Lincoln Stars Fall Classic Part II

Each of the past two drafts, the Lincoln Stars have had a prospect taken in his third year of draft eligibility. At the 2009 Draft, it was physical defenseman Michael Sdao going to the Ottawa Senators in the 7th round with the 191st pick. In 2008, it was two-way defenseman Matt Bartkowski going to the Florida Panthers in the 7th round with the 190th pick. With Bartkowski and Sdao proving it's possible to go the third time around, a number of Lincoln prospects can retain hope in 2009-10 that they'll find a way to impress NHL scouts and follow in the footsteps laid before them, with forwards David Gerths, Garrett Peterson, and Andrew Ammon tops amongst that list.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to scope out the Lincoln Stars at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and enters notes on David Gerths, Garrett Peterson, Andrew Ammon, and a few other prospects in their second or third year of draft eligibility in Part II of McKeen's two-part series on prospects of the Lincoln Stars.

David Gerths (2010), RW, Lincoln

Poised to be Lincoln's top forward in 2009-10 .. still playing the two-way game with a physical edge that he played in 2008-09 .. able to really explode into his checks .. frequently F1 on the forecheck and finishes his checks with some force .. lays down hits from the side on the backcheck, too .. displayed some playmaking along the half boards opening up to the play and making center passes .. makes hard, crisp passes .. a strong skater with good speed and power .. two-way game is complemented well by his ability to pivot and by his backward skating skills .. sniped a couple goals top shelf at the Fall Classic, which is what he needs to do and remember .. can get frustrated with himself when his finishing isn't there, which only makes it worse .. needs to know he's a talented player, that he can score, and that he brings more to the table than the vast majority of USHL players .. Gerths still has a legitimate shot of being the mid-round pick McKeen's thought he'd be in the 2009 Draft .. committed to Notre Dame .. played for Lincoln in 2008-09 and scored 12 goals and 24 assists in 52 games .. scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 4 games for the entire preseason.

Garrett Peterson (2010), C, Lincoln

Was impressive at the Fall Classic, but once again the numbers didn't follow .. aggressive forechecker who can thrust up into his hits and finishes his checks regularly and with enthusiasm .. excellent faceoff man .. uses his body extremely well in the faceoff circle to tie up opposing centerman or box him out and kick it back .. also wins some faceoffs quite cleanly with only his stick .. strong defensive effort and helps his defensemen down low, excelling with his physical game .. has impressive acceleration to win short races to loose pucks and to separate from opponents .. has good speed with the puck and a "push to pass button" for an extra speed burst from what you thought was top speed .. nice agility with the puck to evade checks .. has a decent set of hands to also emerge from packs through stickhandling prowess .. displayed a little playmaking with Gerths and Ammon .. has the tools to be Lincoln's first-line center, but it's possible he falls back to a second- or third-line role if numbers don't follow .. regardless, he brings a lot to the table even if he's not scoring .. a certainty to be drafted if he can average a point-per-game in his second USHL season .. projects to at least be a strong defensive center with sufficient skill at the pro ranks .. committed to Notre Dame .. played for Lincoln in 2008-09 and scored 7 goals and 13 assists in 49 games .. had 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and 1 assist in 4 games for the entire preseason.

Andrew Ammon (2010), LW, Lincoln

Did not enter Fall Classic anticipating taking notes on Ammon, but he forced me to .. plays a nice two-way game .. has good speed with the puck and exudes confidence handling the puck .. maintains poise in puck battles in open ice and along the boards .. has decent explosiveness to emerge off the half boards with the puck .. adept at positioning his body and using his stickhandling to evade sticks .. will venture into traffic for scoring chances .. makes nice defensive reads off opponents and his teammates .. 5-foot-11, 185-pounder plays with some physicality and can lay down some stiff checks .. won't be surprised if Ammon actually establishes himself as Lincoln's top forward, as he already looks like a veteran .. if Ammon can establish himself amongst the league scoring leaders and play his strong defensive game, he has a legitimate shot of being selected in his third year of eligibility .. committed to Princeton .. played prep hockey for Deerfield in 2008-09 and scored 17 goals and 11 assists in 24 games .. scored 1 goal in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and scored 1 goal in 4 games for the entire preseason.

James McNulty (2010), D, Lincoln

Big defenseman in the Lincoln mold .. able to eliminate opponents from the play by pinning them to the boards in puck battles .. 6-foot-4, 215-pound defenseman plays with some physicality and steps up for some hits .. has some offensive awareness and will pinch in and join the attack but also shows good sense to know when to release and go back to the point .. able to use his size to crash the net when he does .. makes crisp, accurate breakout passes and d-to-d transitional passes .. at times, he stops moving his feet when the puck comes to him in the defensive zone and becomes a stationary target while assessing options .. comes to Lincoln with size similar to Michael Sdao but with better mobility .. a long shot to go in his second year of draft eligibility, but steady development could make it a more distinct possibility in Year Three .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget major for Victory Honda in 2008-09 and scored 5 goals and 17 assists in 51 games, in addition to adding 135 penalty minutes .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. went without a point in 4 games for the entire preseason.

Steve Racine (2010), G, Lincoln

Looked decent in Fall Classic viewing, but stats didn't come out too well for the preseason .. makes composed pad slides and keeps his torso upright .. stays fairly calm in his crease, even when the plays collapse in right on him .. does a good job directing pad saves into the corners .. does a good job eliminating any holes when hugging the post .. has decent size at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds .. enters 2009-10 as Lincoln's backup behind Jared Coreau after the preseason .. ranked 29th amongst North American goalies by CSS for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft but went unselected .. virtually no shot of being drafted if Coreau is the hands-down number one .. no college commitment of yet .. played prep hockey for Taft in 2008-09 and played 725 minutes over 13 games and compiled a 3.07 G.AA and a .901 save percentage .. played 91:35 over 2 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and went 0-1-0 with 0 shutouts, a 5.24 G.AA, and a .809 save percentage .. played 127:08 over 3 games for the entire preseason and went 1-1-0 with 0 shutouts, a 4.72 G.AA, and a .836 save percentage.

William Brockett (2010), C, Lincoln

Put up huge numbers in midgets, and also put up some points in the USHL preseason .. has decent speed with the puck, but isn't particularly fast for a 5-foot-8, 170-pound center .. puts himself in a position to contribute offensively .. doesn't mind setting up around the net and can finish the centering passes he receives, set screens, or creates plays around the net himself .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. plays the body a bit, but often with only moderate effect .. a long shot to be drafted due to size and speed, but can't argue much with the results .. committed to Princeton for the 2011-12 season .. played midget major for the Cleveland Barons in 2008-09 and scored 25 goals and 56 assists in 44 Tier 1 regular-season games .. scored 1 goal and 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 1 goal and 3 assists in 4 games for the entire preseason, tops on the team in assists and points.

Kyle Gibbons (2010), RW, Lincoln

Teammate of Brockett's in midget major and put up big numbers, too .. fairly upright skater who appears to need more lower body strength .. crossovers are upright and a bit awkward .. can execute some tight switchbacks with the puck .. has a decent wristshot .. finishes his checks and has decent size at 6-foot-0, 180 pounds .. a long shot to be selected in the 2010 NHL, but warrants monitoring .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget major for the Cleveland Barons in 2008-09 and scored 33 goals and 48 assists in 46 Tier 1 regular-season games .. scored 1 goal and 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 4 games for the entire preseason.

Click the link for Lincoln Stars Fall Classic Part 1 by McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey