USHL Report: Youngstown Dubuque

Defensemen lead the prospect charge for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft for both the Youngstown Phantoms and Dubuque Fighting Saints. For the Phantoms, it's the tall, smooth-skating Scott Mayfield. For the Fighting Saints, it's the calm, smooth Joakim Ryan. McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey enters notes on Mayfield and Ryan and three more noteworthy prospects each from the Youngstown and Dubuque rosters eligible for the 2011 Draft.

Youngstown Phantoms

Scott Mayfield (2011), D, Youngstown

Named the MVP for the 2010 World Junior A Challenge in November playing for Team USA, but has been underwhelming for Youngstown .. beautiful skater .. stride appears to have become even more fluid and more powerful .. has a long, powerful stride .. builds nice cruising speed with seemingly little effort .. powers out of his crossovers and executes smooth turns .. pivots are smooth .. displays good all-compass mobility at the point .. makes smooth, crisp passes .. able to handle hard, crisp passes well .. passing the puck less and skating it more, but his effectiveness is limited .. able to go coast-to-coast, but has limited effectiveness in actually creating offense deep in the offensive zone .. although the talent around him is limited, he doesn't utilize his teammates well or make them better .. both wristshot and slapshot are crisp, but neither are overpowering .. saw major time on the powerplay early in the season, but that has been scaled back .. has good size at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds .. defensively, maintains a fairly wide base backward, minimizes crossovers, and lets his gaps close .. isn't playing with the same level of physicality he displayed last season .. needs to reduce needless penalties that only equate to faux toughness .. drops the gloves from time to time .. had a two-game suspension after fighting at the end of a game Jan. 8 .. missed one game in mid-December due to a separate shoulder suffered Dec. 10 .. an alternate captain for the Phantoms .. skating prowess now reminiscent of John Moore, but effectiveness in offensive and defensive zones has been limited .. committed to Denver University (2011)

Jiri Sekac (2011), LW, Youngstown

Scoring at a point-per-game clip following the Christmas break .. possesses a smooth, powerful skating stride that allows him to play the game at a high pace .. nice cruising speed with the puck .. confident with the puck and does not hesitate to venture into traffic with the puck .. able to be shifty and can use his quickness to separate from traffic .. uses his speed and quickness and the forecheck and puts in a good effort doing so .. good lateral movement with the puck and to receive passes .. heads-up stickhandler who can assess his options .. possesses quick hands to draw the puck in quickly or to make sweeping moves across his body .. has a crisp wristshot .. also sports a decent backhand .. able to weave through traffic in open ice, but consistently challenges himself to go through traffic to drive the net .. puts in a strong effort all shift, every shift .. noticeable every shift .. so involved in the play and is one of the most exciting players to watch in the USHL .. listed at 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, but doesn't appear that thin on the ice .. engages physically and can make some big hits on the forecheck .. sees regular icetime at even strength and on the powerplay .. a major player in the Phantom's resurgence to put them back in the playoff picture .. in his second year of draft eligibility and is worthy of draft consideration .. no college commitment, as he played 8 games for Peterborough to start 2009-10.

Matthew O'Connor (2011), G, Youngstown

Played nearly every minute for the Phantoms the first third of the season, but missed half of January due to a hip flexor injury .. started showing some chinks in the armor in December, such as playing too deep in his crease at times and failing to cleanly glove pucks .. has great size at just over 6-foot-5 and 185 pounds .. keeps his torso upright for maximum net coverage .. maintains his calm as the play collapses in on him, on series of shots, and on dangerous shots .. tracks the puck well .. able to really butterfly his long legs out .. directs butterfly saves to the corners .. also does a good job of directing stick saves in the butterfly position to the corners .. makes smooth, quick pad slides .. does a good job of hugging the post and keeps his trailing pad along the ice .. in his second year of draft eligibility and has looked good (overall) in all viewings, but his numbers need a boost to earn selection in the 2011 Draft .. now faces a challenge in net, as Greg Lewis seized the opportunity and helped lead Youngstown's resurgence during O'Connor's absence .. potential late-round pick, depending how he finishes the season .. committed to Boston University (2011 or 2012).

Christopher Bradley (2011), D, Youngstown

Has played a top-four role for the Phantoms throughout the season .. as in the early season viewings, skating is fairly upright and speed is only adequate .. gets upright in his pivots from forward to backward .. can look a little awkward accelerating backward, but tries to keep his gaps close .. maintains a fairly wide base backward, but speed backward is only adequate and is susceptible to speed .. has decent size at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, but doesn't play an overtly physical game .. makes smooth, crisp passes, but needs to put more on them .. passing game has become more accurate over the course of the season and sees regular time on the powerplay .. also sees regular time at even strength and on the penalty kill .. has a crisp wristshot from the point and keeps it low .. a consistent, reliable performer for Youngstown, but is a long shot for selection in the 2011 Draft .. committed to RPI (2011 or 2012).

