USA Select 17: Wittmann At Work

Team Purple finished in fifth place in the American Division at the USA Hockey Select 17 Festival with a record of 1 win, 2 losses and 3 ties. We take a look at their defense and highlight Kent Wittmann of Florida who is eligible for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. We also have notes on Jimmy Martin of Missouri, Brian Riekhoff of Michigan, Kevin McNamara of Massachusetts, Brendan Reich of New Jersey and Lance Herrington of New Hampshire.

Jimmy Martin (2007), D

Produced 18 points (4-14-18) in 58 games for the St. Louis AAA Blues last campaign .. takes and gives the pass well .. uses good anticipation to break up the play .. needs to get stronger on his skates .. played the two-on-one fairly effectively .. must be more alert to when to back up his defensive partner .. generally picks up the right man, but doesn't always maintain position .. blessed with nice acceleration and mobility .. spent time partnered with Kent Wittmann at the Festival .. wore #2 .. USA Select 17 totals (6, 0-0-0-2).

Brian Rieckhoff (2006), D

In 60 games for coach John Kisil's Honeybaked squad, Reickhoff had 29 points (10-19-29) .. very mobile and makes a nice transition from skating forward to backwards .. plays the one-on-one properly by keeping square to the puck carrier, however he needs to work on guarding against the pass on an odd man rush .. displayed excellent vision finding the open man by the crease leading to a goal .. had some trouble recovering after being beaten on the outside .. saw some time partnered with Kevin McNamara .. wore #3 .. USA Select 17 totals (6, 0-1-1-2).

Kevin McNamara (2006), D

Scored one goal and added 18 assists in 26 games for Belmont Hill School .. lack of mobility and acceleration limit his ability to recover when he's beaten .. passes crisply and on target .. must be careful about not backing off too much on the puckcarrier .. has nice hand-eye coordination and is generally dependable keeping the puck in at the point .. needs to get strong on the body .. has a very good slap shot, however it would be more effective if he develops a quicker release .. saw some time partnered with Brian Rieckhoff .. wore #4 .. USA Select 17 totals (6, 0-0-0-4).

Brendan Reich (2006), D

Will once again be playing for coach Dan Murphy and Taft School .. does a sound job keeping square to the puckcarrier and staying between them and the net .. has a decent panic threshold .. thanks to a powerful stride he is blessed with very good overall speed and acceleration .. will take the opportunity to join the rush or pinch in from the point .. has good vision and is an efficient puck mover .. while in St, Cloud saw shifts with Lance Herrington .. wore #5 .. USA Select 17 totals (6, 0-1-1-4).

Lance Herrington (2006), D

Racked up 21 points (11-10-21) in 18 games for Bishop Brady High School last season and plans to play for the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs in 05-6 .. has a decent combination of speed and strength, although will need to add some muscle to his lanky 6'2"-175lbs. frame .. looks a bit sluggish in the first few steps .. must become more proactive in general as he sometimes appears to be a step behind the play and therefor is forced to react instead of initiating the play .. partnered with Brendan Reich during the tournament .. wore #6 .. USA Select 17 totals (6, 0-0-0-6).

Kent Wittmann (2006), D

Played for coach Dwight Mullins' Dallas Stars in 04-5, but plans to play for the Texas Tornado in the upcoming campaign .. is very quick, a nice skater to watch .. stronger than he looks and will make the puckcarrier pay the price near the wall and in traffic .. difficult to beat one-on-one, especially in tight spaces .. is effective at leading the forward with his breakout passes .. dishes out solid hits along the wall .. pretty competent at playing the odd man rush .. partnered with Jimmy Martin .. wore #7 .. USA Select 17 totals (6, 0-1-1-8).