Overagers Shine for Waterloo

The Waterloo Black Hawks have become accustomed to overage players shining for the team, and they weren't let down in 2009-10.

Brock Montpetit translated a strong finish to 2008-09 to 28 goals and 41 assists in 55 games in 2009-10 and was one of the most dynamic players in the league, as demonstrated by his selection to the All-USHL Second Team.

The speedy J.T. Brown averaged a point per game over 36 contests in 2008-09, but he bumped it up a notch in 2009-10 and finished third in league scoring behind Tri-City's Jaden Schwartz (USHL Forward of the Year) and Omaha's Matt White (USHL Player of the Year

Second-year Black Hawk Tyler Barnes wasn't far behind. He played more of a defensive role for Waterloo in 2008-09, but he tied for the league lead in goals scored in 2009-10 with 35. If any or all go undrafted, all would be prime candidates to sign free agent contracts out of college one day.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch the Waterloo Black Hawks three times in the final half of the season and once in the playoffs and enters notes on Brock Montpetit, J.T. Brown, Tyler Barnes, and a number of Waterloo's other forward prospects.

Brock Montpetit (2010), C/RW, Waterloo

Dynamic forward named to the All-USHL Second Team at the conclusion of the season .. one of the most exciting players to watch in the USHL, and one of the best all-around players .. well-established as a powerful skater with excellent acceleration and separation and great top speed .. stickhandling prowess allows him to handle the puck adeptly at speed .. is able to make opposing defensemen look foolish with his ability to make quick lateral stickhandling maneuvers at speed to undress them .. very comfortable bringing the puck well away from his body and can easily bring it back in .. the puck is basically on a string for Montpetit .. can also stickhandle in a phone booth and protect the puck in closed quarters .. strong balance also allows him to use his body to shield the puck .. possesses excellent poise with the puck, as nothing the opponents bring at him rattles him .. willing to go through traffic and take hits and battles through them with great poise .. is very agile and can also ditch opponents with his shiftiness, quick starts, and powerful stops .. makes crisp, hard, accurate passes .. good one-touch passer .. 5-foot-10.5, 187 pounds, but is very strong on his skates and plays a physical game .. able to level opponents and engages physically consistently .. does get a little overactive with his stick and comes very close to checking from behind at times .. has good defensive awareness and was a former defenseman earlier in his minor hockey, and it shows when he stays back for pinching defensemen .. good on the draw and is intelligent in the faceoff circle .. saw icetime in all situations (including 3-man PK) .. he plays a very complete game .. certainly worthy of late-round selection in his third year of draft eligibility .. committed to Nebraska-Omaha (2010) .. scored 28 goals and 41 assists in 55 games .. cooled a bit during the final eight games of the season, when he only had 1 goal and 4 assists .. finished eighth in both USHL overall scoring and USHL goal scoring .. finished ninth in USHL assists .. had a seven-game points streak Dec. 29 through Jan. 15 in which he scored 7 goals and 7 assists .. had an eight-game point streak Feb. 8 through March 9 in which he scored 5 goals and 10 assists .. had nine 3-point games and one 4-point game .. played in the USHL All-Star Game in late January .. had 2 assists in 3 playoff games.

J.T. Brown (2010), LW, Waterloo

Offensive production earned him selection to the All-USHL Second Team at the conclusion of the season .. possesses considerable top speed and can drive wide off the wing .. also has good acceleration to separate form opponents early .. heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options .. able to make quick fakes with the puck but has the vision to still find teammates for plays .. makes crisp, accurate passes on the breakout and on the attack .. has a hard wristshot and slapshot .. able to fire some incredibly hard one-timers .. uses his speed on the forecheck and finishes his checks and is a threat to strip the puck .. also a threat to strip the puck early on the backcheck .. somewhat small at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, but not prohibitively so .. was playing on a line with Brock Montpetit and Derek Arnold at midseason, but finished the year with Patrik Divjak and Tyler Barnes .. played a solid all-around game in 2009-10 and saw icetime in all situations .. in his third and final year of draft eligibility and is a potential pick in the late rounds of the 2010 Draft, but will likely go unselected and have to earn an NHL contract as a free agent, which is becoming more and more common for undrafted former USHLers .. committed to University of Minnesota Duluth (2010) .. scored 34 goals and 43 assists in 60 games .. finished third in USHL overall scoring .. finished fourth in USHL goals .. finished seventh in USHL assists .. had four 3-point games, one 4-point game, two 5-point games, and one 6-point game during the season .. played in the USHL All-Star Game in late January .. scored 1 goal in 3 playoff games.

Tyler Barnes (2010), LW/RW, Waterloo

Second full season in the USHL was a success and lived up to some of the hype from early in his high school career .. has good speed and a powerful skating stride .. uses his speed on the forecheck and the backcheck and quickly becomes problematic for opposing defensemen who lack speed .. plays with some physicality .. finishes his checks and will play the body from the side on the backcheck .. able to create turnovers on the forecheck .. hustles to loose pucks .. makes crisp, accurate passes and was able to connect across the Olympic sheet at Young Arena well .. a decent stickhandler who can make nice lateral stickhandling maneuvers .. goal scoring came down to his offensive awareness .. able to fly under the radar away from the play without the puck, but is so often in the right place for a set-up or for the rebound .. in his third and final year of draft eligibility, and is now a potential late pick in the 2010 Draft .. more than likely, though, will go undrafted and have to earn an NHL contract as a free agent in college .. committed to Wisconsin (2010) .. scored 35 goals and 33 assists in 60 games .. finished ninth in USHL overall scoring .. finished third in USHL goal scoring (played more games than Omaha's Matt White and Green Bay's Anders Lee) .. finished 20th in USHL assists .. had five 3-point games during the season .. had three four-point games during the season .. played in the USHL All-Star Game in late January .. went pointless in three playoff games.

