UMHSEL Report: Team Southeast

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch the Upper Midwest High School Elite League during the regular season and playoff weekend and enters notes on Joseph LaBate, A.J. Michaelson, the impressive 15-year-old Hudson Fasching (pictured), and a couple other prospects of note for upcoming NHL drafts.

Joseph LaBate (2011), C, Southeast/Holy Angels

Power center with a great shot and puck-possession skills .. has good cruising speed and mobility with the puck .. able to build good speed in his crossovers .. has the potential to become quite fast and powerful when he fills out his 6-foot-4, 180-pound frame .. able to use his long reach to shield the puck and drive the net .. appears to stickhandle with his head down, but still seems to be able to see plays .. able to shield the puck wide on both the forehand and the backhand .. able to make sweeping toe drags around opponent .. is confident with the puck on his stick and is willing to drive into traffic .. battles around checks and can fight through hooks and such and maintain possession .. possesses a hard, hard wristshot with a quick release .. telegraphs his intention to shoot at times by looking down just before he shoots .. able to finish his chances .. able to create chances with rebound opportunities from his considerable shot, but also through playmaking .. makes smooth, crisp passes .. upside is amongst the highest of all players in the UMHSEL this season .. selected to play for Minnesota White at the Elite League National Invitation Tournament (NIT) the first weekend of November .. plays high school hockey for Holy Angels and is in his senior year .. no college commitment of yet.

Taylor Fleming (2011), D, Southeast/St. Thomas Academy

Puck-moving defenseman led the UMHSEL in defenseman scoring with 7 goals and 13 assists in 21 regular season games but is also decent defensively .. has good speed and stride extension .. builds speed and power out of his crossovers .. makes smooth, crisp passes .. transitions the puck well with his "d" partner .. good one-touch passer .. has a decent wristshot from the point and a smooth one-timer .. does a good job of keeping his shots low and on net for rebound opportunities .. a confident stickhandler who can drag the puck around opponents .. good acceleration backward, gets down fairly low, and allows his gaps to shrink .. not big at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, but will engage physically .. able to step up and make hits at the blueline .. plays odd-man rushes well .. selected to play for Minnesota White at the Elite League NIT .. plays high school hockey for St. Thomas Academy and is in his senior .. no college commitment of yet.

A.J. Michaelson (2012), LW/C, Southeast/Apple Valley

One of the most impressive talents in the UMHSEL .. has a fluid, powerful skating stride that produces impressive speed .. able to use his speed to weave around traffic and drive wide .. good explosiveness with the puck and can separate from opponents .. makes smooth, powerful turns and powers out of his crossovers .. able to evade opponents with smooth, tight switchbacks .. maintains a low stance in his stride and is strong on his skates .. possesses quick, smooth hands .. adept at stickhandling out wide and shielding the puck .. adept at shielding the puck both with two hands on his stick and with one .. nice reach both handling the puck and in receiving passes or taking pucks off the boards .. a heads-up stickhandler who can assess the play .. make smooth, crisp passes .. possesses a hard wristshot that he can snipe .. also has a hard backhand .. dangerous coming off the half boards, particularly driving wide and then toward the net .. has good size at 6-foot-0, 185 pounds .. selected to play for Minnesota White at the Elite League NIT .. skated at the USNTDP Evaluation Camp last March, but was not selected to skate at The Program .. played for the U.S. Under-17 Select Team at the Five Nations Tournament in August .. plays high school hockey for Apple Valley and is in his junior year .. committed to Minnesota.

Justin Kloos (2012), C, Southeast/Lakeville South

Small at 5-foot-8, 155 pounds, but big on speed and skill .. generates impressive speed with seemingly little effort .. possesses a smooth, fluid, powerful stride .. maintains a power position in his stride and has good extension .. powers out of his crossovers .. excellent first-step explosiveness, giving him exceptional separation .. has great cruising speed with the puck and can put it into overdrive and blow by opponents .. breakaway speed allows him to go coast-to-coast .. able to make smooth, tight turns .. adept stickhandler who can drag the puck around opponents well or in toward his body .. danger to split the defense with his ability to handle the puck well at high speed .. good poise with the puck and opens up space by drawing opponents toward him .. has good offensive vision .. strong puck distributor on the powerplay .. makes smooth, crisp passes .. adept at saucer passes and one-touch passes .. able to fire hard wristshots in stride and can snipe them .. appears willing to engage physically, but his sheer speed and skating ability means he doesn't have to often .. finished amongst the leading scorers of the UMHSEL with 9 goals and 16 assists in 20 games .. selected as an alternate for Minnesota Red for the Elite League NIT .. plays high school hockey for Lakeville South and is in his junior year .. no college commitment of yet.

Hudson Fasching (2013), RW, Southeast/Apple Valley

Impressive 15-year-old power forward .. has good speed with the puck and a fairly powerful stride with good extension .. stride could be a little more fluid, but isn't awkward .. uses his combination of speed and stickhandling to drive wide or to weave through traffic .. has quick hands and can make sweeping stickhandling moves .. has a long reach and can shield the puck, including one-handed a la Jaromir Jagr .. an adept toe dragger who confidently drags the puck around opposing defensemen .. possesses a hard wristshot, made more impressive by his age .. also has a hard slapshot .. already has great size at just under 6-foot-2, 190 pounds .. willing to skate the puck into traffic and creates a lot of scoring chances driving the net .. makes crisp passes and moves the puck well around the net and off the boards .. engages physically and can make nice open-ice hits .. willing to block shots .. selected to play for Minnesota White for the Elite League NIT .. plays high school hockey for Apple Valley and is in his sophomore year .. led Apple Valley in scoring as a freshman in 2009-10 with 24 goals and 18 assists in 31 games .. high academic marks combined with his advanced hockey prowess makes him a strong candidate to play for the USNTDP in 2011-12 .. no college commitment of yet.