USHL Report: Waterloo Black Hawks

The Waterloo Black Hawks made some waves by rostering two of the three 94-born players to skate in the USHL in 2009-10. Nick Ebert and Brady Vail, the Hawks' to 15-year-olds from last season, have both since moved on to Windsor of the OHL, but the Black Hawks are at it again in 2010-11. Waterloo once again has two 94's in speedy forward Vincent Hinostroza and advanced goaltender Eamon McAdam, but they also have the lone 95 in the USHL to start the new season in raw defenseman Ian McCoshen, who's making possibly the biggest jump to the USHL in recent memory. The team isn't without talent for the 2011 Draft, though. Goaltender Jay Williams may be the top USHL goaltending prospect not on the USNTDP eligible for the draft in Minnesota and defenseman Jacob MacDonald has picked up where he left off last season by impressing with his smart, reliable two-way game.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey enters notes on Williams, MacDonald, Hinostroza, Owens, McAdam, and McCoshen, as well as Dallas Stars third-round pick Alex Guptill

Jay Williams (2011), G, Waterloo

One of the quickest goaltenders to grace the USHL in recent memory .. crease movements are very quick .. able to get across his crease quickly and resets very quickly .. shuts the five hole quickly in his butterfly and can get back up quickly .. even with his quickness, he's fairly composed and keeps his torso upright .. executes fairly strong pushoffs .. able to change directions mid pad slide, similar to what Matt Skoff showed last year .. directs butterfly saves to the corners well and controls shots to his chest well .. appears to have good hip flexibility/rotation, as he can get way down in his butterfly .. has decent size at 6-foot-1, 170 pounds .. should at least platoon with veteran C.J. Motte this season and could emerge as the number one .. was the most impressive USHL goaltender in his first year of draft eligibility during the pre-season not on the USNTDP .. played in the USA Hockey Under-17 Development Camp All-Star Game .. played for Team USA at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August .. no college commitment of yet.

Jacob MacDonald (2011), D, Waterloo

Good two-way defenseman .. displayed good speed with the puck and good speed skating for the puck .. also uses his speed in his defensive zone staying with his man and going into the corners .. will engage physically in the corners and down low .. maintains a reasonably wide base backward .. now and again he utilizes crossovers too much backward .. a threat to step up and make a hit at the blue line .. will also make big open-ice hits .. not big by NHL standards at 6-foot-0, 190 pounds, but not prohibitively small, either .. makes hard, crisp breakout passes .. smart and dependable from the point .. makes crisp point-to-point passes and one-touch passes .. smooth circling with the puck backward at the point and walking the blue line .. figures to see regular time at even strength and on the power play and no reason he can't play on the PK, either .. no college commitment of yet.

Vincent Hinostroza (2012), LW, Waterloo

Small forward looks like he'll develop into an impact USHLer .. has good speed and uses nice speed bursts to separate from opponents .. able to make tight turns to evade checks .. consistently puts in a good effort on the forecheck and uses his speed and agility to his advantage .. able to get out over his edges and gets quite low in his turns .. when he's the first forward back defensively, does a good job of helping is defensemen out down low .. plays with some physicality in his own zone and on the forecheck .. able to quickly change assignments on the forecheck and quickly transition to the backcheck .. has good hands and can make quick lateral stickhandling maneuvers .. also utilizes quick, subtle jukes .. appears fully capable of being an effective third-liner if that's his role as a rookie, but also displays the upside to be a first-line USHLer in his second season .. skated at the U.S. National Team Development Program's Evaluation Camp last March but was not selected to the program .. committed to Notre Dame.

Trevor Owens (2012), D, Waterloo

Young defenseman is already pretty big at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds .. able to thrust into his checks and can step up and make some big hits .. has a smooth, powerful stride and good speed .. also demonstrates good quickness .. needs to reduce crossovers backward, but is also fairly smooth skating backward .. demonstrates some poise with the puck .. willing to block shots .. figures to be a depth defenseman for a Waterloo team deep at defense in 2010-11, but has time on his side as a 2012-eligible prospect .. played for the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes U18 team in 2009-10 and had decent offensive numbers but also nearly three penalty minutes per game (163 minutes in 56 games) .. no college commitment of yet.

Eamon McAdam (2013), G, Waterloo

Late 94 already has a well-developed game .. smooth and quick across his crease .. employs a compact butterfly and can quickly close the five hole .. able to crouch low and thus able to butterfly quickly, although sometimes he drops a little early .. does a good job of absorbing pucks to the chest and keeps his torso upright .. can get good extension on his kickouts .. also has good range with his glove hand .. directs rebounds to the corners well with his stick .. quickly covers any rebounds in front of him .. remains calm and doesn't panic on breakaways and on dangerous chances .. also stays calm covering the puck when there are scrums around him .. tracks the puck well and can do so well while moving around his crease making saves and reading the play .. already has good size at 6-foot-1, 165 pounds .. active in stopping dumped pucks and is very good playing the puck, including one-handed .. can clear the puck with authority .. passes the puck well and can spring teammates at the far blue line .. overall, very reminiscent of Houser, but McAdam's game is this developed at an even earlier age .. is technically on the Black Hawks' affiliate list but is in Waterloo practicing and training with the team and serving as an extremely capable third goaltender .. no college commitment of yet.

Ian McCoshen (2013), D, Waterloo

Extremely raw by USHL standards .. making a huge jump from playing with Shattuck St. Mary's Tier 1 bantam team to the USHL .. an August 95 birth date, but is already 6-foot-2, 195 pounds .. still needs more lower body strength .. is an upright skater and is quite upright in his turns with the puck .. seems a little unsure on his edges .. struggling with the puck at the USHL pace at this early juncture .. passing games needs refinement at this pace, as many of his passes are off the mark at this pace of play .. has a decent wrist shot from the point .. barely 15, but doesn't back down physically against older competition .. tried stepping up for some hits at the blue line and in open ice and connected on some .. able to lay down some sturdy hits down low .. can also get pretty physical with his stick around his net .. starting the year on Waterloo's affiliate list, but is in Waterloo and practicing and training with the team .. no college commitment of yet.

Alex Guptill (Dal), LW, Waterloo

Physical power forward .. 6-foot-3, 185-pounder is aggressive and can make bit hits .. finishes his checks on the forecheck and is also a threat to make a hit from the side on the backcheck .. makes some late hits .. willing to drop the gloves and can throw with some force .. has good cruising speed .. a threat to beat the defense wide and then drive the net .. able to shield the puck with his reach .. able to emerge from traffic off the boards .. stickhandles with his head down too often .. able to make quick lateral stickhandling maneuvers and also sweeping stickhandling moves .. gets a lot of breakaway chances but often misses the net high .. possesses a hard wristshot and slapshot .. when he has his head up, does show some offensive vision .. able to connect on passes across the zone .. also makes nice subtle plays in the offensive zone .. makes hard, crisp passes and puts them on the tape .. also does a good job of receiving hard passes .. figures to be an impact player for the Black Hawks this season, both offensively and physically .. committed to Michigan.