Strong is the Force in Fargo

After a slow start as a USHL expansion team in 2008-09, head coach Dean Blais proved he was the right man for the job and led the team to the Clark Cup Finals before falling to the Indiana Ice. Blais has since been tabbed by the University of Nebraska-Omaha to aid in the transition of turning UNO into a respected member of the WCHA after moving from the CCHA, and key players like Mike Lee, Luke Witkowski, and Andy Taranto have moved on to the college ranks. However, new Fargo head coach Steve Johnson still has plenty of talent to work with, including USHL veterans Cody Campbell and Colten St. Clair. Campbell looks capable of picking up where USHL Goaltender of the Year Mike Lee left off and 2011-eligible Colten St. Clair looks poised to be the team's top forward. Both join a list of 14 returning veterans on the Fargo roster, but newcomers like Nate Schmidt, Garrett Allen, and Alex Lippincott also look set to make their mark.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to catch the Fargo Force in action at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and enters notes on Gody Campbell, Colten St. Clair, Nate Schmidt, Garrett Allen, Alex Lippincott, and a few other prospects, including a towering defenseman all the way from Belarus.

Cody Campbell (2010), G, Fargo

Fargo's starting goaltender after a year behind Mike Lee .. still demonstrating the strong technical game he showed in limited action last year .. maintains a compact butterfly and can get back up quickly .. makes smooth, composed pad slides and can get across the crease quickly .. has strong rebound control .. eliminates rebounds from the chest and covers loose pucks quickly .. maintains his calm .. only real drawback is that he's 5-foot-11, 150 pounds .. potential late-round pick if he has a strong season .. committed to New Hampshire .. played for Fargo in 2008-09 and went 6-7-1, with a 2.99 G.AA, and a .895 save percentage in just over 17 games .. played for Team USA's Under-18 Select Team at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament .. played 59:41minutes over two games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and went 0-1-0 and compiled a 3.02 G.AA and a .912 save percentage.

Nate Schmidt (2010), D, Fargo

Distinct possibility Schmidt is Fargo's top defenseman offensively, possibly overall .. displays some poise and vision with the puck .. pinches in from the point and is a scoring threat .. has a hard one-timer .. even has a strong off-foot wristshot from the point .. able to execute some nice slappers fading back, walking the blueline .. willing to step up to make open-ice hits in the neutral zone and will do so against physical opponents .. has good balance at 6-foot-0, 197 pounds to withstand attempted hits on him .. played in all situations for Fargo, including the 3-man PK .. has a real chance of earning selection in his second year of eligibility .. committed to Minnesota .. played Minnesota high school hockey for St. Cloud Cathedral in 2008-09 and scored 25 goals and 29 assists in 31 games .. also played for Team North in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League prior to high school season and scored 7 goals and 14 assists in 24 games .. scored 1 goal in 2 games at 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Garrett Allen (2010), RW, Fargo

Not a big-name prospect heading into Fall Classic, but had a good showing .. excellent competitor .. is consistently first to the puck, first to the corner, or first to defend .. often F1 on the forecheck and shows good cruising speed doing so .. finishes his checks .. demonstrates good offensive hustle down low or to open ice to make himself an option .. does a nice job reading off teammates on the attack .. two-way player is a possible late-round pick ..no college commitment of yet .. played midget major for Team Illinois in 2008-09 and scored 12 goals and 19 assists in 44 Tier 1 league games .. went without a point in 2 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Alex Lippincott (2010), LW, Fargo

Somewhat similar to teammate Garrett Allen, only a bit bigger .. has good cruising speed on the forecheck, but could afford to lengthen his stride .. also has good cruising speed with the puck .. able to unleash a hard shot in stride, but does need to work on accuracy .. shows some hockey sense circling in his offensive zone away from the puck, reading the play .. also demonstrated decent awareness in quickly dropping back to the point for pinching defensemen .. two-way player is also a possible late-round pick .. committed to Ohio State .. played for Mahoning Valley of the NAHL in 2008-09 and scored 15 goals and 12 assists in 56 games .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Oleg Yevenko (2010), D, Fargo

Listed at 6-foot-7, 230 pounds, but didn't look that thick .. skating is a bit slow and he has a truncated stride .. needs a lot more lower body strength to improve his stride and to make him more difficult to knock off the puck .. fell down a couple times, but edge control looked pretty good on some tight turns .. stepped up for one big hit, but was largely ineffective physically .. has a decent slapshot from the point .. intriguing because of his size, and might be a long-term project an NHL team could turn into something over time, because he does have some raw tools .. no college commitment of yet (or probably ever) .. played for Krefeld EV in the German junior league and scored 5 goals and 11 assists in 31 games .. played for Belarus at the U18 Division 1, Group A, World Championships and had 2 assists in 5 games .. curiously, does not show up as having played in the preseason statistics, but did dress in Fargo's game against Indiana at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Blake Doerring (2010), D, Fargo

Not Yevenko-sized, but still decent at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds .. executed reasonably crisp breakout passes .. needs to make sure he doesn't stop moving his feet while assessing options on the breakout .. a bit upright skating the puck .. did demonstrate some acceleration in pinching in from the point .. will stand up and make open-ice hits in the neutral zone .. a long shot to be selected in the 2010 NHL Draft, his second year of eligibility, but will continue to monitor .. committed to Vermont .. played Minnesota high school hockey for Blake in 2008-09 and scored 7 goals and 25 assists in 25 games .. went without a point in 2 games a the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Colten St.Clair (2011), C, Fargo

Demonstrated strong two-way play in 2008-09, but get ready for the offensive breakout in 2009-10 .. has good cruising speed with the puck and can fire a hard wristshot in stride and does a good job getting it on net .. shows some offensive vision with centering passes out of the corners to create scoring chances .. willing to engage physically to get the puck .. still plays his strong defensive game and was a regular on both the 4-man and the 3-man penalty killing units .. should be one of Fargo's top scorers in 2009-10, if not their top scorer and best overall forward .. distinct possibility of surpassing Louis Leblanc, and is now listed at 5-foot-11, 186 pounds .. very strong chance of going in the early rounds of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft .. committed to North Dakota .. played for Fargo in 2008-09 and scored 17 goals and 9 assist in 55 games .. played for Team USA's Under-18 Select Team at 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament .. scored 1 goal and 3 assists in 3 games at 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Brian Cooper (2012), D, Fargo

Small defenseman showed some promise .. able to execute tight turns with the pucks and likes to use them down low to evade checks .. stride features a lot of foot turnover .. has decent speed, but could use more straight-line power .. displayed good speed with the puck and was willing to fight through checks .. did a good job not to backtrack defensively and engaged physically .. able to make some well-timed hip checks that send opponents head over heels .. has a hard wristshot from the point that he can keep low ..

.. placed on Fargo's affiliate list after the Fall Classic, but won't be surprised to see him in the USHL in 2010-11 .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget minor for Alaska All-Stars in 2008-09 .. went without a point in 2 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

On the Radar

Defenseman Eamonn McDermott is definitely on the radar as a 2010-eligible prospect, McKeen's just did not end up taking many notes on him at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic. McKeen's also anticipates tracking center Matt Leitner, who scored 14 goals and 43 assists in 56 games for Fargo last year in his first year of draft eligibility, whom McKeen's also took few notes on at the Fall Classic.