Wouter Peeters – McKeen's Hockey

USHL Fall Classic Review and Season Preview

Ryan Wagman — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 12:19:06 +0000

Last weekend, with my wife’s blessing, I packed a small suitcase and drove close to eight hours from our home outside of Chicago to Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, to watch some hockey in the arena generally used by the Pittsburgh Penguins as a practice facility.

Of course, I didn’t make the 15 hour-plus round-trip to watch Sidney Crosby do a bag skate. Instead, I made the journey to watch the opening of the 2018-19 USHL season. The league, which stretches from Youngstown, Ohio in the East to Kearney, Nebraska in the west, had all gathered in the Pittsburgh suburb to play a series of games, such that each club in the circuit would play two regular season contests between Thursday and Sunday.

I only arrived on Friday evening, but was able to watch seven and a half games, seeing at least one full game from 12 of the 17 teams in the league. 12 of 18 if you consider the USNTDP U17 and USNTDP U18 squads as different teams, which the league standings do not. Besides, the U17s weren’t there.

When I do the math and note that I drove around two hours per game, the investment was pretty good. Factor in the ability to purchase two hard drinks after the games for a grand total of $8 (US), and let’s just say I’d do it again.

The only downsides to the weekend were an arena announcer who struggled, mightily in some cases, to pronounce player names, and sightlines that were not ideal, with netting that extends to the ceiling throughout the side of the ice on which there were stands.

While these were regular season games, as is the case with any league, a team’s first few games of any campaign are bound to be on the sloppy side. Players are still getting accustomed to their line mates. Not everyone can ramp out their focus and intensity level at the same pace. Also, while the Youngstown Phantoms were pretty close to home, around 50 minutes’ drive west of Cranberry Township up the I-76, none of the teams were playing home games.

In an event like this, where all games are regular season games, and there is no tournament feel, there are no winners and losers, although Team USA, Muskegon, Des Moines and Tri-City each won both of their games, while Youngstown, Madison, and Omaha returned home without any points in the standings.

Instead, in a scout-heavy affair, a large number of undrafted players, mostly those entering their first year of eligibility but also a few second and third timers, put out notice that they all deserve to be watched very closely by NHL scouts and people like me over the next six months or so. For a few lesser prospects, the event helped more than a few receive offers for NCAA scholarships.

For the sake of transparency, I will start the season preview portion of this article with a few words about the teams that I have not yet watched more than half a game of hockey.

The defending champion Fargo Force split the weekend, with a win and a loss. Four of their top five scorers from last season have moved on to college, but there are some players of note who have begun to audition for the 2019 draft. Michael Mancinelli, was a smaller, skilled forward who impressed me in viewings last year. A few others who have gained some notice include Swiss-American defender Cedric Fiedler, and forwards Kyle Bettens, Aaron Huglen, and Josh Nodler. The latter spent some time last year with the U17 team, but will spend this year with the Force. He also drew the most positive feedback when I discussed the team with others who were able to see them.

The Des Moines Buccaneers scored 15 goals in their 2 games, including 10 in a game that I saw a portion of against Chicago. Both of the team’s goalies have been drafted by NHL clubs and Roman Durny (Anaheim) was impressive, although Jake Kucharski (Carolina) was not. There are also a pair of affiliated players on the blueline with Michael Kesselring (Edmonton) and Arvid Henrikson (Montreal) both getting their first tastes of the league. Both are physically imposing players who move well for their size. Their most impressive player was probably 18 year old TJ Walsh, who will always be small, but is moving better than he did in previous viewings. Draft eligible to watch include blueliner Kirby Proctor, who showed good vision, and forwards Brady Meyer and Kaden Bohlsen. All three have plus size.

The Madison Capitals lack drafted players, first time draft eligible of note, and points in the standings. When I asked around, the only player who was even mentioned was defender Christian Berger, whose three older bothers all play, or have played, at the NCAA level.

