USHL Report: Lincoln Stars

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey enters notes on several Lincoln Stars such as John McCarron, Matt Prapavessis, and Ryan Dzingel, as well as a trio of the team's prospects in their first year of draft eligibility and two notables eligible for the 2012 Draft.

John McCarron (2011), RW, Lincoln

Outside of the USNTDP's Tyler Biggs, was the USHL's top power forward in 2010-11 in terms of all-around power game .. still dropping his chest when he skates, but was back to playing at the higher pace he showed in viewings in the preseason and early season .. has a little explosiveness accelerating with the puck, but he's upright and doesn't look completely in control .. is also fairly upright in his crossovers and can have a hop to his step .. displays some wasted vertical motion in his skating when weaving through traffic, too .. does have decent speed, though .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. wristshot is hard and crisp, as is his slapper .. also sports a decent one-timer .. one of the USHL's biggest forwards at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds and plays a physical game .. finishes his checks on the forecheck and can make some hard hits .. engages physically for the puck and wins a good number of 50/50 battles .. does a good job of absorbing attempted checks and maintaining the puck .. simply shoves some opponents off of him and emerges with the puck .. will come across a zone to make a bit hit when the opportunity arises .. has proven he's willing to drop the gloves and that he's a very capable fighter .. played right wing during the play, but actually took a lot of faceoffs and won a good percentage of them .. played on the first powerplay unit and was also a regular on the penalty kill .. creates offensive chances around the net but also has some playmaking ability off the boards .. displayed some real finishing ability the second half of the season .. finished extremely strong with 14 goals and 19 assists in his final 26 games .. scored a total of 24 goals and 33 assists in 60 games and finished 12th in USHL scoring .. went without a point in 2 playoff games .. named a Mid-Season All-Star by the USHL .. committed to Cornell (2011-12) .. despite skating deficiencies, is very worthy of late-round selection in his second year of draft eligibility .. for NHL purposes, projects as a fourth-line power forward who plays a physical game, fights, has some defensive acumen, but also chips in offensively and can play up a line.

Matt Prapavessis (2011), D, Lincoln

Made Lincoln as a tryout player out of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League and was one of the very best offensive defensemen in the USHL by the end of the season .. has some speed with the puck, but is an upright skater who needs to get lower and skate with more power .. gets upright under acceleration and lacks explosiveness .. overcame skating deficiencies with sheer offensive awareness and poise .. confident with the puck and doesn't panic and rush plays .. will circle away from forecheckers .. excellent offensive vision .. superb passer who fires hard, crisp, accurate passes and can consistently get them through traffic .. distributes the puck well from the point and does a fantastic job of connecting on passes to teammates down low .. able to make hard, crisp, accurate saucer passes .. even his backhand passes are crisp and have some oomph .. has a hard one-timer from the point .. sports hard, crisp wristshots and slapshots .. also overcame his skating with his quick hands, which allowed him to weave through traffic successfully more than his skating should let him .. despite skating deficiencies forward, displayed good mobility backward .. gets down low, minimizes crossovers, and lets his gaps close .. needs to make sure he doesn't hunch forward too much when skating backward .. Lincoln's top defenseman and saw mega minutes in all situations .. was injured in mid-November and did not return until after the Christmas break, but still finished fourth in USHL defenseman scoring .. tallied 10 goals and 24 assists in 48 games for the season .. named a Mid-Season All-Star by the USHL .. went without a point in 2 playoff games .. committed to Bemidji State (2011-12) .. if the USHL is to again have a player selected in his third year of eligibility, Prapavessis is the leading candidate .. has significant potential if and when he corrects his skating.

Ryan Dzingel (2011), C, Lincoln

One of the most skilled players in the USHL in 2010-11, but consistency away from the puck wasn't what it was last season .. has a smooth, powerful skating stride that produces very good speed .. skating is always controlled .. makes smooth, strong turns .. has very good cruising speed with the puck and can beat defensemen wide and drive the net .. also able to buy a lot of time for his teammates by circling the zone with the puck .. powerful explosiveness gives him impressive speed bursts both with and without the puck .. able to make strong, tight turns with the puck to evade checkers and protect the puck along the boards .. adept at utilizing Gretzky circles at buying time for trailers, but is also comfortable buying time down low in the offensive zone .. a heads-up stickhandler with good offensive vision .. a playmaker off the boards and around the net .. particularly dangerous with cross-crease and cross-slot setups .. excellent peripheral vision to find open teammates .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. has soft hands for smoothly handling hard passes .. likes to try and make quick t-drags around opponents and is often successful doing so .. 5-foot-11, 180 pounds and is effective physically when he chooses to play such .. capable of exploding into hits and leveling opponents .. also good at withstanding hits from opponents .. despite strength on his skates, just didn't show the consistent commitment to a two-way and physical game he showed last year as a rookie .. finished the season with 23 goals and 44 assists in 54 games, good for fifth in USHL scoring .. scored 1 goal and 0 assists in 2 playoff games .. named a Mid-Season All-Star by the USHL .. played for Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge and scored 0 goals and 3 assists in 4 games .. committed to Ohio State (2011-12) .. strong odds of stepping into an impact role as a freshman at Ohio State .. a potential late-round pick because of his speed and skill, but a superior and consistent defensive effort during the season would have really helped solidify his odds of selection for the 2011 Draft .. is a pretty complete player when he chooses to play a complete, two-way game.

