Recently I was able to see Yasin Cisse of the Des Moines Buccaneers.  Cisse is certainly an interesting prospect with loads of pro potential.  He possess the size of an NHL power forward at 6’3″, 208lbs, and still growing into his frame.  Cisse also displayed top end speed and first step acceleration.  He was a diligent backchecker, very often the first forward back, and a disruptive forechecker by using his speed to outrace the Youngstown skaters.  As fast as he was, there is still room for Cisse to improve his skating.  He skated with a narrow base and at times lost his balance.  With some fine tuning and widening his base, he should be able to lengthen his stride and also handle the tight turns better.

Offensively, Cisse owns a powerful shot with a very quick release whether he was in open ice or traffic.  He had a knack for getting the puck on net and forcing the goalie to make good saves.  Cisse also possessed good hands and was able to make some nifty passes by quickly spotting open teammates.   Defensively, Cisse showed good hockey sense and the ability and commitment to play within a system.  As mentioned, when he was the first man in, he was able to apply pressure to the defenseman.  He also showed discipline by taking away passing lanes when he was the second or third forward.   Cisse also had an active stick in the defensive zone and was able to prevent any offense materializing by simply being aware of the Youngstown defense and wingers and not allowing the puck to pass through him.

He seems to have taken his coaching well and should continue to do so at BU next year.   Aside from the skating work, Cisse could be a bit more physical.  He finished a few checks in the third period but before then wasn’t really a factor in that regard.  At times, he also seemed to avoid checks when he was about to jump on loose pucks.  Rather, he tried to poke the puck ahead.   All in all, Cisse shows the intangibles as well as physical attributes that an NHL  team will be happy to allow develop at a program such as BU.

Tags: 2010 nhl draft, 2010 nhl draft prospects, Yasin Cisse

About the Author: Rich Michalowski