Sioux City Surely Set in Net

The first fifth of the USHL regular season didn't go very well for the Sioux City Musketeers. The team lost their first three games, redeemed themselves a bit with two wins against Team USA's Under-17 team and one more against the Under-18 team, and then proceeded to go on a six-game losing streak. Despite that rough start, nobody can claim the Musketeers lack talent, particularly in net.

Number 1a goaltender William Yanakeff has impressed with his technical game, poise, and puckhandling abilities, earned himself a spot on Team USA's entry for the 2009 World Junior A Challenge in early November, and has established himself amongst the USHL's leaders in both goals-against average and save percentage entering the week of Thankgsiving.

Number 1b goaltender Matt Skoff didn't have the same statistical success as Yanakeff, but he's every bit as impressive in net. Skoff's combination of technicality, athleticism, and poise gives Sioux City an incredibly talented tandem in net and a goaltender that a few other USHL teams could only wish was their starting netminder.

In those first 12 games of the 2009-10 season, the "Muskies" only gave up 39 goals, a competitive number that included two empty-net goals, but they scored a meager 23. Goaltending wasn't the problem, it was offense, and once the offense gets going, Sioux City's fortunes should change. In fact, after the six-game losing streak mentioned above, the Musketeers went on a four-game winning streak entering the week of Thanksgiving, giving up only 9 goals and scoring 15, finally providing the goalies the "run support" they'd needed all along.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to see the Sioux City Musketeers twice in mid-November and enters notes on William Yanakeff, Matt Skoff, and a number of other Sioux City prospects vying for a spot in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Will Yanakeff (2010), G, Sioux City

Fairly solid all around .. does a good job of remaining calm and poised, even on breakaways and point-blank shots .. 6-foot-3, 185-pound goalie generally does a good job of keeping his torso upright .. makes a lot of technical saves by staying square, going into the butterfly, and allowing no rebound, but does have an athletic base to make big splits saves and the like when necessary.. hugs the post well when needed and keeps the trailing pad along the ice, but does need to make sure he doesn't lean forward too much and leave the top corner/short side open .. an adept puckhandler who does a nice job of wrapping the puck up the glass to clear it .. also can spring teammates with long-distance saucer passes .. will have to collapse not to earn selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. committed to Michigan State .. as of Nov. 22, he had played 441:21 minutes over 8 games and had a 5-3-0 record, a 2.45 G.AA, and a .917 save percentage .. played for Team USA at the 2009 World Junior A Challenge, starting one game and suffering a shootout loss, and had a 3.69 G.AA and a .840 save percentage.

Kevin Gravel (2010), D, Sioux City

Shows potential, but needs to hone a number of areas of his game .. passing game is inconsistent .. able to make some crisp breakout passes and d-to-d passes to transition the puck and even makes some decent one-touch passes from the point .. however, some breakout passes are a little wobbly and even more are off target or in the skates of his teammates .. needs to make sure he takes a look more often before moving the puck .. most wristshots are only average, and many have a slow sweep .. does fire a hard wristshot now and then, though .. 6-foot-4, 175-pounder demonstrates some quickness in his acceleration for loose pucks and in his lateral quickness .. a bit upright backwards .. needs to take fewer steps in his pivots and gets a bit upright in those, too .. plays with some physicality muscling into opponents along the boards .. also makes some open-ice hits and can bowl over some opponents due to height differential .. has some raw talent, but I'm not as sold on him yet as CSS is .. he looks more like a sixth-rounder, as he's not of, say, Patrick Wey-caliber at this point .. committed to St. Cloud State .. as of Nov. 22, he was pointless in 11 games .. played for Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge and had 1 assist in 5 games.

