Hensley Proving Up to the Challenge

After the Battle of Iowa and the Fall Classic during the 2009 USHL preseason, it was apparent that Cedar Rapids RoughRider defenseman Steven Hensley faced a steep learning curve coming out of Michigan high school hockey, a level where he received some league recognition but wasn't even an All-State Honorable Mention by the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches Association at the end of the 2008-09 season. However, despite not being a big name in the Michigan high school game, Hensley has proven up to the challenge and has already made significant improvements as the USHL entered its Christmas Break. Once making passes to apparitions, or so it appeared, Hensley's passing game is now looking quite good. Once getting absolutely used by skilled opponents, Hensley is looking foolish less often. If his defensive game makes similar improvements over the course of the second half of the 2009-10 season as his passing game did in the first half, this former extreme long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft could work his way into the late rounds in Los Angeles.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch the RoughRiders in action six times amongst October, November, and December and enters notes on Montreal Canadiens draft pick Mac Bennett, Steven Hensley, a couple other Cedar Rapids defensemen vying for selection in the 2010 Draft, and a couple forwards eligible for the 2011 Draft.

Mac Bennett (Mtl), D, Cedar Rapids

Hasn't put up the numbers commensurate to his skill, but he has been playing hurt for a fair portion of the season .. has nice cruising speed with the puck and is a confident stickhandler .. has quick lateral movement with the puck at the blueline and can get a hard shot off quickly .. makes smooth starts and stops at the blueline with the puck .. able to use his quick hands to draw pucks off the boards and escape checks .. able to weave through traffic in the neutral zone with his smooth skating and goes coast-to-coast now and then .. a smooth operator at the point on the powerplay .. able to make smooth turns with the puck and power out with crossovers .. also able to make tight switchbacks with the puck to evade forecheckers .. can mask his intentions with the puck by looking pass one direction and then moving it to another using his peripheral vision .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes on the breakout .. also adept at transitioning the puck with smooth, hard, accurate passes to his d-partner .. just under 6-foot-0 and weighs 175, but engages physically .. uses his lateral movement down low in his own zone .. lets his gaps shrink and can angle opponents toward the boards .. no longer certain he's a Matt Donovan-caliber prospect, but he's not too far behind .. committed to Michigan .. played for Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge and had 1 assist in 5 games .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 4 goals and 7 assists in 21 games.

Bryce Aneloski (2010), D, Cedar Rapids

Making the most of his copious icetime, as he's taken a quantum leap in point production .. led USHL defensemen in scoring with 24 points heading into the Christmas Break .. had a six-point game (three goals and three assists) against the USA U-17 team Oct. 24 .. firing shots, firing shots, and firing shots, as he had 91 after 27 games .. is doing a great job of getting hard, low slappers on net again and again .. also has a fairly hard wristshot, but the quick slapper that he puts on net is the key to his production .. skating is slightly improved over last season, but still a bit upright in his skating and in his crossovers .. still doesn't truly power out of his crossovers .. does show some lateral quickness, which has come a long way from his rookie season in 2007-08 .. you can't be NHL-draft eligible and lead the USHL in defenseman scoring and not at least make the radar for the draft, but Aneloski is still only a possible pick because of skating deficiencies, inconsistent breakout passing and decision making, and necessary improvements in his own zone .. committed to Nebraska-Omaha .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 8 goals and 16 assists in 27 games.

2010 Draft Grade: C-/D+ (possible pick to long shot)

Steven Hensley (2010), D, Cedar Rapids

Looked like a marginal USHL player at the start of the season but has already made significant improvements .. his play with the puck has made the biggest strides, as he now looks confident with the puck, even under pressure .. passes had a little wobble early in the season, but now they are smooth, crisp, hard, and accurate .. showed some nice saucer passing abilities in October, but he was moving the puck to Ghost Rider .. is now becoming a reliable puck-moving defenseman on the breakout and always connecting on the pass .. now makes smooth point-to-point passes, too .. went through a short feather-pass phase that he's also worked past .. wristshot from the point could be harder .. defensive game still needs work, but he's having more success .. lets his gaps shrink and is now stopping more opponents and is beat cleanly less often ..lost positioning in a lot of 50/50 battles earlier in the season, but is now doing a little better .. very impressed with how well his passing game has come along .. if his defensive game and shot power come along in the second half of the season, too, especially the former, Hensley could become a possible late-round pick .. has sufficient size at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds .. at this time, I'll list him as a long shot, but I'll be disappointed if he doesn't at least become a possible pick in the second half .. no college commitment of yet .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 4 assists in 22 games.

2010 Draft Grade: D+(long shot)

Nolan Zajac (2010), D, Cedar Rapids

Budding puck-moving defenseman .. makes crisp, accurate passes on the breakout .. good at transitioning the puck with his d-partner and can feed the puck through traffic up to forwards on the transition .. shows some patience at the point with the puck and also down low in his own zone .. able to make tight switchbacks to evade forecheckers .. has had some growing pains during the season with some absolutely horrible shifts with multiple bad passes, or with bad giveaways, but this is happening less often .. has a decent slapper and wristshot from the point .. fairly smooth stickhandler who can weave through traffic from time to time .. still needs to back in less and maintain a shorter gap .. 5-foot-11, 175-pounder could also afford to play with a little more physicality .. a pretty big long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at this point, but is showing improvement in his rookie USHL season .. no college commitment of yet .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 7 assists in 20 games.

2010 Draft Guide: D+/D (long shot to extreme long shot)

Cason Hohmann (2011), RW, Cedar Rapids

Slick and speedy playmaking winger .. has nice speed with the puck and can get pretty shifty with his speed bursts .. has the speed to beat opponents wide, but uses his quickness and agility more often .. a heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options from the alley .. has quick hands, which he uses along the boards .. utilizes Gretzky circles a lot and can make them quite tightly and then make a centering pass .. also makes powerful stops with the puck to evade checks and can mix in spins and tight circles .. able to side-step opponents with his agility in the neutral zone .. has nice poise along the half boards and can find teammates through traffic .. does a good job of opening up to the play along the boards and moves well laterally to remain open to his passing options from the half boards .. able to serve up some impressive saucer passes .. also does a good job of receiving hard passes .. uses his speed and hustle on the forecheck and can strip opponents of the puck .. also willing to block shots .. still undersized at 5-foot-7, 155 pounds, so hopefully he grows at least a couple more inches before the 2011 Draft .. committed to Boston University .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 2 goals and 10 assists in 26 games.

Sam Warning (2011), LW, Cedar Rapids

Another quintessential Cedar Rapids forward - a bit small, speedy, skilled, and physical .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck and finishes his checks .. able to lay down some hard hits .. will also play the body on those he catches on the backcheck .. willing to fight through checks to make things happen offensively .. has a hard wristshot and a decent one-timer .. has good speed and can open up opposing defensemen .. an adept lateral stickhandler who can use it to maintain possession of the puck in the offensive zone or undress defensemen skating in .. willing to go to the net and pick up deflections, redirects, rebounds, and the like .. if Warning adds a couple inches to his 5-foot-9, 175-pound frame, he'll have nice odds for selection at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft .. committed to Minnesota .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 6 goals and 3 assists in 25 games.