being an early first-round pick in 2011 Draft is his size .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget major for Little Caesar's in 2008-09 and scored 38 goals and 46 assists in 58 games and helped team win Tier I 18 & Under National Championship .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break,, he had 5 goals and 4 assists in 15 USHL games, tops amongst all USA U-17 players .. scored 2 goals and 2 assists in 3 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November and was named the Best Forward of the Tournament .. had 7 goals and 9 assists in 22 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21, leading the team in scoring.

J.T. Miller (2011), C, USA U-17

A nice combination of size and two-way play .. has nice speed and uses it on the forecheck to pressure opponents and to win races for the puck .. shows nice effort and hustle, including on the backcheck .. makes some timely stick checks to prevent the opponent from breaking the puck out .. 6-foot-0, 192-pounder finishes his checks and will attempt some open-ice hits .. displays some offensive vision .. generally makes crisp, accurate passes .. has a fairly hard wristshot .. a regular on the penalty kill who also sees time on the powerplay .. a well-rounded hockey player establishing himself as one of the Team USA U-17 team's top forwards .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget major for Pittsburgh Hornets in 2008-09 and scored 21 goals and 21 assists in 45 games, leading the team in scoring .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 2 goals and 4 assists in 13 USHL games .. scored 2 goals and 3 assists in 3 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November .. had 5 goals and 8 assists in 20 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.

Tyler Biggs (2011), RW, USA U-17

Resident power forward on the USA U-17 team .. skating appears to have improved a bit with the USNTDP, as he now shows decent acceleration and good stride extension and less railroad skating .. has decent speed down the alley .. occasionally takes over the game and drives through traffic to wherever he wants to go .. has a hard, crisp wristshot .. able to make some nice toe drags but will also use his sheer size (6-foot-2, 202 pounds) and reach to shield the puck and can make laps in the offensive zone .. plays with some physicality and can make some big shoulder checks .. also able to muscle down opponents .. levels some opponents who try to check him .. can be somewhat invisible for large portions of the game, but his effort isn't poor .. committed to Miami-Ohio for 2011-12 .. played midget major for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in 2008-09 and scored 40 goals and 47 assists in 72 games, leading his team in scoring .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 2 goals and 2 assists in 13 USHL games .. scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November .. had 5 goals and 3 assists in 20 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.

Travis Boyd (2011), C, USA U-17

USA U-17's second-line center .. a heads-up stickhandler who can assess the play and is a playmaker off the half boards .. makes crisp, hard passes and can thread them through traffic .. soft hands allow him to receive passes and quickly transition to passing the puck in addition to traditional one-touch passes .. has confidence with the puck and before he gets the puck, as he can receive suicide passes, not panic, and evade the hit .. does a good job along the boards using his feet, which helps him emerge from board battles to create offensive opportunities with centering passes .. will engage physically going for the puck and often establishes position to get it .. has decent speed with the puck .. has a decent shot .. committed to Minnesota for 2011-12 .. played Minnesota high school hockey for Hopkins High School in 2008-09 and scored 26 goals and 25 assists in 26 games and was named the Team MVP and to the All-Conference Team .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 4 goals and 5 assists in 15 USHL games, tied with Grimaldi for the team lead .. had 2 assists in 3 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November .. had 4 goals and 7 assists in 22 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.

Ryan Haggerty (2011), RW, USA U-17

Decent at everything, but not amazing at any one aspect .. has decent acceleration and stride extension, but isn't speedy by USHL standards yet .. displays some offensive vision off the half boards and can connect on passes through traffic .. makes crisp, hard, accurate passes, but haven't seen him pass the puck a lot from a non-stationary position .. able to make some nice moves to evade traffic and/or get shots off .. has a decent wristshot and can finish his chances .. able to roof it from in close and is opportunistic around the net .. finishes his checks on the forecheck or even in the neutral zone .. started the season wearing an "A," but the team does rotate these some .. started the season as one of the hot hands, but his offensive production has decreased .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget major for the Seacoast Kings in 2008-09 and scored 17 goals and 21 assists in 23 games .. also played Connecticut high school hockey for Trinity Catholic in 2008-09 and scored 27 goals and 31 assists in 25 games .. was named First Team All-City (Stamford), First Team All-Conference, and to the Connecticut Division 1 All-State Team .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 5 goals and 3 assists in 15 USHL games .. scored 1 goal in 3 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November .. had 8 goals and 4 assists in 22 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.

Blake Pietila (2011), LW, USA U-17

Hasn't stood out a lot in these viewings, but has shown some positive traits .. shows some quickness going for loose pucks .. able to execute some nice toe drags to evade traffic .. makes crisp, accurate passes on the attack .. plays the body on the forecheck and steps up for some hard hits .. not only dishes out some punishment, but will take it .. he battles in front of the net with the biggest of defensemen and won't back down .. will go through a gauntlet down low with the puck and emerge with it to make a play .. plays on both the powerplay and the penalty kill .. fairly skilled player whose willingness to "do the hard" makes him one of the team's leading scorers .. committed to Northern Michigan for 2011-12 .. played midget minor for Compuware in 2008-09 and scored 8 goals and 11 assists in 31 Tier 1 Elite League games and helped lead team to the Tier I 16 & Under National Championship .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 5 goals and 1 assist in 15 USHL games .. scored 3 goals and 2 assists in 3 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November .. had 9 goals and 4 assists in 22 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.

Reid Boucher (2011), LW, USA U-17

Scoring at a very nice pace for the USA U-17 team, but does have some things to improve on .. has a little speed, but could use more so that he doesn't get caught from behind.. stickhandles with his head down too often .. also shows a tendency to look down before he shoots .. plays with a little physicality and will make some open-ice hits .. limited viewing, as he was injured for the October viewing .. committed to Michigan State for 2012-13 .. played midget major for the Lansing Capitals in 2008-09 and scored 79 goals and 41 assists in 64 games, leading his team in scoring .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 2 goals and 3 assists in 6 USHL Games .. scored 1 goal and 3 assists in 3 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November .. had 4 goals and 7 assists in 13 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.