Matthew Skoff (2010), G, Sioux City

Stats don't match Yanakeff's, but still like him a little more .. does a good job of maintaining his angle so as to take pucks to the logo and allow no rebound .. maintains a compact butterfly and takes away the five-hole extremely quick .. able to load up with one leg and generate a fairly powerful push .. very controlled in his pad slides and can make them going down, over, and up in one smooth motion .. lateral crease movements are quick .. has an athletic base to make big splits saves when necessary .. does a good job of eliminating any holes when hugging the post .. was the same impressive Skoff from the preseason, even if his stats belie his skill .. wouldn't mind seeing Skoff traded to another USHL team that needs a stronger number one (Fargo, Youngstown?) to be "the man" in net .. only a possible pick for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft given his situation and the fact he's in his second year of draft eligibility, but he's definitely worthy of late-round consideration .. no college commitment of yet .. as of Nov. 22, he had played 530:11 minutes in over 9 games and had a 2-5-1 record, a 3.06 G.AA, and a .889 save percentage.

Andrew Sinelli (2010), RW, Sioux City

Fast .. has excellent speed with the puck and can draw opponents into penalties .. has good cruising speed with the puck, but can throw it into another gear with speed bursts that separate from opponents .. has quick hands and has good offensive vision to catch teammates with passes on the attack or from the boards .. has a crisp, hard wristshot and a crisp, hard slapshot .. conscientious defensively .. finishes his checks on the forecheck .. not big at 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, but will step up for some hits in open ice .. also willing to drop and block shots .. basically, the same Sinelli as at the Fall Classic, only he seemed even faster and that much more comfortable with the pace of the play .. will need to score more goals to really gain consideration for 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but no reason goals shouldn't come at a better pace for Sinelli .. committed to Michigan State .. as of Nov. 22, he had scored 1 goal and 6 assists in 15 games.

Adam Schmidt (2010), RW, Sioux City

Got off to a slow start with no points in first five games, but has been a point-per-game player since late October .. good cruising speed with the puck and can protect it with his reach and swivels .. gets a bit upright in straight-line acceleration and in speed bursts .. also gets a bit upright accelerating in crossovers, but does have some power in his crossovers .. has a fairly hard wristshot .. 6-foot-2, 180-pounder at his best playing a physical power forward game .. can be invisible for some shifts, because he gets away from his power game, but then a force on others .. most effective when he's battling through checks, battling in the corners, driving the net, and laying down hits, all of which he can do well .. plays the big man in front on the powerplay .. listing as a possible pick for the 2010 Draft, as I expect him to average a point per game over the season and consistently bring a power forward game the rest of the season .. committed to Holy Cross .. as of Nov. 22, he had 3 goals and 8 assists in 16 games.

Darik Angeli (2010), LW, Sioux City

Has some slick skills, numbers should start to follow soon .. has a nice set of hands .. able to lay down some slick moves and undress some impressive opponents .. has good speed and very nice stride extension with the puck, which he combines with his long reach to drive wide .. has very good first-step quickness with the puck to separate from opponents and strong acceleration in general .. able to make some nifty one-touch passes and backhand passes .. 6-foot-2, 195-pounder more consistent in his power game than Schmidt .. finishes his checks on the forecheck and lays down some big shoulder checks .. will use his speed on the forecheck to come crashing in on opposing defensemen to get the puck .. does need to work on his edge control on turns, though, as I've seem him stumble and fall too much in turns for it to be happenstance .. numbers aren't impressive yet, but it's only a matter of time before they fall into place .. no college commitment of yet .. as of Nov. 22, he had 4 goals and 2 assists in 14 games.

Mitch Zion (2010), C, Sioux City

Has strong two-way hockey sense .. consistently puts himself in a position to contribute in the offensive zone or in the defensive zone .. has good presence with the puck and good peripheral vision to evade open-ice hits .. able to execute some nice give-and-go's .. excellent skater .. has good quickness going for loose pucks .. very agile, as he can quickly adjust on the forecheck to tight turns by opposing defensemen who try and circle away .. able to get well out over his edges with or without the puck and is able to dart in and out of traffic .. powerful stops and starts .. not only speedy, but shows excellent defensive hustle .. active in helping his defensemen down low in the defensive zone and next thing you know he's F1 on the forecheck .. so often in position to intercept passes .. like many Musketeers, just waiting for the numbers to be commensurate to his skill level and hockey sense .. a tad small at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, but these viewings were too positive not to list him as at least a long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, his first year of eligibility .. committed to Clarkson .. as of Nov. 22, he had 2 goals and 3 assists in 14 games.

