USHS: Centennial High School Notes

Tyler Pitlick (2010), C, Centennial High School

Minnesota State recruit that is a natural goal scorer with some dangle .. lacks an explosive separation gear, but he skates well with the puck and picks up speed out of his cross-overs .. blessed with tantalizing hand skill, Pitlick can toe-drag around defenders and create space by backing defenders off with his moves .. pure sniper that boasts a dynamic release and heavy wrist shot that is precisely accurate .. one-dimensional with the puck and needs to learn how to involve his linemates .. overhandles the puck and gets too cute with it, which allows opponent defenders to regularly strip it away .. plays a physical game, but he's still skinny and there is a lot of power yet to be added to his maturing body .. never commits himself to defending, as he doesn't like to cross his own side of the redline and is often in a hurry to abandon his own zone in favor of stimulating an offensive rush .. potential high round pick for the 2010 draft and playing at a higher level of hockey next season should help erode the immaturity out of his game.

Joe Schmitz (2009), D, Centennial High School

Listed as a B-list player to watch by Central Scouting, Schmitz is a strong one-on-one defender that likes to short circuit the opponents offensive attack by proactively standing his ground physically .. still raw in defensive tactics and gets caught on the wrong side of the puck because of it .. guilty of committing errors in coverage around his own net, as he tends to defend with blinders on at times and can become unaware of the developing surroundings .. wide tracked skater with decent recovery ability, although he tends to coast around and must activate his feet more .. avoids danger while carrying the puck, but is inconsistent at making the first pass, as at times he puts it on a rope to his breaking teammate and at others he struggles to finesse it through .. bigger than most of his peers right now and potentially could struggle at the higher levels once his opponents catch up to him in size .. solid NCAA defender in the making and has a shot at being drafted. Vitals: 2-15-1991 6-2 190