Green Bays Jensen is Simply the Best

Alright, key the Tina Turner song.

If you were only able to look at the statistics, you'd never know it, but Green Bay Gambler Nick Jensen is simply the best defenseman in the USHL in 2009-10. Jensen stands out in part because of his seemingly effortless skating, his strong stick skills, and his solid defensive game, but what truly sets apart the Detroit Red Wings draft pick is his processor. It's readily apparent that the game is moving slowly in his mind in the subtle jukes and body fakes he makes with the puck at the point, in his offensive vision, and with the exceptional poise he maintains with the puck when pressured. He's almost unflappable. No other defenseman in the USHL this season is as complete as Jensen, and his combination of skating, skill, two-way hockey sense, and, most especially, his processor should ensure his game easily translates to the collegiate game, and later to the AHL and NHL game.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to catch the Green Bay Gamblers once in December before the Christmas Break and once more recently and enters notes on Detroit Red Wings prospect Nick Jensen, New York Islanders prospect Anders Lee, and a few of Green Bay's prospects in their second year of draft eligibility.

Nick Jensen (Det), D, Green Bay

Most complete defenseman in the USHL, hands down .. model skater .. smooth, powerful skater with almost no wasted motion .. nice extension and generates so much power in his strides .. phenomenal first-step quickness to get to loose pucks or separate from opponents .. covers so much ground in his first few strides and makes it look effortless .. excellent edge control and executes smooth turns and can get well out over his edges .. able to make tight turns to circle away .. pivots are smooth .. also silky smooth walking the blueline with the puck, getting the puck, or receiving the puck .. makes powerful stops, too, which allows him to stick with anybody .. uses his mobility well defensively .. maintains a wide base backwards, eliminate crossovers, and can angle opponents with his hovercraft-like lateral movement .. speed backwards is excellent .. confidence in his skating allows him to maintain short gaps to play the body, make stick checks, or both .. able to execute leg drags well .. anticipates the play well and can use his explosiveness to intercept passes or get to new assignments quickly .. makes smooth, hard, crisp breakout passes .. an adept one-touch passer .. does a great job moving before he receives the puck, allowing him to catch passes softly and not be a stationary target .. so composed and poised with the puck .. maintains his calm when hounded and makes the smart play .. superb manning the point .. heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options and has the vision to connect with teammates in the offensive zone .. double shifts on some powerplays .. able to utilize body fakes successfully at the point because he's so confident in his skating and so poised, and is the best defenseman I've seen in the USHL at doing it .. can juke one move and then quickly do something else and make a play or shoot the puck .. extremely adept at making opponents circle away .. has a hard wristshot and slapshot from the point .. able to lay down some nice jukes with the puck and can also undress opponents with wide stickhandling .. he's at his own level in the USHL .. is far better offensively than most other USHL defensemen, he's just choosing to play an extremely solid and responsible two-way game and letting David Makowski be Sandis Ozolinsh and pick up the corresponding offensive numbers .. so obvious his mind is operating at a higher plane, that the USHL game seems slow in his mind (think Neo and The Matrix) .. probably won't be named such in April, but he's the best defenseman in the USHL .. no qualms projecting Jensen as a fourth NHL defenseman someday, possibly even third .. committed to St. Cloud State .. as of Feb. 22 he had 3 goals and 15 assists in 39 games .. 16th in USHL defenseman scoring.

Anders Lee (NYI), C, Green Bay

Top power center in the USHL could lead the league in goals .. chairman of the boards .. so adept at protecting the puck along the boards ..utilizes his reach and swivels so well, and is a solid stickhandler who's strong on the puck .. able to weave through traffic in open ice too .. draws a fair number of penalties in his extended touches with the puck, which are many .. able to buy his teammates so much time with his puck protection .. able to use his speed and power to drive off the boards and/or drive the net .. so often emerges from the boards with the puck suddenly, leaving the opposition flat-footed .. makes crisp and accurate passes .. also able to make centering passes from the boards .. swiveling abilities come in handy in making plays and in getting shots off quickly .. has strong shot power .. great size at 6-foot-2, 216 pounds .. a natural athlete, too .. can't see Lee not (at the least) eventually being a top-six forward in the AHL and seeing some time in the NHL .. no question that Lee will step into college and be a regular in the lineup .. committed to Notre Dame .. as of Feb. 22 he had 28 goals and 24 assists in 45 games .. first in USHL goal scoring .. seventh in overall USHL scoring .. only 11 games all season without a point as of Feb. 22.

Ludwig Karlsson (2010), LW, Green Bay

Big Swede (6-foot-2, 200 pounds), is finally starting to put up some points commensurate to his hands .. still fairly upright in his skating with the puck .. typically is a tad slow with the puck, but every now and then he powers off the boards to drive the net .. has a tendency to stop moving his feet when looking for plays .. able to use his long reach to catch passes a ways off the mark .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. has significant shot power .. able to unleash a cannon of a one-timer .. so unfortunate someone with the tools to be a great triggerman on the powerplay actually scores so few goals .. doing a better job of being more involved in the game, but still has periods where he goes invisible .. an extreme long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but he's making some progress .. probably tops out as an Allsvenskan-caliber player, possibly only Swedish First Division .. no college commitment of yet .. as of Feb. 22 he had 4 goals and 20 assists in 44 games .. had 4 goals and 14 assists in 26 games from Dec. 4 through Feb. 20.

Kevin Albers (2010), D, Green Bay

Showing why he was selected to play for Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge .. maintains a fairly wide base backwards, lets his gaps shrink, reduces crossovers, and will engage physically .. able to thrust into his hits .. will pinch in from the point now and then to make a big hit to keep the puck in the offensive zone .. has good stride extension forward .. executes smooth pivots and does a nice job staying low and maintaining a power position when doing so .. makes hard, crisp breakout passes and tends to make the simple play .. smooth passer at the point .. doesn't fire a lot of hard shots from the point, but does a very good job of getting his shots through and on net .. although the offensive production doesn't show it, he does see some powerplay time .. a regular on the penalty kill .. communicates with his d-partner .. at 6-foot-0 and 194 pounds, he isn't big by NHL standards .. an extreme long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but has made solid progress from his rookie season in the USHL .. no college commitment of yet .. as of Feb. 22 he had 2 goals and 2 assists in 30 games .. missed all of December injured and a few games in late October prior to the WJAC.

Sam Alfieri (2010), RW, Traded to Lincoln

Basically following up on a player who I started taking notes on to begin the season after putting up decent numbers at Shattuck in 2008-09 .. was becoming more invisible with Green Bay and was traded to Lincoln Feb. 3 for David Gerths .. demonstrates some quickness from time to time going for loose pucks .. heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options and connect on passes to teammates .. has a hard wristshot and a decent snapshot .. size is adequate at 5-foot-11, 176 pounds and will engage physically going for the puck .. got off to a fair start offensively, but the offense dried up a bit after early December .. at this point, the 2010 Draft isn't in the discussion, Alfieri needs to try and finish 2009-10 strong and build for a successful 2010-11 in the USHL .. no college commitment of yet .. had 7 goals and 9 assists in 34 games prior to trade to Lincoln .. as of Feb. 22 he had 1 goal and 2 assists in 8 games with Lincoln.