Dubuque Fighting Saints

Joakim Ryan (2011), D, Dubuque

One of the favorites to make the USHL All-Rookie Team if he keeps it up .. consistently makes smooth, crisp, accurate passes .. transitions the puck well with his d-partner and also is very reliable in putting a first pass up to the forwards on the tape .. sees regular time on the powerplay thanks to his passing game .. occasionally plays the full two minutes on the PP .. has a crisp wristshot from the point and generally keeps it low, although most recent viewing was an off-night for his shooting .. has a crisp slapper from the point that he keeps low, but it's not usually overpowering .. decent one-timer .. skating is slightly upright, both forward and in turns .. however, has decent cruising speed with the puck and decent stride extension .. has good mobility at the point, which he utilizes on the powerplay .. fairly smooth walking the point, although he is a bit upright .. doesn't appear to have a lot of explosiveness from a standstill .. if he skates the puck, it's often after building speed from behind his net .. does lay down some decent speed bursts when already in stride .. defensively, lets his gaps close, but has a tendency to back in .. susceptible to speed wide and gets opened up, but stays with the play and is often successful with a stick check on recovery .. would like to see Ryan engage more physically near the blueline and in his own zone .. does a good job of clogging passing lanes with his stick and with leg drags .. a bit undersized at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds .. amongst the league leaders in defenseman scoring and plays a smooth, calm game, but propensity to get opened up at USHL level is concerning .. potential late-round pick .. committed to Cornell (2011).

John Gaudreau (2011), LW, Dubuque

Small forward has improved his speed and quickness and added some sandpaper to his game .. had decent speed before the Christmas break, but lacked separation and high-end speed and had to rely on his keen hockey sense .. after the Christmas break, speed and quickness had stepped up a notch .. now showing some decent speed bursts to maintain the puck against backcheckers .. able to make tight switchbacks to evade forecheckers .. great poise and patience with the puck .. has good offensive vision and is a playmaker off the boards and out of the corners with centering passes .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. utilizes Gretzky circles to buy his teammates time if he senses the necessity and will utilize his defensemen .. able to make some slick moves to drag the puck around opponents .. also able to drag the puck in toward his body well to maintains possession .. has a crisp wristshot, but not overpowering .. sports a decent slapshot .. despite not having great shot power, he does have some finishing ability .. small at 5-foot-6, 140 pounds .. checking game was a bit feeble before the Christmas break, but is now playing with some spunk .. effectiveness of his checks has improved, too .. overall, the Christmas break seems to have helped Gaudreau .. had always displayed a level of offensive awareness on par with T.J. Tynan from last season, but now has a little of the speed and grit Tynan had .. needs to add a lot of strength, as he gives up 25 pounds to fellow 5-foot-6 prospect Rocco Grimaldi .. still, a potential late-round pick .. amongst the USHL league leaders in scoring .. committed to Northeastern (2012).

Jackson Teichroeb (2011), G, Dubuque

Shaky in early season viewings, but is starting to look a little better .. rebound control is still a weakness .. gets himself in front of the first shot and serves as a backstop, but doesn't control his rebounds .. places too many butterfly saves back out front .. shots to his chest protector can result in erratic rebounds .. doing a little better at quickly covering the rebounds he places back out front .. lateral movement needs improving, as his pushoffs could be stronger to get him completely across his crease and across quickly .. maintains a compact butterfly and can get back up quickly .. drops early at times and can be susceptible to snipes top shelf .. normally makes crisp glove saves .. reaches for some of his glove saves on shots from a distance .. directs blocker saves toward the half boards .. adequate puckhandler .. isn't able to put a lot behind his clears, but is consistent on wrapping them high off the glass .. success rate of clearing the puck would increase with improved force on his clears .. technical game can break down and he can start diving .. appears to lose focus at times, as he can be seemingly caught by surprise by some shots .. has decent size at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds .. a long shot for selection in the 2011 Draft, but is on some people's radar .. no college commitment of yet.

Matthew Morris (2011), G, Dubuque

Seized the number one spot for the Fighting Saints and led the USHL in goals-against average and save percentage entering February .. was a little wild in preseason viewings, but adopted a more technical game early in the season .. maintains a compact butterfly, takes a lot of shots to the chest and gives up few rebounds .. directs pad saves toward the corners .. quickly takes away the five hole .. able to get back up very quickly, which allows him to reset quite quickly .. able to spread his pads out from the butterfly position for another save if necessary .. able to make quick kick-outs and direct them to the half boards .. quick crease movements, but is more in control now than in September and October .. fairly strong pushoffs and makes smooth pad slides across his crease .. generally makes crisp glove saves .. a smaller goaltender at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds .. short stature hurts his odds for the 2011 Draft, but has a strong chance of being on the USHL All-Rookie Team .. committed to Maine (2012 or 2013).