USHL: Bottom-feeding Bucs Dont Lack Talent

The Des Moines Buccaneers were one of the most impressive teams in the USHL preseason and at the Fall Classic in late September. However, the team has failed to finish during the regular season, routinely giving up early leads en route to a 5-15-3 record as of New Year's Day, including a 1-9-1 record on the road. Despite the enigmatic performance of the team, the Bucs have one of the USHL's top prospects for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Alex Chiasson, another forward likely to be selected in the 2009 Draft in Ryan Walters, two defensemen already drafted by NHL clubs, and three prospects to watch for future NHL Entry Drafts.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch the Des Moines Buccaneers in action eight times prior to the New Year and files notes on several prospects including Chiasson Walters, and eight other Des Moines prospects worth watching.

Alex Chiasson (2009), RW, Des Moines

Has some Thomas Vanek-like qualities .. very adept at protecting the puck by combining his stickhandling, reach and positioning his large frame (6-foot-3, 188 pounds) relative to the defender .. able to fend off checks and maintain possession of the puck well .. a threat to come off the half boards with the puck or from behind the net because of his puck protection skills .. common to see him around the net and make a play or take a shot .. also common to see him skate around the opposition in the neutral zone, despite not having elite speed or skating .. has a knack for using his stickhandling to undress opponents in the neutral zone or to split the defense high in the offensive zone .. very skilled at stickhandling wide and then pulling it in close to his body .. confident stickhandler has a nose for the net and a goal-scorer's touch .. skating has been improving over the course of the season .. still skates a bit upright, but is developing more power in his strides and turns and developing deceptive speed .. a real threat through the neutral zone if allowed to build momentum .. acceleration appears to be improving, but still needs further improvement in this area for better separation .. plays with some physicality and can lay down some nice hits .. commitment to defense is improving .. skating on Des Moines' top line with Brett Bruneteau and Ryan Walters and also on Bucs' first powerplay unit .. steady improvements in skating are a positive sign and looks like a second-round pick and potentially a late first-round pick .. had 10 goals and 8 assists in 21 games as of New Year's .. committed to Boston University.

Ryan Walters (2009), LW, Des Moines

Becoming Des Moines' top playmaker .. played the point on the powerplay in December, where he can use his offensive vision to find open teammates .. a good playmaker off the half boards, too .. creates a lot of chances early on the backcheck, as he strips opponents of the puck in his own offensive zone on the backcheck more than perhaps any other player in the USHL .. good at cutting back on opponents and side-stepping them .. decent at protecting the puck along the boards and coming off them for a shot or a pass .. has a fairly hard wristshot .. crisp passer who has seen less and less of his plays intercepted as the season has gone on .. has good speed, but not high-end speed .. skates a bit upright .. has decent acceleration, but still needs to improve separation .. can be invisible for some shifts or even entire games .. could afford to play with a little more physicality and add more oomph when he finishes his checks .. playing on a line with Brett Bruneteau and Alex Chiasson and really seems to be clicking with these two .. a junior in high school, he has one more year of USHL hockey to go before he plays for Minnesota .. hard to imagine Walters' production in the USHL if he continues to average close to a point per game, as it won't earn him selection in at least the late rounds of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft .. had 7 goals and 14 assists in 23 games as of New Year's.

James Burkemper (2009), LW, Des Moines

Has some talent, but will really have to turn it up in the second half of 2008-09 to warrant consideration for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft .. has some impressive dangle to his game, but loses handle of the puck or paints himself into a corner too often .. able to make some pretty passes, but doesn't always pick the right time to make them .. able to use his 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame to shield the puck along the boards, make a play, or start the cycle, and sometimes does this very well .. has some speed and can beat opponents wide and drive the net .. at his best when he engages physically on the forecheck for 50/50 battles and needs to do so more often .. has some of the same qualities as teammate Alex Chiasson, but a bit behind in offensive development and awareness, and also loses handle of the puck far more often .. is a smoother skater than Chiasson, though .. long shot for selection in 2009 Draft, but still a player to monitor .. had 3 goals and 5 assists in 19 games as of New Year's .. not committed to a college program.

Josh Balch (2009), LW, Des Moines

Has very good speed and combines that with excellent hustle .. has quick strides, but still generates decent power .. a threat to beat out icings, get to dumped pucks first, or provide significant pressure on the forecheck .. also a conscientious backchecker that can strip opponents of the puck or help angle opponents to the boards with his speed .. has a crisp, hard wristshot and slapper .. quickness and agility make him a threat to pounce on rebounds .. makes hard, crisp passes to help advance the puck .. also able to execute nice one-touch passes .. plays with some physicality and can make some big hits .. a regular on the penalty kill and the second powerplay unit .. only potential drawback is size, 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, but doesn't play small .. second year, draft-eligible player is very similar to Vancouver prospect and former Buccaneer Taylor Matson, except even faster ..

