USHL Report: USNTDP U-17 Part III

Although vastly different in size, both Collin Olson and Jared Rutledge routinely came up big in net for the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-17 team in 2010-11. Olson went undefeated in international play while Rutledge's numbers in USHL action were among the best in the league. McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey enters notes on the U-17 team's goaltenders, as well as a few of the U-17 team's forwards, including the 2013-eligible Ryan Hartman.

Collin Olson (2012), G, USA U-17

Solid goaltender who has all the tools NHL teams are looking for .. maintains a compact butterfly and does a good job of preventing rebounds off of his chest protector .. plays a positional game and maintains his calm .. maintains his poise when the play collapses in on him .. his form doesn't break down when under pressure and he continues to play solid technical, positional game .. executes calm, smooth pad slides in his net and keeps his torso upright .. takes up a lot of the net with his 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame .. does a good job of directing butterfly saves away from the net and toward the end boards and the corners .. combination of positioning, ability to track the puck, and his ability to read the play helps him make big saves look easy .. able to make quick kick saves, but looks calm doing so .. typically relies on his technical game, but has the athletic base to make athletic saves if necessary .. capable of spreading out for big splits saves .. makes crisp glove saves .. played 1611 minutes over 30 games for the Under-17 team and finished with a 17-9-1 record, 3 shutouts, a 2.57 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage .. dominated in international play and played 403 minutes in 8 games and had a 6-0-0 record, a 1.49 goals-against average, and a .933 save percentage .. no college commitment of yet .. prospects look bright for the 2012 Draft.

Jared Rutledge (2012), G, USA U-17

"Smaller" netminder by NHL standards at 5-foot-11, 150 pounds, but is an exceptionally solid netminder .. makes smooth, quick pad slides across his crease .. able to get across his crease quickly on his skates, too .. despite lean frame, has fairly powerful push-offs across his crease .. able to change directions mid pad slide .. his quick crease movements allow him to reset very quickly .. maintains a compact butterfly and can go down and up quickly .. does a good job of directing butterfly saves toward the corners .. quickly covers any rebounds in front of him .. consistently makes crisp glove saves .. displays excellent flexibility to spread out and make splits saves, if necessary .. capable of keeping torso fairly upright on his splits saves .. has a nice athletic base, but plays a strong positional game .. positioning improved over the course of 2010-11 season under the tutelage of Joe Exter .. reads the play well and does a good job of maintaining his angle .. positioning and angles weren't weaknesses to begin the season, but they became quite strong as the season progressed .. does an exceptional job of tracking the puck, including behind his net and other areas where many goaltenders lose sight .. rebound control also helps him in tracking pucks .. able to make saves he shouldn't with his tracking, positioning, and quickness .. stays calm and poised in his net when the play collapses in on him, if he's screened, or on dangerous chances .. active in coming out to stop wrapped pucks behind his net .. now able to move the puck up the boards with some force .. can begin the breakout himself with smooth, crisp passes .. played 1714 minutes over 31 total games for the Under-17 team and finished with a 16-12-2 record, 2 shutouts, a 2.49 goals-against average, and a .912 save percentage .. played 444 minutes in 8 international games and finished with a 7-1-0 record, 0 shutouts, a 2.03 goals-against average, and a .901 save percentage .. no college commitment of yet .. went from very good to great over the course of the 2010-11 season and will gives the Under-18 team two number one netminders in 2011-12.

Ryan Hartman (2013), RW, USA U-17

Sturdy 5-foot-10, 185-pounder who plays a physical game and adds some offense .. an aggressive checker who will come across a zone to make big hits .. finishes his checks on the forecheck and does so with some force .. also steps up for nice open-ice hits in the neutral zone .. engages physically for the puck and doesn't shy away from 50/50 battles .. has decent speed with and without the puck .. a slightly upright skater who could afford to get lower in his stance consistently .. needs to make sure he doesn't swing his free arm .. possesses a hard, crisp wristshot .. every now and then fires an extremely hard wrister .. also has a hard slapshot .. has a decent set of hands and can drag the puck around opponents .. willingness to compete down low in the offensive zone puts him in place to score goals and create chances .. despite his statistics being weighted heavily toward goals this season, has decent vision to spot teammates through traffic .. a regular on the powerplay .. thanks in part to Nicolas Kerdiles and Henrik Samuelsson spending significant time with the Under-18 team, led the Under-17 team in scoring with 22 goals and 12 assists in 52 games .. scored 9 goals and 3 assists in 14 international games .. committed to Miami (2013-14) .. currently slated to play one season in the USHL after his U-18 season, and USHL rights are held by the Dubuque Fighting Saints .. lone Under-17 team forward eligible for the 2013 Draft, but was one of the U-17 team's top forwards the entire 2010-11 season.

Miles Koules (2012), C/RW, USA U-17

Missed the majority of January, all of February, and the first game in March due to an undisclosed injury .. despite missing nearly two months due to injury, speed was slightly improved by the end of the season .. has some wasted vertical motion in his acceleration, but now displays some quickness and decent speed bursts .. speed with the puck is okay, but does need to improve in this area .. has good offensive vision and makes smooth, crisp passes .. does need to make sure he consistently puts some oomph on his passes .. wristshot and slapshot are both decent and crisp .. not real big at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds but engages physically .. finishes his checks on the forecheck .. doesn't back down from bigger players .. possesses good offensive awareness and puts himself in positions to score when he doesn't have the puck .. is a good playmaker when he has the puck .. a regular on the powerplay and was used on the point late in the season .. decent in the faceoff circle and wins his share of faceoffs cleanly .. finished the season with 14 goals and 12 assists in 42 total games for the Under-17 team .. shined in international play by scoring 10 goals and 6 assists in 11 games .. committed to North Dakota (2012) .. needs to continue to improve his speed and quickness to become the offensive force his hockey IQ would allow him to be.

