USHL Fall Classic: Chicago Steel Prospects

Chicago Steel head coach Steve Poapst helped return the team to respectability in 2007-08, as the Steel finished above .500 for the first time since the 2003-04 season and recovering from a league-worst 12-46-2 record in 2006-07. The Windy City's USHL team will hope to continue that trend of improvement on the strength of a backend that features third-round NHL draft pick Max Nicastro, talented two-way defenseman John Moore, and NHL son Philip Samuelsson. McKeen's correspondents Kevin Wey and Max Giese both had the opportunity to watch the Steel the Fall Classic and enter notes on several Steel prospects.

Max Nicastro (Det), D, Chicago

Enters 2008-09 as Steel's number one defenseman .. 6-foot-2, 200-pound blueliner that plays a two-way game, adding some offense and a physical presence .. generally makes crisp passes on the tape and has become better at receiving passes with soft hands and can move it quickly in one smooth motion or with a one-touch pass .. becoming more adept at feathering passes when necessary .. pinches in from the point when the opportunity presents and can score .. has a decent wristshot from the point and a hard slapshot as well .. defensively, maintains a nice, low posture skating backwards with a wide stance that allows him to maintain good mobility at all times and can stop and start quickly to stick with shifty and/or agile opponents .. plays with some aggressiveness and can make big hits, but takes the occasional dumb penalty .. in 2007-08, he scored 6 goals and 14 assists in 58 games with Chicago .. drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the third round with the 91st overall pick of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft .. committed to Boston University .. 2008 USHL Fall Classic Stats: 3-2-1-3 … 4 pim.

Additional notes from Max Giese

A strong skater with impressive range, Nicastro is seemingly all over the ice .. his mitts appear to be softer this year and is more accurate now with his shot .. doing a better job activating himself offensively and even displayed new subtleties on the powerplay, such as winding up for the one-timer only to one-time the pass back to his defensive partner .. still has some ironing to do on his puck skills, as he can accurately deliver hard tape-to-tape passes across the ice, but then also struggle finessing a short-distance pass over sticks .. still prone to making errant decisions with the puck when pressured .. a physical and determined defender that excels on the penalty kill .. game is starting to come around, although he still needs to work on consistently making good plays with the puck.

John Moore (2009), D, Chicago

Chicago's top first-year, draft-eligible prospect entering the 2008-09 season .. Steels' top defenseman in terms of offensive awareness, and is the quarterback of their powerplay, and could surpass Nicastro overall as the year goes on .. a smooth skater with a nice, long stride with the puck and can skate the puck effectively .. has excellent agility with the puck and can make tight switchbacks to ditch opponents .. has a hard slapshot from the point .. distributes the puck well from the point and makes crisp passes on the tape .. consistently makes a crisp, accurate breakout pass .. smooth skater backwards that maintains a fairly low and wide stance, and can angle opponents to the boards and finish the hit .. listed at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, he engages physically and can separate opponents from the puck, but is not generally a punishing physical player .. skilled in using his stick defensively with pokechecks .. an excellent package off skating, skill, hockey sense, and decent size who, at this point, would not be a surprise in the second round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft .. in 2007-08, scored 4 goals and 11 assists in 56 games .. committed to Colorado College .. 2008 USHL Fall Classic stats: 3-2-2-4 … 14 pim.

Additional notes from Max Giese

A savvy and skilled puck-moving defenseman with exceptional two-way upside .. an encompassing skater that is effortlessly strong in all-directions thanks to his masterful feet .. a skilled passer with soft hands and a fast shot .. a powerplay quarterback that identifies developing plays innately and can sneak into the backdoor undetected .. seemingly never commits an error with the puck and yet, generates plenty of offensive opportunities thanks to his exceptional vision and prodigious puck skills .. his best defensive asset may be his awesome mobility, as Moore is blessed with a rare quality of recovery speed .. an astute positional defender that maintains tight gaps and can short circuit the opponent's offensive attacks, as he anticipates the game so well that he can jump on an errant pass in an instant .. plays odd-man rushes to textbook perfection and while he is undersized, he plays with a chip on his shoulder and displays an edge while taking the body .. still needs to get stronger, although his upper body strength is already deceptive .. possibly the best draft-eligible defenseman out of the USHL this year.

