USHL Report: Fargo Force

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey enters notes on the Fargo Force. Colten St. Clair and Garrett Haar are featured, as well as a crop of prospects eligible for the 2012 Draft, including defenseman Brian Cooper, who figures to be one of the very best in the USHL in 2011-12.

Colten St.Clair (2011), RW, Fargo

A solid all-around player with a great work ethic whose offensive numbers don't match his skill .. has a smooth, powerful skating stride that gives him nice speed .. stays low in his stride and has good stride extension .. powerful crossovers, as he has good knee bend, stays low, and utilizes the toe of his blade well .. builds considerable speed in and coming out of his crossovers .. became quite explosive with the puck this season and now has good separation .. the additional time and space his added explosiveness has given him has allowed him to become more of a playmaker .. confidence with the puck improved during the season, as he improved his stickhandling .. able to make nice, quick sweeps across his body to evade opponents .. able to toe-drag the puck quickly now, which is making him more successful in close and in tight areas .. has very good top speed with the puck, but can also be quite shifty .. has impressive shot power .. wristshot is quite hard and crisp .. has a quick release .. slapshot and one-timers are also hard .. makes hard, crisp passes .. has become a good one-touch passer .. well-known for the responsible two-way game that he plays .. uses his speed intelligently on the forecheck and the backcheck .. doesn't play an overtly physically game, but will engage .. willing to drop and block shots and plays on the penalty kill .. also played on the second powerplay unit .. has a solid 5-foot-10, 190-pound build, which is reflected in how his game has become fairly powerful in all areas .. an alternate captain for the force .. missed 8 games due to a concussion suffered on a Stefan Matteau charge March 6 .. finished the season with 11 goals and 14 assists in 42 games .. had 1 goal and 1 assist in 5 playoff games .. played for the U.S. Junior Select Team at the World Junior A Challenge and had 0 goals and 3 assists in 4 games .. committed to North Dakota (2011-12) .. NHL projection is likely as a two-way third- or fourth-liner .. despite his skill set, his offensive upside is questionable, as his scoring pace only ticked up slightly each of three USHL season .. would typically consider St. Clair a fifth-round pick, but fourth-round selection is not out of the question this draft.

Garrett Haar (2011), D, Fargo

Played a two-way game for the Force and was a top-four defenseman .. undersized at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds for NHL purposes and played with a physical edge, but with mixed results .. gets down low backward, maintains a fairly wide base, lets his gaps close, and endeavors to engage at the blue line .. makes some big hits at the blueline, but also has a fair percentage of opponents fight through his checks and proceed down the wing .. started the season backing in a bit, but is now pretty consistent in working to angle his man toward the boards .. engages physically for the puck down low .. able to thrust up into his hits, although sometimes his timing is slightly off and he gets thrust into and knocked down .. heads-up with the puck and has decent speed .. stays fairly low in his stride and can build good speed out of his crossovers .. displays decent offensive vision to spot plays .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. makes smooth one-touch passes .. also has good hands for receiving hard, crisp passes .. will join the attack as one of the first three in and can drive the net when he has the puck .. has a decent wristshot .. able to make quick, sweeping stickhandling move, as well as some nice toe drags .. played on the first powerplay unit toward the end of the season .. also saw time on the PK .. streaky scorer .. had two ten-game stretches during the season where he put up some points, but offense was sporadic otherwise .. finished the season with 7 goals and 16 assists in 23 games .. scored 1 goal and 2 assists in 5 playoff games .. committed to Northeastern (2012-13) .. doesn't appear to have the offensive upside of a Matt Donovan to potentially make him an offensive defenseman at the NHL level, and questions regarding long-term physical effectiveness may preclude him from being a two-way defenseman at the NHL level .. however, he is a potential late-round pick.

Brian Cooper (2012), D, Fargo

One of the very best defensemen in the USHL in 2010-11, as signified by the recognition he has received .. small defenseman at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, but plays a big game .. a smooth, powerful skater with very good speed and quickness .. his acceleration with the puck gives him strong separation, allowing him to successfully skate the puck out of the zone .. able to make tight, powerful switchbacks with the puck to circle away from forecheckers .. smooth circling backward with the puck and can power out .. poised with the puck and doesn't panic when pressed on the forecheck .. a heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options on the breakout and on the attack .. first pass is consistently hard, smooth, crisp, and accurate .. makes smooth, crisp transition passes to his d-partners .. doesn't lag behind the play after making a pass but instead maintains a good offensive gap .. will join the play down low if he's one of the first three in the offensive zone .. patient with the puck at the point and doesn't rush plays or shots only to have them intercepted or blocked .. has very good shot power .. slapshots from the point are very hard .. adept at shooting hard slappers in stride and keeping them accurate .. one-timers a hard, crisp, and generally on net .. also has a hard, crisp wristshot from the point .. off-foot wrister is also crisp and has good velocity .. defensively, gets down low backward, maintains a wide base, eliminates crossovers, and lets his gaps close .. consistently engages near the blueline and can explode into his hits at the blueline .. low stance enables him to thrust into any opponent and separate them from the puck and oftentimes knock them down .. also a threat to step up and make big hits in the neutral zone .. gets physical down low in his defensive zone .. plays an intense game, but appears to especially enjoy going against the USHL's very best .. fearless in who he engages physically and can shutdown the opposition's top players .. only "weakness" is his size, but he uses his low center of gravity very well and has doesn't struggle physically against any USHL opponent .. named a Mid-Season All-Star by the USHL .. selected to the All-USHL Second Team .. selected to skate at the National Junior Evaluation Camp in August and is the only player eligible for the 2012 Draft so selected .. .. finished the season sixth in USHL defense scoring with 11 goals and 22 assists in 51 games .. had 2 goals and 0 assists in 5 playoff games .. played for the U.S. Junior Select Team at the World Junior A Challenge and scored 1 goal and 1 assist in 4 games .. also played for the U.S. Under-18 Select Team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament last August .. committed to Nebraska-Omaha (2012-13) .. one of the odds-on favorites to be the USHL Defenseman of the Year in 2011-12 and will likely set a new standard at the 2012 Draft for what's possible for smaller USHL defensemen.

