USHL Fall Classic: Green Bay Gamblers

In a 12-part series, McKeen's will be featuring top prospects from each USHL team based on their performances at the USHL Fall Classic held in Sioux City, Iowa, on September 27-29. In our ninth installment, correspondent Kevin Wey, reviews several players from the Green Bay Gamblers, including Jake Youso, Aaron Crandall, Roberts Shea and Taylor Johnson.

Jake Youso (2008), C, Green Bay

One of the fastest players at the Fall Classic .. exceptional top speed, with the acceleration, quickness, and agility to match, as well as the stickhandling and hockey sense to give him excellent separation .. the only Green Bay forward that showed the ability to break the game open .. needs to work on slowing the game down however, to buy teammates time and allow them to catch up .. high-end speed makes him effective on the forecheck and the backcheck, although he must bulk up to be adding a physical presence behind it .. (Fall Classic stats: 2-0-0-0, 3 shots).

Aaron Crandall (2008), G, Green Bay

Goaltender with quick pads and good flexibility .. has a quick and smooth lateral-pad-slide across the crease .. calculates the positioning of his pads and adjusts the angle to the ice as he reads the play .. easy to tell when he is ready for and anticipating a shot, as he gets into a compact stance, which allows him to butterfly quickly .. is not immune to laying a stick on attackers who interfere with him .. has not committed to a college .. (Fall Classic stats: 2 gp, .974 SvP).

Robert Shea (2008), D, Green Bay

Solid all-around defenseman .. backward skating mechanics are good and allow for power and mobility .. does not rely upon power alone, as he also has quick feet .. has good speed in all directions .. has a strong pointshot with a quick release .. moves the puck well from the point and can make good one-touch passes .. makes a reliable first pass but can also skate the puck up and battle through checks .. able to angle opponents well and can dish out a hard bodycheck .. has not committed to a college .. (Fall Classic stats: 3-0-0-0, 2 PIM's, 3 shots).

Taylor Johnson (2008), D, Green Bay

Small defenseman (5-9, 175 pounds) who received a lot of icetime, especially in offensive situations .. play was inconsistent and he appeared to be having some difficulty adjusting to the pace and the bigger players .. has good forward speed and can rush the puck into the zone or skate the puck out .. distributed the puck well at the point at times, and was given every opportunity to prove himself as the powerplay quarterback, but also mishandled the puck and fanned on some passes creating his fair share of turnovers .. has a hard pointshot .. can angle off opponents, but must add more bulk and power to his game to be effective physically .. has not committed to a college .. (Fall Classic stats: 3-0-0-0, 10 PIM's, 0 shots).