The Central Illinois Flying Aces have a drafted goaltender in Mitchell Gibson (Washington) who had a rough first game at this level. After a few years as an also-ran, they look like a team worth watching this year. Winger Trevor Janicke played with the USNTDP last year, but as a late 2000 birthdate, he has aged out of the program without yet being eligible for the draft. Lynden Breen is another forward of note with the Aces. Brehdan Engum (how is this guy not playing in the WHL?) is in his second year of draft eligibility, but turned some heads after spending most of his draft season playing Minnesota high school hockey.

The Chicago Steel always draft well and while defender Casey Staum was once drafted by Montreal, the fact that he has yet to start a collegiate career means that his draft rights have expired. The team has a few sons-of and brothers-of on the roster, including draft-eligible forward Jake Schmaltz, brother of Nick and Jordan, and Matthew Barnaby, son of…also Matthew Barnaby. They also have a really interesting 2021 draft eligible in Owen Power, a preternaturally large defenseman who has game. But when scouts go to see the Steel this year, they will be going to watch Robert Mastrosimone, who is small, but plays with some snarl and thinks the game a step or two ahead of most of his peers. He may be the top prospect in the league who is not in the USNTDP.

The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders seem to have emerged from a few rough years in the wilderness, and their current roster is led by Winnipeg draft pick Nathan Smith. You may have noted that we were not very high on Smith in our draft previews and reviews last year. He has promising puck skills, but I am still not convinced that his feet work well enough, which may not be surprising considering he is still somewhat new to ice hockey, having grown up as a roller hockey player. He is also penalty prone. Of note for the 2019 draft, defender William Francis needs to work on his pivots, but has a big point shot. I am more interested in winger Grant Silianoff, who has patience with the puck and is very comfortable playing in the dirty areas despite his small frame. He could be a big point producer for the Rough Riders.

Moving on to the Lincoln Stars, we have a team with more than a little bit of NHL representation with Chicago picks Josiah Slavin and Wouter Peeters, as well as Carolina pick Ville Rasanen patrolling the blueline. Slavin is a hard working winger who has quick hands but still has to answer questions about his skill level. Peeters has a big frame in the crease, covers his posts well, but made a few questionable decisions. More regular time in net will surely help define his future prospects. Rasanen is tall and thin and never produced much in the Finnish junior ranks. He is still a bit of a wild card. The team also has some draft eligible players of note in defenders Declan Carlile and Jordan Power and forwards Josh Lopina and Shane Pinto. Lopina showed me a promising energy game, replete with strength and size and a shot with potential. Power impressed me most from this roster. He is a very good skater, enabling him to prowl with confidence. He also has a decent defensive game, standing up opponents who try to enter his zone on his side of the ice. This is a plyer I want to see more of.

Anaheim pick Jackson Perbix is the most skilled player on the Green Bay Gamblers roster. A very good skater who shows 200-foot commitment and has some skill, he is worth a follow. Looking to the future, there are a pair of late 2000s on the blueline in Christopher Giroday and Ethan Frisch. Both played with an offensive bent before joining the USHL, while the latter showed a gritty side that will serve him well as he attempts to move up the ranks. There is another smaller, skilled forward to note in Nicholas Zabaneh, himself a USHL rookie. He is the type of player who adds enough away from the puck, that he is still worth rostering even on his off days. For a sleeper, I will keep an eye on netminder Evan Fear, a 1999 to be sure, but he was among the top netminders in the NAHL last year and looked very sharp in the game I saw of him.

The Dubuque Fighting Saints have an older, more experienced roster. There are a few players who have a couple of years of NCAA experience under their respective belts already but are taking a year to refresh, including Toronto draft pick JD Greenway. Jordan’s younger brother has great size and strength, can skate and has really good puck skills for a blueliner. His decision making is questionable. Also patrolling the Dubuque blueline is Rangers pick Simon Kjellberg. For as raw as Greenway is, Kjellberg makes him look refined. The American-born Swede is big and skates reasonable well, but lacks puck skills and can be ineffective in his own zone. As his North American career has only just begun, I am willing to withhold judgement for the moment. Netminder Matthew Thiessen (Vancouver) is also moving his development forward after being drafted last year out of the MJHL. He looked much better in his second game than in his first. He keeps his glove up, has decent athleticism and absolutely loves playing the puck up the ice. There is one first year eligible of note in winger Matias Maccelli. Although very small, he has nice hands, can create plays for his teammates, and has good edges. In short, a fun player to watch. One last player to follow this year on the Fighting Saints is second year eligible blueliner Jacob Semik. A smooth skater and puck mover, he plays a fearless yet quiet game, is a trusted penalty killer and can play in all situations. What he lacks in flash, he makes up for in smarts. I suspect that over the length of the season, this here is the team to beat.

