Nothing to Skoff At

Normally, a 2.74 goals-against average would win you the majority of your games, but not so for Matt Skoff. Unfortunately, his Sioux City Musketeer teammates have only been able to score, as of Feb. 22, an anemic 2.45 goals per game, which was only ahead of Lincoln's meager 2.37 goals per game in the 14-team USHL. A sub.-500 record doesn't stop Skoff from impressing the discerning eye, though. He's remarkably consistent, extremely calm in net, and technically sound, and also possesses the most impressive crease movement in the USHL, and that includes the USNTDP's Jack Campbell (by a hair). If any USHL netminder other than Team USA's Campbell deserves consideration for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, it's Matt Skoff.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to catch the Sioux City Musketeers once in late January and once in February and enters notes on goaltender Matt Skoff, defenseman Kevin Gravel, 2012-eligible Richard Zehnal, and a few other Musketeer prospects of note.

Matthew Skoff (2010), G, Sioux City

Very underrated .. has impressed in every single viewing this year, even if he didn't win every one .. excellent crease movements .. smooth, controlled pad slides .. exceptional at changing directions in his pad slides, which helps him to reset extremely quickly .. can't stress enough how well he can load up with one leg against his momentum in his pad slides and then slide the other direction .. is able to incorporate going down, across, and up, or any combination of the three, in one smooth motion .. best crease movement in the USHL .. able to load up with one leg well and get across his crease in composed fashion .. always maintains his composure regardless of what's going on around him .. also remains calm when pressured when handling the puck .. generally makes the simple play when moving the puck .. able to direct his rebounds well and then reset quickly .. also covers rebounds in front of him quickly .. does a good job of tracking the puck in traffic .. reads the play well and is able to stay square to the shooter thanks to his tracking abilities .. good extension in his kick saves .. has the athletic base to make highlight-reel saves if he has to, but generally stands out for his beautiful technical skill .. has sufficient size at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds .. has all the tools necessary for future success .. don't know what NHL teams think, but I'd sure as Hades consider him in the late rounds of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. has a third year of draft eligibility left and is slated to return to Sioux City in 2010-11 .. no college commitment of yet, but is receiving interest (Minnesota, St. Cloud, Western Michigan, and Holy Cross) .. as of Feb. 22, he had played 1972:27 min in over 35 games with a 13-16-5 record, 1 shutout, a 2.74 goals-against average, and a .898 save percentage.

Kevin Gravel (2010), D, Sioux City

Big frame at 6-foot-4, 185 pounds and is the Musketeers' most likely prospect to be drafted, but needs to hone his game in a number of areas .. gets a bit upright accelerating backwards, taking him out of a power position .. reduces his crossovers by the blueline and employs a semi-wide base, but it could be a bit wider .. lets his gaps close and will step up to engage physically .. doesn't always finish his hits with the force he could .. able to stop quickly .. has good stride extension forward and can employ some nice speed bursts .. skating can get a little clunky at times, though .. passing game still needs work .. able to make smooth, accurate passes, but they could be harder .. also has a lot of passes whom the target is unknown and result in icing .. would feel a lot better about Gravel if the vast majority of his breakout passes were on target .. able to gets shots off from the point quickly, but they're only of average velocity .. wristshot and snapshot are reasonably crisp, though .. sees some time on the penalty kill and a little time on the powerplay now and again .. no part of Gravel's game that I'd consider superior to former Musketeer Seth Helgeson, who went in the fourth round of the 2009 Draft .. considered a mid-round pick by some, I'd be inclined to wait until the sixth round on Gravel .. committed to St. Cloud State .. as of Feb. 22, he had 2 goals and 2 assists in 37 games .. played in the USHL All-Star Game as an alternate for the injured Eamonn McDermott of Fargo.

Adam Schmidt (2010), LW, Sioux City

Hasn't been the impact on the scoresheet in 2009-10 as hoped .. puts in a decent effort in all games, but starts to stand out when he puts in his best effort .. an effective power forward when he's playing his hardest .. often F1 on the forecheck and will finish his checks .. able to fight through checks and drive down the alley and then toward the net .. 6-foot-2, 185-pounder plays big man in front on the powerplay .. able to get out on his edges in his coasting turns and in his crossovers, a definite upgrade over the past 18 months .. has the quickness to win short races for the puck .. also has good cruising speed with the puck or for the forecheck or backcheck .. able to fire a hard off-foot shot .. also has a crisp backhand .. shows some playmaking ability, but sometimes makes blind centering passes .. a regular on the powerplay .. was close to a point-per-game pace from late October through to the Christmas Break .. is now an extreme long shot in his second year of draft eligibility with less than 20 goals and well below a point per game .. committed to Holy Cross .. as of Feb. 22, he had 9 goals and 18 assists in 44 games.

Jose Delgadillo (2010), D, Sioux City

Added to the roster in mid-November and has stuck around .. typically maintains a narrow base backwards, which he needs to widen .. gets upright accelerating backwards and upright backwards in general .. relies on crossovers backward too much, which high-level USHL forwards will exploit to their advantage as they catch him crossing over the wrong way .. upright stance backward leaves him out of a power position to engage physically or even for maximum reach on poke checks .. has average speed with the puck .. gets upright in his pivots from backward to forward and also under acceleration forward .. generally makes crisp, accurate passes .. has a decent slapshot .. sees some time on the penalty kill .. has some size to work with at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds .. an extreme long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but hopefully can return in 2010-11 having made improvements to his skating .. no college commitment of yet .. as of Feb. 22, he had 1 assist in 26 games.

