New Balance for U.S. U-18 Backend

The U.S. Under-17 was a bit undersized in 2009-10, but the 1993s have a much more balanced defensive-corps in front of their impressive goaltending in 2010-11. McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey caught the USNTDP Under-18 team in action at the 2010 USHL Fall Classic and enters notes on Robbie Russo, Michael Paliotta, and Joe Fiala, goaltenders John Gibson and Matt McNeely, and injury fill-ins Matt Killian and Max Everson.

Robbie Russo (2011), D, USA U-18

On track for a solid draft year .. a smooth operator in all facets of the game .. a smooth skater with good speed .. makes smooth turns with the puck and can make them tight if necessary .. consistently makes hard, smooth, crisp passes that are on the tape .. works with his defensive partners well in transitioning the puck and at the point .. patient with the puck and has good offensive vision .. not big at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, but doesn't play small .. smooth skater backward who maintains a fairly wide base and who lets his gaps close .. does play with some physicality, as he'll step up for hits at or near the blueline and is backing in less often than he did last season .. even stepped up for a hit on power forward Seth Ambroz in the neutral zone in one viewing .. wore an "A" at the Fall Classic and will likely wear it the whole season .. was the U-17 team's top defenseman offensively last season and is expected to carry that mantle again in 2010-11 .. projects to contend for second-round selection in the 2011 Draft .. committed to Notre Dame.

Michael Paliotta (2011), D, USA U-18

Provides a lot of the Under-18 team's physical presence .. 6-foot-3, 200-pounder will step up for hits near the blueline and will come across the zone to make a hit .. plays with some physicality game in his own zone .. still needs to improve his skating, though .. is a slightly upright skater forward, particularly when circling with the puck .. gets upright in his pivots and takes extra steps .. could use more power in his backward acceleration .. could use more power in his skating in general, which should also make him even stronger on his skates .. sports a hard, smooth slapshot and a hard one-timer .. wristshot is also hard and crisp .. makes hard, crisp, accurate breakout passes .. didn't put up big offensive numbers with the U-17 team in 2010-11, but does have decent vision to connect on passes and find teammates from the point .. at this time, he projects as a defensive defenseman who plays with some physicality and who can move the puck reliably .. committed to Vermont.

Joe Fiala (2011), D, USA U-18

Played an almost strictly defensive game after joining the U-17 team last season, but now he's joining the offense much more .. has a decent frame to work with at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds .. has good all-compass mobility .. has good speed and stride extension .. possesses good agility and can make nice cuts .. makes crisp and accurate breakout passes and is now joining the attack more .. appears fairly comfortable joining the rush now, although he's responsible doing so .. provides a physical presence to the U-18 team, too .. tallied no points in 24 games with the U-17 team, but now looks like he'll be playing more of a two-way role for the U-18 team .. no college commitment of yet.

Matt Killian (2011), D, USA U-18

Late 1992 added from the New Jersey Jr. Devils U18 team because of injuries to Connor Murphy, Jake McCabe, and Andy Ryan .. acquitted himself well as a newcomer .. maintains a wide base backwards, stays down low, and lets his gaps close at or near the blueline .. has decent power accelerating backward, which also gives him good speed backward .. his ability to stop and start quickly allows him to stick with opponents down low .. makes hard, crisp passes .. has a hard slapshot and does a good job of keeping it on net and deflectable .. also sports a decent wristshot .. has good size at 6-foot-2 and 194 pounds .. put up great numbers in New Jersey high school hockey with Delbarton in 2009-10 and decent numbers with the New Jersey Colonials' U18 team, so some offensive contributions wouldn't be unexpected .. a very solid fill-in for the U-18 .. committed to Yale.

Max Everson (2011), D, USA U-18

Added to the U-18 team out of Edina High School of the Minnesota high school ranks and acquitted himself well .. fired crisp breakout and outlet passes and looked like he had been playing with the team for a while .. has a fairly powerful stride that produces good speed .. possesses good all-compass mobility .. not big at 6-foot-0 and 185 pounds, but played with some physicality and did well in battles along the boards .. played well at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament in August and has only strengthened his chances for selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft .. no college commitment of yet.

Barrett Kaib (2011), D, USA U-18

Has made solid progress since last season .. only 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, but is still a junkyard dog.. maintains a wide base backward, giving him good mobility .. has decent power accelerating backward and demonstrates good form .. takes extra steps pivoting from backward to forward, though .. able to launch into his checks .. plays physical in the corners and in front of his net .. is also a threat to lay down open-ice hits .. will engage physically in 50/50 battles racing to the puck .. displayed some offensive potential .. showed some speed with the puck and increased confidence with the puck .. is now employing some slick stickhandling moves to drag it around opponents .. has quick feet handling the puck backward .. makes hard, crisp breakout passes .. doesn't give up on plays defensively .. role is still more of a defensive and physical role, but the offensive flashes are encouraging .. faces an uphill battle for selection in the 2011 Draft because of his size, but Kaib is someone with a chance of following in the footsteps of a Francis Bouillon .. no college commitment of yet.

Matt VanVoorhis (2011), D, USA U-18

Provides significant mobility to the U-18 team's blueline .. has excellent acceleration backward, which allows him to face the play more often and pivot less .. however, pivots from backward to forward are picture perfect .. smooth mobility backward gives him a lot of confidence to let his gaps close and angle his man to the boards .. undersized at 5-foot-7 and 162 pounds, but his strong skating allows him to prevent larger opponents from driving the net as he steers them away .. strong on his skates and can take opponents off the puck .. makes some open-ice hits .. is very explosive forward and can get to loose pucks quickly .. very smooth walking the blueline with lateral steps .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. brought in to play a puckmoving role, but he plays a solid two-way game .. committed to Denver.

John Gibson (2011), G, USA U-18

Starts the season as the U-18's number one goalie, at least 1A, after establishing himself as such in 2009-10 on the Under-17 team .. executes smooth and composed pad slides and does a good job of keeping his torso upright .. can employ quick crease movements if necessary, such as scrambles in front of the net .. loads up and pushes off well and can even change direction mid pad slide .. able to get up and across quickly .. quickly takes away the five hole .. doesn't automatically go down on every shot .. tracks the puck well and stays square to the shooter .. and takes a lot of pucks to the chest and allows few rebounds from the chest protector .. makes crisp glove saves .. does have the athletic base to spread out and make a big splits save if necessary .. adept at directing his rebounds away from the net .. a decent puckhandler and can steer the puck up the boards .. has the tools and also the desired size at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds .. no college commitment of yet.

Matt McNeely (2011), G, USA U-18

Starts the season as the number two goalie, or perhaps 1B, and gives the Under-18 team a great tandem in net .. maintains a compact butterfly and does a great job of directing butterfly saves toward the boards .. able to push off well and has good lateral movement to get across his crease quickly .. keeps his torso upright .. tracks the puck well through traffic .. also tracks his rebounds well and resets quickly .. makes crisp glove saves .. lost his form and started scrambling at times last year, which hurt his rebound control, but it looks like McNeely has improved his panic threshold .. maintained his form and calm on some point-blank chances at the Fall Classic .. like Gibson, he has good size at 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds .. committed to Minnesota-Duluth.