McNeely Making His Mark

Not a lot of goalies come to the U.S. National Development Program after having been a backup, but that's the case for Matt McNeely. McNeely shone in midget minor hockey for the Minnesota Blades prior to the 2008-09 Minnesota high school season, but he was the backup at St. Thomas Academy to junior netminder Kurt Altrichter, who backstopped St. Thomas to the Minnesota Class A State Championship in 2008 and thus received the nod as number one last season. McNeely still saw a decent number of games given Altrichter's resume, but now McNeely really has the opportunity to make his mark on the prospect map, and it's already started by leading the USA U-17 team to the gold medal at the Four Nations Tournament in November.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch the USA U-17 team in action twice during the first half of the USHL regular season and enters notes on goaltenders Matt McNeely and John Gibson, as well as the forwards not currently amongst the team's top seven.

Matt McNeely (2011), G, USA U-17

Lone viewing of McNeely is from late October .. tall goalie (6-foot-2, 182 pounds) who maintains a compact butterfly .. quick crease movements, but doesn't always appear to be in full control .. rebound control is inconsistent .. most pucks to the chest are controlled well, but struggles to control loose pucks around his crease .. sometimes creates juicy rebounds with his pad saves .. glove saves are usually crisp, but not always .. does a good job of directing blocker saves into the corner .. plays a bit deep in his crease at times .. has a lot of the tools, and few 16-year-old goalies shine in the USHL, particularly with a team entirely of 16-year-olds in front of him .. committed to Maine for 2011-12 .. played Minnesota high school hockey for St. Thomas Academy and compiled a 9-1-1 record in 11 games, a 1.43 G.AA, and a .920 save percentage .. also played midget minor for the Minnesota Blades and compiled a 16-3-0 record in 19 games, a 1.47 G.AA, and a .930 save percentage .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had played 685:43 min in over 12 USHL games and had a 1-9-2 record, 0 shutouts, a 4.72 G.AA, and a .882 save percentage .. played 120 minutes over 2 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November and went 2-0-0, had 0 shutouts, a 2.00 G.AA, and a .918 save percentage .. had played 951 minutes over 18 total games for the USA U-17 team and had a 4-10-2 record, 0 shutouts, a 4.23 G.AA, and a .888 save percentage as of Dec. 21.

John Gibson (2011), G, USA U-17

Injured early in the season but is looking good now .. tall goaltender (6-foot-2, 188 pounds) who has very composed pad slides .. does a good job of keeping his torso upright in his pad slides and in the butterfly .. conscientious in loading up and pushing off, but it needs to be a bit quicker .. doesn't always get across in one push .. patient in the crease and doesn't typically bite early but waits for the shooter to make the first move .. also does a good job to not panic when he has the puck around his crease and a forechecker is coming in .. has the athletic base to make desperation saves if needed .. does a good job of getting the paddle down to stop dumped pucks .. viewing was more positive than McNeely's, but McNeely's came when the U-17 team was still getting blown out by USHL competition, which was no longer the case by the Gibson viewing in late November .. committed to Ohio State for 2011-12 .. played midget minor for the Pittsburgh Hornets in 2008-09 and played 36 games, compiled a 24-7-3 record, had 3 shutouts, a 1.82 G.AA, and a .903 save percentage .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had played 279:15 min in over 5 games, with a 2-2-0 record, 0 shutouts, a 4.30 G.AA, and a .899 save percentage .. did not play at the Four Nations Tournament November, as he was out due to injury .. had played 319 minutes in 6 total games for the USA U-17 team and had a 1-4-0 record, 0 shutouts, a 4.89 G.AA, and a .884 save percentage as of Dec. 21.

