The Green Bay Gamblers have a few draft eligible players and one not selected last year who may hear their names called at the 2010 draft.

Aaron Harstad            D              6’2″         183

Harstad has all the physical attributes that would interest an NHL team.  He has good size and is an excellent skater.  Harstad can handle the puck well, makes good decisions with the puck and has a hard shot.  Harstad’s trust in his skating allows him to play well in one on one situations by keeping tight gap control.  On several occasions, attacking forwards were forced to dump the puck in or were rushed into bad decisions as a result of Harstad’s presence.  He was also strong on the boards and was happy to throw a few big hits, the most notable one on Youngstown’s 6’5″ 215lb Nick Czinder.   On these skills alone, Harstad could be selected in the top 120.  However, on two occasions he was on the ice for breakaways that resulted from passes made deep in Youngstown’s zone to an awaiting forward at or near the middle of Green Bay’s blue line.  On both instances, Harstad was near the boards in no man’s land by himself.  It was hard to determine the breakdown between Harstad and his partner, but Harstad’s ice time went down after those instances.   Some seasoning and coaching at Colorado College should help.  His raw athleticism alone should entice a team to take a chance on him in June.

Chris Crane       F          6’1″     193

Crane is the the prototypical energy forward.  He’s a quick skater who will fly to the puck and create havoc.  He thrived as the game became more physical and attempted to rally the Gamblers when they got down in the game by challenging some of the bigger Phantom players.  However, he had no takers.  Crane was on the ice in critical PK situations and acquitted himself well.  My opinion is that he would need to hone his puck skills and smooth out his skating at Ohio State before a team would draft him next year or take a shot as a free agent.

Ludwig Karlsson      F          6’2″     200

Karlsson was not drafted in 2009 and his name has been mentioned as someone who could possibly be selected in 2010.  It’s easy to see that Karlsson wishes to play a skilled player’s game by relying on his puck handling.  However, Karlsson was routinely stripped of the puck by backchecking forwards.  He would be more suited to play a power forward’s game  by dishing to his linemates and getting his big frame in the dirty areas in front but did not show a willingness to do so.  He was consistently out-muscled on the puck.

A few other notes on the game:

Youngstown goalie, Matthew Mahalak, a 2011 eligible played particularly well in goal.  The Phantom’s were outshot 35-9 and were still able to win 3-2 because of Mahalak’s strong play.  The 6’2″ 185 netminder displayed good positioning and rebound control.  He was also impressive in that he was never visibly rattled as Green Bay scored 2 third period goals to draw the game close and was never bothered by traffic in front of the net.   Mahalak will certainly draw interest next year.

Two players previously mentioned in my reports, 2010 eligible Nick Czinder and 2011 eligible Scott Mayfield continue to improve.  The skating and footwook of both players have gotten noticeably better.  Mayfield has the look of a top 60 player and will probably merit first round consideration if he continues this path.   I will update both as the season progresses.

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On Saturday, the Tri-City Storm completed their two game weekend sweep against the Youngstown Phantoms.   The Storm’s Jaden Schwartz displayed the skills that have NHL scouts excited about this talented forward. Another draft eligible forward from the Youngstown Phantoms, Nick Czinder, might be the kind of player NHL teams may take a chance on in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Jaden Schwartz     F        5’10         180           Tri-City

Saying that Schwartz was the best player on the ice is not exactly going out on a limb.  Schwartz possesses innate abilities that cannot be taught.  His hockey sense is uncanny as the puck seems to follow him all over the ice.  In addition, Schwartz’s ability to see the ice and the developing plays put his teammates in position for scoring opportunities.  Schwartz was credited with 2 assists but he contributed to several more quality scoring chances with his ability to distribute the puck and in some cases, catching his linemates off guard by threading passess through legs and sticks.  Schwartz also displayed strong skating with separation speed when he had the puck and the ability to quickly transition from backchecking to pouncing on loose pucks in the neutral zone and passing the puck ahead.  Schwartz’s size did not keep him out of the dirty areas in front of the net both offensively and defensively.  He also seemed to find another gear when he was battling for the puck on the boards and rarely lost those battles.  The only thing lacking on this night was the ability to finish on chances Schwartz created on his own.  On one occasion, the puck simply rolled off his blade when he was fed in the slot.  The Colorado College recruit’s ability to score goals this year might be the difference between being a first rounder, or sliding out of the Top 30.

