Omaha Lancers Fall Classic Report

After all the hype that Chicago Steel prospect John Moore would be the first USHL prospect taken in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, it turned out to be Omaha Lancer Louis Leblanc who went the highest, selected with the 18th overall pick by his hometown Montreal Canadiens. In being selected in the first two rounds straight out of the Lancers' line-up, Leblanc joined an impressive list that includes goaltender Dan Ellis and defensemen Matt Carle, Nick Petrecki, and Patrick Wiercioch. In fact, except for the 2004 Draft, the Lancers have had at least one player selected from its roster in each of the last seven NHL drafts. Omaha doesn't appear to have an early-round prospect on its roster for the 2009-10 season, but history seems to indicate that at least one of Colin Markison, Danny Mattson, or Mathieu Brisson go somewhere in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity the give the Omaha Lancers a look at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and enters notes on NHL draft picks Erik Haula and Anthony Hamburg, a few of the team's 2010-eligible prospects, and potential 2011 early-round-pick Seth Ambroz.

Erik Haula (Min), C, Omaha

The Finnish mold, a solid two-way player with some skill .. has good speed with the puck and was able to split defensemen .. a little upright accelerating .. has good cruising speed on the forecheck .. makes good offensive reads, such as moving back for pinching defensemen, when to join a puck battle, and when to cycle the puck .. hustled into the corners .. defensive awareness is fairly astute and makes some timely stick checks .. 6-foot-0, 175 pound pivot also plays the body .. has a hard one-timer .. was the most impressive Lancer at the 2009 Fall Classic and looks poised to be their top forward .. definitely a bargain for the Wild as a seventh-round pick in the 2009 Draft.. committed to Minnesota .. played prep hockey for Shattuck St. Mary's in 2008-09 and scored 26 goals and 58 assists in 53 games .. scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 5 goals and 2 assists in 5 games for the entire preseason, leading the team in preseason goals and points.

Anthony Hamburg (Min), C, Omaha

Puck patience is his standout feature .. a heads-up stickhandler who opens up to the play along the half boards and does a good job finding the open man for an offensive chance .. able to execute some tight turns and quick stops to evade checkers down low in the offensive zone .. finished his checks, but they lacked oomph at times .. likely to start the season as the third-line center, behind Haula and veteran two-way center Nick Oddo, but has the tools to establish himself as a top-six forward for Omaha .. committed to Colgate .. played midget major for the Dallas Jr. Stars in 2008-09 and scored 16 goals and 38 assists in 46 Tier 1 regular-season games .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 5 games for the entire preseason.

Colin Markison (2010), LW, Omaha

No questions about his effort and speed .. has excellent acceleration with or without the puck and has an extra gear for speed bursts .. uses his speed and quickness on the forecheck and the backcheck .. regularly F1 on the forecheck and supplements his speed with an excellent effort .. a threat to strip the puck on the backcheck .. a strong candidate to receive a lot of time on the penalty kill for the Lancers .. quick into the corners .. played a fairly defensive role with Omaha at the Fall Classic, so still waiting to really see what he has offensively .. a possible pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft if he can put up some offense, although likely to start the season on the third or fourth line .. committed to Vermont for the 2011-12 season .. played Tier III junior A hockey for the New Jersey Hitmen of the Eastern Junior Hockey League in 2008-09 and scored 14 goals and 12 assists in 42 games .. was named the EJHL Playoff MVP .. scored 1 goal in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic, his only games of the preseason.

Danny Mattson (2010), RW, Omaha

Was actually a bit invisible, but displayed some skating prowess .. has a fairly powerful stride .. able to build some nice cruising speed from his crossovers, including with the puck .. able to execute a tight Gretzky circle and can find teammates trailing or a defenseman at the point with a pass .. has the tools to develop into a top-six playmaking winger for the Lancers this season, but will probably start the season on the third or fourth line .. ranked 53rd amongst North American skaters by CSS for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft but went unselected, the player rated highest by CSS to go undrafted .. was ranked 104th overall by McKeen's for the 2009 Draft .. committed to North Dakota .. played Minnesota high school hockey for Holy Angels in 2008-09 and scored 25 goals and 52 assists in 27 games .. played for Team Southwest in the 2008 Upper Midwest High School Elite League prior to the MHSHL season and scored 14 goals and 17 assists in 23 games .. had 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and 5 assists in 5 games for the entire preseason.

