NTDP at Indiana

A few photos from the USNTDP at Indiana last night. I'll have features on Johns and Moffatt in a few weeks.

Frank Simonelli with a high leg kick in warmups. I don't think this is in the textbook.


Luke Moffatt yakking it up on the faceoff. You might think he's just catching up with a former teammate in Mattson, but he seemed to chat up a lot of people on the faceoff. He's just a chatty kind of kid.

Jarred Tinordi vs. Brian Ferlin. Tinordi stood him up hard at the blue line, that's what brought this on. It was just a good defensive play.

Tyler Biggs vs. Chris Martin. I think Biggs grabbed him by the mouth here. He's someone I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. He looks like a great player for 2011 though.


This image cracks me up. Rather than smush into the end of the bench in a chair like most backups, Jack Campbell stood behind the bench with the coaches. Looks quite out of place. He got ice water dumped on him in the shower later and screamed quite loudly. A bunch of jokers these guys.
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Indiana vs. Green Bay (USHL)

I came back to Indianapolis to catch the NTDP, but also caught the game against Green Bay last night. After bad experiences with poor lighting in the building last time, I was spurred to pull the trigger on the new camera purchase, which I'm very happy with. If they would only use all the lights during warmups.

Notes on players:

Mattson (IND) -- I was pleasantly surprised how he's come along. I didn't like him much at last year's U18 WCs, or the USHL All-Star Game. But he looks very good now. I'll put together a feature on him soon.

Morris (IND)-- He looked good during the game, beaten high only on a couple high shots. The shootout was a different story. More broadly, his glove placement looks too low. His coach acknowledged it was an issue.

Fallon (IND) -- I just don't see much here, other than hustle. I think he'll be a big dropper on the spring 2010 rankings.

Crane (Green Bay) -- He was benched after taking a roughing penalty that resulted in a goal. That was the first period, so good thing I was paying attention early. His game isn't pretty, but is effective. Spoke to him afterwards, an interesting guy. Late rounder, but I think he'll get picked. He's committed to OSU, and has been asked to come this fall (now that Dalpe etc are gone), but told me he might report to Windsor depending on what the NHL team who drafts him wants him to do.

Lee (GB) -- Islanders fans seem to think we overlooked Lee on the latest Top 20 list. I've looked at him twice this year, but I still can't get onboard. He has size and skates well, but ultimately is disappointing.

Max Cook (IND) -- He's a 1990, so he probably won't be drafted, but he should be. Late bloomer. Miami University is going to be happy with him.

Harstad (GB) -- Healthy scratch. That won't get you drafted.

Ferlin (IND) -- Poor skater. He's going to have to correct that.

A few photos.

Ref catches some unwanted air.

Coach Jeff Blashill draws on his white board with his back turned.

And now the reveal.

Green Bay won in a shootout. The funny part of this photo is Crane in the upper right corner hugging his teammate like they just won the championship. Note he hadn't been on the ice for 2+ periods at this point.
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Some USHL features

Last week I went to Indianapolis for the USHL All-Star Game. It was very enlightening as far as the 2010-eligible pool goes. I'm probably making one more trip to see more games later in the year and then will write one big ranking article. So I'll hold comments until then.



Indianapolis is very easy to get around with good public transportation. I was able to take a city bus to the arena, which made me happy. Three-quarters of the bus/shuttle drivers I had were women, interestingly.

So far I've written features on Nate Condon, Jaden Schwartz and Cab Morris from that trip. I've got a few more to go, but they may have to wait until I get back from seeing some OHL games this weekend.

I enjoyed talking to Morris as he's an interesting guy, and Nate Condon was one of the few interviews when I wish I had my video camera going instead of a recorder. He has comic delivery that print just doesn't capture. He'll be a telecast favorite as he moves up. Schwartz I didn't get the feeling is a big talker.
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Comments on Steel prospects for 2010

I caught a USHL game when I was in Chicago for a college tournament last weekend. I can tell the league has improve just from a few years ago when I saw it the last time. Here are some observations on some 2010-eligible prospects from the Steel and one from Lincoln.

Kevin Lind (2010) -- I liked him quite a bit, more than expected given his rankings. Very good defense and skating. Physical. Adequate puckhandling and offense. He needs to mature on the ice, but he's 17 so that's normal. Spoke to him for 15 minutes afterward and was very impressed by him personally. Should be a mid-round pick.

Andrei Kuchin (2010) -- Very good playmaker, and fast. I don't see how he slips through the draft again. He's getting PK time, so that will help his defense. Coach was bullish on him.

Brendan Woods (2010) -- It was his first game of the year due to a broken leg. I thought he looked good given the situation, can dangle and stays with the play til the end. Would be a late rounder if he gets taken.

Safir Gill (2010) -- Went home for a family situation, coach does not expect him back this year. This won't help his slim draft chances.

Jared Coreau (2010) Lincoln Stars -- Tall goalie with decent lateral movement, but poor glove and blocker. He has his glove OK in his stance, but as soon as the shot is coming, he drops it with open part down, and you're never going to catch pucks like that. He would need a complete makeover to have a future.

Mark Adams (Buffalo draft pick) -- Good size and skating, but very poor positioning.

Here's a photo of the action with Lind (7) and Kuchin (91) included in white.