USHL: Leblanc unleashed, but falls to Force

The Fargo Force completed their series sweep with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Omaha Lancers. With the game being played in the same building as the World U-18's the rink was crawling with NHL scouts clamoring to see Louis Leblanc, who played a great game. McKeen's director of scouting Max Giese was also in attendance and files this report on Leblanc, Josh Birkholz, and Mike Lee.

Louis Leblanc (2009), C/W, Omaha Lancers

Leblanc had a great second half to the season and displayed leadership qualities in the playoffs .. add that to his impressive performances for Team Canada and his pure physical potential, and you have a player that will have NHL teams coveting his services in the first round of the NHL draft .. a hunched-over skater that packs a powerful stride, rapid acceleration, and a high running motor .. will pay the price to score by jamming the net and he can finish with a hard shot .. scored a beautiful goal in which he used his speed to beat a defender wide before driving to the net and tucking the puck home far side .. stationed in the front of the net on the powerplay .. still made some questionable decisions with the puck, but overall his playmaking ability deep within the offensive zone was a pleasant surprise, as he made several nice passes in tight around the net that generated quality scoring chances .. defensively was a mixed bag .. was on the penalty kill and did a nice job coming deep in support while playing center .. however, while on the wing, Leblanc played too high and was not in the proper lane, which led to him screening the goalie and a goal against being scored .. Leblanc already plays a mans game and is only going to get stronger .. he packs a mean streak and is ultra competitive, as he loves to run through and over opponents.

Josh Birkholz (2009), RW, Fargo Force

Birkholz is strong, has great speed, and owns a good shot, but the fact that he doesn't process the game well is a major drawback .. a powerful skater and his speed will likely have some team taking a chance on him late in the second round .. defenders on his team want to give him the puck while making the first pass, because they know he has the dynamic wheels to carry the puck all the way to the offensive zone .. has a good shot, but overall his hands were suspect in scoring situations .. he's strictly a north/south player and he struggles when he attempts to play a creative east/west game .. doesn't see the ice or think the game all that well .. is strong and tough with the strength to jam a guy along the wall .. got heated and showed some passion during scrums .. rarely touched the ice, as his icetime along with his draft stock have gone south during the second half of the season.

Mike Lee (2009), G, Fargo Force

The strength to Lee's game is his sharp glove hand .. in fact, he'll cheat over to the blocker side to dictate that the shooter attempts to beat his glove, often to no avail .. overall his mechanics are strong and he uses his upright shoulders well to make saves, but he still needs to do a better job of leaning his body weight into outstretched saves .. was beaten early in the first period blocker side because he played too deep in his crease and committed to his butterfly early .. after that goal though he played on the top of his crease and responded with a nice glove save in which he confidently challenged the shooter .. kicked out some bad rebounds and struggled when Omaha got him moving .. didn't push off laterally when the shooter tried to deke him wide, instead he just desperately stretched his leg out to the post .. however, Lee ultimately won scouts over with this performance because he came up with several key, point blank saves .. he displayed the ability to rise to the occasion and make the big saves during the games critical moments.