USHL Report: Muskegon Lumberjacks

The expansion Muskegon Lumberjacks made the Clark Cup Playoffs and experienced some postseason success in sweeping the USA U-17 team in the first round. The Lumberjacks could also experience some success at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, as defensemen Jaycob Megna and Alexx Privitera both have legitimate shots at selection.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey enters notes on Megna and Privitera, as well as a quartet of Muskegon prospects eligible for the 2012 Draft.

Jaycob Megna (2011), D, Muskegon

A big defenseman at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, but isn't particularly physical and plays more of a skill game .. played a top-three role for the Lumberjacks later in the season .. has a smooth skating stride with good extension .. has some power in his stride and has good cruising speed with the puck .. decent acceleration with the puck and going for loose pucks .. displayed a willingness to skate the puck out of the defensive zone and through the neutral zone to establish the offensive zone .. has become more confident with the puck and had more prolonged touches as the season progressed .. able to smoothly drag the puck in toward his body and has considerable reach from which to work .. able to make smooth sweeping moves across his body .. makes a smooth, crisp, accurate first pass .. also make smooth, crisp transitional and point-to-point passes .. displays some confidence pinching in from the point offensively .. has a hard slapshot that he can get off quickly and keep low .. was a regular on the powerplay at the end of the season .. also saw fairly regular time on the PK .. maintains a fairly wide base backward and eliminates crossovers, but could get a little bit lower .. has decent speed backward and is fairly rangy .. good lateral mobility and can stick with opponents .. lets his gaps close, but never seems like a threat to engage physically with any force .. just is not an overtly physical defenseman .. finished the season with 1 goal and 17 assists in 55 games .. tallied 0 goals and 3 assists in 6 playoff games .. committed to Nebraska-Omaha (2011-12) .. has the size, skill, and mobility to be a solid two-way defenseman, but his total lack of physical game could make NHL teams hesitant at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft .. worth consideration late in the mid-rounds and certainly in the later rounds.

Alexx Privitera (2011), D, Muskegon

Small defenseman was one of the USHL's best defensemen all season and was Muskegon's number one the entire year .. able to let his gaps close early due to his powerful acceleration backward .. smooth backward, stays low, maintains a wide base, and eliminates crossovers .. does a good job of angling opponents and can rub them out effectively or eliminate them with a hard hip check .. consistently engages at or near the blueline .. executes smooth pivots in all directions and stays low .. makes good defensive reads and is a threat to intercept passes .. has a good sense of when to drop to block passes and shots .. walks the blueline smoothly due to his lateral mobility and his ability to stay low .. lateral agility and his swiveling ability allows him to distribute the puck well from the point and to catch off-target passes .. confident with the puck at the point and can incorporate fakes .. explosive acceleration allows him to separate from opponents and buy himself time and space .. has a smooth, powerful skating stride that produces good speed .. able to make powerful spins to evade forecheckers and checkers at the point .. poised with the puck and has good offensive vision .. makes hard, crisp, smooth passes .. able to make some impressive one-touch passes .. has a cannon from the point .. not only the powerplay quarterback, but also the triggerman .. fed the puck at the point to utilize his ultra-hard one-timer and his heavy slapshot .. does a good job of keeping his pointshots low .. also has a decent, crisp wristshot .. his strength on his skates and his ability to swivel gives him a quick release .. able to make quick sweeps across his body to evade opponents .. able to drag the puck in and out of traffic and weave through the opposition .. smaller in size at 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, but was quite effective physically in the USHL .. low center of gravity and strength on his skates allows him to thrust into his hits .. plays with a physical edge and will stick up for his teammates .. received significant icetime in all situations .. finished the season fifth in USHL defenseman scoring with 10 goals and 24 assists in 57 games .. scored 1 goal and 0 assists in 6 playoff games .. named a Mid-Season All-Star by the USHL .. committed to Boston University (2011-12).