Jamie Hill (2010), LW/RW, Waterloo

Primed to be a top-six forward in 2010-11 .. didn't score a lot down the stretch, but still impressed with his usual strengths .. has explosive acceleration .. able to use his exceptional speed bursts to get to loose pucks or separate from opponents .. also uses his speed on the forecheck .. finishes his checks .. very competitive .. hustles off of faceoffs, hustles to crash the net, and hustles on the forecheck and backcheck .. uses his quickness to emerge off the boards and out of the corners, as well as in puck battles .. possesses very good top speed and can drive wide down the wing or split the defense .. has a hard, crisp wristshot and can fire it in stride .. also has a hard slapshot .. generally makes crisp passes .. small at 5-foot-8, 147 pounds, but doesn't play small .. like Jonzzon, should be a top-six forward for Waterloo in 2010-11 .. extreme long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, considering his offensive production in his draft year and his size .. committed to New Hampshire (2011) .. scored 11 goals and 12 assists in 53 games .. had only 1 goal and 3 assists in his final 17 games of the season .. had a six-game pointless streak Dec. 16 through Jan. 8 and another Feb. 19 through March 5 .. scored 1 goal and 1 assist in 3 playoff games.

Alex Jensen (2010), C, Waterloo

USHL production belies his talent, as he led the 2010 Division 1 Group A World U20 Championships in scoring (2 goals and 7 assists in 5 games) .. employs powerful strides and is a smooth skater .. has good cruising speed and can drive the net with power .. also uses his speed on the forecheck and backcheck .. finishes his checks but will release quickly and get to the backcheck quickly .. a threat on the backcheck to play the body from the side .. able to quickly transition the puck to offense when he strips the opponent of the puck .. 6-foot-0, 196-pound center is strong on his skates and can power his way into establishing position for the puck .. able to stickhandle wide, but results have been spotty when trying to use quick stickhandling maneuvers or trying to drag it around opponents .. there are questions about his finishing ability, but he did come off of a broken wrist that forced him to miss significant time at the beginning of the season .. lack of USHL production makes him an extreme long shot to be selected in his third year of draft eligibility, but he should challenge to be a top-six forward for Waterloo if he returns .. no college commitment .. scored 2 goals and 8 assists in 38 games .. played in only two of three playoff games and went without a point.

Brady Vail (2012), LW, Waterloo

Started looking like a legitimate USHLer by the final third of the season .. adjusted to the speed of the USHL game and started to show some confidence with the puck .. started to attempt to incorporate some dangle into his game at the USHL level .. also started to show a little speed with the puck .. now firing crisp passes .. put in a good effort on the forecheck .. has good size (especially for a 15/16-year-old) at 6-foot-0, 196 pound and plays with some physicality .. will engage physically to get the puck and can even push over some opponents .. willing to drop and block shots .. played a fourth-line role as a 15-year-old (16 in the final month), but despite limited icetime, he really developed his game .. would expect Vail to at least be a third-liner in 2010-11, which would then set him up for a top-six role in his draft year .. hard to project Vail for the 2012 Draft at this point, but is definitely someone to watch .. no college commitment of yet .. scored 4 goals and 4 assists in 48 games .. had only 1 goal in his final 13 games .. played in two of three playoff games and went without a point.

Soren Jonzzon (2010), C/RW, Waterloo (now with Tri-City)

Limited notes in these viewings, as Jonzzon was scratched for two of them .. even with his limited icetime, he still demonstrated his powerful acceleration .. also continued to play with some physicality .. finishes his checks on the forecheck and at the point ..able to thrust up into his hits and take opponents off the puck .. smaller forward at 5-foot-9, 178 pounds .. previous scouting reports this season reflect Jonzzon's skill and two-way play .. traded to Tri-City at the USHL Entry Draft for a pick .. very little chance that he's selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but will likely be someone to watch in his second year of eligibility .. no college commitment of yet .. scored 8 goals and 11 assists in 48 games .. had an eight-game hot streak Dec. 31 through Jan. 17, when he scored 2 goals and 6 assists .. had a 3-point game March 27 (1-2-3) .. played in two of three playoff games and went without a point.

Scott Wamsganz (2010), RW, Waterloo (now with Dubuque)

Played a fourth-line role in 2009-10, but still made some improvements to his game .. skating has improved, as Wamsganz now looks more sure on his skates .. has decent speed with the puck, which came along the final two months .. still a bit upright in his crossovers, but builds decent speed .. able to get reasonably low in his cruising turns .. does a good job of staying open to the play so he can receive a pass .. physical game wasn't quite as intense as earlier in the season, but still physical .. still a threat to come crashing in on the forecheck and level the opposing defensemen .. willing to drop and block shots .. interestingly, was not protected for the USHL Expansion Draft, and was promptly selected by Dubuque .. would expect Wamsganz to at least play a top-nine role for the Fighting Saints in 2010-11 .. a long shot for the 2010 Draft because of limited production, but will be someone to continue to watch as a budding power forward .. committed to Colorado College (2011) .. scored 5 goals and 5 assists in 50 games .. had a 14-game pointless streak Jan. 16 through March 12 .. played all three playoff games, but went without a point.