USHL: Lucas Loss, Chicagos Gain

Swiss forward Luca Cunti seemed set to skate for St. Cloud State University for the next four seasons, pursuing a psychology degree along the way, but he was ruled ineligible to play NCAA college hockey in mid-February. After sitting out the first semester for the Huskies, the Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick left to play for the Chicago Steel. Cunti lost out in his desire to play hockey and pick up an education, but he has helped Chicago down the stretch by averaging nearly a point per game.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey, recently had the opportunity to catch the Chicago Steel in action and enters notes on Luca Cunti (pictured), defenseman Max Nicastro, center Drew LeBlanc, and a few other young Steel prospects that are making an impact this season.

Luca Cunti (TB), LW, Chicago Steel

Smooth skater with deceptive speed and does not require a lot of skate turnover to generate his speed .. does not rely only upon his speed and is more than able to slow the game down .. a skilled stickhandler who does so with his head up and is able to continually assess his options .. good passer on the forehand and the backhand .. likes to go one-on-one with the puck and beat his opponents .. admits he must improve his intensity and physical play for North American hockey .. deemed ineligible by NCAA and will have to assess major junior and pro options. Click the link for a recent interview with Luca Cunti

Max Nicastro (2008), D, Chicago Steel

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Nicastro has established himself in the USHL as a physical defenseman that adds a little offense .. able to make some big hits, including on the backcheck to prevent opponents from making passes or shots .. also adept at leg drags and pokechecks, if not playing the body .. plays with some intensity and aggressiveness along the boards and in front of his net .. generally makes an accurate first pass .. has a hard pointshot that he keeps low for deflection .. also has a quick wristshot from the point .. needs to take fewer steps when pivoting from backwards to forwards .. needs to be careful about chasing his man too high in the defensive zone, although this does not have to be a difficult fix .. committed to Boston University in 2009 .. a certainty to be drafted in the 2008 Draft.

Drew LeBlanc (2008), C, Chicago Steel

Still the same two-way player demonstrated earlier in the season and is averaging nearly a point per game .. hustles on the forecheck and finishes his checks, but needs to do so with more force .. does a good job filling holes in the offensive zone or in trailing on the forecheck .. does not give up on the play with the puck, even when tripped .. on the ice in the final minute to attempt comeback .. worth late-round consideration, but could go undrafted again.

Nick Pisellini (2008), G, Chicago Steel

Athletic netminder who has quick pad movements down and up .. quick across the crease, including kicking off from in the butterfly position .. has a quick glove hand .. displays good flexibility and can make splits saves .. does a good job of tracking the puck regardless of his body angle .. can be caught back in his net, but has the quickness and reaction time to still survive at the USHL level, although he will need to correct this for higher levels .. shows a tendency to go down more than he needs to, especially when traffic converges on him .. can be overly aggressive at times in his crease and can be taken off his game .. improvements in consistency over the course of a game will help him become an elite USHL netminder.

Alex Simonson (2008), RW, Chicago Steel

A hustling forward that forechecks hard and can make some big hits however, he lacks power in his skating .. too upright in his skating, such as when accelerating or in crossovers, which lack power .. legs appear to be fairly thin at this point, but one can only wonder how fast Simonson would skate and how hard he could hit if he added additional lower-body strength to his 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame (listed weight) .. highly unlikely to go in the 2008 Draft, but could be considered in 2009 if he returns to USHL and makes aforementioned improvements, as there's something to work with.

John Moore (2009), D, Chicago Steel

Late 1990 is fairly advanced and receiving regular icetime .. a smooth skater with a nice stride but who could use more lower-body strength .. gets upright when accelerating, but has good all-compass mobility .. skating potential is very high if he adds the lower-body strength .. could reduce crossovers when accelerating backwards a bit, but is good in using no crossovers once he crosses the blueline, except to make significant lateral movements .. has decent speed and can angle his opponents well but is still fine-tuning this skill .. stays calm defensively and is adept at making pokechecks .. can generate some speed skating the puck and makes accurate passes .. able to connect on long-distance passes .. has a hard slapper from the point .. committed to Colorado College in 2009.

Barron Smith (2009), D, Chicago Steel

Still has a ways to go toward truly being a USHL-caliber defenseman .. a 6-foot-5 frame gives him excellent reach, but his 185 pounds leaves him quite lean .. unable to handle speedy USHL forwards, of which there are many .. has a decent slapshot from the point, but must keep it low .. also showed some ability to smoothly take the puck off the boards and take a smooth wristshot .. passing still needs work, as he passes it crisply, but it is often way off target .. tall frame gives him potential, but is still many pounds away from being able to realize his potential, probably as a physical-defensive defenseman.