USHL: Indiana Goes Big Time

The Indiana Ice went big time in 2007-08, competing in the CCM Classic against QMJHL teams and winning the USHL East Division with a 38-17-5 record and scoring 223 goals for the season, only one behind the Omaha Lancers' league-leading 224. The team also towers above the competition in talent and size. The Ice featured impressive first-year, draft-eligible talent in defensemen John Carlson and Corey Fienhage and impressive NHL draft picks in Paul Carey and Ben Blood, among a number of other talented players. Indiana sported a d-corps with only one defenseman shorter than 6-foot-1, and which averaged nearly 6-foot-2 in height and 196 pounds in weight. The Ice also had the biggest netminder in the league, 6-foot-5 Scott Darling, an NHL draft pick himself, and 6-foot-3 Matt Hoyle (a 1990 DOB) as their backup. McKeen's had the opportunity to catch Indiana in action near the end of the regular season and enters notes on Carlson, Feinhage, Carey, Blood, Darling, and a couple other Ice prospects.

John Carlson (2008), D, Indiana Ice

Incredibly well rounded, 18-year-old defenseman .. has a long, powerful stride and generates power in his crossovers .. has good all-compass mobility, and does not backtrack early defensively but instead keeps his gaps small .. fairly smooth pivots and can keep up with speedy USHL opponents .. impressive passing game, as his passes are consistently crisp and on the tape .. has good offensive awareness for distributing the puck and does a good job to take a look skating back for the puck .. very poised with puck, as he does not panic when pressured .. 6-foot-2, 215-pounder plays with some physicality, as he pinches to make big hits from time to time .. also adept along the boards in pinning opponents and eliminating them from the play .. also verbally communicates with teammates on the ice, which is becoming a lost art .. named to All-USHL Second Team and USHL All-Rookie Team .. finished the season second in USHL defenseman scoring with 12 goals and 31 assists in 59 games.

Corey Fienhage (2008), D, Indiana Ice

Joined Indiana Feb. 10 after playing for Eastview High School in Minnesota, where he was one of ten finalists for the state's Mr. Hockey Award .. has good all-compass mobility .. smooth backwards skater with good power and who generates power in his backwards crossovers but does not rely on crossovers for his speed backwards.. able to keep his gap small and is able to stop and start to stay with his man .. has quick feet if he needs them, although he could take fewer steps in his pivots .. adept at using one leg to make directional moves backwards, almost like a rudder .. has good defensive awareness and can angle his man into the boards for a hip check or rub them out .. 6-foot-4, 210-pound blueliner is able to pin opponents along the boards and eliminate them from the play .. makes a crisp, accurate first pass that is generally right on the tape .. able to connect on long-distance breakout passes, too .. has all the makings of a solid defensive defenseman that moves the puck well and reliably .. finished USHL regular season with 1 goal and 2 assists in 12 games .. committed to University of North Dakota in 2009.

Christopher Darnell (2008), RW, Indiana Ice

Joined Indiana Feb. 10 after playing for Culver Academy .. smooth skater with deceptive speed that often appears to be cruising .. has deceptive speed bursts, because he uses power over quick feet .. has good speed and power, but not amazing .. has good offensive vision for finding open men and makes crisp, accurate passes the lead his men just right .. showed a tendency to cherry pick, often leaving him uninvolved defensively .. must remember to open to the play so that his teammates can find him for passes, too .. has added some bulk in recent years and is now up to 6-foot-2, 185 pounds .. finished USHL season with 1 goal and 1 assist in 10 games .. second-year, draft-eligible player potential 2008 draft pick, but a long shot .. not yet committed to a college program.

Stepan Novotny (2009), LW, Indiana Ice

Ineligible for 2008 Draft by six days .. joined Indiana in late November after starting the season with Shattuck St. Mary's .. young Czech winger already has decent size at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds .. has nice speed and some good speed bursts, but appears to have the potential for very good speed with even more lower-body strength .. seems to lack the power and explosiveness for quick stops and starts, and tends to circle instead .. able to make slick stickhandling moves out wide or in close and often uses a wide cruising stance common to many skilled European players .. demonstrates some commitment to defense, as he will stay back for pinching defensemen .. finished the USHL regular season with 4 goals and 7 assists in 44 games .. committed to Denver University.

Paul Carey (Col), RW, Indiana Ice

Started the season with 16 goals and 9 assists in first 15 games, but production came back to earth thereafter and finished the season with 34 goals and 32 assists in 60 games .. 6-foot-1, 190-pound winger is adept at slowing the play down along the perimeter and shielding the puck .. has good speed and utilizes power in his first-step acceleration over quick skate turnover .. poised with the puck and does not get pressured into bad passes .. has playmaking abilities and is dangerous making centering passes from the perimeter .. passes are quick, crisp, and accurate .. also adept at one-touch passing .. has a good wristshot and a hard slapshot, but must improve accuracy of slapper .. can undress defensemen one-on-one if he decides to drive the net .. defensive effort is inconsistent .. appears lazy at times and gets lax on his stick defensively at times, but then does a good job of breaking up passes at other times .. can make a big hit from time to time .. named to All-USHL Second Team and USHL All-Rookie Team.

Ben Blood (Ott), D, Indiana Ice

Decent all-around defenseman, just not as impressive as Indiana teammates John Carlson or Corey Fienhage .. makes crisp, accurate passes, but not with the velocity of Carlson .. has a hard slapper from the point and a crisp wristshot .. shows a little dangle with the puck at times and can shield the puck with his long reach after he gets some momentum, but stickhandling is not always smooth .. 6-foot-4, 220-pounder plays with some physicality and can make big hits and seems to pick up penalties just for being big .. in general, did not seem as impressive during the season as at the Fall Classic to start the season.

Scott Darling (Phx), G, Indiana Ice

Huge, 6-foot-5, 198-pound netminder with impressive flexibility .. common to see him make splits saves, and his long legs allow him to make some big saves with such a long span .. can get very deep in his splits, but this occasionally leaves him unable to get up quickly and gets beat while still down in splits .. able to quickly adjust his position for rebound shots when in standard butterfly .. able to kick rebounds into the corner when using the butterfly .. able to get across the crease easily due to his size and can do it fairly upright, taking away a lot of net .. shows good puck tracking at times but has the puck hit him oddly at other times, creating rebound chances .. has a decent glove hand and makes his share of splits glove saves .. can really leverage his stick to make passes .. while flexibility is impressive, he would be advised not to sprawl out or utilize a full splits as much as he does and be a bit more technical .. finished the regular season with a 27-10-2 record, a .908 save percentage, and a 3.04 goals-against average in 2391:04 minutes played.