10 Prospects from the USHL

In alphabetical order, here's who I feel are ten of the hottest prospects from the USHL...

Austin Coldwell - D/90 - Des Moines
Austin Czarnik - F/92 - USNTDP
Nick Ebert - D/94 - Waterloo
Connor Frick - D/92 - Des Moines
Dan Furlong - D/91 - Sioux Falls
Rocco Grimaldi - F/93 - USNTDP
Marek Hrbas - D/93 - Fargo
Michael Paliotta - D/93 - USNTDP

Matt Stewart - D/91 - Green Bay

NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings - 2010 Draft

Here are the latest and greatest! If you like your college recruiting prospects to be drafted into the NHL, this is the list you want to focus on...

81 - HRABARENKA, RAMAN - D - PHILADELPHIA - EJHL
103 - ROE, LOGAN - D - KENT SCHOOL
105 - BOSTROM, ELLIOTT - D - TAFT SCHOOL
127 - HELLER, THANE - LW - JUNIOR BRUINS - EJHL
135 - AMIES, NICK - D - COWICHAN VALLEY - BCHL
139 - DUMOND, MAXIME - LW - BROCKVILLE - CJHL
140 - REARDON, MIKE - D - NOBLES
161 - WIEDEMANN, JARED - D - DEXTER SCHOOL
182 - BEYERS, STEVEN - RW - ORANGEVILLE - CCHL
186 - MCINTYRE, PETER - LW - SOUTH SHORE - EJHL
190 - HICKEY, STEPHEN - RW - OAKVILLE - OJAHL
192 - MCNALLY, BRANDON - LW - BELMONT HILL
204 - CALDWELL, JOHN - D - BELMONT HILL
207 - CZINDER, NICK - RW - YOUNGSTOWN - USHL

Hot 10

Many of these players (not surprisingly) are on the early stat leaders list.

1. Brandon Saad (F/92) - USNTDP U18 (99.9999% probability he's going to the OHL)
2. Luke Juha (D/93) - Burlington-CCHL (defensive scoring machine, if Lessio bails on the NCAA route, so will this kid...IMHO)
3. Rocco Grimaldi (F/93) - USNTDP U17 (the 93's seem more reluctanct to commit than previous birthyears, but this waterbug should be getting attention)
4. Nick Ebert (D/94) - Waterloo-USHL (yes he's very young, but he's also a nice sized defensemen holding his own in the USHL)
5. Matt Esposito (F/92) - Green Mountain-EJHL (sure it's a weaker league, but this kid has 10 points more than his closest teammate!)
6. Michael Voran (F/90) - Sioux Falls-USHL (yes he was passed over for the draft twice, but his success in the USHL is going to make him very popular)

So who did I miss?

Central Scouting 2010 Draft Rankings - USHL

Strangely missing is Sahir Gill, but otherwise, here are the uncommitted 2010 eligible USHL players that made Central Scouting's preliminary list...

F – BRENDAN WOODS - CHICAGO
F – NICK CZINDER - YOUNGSTOWN
G – ERIC MIHALIK - DES MOINES

Early Season Stats

These are all youngsters that are off to quick starts on the stat sheets. None of these players are old enough to have been passed over for the draft yet.

Alex Micallef (D/92) – Villanova-OJAHL
Brandon Saad (F/92) – USNTDP U18
Danny Federico (F/92) – Bruins-EJHL
Dylan Smith (F/92) – Estevan-SJHL
Eric Coulombe (F/92) – Steinbach-MJHL
Luke Juha (D/93) – Burlington-CCHL
*Matt Esposito (F/92) – Green Mountain-EJHL
Matt VanVoorhis (D/93) – USNTDP U17
Ryan Haggerty (F/93) – USNTDP U17
Shane Walsh (F/91) – South Shore-EJHL
Shawn Pauly (F/92) – Wenatchee-NAHL
Tony Calderone (F/94) – Victory Honda U16
Walker Hyland (D/91) – Woodbury HS
Will Suter (F/92) – Russell Stovers U18

*Not to be confused with the goalie who played Major Juniors a couple of years ago.

Central Scouting Players to Watch List for the 2010 Draft

These are the A & B rated players who are eligible for college yet uncommited. There are also many C rated players, more than I cared to list. The list of USHL players to watch has not yet been released...

