Scouts Notebook: Gold Medal Classic

McKeen's director of scouting Max Giese opens his notebook from the recent Gold Medal Classic tournament held in Middleton Wisconsin with comments on several players including Eric Knodel, a 6-foot-6 defenseman from the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers U-18 Team. In the final, the Madison Capitols defeated the Chicago Young Americans 3-2, to capture the 21st Annual Gold Medal Classic.

Eric Knodel (2009), D, Philadelphia Jr. Flyers U-18 Midget Team

Standing at 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, Knodel has received interest from NHL scouts mostly because of his colossal frame .. unfortunately, he's a gentle giant that plays at a slow pace and doesn't know how to properly exploit his size to become a physical menace .. doesn't take hits well and leaves himself susceptible to injury .. when playing with aggression, he can ride a guy out hard into the boards, although he doesn't take the proper man while covering his crease .. at times, he's involved offensively and can execute a stick-to-stick first pass .. needs to improve on his first step and agility, although his mobility is okay considering his size.

Ian Young (2010), D, Pikes Peak Miners U-18 Midget Team

Raw but skilled offensive defenseman with some god given talent .. smooth skater with a skilled stick that he exploits through his deft passing game .. extremely poised and can make some uncanny plays while under heavy duress .. fairly new to competitive hockey and while he innately can feel the flow of the game, his hockey sense is underdeveloped and his defensive reads are poor .. will often anticipate plays that aren't there and fails to protect his net .. has a decent frame to develop into, but right now he's scrawny and physically overmatched in the puck battles.

Brett Love (2012), C, Marquette Electricians U-18 Midget Team

Fairly intelligent player that is sound defensively and a strong penalty-killer .. presently, he lacks the high-end speed and skill to be considered a prime prospect, but he is worth following down the road.

Dino Burggrabe (2011), D, Marquette Electricians U-18 Midget Team

Lacks strength on his feet and he tends to spin his wheels out of the gate which hinders his quickness .. has some upside and does a decent job moving the puck .. has earned the coach's trust and is steadily fed heavy minutes despite being the youngest player on the backend .. defensively, he will commit when he shouldn't and he needs to improve on his coverage around his crease .. doesn't lack confidence and appears to have the desired mental makeup.

Josh Bretner (2011), D, Team Maryland U-18 Midget Team

Small offensive defenseman that has some skill and sees the ice well .. often involved pushing the puck up the ice and displays the awareness to identify which seems to pinch into .. has a weak shot and isn't a great skater .. needs to get stronger and his play away from the puck will require a vast amount of improvement, as he's often caught out of position and gets pushed around too easily.

Casey Thrush (2010), RW, Team Maryland U-18 Midget Team

Has great speed and multiple gears of acceleration .. not just a burner and plays a thinking mans game both with and without the puck .. guilty of not always harnessing his physical gifts every game, but he's definitely a prospect worth monitoring because of his athleticism and exceptional skating ability.

Peter DeAngelo (2009), RW, Boston Advantage U-18 Midget Team

Very small and quick winger that works hard at both ends of the rink .. doesn't hesitate to drive to the net and can utilize his miniature-sized frame to gain leverage on larger opponents .. a tireless worker that finishes his checks .. not a pure scorer and his lack of size will have NHL teams hesitating to touch him .. committed to the University of Massachusetts.

Eric Johnson (2009), D, Madison Capitals

Once a promising puckmoving defenseman, Johnson has seen his development stall over the last season .. his older brother Mike Johnson is the goaltender for Cedar Rapids of the USHL and the Roughriders also hold his rights .. moves the puck well while on the point, although his shot is weak and his reads coming out of his own zone with the puck are inconsistent .. the teams captain, but his coachability and body language are concerns.