Philip Samuelsson (2009), D, Chicago

Son of former NHL defenseman Ulf Samuelsson is further along entering his rookie year in the USHL than a number of the NHL sons in recent USHL history .. 6-foot-2, 195-pound blueliner plays with some physicality but did not show the same nasty streak his father had .. somewhat slow backwards and needs to make sure he keeps his gaps small more often, but he can angle opponents into the boards and eliminate them and step up and make open-ice hits .. tends to make a crisp, accurate first pass, but also shows a tendency under pressure to blindly reverse the puck along the boards when he may not have a teammate in place to get to that puck first .. stickhandling appears awkward at times and mishandles the puck now and again .. not overly agile with the puck .. has a hard slapshot from the point and also has a fairly hard, crisp wristshot from the point that he can get off quickly .. received regular icetime and should be a regular on the penalty kill the whole season .. has a legitimate shot of going in the later rounds of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft .. in 2007-08, played Midget Major AAA for P.F. Changs .. drafted in the 10th round of the WHL bantam draft by the Edmonton Oil Kings .. 2008 USHL Fall Classic stats: 3-0-0-0 … 2 pim.

Additional notes from Max Giese

Samuelsson displayed some shades of his father Ulf in his game .. his reverse movement is okay, however he's a knock-kneed skater with clunky first steps .. nothing special offensively, but he sees time on the powerplay thanks to his ability to keep the play alive and get shots on net consistently .. makes the first pass comfortably and without hesitation .. angles his man off effectively and can usually finish them with a stiff check, but needs to upgrade his lateral mobility because speedier opponents can still slip by him to the outside and leave him in their dust .. has a healthy element of physicality to his game and displays good character by sticking up for his teammates .. works hard, but still needs to make better reads while in coverage around his own net .. a draft-eligible prospect worth monitoring.

Ben Hughes (2009), D, Chicago

Steel's sixth defenseman entering the 2008-09 season has plenty of room for improvement, but some fundamentals to work with .. a fairly smooth skater who stays reasonably low skating backwards and doesn't require crossovers, although he is somewhat slow backwards .. demonstrated he has quick feet when necessary and has good speed and form laterally .. needs better acceleration, power, and speed forwards .. lack of speed makes him susceptible to being beaten wide at times .. but he also demonstrates that he won't fall for slick moves by making a timely pokecheck and add the body behind it to eliminate opponents from the play or at least halt their progress .. passing was a bit off, as he seemed to still be adjusting to the speed of the play .. has an average wristshot from the point .. in general, 6-foot-0, 186-pound defenseman needs to add strength and power, especially in his lower body, but many of the skating mechanics and hockey sense appear to be in place .. long shot to be drafted in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft at this point .. in 2007-08, played Midget Major AAA for Team Illinois and picked up 4 assists in 25 MWEHL regular season games .. no college commitment of yet .. 2008 USHL Fall Classic stats: 3-0-0-0 0 … pim.

Additional notes from Max Giese

Nothing dynamic here, just a steady-eddy-type-of defenseman .. owns a languid stride with proper technique in his backwards movement .. pivots well and while his mobility is not a weakness, he could still have more power to his stride .. lacks poise and patience with the puck, as he wants the puck off his blade soon as possible .. from the point he will force shots or just dump the puck in, instead of taking the time to identify the open man and getting him the puck .. dependable defender that maintains an active stick and keeps tight gaps .. a bit undersized and will need to continue to add more strength

Charlie Thauwald (2009), RW, Chicago

Big, 6-foot-2, 210-pound right winger has a ways to go, but could be molded into a physical presence .. generally a slow skater by USHL standards, with a slow stride .. shows unnecessary vertical movement when accelerating to further compromise his speed and quickness .. seemed to lack hockey sense, as he appeared clueless on more than one occasion of where the puck was (not far from him) .. showed a little bit of speed skating without the puck on the forecheck .. highlight came when he lined up Sioux Falls defenseman Garrett Kennedy for a huge hit .. appears to be an extreme long shot to be taken in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, but does have good size and may find success this season in a fourth-line role for the Steel as a physical forward and a fighter .. in 2007-08 played for Rochester Mayo in the Minnesota High School Hockey League and scored 18 goals and 17 assists in 27 games .. no college commitment of yet .. 2008 USHL Fall Classic Stats: 2-0-0-0 2 … pim.