The Sioux Falls Stampede have a few interesting draft eligible players to pay attention to this year. Defenseman Ryan Johnson is trying to follow in the footsteps of fellow Southern California product Jack St. Ivany, who went from the USHL to the NHL draft. Big, versatile forward Andre Lee started hot after being overlooked in his first draft eligible season as a Swedish junior. Rangy blueliner Anthony Follmer is a St. Louis area product who impressed with his reads and decision making. Winger Anthony Romano is one to watch closely as he has a great deal of skill, offensive instincts and skating as well as a decent amount of physicality. That said, the most impressive player on the Stampede for my money was Finnish import Jami Krannila. The Sioux Falls offense runs through him as his puck skills are high end. He lacks size and needs to get stronger but his game will take him places.

The Waterloo Black Hawks are always a contending team in the USHL. Netminder Jared Moe was drafted by Winnipeg last year and had an up and down weekend, showing good movements at his best, and a lack of focus at his worst. Czech winger Matej Blumel was better in international play than league play last year, and was thus passed over in the draft. If he brings more of the offense to the USHL, he could get back on the radar this time. Among first time eligibles, big Texan winger Ryan Drkulec is an effective 200-ft player. Center Austen Swankler has enough speed to be dangerous if the rest of his game catches up. Their most intriguing prospect looks like Russian forward Vladislav Firstov, who has a nice blend of offensive tools and needs only to gain strength to be a real impact player.

The Omaha Lancers had a rough weekend and they similarly lack any drafted prospects or high end 2001 borns. A few second or third year eligible will have to suffice. Winger Tyler Carpenter may be ready to take a step forward. He plays a two-way game, with patience and poise on the puck. Defender Travis Mitchell is big and mean and uses his stick well to break up opposing rushes. Finally, netminder Vinnie Purpura plays a composed goal. He skates well for a goalie and is not afraid to come way out to play a puck. He single-handedly kept his team in one of their games and is expected to play the bulk of the games this year for the Lancers before going to Boston University.

The Sioux City Musketeers have a pipeline for talented Finnish forwards. Two years ago, it was Eeli Tolvanen drawing the scouts. Last season, the man was Sampo Ranto. This year, his name is Marcus Kallionkieli. An opportunistic winger with size and strength, he has a good first few steps and pair of plus shots to his name. His name is a mouthful, but at some point soon we will need to learn to pronounce it. Undersized winger Bobby Brink received some attention last year from the national program thanks to his plus skating and work rate, but needs to show better puck control skills. Tommy Pasanen is a gigantic defender from Germany. He plays with a huge stick and is a beast in the corners but his play with the puck can be rough. His mobility is very impressive for his size and he can pass well enough despite hard hands. Finally, Flames pick Martin Pospisil has a very good shot if he can stay on the right side of the rulebook. It is a fine line between being heavy on the forecheck and heavy in the penalty box.

The Muskegon Lunberjacks, recently the proving grounds for one Andrei Svechnikov, have another 16 year Russian wunderkind to enjoy this year in Daniil Gushchin. He is incredibly talented, but who knows where he will be playing in his draft year. Although he did not play on the weekend, netminder Keegan Karki is one more year removed from the troubles that saw him leave the USNTDP and seemingly prevented him from being drafted last year. If he keeps his nose clean, he has a number of fans among USHL scouts. Hunter Skinner is a big-bodied stay-at-home blueliner who has never scored at any level. If he can show a modicum of ability to contribute to the offensive game, he might have a chance. As far as the 2019 draft goes, Gushchin’s countrymate Egor Afanasyev is the player to watch. He played a smaller role last year, but showcased some very impressive puck skills on the weekend, scoring four times, including one beauty off a spinorama.

