Waterloo Black Hawks Fall Classic Part II

As mentioned in Part I, the Waterloo Black Hawks have had more prospects selected directly off their roster in the past three NHL Entry Drafts than any other USHL team, and not all of them were selected in their first year of draft eligibility. Former Hawk center Craig Smith went in his third year of eligibility in the fourth round of the 2009 Draft, Josh Turnbull went in the fifth round of the 2007 Draft in his second year of draft eligibility, and Jordan Samuels-Thomas went in the seventh round of the 2009 Draft in his second year of eligibility. As one would expect, Waterloo once again has some prime candidates for selection in their second or third year of draft eligibility for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, with rookie winger Nick Sorkin and second-year defenseman Dan Sova leading the charge.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch the Waterloo Black Hawks in action at both the Battle of Iowa and the 2009 USHL Fall Classic and in Part II of his Black Hawks prospect report enters notes on Nick Sorkin, Dan Sova, and a few teammates looking to impress the second and third time around.

Nick Sorkin (2010), LW/RW, Waterloo

Underwhelming to start the preseason, but adjusted and started to really impress by the end .. needs additional lower body strength to allow him to improve skating .. skating is fairly upright and lacks first-step quickness .. upright in his crossovers and turns can be shakey at times .. used quick feet in his crossovers, but would like to see him be able to power out of them .. did display some lateral quickness and can execute tight turns, but would be even better from a power position .. able to build some speed with the puck down the wing .. does have good hockey sense, though .. has good offensive vision and awareness to read off teammates and find them with passes .. able to evade checkers with his long reach and sweeping stickhandling .. willing to drive the net .. also has decent defensive awareness .. despite lack of first-step quickness, he hustles to man the point and creates some turnovers .. can also catch opponents napping and strip them on the backcheck .. hustles in races for the puck .. does a lot of the right things and has the potential to become a really solid hockey player with additional lower body strength and improved skating .. a potential mid-round pick if he can make anywhere close to the improvements in his skating that former Black Hawk Jordan Samuels-Thomas made over the course of 2008-09 .. committed to New Hampshire .. played midget major for Team Maryland in 2008-09 and scored 30 goals and 71 assists in 50 games .. also played for Bullis Prep .. scored 2 goals and 1 assists in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 6 games for the entire preseason.

Daniel Sova (2010), D, Waterloo

Looking a bit improved, but still needs to improve skating .. still upright in his skating .. upright in his turns with the puck .. pure speed can cause him to stumble pivoting to try and stick with opponents beating him wide .. lets his gaps shrink, but is awfully upright and not in a power position .. does try to engage physically .. stands up some opponents in the neutral zone and rubs others out along the boards, but some get through with speed .. didn't appear as ruthless in front of his own net as he was last season .. still effective down low pinning opponents along the boards and/or separating them from the puck .. passing game is hit and miss .. able to execute some very hard, crisp passes on the tape, but too many passes lack crispness .. also makes some questionable blind passes .. has a crisp, hard wristshot from the point .. accuracy from the point needs some work .. can fire some low wristshots that are very deflectable and can also take a bit off his shot to create rebound chances .. able to unleash a huge one-timer .. won't hesitate to drop the gloves to stick up for himself or for teammates .. has the potential to be a Kyle McLaren-esque defenseman, but will need to improve his skating .. if Michael Sdao goes in the seventh round of the 2009 Draft in his third year of eligibility, Dan Sova has a chance at selection, too .. committed to Michigan Tech .. played for Waterloo in 2008-09 and scored 2 goals and 26 assists in 55 games .. had 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. had 2 assists in 6 games for the entire preseason.

Brock Montpetit (2010), C, Waterloo

Has the tools to be one of the top forwards in the USHL in 2009-10 .. has excellent speed and can beat opponents wide or draw penalties .. able to make tight turns protecting the puck down low and even under acceleration .. has some shiftiness with the puck and doesn't rely only on top speed .. able to make powerful stops .. smooth stickhandler with the puck who can assess his options .. able to lay down some nice jukes .. stays calm with passes that are off target or in his skates .. has good offensive vision to create plays and is a threat from the half boards and the end boards .. able to make very quick, crisp passes .. able to execute crisp, accurate passes in stride and at speed .. has a quick, hard slapshot that requires little wind-up .. decent backhand, too .. still plays with a physical edge .. lays down a lot of hits in the neutral zone, but needs to watch that he doesn't check too many opponents from behind .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck and is a threat to strip opposing defensemen of the puck with his speed and quickness .. uses stops and starts on the forecheck when appropriate and doesn't always circle .. also puts in a concerted effort on the backcheck .. really hoping to see a Craig Smith or [/db]Billy Maday[/db]-type third USHL season from Montpetit .. has a chance at selection if he duplicates Maday, and most especially Smith .. no college commitment currently .. played for Waterloo in 2008-09 and scored 13 goals and 30 assists in 59 games .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 3 goals and 1 assist in 6 games for the entire preseason.

Blake Thompson (2010), D, Waterloo

Looks like a different defenseman than in 2008-09 .. physical attitude now portrays more confidence with the puck and really looks like he belongs in the USHL .. displayed some heads-up stickhandling with the puck and made some crisp passes .. does need to work on pass reception a bit, though .. has a hard, crisp wristshot from the point .. maintained a fairly wide base backwards after accelerating backwards with notable power .. will step up for hits early on the opponents' attack, but does miss some of those attempts .. needs to make sure he doesn't look down at the puck, buy a move, and get sidestepped .. needs to improve turning radius with the puck so he can make some tight turns when needed .. a long shot to be taken in his second year of draft eligibility, but he has made noticeable progress from an unimpressive rookie season with Sioux Falls .. no college commitment of yet .. played for Sioux Falls Stampede in 2008-09 and scored 1 goal in 53 games .. did not play at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. went without a point in 3 games for the entire preseason.

Justin DeMartino (2010), LW, Tri-City (now Waterloo)

Big winger traded with defenseman Matt Kinman to Waterloo for defenseman Tyler Amburgery and forward Matt Johnson .. has great size at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds .. has decent acceleration with the puck, giving him a little separation .. makes hard, crisp passes on the attack that he puts on target .. able to fire a hard slapper skating in off the wing .. decent lateral stickhandling to evade traffic .. saw some time on the Tri-City powerplay as the big man in front .. will give Waterloo the additional big winger they were lacking in their lineup and fetched Tri-City the big defenseman they needed (Amburgey), too .. long shot to be selected in the 2010 Draft, his second year of eligibility, but size makes him intriguing .. committed to Ferris State .. played midget major for Little Caesar's in 2008-09 and scored 24 goals and 25 assists in 46 Tier 1 regular-season games .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 1 goal and 1 assist in 6 games for the entire preseason.

Tyler Amburgey (2010), D, Waterloo (now Tri-City)

Defensive defenseman played for Waterloo during preseason but was traded to Tri-City with forward Matt Johnson for forward Justin DeMartino and defenseman Matt Kinman .. gets low backward and maintains a short gap .. engages physically at or near the blueline, standing up opponents or rubbing them out along the boards .. also a threat with the hip check .. steps up for open-ice hits in the neutral zone .. does a good job to communicate with his teammates on the ice .. has a hard slapshot from the point .. makes crisp, accurate breakout passes .. 6-foot-2, 205-pound defenseman give Tri-City the big, physical defenseman they needed to round out their d-corps .. long shot to be drafted in his second year of draft eligibility, but not impossible .. played for the USNTDP Under-18 team in 2008-09 and scored 2 goals and 4 assists in 43 games .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. went without a point in 5 games for the entire preseason.