USHL Report: USA U-18 Part III

Team USA's depth forwards have all accepted their roles and U-17s Nicolas Kerdiles and Henrik Samuelsson add some skill and size respectively for the World Under-18s, but it'll be for naught if goaltenders John Gibson and Matt McNeely don't rise to the occasion. McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey enters notes on Gibson and McNeeley, the team's two forwards added from the Under-17 team, and depth forwards Ryan Haggerty, Dan Carlson, Adam Reid, and Zac Larraza.

John Gibson (2011), G, USA U-18

Strong combination of athleticism, power, technical game, and size .. 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, and is very strong and well-conditioned .. maintains a compact butterfly .. able to go down and up very quickly .. directs butterfly saves away from the net and toward the boards and corners .. does a good job of preventing rebounds off of his chest protector .. strong, powerful pushoffs .. executes smooth pad slides across his crease and keeps his torso upright .. able to reset quickly .. displays his athleticism in his quick movements, kick quick saves, and big splits saves .. good extension in his kick saves .. consistently makes crisp glove saves .. directs blocker saves toward the corner .. generally does a good job with his positioning, but plays a bit deep in his net at times .. also susceptible to being drawn down early .. active in playing the puck .. moves the puck well to his defensemen .. has the confidence to make fakes with the puck and cause forecheckers to circle away .. makes hard, crisp backhand passes .. adept at sticking loose pucks one-handed out from in front of the net .. also adept at playing the puck from his glove down to his stick .. plays a calm, collected game during regular game play, but can seem lost in shootouts .. probably slightly superior to Jack Campbell in terms of power and physical tools, but doesn't appear to have the exceptional compete level and mental toughness Campbell displays .. heading into the World Under-18s, had played 1794 minutes over 32 games and had a 17-10-3 record, 3 shutouts, a 2.64 goals-against average, and a .918 save percentage .. committed to Michigan (2011-12) .. hands-down number one netminder for Team USA heading into the World Under-18s and has NHL number one potential, but seems more the overall caliber of goaltending prospect of Mike Lee than Jack Campbell at this point.

Matt McNeely (2011), G, USA U-18

Good combination of size and quickness .. makes smooth, quick pad slides .. does a good job of keeping his torso upright in his pad slides, maximizing his 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame .. able to get back up and reset quickly .. gets up and over quickly on his skates .. resets quickly .. able to make exceptionally quick pad saves .. good extension on his kick saves and makes more kick saves than typical goalies these days .. generally does a good job of directing rebounds away from the net and toward the boards and the corners .. maintains a compact butterfly .. relies upon reaction time and his quickness .. technical game is decent, but does need to work on his angles a bit .. has a calm demeanor .. perfect candidate for the platoon situation the Under-18 typically works with, as he's consistently visually supportive of Gibson when Gibson is in net .. suffered an ankle sprain in late January but was able to return quickly for the Five Nations Tournament in January .. heading into the World Under-18s had played 1350 minutes over 25 games and had a 9-12-1 record, 0 shutouts, a 3.82 goals-against average, and a .893 save percentage .. numbers were lower than Gibson's in international play, USHL play, and NCAA play .. committed to Minnesota-Duluth (2011-12) .. NHL potential may be limited to backup goaltender, but appears mentally capable of handling this role.

Ryan Haggerty (2011), RW, USA U-18

Played on the fourth line toward the end of the season, a move that helped bring more scoring balance to the lineup .. despite playing on the fourth line, is very close to the same caliber of player - if not equal - as teammates Blake Pietila and Cole Bardreau .. has good cruising speed with the puck .. gets down low when skating, has a powerful stride, and good extension .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. wristshot, snapshot, and slapshot are all hard and crisp .. finishes his checks and can thrust into his hits .. also finishes his checks at the point .. listed at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, and definitely looks it .. heading into the World Under 18s, had 8 goals and 17 assists in 46 total games .. committed to RPI (2011-12) .. a good all-around hockey player who projects as a good two-way forward.

Dan Carlson (2011), C, USA U-18

The Under-18 team's fourth-line center, but has developed a decent skill level to go with his two-way play .. has decent cruising speed with the puck and good speed without it .. guilty of dropping his chest a bit from time to time .. showing a little more confidence with the puck .. now trying to sweep the puck quickly across his body from all coordinates and in traffic and is doing so with a decent success rate .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. sports a decent, crisp wristshot .. uses his speed well on the forecheck and can finish his checks with some oomph .. strong in the faceoff circle .. able to tie his man up well in the faceoff circle but can also win draws cleanly .. decent size at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds .. heading into the World Under-18s, had 3 goals and 5 assists in 50 total games .. committed to Minnesota State (2012-13) .. the 2011-12 season will better reflect what his upside really is, as he'll almost certainly play a top-seven role on a USHL team.