Matt Paape (2010), RW, Sioux City

One of Sioux City's offensive leaders, but needs more speed .. has decent speed, but the 5-foot-10, 185-pounder needs more top speed for his size .. also needs to upgrade his acceleration, as he lacks separation with the puck .. proved the offensive awareness he displayed in the preseason wasn't a fluke, as he still makes plays and puts himself in a position to contribute offensively .. puts in a good effort, be it fighting through checks or on the backcheck .. finishes his checks on the forecheck .. able to get by as is, but increases in quickness and acceleration would take his game to the next level .. with speed as is, he is an extreme long shot for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in his second year of eligibility .. committed to Wisconsin .. as of Nov. 22, he had 4 goals and 4 assists in 16 games.

Richard Zehnal (2012), C, Sioux City

Fifteen-year-old centering Musketeers' fourth line and seeing some special teams time .. real contributor defensively .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck and finishes his checks .. also conscientious in helping his defensemen down low in the defensive zone .. likely to be the one hanging back on defense if a blueliner pinches in .. engages physically going for the puck .. shows some poise with the puck, not panicking when checked and approaching the net .. displays some quickness going for loose pucks and rebounds .. has a crisp wristshot and is able to corral rolling pucks .. displays a little playmaking ability, even if the numbers don't yet reflect it .. still very impressed with the mature two-way game Zehnal plays at such a young age .. no college commitment of yet .. as of Nov. 22, he had 1 goal and 1 assist in 14 games.

Other Prospect Notes

McKeen's had hoped to see defenseman Dan Dekeyser in action as he had appeared to establish himself as Sioux City's number one defenseman during the preseason. Instead he was out with a high ankle sprain and had been placed on the 45-day IR October 26. In the seven games Dekeyser had played prior to the injury, he had 1 goal and 3 assists, tops amongst all Sioux City defensemen at the time. Since the injury, though, Dekeyser committed to Western Michigan to play NCAA DI college hockey.

Joe Kalisz, another prospect whom McKeen's took notes on in the 2009 preseason, was also out of the lineup during these two mid-November viewings, but not due to injury-he was traded to the St. Louis Bandits of the North American Hockey League November 10. Prior to the trade, Kalisz had 2 assists in 5 games.

In addition, Sioux City has used 1993-born defensemen Travis Walsh and Jordan Schmaltz and 1992-born Jose Delgadillo with Dekeyser out of the lineup. Walsh, who played midget hockey for his hometown Capital Centre Pride in Lansing, Michigan, had no points in 6 games as of Nov. 22, but McKeen's did not catch the 2011-eligible blueliner in action.

Schmaltz, eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, played two games for Sioux City, neither of which McKeen's caught, while Kevin Gravel was at the World Junior A Challenge. The 16-year-old came to the team from the Chicago Mission's midget major team, where he had 5 goals and 13 assists in 22 games as of Nov. 22. The Verona, Wisconsin, native has already committed to the University of Wisconsin and looks to be one of the top American prospects for the 2012 Draft.

Delgadillo, eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, joined Sioux City from the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals midget major team, which plays in the North American Prospects Hockey League, organized by the NAHL. McKeen's did get to see Delgadillo in one game but took few notes on him, as he received limited icetime. With that limited viewing, this McKeen's correspondent would consider Delgadillo a long shot and possibly an extreme long shot for the 2010 Draft, as utilized crossovers backwards too much, was a bit upright backwards, and his base backwards needed to be widened. As of Nov. 22, Delgadillo was pointless in 3 games for Sioux City and had 6 goals and 11 assists in 24 games for the Jr. Admirals in NAPHL play.