.. played for Team USA at the 2008 World Junior A Challenge and scored 2 goals in 5 games .. had 8 goals and 9 assists in 19 games for Des Moines as of New Year's .. committed to Yale, and should be an impact player for the Bulldogs early on.

Rocco Carzo (2009), C/RW, Des Moines

A good two-way player that needs to be a permanent fixture on Des Moines' second line .. has good speed and puts in a great effort to fight around or through checks with the puck and is often successful doing so .. has a hard shot and will chase his own rebound .. conscientious forechecker and backchecker and finishes his checks .. able to use his speed and defensive awareness to help angle opponents toward the boards on the backcheck .. a regular on the Des Moines penalty kill, but does not see as regular of icetime on the powerplay as he deserves .. should be a fixture on the second powerplay unit .. two-way game recognized when selected to play for Team USA at the 2008 World Junior A Challenge .. had 1 assist in 5 games at the WJAC .. had 6 goals and 4 assists in 20 games for Des Moines as of New Year's.

Nick Pryor (Chi), D, Des Moines

Probably the only Des Moines defenseman having what could be considered a good year, despite plus/minus rating (minus-16 as of New Year's) .. has become a weapon from the point with his hard one-timer and dangerous slapshot .. not a natural powerplay quarterback, but he does distribute the puck on the umbrella fairly well .. makes crisp, accurate passes and able to execute tic-tac-toe passing .. has good agility with the puck and can evade forecheckers with spins and switchbacks .. does a good job keeping his head on a swivel skating back for the puck .. has good backward mobility, maintains a wide stance, minimizes crossovers, and has good lateral movement .. appears to have successfully adjusted to USHL speed and is having fewer opponents fight through his checks as he angles them to the boards .. does a good job to ignore puck and not buy fancy moves but play the body instead .. could afford to take less steps when he pivots .. receives icetime in all situations and is the Bucs' number-one defenseman and has outshone all other Des Moines d-men .. de-committed from Wisconsin but has now committed to Maine .. had 5 goals and 10 assists in 23 games as of New Year's.

Joe Gleason (Chi), D, Des Moines

Has almost unbelievable speed with the puck, but rarely able to do anything with it in terms of results .. common for him to build momentum behind the net and fly through the neutral zone, but doesn't seem to have the offensive awareness to make anything happen consistently once he's deep in the offensive zone .. often seems to have the blinders on approaching and through the neutral zone and rarely passes during this time .. able to get to top speed quickly with exceptional acceleration .. has excellent mobility backwards and can lay out some big hits angling opponents for a big hip check .. also a threat to step up for a shoulder check .. can disappear physically for a while and needs to find ways to provide consistent physical presence throughout the game .. only 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, but skating and ability to thrust into checks makes him a fierce hitter .. makes crisp passes and has a hard shot .. very skilled, but still needs to improve offensive awareness to make more happen when he goes coast-to-coast .. teammates also would be advised to watch Gleason in amazement less and actually crash the net as a trailer to give him a pass when he circles the offensive net .. had 2 goals and 6 assists in 22 games as of New Year's .. committed to North Dakota.

Matt White (2010), C, Des Moines

Development seems to have come to a plateau .. has good size at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, and has been the big man in front on the powerplay, but not making much of an offensive impact .. able to use his size to establish position to get the puck, but appears to have only average offensive vision to make successful plays .. can execute very crisp passes and give-and-goes, though .. at this juncture, looking more like a defensive center .. consistently helps his defensemen down low .. has decent agility and first gear to stick with attackers .. able to build some momentum for top speed, but could improve second gear, particularly with the puck (may come down to stickhandling) .. still skates upright most of the time and needs to generate power in his crossovers .. willing to block shots .. finishes his checks and is willing to engage physically .. a regular penalty killer .. selected to play for Team USA at the 2008 World Junior A Challenge and had 1 assist in 5 games .. had 5 goals and 3 assists in 20 games for Des Moines as of New Year's .. committed to North Dakota .. offensive game will need to make a jump in order to assure selection in 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Michael Houser (2010), G, Des Moines

