USHL: Sioux Falls/Chicago Prospects

McKeen's was on hand for a recent contest and files these notes on several promising players.

Corey Tropp (2007), F, Sioux Falls

Blessed with outrageously soft hands .. can undress the opposition .. uses a long stick .. handles the puck as if it is on a string .. very dangerous one on one off of the rush and in heavy traffic .. imaginative with the puck .. patient .. resilient in possession as he is sturdy on his feet .. has a knack for slipping off checks .. possesses strong arms .. likes to change direction on a dime behind the net to shed the defenseman before taking the puck to the net .. guilty of over handling the puck at times .. strong along the boards and in front of the net .. he will be able to handle the trenches in the NHL some day .. dangerous from within 15 feet of the goal .. an end-to-end threat .. has a goal scorers release and instincts .. releases the puck in a heart beat .. shot is accurate and hard .. anticipates well .. finds the quiet areas near the net .. has a knack for disappearing back door before remerging wide open .. sees the ice well .. has the vision, creativity, and touch to be a playmaker .. spots the open man instantly .. can execute passes through tight lanes in heavy traffic from his backhand and forehand .. displays impressive imagination while distributing the puck .. can execute with the opposition all over him .. has a good first step and a decent top gear .. keeps his feet moving with the puck .. lacks an explosive separation gear .. agile with good lateral cuts .. his defensive play is lackluster and lazy .. always first to leave the zone and is the last one to get back to his own zone .. he competes and wins battles for loose pucks in the offensive zone but not in his own .. puck pursuit is non-existent unless an offensive chance is probable .. does not finish checks .. poor body language .. gets frustrated too easily and sulks noticeably at his teammates time to time.

Bradley Malone (2007), F, Sioux Falls

Has put the enticing physical package he possesses together lately and is a much better player now than he was earlier in the season .. beginning to bring a consistent physical edge shift to shift .. has a strong upper body and uses it to land powerful body checks that he now finishes every time .. opens the ice for his line mates .. willing to fight and displays leadership qualities .. he is a smart player with top-notch hockey sense and does not make mistakes .. aware with or without the puck .. good two-way player .. committed to his defensive assignments .. an asset to the PK .. uses his long reach to clog lanes .. competes hard down low in his own zone .. back checks harder than anyone else does on his team .. possesses an impressive top gear, as the power behind his stride is good for a big man .. fluid skater with good footwork .. first step is average and could be improved .. stride could be lengthened .. possesses soft hands .. handles the puck with ease .. is not elusive one on one .. beginning to use his large frame to gain and maintain position offensively .. has superb vision and distributes the puck instinctively .. executes crisp passes .. has a creative side to his passing game .. effective at threading the needle with a pass from the boards off the rush to a teammate in the slot .. plays along the half wall but will also move to the crease area on the power play .. has an underrated release with fine velocity on his shot but he is hesitant to shoot and lacks a goal scorers mind .. questionable accuracy .. shoots like a defenseman as he keeps the puck low often just looking for a rebound .. missed wide on a breakaway .. can play center or right wing .. stock should be rising as his competitiveness has improved .. could be a second line two way power forward who can skate and create but lacks finish.

Max Strang (2008), G, Sioux Falls

Possesses a very sizable frame for such a young goalie .. classic butterfly type .. goes down on every shot .. large frame allows his shoulders to cover the upper portion of the net even while in his butterfly .. has a quick glove side and an exceptional blocker side .. impressive rebound control as he does a good job swallowing the first shot up or steering it to the corner .. makes the first save but at times he seems to lose the puck .. mechanically strong and does a fine job staying square to the shooter .. not afraid to play on the top of his crease .. takes away the lower portion of the net with his wide V .. gives the shooter a wide five hole to look at before taking it away .. uses the paddle of his stick well to take away the low shot in close .. recover quickness needs to be improved as once he goes down he can be out .. lateral movement is composed but needs to be quicker .. opens holes down low if you get him moving .. skating needs to be improved as he struggles to get behind the net in time to play the puck on the dump in .. leg reflexes improved throughout the game as he came up with some monster leg saves in the over time to keep his team in it .. is flexible and can hit the splits to make a sprawling save .. poke checks well .. he is an intriguing prospect given how young he is and how far along he is already .. should be the starter next season after Lundin moves on.

