Waterloo Black Hawks Fall Classic Part I

No USHL team has had as many players drafted by NHL teams directly from its roster the past three drafts then the Waterloo Black Hawks. The Hawks had three players selected in the 2009 Draft (Craig Smith, Patrick Wey, and Jordan Samuels-Thomas), one in the 2008 Draft (Nick Larson), and three in the 2007 draft (John Lee, Joshua Turnbull, and Blake Kessel). Waterloo is also known for some kid selected in the seventh round of the 2003 Draft who looks like he might make it, someone on the San Jose Sharks named Joe Pavelski. The Black Hawks will likely see that list expand at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, too, with right-winger Jamie Hill and left-winger Scott Wamsganz leading the charge amongst its prospects in their first year of NHL draft eligibility…

Kanye West - "That's great Mr. McKeen's correspondent, but Nick Ebert is one of the best American defense prospects of all time."

Oh, and the Hawks also feature 15-year-old defenseman Nick Ebert, whose all-around developmental is absolutely phenomenal.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to catch the Waterloo Black Hawks at both the Battle of Iowa and the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and enters notes on Jamie Hill, Scott Wamsganz, and Nick Ebert, as well as a couple other 2010-eligible prospects to watch.

Jamie Hill (2010), RW, Waterloo

Definition of a hockey player .. gives 100 percent, 100 percent of the time .. exceptional acceleration with and without the puck .. very quick .. relies on quick feet and quick turnover in his skating, but still has decent power in his strides, too .. top speed is also quite good and can open up defensemen .. very good agility, as he can execute tight turns to evade checkers .. quick laterally .. utilizes stops and starts defensively and doesn't just make small circles .. plays with a physical edge .. is pesky on the forecheck .. finishes his checks on the forecheck and will also come across a zone to lay down a big hit if the opportunity arises .. quick to release from finished checks to get to his next defensive assignment on the backcheck .. has a decent wristshot and will follow his own shot for rebound opportunities .. also has a hard slapshot .. quick hands .. listed at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, but not certain he's that tall .. if he isn't significantly inflated in height, has a strong shot at being drafted in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, because he contributes in every facet of the game .. committed to New Hampshire .. played midget major for Team Comcast in 2008-09 .. had 3 assists in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and 4 assists in 5 games for the entire preseason.

Scott Wamsganz(2010), LW, Waterloo

Got better and better every game of the preseason .. has a frame to work with at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds .. finished his checks, but they lacked oomph in the early preseason games .. by the end of the Fall Classic, he was crashing in and laying down board-rattling hits on the defensemen again and again .. has decent cruising speed on the forecheck and looked quicker by the end of the preseason .. has decent quickness to man his point or to get to loose pucks .. a bit upright in his skating .. a little shakey on turns at times, caused in part by his upright skating .. uses his size to create havoc around the net .. needs to work on his stick skills .. fanned on too many shots .. showed a little stickhandling prowess out wide, but also lost control of the puck too often .. able to make some nice passes off the half boards to create chances, but also had some bad turnovers .. any NHL future would be as a checking-line or energy-line forward, but there is a chance with fine tuning to his skating and stick skills .. a potential draft pick if he can at least average a point every other game .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget major for the Alaska Wolves in 2008-09 .. also played Alaska high school hockey for Dimond in 2008-09 and scored 33 goals and 20 assists in 28 games .. scored 1 goal in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 2 goals and 1 assists in 6 games for the entire preseason.