Dan DeKeyser (2010), D, Sioux City

Looked like a good bet to be one of Sioux City's top two defensemen judging by the Fall Classic, but a high ankle sprain suffered in late October derailed that opportunity .. missed nearly two months and returned to action Dec. 18 .. was a healthy scratch for the first viewing .. looked good in the second viewing .. maintains a wide base backwards, reduces crossovers, and has good lateral mobility .. lets his gap close by the blueline and is ready to engage physically every time .. will engage physically deep in his defensive zone, too .. has average speed forward and could afford to lengthen his stride .. is a bit upright in his skating, but he has a lot of hunch forward in the upper back .. stride can get a little "railroad"-like at times .. still listed at 6-foot-2, 174 pounds, and still looks heavier than that .. is an extreme long shot in his third year of draft eligibility, but he could be someone who earns a two-way contract after college with further development .. committed to Western Michigan .. as of Feb. 22, he had 1 goal and 5 assists in 6 games.

Mitch Zion (2010), C, Sioux City

Third-line center who fulfills the role well .. Zion's buzzing all shift every shift with his quick feet and overall quickness .. has good cruising speed and the quickness to get to loose pucks or to separate from opponents .. uses his speed and quickness on both the forecheck and the backcheck .. can be shifty with the puck and make quick lateral stickhandling maneuvers .. able to draw the puck in well and get shots off .. does a good job of using his feet along the boards .. will play the body and engage physically .. sees time on the powerplay .. somewhat undersized at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, but not prohibitively so .. an extreme long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but may be someone to monitor in the USHL in 2010-11 during his second year of draft eligibility .. committed to Clarkson .. as of Feb. 22, had 6 goals and 8 assists in 40 games.

Richard Zehnal (2012), C, Sioux City

Young Czech is playing on the fourth line at even strength, but receiving fairly regular icetime and seeing some time on the powerplay .. seeing more extended touches with the puck, and is looking good doing so .. does a good job of protecting the puck along the boards and is willing to absorb punishment to do it .. has good speed with the puck and is a heads-up stickhandler .. able to make tight cuts and lateral moves with the puck and can lay down some jukes or utilize sweeping stickhandling maneuvers .. able to use his size and speed (listed at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, although that seems tall) to establish physical positioning for the puck in races or down low .. makes crisp passes off the boards or on the attack .. still putting in a nice defensive effort .. forechecks hard .. plays with some physicality (destroyed Des Moines' Ami Peled in open ice in one viewing with a gigantic hit) .. puts himself in a position to intercept passes .. willing to drop and block shots .. came into the USHL as a remarkably mature 1994-born, has developed steadily in 2009-10, and is on his way toward being a real force .. would be advised to return to the USHL and challenge to be a top-six forward in 2010-11 before attempting to jump to major juniors .. no college commitment .. as of Feb. 22, he had 3 goals and 2 assists in 40 games.

Darik Angeli (2010), LW, Traded to Chicago

Traded by the Muskeeters at the roster freeze to the Chicago Steel with Billy Latta in exchange for Alex Krushelnyski (uncertain if any USHL Entry Draft or Futures Draft considerations were included) .. had one of the best sets of hands on the team and was second in Sioux City goal scoring behind Stephan Vigier .. budding power forward at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds .. still showing the impressive top speed and stride extension .. also has nice explosiveness without the puck, and good acceleration with it .. if not at top speed, still employs a nice cruising speed on the ice .. edgework still needs some work, but it appears to have made some improvement .. doesn't show in the stats, but actually has some playmaking ability .. able to execute hard, crisp, accurate passes and has decent offensive vision to spot teammates in front or at the point or on the attack .. was a regular on Sioux City's powerplay .. forechecks fairly hard and can lay down some big hits .. with the fire sale the Steel had at the deadline, could catch fire if he finds chemistry with his new linemates .. extreme long shot to be selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, his final year of eligibility as a late 1990, even if he does put up impressive numbers down the stretch for the Steel .. no college commitment of yet .. had 9 goals and 6 assists in 36 games with Sioux City prior to his trade to Chicago .. as of Feb. 22, he had no points in 4 games with the Steel.

Other Notes

McKeen's was unable to catch former USNTDP goaltender Will Yanakeff in action with Sioux City in the late January and early February viewings, because he was out of the lineup with a nagging injury (hip). Yankeff was traded to Waterloo on Feb. 6, the USHL roster freeze deadline, for Nick Sorkin (unsure if any USHL Entry Draft or Futures Draft considerations were included) and had not played for Waterloo as of February 22, but he was expected to return to the ice in the near future. For Sioux City, Yanakeff played 613:24 min in over 12 games and compiled a 5-4-0 record, no shutouts, a 3.23 goals-against average, and a .887 save percentage. Yanakeff will be given the chance to establish himself as the number one over C.J. Motte in Waterloo, but there's no guarantee that'll happen. Yanakeff's draft stock would certainly solidify if he finishes the season strong with Waterloo and, most especially, if he wins a playoff round for the Black Hawks, as it looks probable at this early juncture that they'll be the fourth seed in the East Division and face the Green Bay Gamblers in the first round of the Clark Cup Playoffs.

In addition, McKeen's was only able to take a couple notes on right wing Andrew Sinelli, who suffered a knee injury during the first viewing and was out of the lineup for the second viewing. Sinelli only missed two weeks due to the injury and as of Feb. 22, he had 4 goals and 9 assists in 39 games. Despite having a lot of tools to work with, the right-winger's modest production skating on Sioux City's third line makes him an extreme long shot for selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The Michigan native is slated to attend Michigan State next fall, but it'd be advisable for Sinelli to skate one more year in the USHL and compete for a top-six spot in Sioux City before moving on to the NCAA D1 ranks.