USHL: Waterloo Sailing Their Kessel

The Waterloo Black Hawks are nearly a lock to make the Clark Cup Playoffs with 10 games remaining on their schedule for the 2007-08 regular season. Among Waterloo's scoring leaders all season have been New York Islanders draft pick Blake Kessel and third-year, draft-eligible center Billy Maday, the Black Hawks' top all-around player. The Black Hawks have three other NHL draft picks in their lineup and first-year draft eligible prospects like Nick Larson, Jordan Samuels-Thomas, and Brock Montpetit. McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey, has had the opportunity to see the Waterloo Black Hawks in the first and second half of the 2007-08 USHL season and enters notes on several Waterloo players making an impact this season.

Blake Kessel (NYI), D, Waterloo Black Hawks

Has good straight-line speed, although his stride is somewhat choppy in that he does not bring his legs all the way back in after extension (stride extension is good, though) .. somewhat upright in his skating, forwards and backwards .. smooth in taking the puck off the boards and smoothly and quickly transitioning it into a quick wristshot from the point .. also able to field point-to-point passes smoothly and get off a wristshot quickly .. has good offensive awareness from the point and is able to find the open man and thread passes through traffic .. knows what it takes to play professional hockey from his brother Phil, cousin David Moss, and other players from around the Madison area and is doing what it takes on and off the ice to make the necessary improvements. Click the link for a recent interview with Blake Kessel

John Lee (Fla), D, Waterloo Black Hawks

Has good all-compass mobility and can stop backwards smoothly and quickly to keep his gap low .. has too much vertical movement in his acceleration .. also has a bad habit of letting his right arm swing across his body while skating with one hand on his stick, instead of along his body .. passing game is inconsistent in that he can make crisp, hard, passes, but too often, he passes to nobody .. could also use more power in his physical game, as his attempts to stand up opponents are not always effective and he can be toppled by smaller, compact players.

Drew MacKenzie (Buf), D, Waterloo Black Hawks

Has good all-compass mobility at the point and in his own zone, but relies on too many crossovers when accelerating in the neutral zone .. passing game is inconsistent, as he passes the puck crisply and accurately at times, and wobbly and off the mark at other times, if not directly to the opponent .. can play a physical game by leveling opponents either to keep the puck in the offensive zone or preventing opponents from breaking into his defensive zone .. also adept at using his stick for pokechecks or making leg drags to prevent opponents from passing the puck or getting passes through .. has a decent wristshot from the point.

Jan-Mikael Juutilainen (Chi), LW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Skilled player again failing to produce offensively in his second USHL season .. a smooth skater with a nice stride .. also has good agility with or without the puck, be it for coming off the boards to take the shot or making a pass .. also adept at making spin shots .. passes the puck crisply and with accuracy .. shows good two-way awareness in intercepting passes or stealing the puck or in facing the play on offense .. has the balance and size to fend-off opponents while carrying the puck.

Nick Larson (2008), LW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Skating is the basis of Larson's game .. has excellent speed and good hustle, which he uses well on the forecheck .. also, has good quickness in accelerating and demonstrates strong agility in being able to stop powerfully or cut back .. does not hesitate to rush the corner and finishes his checks .. has a strong shot and does have some finish, although he seems unable to create many plays for his teammates .. has some stick skills, but sometimes over-stickhandles unnecessarily .. offensive awareness is somewhat suspect, as he misjudges the position he needs to place himself in to properly catch what would ordinarily be accurate passes.

Jordan Samuels-Thomas (2008), LW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Adept at maintaining possession of the puck despite being hounded by checkers, or even knocked down, by positioning his body and using his stickhandling to shield it .. skating has shown some improvement since the Fall Classic, although his balance could be improved, best demonstrated in losing a fight to Des Moines' Rody Selk simply because the Buccaneer had superior balance .. despite inferior balance, he can still level opponents with checks .. has some straight-line speed and quickness .. can also make some nifty stickhandling maneuvers, although he can over handle the puck while skating it .. has a heavy shot, be it wristshot, slapshot, or one-timer .. has some offensive awareness low in the attack zone and around the net and can connect with accurate passes .. has the potential to be a good power forward with corrections and improvements in his skating.

Brock Montpetit (2008), LW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Talented player has soft hands and can sidestep opponents with his combination of speed, agility, and stickhandling .. can use his speed to beat opponents wide, too .. also demonstrates his soft hands in making quick, crisp one-touch passes .. has a nice shot .. willing to engage physically .. one must often proactively watch for Montpetit this season, as he can disappear for stretches within a game.

Billy Maday (2008), C, Waterloo Black Hawks

Third-year, draft-eligible forward has become a complete player in his second USHL season .. has good speed but also demonstrates shiftiness with the puck, as he can slow the game down and speed it up quickly .. has good agility with the puck and has soft hands for smooth stickhandling .. has a quick, hard shot, although he shoots high too often .. able to shoot the puck hard while in stride .. shows some creativity with the puck but also creates plays through sheer effort .. demonstrates patience with the puck and does not force plays or make ill-advised passes .. forechecks and backchecks hard and finishes his checks .. defensive efforts create fair share of turnovers .. hustles to join the play offensively from defensive effort .. capable of laying out big hits, even though he is only listed at 6-foot-0 and 170 pounds .. good in the faceoff circle .. committed to Notre Dame .. skilled, all-around player worthy of late-round NHL consideration.

Siim Liivik (2008), LW, Waterloo Black Hawks

Estonian-Finn played for Team Finland at 2008 World Junior Championships and skated for HIFK organization prior to coming to USHL .. has good speed and hustles on the forecheck and the backcheck .. finishes his checks .. not afraid to engage physically and will race into the corners for the puck or try to go over or through opponents .. a skilled passer who can pass the puck quickly and accurately .. is not forced into bad passes when pressured physically .. adept at making timely drop passes.

Craig Smith (2008), C, Waterloo Black Hawks

Second-year USHLers' offensive production has not seen an increase from his rookie season, although not for a lack of skill .. has good speed, quickness, and agility .. will try to split the defense with his speed, although is not always able to do so at this level .. able to make impressive stickhandling moves in tight and get shots off ..makes crisp, accurate passes .. shows good speed and effort on the forecheck and the backcheck .. extreme long shot to be taken in 2008 NHL Entry Draft .. Madison native committed to University of Wisconsin.

Patrick Wey (2009), D, Waterloo Black Hawks

Appears to have the tools to become a reliable defensive defenseman .. does a good job to keep his gap low and seems to proactively challenge himself to keep it low and force himself to improve .. has good all-compass mobility and is a smooth skater, although he does skate upright at times .. can stand-up opponents, but also backs in too far on occasion, even though he had kept his gap short .. adept at banking the puck off the boards or glass to clear the puck or make a board pass .. tape-to-tape passing needs work, as he makes crisp, accurate passes at times and appears to rush himself at other times and leads his man too much or passes to nobody .. a summer of hard work and a second season in the USHL should put Wey in consideration for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.