Quentin Shore (2012), C, USA U-17

Not particularly noticeable in most games .. has only adequate speed and acceleration with the puck .. a more upright skater who runs on his skates a bit .. has some wasted vertical motion in his acceleration and in his crossovers .. able to build some speed if he has the time and space .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. has a decent, crisp wristshot .. puts in a good two-way effort and has good defensive awareness .. does a good job of being in place to help out down low defensively and to start the breakout .. also makes good defensive reads to break up the opponent's breakout, even with his lack of speed .. needs to fill out his 6-foot-0, 170-pound frame .. saw fairly regular time on the penalty kill but also a little time on the PP .. appeared to adapt to the speed of the game mentally, but needs to upgrade his speed to maximize effectiveness at the USHL level .. no college commitment of yet .. finished the season with 4 goals and 14 assists in 52 total games .. scored 1 goal and 6 assists in 14 international games .. currently projects as a defensive center, but could quickly become a two-way threat if he upgrades his speed and quickness.

Andrew Copp (2012), C, USA U-17

Tabbed from Compuware's midget major team to serve as a fill-in for the Under-17 after the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge .. an upright skater with the puck with only adequate speed by USHL standards .. gets upright under acceleration and lacks explosiveness with the puck .. has okay speed without the puck .. received fourth-line icetime and seemed a step slow and a step behind the play because of his lack of speed and explosiveness .. has a hard wristshot .. has decent size at 6-foot-0, 185 pounds .. upright skating and lack of speed hinders his physical effectiveness .. does put in a good two-way effort, though .. was a healthy scratch for one of the Under-17 team's two USHL playoff games .. selected by Sioux Falls in the third round of the 2010 USHL Futures Draft .. scored 2 goals and 7 assists in 17 Tier 1 Elite League games for Compuware .. scored 1 goal and 4 assists in 25 total games for the Under-17 team .. skated 6 games for the Under-18 team and scored 1 goal and 0 assists .. no college commitment of yet .. needs to improve his speed and quickness, but got a good head start on his draft year.

Austin Wuthrich (2011), C, USA U-17

Knee injury suffered at the Fall Classic in September derailed a promising season .. returned to game action Feb. 25 and looked good upon his return, though .. despite the knee injury, skating stride was pretty smooth and fairly strong and powerful .. has good speed and decent stride extension, but needs to bring his skates in more in his recovery phase so he's not so "railroadish" .. was able to make powerful stops to stick with opponents shortly into his return to game action .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes .. has a hard, crisp wristshot .. also has a hard, crisp slapper that he can get off well in stride .. displayed some offensive awareness and poise with the puck in his expanded role with the Under-17 team .. good size at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds and provides a physical presence .. finishes his checks on the forecheck .. engages physically going for the puck .. able to thrust up into his hits and make some huge hits down low on the forecheck .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck and backcheck .. willing to drop and block shots .. willing to drop the gloves .. looked worthy of being the 13th forward for Team USA at the World Under-18's, but the team went with U-17's Nicolas Kerdiles and Henrik Samuelsson .. .. finished the season with 1 goal and 1 assist in 5 games for the Under-18 team .. finished with 2 goals and 4 assists in 15 games for the Under-17 team .. committed to Notre Dame (2011-12) .. despite not joining the Under-18 team in Germany, still worthy of late mid-round and late-round consideration for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Matt VanVoorhis (2011), RW/D, USA U-17

Played uninspired at defense after his demotion in early March, but was a fantastic energy forward after he was moved to right wing after Joe Fiala joined the Under-17 team at defense .. utilizes his smooth, powerful stride to generate considerable speed on the forecheck and can explode into his hits out of his low stance .. able to get very low in his turns and make impressive cuts at speed .. gets well out over his edges in his turns .. also able to make powerful stops and starts .. has excellent acceleration to get to loose pucks and to immediately pressure opponents on the forecheck .. 5-foot-7, 160-pounder plays as a super pest at forward .. finishes his checks and comes crashing in on the forecheck .. relentless forechecker whose speed and sandpaper gives opposing defensemen fits .. able to shadow opponents with his speed, agility, and effort .. didn't put up points as a forward for the Under-17 team, but created a lot of chances with his effort .. has a hard, crisp wristshot .. should strongly, strongly consider a move from defense to right wing .. finished the season with 0 goals and 5 assists in 44 games for the Under-18 team .. scored 0 goals and 2 assists in 8 international games for the Under-18 team .. finished the season with no points in 17 games for the Under-17 team .. selected by the Sioux Falls Stampede in the 2011 USHL Entry Draft .. committed to Denver (2012-13) .. virtually no chance of selection in the 2011 Draft due to extremely small size for a defenseman and because he's unproven at forward .. could still be a player to watch if he indeed moves to forward permanently.