After close to two seasons at Penn State, Buffalo draft pick Brett Murray needed a reset and returned to the USHL with the Youngtown Phantoms. He is a very big boy, with a decent first few steps, but subpar top speed. He should be an impact player at this level and once he returns to the collegiate game, but needs better wheels to have professional impact. Winger Jack Malone plays a solid two-way game, but has yet to show the dynamic skills that would cause an NHL team to sit up and take notice. The player I expect to see take a step forward is right winger Trevor Kuntar. He is skilled with the puck, able to create room for himself to shoot and has a quick release on a hard snap shot.

USNTDP Fall Classic, photo by Hickling Images.

Finally, we come to the USNTDP. I will not mention every 2019 eligible player on the roster, but suffice it to say that the majority of them will be in scouting crosshairs all season. Everyone knows of Jack Hughes. He has eyes in the back of his head and sticking out from his ears as well. He is a supremely talented playmaker and can dominate shifts on his own. He doesn’t shy away from the physical stuff either. He is the odds-on favorite to be selected first overall next June. I will leave the comparisons with other recent top picks for later in the season. Another first round talent on this squad is Matthew Boldy. A big winger with a big, big shot, he is in the mold of recent USNTDP graduates Kieffer Bellows and Oliver Wahlstrom. He can be more of factor in getting the puck back, but he is deadly in the offensive zone. Competing with Hughes in the fun quotient is tiny winger Cole Caufield. Think Alex DeBrincat with this one. He has amazing offensive instincts, speed and acceleration. Someone will overlook his size deficiencies and take him in the first round. Blueliner Cam York played with the U18s last year and the maturity in his puck moving game is apparent. His puck skills are also high end for a blueliner. Alex Vlasic has ideal size at 6-6”, and a good boomer from the point to boot. His skating is fine at his size as well. He needs to improve his overall decision making, but the tools are there. Spencer Knight is the early favorite to be the first netminder selected next summer. He is composed, does not overcommit and responds impressively to broken plays. He is comfortable playing the puck and keeps second chances to a minimum. Marshall Warren really opened my eyes before being removed from competition with a suspected concussion. He has excellent puck control, plays with great poise, and is superb at defending his line from entry attempts. The last player from this veritable All Star squad I want to call out is tiny blueliner Domenick Fensore. Despite looking up to Cole Caufield, he is exceptionally dynamic from the back end. He is exciting with the puck, waiting out the Omaha defense in the second game to score the winner with 10 seconds remaining. He can even play a physical game, raising his arms into a hit to blow the opponent up. Players his size – especially defenders – are few and far between. Scouts will be asking themselves all year if the size of his skillset is big enough to overlook the size of his skates.

USHL Playoff Preview: New format, wild results

Ryan Wagman — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 20:21:45 +0000

Looking to add more drama to its postseason, this season is the first in which the USHL has extended the playoffs through the addition of a best-of-three wildcard round, adding two teams to the festivities from each conference. Whereas the league had previously included only the top four from each conference in the playoffs, this year, the fifth and sixth teams received an extra chance as well.

The new setup sees the top two teams from each conference receive a bye week while the third through sixth teams played up to three games in three nights, all at the home arena of the higher ranked squad.

Perhaps in opposition to expectations, the wild card round saw three upsets in its four series. In the Eastern conference, third seed Muskegon fell in three games to sixth seed and defending champions, Chicago, a series capped by a game three overtime winner. Meanwhile, the fifth seed, Dubuque, won the first two games in Green Bay, negating the need for a winner-take-all finale.

In the Western Conference, third seed Fargo eliminated sixth seed Tri-City in short order, winning their two games by a combined score of 8-1. Fourth seed Sioux Falls feel to fifth seed Lincoln in three games. Like with the Muskegon-Chicago series, the home team won the first game, before dropping the next two, with the finale going to overtime.

The Conference semifinals begin tonight (Friday, April 20, 2018) with Youngstown hosting Dubuque, with the other three series beginning tomorrow evening.

