USHL: Musketeers’ Mattson Making Move

Sioux City Musketeers' winger Austin Mattson went without a point in his first 12 USHL games, and he had only 2 goals in 24 games into 2008-09. However, after a two-point game against the Tri-City Storm on Jan. 16, the fleet-of-foot Michigan native has averaged just under a point per game since. Mattson impressed straightaway at the 2008 USHL Fall Classic and early in the regular season with his smooth stride, standout speed, and excellent effort on the forecheck and backcheck. He also has a skill set that for some reason was not translating to points at that time, but now the 18-year-old is impressing on the scoresheet, too, and seeing regular icetime at even strength and on the special teams. The 5-foot-10, 165-pounder may not have size on his side heading into the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, but he's making his move and proving there is another player to scout in Sioux City besides Seth Helgeson or Justin and Drew Daniels.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey caught the Sioux City Musketeers in action once in February and once in mid-to-late March and files notes on Seth Helgeson, Justin and Drew Daniels, Austin Mattson and a few other Sioux City prospects under the watchful eye.

Justin Daniels (SJ), C, Sioux City

Playmaking center likes to open up along the half boards just past the blueline and assess his options .. a heads-up stickhandler who can protect the puck with his stickhandling and with swivels and switchbacks .. makes crisp, accurate passes and is dangerous from the half boards or the corners .. has nice cruising speed with the puck thanks to a fairly effortless stride and is confident handling the disc .. possesses deceptive quickness and takes fewer strides than most .. responsible forechecker and helps his defensemen down low .. regular on the powerplay and sees time on the penalty kill .. looks for the pass first, sometimes to his detriment .. no major holes in his game other than needing to shoot the puck more and adding quality size to his 6-foot-1, 167-pound frame .. played for Team Reebok (West Division) at the USHL Prospects/All-Star Game .. committed to Northeastern .. at Sioux City's 55-game mark, he had 8 goals and 27 assists in 52 games.

Drew Daniels (SJ), RW, Sioux City

Not too unlike his brother .. smooth skater with good cruising speed who also has deceptive quickness .. also displays agility with the puck in swivels and switchbacks or to corral difficult passes .. able to use his speed to beat opponents wide or fight through checks .. also like his brother, he can protect the puck along the boards and assess his options from the half boards .. stays calm with the puck under pressure along the boards .. makes smooth, crisp passes .. plays with a little more physicality than Justin, but isn't aggressively physical .. good two-way awareness and quickly identifies when to stay back for pinching defensemen .. plays on the powerplay and sees some penalty kill time .. needs to shoot the puck more and also add more quality mass to his 6-foot-1, 172-pound frame .. committed to Northeastern .. at Sioux City's 55-game mark, he had 9 goals and 17 assists in 49 games.

Seth Helgeson (2009), D, Sioux City

Stock has gone down a bit, now looking more like a late second-round pick or an early third-round pick .. offensive game holds him back a bit .. crisp d-to-d passer, transitions the puck well with d-partners and shows smooth mobility backwards doing so, but his breakout passes are inconsistent .. some breakout passes are crisp and on the tape, but too many are wobbly or off the mark .. 6-foot-4.5, 221-pounder has very powerful strides and can build considerable speed with the puck .. few opponents try to engage Helgeson in this freight-train mode .. physical defensively, especially by USHL standards .. smooth skater backwards, maintains a wide base, and can get very low .. able to destroy opponents angling them with hip checks, or shoulder checks, or stepping up for open-ice hits .. also flat-out muscles down a lot of opponents .. has good speed backwards and no crossovers after the initial few .. a bit hunched over with the puck .. has long arms and appears to use a shorter stick .. executes switchbacks well down low to evade checkers .. plays on the powerplay with his hard pointshot and is active at the point to remain an open option for forwards down low .. regular penalty killer .. excellent mobility, particularly considering his size, and a mature physical package that won't need much time at Minnesota before being ready to move on to the pro game .. played for Team Reebok (West Division All-Stars) at USHL Prospects/All-Star Game .. at Sioux City's 55-game mark, he had 4 goals and 12 assists in 53 games.

