Lind Next in Steels Production Line

The Chicago Steel has been a factory forging NHL prospect defensemen in recent seasons. The production line started in 2007-08 when Max Nicastro was selected with the 91st overall pick of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. The orders continued in 2008-09 when the Columbus Blue Jackets selected John Moore with the 22nd overall pick in the 2009 Draft and when the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Philip Samuelsson (son of former Penguin Ulf Samuelsson) with the 61st overall pick, and the NHL demand for Steel defensemen won't end there. Kevin Lind, a 6-foot-2, 202-pound blueliner who's garnered attention with his size, mobility, and two-way game, will ensure that the Windy City's USHL team has a defenseman selected in the 2010 Draft, thus continuing the trend.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to catch the Chicago Steel twice in January and enters notes on two-way defenseman Kevin Lind, playmaking Russian Andrei Kuchin, Buffalo Sabres prospect Mark Adams, a few other Steel prospects eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, as well as three eligible for the 2011 Draft.

Kevin Lind (2010), D, Chicago

Good two-way defenseman .. has strong backwards acceleration and can get fairly low backwards, putting him in a power position .. lets his gap shrink as he approaches the blueline and will engage physically and stand up opponents .. able to thrust into his checks .. able to withstand checks and knock over those trying to check him .. will go for a big hit now and then, sometimes hitting, sometimes missing .. has good cruising speed with the puck and decent acceleration .. can also employ some nice speed bursts .. makes smooth turns transitioning the puck .. fairly smooth walking the blueline .. consistently makes hard, crisp, accurate breakout passes .. also makes crisp, accurate passes on the attack and from the point .. does a good job of keeping his head on a swivel both offensively and defensively .. will pinch in from the point on the powerplay and scores some goals doing so .. although this scouting report is very positive, I still consider Lind an early fourth-round pick more so than a late second-round pick or third-round pick .. I liked Seth Helgeson more than Lind overall, but I do put Lind above recent former USHLers like Patrick Wey and Philip Samuelsson and a tiny bit ahead of Max Nicastro .. committed to Notre Dame .. as of Jan. 31 he had 6 goals and 6 assists in 33 games .. played for Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge and went without a point in 5 games .. played for the East Division in the USHL All-Star Game .. had a three-game goal-scoring streak Jan. 8 through Jan. 10 .. had a four-game point streak Jan. 8 through Jan. 15 (3-1-4).

2010 Draft Grade: B (early fourth-round pick)

Andrei Kuchin (2010), C, Chicago

One of the better playmakers in the USHL .. heads-up stickhandler who can connect on seeing-eye passes .. has good offensive vision to find open teammates, including in his periphery .. likes to slow the game down just past the blueline and make the pass .. can be guilty of looking pass too much .. good one-touch passer .. able to build decent speed and has a little extra gear .. speed bursts are deceptive .. also able to move laterally to beat opponents .. a bit upright in his crossovers and relies on quick steps over powering out .. defensive game is coming along .. shows some tenacity on the backcheck and steps up for some hits .. willing to engage physically for the puck .. a long shot for the 2010 Draft in his second year of draft eligibility .. as is, could easily top out as a scorer in the Russian 1. Division (third tier of Russian hockey, behind KHL and Vysshaya Liga) .. no college commitment .. as of Jan. 31 he had 13 goals and 29 assists in 37 games .. played for the East Division in the USHL All-Star Game .. had a five-game point streak to start the season (1-8-9) .. had a seven-game point streak Nov. 27 through Dec. 18 (4-6-10) .. had a five-game point streak Dec. 31 through Jan. 10 (3-4-7). .. had a four-point game Oct. 3 v. USA U-17 (1-3-4) .. had a three-point game Oct. 31 v. Cedar Rapids (0-3-3).

2010 Draft Grade: D+ (long shot)

Brendan Woods (2010), LW, Chicago

Limited viewing, as he received limited icetime as a fourth-liner .. coming off a knee injury that caused him to miss three months, but still has some straight-line speed .. has quick feet and hustles to loose pucks .. a bit upright in his crossovers .. 6-foot-2, 180-pounder engages physically going for the puck and creates some turnovers doing so .. finishes his checks .. difficult to say how his stick skills are, as he barely touches the puck for any extended period of time .. long shot to an extreme long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft as a fourth-liner, but a candidate to earn selection in his second year of eligibility, especially if he's healthy .. no college commitment of yet .. as of Jan. 31 he had 1 assist in 12 games .. suffered a knee injury at the Fall Classic and did not play until Dec. 31, after the Christmas break.