Nick Dineen (2007), F, Sioux Falls

Crafty player who makes quick and smart decisions .. sees the ice well and anticipates the game soundly .. never appears dominant but will appear suddenly to create or finish a chance .. does a good job of getting the puck out of the zone from along the wall .. back checks hard .. accelerates swiftly and should use his speed more .. possesses soft hands and will take the puck to the net .. is an alternate captain .. plays on the penalty kill and does an adequate job .. displayed decent puck pursuit but lacks sand paper to his game .. seems to do a good job of finding the quiet areas on the ice and then exploiting them .. possesses a quick release with fine accuracy and velocity .. agile and fluid on his feet .. moderate NHL prospect who could go either way as you would like to see him take control of the game at this level rather than just cashing in on certain plays.

Robbie Vrolyk (2007), F, Sioux Falls

Small and thin .. displays fine puck pursuit and battles hard .. is not hesitant to go into traffic areas .. can be chippy at times .. displays decent creativity moving the puck but was hesitant to shoot .. has quick feet with fine acceleration but lacks a top gear.

Pat McGann (Dal), G, Chicago Steel

The Chicago Illinois native has been playing much better since being traded to his hometown team .. catches right .. small goaltender with exceptional athleticism .. possesses arguably the quickest and most nimble legs of any goaltender in the league .. his leg reflexes are superb and he often robs the opposition with a quick kick of the leg .. recovers from his knees to his stance instantly without opening any holes .. has jackrabbit like lateral movement, as it is powerful and quick .. has an active stick, as he is not hesitant to poke check or to use it to block pucks from going through his crease .. has gumby like flexibility as he can snap his legs out to the splits in a heart beat .. capable of a highlight real save .. plays a hybrid style .. great foot work .. will resort to flopping on secondary shots .. rebound control is shaky .. glove side is suspect as he was beaten there twice from the top of the circles .. does not always stay square as at times gives the shooter too much net to look at and could improve his angles .. will challenge the shooter .. acceptable blocker side .. plays the puck wisely and is an impressive skater .. lacks the velocity on his passes to move the puck far .. tough kid .. had his bell rung twice and had to leave the game but came back strong .. robbed Cory Tropp by hitting the splits to snuff out the back door play .. faces the boards before the shooter grabs the puck in the shoot out much like Marty Turco .. is still uncommitted despite this being his last year of USHL eligibility.

Mike Dipuma (2008), F, Chicago Steel

Poor first step and lack of power behind his stride severely hinder his stock as a prospect for the moment .. is a heads up, crafty two-way player who does not make mistakes but lacks the offensive ability to play on the top two lines even at this level .. has a well-built frame for a young player and is strong along the boards.

Mike Dalhuisen (2007), D, Chicago Steel

Back on the ice after an injury plagued, season .. once again started things off with a devastating open ice hit which he seems to have a habit of .. displayed a quick release on both his slap shot and wrist shot .. did a fine job of getting his shot to the net and low .. the velocity on his shot is impressive .. mobile in all directions and has an adequately strong stride .. lacks the creativity to be an offensive defenseman but showed the poise and vision to make the first pass.

Simon Olsson (2008), F, Chicago Steel

Gothenburg Sweden native .. the smallest player on the ice by far .. has soft hands but can severely over handle the puck, and both his hockey sense, and instincts are questionable .. quick in tight spaces but lacks speed in the open ice .. can be slippery and was never knocked off of his feet .. willing to challenge the opposition one on one but does not go into heavy traffic areas .. does not work for the puck along the boards and puck pursuit is poor .. has a quick release that produces an accurate and hard shot but he struggles to get into position to use it .. one-dimensional type and that dimension is not NHL caliber at this point.

Tyler Murovich (2007), F, Chicago Steel

Has come on as of late and is centering the Steels' top line .. strong on draws .. has quick feet with a strong stride .. accelerates rapidly .. uses that speed to be exceptionally quick on the fore check .. displays impressive puck pursuit as his motor never stops .. he competes hard and despite his small frame, he does not back down .. has some sand paper to his game .. always keeps his feet moving and is always working away from the puck .. an asset to the PK as he works hard and smart in his own zone .. plays with fire and passion every shift .. has a nose for the net and packs a quickly released hard shot.

Dan Lawson (2007), D, Chicago Steel

Recently committed to Vermont .. his physical package is intriguing but the mind does not always follow the body .. has tremendous strength and is a punishing hitter .. lacks the vision to distribute the puck and can cough the puck up while breaking the puck out of the zone .. at this level, he can skate the puck up the ice on his own but he will not be able to be dependent on that at the next level .. a fluid and powerful skater for a big man .. will be at the USHL All-Star game.