Additional notes from Max Giese

A big north/south-type-of winger .. has some major skating issues to work out, as he has the turn radius of a school bus and can't even execute a basic hockey stop .. can receive passes adequately, but he gets way too fancy with the puck for someone of his modest skill set .. processes the game too slow while the puck is on his blade .. utilizes his superior size and strength to effectively cycle the puck on the wall and he can occasionally land the big check if he lines up a guy with their head down.

Alex Krushelnyksi (2009), LW, Chicago

Agile with decent moves and the ability to make guys miss .. stubbornly too fancy with the puck and he needs to make better decisions in the offensive zone .. the effort he gives in the defensive zone is solid, although he's not the smartest player and tends to just chase the puck around .. a small player that is pretty invisible. - notes from Max Giese

Eric Alexander (2009), RW, Chicago

Second-year USHLer and third-year, draft-eligible winger has a real shot at being one of the top power forwards in the USHL and a dominating force if he wants it .. 6-foot-2, 200-pound left-winger showed good cruising speed and was consistently able to beat opponents wide, circle the zone, or come off the half-boards almost uncontested .. displayed stickhandling prowess by being able to stickhandle wide and bring the puck in close to his body .. adept at creating offensive chances driving the net or making centering passes and can snipe the puck himself .. has good balance and can maintain control of the puck and absorb big hits .. able to dish out big hits and can take out any frustrations on opponents in a painful way, even opponents bigger than him .. made tremendous strides last season in the USHL after coming out of Michigan high school hockey and has taken readily-apparent further strides over the summer .. could be the third-year, draft-eligible player to go out of the USHL this season - following in the footsteps of Phil DeSimone and Matt Bartkowski .. in 2007-08, scored 15 goals and 7 assists in 49 games for the Steel .. committed to Ferris State University .. 2008 USHL Fall Classic stats: 3-2-1-3 … 9 pim.

Additional notes from Max Giese

A raw power forward that has been passed over in the previous two drafts .. difficult to stop with a head of steam coming through the neutral zone .. can make multiple opponents miss with his slick stick fakes or simply run over unsuspecting defenders .. sturdy on his feet with the ability to knock opponents off their feet when they attempt to check him off the puck .. his acceleration still needs work and he doesn't see the ice all that well in possession .. he's not always in the sharing mood and needs to involve his linemates more.

Mark Anthoine (2009), LW Chicago

Barely eligible for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Anthoine entered last season as a player in contention for a late-round selection .. went undrafted and upon return to action, does not appear to be a threat to be taken in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, either .. 6-foot-0, 180-pound winger still plays the physical game that he played last year, finishing his checks regularly, often with some force .. forechecks hard and backchecks hard and will lay opponents out with a hit on the backcheck if he can .. shows deceptive speed with the puck at times, but generally displays only average speed with the puck .. still does not produce a lot of power in his crossovers .. shows good defensive awareness and can anticipate the play, intercept passes, and create turnovers .. in 2007-08, scored 12 goals and 13 assists in 52 games for the Steel .. committed to the University of Maine .. 2008 USHL Fall Classic stats: 3-0-1-1 … 2 pim. - notes from Kevin Wey

Alex Simonson (2009), RW, Chicago

After monitoring Simonson last season in his USHL action due to seeing some raw talent, a physical game, and some size, but wanted to see if he'd added the necessary lower body strength to make the next step in 2008-09 .. has quick feet and more power and strength this year, but still has work to do .. hustles into the corners and finishes his checks .. willing to fight and fought Ryan Pajimola of the Indiana Ice and landed a number of blows, but they seemed to lack force .. additional lower body strength should help lower his center of gravity and improve his balance and ability to take checks and maintain possession of the puck .. an extreme long shot to be drafted in his second year of eligibility .. in 2007-08 scored 12 goals and 11 assists in 27 games for Grand Forks Red River in the North Dakota High School League and 3 goals and 0 assists in 13 games for the Steel .. uncommitted to a college program .. 2008 USHL Fall Classic stats: 3-0-0-0 … 9 pim. - notes from Kevin Wey