USHL: The Force Unleashed

The expansion Fargo Force is a young and talented team that struggled early in the season, but has now found their legs and are one of hottest teams in the USHL. The driving force behind their ascension is Josh Birkholz, a 2009 eligible right-winger that is committed of the University of Minnesota and is highly regarded by McKeen's scouting staff. McKeen's has notes on Birkholz and several other prospects from the Force.

Josh Birkholz (2009), RW, Fargo Force

Arguably the most powerful skater in the USHL, Birkholz is a fast, robust goal scoring winger .. remarkable skater with powerful strides and exceptional speed with the puck .. his bread and butter is beating defenders wide with speed, however he can also explode to the interior of the ice if they try to seal him off to the boards .. owns a great shot that is accurate with a fast release .. fearlessly attacks the net with conviction .. seeing the ice more fluently than in previous viewings and this has stimulated a healthy advancement in both his playmaking execution and ability to work in space .. accomplished passes through the opponents defenses to connect with the pinching weak side defenseman .. successfully runs give and go's out of the corner before displaying his keen sense of timing to the net .. a defensive asset that kills penalties and harnesses his speed to break up plays on the backcheck .. persistently grinds it out along the wall attempting to win one-on-one puck battles .. sturdy on his feet and is able to send opponents that attempt to take him out on their back side .. currently the Force's powerplay breakout revolves around Birkholz's ability to wind it up behind his own net and take it all the way to the offensive zone for a scoring chance .. slightly one-dimensional and isn't a creative player, however he's a terrific prospect that is reminiscent of a young Marco Sturm.

Mike Lee (2009), G, Fargo Force

Butterfly goaltender with decent size and a strong technical base to build on .. positional in approach and often makes the first save because he's square to the puck .. covers a good portion of the net with both his attractive butterfly and proper stance .. patient with shooters in one-on-one breakaway situations and can come up with the big save, although in other situations, he will collapse too early and this leaves him susceptible to being beaten up high by shooters in tight .. difficult to beat down low thanks to his fairly flexible legs and strong kick saves .. lateral movement is smooth and controlled while both in his stance and butterfly .. technique is sound, as he leads with his stick down low and utilizes his glove hand to corral pucks in his chest area, although he still struggles to control his rebounds at times .. has a calm demeanor and does an adequate job at finding pucks through traffic .. has a quick glove hand and his puckhandling skills are above average .. definitely the top goaltending prospect in the USHL right now.

Luke Witkowski (TB), D, Fargo Force

Fargo's team captain, Witkowski is a mobile and physical stay-at-home-defenseman .. physically punishes and intimidates the opposition .. he's a large seek-and-destroy-missile that looks to catch opponents with their head down .. a rangy and swift all-compass skater for a player of his size .. his puck skills are atrocious and he too often will brain lock before fumbling the puck and coughing it up .. doesn't see the ice well and he must be disciplined about keeping things simple with the puck to avoid costly errors .. has a long reach and is beginning to harness this defensive asset more frequently, however he still gives vicious gaps and gets caught behind the play if he doesn't connect on the open-ice hit .. a potential third-paring, crease-clearing defenseman if all works out perfectly.

Nate Condon (Col), C, Fargo Force

Centering the Force's first-line and is receiving some time on the penalty kill, although he is often replaced on the powerplay .. his stride is getting stronger, however he remains an overly erect skater that leans slightly far forward when accelerating and his strides is a bit short .. has skilled hands that stimulate his ability to make plays through the passing game and he can also shoot the puck deceptively well .. operates with blinders on while in defensive postures and needs to become positionally structured away from the puck .. his work ethic has enhanced compared to previous viewings, however he is still not involved enough in traffic and is prone to long lapses of invisibility.

Eamonn McDermott (2010), D, Fargo Force

Miniature sized, puckmoving defenseman .. very small and is generously listed at 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds .. blessed with outstanding agility and quickness, although his open-ice speed is just average .. skilled in the way that his hands and feet work in unison to create more time and space for himself .. has soft hands and strong on-ice vision .. a heady and poised distributor of the puck that can quarterback the powerplay .. his lack of size is somewhat offset by how well he thinks the game, as the puck seems to just find him and he knows when and how to apply pressure on the puckcarrier .. easily pushed around and often gets destroyed with devastating bodychecks, but he's not scared and keeps getting up and coming back for more .. if only he was bigger because his lack of size is a major drawback and it compounds all of his defensive shortcomings.

Colten St.Clair (2011), C, Fargo Force

Youngest player on the team and is centering the third line .. an inconsistent skater that can appear sloppy at times, with an inefficient stride that makes him work too hard to generate speed, although he mostly displays decent quickness and length to his skating .. astutely follows up plays and gets open while trailing the puck before unleashing his accurate shot in the slot area .. plays with some jam and is a positionally sound player away from the puck that comes deep into his own zone to aide in defensive coverage.

Matt Leitner (2009), C, Fargo Force

Not a bad player at this level and should develop into a productive collegiate athlete, however he lacks any dynamic qualities to warrant NHL consideration at this time .. he is not fast enough to compensate for his lack of size .. boasts the vision to create through the passing game and instinctively finds the quiet ice around the net .. often guilty of missing on offensive opportunities because he was too cute with the puck and he would be even more productive if he simplified his approach at times .. competes and plays on both special team units ..