USA U-18 Fall Classic Part I

After playing in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 in the United States Hockey League, the U.S. National Team Development Program is skating in the USHL again. The Under-17 team will play 34 of the team's 60 regular season games and the Under-18 will play the remaining 26 games. In 1999-2000, Team USA took the East Division with a 39-16-3 record. In 2009-2010, with the league vastly improved in the past 10 years, even Team USA's U-18 team will find the USHL a tough go, but the team has a wealth of talent, particularly at defense and in net. Smooth defenseman Jon Merrill looks poised to go in the first half of the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, goaltender Jack Campbell could join him in the second half of that first round, and it's possible blueliner Stephen Johns could also find his way into the top 30 picks come June, too. In fact, if an NHL team takes a chance on backup netminder Andy Iles' short stature, it's well within the realm of possibility that every defenseman and goaltender on the Under-18 team eligible for selection at the 2010 Draft will be so selected.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to watch the U.S.Under-18 National Development Team play in its first USHL Fall Classic and enters notes on Jon Merrill, Jack Campbell, Stephen Johns, and the rest of Team USA's defensemen eligible for the 2010 Draft and backup netminder Andy Iles.

Jonathan Merrill (2010), D, Team USA U-18

Already plays a pro game .. smooth, powerful skater who is so positionally sound that he rarely has to flash his speed .. perfect puck skills for a reliable NHL defenseman .. makes smooth, hard, accurate breakout passes .. able to connect on long-distance, one-touch passes .. has some subtle jukes in his repertoire to evade forecheckers, but generally makes the simple play on the tape .. has a quick, smooth release on his shots from the point .. has a hard slapshot that he keeps low .. utilizes a lot of wristshots from the point, and he fires hard wristers with seemingly little effort .. the stick bend he generates on his wristshots is visible .. slapshot also features a quick, smooth wind-up .. displays some offensive vision from the point .. has good size at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds and plays with some physicality, but isn't an overtly physical defender .. future second or third defenseman on a Stanley Cup winner .. definitely a future Olympian for USA if NHLers are still used in the future .. should see his name in the top half of the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. committed to Michigan .. played for Team USA's U-17 team in 2008-09 and scored 2 goals an 1 assist in 24 games .. also played for Team USA's U-18 team in 2008-09 and scored 1 goal and 4 assists in 19 games .. scored 1 goal in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Stephen Johns (2010), D, Team USA U-18

Strong all-around defenseman .. plays with some physicality and will level big and small opponents alike .. able to make some big shoulder checks down low .. will step up in the neutral zone from time to time, too .. makes crisp, accurate breakout passes and d-to-d passes to transition the puck .. also does a good job of receiving hard passes .. maintains poise with the puck when pressured in the defensive zone .. has good balance and can level opponents trying to lay the body on him .. runs on his skates a bit when accelerating with the puck, but generally has full stride extension and decent speed .. has great size at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds .. could crack the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft with a strong season, but can't see him lasting beyond the second round at this point .. played for Team USA's U-17 team in 2008-09 and scored 5 goals and 11 assists in 47 games .. had 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Jarred Tinordi (2010), D, Team USA U-18

The apple didn't fall far from the tree (son of former NHLer Mark Tinordi) .. captain of Team USA's U-18 team .. has good size at 6-foot-4, 204 pounds and uses it to establish position in puck battles .. plays with some physicality and will go for some open-ice hits .. willing to do the little-but-important things, such as dropping to a knee to block a shot .. had a tendency to back in too much, despite the fact his gap was short, although this was common amongst all defensemen on the U-18 team .. makes crisp, hard breakout passes .. sometimes leads his man a little too much, but passes are typically on target .. displayed smooth, confident stickhandling .. looking like a probable third-round pick for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but I've seen less impressive prospects go in the second round .. committed to Notre Dame .. played for Team USA's U-17 team in 2008-09 and scored 6 goals and 14 assists in 67 games .. played 1 game for Team USA's U-18 team in 2008-09 and tallied an assist .. had 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Justin Faulk (2010), D, Team USA U-18