Mathieu Brisson (2010), D, Omaha

Has decent size, but needs to improve speed .. listed at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, but was muscled off the puck too easily .. needs to lengthen his stride and is a bit slow by USHL standards .. not particularly speedy with the puck .. gets a bit upright pivoting from backwards to forward .. makes tight circles away from the puck instead of stops and starts and isn't always facing the play .. did show a little passing prowess .. makes crisp breakout passes, although was still adjusting to the speed of the USHL .. able to make some smooth one-touch passes on the powerplay .. can connect on cross-zone passes on the attack .. wristshot from the point appears average .. defensively, does eliminate crossovers past the redline and keeps a semi-wide track backwards .. wasn't overly physical, but did make some decent stick checks to create turnovers and reverse the play .. a potential late-round pick for the 2010 Draft, but hope to see that Brisson has some fast-twitch muscle fibers as the season progresses .. committed to Cornell .. played Quebec midget hockey for C.C. Lemoyne in 2008-09 and scored 17 goals and 33 assists in 40 games .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. had 1 assist in 5 games for the entire preseason.

Jeff Teglia (2010), G, Omaha

Still without the orthodox standup/butterfly hybrid style most goalies today have .. able to go down and up quickly .. makes crisp glove saves and follow them into his glove .. able to do a good job trapping the puck with his glove and blocker to allow no rebound .. makes some big saves with his Hasek-like style, although this was a bit toned-down at the Fall Classic .. still ends up facing the wrong direction from time to time in his scrambles around the net .. very encouraged on a particular breakout against Sioux City's Joe Kalisz where Teglia stood his ground, didn't drop, and made the glove save after forcing Kalisz to make the first move .. still very adept and comfortable playing the puck and making passes to his defensemen .. unorthodox style still makes him a long shot to be selected in the 2010 Draft after going unselected in 2009 edition, but could have an impressive second season as a veteran .. no college commitment of yet .. played for Omaha in 2008-09 and played 2199:59 over 41 games and went 20-9-7 with 0 shutouts, a 3.00 G.AA, and a .892 save percentage .. played 120:00 over 2 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and went 1-1-0 with 0 shutouts, a 2.50 G.AA, and a .902 save percentage .. played 180:16 over 4 games for the entire preseason and went 3-1-0 with 0 shutouts, a 2.66 G.AA, and a .912 save percentage.

Camden Wojtala (2010), C, Omaha

The 2009 Michigan Mr. Hockey award winner has good size, but faces some serious adjustments .. 6-foot-2, 180-pound center can build some straight-line speed, but was normally a tad slow, sometimes painfully slow .. able to make some very hard, crisp passes and has decent vision off the half boards .. did try some ill-advised centering passes, though .. tried making some nifty stickhandling moves between his legs that probably worked in Michigan high school but wasn't always able to pull them off at the Fall Classic .. played a bit on the penalty kill, and will probably start the season on the fourth line .. a long shot to develop enough to earn selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, his second year of eligibility, but has the potential to improve a lot with two seasons of USHL hockey and then college .. no college commitment of yet .. played Michigan high school hockey for Trenton in 2008-09 ..scored 1 goal in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 3 goals in 5 games for the entire preseason.

Seth Ambroz (2011), RW, Omaha

Didn't make the jump after the summer, but poised to be a top-six forward for Omaha nonetheless .. displays decent stride extension, but turnover is so slow and often lacks power .. gets a bit upright in acceleration and first few strides can be a little clunky .. also gets upright in pivots .. crossovers are also a little clunky and upright .. lacks the speed with the puck to separate from backcheckers .. when he gets some space, Ambroz can build a little speed and use his ample 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame to drive the net .. able to play the Big Man in Front role well .. has the potential to be a very dangerous power forward if he improves his skating and adds more power to his stride .. decent odds Ambroz scores a point per game or close to it despite skating deficiencies.. not eligible until the 2011 draft and could go fairly high in that draft if his skating develops enough in the next two seasons .. committed to Minnesota .. played for Omaha in 2008-09 and scored 14 goals and 17 assists in 60 games .. had 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 games for the entire preseason.

Also on the Radar

Chicago Blackhawks prospect defenseman Joseph Lavin is back for one more season of USHL hockey and has committed to transfer to Notre Dame after starting 2008-09 with Providence College. Lavin gave the Lancers a bona fide number one defenseman the second half of last season and should be one of the top defensemen in the USHL in 2009-10. McKeen's did not take notes on Lavin at the Fall Classic, but anticipates taking notes on him during the regular season, as well as right-winger Ryan Daugherty. Daugherty did not skate for Omaha during the preseason and is returning from off-season knee surgery. McKeen's looks forward to seeing if the surgery was successful and if Daugherty can show improved power, speed, and quickness, all of which were looking better toward the end of 2008-09 prior to the surgery.