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

Mark Anthoine (2010), RW, Chicago

Third-year USHLer got off to a hot start but has cooled down some .. has adequate speed, but isn't considered as speedy .. not a lot of acceleration with the puck, either .. a heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options .. makes crisp, fairly hard passes .. has a crisp, reasonably hard wristshot .. engages physically going for the puck and on the forecheck .. not as physical as he was early in his USHL career, when he didn't have as big of an offensive role .. has a good compete level to drive the net with opponents on his back .. in his third year of draft eligibility and created a little interest with his hot start, but is still an extreme long shot .. committed to Maine .. as of Jan. 31 he had 21 goals and 17 assists in 38 games .. played for the East Division in the USHL All-Star Game .. started the season with 13 goals and 9 assists in his first 16 games .. had cooled down to 8 goals and 7 assists in previous 27 games through Jan. 31.

2010 Draft Grade: D (extreme long shot)

Zach Rall (2010), D, Chicago

Serviceable USHL prospect defenseman .. maintains a fairly wide base backwards and allows his gaps to shrink .. will engage physically and can rub opponents out with a hip check .. breakout passes are usually crisp and typically on target, but could be a little harder .. not a lot of notes on Rall, as he does not receive a lot of icetime .. an extreme long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. has a wide skating stance skating the puck .. no college commitment of yet .. as of Jan. 31 he had 4 assists in 33 games.

2010 Draft Grade: D (extreme long shot)

Mark Adams (Buf), D, Chicago

Hasn't really made the impact hoped for as an NHL pick .. maintains a wide base backwards and usually eliminates his crossovers .. will adjust backwards with crossovers, as opposed to defensemen like John Moore and Nick Jensen .. makes hard, crisp, accurate point-to-point passes .. also makes crisp breakout passes .. has a hard slapper that he keeps low .. able to build good cruising speed with the puck .. gets upright under acceleration and in speed bursts with the puck .. will pinch in down low in the offensive zone .. communicates with his teammates in the defensive zone .. will probably require all four years of college before signing a two-way contract with Buffalo .. committed to Providence College .. as of Jan. 31 he had 3 goals and 3 assists in 31 games .. scored four points in four games Nov. 6 through Nov. 14 (3-1-4) .. had only 1 assist in his previous 18 games as of Jan. 31.

Jamie Oleksiak (2011), D, Sioux Falls (traded)

Traded to Sioux Falls Jan. 21 for defenseman Richard Coyne .. maintains a wide base backwards and minimizes crossovers .. lower legs "v" out a lot when backwards .. executes smooth pivots from backward to forward and takes no extra steps .. makes smooth one-footed stops backward .. stride forward is a bit truncated .. isn't particularly fast or explosive .. generally makes the simple play with the puck .. has a crisp wristshot .. 6-foot-6 and obviously, has a long reach, but can make some decent sweeping stickhandling moves .. a decent prospect, but seemed to be plateauing with Chicago .. perhaps a change of scenery is just what the doctor ordered .. committed to Northeastern .. as of Jan. 31 he had 10 assists in 29 games for the Steel and had 1 goal in 4 games for Sioux Falls .. tallied five points in the first give games of the season .. had an 11-game pointless streak Oct. 24 through Nov. 25 .. had five assists in his final 13 games with Chicago.

Peter Hand (2011), D, Chicago

Budding puckmoving defenseman .. has decent speed with the puck, but not elite speed .. stride is truncated at times .. has decent poise with the puck at the point .. will lay down some fakes at the point .. has decent lateral agility to evade checkers at the point .. still awkward at times walking the blueline .. makes crisp, smooth passes on the breakout and at the point .. can execute some really hard passes .. has a decent slapper and a decent wristshot .. plays with some physicality .. will step up for hits in the neutral zone .. can get a little overactive with his stick at times .. willing to drop the gloves .. fairly stout at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds .. could potentially equate to former Cedar Rapids RoughRider Paul Phillips, although more willing to drop the gloves .. committed to Ohio State .. as of Jan. 31 he had 2 assists in 33 games.

Theo DiPauli (2011), C, Chicago

Very limited viewing, as he was injured during early January viewing and received fourth-line icetime in mid-January viewing .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck and the backcheck .. 5-foot-9, 173 pounds, but engages physically and will finish his checks .. has a decent wristshot .. able to shield the puck reasonably well despite limited size .. no college commitment of yet .. as of Jan. 31 he had 2 goals and 2 assists in 25 games .. was out injured from early December through mid-January.