Jared Hanson (2011), LW/RW, Lincoln

Made solid progress over the course of 2010-11 and was a contribute of some note down the stretch .. decent speed with the puck and showed increased confidence with the puck .. showed a willingness and ability to drive the net with the puck .. also successful dragging the puck around opponents more often now .. takes looks as he skates toward the boards for loose pucks so he has an idea what he'll do when he gets it .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck and generates offensive chances with the turnovers he creates .. has a knack for pressuring opponents into turnovers and giveaways .. finishes his checks on the forecheck .. will come across a zone to make a big hit and does so at least once or twice a game .. able to explode into some of his hits .. has decent size at 6-foot-0, 185 pounds .. has improved a little bit at being less of an upright skater, but still needs to work on this .. gets upright under acceleration, which hurts his quickness at times .. saw fairly regular PK time down the stretch .. played the left wing on the first line with Ryan Dzingel and John McCarron at even strength down the stretch .. finished the season with 9 goals and 15 assists in 53 games .. went without a point in two playoff games .. was a finalist for the USHL Scholar Athlete award .. no college commitment of yet .. probably a long shot for the 2011 Draft, but he's poised to be an impact power forward for the Stars in 2011-12, so late-round selection isn't entirely implausible.

Dominik Shine (2011), LW, Lincoln

High compete level, but offensive numbers haven't been high enough .. always puts in a strong effort on the forecheck and crashes the opponent's defensemen and/or disrupts the breakout .. also backchecks hard .. skating has continued to improve bit by bit .. now has decent speed with the puck and some explosiveness with the puck .. confidence and competence with the puck has also improved .. losing control of the puck far less often and is showing improved ability to sweep the puck .. is even swiveling at speed to open up to the play and assess his options .. doing a better job of stickhandling with his head up .. shot power can still be improved, but this is no longer the weakness it once was .. is only 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, but plays with a lot of intensity .. can lay out some big hits on the forecheck and even in open ice .. jumps into scrums quickly and will drop the gloves .. amongst the USHL's leaders in penalty minutes with 158 .. suspended three times for a total of 5 games in 2010-11 .. played regularly on the second powerplay unit but was a streaky scorer .. finished the season with 12 goals and 16 assists in 52 games .. went without a point in 2 playoff games .. committed to Ohio State (2012-13) .. a fairly long shot for the 2011 Draft .. needs to concentrate on taking his skill game to the next level with Lincoln in 2011-12 if he is to have a real future at the pro level at his size.

Austin Hervey (2011), LW, Lincoln

Fill-in for the USNTDP U-17 team in 2009-10 only played a depth role for the Stars in 2010-11 .. however, he did look better in later viewings than early season viewings .. was sluggish and a step behind prior to the Christmas break, but was playing at higher pace and with more confidence by mid-February .. lacked confidence with the puck at the Fall Classic, but was successfully fending off checks while carrying the puck mid-season .. hustles on the forecheck .. quite big by USHL standards at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds and can finish his checks with some force .. almost throws his whole body into some checks .. able to withstand opponents' checks and drop them, thanks to his size .. also puts in a good effort on the backcheck .. with a strong summer, should receive regular icetime in 2011-12 as a checking-line power forward .. finished the season with 4 goals and 3 assists in 44 games .. scratched for one of Lincoln's playoff games and went pointless in the other .. committed to Western Michigan (2012-13) .. an extreme long shot for the 2011 Draft, but has long-term potential as a checking power forward.

Zach Aston-Reese (2012), C, Lincoln

Joined Lincoln in early January and impressed as a budding, young two-way center .. omnipresent in helping his defensemen down low .. reads off of his defensemen well in where he needs to cover down low in his own defensive zone .. decent size at 6-foot-0, 180 pounds and will engage physically in his own zone .. has decent cruising speed and uses it on both the forecheck and the backcheck .. a conscientious backchecker and does a good job of taking a man .. uses his strong speed bursts to get to his defensive assignments and to get to loose pucks .. also has decent cruising speed with the puck .. fairly confident with the puck in his rookie USHL season .. heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options .. didn't put up a lot in terms of numbers, but looked good playing a third-line and fourth-line role for Lincoln .. played two games with Des Moines in mid-November and went without a point .. finished with 2 goals and 3 assists in 25 games for Lincoln .. scratched for one of Lincoln's playoff games and went without a point in the other .. started season with the New Jersey Rockets of the Atlantic Junior Hockey League and scored 9 goals and 20 assists in 25 games .. committed to Brown (2012-13 or 2013-14) ..attended Kitchener's camp in May, but looks likely to skate again for Lincoln in his draft year .. looks very capable of playing a top-six role for Lincoln next season, which would bode well for his draft chances in 2012.

Cole Martin (2012), D, Lincoln

Scratched with some frequency in his rookie year, but displayed his upside as a two-way defenseman .. smooth skater backward with good speed .. stays down fairly low, maintains a fairly wide base, and lets his gaps close .. able to use his mobility backward to angle his man to the boards .. currently undersized at 6-foot-0, 160 pounds .. has decent speed forward .. drops his chest a bit at times, but stays fairly low, has good skate turnover, and decent extension .. makes smooth, crisp, accurate passes .. has an adequate wristshot, but this should improve as he adds strength .. finished the season with 3 goals and 8 assists in 42 games .. was scratched for one of Lincoln's two playoff games and went without a point in the other .. no college commitment of yet .. chances for the 2012 Draft will hinge in large part whether he can earn a top-five role on a Stars team that already looks to have significant competition at defense.