USHL Report: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in action a few times between the pre-season and the first quarter of the regular season and enters notes on Sam Warning, Cason Hohmann, and Josiah Didier, as well 2012-eligible-defenseman Ian Brady and the 2014-eligible Anthony DeAngelo.

Sam Warning (2011), LW, Cedar Rapids

Smaller winger at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, but has some sandpaper to his game .. has good speed and stride extension and uses them to his advantage on the forecheck .. also has good cruising speed with the puck .. able to execute nice speed bursts, which helps make him F1 on the forecheck regularly .. can also use his speed to drive wide and open up defensemen .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. willing to venture into traffic and will drive the net .. able to battle around checks .. a capable checker and can thrust into his hits .. finishes checks on the forecheck and at the point .. a threat to play the body from the side on the backcheck .. has the requisite skill to play at higher levels, but also has the checking game that will allow him to flourish in third and fourth-line roles when he makes the jump to each next level .. selected to the U.S. Junior Select Team and played at the World Junior A Challenge in November .. committed to Minnesota for 2011-12.

Cason Hohmann (2011), C, Cedar Rapids

Averaging a point per game for Cedar Rapids at the quarter point of the season, but still isn't the impact player as hoped .. speed and quickness during the pre-season was very impressive, but seems to have worn a bit over the course of the season .. still has good speed with the puck .. agile with the puck and can make tight turns .. as is a necessity for most small players, has strong lateral agility with the puck, which he uses to sidestep opponents off the half boards .. has good patience with the puck and doesn't rush things .. guilty of holding onto the puck too long sometimes .. has quick hands and can execute quick stickhandling maneuvers at speed .. smaller player at only 5-foot-8, 160 pounds .. is playing center this season after primarily playing as a right wing last year during his rookie season and seemed to generate more offense as a winger than he does as a center .. teammates Jayson Megna and Justin Kovacs have been the major offensive catalysts for the RoughRiders, not Hohmann, and have really stood out .. for comparison, Des Moines' T.J. Tynan was more impressive last season than Hohmann has been so far this season, but Hohmann has shown flashes .. selected to the U.S. Junior Select Team at the World Junior A Challenge in early November and may be a bit worn down from his busy season .. also selected to the U.S. Under-18 Select Team and played at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August prior to the USHL season .. committed to Boston University for 2011-12.

Josiah Didier (2011), D, Cedar Rapids

Making the steep jump from midget minor to the USHL .. had one excellent viewing in early November - the rest have been okay .. seemed to flourish with the top-four icetime he received while Tommy Fallen was away at the WJAC's .. also received significant powerplay time while Fallen was with Team USA .. is on his game when he's displaying his efficient skating stride, which produces decent speed .. displays some power and quickness down low in his defensive zone from time to time .. also possesses quick lateral movement .. in strong viewing, was poised with the puck and moved the puck with authority .. in lesser viewings, stops moving his feet when assessing options, which makes him an easier target .. able to make hard, smooth, crisp passes .. generally transitions the puck well, making crisp d-to-d passes or short passes up to his forwards .. can lead his man a little too much on long passes .. able to fire crisp wristshots of decent velocity .. passes and shots weren't consistently crisp in lesser viewings, though .. stickhandling is adequate .. loses control of the pucks at times when he tries to make quick moves across his body and the like .. smooth backwards and maintains a fairly wide base .. has decent power accelerating backward .. reduces crossovers and lets his gaps close .. despite being smooth backward, doesn't appear able to thrust into opponents to step up on them with force .. isn't an overtly physical defender .. even after a few viewings, no notes on hits .. has a frame to work with at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds .. is draft worthy if he can consistently duplicate the early November viewing .. played midget minor with the Colorado Thunderbirds in 2009-10 and helped them earn a national championship .. committed to Denver University for 2012-13.

Ian Brady (2012), D, Cedar Rapids

Has the makings of a reliable two-way defenseman .. maintains a fairly wide base backward, gets down low, and has hovercraft-like mobility in angling his man .. lets his gaps close and will engage with a stick check or physically .. a smaller defenseman at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds .. has adjusted to the pace of the USHL and his passing game has come along .. is now fairly consistent in making crisp passes that are on target .. passes early in the pre-season were weak at times and slightly off target .. shows patience with the puck and maintains his calm under pressure .. smooth walking the blueline with the puck .. has decent speed with the puck .. fairly consistent in making the safe, reliable play, but does flash some playmaking ability when he joins the play deep .. early returns on the adjustment from midget minor with the Chicago Fury in 2009-10 to the USHL in 2010-11 have been positive .. no college commitment of yet.

Anthony DeAngelo (2014), D, Cedar Rapids

Youngest player in the USHL in 2010-11 .. was 14 to start the season (turned 15 in late October), but already has a mature puck-moving game .. has a smooth, fluid stride with decent power and good speed .. stays fairly low in his skating stride .. makes smooth turns and can get well out on his edges .. stays low in his crossovers and can build good speed .. has good cruising speed with the puck .. stickhandles with his head up and can assess his options .. confident with the puck and always seems to have a good idea what he's going to do before he gets the puck .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. able to connect on long-distance passes to spring forwards .. uses his agility to spin away from forecheckers and can also look off forecheckers .. able to drag the puck around opponents, although he doesn't get flashy unnecessarily .. has a crisp wristshot from the point .. skating backward, he gets down fairly low, maintains a decent base, and lets his gaps close .. isn't overly physical yet at 5-foot-9, 150 pounds, but can engage positionally .. a good stick checker .. has plenty of time on his side to get bigger for his draft year .. for comparison, DeAngelo's offensive awareness appears ahead of what Nick Ebert came into the USHL with last season, but DeAngelo doesn't already have Ebert's size .. strong prospect for selection to the USNTDP in 2011-12 .. played bantam major for the Westchester Express in 2009-10 .. committed to Boston University for 2014-15.