USHL: Lincoln Leading the Way

In our Fall Classic Report, McKeen's stated that Lincoln had more talent than it might first appear on paper, and the Stars have proven that to be true by leading the USHL's Western Division after 15 games with a 9-5-1 record.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey recently had the chance to catch the Lincoln Stars in action and enters notes on first-year, NHL Entry Draft-eligible prospects Brett Chartier (pictured) and Garrett Peterson and a few other Lincoln prospects trying to prove it's better the second, or even third time around.

Brett Chartier (2009), LW, Lincoln

Off to a good start in the USHL, had 5 goals and 8 assists in 14 games at Lincoln's 15-game mark .. was not as physical as at the Fall Classic, but demonstrated the same skating characteristics .. has quick strides that do have some power and has decent speed .. shifty with the puck, as he can change up speeds .. a quick player overall with good speed bursts for decent separation .. a decent playmaker who can feather passes but also make very quick, crisp passes .. some teammates at the USHL level cannot handle his hard passes .. offensive vision lands him at the point on the powerplay .. uses his quickness and positioning defensively to intercept passes and quickly transition the play .. has a quick wristshot .. also played on Lincoln's penalty kill .. at 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, he will need to put up close to a point per game in the USHL, play with the grit that he has historically, and add a little more top-end speed. Click the link for a recent interview with Brett Chartier

Garrett Peterson (2009), RW, Lincoln

Impressive in his defensive role .. very quick with good speed and really hustles on the forecheck .. plays a physical game and can lay out some hard hits along the boards .. won't merely circle away on the forecheck, he'll play the body and create turnovers .. quick acceleration and top speed give him good separation to skate the puck off the boards after winning border battles .. pressures the goaltender on the forecheck and crashes the net offensively .. has good speed in his turns and really gets out on his edges when executing turns .. a regular on the penalty kill and also saw shifts on the powerplay .. despite speed, quickness, and defensive effort, he will need to put up more points to gain consideration for the NHL Entry Draft .. at Lincoln's 15-game mark, he only had 1 goal and 1 assist in 9 games.

Richard Manley (2009), LW, Lincoln

After a good performance at the Fall Classic, his skating flaws were very noticeable in this game .. utilized his quick feet often, too often .. has quick strides, but does not cover much ground because he lacks power in his strides .. takes tiny steps in his crossovers with the puck and is upright, generating no power and making him easy to knock over .. upright under acceleration and did not look strong on his skates .. leans forward excessively skating forward .. did not show some of the longer strides he showed at the Fall Classic .. made one decent hit on the forecheck, but typically finished his check with a soft hit that looked like a mere formality .. played on the powerplay, but was invisible offensively .. at Lincoln's 15-game mark, he had 3 goals and 6 assists in 12 games.

Garrett Vermeersch (2009), RW, Lincoln

Developing nicely after showing flashes with Cedar Rapids in 2007-08 .. more positional in his forecheck this season, but still creating at least equal results in making it difficult for opponents to break the puck out .. has good separation to emerge from puck battles and has good top speed .. has fairly powerful strides .. likes to make tight switchbacks along the boards to protect the puck .. also utilizes Gretzky circles after gaining the offensive zone to buy time and assess the play .. shows some dangle, but still loses the handle afterward at times .. bringing his tools into the toolbox more and more and playing a top-six role for Lincoln .. at Lincoln's 15-game mark, he had 4 goals and 8 assists in 14 games.

Ross Henry (2009), D, Lincoln

Playing in a less offensive role than he did at the Fall Classic and is back to the defensive defenseman role he played in 2007-08 .. skating the puck more than last year, with mixed results .. has good speed with the puck and shows a bit of dangle, but loses control too often .. makes crisp passes .. has a hard shot, but must get it on net more .. seems to be getting beaten more defensively this year .. still playing a physical game and can lay out big hits .. knows when to slide to block shots or to clog the passing lane .. regular on the Lincoln PK .. at Lincoln's 15-game mark, he had 1 goal and 1 assist in 15 games and a team-leading plus-8 rating .. an extreme long shot to be drafted if he can't crack Lincoln's powerplay regularly and put up some points.

Michael Sdao (2009), D, Lincoln

Continuing to make steady improvement in his second USHL season .. big, physical defenseman able to make huge hits .. able to angle opponents and finish them with thundering hip checks .. willing to drop the gloves .. has decent speed backwards, but still gets beat wide too often .. gets low backwards but has a little vertical motion in his skating and needs to further minimize crossovers backwards .. however, shows that he has the potential to skate backwards in correct form .. still slightly unsteady on his skates, but has much better balance than when he entered the league in 2007 .. third year of draft eligibility and might be of potential late-round interest to an NHL team that thinks he'll continue to steadily develop at Princeton .. at Lincoln's 15-game mark had 1 goal in 11 games.