Mark Yanis (2012), D, Muskegon

Development during the 2011-12 season seemed a little stagnant .. maintains a fairly wide base backward and gets fairly low, but susceptible to speed wide .. lets his gaps close, but backs in too much at times .. when he rubs out an opponent along the boards, it oftentimes occurs lower in the defensive zone and not near the blueline .. has good size at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds and is capable of thrusting into opponents and leveling them .. a threat to step up and make a big hit skating forward .. picks up a number of penalties for getting too physical with his stick .. also susceptible to retaliation penalties .. needs to make sure he doesn't chase too high in his defensive zone .. although reasonably mobile backward, would like to see him engage more often near the blueline when skating backward .. willing to drop the gloves .. makes hard, crisp passes, but needs to improve his accuracy .. too many of his passes lead too far, are behind, or are to nobody .. slaps at some of his passes .. doesn't take much time with the puck and is guilty of rushing the play at times .. generally makes crisp, accurate passes transitioning the puck with his d-partner .. has a hard, crisp slapshot and one-timer .. needs to improve his accuracy from the point, as his slapper has a tendency to rise .. skating mechanics didn't look as good as during the early season .. displayed some quickness going for loose pucks, but still seemed to lose a lot of races he looked like he should win .. guilty of running on his skates a bit and didn't display the smooth, powerful stride he flashed early .. generally played a sixth-defenseman role for the Lumberjacks and saw a little time on the PK .. finished the season with 1 goal and 4 assists in 54 games .. scored 0 goals and 1 assist in 6 playoff games .. no college commitment of yet .. has some upside as a physical defenseman, but will need to step up his game to be the top-four defenseman he's expected to be in 2011-12 and to ensure selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Matt DeBlouw (2012), LW, Muskegon

Suffered a lacerated spleen Oct. 9 and was out until January 14, but finished the season on a high note .. has good cruising speed with the puck and on the attack .. has a fairly powerful stride when at speed .. relies on quick skate turnover under acceleration, but has good acceleration with the puck and appears in control .. able to execute some subtle speed bursts with the puck to throw off opponents .. decent quickness to loose pucks .. able to execute nice toe-drags at speed .. doing a better job of not stickhandling with his head down and displays some offensive vision .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. able to thread hard passes through traffic and put them right on the tape .. good one-touch passer .. saw time on both the powerplay and the penalty kill late in the season .. needs to fill out his 6-foot-0, 165-pound frame, but plays with some physicality .. engages physically and can explode into some of his hits .. finished the regular season with 2 goals and 4 assists in 33 games .. however, scored an impressive 3 goals and 5 assists in 6 playoff games and led Muskegon in playoff scoring .. committed to Michigan State (2012-13) .. would typically expect DeBlouw to be a prospect heading into his draft year who projects as a potential mid-round selection, but he could contend for much higher if his playoff performance is an indication of what 2011-12 will bring.

Jordan Masters (2012), RW, Muskegon

Played for the U.S. Under-17 Select Team last August and put up decent numbers, but played a fourth-line role for Muskegon in 2010-11 .. has good speed with the puck .. able to execute impressive speed bursts for loose pucks .. displays a willingness to drive through traffic and battle toward the net .. his quickness allows him to separate from opponents off the boards .. also has quick hands that allow him to t-drag opponents when driving off the boards or out of the corners .. has a fairly hard, crisp wristshot .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. uses his speed on the forecheck .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck and plays with some spunk despite only having a 5-foot-10, 155-pound frame .. finishes his checks and nearly throws himself into some of his hits .. able to make open-ice hits, too .. also a threat to play the body from the side on the backcheck .. embraced his fourth-line role and put in a solid effort, but has the offensive upside to do much more in his second USHL season .. finished the season with 4 goals and 7 assists in 49 games .. scored 1 goal and 0 assists in 6 playoff games .. scored 4 goals and 1 assist in 4 games for Team USA at the Five Nations Tournament last August .. no college commitment of yet .. a prospect to monitor heading into the 2011-12 season, as he bears some resemblance to Sam Warning of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

Mike Moran (2012), LW, Muskegon

Brings significant size at 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, but needs to make significant improvements to his skating .. an upright skater who has a lumbering stride .. doesn't have a lot of stride extension, but also needs to bring his skate back in more during the recovery phase so his skating isn't as railroadish .. "runs" on his skates at times .. despite persistent mechanical flaws, did become a bit faster over the course of the season .. tries to play a physical game .. finishes his checks and can do so with some force, but skating limitations make it difficult for him to hit quick and agile skaters .. proved he is willing to fight, but his lack of balance makes him susceptible to takedowns by players of some size who do have solid balance .. received limited icetime at even strength, but did see a shift now and then as the big man in front of the net on the powerplay .. rarely had touches with the puck and seemed to want it off his stick quickly .. put up 50 penalty minutes in the first 10 games, but only had 41 in the next 34 games .. finished the season with 6 goals and 5 assists in 44 games .. went without a point in 6 playoff games .. no college commitment of yet .. difficult to gauge Moran's upside, because his game could change dramatically if and when he improves his skating .. will garner some attention in his draft year if he manages to play a top-nine role for the Lumberjacks.