Soren Jonzzon (2010), C, Waterloo

Great two-way hockey sense .. only listed at 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, but doesn't play small .. puts in a concerted effort to help his defensemen down low .. adept at working with his defensemen to swoop in for loose pucks they create to start the breakout .. often F1 on the forecheck and plays his angles well in the neutral zone to stand up opponents .. doesn't fall for jukes and will strip opponents of the puck .. plays with a physical edge and doesn't shy away from physical contact .. plays the body on the forecheck and down low in the defensive zone .. plays with some physicality in the faceoff circle .. can get a little overactive with his stick .. has good speed .. skilled stickhandler who can lay down some nice moves and can use them to emerge from the boards to make plays .. a heads-up stickhandler who does a good job of assessing his options .. able to disguise his intentions with the puck .. played point on the powerplay, a testament to his offensive vision .. sure hope Jonzzon gets top-nine icetime during the regular season, because he proved himself as more than capable .. may be a long shot to be drafted in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft due to size and possibly to icetime in 2009-10, but is a good two-way hockey player .. no college commitment of yet .. played Tier II junior A for the St. Louis Bandits of the North American Hockey League in 2008-09 and scored 21 goals and 16 assists in 52 games .. scored 2 goals in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 3 goals in 6 games for the entire preseason.

C.J. Motte (2010), G, Waterloo

Set to be the starter over 20-year-old Dayn Belfour (son of Ed Belfour) .. generally stays very calm in net .. remains poised with the play collapsing in on him or on breakaways and will follow it up with a calm, collected save .. stays a little more upright with the puck in the periphery than I'd like to see, but wasn't victimized on it .. not scared to come out and play the puck .. puckhandling was a bit inconsistent .. made some nice passes up the boards, nice saucer passes to teammates, or nice rings around the glass, but actual handling of the puck was at times questionable and some passes were to no one .. has a history of beating out older goaltenders .. not too small at 6-foot-0, 194 pounds .. a long shot to be selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but not impossible with a strong season (which Waterloo will need) .. no college commitment of yet .. played Tier II junior A for the Traverse City North Stars of the NAHL in 2008-09 and played 1958 over 34 games with a 22-9-2 record, 3 shutouts, a 2.30 G.AA, and a .918 save percentage .. played 120 minutes over 2 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and had a 2-0-0 record, 0 shutouts, a 2.50 G.AA, and a .909 save percentage .. played 180 minutes over 3 games for the entire preseason and had a 2-1-0 record, 0 shutouts, a 3.00 G.AA, and a .893 save percentage.

Nick Ebert (2012), D, Waterloo

Excellent skater .. smooth stride with nice extension, which gives him good cruising speed with the puck .. has an extra gear for impressive speed bursts .. very smooth backwards, too .. gets down low backwards and maintains a short gap .. engages physically down low .. also steps up for some hits in the neutral zone .. does a good job making defensive reads and picking up assignments .. has nice presence at the point and doesn't rush the play .. has good offensive vision to spot open teammates through traffic .. quarterbacked the powerplay some in the preseason and looked good doing it .. typically has a good idea what he's going to do with the puck before he gets it .. doesn't panic with passes into the skates .. mobility shows up at the point, as he's quickly able to swivel into a shooting position after receiving a pass .. smooth stickhandler who can handle it out wide .. does a good job drawing the puck off the boards .. has a crisp wristshot .. slap shot is decent, particularly for his age .. makes crisp d-to-d passes transitioning the puck and at the points .. able to serve some nice saucer passes .. 6-foot-0, 185 pounds at age 15 .. phenomenal level of all-around development as a 15-year-old .. if he isn't close to plateauing, he could become one of the best American defensemen of all time .. no college commitment of yet .. played midget minor for the North Jersey Avalanche and scored 10 goals and 15 assists in 26 games .. also played New Jersey high school hockey as a forward and scored 43 goals and 26 assists in 20 games .. was named the NJSIAA Rookie of the Year .. went without a point 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. had 1 assist in 6 games for the entire pre-season.

Also on the Radar

Another young Waterloo prospect on the radar is winger Brady Vail. Vail didn't receive a lot of icetime in the preseason but still came away with 1 goal in 5 games for the preseason (he went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic). A 1994 birth date, Vail still has some work to do, as he's a fairly upright skater, but he still made the Black Hawks' roster all the same. In 2008-09, Vail played midget minor hockey for Compuware and scored 11 goals and 11 assists in 31 Tier 1 regular-season games.