Austin Mattson (2009), LW/RW, Sioux City

Role has increased in the second half of the season, deservedly so, and his production has increased with it .. averaging just under a point per game since mid-January .. long strides, very good top speed .. gets up to speed almost from the very first stride .. uses his speed as F1 on the forecheck and can hound opponents on both the forecheck and the backcheck .. finishes his checks, although not aggressively so .. threat to strip opponents of the puck .. also very speedy with the puck and an adept stickhandler .. able to stickhandle wide, execute toe drags, and move it across his body to maintain possession or flat-out beat opponents .. seeing time on both the powerplay and the penalty kill .. speed and skating stood out from the get-go in 2008-09, always appeared to have the skill, now the commensurate production is following .. a bit undersized at 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, but Mattson is poised to be an impact player in the USHL in 2009-10, and actually has been such the second half of the season if discerning scouts are paying attention .. worth late-round consideration because of the upside his combination of speed, skill, and effort brings .. yet uncommitted to a college program .. at Sioux City's 55-game mark, he had 9 goals and 11 assists in 48 games.

Stephane DaCosta (2009), RW, Sioux City

Points-per-game is amongst the best in the USHL .. opposite of the Daniels twins in that he shoots, shoots, and shoots, averaging five per game .. has a hard slapshot that requires little wind up that he can also snipe .. able to unleash a huge one-timer .. wristshot and snapshot are also quite hard .. makes crisp, accurate passes, but definitely looks for the shot first .. plays the point on the powerplay due to his huge shot and offensive vision .. adept stickhandler able to sidestep opponents often .. patient with the puck and will out-wait goaltenders .. on the breakout, he has a tendency to stop moving his feet before he receives the pass and then for a while before he makes the pass .. not a defensive ace, but does see a little penalty kill time and lays out hits here and there and strips opponents of the puck .. third-year eligible player is a pure sniper that just might be on an NHL team or two's radar as a late-round pick for the 2009 Draft .. not too undersized at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds .. played for France at the 2009 Division I Group A World Junior Championships in Switzerland and led the tournament in scoring with 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) .. played for Team Reebok at USHL Prospects/All-Star Game .. committed to Merrimack .. at Sioux City's 55-game mark, he had 26 goals and 31 assists in 43 games.

Adam Schmidt (2009), LW/RW, Sioux City

Has made steady progress and now looks much more comfortable with the USHL-caliber-of-play .. 6-foot-2, 180-pound winger provides Musketeers a physical presence, as he consistently finishes his checks .. F1 on the forecheck often and makes it difficult for the opponents to breakout .. also puts in a good effort on the backcheck .. reads the forecheck well and seems to work very well with Austin Mattson as a forechecking tandem .. has fairly powerful acceleration and nice speed and starting to use these in a developing power game with the puck .. working to drive the net on the attack or on chances he creates on the forecheck .. will need to improve strength on the puck for maximum effect, but getting better at this .. also needs to improve his shooting, as his wristshot is only adequate in game situations .. everything about Schmidt's physical attitude out on the ice exudes more confidence than at the beginning of his rookie-USHL season .. first-year eligible player a long shot to be taken in the 2009 Draft, but it would not surprise if he puts himself in a position to become an impact USHLer in 2009-10 and earn more draft attention then .. uncommitted to a college program .. at Sioux City's 55-game mark, he had 5 goals and 8 assists in 44 games.

Dan Ford (2009), D, Sioux City

Established himself as a regular in the Musketeers lineup and typically the team's fifth defenseman .. generates a little acceleration backwards, reduces crossovers after the redline, and lets his gaps close, but doesn't engage physically early enough.. backs in beyond the top of the faceoff circles too often, even though he's positioned himself to engage .. speed backwards is only adequate and leaves him susceptible to being beaten wide .. adept with sweep and pokechecks .. backwards stops facing his right not as smooth as to his left .. typically makes the simple play, be it a crisp short pass or wrapping it up the boards .. can connect on long-distance feeds, though, too .. has shown a decent pointshot in past viewings, but more content to lob wristshots from the point in these viewings .. 6-foot-0, 180-pound frame nothing special for NHL purposes, and an extreme long shot to be drafted in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft .. committed to Harvard .. at Sioux City's 55-game mark, he had 6 assists in 48 games.

Matthew Kinman (2009), D, Sioux City

Struggled to get consistent icetime in 2008-09 and was the team's seventh defenseman .. scratched in March viewing of Sioux City .. looked decent in February viewing with the limited icetime he received .. did a good job of keeping a wide base backwards, reducing crossovers, and letting the gap shrink .. has decent speed backwards and executes smooth stops backwards, which help him stand up players at the blueline now and again .. appears to need to get a little stronger on his skates backwards, though .. passes are generally crisp and on the tape .. there is something to work with in this 6-foot-2, 190-pound blueliner, and hopefully he makes the jump to regular icetime in 2009-10 .. virtually no chance of being taken in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft .. uncommitted to a college program .. at Sioux City's 55-game mark, he had 1 goal and 1 assist in 28 games.