Adam Reid (2011), LW, USA U-18

Made significant progress in 2010-11, but also has a ways to go .. skating has improved but is still a concern .. still a bit upright in his skating, but he has improved his speed and his stride is more fluid than early in the season .. now has decent cruising speed with the puck .. displays some good speed bursts on the forecheck .. able to get down low in his coasting turns and can get out over his edges, but he doesn't look confident on his edges .. falls down way too often, be it in his turns and sometimes just skating forward .. hands need a little work .. prone to mishandling the puck and turning it over if he suddenly receives the puck .. once he gets going, does display some ability to drag it around opponents .. needs to work on being able to handle hard, crisp passes .. has tendency to make an extra move, an extra sweep, when he shoots the puck .. does have a crisp wristshot, though .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck to disrupt the opponent's breakout .. plays a physical game and steps up for some big hits .. a threat to come across a zone for a hit or from the side on the backcheck .. physical effectiveness is limited at times, due to his lack of balance and he falls too often when engaging physically .. definitely shows a willingness to venture into traffic, though .. has good size at just under 6-foot-4 and at 205 pounds .. heading into the World Under-18s, had 9 goals and 6 assists in 45 total games .. committed to Northeastern (2011-12) .. there is the potential that he never gets past NCAA D1 hockey if he doesn't become stronger on his skates, but has some upside as a physical power forward if he does.

Zac Larraza (2011), LW, USA U-18

Role with the Under-18 team became defined this season as a checking-line forward .. the team's most physical forward now, although not as powerful as Tyler Biggs .. rarely a shift goes buy where he isn't laying down multiple checks .. comes crashing in on the forecheck often .. finishes his checks in open ice, too .. able to launch into his hits and nearly throws himself into some of his checks .. puts in a tenacious effort on the forecheck and makes opponents hear footsteps or pay the price for making plays .. decent size at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds .. has decent speed without the puck .. total embrace of checking game seems to have come at the detriment of his puck skills .. oftentimes, appears to lack confidence with the puck and wants it off his stick, after showing a little upside in this area last season .. loses control of the puck often when he attempts to make moves now .. is also regularly stripped of the puck when attempting to drag it around opponents .. lacks separation with the puck and his speed with the puck is oftentimes only adequate .. in final USHL viewing, looked a little more confident with the puck and closer to the old Zac Larraza .. able to make crisp, accurate passes, but also fans on way too many passes or too often passes it to nobody .. heading into World Under-18s, had 8 goals and 5 assists in 49 games .. committed to Denver (2011-12) .. defined role as an aggressive checker is a positive, but needs to work on his skating and find his hands again.

Nicolas Kerdiles (2012), C/LW, USA U-18

Mid-season recall to the Under-18 team and once again for the World Under-18s .. the most impressive of the Under-17 forwards this season .. has gotten faster and can play at the pace of the Under-18 team offensively .. has decent cruising speed with the puck .. able to lay down some nice speed bursts to drive wide and then drive the net .. displays quick hands and is losing control of the puck less and getting stripped of the puck less .. has a hard, crisp wristshot .. also sports a hard slapshot .. has decent size at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds and plays with some physicality .. displays nice effort on the backcheck .. decent on the faceoffs .. wins a fair number of draws cleanly .. played center for the Under-17 team, but played left wing for the Under-18 team .. heading into the World Under-18s, had 3 goals and 5 assists in 12 total games for the Under-18 team .. finished with 17 goals and 10 assists in 40 total games for the Under-17 team .. committed to Wisconsin (2012-13).

Henrik Samuelsson (2012), LW, USA U-18

Has put up good offensive numbers, but needs to work on his skating .. displays hustle, but lacks the acceleration to win races to the puck .. skating stride is a bit railroadish at times .. tries to weave his way through traffic, but lacks the speed and explosiveness .. displays some power in his strides once he builds some speed .. confidence with the puck has improved at the USHL level .. no longer just trying to chip it around opponents .. able to make some nice sweeping moves across his body, but lack of speed limits effectiveness .. needs to improve his release .. makes an extra move sweeping the puck back before he shoots .. has good size at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds .. plays a physical game and engages going for the puck .. will come across the zone to make a big hit .. willing to drop the gloves .. heading into the World Under-18s, had 3 goals and 3 assists in 8 total games for the Under-18 team .. finished with 12 goals and 15 assists in 38 total games for the Under-17 team .. led the Under-17 team in penalty minutes with 98 upon his departure for the Under-18 team .. led the Under-17 team in international scoring with 8 goals and 9 assists in 14 games .. no college commitment of yet.