Skilled offensive defenseman .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. an adept one-touch passer from the point on the powerplay .. displays good offensive vision from the point to find teammates down low .. has a hard slapshot from the point .. also has a dangerous one-timer .. uses his agility down low to evade forecheckers .. able to make tight switchbacks and spins with the puck .. displays poise with the puck and is a smooth stickhandler .. able to utilize his quickness low in the defensive zone and displays defensive awareness in breaking up plays in the neutral zone .. at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, he's thick, but height is a bit limiting .. however, can't see Faulk not going somewhere in the mid-rounds of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. committed to Minnesota-Duluth .. played for Team USA's U-17 team in 2008-09 and scored 12 goals and 21 assists in 64 games .. played 1 game for Team USA's Under 18 team in 2008-09 and went without a point .. scored 1 in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Kevin Clare (2010), D, Team USA U-18

Assistant captain is a decent all-around defenseman .. maintains short gaps, but backs in too often (again, was common amongst the whole team) .. an adept stick checker .. makes good defensive reads and can step up to intercept passes in the neutral zone .. does a good job communicating with his d-partner .. clears the puck in the defensive zone with authority .. has a hard wristshot from the point that he does a good job to keep low .. has adequate size for NHL purposes at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds .. can't see Clare going unselected in the 2010 Draft, but it's possible he goes in the fifth or sixth round .. committed to Michigan .. played for Team USA's U-17 team in 2008-09 and scored 6 goals and 12 assists in 66 games .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Derek Forbort (2010), D, Team USA U-18

The new guy to Team USA's blueline and wasn't as polished as his teammates who played for the Under-17 team in 2008-09 .. also didn't have the on-ice chemistry with his teammates that the rest of the blueline had .. able to make crisp passes, but at times they were to nobody or in the skates .. has a crisp wristshot from the point that he can keep low .. able to unleash a hard shot fading back at the point .. does a good job to take looks skating back for the puck .. gets a little vertical in his lateral steps .. at 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, he projects as an offensive defenseman with size .. hard to pinpoint a round for Forbort in 2010 Draft, as he could establish himself as Top-90 prospect if he develops a lot with the USNTDP, but could be a late-round pick if he doesn't improve as much as expected .. committed to North Dakota .. played Minnesota high school hockey for Duluth East in 2008-09 and scored 6 goals and 18 assists in 25 games .. also played 9 games for Team USA's U-17 team in 2008-09 and scored 1 goal and 5 assists .. played all 6 games for Team USA's U-17 team at the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge .. had 2 assists in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic.

Jack Campbell (2010), G, Team USA U-18

A decent chance Campbell becomes the first goaltender to be selected in first round directly off of USNTDP's roster (DiPietro and Montoya were selected out of college) .. smooth crease movements .. pad slides across the crease are quick, smooth, and controlled .. able to reset quickly after going down and is able to make going down and up, or down and over, or down up and over, one smooth motion .. does a good job of maintaining the proper angle .. maintains a compact butterfly .. does a good job to prevent rebounds by taking the puck in the chest or quickly covering rebounds .. has a quick glove and follows the puck into his trapper well .. does a good job of keeping his head on a swivel to track the puck around and behind him when the puck is down low .. a poised puckhandler who makes simple plays .. conscientious in stopping dumped pucks for his defensemen allows them to move it from there .. not afraid to make a glove pass from a covered rebound, either .. plays a poised game in net with strong technical ability and the athleticism to back it up .. strong odds of going in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft if he maintains his impressive résumé .. committed to Michigan .. played for Team USA's U-17 team in 2008-09 and played 1656 minutes over 28 games and compiled a 20-6-2 record with 4 shutouts, a 2.17 G.AA, and a .916 save percentage .. also played 421 minutes over 7 games for Team USA's U-18 team in 2008-09 and went 7-0-0 with 2 shutouts, a 1.71 G.AA, and a .940 save percentage .. played 118:54 over 2 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and complied a 1-1-0 record, had 0 shutouts, a 2.02 G.AA, and a .905 save percentage.

Andy Iles (2010), G, Team USA U-18

If only Iles were bigger .. executes quick, smooth pad slides .. does a good job of directing kick saves into the corners .. quick to cover rebounds out front .. does a good job reading the play to be in position to easily stop shots .. stays square to shots and allows few rebound opportunities .. possesses a great glove hand .. a small netminder at 5-foot-8, 150-pounds, but he's so solid it's no issue at the USHL level .. lack of size may scare away NHL teams for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but perhaps an NHL team takes a late-round flier based on his established talent and results .. committed to Cornell .. played prep hockey for Salisbury School in 2008-09 and played 27 games, compiled a 20-4-3 record, a 1.72 G.AA, and a .932 save percentage.