Justin Wade (2012), D, Fargo

A depth defenseman for Fargo in 2010-11 and played just over half of the Force's games .. gets down low and lets his gaps close .. solid build at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds and plays a physical game .. steps up on opponents at the blue line regularly and can stand them up with a big hit .. also a threat to step up for an open-ice hit in the neutral zone .. is physical down low in his own zone .. despite dropping his chest when skating, actually has decent balance to make hits and field hits .. has a little cruising speed with the puck .. displays decent speed and quickness going for loose pucks .. dropping of his chest appears to hurt his turning radius .. not flashy offensively and rarely has long touches with the puck .. able to make smooth, crisp passes .. passing game improved over the season, but still needs to reduce turnovers when pressured .. has a hard, crisp wrister from the point, but needs to improve his accuracy, as he misses the net often .. finished the season with 0 goals and 1 assist in 35 games .. did not play in the playoffs, due to injury, according to Fargo Force line charts .. played for the U.S. Under-17 Select Team at the Five Nations Tournament last August and had 0 goals and 1 assist in 4 games .. no college commitment of yet .. has a legitimate shot at selection in the 2012 Draft as a physical, defensive defenseman if he can move the puck reliably in 2011-12.

Nate Arentz (2012), C, Fargo

Played a fourth-line role for Fargo in 2010-11, but displays the tools to be a top-seven forward for the Force next season.. has a fluid, powerful skating stride .. a smooth skater with the puck who has good speed handling it .. as to be expected, speed is even better without the puck .. executes powerful starts and stops .. makes smooth turns .. skating stride is fairly powerful at all times .. demonstrates poise with the puck .. patient with the puck under pressure and can sidestep checks .. able to assess his options and make crisp, accurate passes .. isn't always successful, but displays the confidence with the puck to make some nice jukes and to try dragging the puck around the opposition .. has a decent, crisp wristshot .. uses his speed and agility on the forecheck to hound opponents .. also puts in a good effort on the backcheck .. has some filling out to do at 6-foot-0, 170 pounds, but plays with some physicality .. finishes his checks on the forecheck and is a threat to play the body from the side on the backcheck .. strong in the faceoff circle and wins his share of draws .. saw time on the penalty kill .. his place on the fourth line was a testament to Fargo's depth at forward .. finished the season with 4 goals and 4 assists in 55 games .. had 0 goals and 1 assist in 5 playoff games .. no college commitment of yet .. looks capable of challenging for the second-line center spot in his second season, but he'll be an extremely solid third-line center if not.

Austin Farley (2012), LW, Fargo

Joined Fargo full-time after the Christmas break and received decent icetime at even strength .. a smaller player at 5-foot-6, 150 pounds, but isn't a standout skater .. tends to drop his chest when skating, both with and without the puck .. has decent speed and a little quickness, but needs to upgrade in these areas to succeed as a smaller player .. does a good job of taking looks as he goes for loose pucks .. gets involved down low in his offensive zone and does a good job of putting himself in positions to score goals and make things happen .. makes smooth, crisp passes .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck .. finished the season with 7 goals and 4 assists in 33 games .. scored 0 goals and 1 assist in 5 playoff games .. played midget major hockey with the Chicago Mission prior to playing for Fargo and scored 10 goals and 7 assists in 16 Tier 1 Elite League games .. no college commitment of yet .. as a small player who's only an average skater but who displays good offensive awareness.

Jimmy Mullin (TB), C, Fargo

One of the most skilled players in the USHL in 2011-12 and one of the most exciting to watch .. possesses exceptional first-step quickness ..very explosive skater with excellent separation .. quite possibly the most explosive player in the USHL outside of Rocco Grimaldi .. a powerful skater with excellent speed and who plays at a high pace .. excellent stride mechanics and is able to play a speed game and make it look effortless .. very good cruising speed with the puck .. able to make powerful cuts .. slick stickhandler who can dangle the puck around opponents .. able to make nice moves in close and get shots off .. adept toe-dragger who can do so from many positions .. a heads-up stickhandler with good offensive vision .. able to spot teammates through traffic and connect .. a good playmaker around the net and off the boards .. very dangerous off the boards, because of he can explode and drive the net himself or make the play .. does a good job of positioning himself to be an offensive option after he makes a pass .. has a hard, crisp wristshot with a quick release .. also has a hard, crisp slapshot .. makes hard, smooth, crisp passes .. uses his speed and agility on the forecheck to help direct the play defensively .. finishes his checks .. his speed also makes him a threat on the backcheck .. doesn't play an aggressive physical game, but will engage physically .. displays good hustle off of faceoffs and he often plays the body off of draws .. played on Fargo's first powerplay unit and also on the penalty kill .. led Fargo in goals, assists, and points with 23 goals, 37 assists, and 60 points in 52 games .. went pointless in five games in the playoffs, though .. named to All-USHL Second Team .. named to USHL All-Rookie Team .. .named a Mid-Season All-Star by the USHL .. played for the U.S. Junior Select Team at the World Junior A Challenge and led the team in goals and points with 6 goals and 0 assists in 4 games .. committed to Miami-Ohio (2011-12) .. should receive regular icetime in his freshman season with the Redhawks and has the potential to become unbelievably fast as he adds more strength.