Eastern Conference

Team USA (1) vs Chicago Steel (6)

This matchup may not be the mismatch the seeds suggest that it is. During the regular season, Team USA’s league games are effectively split between the USNTDP U17 and U18 squads. This arrangement was great for development, but usually pretty bad for the standings. Since rejoining the USHL in 2009-10, the USNTDP split team has only reached the postseason twice, and not since the 2011—12 season. Of the players who led this team during the regular season. Most of the top contributors will be unavailable for the postseason, as the bulk of the U18 squad, and some of the better U17 players, are currently in Russia representing flag and country at the World Under 18 Championships.

The leftover players are still very talented on the whole, but lacking in high impact. The players most likely to push the USNTDP onward are 2019 draft prospects Ryder Rolston, Matthew Boldy, and Trevor Zegras up front, and Henry Thrun from the blueline. All three forwards were point per game players in the regular season and are potential high end prospects for next year.

Jack Dugan, photo by Hickling Images.

The Steel are led by one of the top drafted prospects in the league in Jack Dugan, a Vegas pick and one of the best non USNTDP draft prospects for this year in Blake McLaughlin. The two made up two-thirds of a great top line over the first half of the season, but were split up around mid-season after a coach firing reminiscent of what took place in Flint of the OHL last year. They also have a very promising 2019 prospect of their own in Robert Mastrosimone. Steel games have been high event games this year. Only the USNTDP has scored more and no other playoff team (including the ousted wild-card entrants) have surrendered more. That said, if they stick with Finnish import Oskar Autio in net, they have a very good chance of getting to the conference finals.

Blake McLaughlin.

Draft eligible players to watch: For Chicago, pay attention to Blake McLaughlin. After exploding in the first half of the season, his production slowed measurably in the second half, but he scored twice in the wild card round. He is a dark horse pick in the late first round or early second round. For the US squad, Erik Middendorf is one of a select few who were not taken to Russia for the WU18 tournament. He is a decent two-way player who can skate. The Colorado College commit could be taken in the seventh round if he shows some offensive punch here.

Prediction: As they played Autio throughout the wild card round, I expect the status quo to remain for the best of five here. Chicago in five.

Youngstown Phantoms (2) vs Dubuque Fighting Saints (5)

Representing Exhibit A in why the Western Conference was the stronger one this year, both combatants here surrendered more goals than they scored this year, not something you would expect from a playoff team, much less the second seed from the East. Both teams have veteran rosters, with Dubuque bringing more size, although Youngstown plays a rougher game. The Phantoms somewhat make up for the time they spend in the penalty box by having a fairly strong penalty kill. Dubuque has been much more mediocre when it comes to special teams this year.

Alex Steeves

The Fighting Saints could have been much stronger this year, as their rosters includes three players drafted by NHL teams in Casey Staum (Mtl), Cole Guttman (TB) and Santeri Virtanen (Wpg). Unfortunately, injuries have meant that Dubuque has spent the majority of the season without any of the three and are not expected to have those players now either. Their offensive attack will be spearheaded by forwards Quinn Preston and Alex Steeves, the latter of whom is draft eligible. Joshua Maniscalco, a former USNTDP member, has been very productive from the blueline as well. Their goaltending looks to be a weakspot, despite Cole Weaver’s great work in shutting down Green Bay in the Wild Card round.

The Phantoms have more offensive weapons at their disposal, including Matthew Berry, Chase Gresock, and Michael Regush. They lack much offensive punch from their defensive corps, although midseason acquisition Michael Callahan has provided solid puck movement. The teams’ biggest strength, however comes from their stoppers. They likely expected to have Chicago draft pick Wouter Peeters claim the starters job this year – and he has been pretty good - but Russian import Ivan Prosvetov has been even better. No matter which netminder they choose for the playoffs, they will have a clear edge over Dubuque in the crease.

Curtis Hall. Photo by Hickling Images/courtesy of the USHL.

Draft eligible players to watch: From Dubuque, it can only be Alexander Steeves. The Notre Dame commit has a big engine and real offensive juice. The team’s leading scorer (seventh league-wide) always wants the puck on his stick and knows what to do when he gets it. From Youngstown, the pre-season pick would have been Curtis Hall, but he has shown that his lack of puck skill severely limits his upside. My personal favorite here is the goalie Prosvetov, who can absolutely dominate at his best. But he may not get the nod as Peeters is also very good. So I will pick Michael Callahan. He is not an exciting prospect, but the Providence commit does a lot of things quietly well.