A Rated Players
F – JASON CLARK, SHAT.ST.MARY'S
G – SAM BRITTAIN, CANMORE (AJHL)

B Rated Players
F – BEAU BENNETT, PENTICTON (BCHL)
F – TYSON FULTON, BRECK HS
F – SETH HAMILTON, BUFFALO REGALS
F – GARNET HATHAWAY, ANDOVER PREP
F – GARRETT HENDRICKSON, VIRGINIA HS
F – J.P. LAFONTAINE, SHAT.ST.MARY'S
F – BRANDON MCNALLY, BELMONT HILL
F – SHAWN PAULY, WENATCHEE (NAHL)
F – AARON PEARCE, GEORGETOWN (OJAHL)
F – JAMES POLK, SHAT.ST.MARY'S
F – DAVID ROY, BROCKVILLE (CJHL)
D – JOEL BENSON, ALPENA (NAHL)
D – CRAIG BOKENFOHR, CAMROSE (AJHL)
D – ELIOTT BOSTROM, TAFT SCHOOL
D – JOHN CALDWELL, BELMONT HILL
D – DUSTIN DAROU, SMITHS FALLS (CJHL)
D – SCOTT DAWSON, NEPEAN (CJHL)
D – CARTER FOGUTH, MARQUETTE (NAHL)
D – SEBASTIEN GINGRAS, BROCKVILLE (CJHL)
D – NICHOLAS LUUKKO, THE GUNNERY
D – MIKE REARDON, NOBLES PREP
D – BRETT STERN, CENTENNIAL HS
G – MARTIN OUELLETTE, KIMBALL UNION

USNTDP - 1993's

Here are the names and previous teams of the uncommited members of the new NTDP U17 team...

Forwards
Cole Bardreau - Rochester Allaince Midget Minor
Tyler Biggs - Toronto Jr. Canadians
Dan Carlson - Maple Grove H.S.
Rocco Grimaldi - Little Caesars Midget Major
Ryan Haggerty - Trinity Catholic H.S.
Zac Larraza - P.F. Chang's Midget Major
JT Miller - Pittsburgh Hornets Midget Major
Blake Pietila - Detroit Compuware Midget Minor
Adam Reid - LA Selects Midget Minor

Defensemen
Barrett Kaib - Culver Academy
Jake McCabe - Eau Claire Memorial H.S./Team Wisconsin
Connor Murphy - Columbus Jr. Blue Jackets Midget Minor
Michael Paliotta - Choate Rosemary Hall
Alexx Privitera - New Jersey Avalance Midget Minor
Matt Van Voorhis - Edina H.S.

Top Prospects You've Never Heard Of

...and you might never hear of again. Playing for the USA, trying out for the NTDP, and scoring points in a top junior league are among the easiest ways to get attention from college hockey fans looking for their favorite team's next potential recruit. However, any diehard fan won't have difficulty coming up with an example of a future college stud who didn't take any of the afformentioned routes. Here are a few players I think could potentially fit the bill, or not.

Seth Ronsberg - (F/91) - Winkler Flyers-MJHL
Why? Seth played Tier III junior hockey in the MnJHL instead of high school because his dad was the coach. Though the level of hockey is low, he was named POTY even though he was a 17-year-old playing against 20-year-olds. Seth could have played for North Iowa of the NAHL next season, but has decided to move north of the border to Winkler instead.

Wally Cossette - (D/90) - Waterloo-USHL
Another player known a little in Minnesota, he's a nice sized defensive defensman playing for Waterloo next season. He looks better in person than on the stat sheet, though the USHL's habit of tracking +/- rating can only help his stock.

Drew Brown - (F/92) - Chelsea HS
In Michigan he's well known, but prospectors outside the state tend to focus on the midget players. He earned the Michigan HS POTY award as a junior last season.

Brandon McNally - (F/92) - Bellmont Hill
You may have heard of him from scouting services, this blog, or because he was drafted in the 11th round of the QMJHL draft... but you didn't see him at the Select 17 Camp. However, that doesn't mean the big name schools aren't interested.

Kyle O'Brien - (D/93) - Cushing Academy
Another Select Camp no show.

USA U18 Select Team for Ivan Hlinka Tournament

These would be your eligible 1992 born players. Just to give you an idea of how hot these prospect are, last year there were nine uncommitted players selected to play in the Ivan Hlinka. Seven have since committed to play D1 college hockey or have gone to major juniors. The best performers on this list will not only receive multiple scholarship offers, they'll gain valuable exposure for the 2010 or 2011 NHL drafts. Like last year, expect that some commitments will come immediately after the August 11th-15th event, or possibly just before.

Forwards
Kyle Rau

Defensemen
Jamieson Oleksiak

USA U17 Select Team for Five Nations Tournament

Here we go! Outside of the NTDP players, these are the hottest uncommited Americans born in 1993...

Forwards
Ben Bahe - Hill Murray HS
Kevin Becker - Hill Murray HS
Kenneth Gillespie - East Coast Eagles
Anthony Greco - Shattuck-St. Mary’s U16 Midget
Christian Horn - Benilde-St. Margaret's HS
Alex Racino - Team Wisconsin
Lukas Sutter - Lethbridge Titans
Austin Wuthrich - Alaska All Stars

Defensemen
Brian Cooper - Alaska All Stars
Garrett Haar - LA Selects
Jake McCabe - Team Wisconsin/Eau Claire Memorial
Dan Molenaar - Eden Prairie HS
Connor Murphy - Ohio Blue Jackets

Goaltenders
Brendan Jensen - LA Selects
Jay Williams - TPH Thunder/Hotchkiss Prep