Zac Larraza (2011), LW, USA U-17

Doesn't have a lot of points yet, but sure has some skill .. a slick stickhandler who can execute his moves at speed .. 6-foot-2 winger has a nice reach and is comfortable handing the puck wide and away from his body but can quickly drag it back in with a toe drag .. occasionally loses control of the puck when making his fancy moves, but this should get better over time .. able to protect the puck down low with swivels and stickhandling prowess and can drive the net off the boards .. a bit upright in his skating .. plays with some physicality .. finishes his checks, including in the neutral zone and at the point in his defensive zone .. does a good job of keeping his feet moving and battling through opponent's checks .. just waiting for Larraza to breakout with the USA U-17 team, because he has the tools to become a skilled power forward .. committed to Denver University for 2011-12 .. played midget major for P.F. Changs in 2008-09 and scored 11 goals and 12 assists in 26 games .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 3 goals in 15 USHL games .. scored 1 goal and 1 assist in 3 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November .. had 4 goals and 1 assist in 22 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.

Michael Vilardo (2011), LW/RW, USA U-17

A late 1992 playing on the U-17 team in USHL action, but not in tournaments .. has some impressive stick skills .. able to bring the puck back into his body quickly and is also adept at protecting the puck with swivels to keep his body between the puck and the opponent .. over stickhandles in the neutral zone with the puck, which slows him down .. has a decent wristshot and a nice backhand .. will throw in some fakes on the opponent and can still make a play or take the shot .. shows some quickness on the forecheck and puts in a decent effort .. able to generate decent speed in his crossovers even though he's a bit upright .. had been slated to play midget major with the Chicago Mission, but is, in essence, going to get a year of USHL experience .. thankfully, is born on Sept. 16, so he'll be able to play a full year on a USHL team or an OHL team during his draft year .. played midget minor for Team Illinois in 2008 -09 and scored 19 goals and 29 assists in 31 Tier 1 Elite League games .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 1 goal and 4 assists in 15 USHL games .. did not play at the Four Nations Tournament in November, as he is too old as a late 1992 .. had 1 goal and 4 assists in 15 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.

Cole Bardreau (2011), RW, USA U-17

Playing more of a defensive role for the USA U-17 team .. has nice cruising speed, which he uses on the forecheck often .. able to get well out on his edges, giving him notable agility .. gets a little upright under acceleration .. a conscientious backchecker who'll play the body from the side when he catches the opponent .. puts himself in place to intercept passes, including on the penalty kill .. able to make some nice one-touch passes to advance the puck on the breakout .. a real bonus for USA U-17 team to have a player of this caliber playing this role .. committed to Cornell .. played midget major for the Rochester Alliance in 2008-09 and scored 28 goals and 48 assists in 35 games .. also played New York high school hockey with Fairport High School and scored 16 goals and 16 assists in 16 games .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 3 assists in 15 USHL games .. went without a point in 3 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November .. had 2 goals and 3 assists in 22 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.

Dan Carlson (2011), C, USA U-17

Limited notes on the USA U-17 team's fourth-line center .. a strong skater .. has decent speed thanks to long stride extension and uses it on the forecheck .. able to generate significant speed in his crossovers, also seen on the forecheck .. has a hard slapshot .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. no college commitment of yet .. played Minnesota high school hockey for Maple Grove High School in 2008-09 and scored 17 goals and 17 assists in 27 games and named the team's Rookie of the Year and an All-Conference Honorable Mention .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break had 2 goals and 2 assists in 14 USHL games .. had 1 assist in 3 games at the Four Nations Tournament in November .. had 3 goals and 3 assists in 19 total games for USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.

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

Very limited notes on Reid, as he has been out injured for much of the season so far .. 6-foot-3, 180-pound winger plays with a physical edge and can absolutely level opponents .. able to fire a hard pass .. looking forward to seeing Reid in further action later in the season to take more notes on him .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget major for the LA Selects in 2008-09 and scored 31 goals and 12 assists in 48 games and helped the team win the California state championship .. heading into the USHL Christmas Break, he had 1 assist in 8 USHL games .. did not play at the Four Nations Tournament in November due to injury .. had 1 assist in 12 total games for the USA U-17 team as of Dec. 21.