Prediction: Youngstown in four. Between the top notch goaltending and the more diverse offensive attack, they will be tough to beat, especially under the assumption that Dubuque continues to play shorthanded.

Western Conference

Waterloo Black Hawks (1) vs Lincoln Stars (5)

The Waterloo-Lincoln series should be closer than the two teams’ relative place in the USHL standings would suggest. They both scored a hair under 200 goals on the season, although Waterloo has a team-level GAA of around 0.25 better. A factor that should play a role here is special teams play. Both teams are strong on the penalty kill, with Lincoln’s 84.7% kill rate coming second in the USHL. Waterloo, at 83.8% was not far behind. On the power play, however, the Black Hawks more than make up for the shortcoming when down a man. They had the league’s second best man advantage, scoring 23.6% of the time. Lincoln could only convert on 15.6% of their power plays.

That Waterloo power play was a result of some strong offensive talent. Draft eligible Jack Drury is by far the league’s top power play producer with 12 goals and 22 assists coming on the man advantage. The team captain sees the ice well and knows how to take advantage of the extra space a power play brings. Speedy Ben Copeland, veteran Jackson Cates and midseason addition Benjamin Finkelstein (Fla) make them hard to stop.

The goalie battle is also strong here. Both teams feature drafted goalies, on the roster with Matej Tomek (Phi) playing for Waterloo and Tomas Vomacka (Nsh) for Lincoln, but there is no guarantee that either of the latter get the nod. In the wild-card round, the Stars went with normal backup Derek Schaedig, after a rough outing in game one by Vomacka. The Black Hawks also have Jared Moe, one of the better draft eligible goalies in the league pushing Tomek for playing time.

Paul Cotter

Draft Eligible Players to Watch: From Waterloo, pay attention to Drury. His offensive output has been fantastic and has the requisite hockey IQ expected from a legacy player (Son of Ted Drury) and Harvard commit. The question hanging over his prospect value is whether he can produce enough at even strength. From Lincoln, keep an eye on Paul Cotter, who scored the overtime winner in game 3 of the wild card round. He is a good skater with a nice shot and outstanding questions about his upside.

Prediction: Waterloo in four. Lincoln is the most penalized team in the league, with a gap of 129 minutes between them and the runners-up. That will really hurt them as the Black Hawks can take advantage, and will take advantage, over and over again, presuming Lincoln continues to play their brand of hockey.

Omaha Lancers (2) vs Fargo Force (3)

This series promises to be the exact inverse of the above-discussed matchup of Team USA and the Chicago Steel. While the other series should be full of end-to-end rushes, and blaring goal sirens, Omaha vs Fargo is a matchup of the two stingiest teams in the league. Fargo surrendered 133 goals on the season, while Omaha allowed only 143. Both teams enter hot, with Fargo having won five in a row and nine of ten, while Omaha is riding an eight game winning streak.

The goaltending on both sides is stellar. The expected starter for Omaha, Zach Driscoll, finished second in the league with a .934 save percentage. Fargo’s Strauss Mann came in third, at .932. Should, for any reason, either team need to turn to its backup, Fargo’s Ryan Bischel came in fifth in save percentage and Omaha’s Vincent Purpura finished eighth. Omaha’s offensive attack is led by undersized Czech veteran Filip Suchy, who came in second in league scoring with 69 points. Noah Cates (Phi) and Cole Gallant also both finished with over 50 points. Cates, in particular, is a talented player of the puck. Fargo only had one 50 point scoring in Grant Hebert, but Danish import Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup would have also reached that plateau were it not for time missed for the WJC and a subsequent injury. Fargo also has a number of defensemen who can contribute to the attack, including Ty Farmer, Spencer Meir, and Robbie Stucker (Clb).

Both teams are good on the PK, sharing identical 83.5% kill rate. On the power play, we see some separation. Omaha was very good this year, scoring on 19% of their man up opportunities. Fargo, on the other hand, put everyone to shame, with a USHL high 24.5% power play success rate. Neither team is overly penalty prone, though, so this element may be diminished in significance during this series.

