USHL Report: Dubuque Fighting Saints

The resurrected Dubuque Fighting Saints may be a USHL expansion team, but their roster is anything but. The team has impressive depth both at forward and defense and has perhaps the league's top offensive duo in Thrashers prospect Vinny Saponari and young Latvian dynamo Zemgus Girgensons. McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey has notes on Saponari, Girgensons, first-overall USHL Futures Draft pick Riley Barber, and a couple other Dubuque prospects of note.

Zemgus Girgensons (2012), C, Dubuque

Amongst the most impressive prospects to pass through the USHL in recent years .. a fluid skater with a powerful stride .. able to build considerable top speed and uses it to weave through traffic .. powerful first steps gives him good separation .. able to make powerful stops .. makes smooth turns and can execute tight turns with the puck .. also makes smooth swivels with the puck to maintain possession in open ice and along the boards .. excellent hockey sense .. very adept at filling holes in the offensive zone and establishing himself as an option .. has very good offensive vision to see all of his options and find teammates trailing or in the periphery .. makes smooth, crisp, accurate passes .. an adept give-and-go passer and will actually go after making the pass .. doesn't watch his pass but instead moves to fill a hole .. strong on the puck and will go into and battle through traffic .. intelligent in positioning his body and using his reach to protect the puck .. a good stickhandler who can also make nice dekes .. adept at the drawing the puck in but is also comfortable stickhandling wide .. has good presence with the puck and won't rush plays .. also does not panic if he's tripped and does not give up on the play .. each shot in his arsenal is fairly powerful .. pass-to-shot ratio is toward pass, but he can finish .. also has good defensive awareness and plays a two-way game .. gets involved down low and is typically in position to help start the breakout .. despite his offensive prowess, he is often the one staying back for a pinching defenseman .. an intelligent forechecker .. willing to engage physically and uses his 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame to thrust into his opponents .. finishes his checks and is also a threat to make an open-ice hit .. a regular on the powerplay and also sees time on the penalty kill .. willing to drop and block shots .. puts in an active effort on the penalty kill .. plays an extremely mature, complete game at a young age .. played for the Green Mountain Glades organization in 2009-10, both in the Empire Junior Hockey League (Tier III junior B) and the Eastern Junior Hockey League (Tier III junior A), where he averaged well over a point per game in each .. played for Latvia at the 2010 World Under-18 Championships (elite pool) as a 16-year-old and was the youngest skater in the tournament .. committed to Vermont, but will be a prime candidate for early selection in the CHL Import Draft.

Riley Barber (2012), RW, Dubuque

First overall pick of the 2010 USHL Futures Draft .. has decent speed and decent stride extension .. has some cruising speed with the puck .. gets a little upright under acceleration and could use better separation .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck and creates turnovers .. has good lateral movement with the puck and can sidestep opponents or move laterally to receive passes .. possesses a decent wristshot .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. already playing with more physicality than he did early in the preseason .. finishes his checks and will make hits from the side on the backcheck .. able to thrust into his hits .. needs to improve a bit in every area, but isn't really weak in any area, either .. has adequate size at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds .. played midget minor hockey for Compuware last season .. selected to participate in the USNTDP Evaluation Camp last March, but was not selected to play for the program .. selected to play in the USA Hockey Select 16 Player Development Camp All-Star Game .. played for the Team USA Under-17 Select Team at the Five Nations Tournament in August .. no college commitment of yet.

Joakim Ryan (2011), D, Dubuque

Swedish-American has the calm that Swedish defensemen are known for .. smooth operator in all facets of the game .. a smooth skater with decent speed who never rushes himself .. can get a little upright in his skating at times, though .. smooth backward and maintains a fairly wide based .. doesn't fall for jukes and calmly plays the body or sticks the puck away .. not big at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, but plays with some physicality .. willing to engage physically .. smooth passer who makes crisp passes and puts them on the tape .. utilizes his d-partner in transitioning the puck well, but is also adept on connecting on breakout passes .. able to make quick, smooth one-touch passes .. reliable passing game and good decision-making earn him powerplay time .. has a crisp wristshot from the point .. also has a crisp off-foot wristshot .. possesses a fairly hard slapshot .. maintains his poise with the puck in every zone when pressured .. rarely turns the puck over .. a very reliable USHL defensemen immediately upon his arrival in the league .. played midget major hockey for the New Jersey Jr. Devils last season and New Jersey high school hockey for Christian Brothers Academy .. played for Team Sweden at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August .. committed to Cornell.