Nick Czinder     F         6’5″          215          Youngstown

NHL.com recently rated Czinder as Youngstown’s best pro prospect for this year’s draft.  He did not play in the previous Phantom’s game I attended but he did play Saturday.  Size is clearly what  Czinder brings to the table.  He displayed decent straight line skating and was able to effectively backcheck and provide puck support offensively.  Also, Czinder was able to throw his weight around and buried the Tri-City defenseman, directly leading to Youngstown’s goal.  However, Czinder must improve his skating in traffic as he often became entangled in other players’ bodies and fell to the ice.  If he improves that aspect of his game, an NHL team could take a shot at him, although he will be a bit of a project to develop.

Also, a quick update on Youngstown defenseman Scott Mayfield who is a 2011 draft eligible.  Mayfield has certainly improved since the beginning of the season.  His skating is slightly better but his confidence with the puck is what was noticeably improved.   Also, Mayfield was on the ice in Penalty Kill situations and could be heard barking out instructions on the ice to his partner.  It will be interesting to see how much further this kid will develop this year.

All images are the property of their respective team/website. These logos and photographs are used soley for factual purposes, and TSR in no way claims these logos to be their own. All rights remain with the owners of the logos and images. Special thanks to Blitzen Photography.

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The defending Clark Cup champion Indiana Ice opened their 2009-10 season against the Youngstown Phantoms this past Saturday and skated to a 6-2 victory. It was the first game in the USHL for the Phantoms and it showed as the former NAHL squad struggled to compete with Indiana. A few of Indiana’s players distinguished themselves as potential NHL draft picks in 2010 in the game, while there were also a couple of Youngstown players who will be worth keeping an eye on this year. Without further ado..

Nick Mattson | Indiana | D | 6’1″ | 190

The former USA U-18 defenseman displayed the skills that should allow him to be selected in the first two rounds in the June entry draft.   Mattson’s keen hockey sense and awareness put him in position to stifle several Youngstown attacks.  His ability to handle the puck and make crisp first passes enabled Indiana to quickly transistion to offense.  Mattson is a good, fluid skater and was able to quickly gain the blue line but was not able to muster much offense himself once in the zone.  He was able to get off a few shots but they served as little more than dump ins on the goalie to get a whistle.   Mattson also seemed much more effective when he was on the ice with better players and was able to play at a higher level himself.  He should continue to develop nicely this year before attending North Dakota next fall.

John Parker | Indiana | F | 5’11″ | 175

Parker got off to a rocky start being on the ice for both Youngstown goals in the first period.  However, he also seemed to jump start the intensity and wake up his teammates with some feisty play as the period wore on.  Parker showed a powerful stride which was evident as he  backchecked and forechecked relentlessly.   He also showed a willingness to play within Indiana’s system  and was their best defensive forward and skater.  Parker also was called upon to kill penalties and generated some chances on his own with some nifty puck skills.  If he is able to develop  those skills to accummulate points this season, he may be worth a late round pick.

Brian Ferlin | Indiana | F | 6’1″ | 196

Ferlin is a very intriguing prospect.  The Florida native has committed to Cornell in 2011 and should be given that time to develop his skills.   He has a good stride that needs refined a bit but should develop into a strong skater.  Ferlin showed the knack for finding open spots and was able to move through the neutral zone with speed while taking all passes in stride.  He was also able to get around the Youngstown D with some deft puckhandling as well.  Ferlin also showed a good, hard shot….he just needs to work on releasing it a bit quicker.  Also, as a right handed shot on the left side, he had a tendency to make a move to his backhand when he might have been better served shooting.  To his credit though, his quick hands enabled him to get around the defenseman each time.  He’ll need to address that habit as he gets acclimated to the pace of the league.

Scott Mayfield | Youngstown | D | 6’3″ | 175

Mayfield is a late ’92 and not eligible until 2011 but he should be showing up on scout’s radars.  Mayfield possesses a powerful accurate shot, sees the ice well, blocks shots and attempts to make the right play defensively every time.  He is also very willing to get his nose dirty and does not shy away from the physical stuff.  The only negative is that he is slight and somewhat awkward on his skates but again, he makes the right play.  This will be easily addressed as he grows into his body and becomes stonger.  Mayfield is committed to Denver in 2011.


Andrew Lamont | Youngstown | F | 5’11 | 170

If you like smart, tough, hardnosed, in your face, skate through the boards players, you’ll like this kid.   Lamont was a 7th round pick out of the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers organization and he is just now getting a taste of USHL hockey.  He is very athletic and agile on his skates and thinks the game at a high level.  I’m looking forward to watching him as the season progresses.  If he can get acclimated to this level quickly and contribute, he might be a sleeper that falls way under the radar.

For TSR, I’m Rich Michalowski

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