Draft Eligible Players to Watch: Fargo has an older roster on the whole, without any first time eligible players of note. That said, 20 year old Danish winger Schmidt-Svejstrup turned a lot of heads with his goal scoring exploits at the beginning of the season. He lacks pace and likes to fly the zone early, but he knows how to get himself into scoring position. He finished the season with 26 goals in 40 games. On Omaha, Ryan Savage had the most pre-season hype, but has been largely disappointing. Defenseman Travis Mitchell plays a muscular, disruptive style on the blueline, and could be a late round pick, but the real player to watch is left winger Jack Randl. The Michigan commit has promising offensive touch and will be relied upon in the second wave of attack for the Lancers.

Prediction: This is the closest matchup of the round. Omaha wins in five, thanks to better offensive depth. Lots of close, one goal (or two, with the latter being an empty netter) decisions.

Should the first round proper prediction play out, the Conference finals will pit Waterloo against Omaha in the West and Youngstown against Chicago in the East. In that scenario, I see Omaha shutting down Waterloo and Youngstown outscoring Chicago to set up a Clark Cup matchup between Omaha and Youngstown. In this battle of second seeds, Omaha proves the old adage that “defense wins championships” and brings home their eighth Clark Cup championship, and their first since 2007-08.

NHL Draft Review and Grades: Chicago Blackhawks

Grant McCagg — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 12:55:57 +0000

Alex Debrincat of the Erie Otters was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo, NY on Saturday June 25, 2016. Photo by Aaron Bell/CHL Images

It’s not often a team gets to draft a 50-goal CHL draft-eligible prospect in the second round, but Alex DeBrincat’s 5-7 stature allowed the Hawks to pick up one of the best pure goal scorers in recent drafts. The other reason he dropped was because his production ebbed in the second half, but if he’s afforded an opportunity to play with talented linemates, especially on the power play, he’ll produce at the NHL level too. Chad Krys had a disappointing season where turnovers and poor decisions became a regular occurrence…add in his lack of size and he seems like a reach at 45.

RND	PICK	RNK	PLAYER	POS	CTY	HT/WT	TEAM
2	39	37	Alex DeBrincat	RW	USA	5-7/165	Erie (OHL)
2	45	94	Chad Krys	D	USA	5-11/185	NTDP (USA)
2	50	91	Artur Kayumov	LW	RUS	5-11/175	Team Russia U18 (Rus)
3	83	NR	Wouter Peeters	G	BLG	6-4/205	Salzburg (Aus)
4	110	97	Lucas Carlsson	D	SWE	6-0/190	Brynas (Swe)
4	113	NR	Nathan Noel	C	CAN	5-10/180	Saint John (QMJHL)
5	143	116	Mathias From	LW	AUS	6-1/190	Rogle (Swe)
6	173	NR	Blake Hillman	D	USA	6-1/170	Dubuque (USHL)
7	203	NR	Jake Ryczek	D	USA	5-10/180	Sioux City (USHL)

Chad Krys, USA NTDP, Photo by Tom Sorensen

Kayumov gave the Hawks a third-straight skilled, yet undersized, selection…perhaps a reaction to losing Teravainen in the Bickell salary dump. Belgian-born Wouter Peeters shot up Central Scouting’s goalie rankings to finish sixth after a solid season in Germany…described by one scout as raw but talented. Carlsson was an interesting pick in the fourth round who was overlooked in last year’s draft despite lots of exposure on Sweden’s U-18 team..he stepped up his play even more this season and was worth a mid-round gamble. Noel was in the same boat…thought by many to be a mid-round pick last draft, only to slip through seven rounds. He worked on his competitiveness this season and displayed a better all-around game. Mathias From was a solid pick in the fifth round based on his overall skill level…may be the true darkhorse in the Hawks draft. Undersized blueliner Jake Ryczek put up good numbers in the USHL.

Grade C+: The lack of a first-round pick and overreaching with Krys and Kayumov in the top 50 hurt their ranking…which was saved by some intriguing mid-round picks.