John Gaudreau (2011), LW, Dubuque

Small forward with nice offensive vision .. a heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options and makes good decisions .. has good speed with the puck and can make tight switchbacks to ditch opponents .. able to use his lateral agility at speed and from a standstill to evade opponents .. also able to make slick lateral stickhandling moves to undress opponents .. consistently makes smooth, hard, crisp passes and is an accurate passer .. very patient with the puck and is dangerous from the half boards on the powerplay .. has a decent wristshot .. small at 5-foot-7, 140 pounds and isn't an overtly physical player, but he isn't afraid of traffic .. uses his speed and positioning defensively and creates turnovers .. figures to be one of Dubuque's top scorers in his rookie season .. played midget major for Team Comcast and New Jersey high school hockey with Gloucester Catholic last season .. led the USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp in scoring .. selected to play in the USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp All-Star Game .. played for the Team USA Under-18 Select Team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August .. committed to Northeastern.

Jackson Teichroeb (2011), G, Dubuque

CCHL East Division Rookie of the Year has struggled so far in the USHL .. makes composed pad slides across his crease, but isn't particularly quick .. oftentimes is slow to reset .. maintains his calm, but borders on nonchalant .. rebound control needs significant work .. puts a lot of his pads saves right back out in front of him .. doesn't consistently angle his butterfly to direct saves toward the corners and away from the net .. gets himself in front of pucks as a backstop, but isn't real quick down or up .. can be slow to take away the five-hole and his butterfly isn't always compact, leaving him susceptible to low shots .. has good size at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, but has already had a number of first shots scored cleanly over his shoulders .. rests his glove on top of his pad now and again .. conscientious in coming out to stop dumped pucks and can move pucks up the wall well .. starting the year as Dubuque's number one goalie, but already in jeopardy of losing that spot to Matt Morris .. played for Bowmanville last season and helped lead them to the CCHL Finals .. no college commitment of yet.

Vinny Saponari (Atl), RW, Dubuque

Dismissed from Boston University and is playing in the USHL during his transfer year .. has good cruising speed with the puck and good stride extension .. also has good quickness accelerating with the puck .. able to use his 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame to shield the puck along the boards and in open ice .. a threat to quickly emerge off the boards .. drives the net with power and authority .. able to dangle around opponents with toe drags and sweeping stickhandling moves .. always appears in control with the puck and has good patience .. plays the point on the powerplay .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. an adept one-touch passer .. possesses a hard wristshot with a quick release and he can snipe it .. often plays with Girgensons and, like the Latvian, does a good job of filing holes offensively .. plays with a physical edge .. out-muscles a lot of his younger USHL opponents .. able to make big hits and isn't immune from making late hits or from stick work .. uses his speed and physicality on the backcheck .. despite past history, he has been entrusted with a leadership role as an alternate captain .. figures to be one of the top players in the USHL in 2010-11 and serves as an excellent barometer .. will get a second chance in Hockey East, as he is committed to Boston College.

Nick Luukko (Phi), D, Dubuque

Limited viewing of Flyers pick, as he has received limited icetime and was injured midway through one viewing and did not return .. has some size at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, but needs more lower body strength .. a fairly upright skater with only adequate speed .. also upright accelerating backward and could also get lower post acceleration backward .. makes smooth, crisp passes that are accurate, but they need to be harder .. has a decent slapshot that he can keep deflectable .. also has a crisp wristshot .. battling Tyler Amburgey for the sixth defenseman spot on the Fighting Saints and looks to be a long shot to be more than that without injuries to the Dubuque d-corps this season .. played prep hockey for The Gunnery last season .. committed to Vermont.