USA: Midget AAA Gold Medal Classic

McKeen's was on hand and has filed these notes on several prospects.

Ben Blood (2007), D, Shattuck

His most intriguing quality is that he gives you a little bit of everything .. he is a strong defenseman in all three zones and can play on the power play, the penalty kill, and 5-5 .. gets a bum rap for poor mobility, as he actually is a fluid and sturdy skater for a big man .. he just lacks backward and lateral quickness, which will come in time as he shaves off the excess baby fat .. that should improve easily with time in the gym but if he does not, he will be beaten to the outside with speed at the next level .. has soft hands and is poised with the puck .. sees the ice well and makes the first pass out of the zone with ease .. excels at quarterbacking the power play, displaying adequate creativity, vision and distributing the puck from the point .. a threat to pass or shoot as he has a heavy, low, and accurate slap shot or a quickly released wrist shot .. hand eye coordination is adequate and he has a decent one timer .. communicates well and displays leadership qualities .. owns good hockey sense .. formidable defensive presence that can shut down his man with smarts or brawn .. angles his man to the boards well .. effective at clearing out traffic in front of his crease and positions himself well one on one .. will stand his man up in the neutral zone .. is not a mean player, but uses his big size effectively to be an adequate physical presence .. well disciplined and never hurts his team with an errant play .. his stock should be on the rise and should sneak into the third or fourth round range if a team wants a safe pick .. committed to North Dakota, he has been steady as a rock and his play has improved since the beginning of the season.

Brock Montpetit (2008), F, Shattuck

Appeared nervous over the weekend playing in front of the entire Wisconsin Badgers staff where he will be playing in the fall of 2008 and was not as impressive as he was in previous viewings .. his skating is undeniable as he is quick and slippery in tight spaces but is not explosive .. hands are soft and he has some offensive imagination but was rather invisible all weekend and did not stand out as he did in the past.

Luke Grenler (2008), F, Shattuck

Small and his play has regressed .. his acceleration is swift but his speed does little to generate anything, as he always seems to be a step behind the puck .. had the puck on a 2-on-1 but coughed it up to the defenseman and did not even get a shot off .. needs to rebound next season.

Stepan Novotny (2009), F, Shattuck

Shattuck's youngest and most talented player should be a blue chip prospect for the 2009 draft .. has very nimble feet for a big man with a long, quick, and strong stride that covers a lot of ice .. first step quickness is impressive and has a deceptive change of gears to the outside with a separation gear to get around the defenseman .. shot continues to get better every time he is viewed .. had a pro caliber snap shot goal in which he pulled the puck off the half wall before sniping it short side top shelf .. both his slap shot and snap shot are quickly released with exceptional velocity and ever-improving accuracy .. scored a beautiful goal on a penalty shot where the goalie snuffed out his move yet he somehow still picked the top corner with little room to get the puck off the ice .. hands are soft and while he is not a dangler, he covers the puck well .. sees the ice adequately but is not a creative set up man .. plays on the penalty kill showing he can handle the defensive side of the game .. plays a mature two way game and displays keen defensive awareness .. he is blessed with a big frame but at this point should get more physically involved .. would benefit from greater upper body strength but he's far from lazy .. strong on draws .. worth a selection in the import draft but also might choose the college route .. his progress this season has been exceptional and is a name to keep an eye on.

David Toews (2008), F, Shattuck

His weak stride has not improved this season and that is discouraging as it severely hinders his top gear .. he is smart though and while his poor skating does not harm him much at this level, it will at the next .. more of a finisher than a set up man .. has soft hands and an impressive release with good accuracy and velocity .. play away from the puck has regressed but it is still above average .. has not developed much this season and he appears nowhere near his brother Jonathan in terms of upside.

David Carle (2008), D, Shattuck

The more you watch him the more you like about him however he is so smart and talented that he often makes it look so easy you hardly notice him .. stick work is exceptional .. always takes the body and his one on one positioning is flawless .. backward mobility is exceptional and he can skate with anyone at this level .. pivots are effortless and changes directions without loosing any speed .. puck movement is superb .. makes the first pass out of his zone precisely every time .. sees the ice like a pro and distributes crisp tape-to-tape passes .. shoots the puck a lot and has the quick release like his brother .. shot lacks velocity but he gets it through and the puck seems to have eyes off his stick as it finds the back of the net through heavy traffic or creates rebounds .. hockey sense, poise and anticipation are top notch .. communicates and quarterbacks the play .. hands are delicately soft .. is not flashy but his skill set and great mind for the game make him an elite player at both ends of the ice at this level without having to ever give full effort .. his development this season has been impressive and he needs to play at a higher level next season.