Drafted in the second round of the 2008 USHL Futures Draft in October by Des Moines and joined them in mid-November after starting the year with Little Caesar's midget major .. not suffering from the crisis of confidence Aaron Crandall and Fredrik Bergman are suffering from after a difficult start to 2008-09 for Des Moines .. butterfly goaltender that does a good job of keeping his torso upright and covering the most net .. fairly smooth and quick lateral crease movements .. generally stays calm and does not panic when the puck is loose around the crease and maintains form .. able to make big splits saves if the situation calls for, which would often come in scrambles around the net .. does a good job of staying square to the puck and taking it in the chest .. stays fairly compact when he goes down into the butterfly and most glove saves are in close to his body .. if he can always tend the net with such calm and strong mechanics, he has an excellent chance of being drafted in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft .. born only two days before the cutoff for eligibility for the 2011 Draft .. for Des Moines, had played 75:41 minutes in over three games as of New Year's, with a 0-1-0 record, a 3.17 goals-against average, and a .909 save percentage .. with Little Caesar's, he had played 493 minutes, over 11 games of Tier 1 action and had a 6-3-0 record, a 2.74 goals-against average, and a .886 save percentage.

Yasin Cisse (2011), RW, Des Moines

Missed most of the first month of the season due to an injured hamstring but has shown flashes as a 16-year-old .. 6-foot-2, 205-pound winger provides a physical presence .. likes to make big hits and will come across the zone to do so .. aggressive checker also willing to drop the gloves .. isn't afraid to skate through opponents while handling the puck and will at least battle around them .. has some speed, but skating stride needs considerable work, as he often appears as if he's running on his skates .. brings skates up high in recovery phase of stride .. does have good lateral movement and quickness .. hustles for loose pucks, because either way he'll get the puck or have the opportunity to make a hit .. plays a power forward game that is not common to the USHL and shows glimpses of a decent shot and passing skills .. scored 20 goals and 38 assists in 44 games with Lac St. Louis in Quebec midget AAA hockey in 2007-08, skating on the same team as Omaha Lancers prospect Louis LeBlanc .. two more full seasons until the 2011 Draft, and could easily fix his skating stride by that time .. for Des Moines in 2008-09, he had 3 assists in 13 games as of New Year's .. committed to Boston University.

General Notes:

A number of Buccaneers prospects whom McKeen's has tracked in the past, and who were ranked by Central Scouting prior to the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, have had dismal seasons. Left winger Jake Youso impressed last season with Green Bay at the 2008 USHL Fall Classic and had good numbers with International Falls High School in Minnesota, but he's generally played on the third and fourth lines for the Buccaneers and only had 1 goal and 2 assists in 21 games as of New Year's. Youso's top speed seems a little slower this season, and he relies too much on quick feet and lacks power in his acceleration, meaning his rpm's are high, but he covers little ground.

Defenseman Austin Handley has not stepped up his game and has not truly become a leader on the Bucs' blueline as a third-year veteran. Leadership is sorely needed on a Des Moines d-corps that has been too easy to play against and that has not been effective in breaking the puck out, which has been exacerbated by wingers who seem content to stand still waiting for the pass and becoming stationary targets that are easy for the opposing forecheckers to zero in on. As of New Year's, Handley had only 2 goals and 2 assists in 22 games, but he has not been the physical or defensive presence one would have expected entering the season.

Goaltender Aaron Crandall has also had a dismal season, primarily because his confidence has eroded behind a blueline that has little physical presence and that has proven too easy to beat in 50/50 battles. The form that Crandall showed over the summer and in the preseason has disappeared or generally disappears each game as the score is run up. As of New Year's, the Wisconsin recruit had a 5-8-1 record over 16 games and a 4.77 goals-against average and a .860 save percentage over 842:04 minutes of play.

On a positive note, former Washington Capitals draft pick Brett Bruneteau has recaptured his health and his game. As of New Year's, he was leading the team in scoring with 8 goals and 14 assists in 23 games and was the team's best all-around player, generally making a difference every game and providing solid two-way play and a physical edge not reflected in the stats. Entering December, he was centering the Bucs' top line with Ryan Walters on his left wing and Alex Chiasson on his right. Since he did not enter college one year after he was drafted, and because the Capitals declined to give him a bona fide offer after the severe concussion he suffered last season, Bruneteau is no longer Caps property, but he's worth monitoring again. Eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Bruneteau is unlikely to be selected again due to his concussion history, but if he has a healthy run at North Dakota, he'll be a player that will be someone to watch to earn a two-way NHL contract out of college, assuming he continues to play his strong, two-way game.