U17 WHC: American Boom Boom

In part two of our look at Team USA, we take a gander at their forwards at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge in Lethbridge, Alberta. Blake Geoffrion, the grandson of Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, showed why he's on most scouts radar as a player to watch for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. We have notes on Geoffrion and the rest of the forwards at the tournament.

James O'Brien (2007), C

Gave a taste of what should have scouts licking their chops come the 2007 NHL Entry Draft .. displayed a very nice blend of quickness and power from his first few strides .. used his mobility and terrific puck pursuit to create turnovers .. his overall speed isn't jaw-dropping, but still is very good .. is effective at getting his linemates the puck at the right time .. comes back to support the defense .. keeps his feet moving on contact .. gets open for the pass .. counted on late to protect a one goal lead .. once he fills out he should be a force, however, he still plays an effective, subtle game .. played on the powerplay .. made a number of inside, outside moves to get by a checker and then proceeded to drive towards the goal .. went to the net and tucked the rebound under the goaltender .. took the long breakaway pass and was unlucky not to score as the shot hit near the knob of the goalies stick .. selected player of the game versus Team Finland .. U-17 totals (5-1-3-4-4).

Steve Sperry (2007), F

Very mobile young forward with excellent overall speed and terrific acceleration .. solid on his skates and is willing to take a hit to make a play .. skated hard to get back and broke up an odd man rush by stripping the puck carrier from behind using tenacious checking .. displays very good pursuit of the puck .. like many young forwards he doesn't tend to stay in his lane and will wander out of position .. U-17 totals (5-0-0-0-2).

Blake Geoffrion (2006), LW

Blessed with terrific speed, but uses this gift judiciously .. displayed good agility dropping down to block a shot and being able to bounce back up exceptionally quickly, in fact he is very adept at the art of blocking shots .. when called on, did well taking the faceoff .. absolutely jaw-dropping stickhandling on a mini-breakaway .. surprising acceleration from the blueline in .. cuts down time and space on the puck carrier .. uses his stick to close down passing lanes .. at his best when he keeps his feet moving, which is not always the case, especially without the puck .. can be caught flat-footed when he's not concentrating as hard as he should be .. works hard along the wall and takes every advantage of his elite size and strength .. has a slap shot that can surprise or handcuff an unsuspecting goalie .. is used in all important situations .. took the breakaway pass and showed amazing patience only a blossoming goal scorer as he made a few moves and then easily tucked the puck behind the goalie using his backhand .. U-17 totals (5-2-3-5-2).

Bill Sweatt (2007), LW

Elusive skater with very good overall speed .. received a two and ten minute penalty for a hit to the head .. slick release gave goalies problems .. he can accept the pass at full speed without breaking stride .. has the type of acceleration that he can turn it on and beat a defender wide .. took the pass from the corner and beat the goaltender on a wraparound .. closes the gap on the forecheck .. comes back to support the defense and displays good pursuit .. finds the holes .. slipped the rebound past the prone goalie .. put amazing pressure on the puck carrier, forcing the opposition player to turn back and try and regroup .. fortunately for Sweatt he isn't eligible for another two seasons as he will need to bulk up his slight frame .. saw time on both special teams .. U-17 totals (5-2-2-4-8).

Kyle Okposo (2006), RW

Another American forward that should be highly sought after come the Draft .. blessed with an elite arsenal of shots that are all on the heavy side, but has soft hands for when he needs to use a bit more finesse .. takes the pass at full tilt and without breaking stride .. strong on the faceoffs .. overpowered a defender by basically skating over him .. extremely hard to knock off the puck and keeps his feet moving on contact .. has the poise to hold on to the puck until a play opens up .. his stickhandling and terrific mobility can create coverage problems, especially in the scoring areas .. tremendous overall speed .. got away a hard blast on the powerplay .. supports the puck carrier well .. works hard along the boards .. at times still has a bit of trouble with the physical areas of the game, which might be more a factor of not always wanting to pay the price in traffic, although he should be fine as he grows in to his body .. U-17 totals (5-2-2-4-2).

