Steels Young the Next Donovan

Chicago Steel defenseman Ian Young was underwhelming in mid-January viewings when he made the jump from the North American Hockey League's Wichita Falls Wildcats to the USHL full time. However, he was one of the USHL's best young (no pun intended) puck-moving defenseman in their first year of draft eligibility by the time the season ended (along with Omaha's Justin Holl, Indiana's Nick Mattson, and Fargo's Eamonn McDermott). Within a matter of weeks, Young cemented his place on the Steel's powerplay unit with his crisp passing game, and the Missouri City, Texas, native's smooth skating with the puck by the end of the season showed shades of former Cedar Rapids RoughRider Matt Donovan, who went on to be selected early in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders and to win the gold medal with Team USA at the 2010 World Junior Championships. Young isn't yet as reliable offensively or defensively as Donovan was entering his draft year, but the rapid progress Young made over the second half of the 2009-10 season makes him one of the USHL's hidden gems for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, as Donovan was in 2008 (and Nick Jensen was in 2009).

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to see the Chicago Steel twice in the final quarter of the USHL season and enters notes on Ian Young, the highly-regarded Kevin Lind, and Buffalo Sabres draft pick Mark Adams, as well as another Steel defenseman eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and one eligible for the 2011 Draft.

Ian Young (2010), D, Chicago

Started to remind me of Matt Donovan in late-season viewings .. generally displays poise with the puck, which improved as his half-season in the USHL progressed .. makes crisp, accurate breakout passes and also makes crisp, accurate d-to-d passes to transition the puck .. shows patience at the point and can get opponents to drop and then take his shot or make his pass .. got better at not telegraphing his intentions with the puck .. gets into trouble when he makes blind passes .. overall, sees the ice well and moves the puck well .. has a hard, crisp slapshot and can unleash an exceptionally hard one-timer .. as he adapted to the USHL, skating with the puck became much smoother, which is where he really reminded me of Donovan toward the end .. would like to see better stride extension and a better effort skating back for the puck .. improving defensively .. is smooth backwards, reduces crossovers, maintains a fairly wide base, and lets his gaps close, but can be caught looking at the puck and falling for dekes and thus, get twisted around and/or schooled .. does play with some physicality and will engage physically at the blueline or at least at the top of the faceoff circles .. can step up and make a big hit from time to time .. improved so much from his early USHL appearances to the end of the season, more than most players develop in a full season .. worthy of consideration for the late fifth round and later .. strong potential of being a hidden gem in the 2010 NHL Draft .. would like to see Young return for one more season of USHL hockey, just so he can be a top-two defenseman all season (similar to what Nick Jensen did this past season in Green Bay) .. committed to Colorado College for 2010 or 2011 .. scored 2 goals and 12 assists in 31 games for Chicago .. scored 2 goals and 6 assists 29 games for Wichita Falls.

Kevin Lind (2010), D, Chicago

Lost powerplay time due to the emergence of Ian Young, but continued to make subtle improvements in his game .. started incorporating subtle moves into his game to help direct his teammates where he wanted them .. makes hard, crisp, accurate breakout passes .. smoothly transitions puck with d-partner with hard, crisp passes .. able to execute crisp saucer passes .. point-to-point passes are hard and on target .. defensive technique was looking even better .. has smooth acceleration backwards and was challenging himself to utilize powerful acceleration to keep his gaps short sooner in the neutral zone .. maintains a reasonably wide base and can angle his opponents smoothly without utilizing crossovers .. able to effectively eliminate opponents angling them to the boards but is also a threat for an open-ice shoulder check .. does a good job of not buying opponents' flashy moves and not lunging for the puck .. able to build good speed with the puck, thanks in part to smooth, powerful crossovers .. can make powerful stops .. does swing his arm across his body at times when skating back for the puck .. possesses a crisp wristshot .. also a decent stickhandler .. able to draw the puck into his body to evade forecheckers .. Lind's overall game has become smooth and now has a professional-caliber quality to it .. I still view Lind as more of an early fourth-round pick, but late-third selection is possible, too .. I like Lind's overall game at this point more than that of Max Nicastro in his draft year, for some comparison .. committed to Notre Dame for 2010 or 2011 .. scored 6 goals and 10 assists in 55 games .. traded to Tri-City with Zach Rall and prospects T.J. Sarcona and Cory Czarnik for the first overall pick of the 2010 USHL Entry Draft .. major acquisition for Tri-City if Lind does indeed return to the USHL.

Zach Rall (2010), D, Chicago

Few notes taken on Rall, as he received limited icetime in one viewing and was scratched in the other .. maintains a semi-wide base backward .. also keeps a short gap and will engage physically in the neutral zone .. is generally decent about reducing crossovers backward, but there are times where he uses them more than I'd like to see .. can be side-stepped under such circumstances .. breakout passes are crisp, and appear to have become a little harder than earlier in the season .. sturdy at 6-foot-0, 192 pounds, but is still small by NHL prospect standards .. an extreme long shot to be selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. next step for Rall is to receive consistent icetime as a fourth or fifth defenseman in the USHL .. committed to Alaska-Anchorage for 2011 or 2012 .. had 5 assists in 46 games .. traded to Tri-City with Kevin Lind and prospects T.J. Sarcona and Cory Czarnik for the first overall pick of the 2010 USHL Entry Draft.

Peter Hand (2011), D, Chicago

Still consider Hand on pace to potentially follow in former Cedar Rapids RoughRider Paul Phillips' footsteps .. offensive output was limited this season, but continued to demonstrate good puck-moving skills .. fires hard breakout passes, which are typically crisp .. also makes crisp point-to-point passes .. possesses a crisp wristshot .. showing more power in his acceleration, although he does still need to upgrade his speed .. stride extension and power with the right leg looks better than the left leg, at least in these viewings .. has good defensive awareness .. minimizes crossovers backwards and let his gaps shrink .. able to step up for big hits, and is generally good for one of these per game .. willing to drop and block shots .. at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, he has similar size to Phillips, he's shown more puck-moving ability than Paul Phillips did in his rookie year, and his defensive and physical game has been close to what Phillips displayed in 2007-08 .. next step for Hand is to be a third or fourth defenseman in 2010-11 .. has a legitimate shot at selection in the 2011 Draft if he can truly follow in Phillips' footsteps in terms of development .. committed to Ohio State for 2011 .. scored 1 goal and 4 assists in 49 games.

Mark Adams (Buf), D, Chicago

Had a fairly strong final quarter to the 2009-10 season, boosting his offensive totals .. received regular icetime as a top-four defenseman down the stretch .. gets down low backward, maintains a fairly wide base, and now eliminates crossovers .. lets his gaps shrink and typically engages physically at or near the blueline, if not earlier .. makes smooth, crisp, accurate passes to transition the puck or to break it out .. possesses a crisp wristshot and can keep it low and on net .. also keeps his hard slapper and one-timer down low .. one-timer features significant stick bend .. has good quickness to get to loose pucks and to catch opponents .. displays good lateral movement with the puck .. also displays some poise with the puck .. needs to make sure he's always ready to receive a pass, though .. showed improvement in making quicker decisions with the puck down the stretch .. underwhelming season statistically, but a very successful season in making necessary improvements to bridge the gap from Massachusetts high school hockey in 2008-09 to college hockey in 2010-11 .. committed to Providence College for 2010 and should be a regular in the Friars' lineup as a freshman, likely as fifth defenseman (possibly fourth) .. scored 4 goals and 10 assists in 53 games .. scored 1 goal and 7 assists in his final 16 games of the season.