Jordan Murray (2008), F, Shattuck

Wisconsin Badger recruit owns a great on ice work ethic as he never stops moving his feet and he plays with jam .. spark plug type player competes every shift .... anticipates the play well and generates turn overs .. has a strong first step and he's quick but lacks a top end gear .. has soft hands and finishing touch is improving and his one timer has improved .. not a top-notch offensive threat and his future is that of a third line type .. he has gotten better this season and there is a lot to like here but his offensive upside is limited.

Brett Kostolansky (2008), D, Shattuck

His mobility, agility and foot speed are all top notch .. hands are soft and he can twist and turn to elude the opposition without loosing speed much like Mark Katic .. distributes the puck well but does not appear to be a top end power play quarterback .. small and must continue to refine his defensive play.

Derek Stepan (2008), F, Shattuck

He is dangerous from within 15 feet of the net but he is not an explosive end-to-end threat .. at his best on the power play and has a knack for generating offense .. his offensive instincts and vision of the ice allow him to be a creative playmaker .. hands are soft and possess a quick release with impressive accuracy .. anticipates the play well but needs to upgrade his slow feet and improve his skating before he plays for the Wisconsin Badgers in 2008.

Corey Morbeck (2009), G, Wisconsin AAA

Getting consideration for the USNTDP and the OHL draft .. Possesses a massive frame for such a young kid but he did not play big in the net this weekend .. struggled in relief against Shattuck but that is a tough task to ask of him .. mechanics were off as he held his glove to high where he was beaten twice on shots he should have stopped .. footwork was all off and he looked jittery .. needs to improve his recovery speed from the butterfly as when he goes down he was out .. was exposed up high when going down on shots that he did not need too, making him appear smaller in the crease than his size would indicate .. uses his stick well and his blocker side is strong .. rebound control is impressive for his age especially up high .. he is sharp and anticipates the play well .. plays the puck well and is a decent skater for such a big, young goaltender .. he is capable of more despite the poor weekend.

Michael Miller (2009), D, Honeybaked

This kid has a lot of upside but you question what is between his ears time to time .. he will stand up his man at the blue line, then stand around, and not know what to do next .. he has a blossoming physical game as he finishes his checks and he has a knack for the open ice hit .. he has a well-built frame considering his young age .. inconsistent along the boards and in front of his net as at times, he can show a nasty streak and then at others he can get too complacent .. can be dominant and make a strong play in his own end and then at another time get caught watching his man just walk right by him .. has an upright stride that is strong but it needs to be lengthened .. pivots smoothly and his agility is fine .. stay at home type and does not display much of an offensive upside at this point .. plays on the penalty kill .. does a good job fronting the puck and blocking shots .. has a right-handed shot .. makes good decisions with the puck but lacks the vision and creativity to be an offensive type .. disciplined defensively and is always the first defenseman back as he rarely pinches in down low .. an OHL and USNTDP candidate for sure and with the proper coaching his athleticism should just take over.

Michael Voran (2009), F, Honeybaked

Never stops working and he competes hard .. has a power forwards build at this young age and is willing to use his size .. goes hard to the net and stays there .. puck pursuit is top notch and he disrupts the opposition's puck movement .. has fast feet though not an explosive skater but has a strong first step with decent acceleration and just lacks that top gear .. hands are okay and he appears to lack an offensive touch at this level .. he did make a nice touch pass in the neutral zone but he lacked offensive imagination beyond that .. he does many things well away from the puck and his raw physical gifts are intriguing.

Paul Phillips (2009), D, Chicago Chill

Offensive defenseman with loads of upside and wants the puck on his stick .. he is an exceptional skater and passer with a lot of skill .. can rush the puck up the ice and is not hesitant to do so .. his skating is so smooth that he is deceptively fast and he can skate the puck to the outside around the opposition .. drives the net like a forward .. possesses a fluid stride with rapid acceleration and a fine top gear .. pivots are effortless and his agility is top notch … puck movement is superb and he makes a great first pass .. sees the ice extraordinarily well and he can thread the needle with a crisp pass through heavy traffic .. can hit the home run long distance pass to send his teammate in all alone behind the defenseman .. he is creative, calm, and instinctive quarterbacking the power play .. pinches down low .. has a quick release with good accuracy but the shot lacks velocity at this point .. hands are very soft and he eludes the opposition effortlessly .. is beginning to bulk up and is now able to plant his feet and bear down in front of his own net .. defensive game is still in need of improvement, especially his positioning which is a bit wonky .. will sacrifice defense for offense and was caught up the ice too often .. he has tons of upside as an offensive defenseman in the making although the hope is that he gets bigger.