Ryan Flynn (2006), RW

Strong along the wall and in front of the net .. created a lot of havoc on the forecheck, which finally drew a penalty .. extremely solid on his skates .. built like a tank and uses his superior size to his advantage .. good overall skater, although his acceleration doesn't stand out .. evaded an open ice hit .. put a hard pass perfectly on the stick in order for it to be redirected on goal .. finds the holes as well as fearlessly drives to the net .. found his teammate with a crisp pass through traffic .. must concentrate on working harder away from the puck, although he does show a reasonable commitment to his defensive responsibility .. saw a lot of ice time when it mattered most .. drove around a defender and forced the goaltender to try and come across as he put it sweetly in to the top corner .. selected player of the game versus Team Western .. U-17 totals (5-2-3-5-4).

Chris Atkinson (2006), C

Little water bug is able to put a lot of pressure on the puck carrier .. gets in extremely fast on the forecheck and can be an explosive hitter when he gets there .. very mobile, with excellent acceleration and overall speed .. skates effectively in traffic .. worked hard to get back in to the play and break up a pass .. doesn't show much offensive zone imagination .. dropped down to block a shot .. sees a ton of ice time late in a game when his team is trying to protect a lead .. plays on the penalty-kill .. not the most skilled player, however, he never shortchanges his team with anything but an all out effort .. U-17 totals (5-1-5-6-4).

Patrick Kane (2007), RW

Slight forward with excellent vision and blessed with a lethally accurate wrist shot .. drove hard to the net .. takes the pass at full speed without breaking stride .. his lack of size and strength limits his effectiveness in traffic .. has the overall speed to get past a defender on the outside .. took a face-off and was easily frozen out of the play by the opposing forward .. must work on adding muscle mass to take his game to the next level .. has elite mobility and acceleration .. has the ability to feather passes through traffic and on a teammate's stick .. was rubbed out rather easily on a one-on-one .. picked a defender's pocket in the slot, which eventually led to a powerplay goal .. plays on the penalty-kill .. very dangerous creating plays if given any time and space to operate .. U-17 totals (5-1-7-8-0).

James Marcou (2006), LW

Undersized, but fearless winger has good hands and dishes out crisp passes .. delivered a solid bodycheck along the wall .. although he is small, he has enough lower body strength to hit with authority .. must work on his array of shots as well as the quality as he lacks much zip behind them .. has very good mobility, but his overall speed is not to the level that it will need to be yet to overcome the size issue .. gets a nice burst from his first few strides .. will play in traffic and doesn't shy away from paying the price to make a play .. U-17 totals (5-0-1-1-2).

Luke Popko (2006), C

Dropped down effectively to block a shot .. displayed excellent mobility and acceleration .. dished out a beautiful cross-ice pass, right on the tape .. has the overall speed to back off checkers .. is strong on the one-on-one .. used his body to maintain position while beating a defender to a loose puck .. turned it over in neutral ice with little pressure .. dependably finishes his checks .. thanks to his terrific speed and tenacity, he was able to get on a breakaway, however he shot it well over the net .. cuts down time and space on the forecheck .. U-17 totals (5-1-0-1-2).

Greg Squires (2006), RW

Elite overall skating ability with very good mobility and quick first step .. took a lazy penalty .. was given the time and space to bring the puck around the net, but failed to show much imagination once he got there .. had an open man in the slot and put the puck in to the feet of the player .. not very solid on his skates as he tends to get bounced off the puck .. displays strong puck pursuit .. supports the puck carrier .. communicates with his linemates .. has a long way to go to become a credible draft prospect .. U-17 totals (5-0-2-2-4).

Rhett Rakhshani (2006), LW

Has a choppy stride, but his overall speed is above average and his terrific acceleration and mobility are surprising .. wears an A .. blindly threw a backhand pass and had it intercepted .. stickhandles well in tight spaces .. has the vision to find the open man .. passes crisply and on the tape .. took the pass at top speed without breaking stride .. drove to the net .. selected player of the game versus Team Germany .. U-17 totals (5-3-1-4-2).

Michael Carman (2006), C

Has some sandpaper to his game .. uses his elite top end speed to gain the zone and back off checkers .. very good acceleration and mobility .. has a heavy wrist shot .. makes crisp and accurate headman passes to gain the zone .. comes back all the way to support the defense .. got away with a hook after his man had clearly beaten him .. lacks much power behind his hits .. made an alert defensive play lifting the stick of a player in front of the net just as the puck was coming to them .. U-17 totals (5-1-3-4-10).