Youngstown Phantoms Fall Classic Part I

The expansion Youngstown Phantoms don't have a great deal of junior hockey experience on their blueline, but it doesn't look like it'll be much of an issue in their inaugural season. Former Sioux Falls Stampede and Tri-City Storm defenseman David Donnellan brings the entirety of the USHL experience to the Phantoms' backend entering 2009-10, but the rest of the cast looks quite capable, and also quite big. Donnellan has modest size at 6-foot-0, 185 pounds, but the rest of Youngstown's d-corps looks like it was torn from an episode of Land of the Giants at heights of 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3, 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4, 6-foot-4, and 6-foot-6 respectively. The Phantoms blueline isn't just big, though, it's also talented. Six-foot-four Daniel Senkbeil has everything it takes to be a pro defenseman, six-foot-three Luke Eibler reveals new sub-atomic particles with some of his open-ice hits, six-foot-six Andrej Sustr is a candidate to play for his native Czech Republic at the 2010 World Junior Championships, and six-foot-three Scott Mayfield looks like one of the top 2011-eligible prospects in the USHL.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to catch the Youngstown Phantoms in action at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic, and in Part I of the Youngstown report he enters notes on Daniel Senkbeil, Luke Eibler, Andrej Sustr, Scott Mayfield, and even a bit on the team's sixth and seventh defensemen.

Daniel Senkbeil (2010), D, Youngstown

The Youngstown prospect that impressed the most .. regardless of where he's at on the ice, he lets his defensive gap close quickly and then engages physically .. gets fairly low backwards, keeps a wide base, and minimizes crossovers .. able to move well laterally backwards without crossovers, similar to John Moore .. head is always up, offensively or defensively .. never takes his eyes off the opponent's chest and thus doesn't fall for slick moves .. heads-up stickhandler who looks confident skating the puck .. able to make hard, crisp passes on the breakout .. will join the offensive attack when appropriate .. should be a top-two defenseman for Youngstown, perhaps only behind veteran David Donnellan to start the season .. 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, so there are not any pieces missing to this package .. no college commitment of yet .. ranked 123rd overall by McKeen's prior to the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, but went unselected .. has a very strong shot at selection if he shows what he did at the Fall Classic .. played midget major for the San Jose Jr. Sharks in 2008-09 and scored 11 goals and 22 assists in 55 games .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. went without a point in 4 games for the entire preseason.

Luke Eibler (2010), D, Youngstown

One-man demolition crew .. steps up for a lot of open-ice hits in the neutral zone, and connects on the majority .. makes some absolutely devastating hits .. makes hard, crisp d-to-d passes to transition the puck .. able to fire some exceptionally hard breakout passes that belong in the AHL and higher .. did have more breakout passes intercepted than he should have, even though they certainly were not soft .. has a hard wristshot and a decent snapshot .. needs to keep his shots low so that they hit the net .. has decent speed skating the puck and decent acceleration with the puck, too, but does need to get quicker and faster .. already a major physical force at 6-foot-3, 175 pounds - heaven help the opposition when he fills out .. went unselected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, but has a legitimate shot at select in 2010 by proving he can play his game at the USHL level .. committed to Northeastern .. played midget major for Victory Honda in 2008-09 and scored 7 goals and 18 assists in 46 games .. had 1 assist in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic, the only games he played in the preseason.

Andrej Sustr (2010), D, Youngstown

Czech blueliner grabs attention at 6-foot-6, 195 pounds .. a fairly upright skater who could use additional lower body strength to allow for more knee bend .. a bit sluggish down low in his defensive zone, but shows a little speed and acceleration when he has the puck .. displays some speed bursts skating the puck out from behind his net .. can build decent cruising speed .. able to cover a lot of ground with a few strides when he employs some power .. flashed some quickness laterally on occasion .. passing game needs a little work .. able to make hard passes, but they have a little wobble and could be crisper .. too many passes appear to be to nobody .. has a decent slapshot, but not overwhelming .. one-timer is also decent, but not that hard for a defenseman .. would like to see him play with more intensity and urgency in the defensive zone, because he's a different player when the puck touches his stick and he's skating it out from behind the net .. risks a similar fate as Slovakian WHLer Juraj Valach if he doesn't increase his defensive intensity .. went unselected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, but could put himself into consideration in 2010 if he develops a lot during 2009-10 .. no college commitment of yet .. played Tier II junior A for the Kenai River Brown Bears in 2008-09 and scored 1 goal and 7 assists in 36 games .. skated at the Czech Republic's World Juniors camp in late June and is a candidate to play for the team at the 2010 World Junior Championships .. went without a point in 3 games at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. went without a point in 4 games for the entire preseason.

Scott Mayfield (2011), D, Youngstown

Great first impression .. decent size at 6-foot-3, 175 pounds .. smooth backwards, keeps a wide base, and lets his gaps close by the blueline .. able to use his long reach well for poke checks and to aid in angling his man to the boards .. puts in a good effort down low in the defensive zone .. able to withstand checks from forecheckers and maintain balance .. employs a fairly long stride and has good speed with the puck .. pivots from backward to forward are quite smooth .. shows some offensive awareness skating the puck and will hold up along the half boards to buy time and make a play similar to playmaking forwards .. displays good patience at the point .. has a fairly hard, crisp wristshot from the point that he does a good job of keeping low and deflectable .. unlike many defensemen, the vast majority of his shots hit the net, not scuff the end boards or the glass .. if Patrick Wiercioch goes in the second round of the 2008 Draft, then Mayfield has a legitimate shot of equaling that accomplishment in 2011 .. committed to Denver starting in 2011-12 .. played midget minor for the St. Louis Jr. Blues in 2008-09 .. played for Team USA's Under-18 Select Team at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament .. scored 1 goal in 3 games for the 2009 USHL Fall Classic .. scored 1 goal in 4 games for the entire preseason.

On the Radar

McKeen's stays busy watching the Youngstown d-corps, as even the sixth and seventh defensemen are of some interest. Ben Paulides, a teammate of Senkbeil's in midget majors, put up a respectable 11 goals and 20 assists in 61 games with the Jr. Sharks in 2008-09 and also brings decent size at 6-foot-2, 210-pounds. Paulides didn't receive a ton of icetime at the 2009 USHL Fall Classic, where he had 1 assist in 3 games (1 goal and 1 assist in 4 games for the entire preseason), but the limited notes McKeen's did take on the second-year-eligible blueliner did reveal some prowess at the point. Seventh defenseman Jean-Laurence Beauchemin also garners some interest because of his 6-foot-4 frame, although he does need to fill out to more than 187 pounds. Beauchemin had limited offensive output in midget major with Russell Stover in 2008-09, 2 goals and 4 assists in 46 Tier 1 regular-season games, but his defensive potential is boosted by the fact that he stays reasonably low backwards, minimizes crossovers, and lets his gap shrink by the blueline. However, he does need to make sure he physically engages the opponent near the blueline instead of continuing to back in so often. Both Paulides and Beauchemin are major long shots at this point to be selected in the 2010 Draft (in their second year of draft eligibility) but with the right opportunities during the course of the season, things could change.