Garrett Peterson (2009), F, Chicago Chill

Savvy two-way centerman would be a better prospect if he competed harder .. his vision of the ice is decent and has soft hands but he is not a tricky one on one threat .. has a fluid stride with decent quickness but he lacks a top gear .. has strong cuts with decent agility .. looks bulky but struggled to stay on his feet all weekend .. anticipates the game well .. displayed impressive patience by selling the fact that he was going to pass on a two-on-one, before firing the puck five-hole for the goal .. displayed a fine release .. there is something here but he seems contempt to be a complimentary player rather than a go to one.

Max Cook (2008), F, Chicago Mission

Tall and extremely lanky player has a galloping stride that gets him where he needs to be but he is not an explosive player .. has a long reach with soft hands and is elusive one on one .. protects the puck well .. spots his trailer and is good at using his secondary options .. creative and distributes the puck well .. was decent defensively but is a fine offensive player.

Mike Dipuma (2008), F, Chicago Mission

A definite college prospect thanks to his mature two way game and stature, however he needs to display more offensive creativity before he is considered a legit NHL prospect .. played in six games for the Chicago Steel of the USHL, which is quite the feat for a 1990 DOB .. has a fluid, long stride with decent power but his quickness will need improving, as that was evident in his stint in the USHL .. scored two shoot out goals over the weekend where he picked the top corner beautifully both times but he struggled to finish even when staring at an open net in the real game situations .. smart two-way player with a well-stocked and tall frame .. his game is very mature for his age and if his offensive game progresses he has an outside shot to be drafted in 2008 .. will finish the year with the Steel and will be in the USHL full time next season.

Nick Pisellini (2008), G, Chicago Mission

Got into a fight with the goalie from Team Illinois earlier in the season .. an athletic goaltender that is willing to challenge the shooter .. has a quick glove and blocker side .. recovers quickly from the butterfly .. is an aggressive goaltender with impressive dexterity .. has quick legs .. came up with a big game against Shattuck in which they tied 1-1 and the only goal he gave up was on a penalty shot to Stepan Novotny.

David Gerths (2009), F, Culver

A great skater that can turn on a dime .. has quick feet, accelerates rapidly and displayed an impressive burst .. has a deceptive change of gears to the outside .. stride is fluid and as he matures, he should develop a top gear to compliment the great mobility he possesses .. has a nose for the net and does not back down from traffic .. drives the net hard with or without the puck .. well balanced .. hockey sense is top notch .. he anticipates the game well and always makes the right play .. sees the ice exceptionally well and passes the puck like a pro .. passes are crisp and tape-to-tape .. can execute a pass through heavy traffic with precision .. hands are soft and he protects the puck well .. lacks a goal scorer touch around the net, but that might come with time as he had his chances .. finds the quiet areas and exploits them .. instinctive and just seems to have a knack for making things happen .. creates turnovers .. possesses soft hands, is slippery and tough to contain one on one .. works hard away from the puck and is a decent two-way player .. pursues the puck with acceptable effort and finishes his checks .. a top-notch player in his age group.

Cory Hibbeler (2008), D, Culver

Physical, competitive defender is strong one on one and maintains a healthy gap with his man .. stands up his man in the open ice .. mobility is strong but oddly caught flat-footed time to time .. is quick and agile and a very strong lateral skater with a strong stride .. sees the ice adequately and can execute the first pass .. kept the play moving on the point but he lacks the creativity to be a power play quarterback .. he did make a nice pass to break the opposition's penalty kill box, which shows he can execute a nice play if he is programmed to do so .. has a right-handed shot, which possesses decent velocity with an okay release.

Steven Hoshaw (2008), D, Culver

He is big and well built, but his game has not caught on quickly as hoped with Culver .. is a good skater when moving forward as he has decent power behind his stride but struggles going forward to backward as he appears to stumble and looses speed .. backward mobility needs improvement as he was beaten by speed far too often .. lateral mobility needs work too .. fumbles the puck too much and panics in the face of pressure .. struggled to move the puck, especially on the break out .. has a wide-bodied frame but he lacks a mean streak .. he is highly regarded but it was tough to see why this weekend.