Montpetit Following Well-Worn Waterloo Path

In 2007-08, it was Billy Maday. In 2008-09, it was Craig Smith. In 2009-10, it's Brock Montpetit.

What do they have in common? They all had breakout seasons with the Waterloo Black Hawks in their third year of draft eligibility.

For Billy Maday, it meant serving as an alternate captain and scoring 24 goals and 35 assists in 60 games while providing a bit of a physical edge, too. For Craig Smith, it meant being the captain and scoring 28 goals and 48 assists in 54 games and providing a significant physical edge, which earned Smith selection in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators. Maday went undrafted, but probably shouldn't have. He had an impressive freshman season with Notre Dame and is in contention to lead the Fighting Irish in scoring in his sophomore season. Smith, meanwhile, has established himself as one of Wisconsin's top scorers in his freshman season.

Like Smith, Montpetit is in his third year in the USHL, is Waterloo's captain, and is leading the team in scoring. In fact, Montpetit's 19 goals and 23 assists in 30 games put him on pace to surpass Smith's production, his 60 penalty minutes put him on pace to surpass Smith's 108, too. Montpetit is a bit smaller than Smith at just under 5-foot-10, but he's a solid 187 pounds and plays with just as much scrappiness as his former teammate. If recent history is any indication, NHL teams would be advised to at least consider Montpetit for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, and the University of Nebraska-Omaha can expect him to be an impact player in his freshman season as the Mavericks make the jump to the WCHA.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to catch the Waterloo Black Hawks three times during the first half of the season and enters notes on Brock Montpetit, Nick Sorkin, Scott Wamsganz, and the rest of Waterloo's prospect forwards eligible for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 NHL Entry Drafts.

Nick Sorkin (2010), LW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Skating is making some strides .. able to build nice cruising speed with the puck .. straight-line speed with the puck, such as on the forecheck or backcheck can get pretty impressive .. shows some quickness forward and laterally for loose pucks .. acceleration with the puck still needs work, as he doesn't have the best separation of yet .. has good stride extension and his deceptive speed becomes apparent in races for the puck or in traffic .. crossovers are now much better than during the preseason, as he's not as upright as he was .. generally displays good calm and vision with the puck, but makes blind passes at times .. good stickhandler who can make some slick toe drags .. showing good defensive effort with such things as sliding shot blocks .. engaging more physically on defense .. would like to see more shots from Sorkin .. is making real progress in his skating and, as noted previously, could become very fast and much more explosive as he fills out, particularly his lower body .. at least 6-foot-1.5, although listed at 6-foot-2 by some sources .. a probable late-round pick, but it would be nice to see some more goals out of Sorkin this year .. committed to New Hampshire .. as of the halfway point of the season, he had 5 goals and 13 assists in 23 games .. played for Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge and had 1 assist in 5 games .. scored five points (2 goals and 3 assists) in his first five games of the season.

2010 Draft Grade: C+ (Sixth round)

Brock Montpetit (2010), C, Waterloo Black Hawks

Craig Smith Part II, only a tad shorter .. one of the best overall players in the USHL in his third season .. has a low skating stance and powerful strides .. able to dart in and out of traffic with the puck .. has excellent separation and can turn on the afterburners and beat the multiple opponents wide simultaneously .. powerful starts and stops .. able to bring the puck toward his body and away from his body well, bolstering his ability to dart in and out of traffic .. heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options and has good offensive vision .. able to make some video-game-like moves without even looking down at the puck .. has nice presence with the puck and doesn't rush his plays and can buy teammates time .. has a hard, crisp wristshot .. 5-foot-10.5, 187-pounder plays a scrappy, physical game .. finishes his checks .. able to thrust into his hits and is a threat to make a big hit in all three zones .. able to make a quick swivel for a nifty hip check .. strong in the faceoff circle .. does a great job of using his body to shield the puck or box out the opposing center .. adept at kicking the puck back on the faceoff .. uses his speed and quickness on the forecheck and the backcheck and helps steer opponents into checks .. active manning the points on the PK .. great combination of quickness, speed, and hustle .. captain who leads by example .. got off to a somewhat slow start offensively, but is really heating up and should be one of the top point-getters by the end of the season .. Craig Smith was drafted, Billy Maday should have been, and Brock Montpetit follows that line and should be considered a possible pick for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. committed to Nebraska-Omaha .. as of the halfway point of the season, he had 19 goals and 23 assists in 30 games .. had only 2 goals and 3 assists in 8 games in October .. has had four three-point games, including consecutive three-point games Nov. 25, 26 , and 28. .. had one four-point game Jan. 9.

2010 Draft Grade: C- (Possible pick)

Scott Wamsganz (2010), LW/RW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Somewhat limited icetime playing on the fourth line, but is fulfilling that role well .. 6-foot-4, 180-pounder (doesn't appear that lanky on the ice) plays a physical game .. makes some nice shoulder checks on the half boards on the forecheck .. also a threat to come crashing in on opposing defensemen .. will come across the zone to make a big hit .. also makes some open-ice hits .. has decent cruising speed with the puck .. gets a bit upright accelerating and in his crossovers .. edge control in turns is still a bit shaky at times .. despite lack of icetime, he is showing some confidence with the puck and can make some plays down low .. has some real potential, but Wamsganz is a long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. the type of player who could make a real push for the 2011 Draft, his second year of eligibility when he plays a larger role for Waterloo .. committed to Colorado College .. as of the halfway point, he had 1 goal and 4 assists in 28 games .. had a 13-game pointless streak from Oct. 9 through Nov. 25.

