USA Hockey: Culver Preps Welcome Matt

The Culver Prep hockey team boasts three promising prospects from the 1993-born age group. Goaltender Matt Mahalak may be the top goaltender from his age group and defenseman Barret Kaib has exciting potential within. McKeen's director of scouting Max Giese files notes on Mahalak and Kaib as well as their teammates Tyler Rostenkowski and Frankie De Augustine.

Matt Mahalak (2011), G, Culver Prep

Arguably the best American-born goaltender of his age group, Mahalak is a large and athletic goalie with an engrained competitive fire .. tall, rangy-limbed and boasts the flexible legs to cover the lower portion of the net .. intensely focused and is constantly dialed in to the play .. often square to the puck and in position while aggressively challenging the shooter giving them very little net to look at .. battles hard to see through screens and will punish opponents with his stick if they venture into his crease area .. competitive juices flow within and he will never give up on a shot .. strong skater with powerful lateral movement both from his stance and the butterfly .. like Carey Price, sometimes his lateral movement is so fast that he will over pursue the puck, although he possesses the extraordinary athleticism to recover and make spellbinding stops .. turns his wrist over while handling the puck and does an admirable job helping his defenders break the puck out of his own zone .. in his stance, he sticks his sharp glove hand firmly out and shooters are often afraid to challenge him there .. pops back up from his butterfly in a flash .. the only clear weaknesses to his game right now are that he plays a bit small in his butterfly considering his size and he anxiously does too much at times, although both of these faults can be ironed out .. his combination of size and athleticism is second to none.

Barrett Kaib (2011), D, Culver Prep

An athletic defenseman that really brings it physically and possesses a promising skill set .. boasts the knack for catching opponents with their head down and the keen sense of timing for connecting on the open-ice hit .. plays with tenacity and has decent size, although he currently lacks the strength to be considered overpowering .. skilled puckcarrier and a sharp skater with mobility that can elude the forecheck .. protects the puck well, although he doesn't always properly survey the ice in front of him and is prone to coughing the puck over .. his decision making both with and without the puck can be poor, as at times, he's all over the place chasing after the play instead of letting it come to him .. one of those competitive kids that hates to lose .. has outstanding upside and is fully capable of developing into a fine defenseman at the higher levels of play.

Tyler Rostenkowski (2011), D, Culver Prep

Lacks the dynamic physical qualities to compensate for his lack of size .. not overly big and may be a bit overweight also .. plays a smart and patient game .. steady and rarely commits an unforced error .. has nimble lateral agility, but he could use additional straightaway speed and this will come through quickening his feet some more .. sees the ice well and comfortably moves the puck while making a solid first pass .. not an overly physical player and is more of a puck-stealing defenseman than a bruising one .. would benefit from finding another level of competitiveness .. maintains tight gaps and is worth monitoring, although he lacks size and doesn't appear to be a high-end talent.

Frankie DeAugustine (2009), RW, Culver Prep

A quick thinker that anticipates the game and works well in space by getting into the right place at the right time .. a healthy skater although speed is not his game, instead he's a methodical offensive threat that innately reads the developing play and slithers into the opening seams .. highly skilled with quick and soft hands .. finishes with an accurate shot that is propelled by a sporty release, although he is a bit selfish and can be an individualist on the ice, as he will try to do too much on his own while the better play would've been feeding his teammate the puck .. a key fixture on Culver's powerplay and coach Al Clark will utilize him inside the slot area or have him manning the point, depending on what is working that given game .. will need to become physically stronger and work on his play without the puck.