Minnesota High School Prospect Report Part 2

In Part 2 of his report, McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey enters notes on goaltender Peter Traber and defenseman Mike Reilly from Shattuck St. Mary's, as well as a number of top defensemen out of the Minnesota high school hockey ranks eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Mike Reilly (2011), D, Shattuck St. Mary's

Has decent cruising speed with the puck .. an accurate passer, although needs to work at consistently making his passes crisp and reducing wobble .. capable of firing hard, crisp passes, though .. lobs crisp wristers in from the point, although he could use more shot power .. poised and confident at the point and incorporates fakes into his game .. is smooth backward and has decent acceleration backward .. undersized at just under 5-foot-11 and 150 pounds, but can angle opponents toward the boards successfully .. thinks the game well, but has a lot of filling out to do .. was leading Shattuck's prep team in defense scoring .. USHL rights are held by Sioux Falls and it is anticipated he will play with the Stampede in 2011-12, quite possibly joining his two twin brothers, who could both return to Sioux Falls next season ..Central Scouting's mid-season ranking notwithstanding, seems more like a potential late-round pick .. committed to Minnesota (2012-13).

Nick Seeler (2011), D, Eden Prairie

Strong offensive numbers, but is also good defensively .. maintains a wide base backward, eliminates crossovers, and stays low .. good explosiveness backward and has good speed backward .. lets his gaps close and has the mobility to engage at or near the blueline .. makes hard, smooth passes .. transitions the puck well with his d-partner, which is typically Curt Rau .. has a hard, crisp wristshot from the point that he keeps low .. combination of skating and stickhandling gives him a quick release from the point .. decent slapper from the point, too .. smooth walking the blueline with the puck and can get a shot off quickly .. has good cruising speed with the puck .. executes smooth, quick pivots in all directions .. displays good quickness .. uses his quickness to pinch in from the point, but is responsible doing so .. quick lateral movement at the point .. smooth backward with the puck .. able to drag the puck in toward is body well and is also good at dragging the puck around opponents .. adequate size at just under 6-foot-0 and 170 pounds .. ended the Minnesota regular season with 7 goals and 27 assists in 22 games .. USHL rights are held by Muskegon and is expected to play for the Lumberjacks in 2011-12 .. unheralded blueliner is worthy of late-round consideration .. committed to Nebraska-Omaha (2012-13)

Dan Molenaar (2011), D, Eden Prairie

One of the top defensemen in Minnesota high school hockey .. a smooth skater with a fairly powerful stride and good cruising speed .. likes to join the play offensively, but has the speed to recover defensively .. heads-up stickhandler skating the puck and can assess his options .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. adept at springing teammates with long-distance passes .. possesses a hard, crisp wristshot, generated by a lot of stick bend .. also has a crisp slapshot and one-timer .. doesn't pass up an opportunity to venture deep into the offensive zone if he's one of the first three attackers .. good all-compass mobility backward and can angle his man toward the boards .. able to make some big hip checks .. plays with some physicality down low in the corners and along the boards .. in general, displayed more physicality in high school viewings than he did in the Elite League .. not big by NHL standards at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, but doesn't play small and has the mobility .. ended the Minnesota high school regular season with 4 goals and 19 assists in 23 games .. continues to show why he was invited to the 2009 USNTDP Evaluation Camp and is worthy of late-round consideration .. USHL rights are held by Green Bay Gamblers .. no college commitment of yet.

Max Everson (2011), D, Edina

Unfortunately, he was injured suffering a dislocated wrist along with a broken bone in his wrist Feb. 10 but returned Feb. 26 for Edina's Section 2AA Semifinal game against Prior Lake .. named one of the ten finalists for the 2011 Minnesota Mr. Hockey award and one of only two defensemen .. finished the Minnesota regular season with 4 goals and 17 assists in 22 games .. played for the USNTDP Under-18 team from September through early November and finished with 1 goal and 2 assists in 17 games .. USHL rights are held by Omaha, but isn't expected to play for the Lancers in 2011-12 .. a fairly safe bet to be a mid-round pick in the 2011 Draft .. committed to Harvard (2011-12).

Peter Traber (2011), G, Shattuck St. Mary's

Solid, well-rounded package in net .. quick down and up .. maintains a compact butterfly .. directs pad saves toward the corners and the end boards .. able to butterfly his legs out pretty far .. keeps his torso upright in the butterfly and does a good job dampening shots to his torso by giving a little bit in his upper body, thus preventing rebounds off the chest protector .. able to get up quickly two legs at a time .. confident and controlled in his crease movements .. gets across his crease quickly with strong push offs .. executes quick, smooth pad slides across his crease and keeps his torso upright .. able to butterfly his legs out pretty far in his pad slides, taking away a lot of the bottom of the net .. also smooth and quick across his crease on his skates .. tracks the puck very well .. does a good job of keeping his eye on the puck off rebounds while keeping his body in position to make saves .. uses his stick well to direct pucks away from the net .. has a quick blocker and directs blocker saves to the end boards and the corners .. also sports a quick glove hand and makes crisp glove saves .. decent size at just over 6-foot-1 and at 185 pounds .. certainly worthy of late-round consideration for the 2011 Draft, and quite possibly late mid-round selection .. no college commitment of yet.