2010 Draft Grade: D+ (Long shot)

Mario Puskarich (2010), LW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Having a huge year with Chicago Young Americans before joining the Hawks .. has good cruising speed and some quickness .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck down low .. willing to battle to maintain possession of the puck and draws penalties doing so .. also puts in a strong effort driving the net and will put in that second effort even if taken down .. has a decent wristshot .. a long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but worth monitoring at either the USHL or the midget level .. no college commitment of yet .. as of the Christmas Break, he had 1 goal and 3 assists in 3 games .. had a four-point game in his first career USHL game Dec. 16 .. played midget major for the Chicago Young Americans prior to joining Black Hawks and, as of Christmas, had 30 goals and 17 assists in 29 Tier 1 Elite League games .. played midget major for CYA in 2008-09 and scored 14 goals and 13 assists in 44 Tier 1 Elite League games.

2010 Draft Grade: D+ (Long shot)

Alex Jensen (2010), C, Waterloo Black Hawks

Flashes offense with Team Denmark, but he impresses with a defensive game in the USHL .. missed the preseason and the first seven weeks of the regular season with a broken wrist .. has decent speed with the puck .. displays powerful acceleration and good stride extension on the forecheck and the backcheck .. utilizes stops and starts on the forecheck to maintain pressure on opponents and can stick with very shifty opponents down low in both zones .. does a good job of helping out his defensemen down low, preventing shots and plays .. also does a good job of being in place to help his d-men break the puck out .. make crisp passes .. able to execute some quick stickhandling maneuvers .. very nice third-line center for Waterloo, hope to see his offensive numbers increase to a level commensurate with his skill and two-way game .. a long shot for selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft with his current production, particularly it being his third year of draft eligibility .. no college commitment of yet .. as of halfway point, he had 1 goal and 1 assist in 11 games .. played for Denmark at the Division 1, Group A World Junior Championship and scored 2 goals and 7 assists in 5 games, leading the tournament in scoring with 9 points.

2010 Draft Grade: D+(Long shot)

Jamie Hill (2010), RW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Limited viewing in the first half of the season, as he was injured for one viewing and scratched for the late December viewing (unsure if he was ill or injured) .. still demonstrating his first-step quickness with the puck .. his acceleration gives him strong separation .. also uses his quickness and speed on the forecheck and can hound opponents .. listed at 5-foot-8, 147 pounds by the Black Hawks .. impressed with Hill's game from the preseason, but it'll be difficult for him to get the icetime in Waterloo this season necessary to put up the production to be selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at his size .. committed to New Hampshire .. as of the halfway point, he had 6 goals and 9 assists in 25 games .. missed all games in November due to injury until Nov. 20 .. one three-game pointless streak Oct. 24 through Oct. 31.

2010 Draft Grade: D+ (Long shot)

Soren Jonzzon (2010), C/RW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Started to get more icetime in December and he's worthy of it .. received limited icetime early in the season, and took abnormally short shifts as a fourth-liner .. 5-foot-9, 178 pounds, but engages physically going for the puck down low .. plays a physical game defensively, too .. finishes his checks on the forecheck, but will also make hits in his defensive zone and in open-ice .. makes crisp passes on the breakout and in the offensive zone .. has a hard slapshot .. able to execute some nice stickhandling moves to emerge from traffic along the boards .. displays good hand-eye coordination, including batting down his own rebound for a goal in December viewing .. played on the powerplay in December viewing .. looks like Jonzzon will get more icetime in the second half of the season, getting the icetime he proved he was worthy of in the preseason .. no college commitment of yet .. as of halfway point, he had 4 goals and 5 assists in 24 games .. had two five-game pointless streaks and one four-game pointless streak.

2010 Draft Grade: D+ (long shot)

Trent Samuels-Thomas (2011), RW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Wasn't putting up strong numbers in the Atlantic Junior Hockey League when he played for Waterloo before Christmas, but his skating is much further ahead than brother Jordan's was when he entered the USHL .. has decent cruising speed and nice stride extension with the puck .. has some shiftiness with the puck and will buy time with Gretzky circles .. his sharp turns (and turns in general) are far more natural than Jordan's were coming into the USHL and better than when he left the Black Hawks .. like his brother, he displayed some puck protection .. willing to drop and make sliding shot blocks .. at 6-foot-0 and 165 pounds, he needs to fill out more, including adding more lower body strength, but he has some potential .. no college commitment of yet .. as of the Christmas Break, he had 1 assist in 1 game .. started 2009-10 with Portland Junior Pirates of the Atlantic Junior Hockey League and had 2 goals in 12 games .. played midget minor for Victory Honda in 2008-09 and scored 4 goals and 4 assists in 31 Tier 1 Elite League games.

Brady Vail (2012), LW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Limited viewing, as he was scratched for two of three Waterloo viewings in first half, but has adapted so much to the caliber of the USHL from the preseason .. now looks like he belongs and is a contributor from the fourth line .. has decent speed for races to the puck .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck and will play with some physicality .. does get a bit upright in his crossovers .. needs to make sure he's not standing still when he receives the breakout pass and instead starts moving before he gets the pass on the breakout .. despite limited icetime, Vail's game is maturing a lot as a 15-year-old and the early jump is not proving counterproductive at this point .. no college commitment of yet .. as of the halfway point, he had 1 goal and 1 assist in 20 games .. did not play Oct. 11 to Oct. 29 and Nov. 7 to Nov. 19.