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My Under-20 camp coverage continues with Team USA.
Team USA
Kenneth Agostino, Left Wing, Pittsburgh Penguins: Agostino played quite well at this camp and ended up forcing his way onto one of the USA's top lines. He was moving the puck around well, showed above-average puck skills, fought for loose pucks, was a pest in front of the net, and looked like a very nice complementary piece for a scoring line. His skating is below-average and it's his main issue going forward as well as the fact that he turned over the puck a little too much.
Bill Arnold, Center, Calgary Flames: I didn't get a lot of notes on Arnold, but he showed spurts of offensive skill with the puck, he skated at a decent level, and brought the two-way work ethic he usually does. He's certainly a sleeper candidate going into next season.
Nick Bjugstad, Center, Florida Panthers: Bjugstad never showed dynamic skills, but he made a lot of above-average plays that were well above-average for a big man. His skills with the puck and playmaking abilities are what drive his value, and in addition, his puck protection skills are good and his skating seemed to look a bit better than last year. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a huge sophomore season.
Adam Clendening, Defense, Chicago Blackhawks: Clendening's skating looked better than where it was this time last year as his first step looked pretty good along with his agility and technique. His passing skills were as plus as always with very good offensive creativity and vision. The awareness and decision-making in both ends still need work as well as his physical game.
Justin Faulk, Defense, Carolina Hurricanes: Faulk's skating has shown nice development as his mobility and overall speed looked a tick higher than where it was in his freshman season. The desirable hands, offensive instincts, and poise from the blue line were on display as usual and I was impressed by some of his defensive plays. He got a little too cute with the puck at times though that resulted in poor turnovers.
Brian Ferlin, Right Wing, Boston Bruins: Ferlin may end up being a decent little prize for the Bruins in the fourth round of the 2011 Draft. He's not a flashy player and despite his great USHL season in the counting numbers in 2009-10, he's probably doesn't project as a scoring forward. However, he's a fine skater, who works hard, has a solid physical game, and is above-average in the cycle game protecting the puck.
Derek Forbort, Defense, Los Angeles Kings: Forbort is a roller coaster to watch. He's so gifted, as the skating and puck skills abilities are simply tremendous for a big man and he can create "wow" moments on any given shift. His defensive work showed spurts of fine performance as well. However, the hockey sense still has a ways to go, as for every great play he made, it was coupled with a bad one.
Rocco Grimaldi, Center, Florida Panthers: Grimaldi was his standard self: plus skater, plus offensive skills, great work ethic, went to the net for chances, and good two-way play.
Justin Holl, Defense, Chicago Blackhawks: Holl showed spurts of his desirable upside with his solid mobility, above-average puck-moving skills, and the ability to control the play. However, he's a ways away, due to his physical immaturity, poor decision-making, and lackluster awareness.
Stephen Johns, Defense, Chicago Blackhawks: Same old for song for Stephen Johns. He's a good skater and puck-mover with a very good physical game, but his poor hockey sense kills him.
Seth Jones, Defense, 2013-eligible: What a prospect. I'm not going to say something like Jones is going number one in 2013 due to how far we are from the draft, but if he doesn't, it's likely because someone really good went in front of him. His hockey sense is elite, and he's about as advanced a 16-year-old defenseman as I've ever seen. On a team full of the USA's best 18- and 19-year-old defensemen, Jones could be the number one defenseman on this team at this year's World Junior tournament. He's an above-average skater, with plus puck-moving skills, a good frame, and his decision-making is simply incredible.
Jared Knight, Right Wing, Boston Bruins: Knight had the motor turned on in this camp as he was simply flying all over the ice and creating a ton of chances with his skating and his willingness to drive the net. He didn't show a lot of hands skills, but he did show a ton of intangibles.
Austin Levi, Defense, Carolina Hurricanes: Levi was a prospect I heard whispers about last year about having some potential, although I never really heard an NHL source truly sell me on him. He was fine defensively, he's good physically, but I'd say he's still a bit of a work in progress and his offensive upside is minimal.
Scott Mayfield, Defense, New York Islanders: Mayfield was up and down in the one game I saw of him. He showed flashes of brilliance with his skating and puck-moving skills, and his physical game was quite good. He made a couple of bad decisions with the puck, though, be it because he wasn't playing at the high pace needed for the U-20 environment or because he forced too many home-run plays.
Shane McColgan, Right Wing, New York Rangers: McColgan was an early cut, but from what I saw of him in limited time, he showed spurts of top-end ability in his skating and puck skills. He's the kind of prospect who could go any which way in his development, but there's certainly the upside with McColgan to go way up.
J.T. Miller, Center, New York Rangers: Miller played extremely well at the camp, and was the USA's best forward. His skating and overall speed looked above-average, he made some nice defensive plays, and his physical play was very good along the walls and when pressuring defenders on the forecheck. He also made a lot of above-average plays with the puck in regards to his puck-handling and distribution of the puck. Some NHL sources see top-end upside with Miller and while I'm not sure I would go that far, I think I may have to upgrade my projection of Miller as he certainly has top six skills. My main knocks on Miller have been his sense and decision-making, but at the camp both of those aspects actually looked above-average.
Connor Murphy, Defense, Phoenix Coyotes: Murphy was pretty solid at the camp. His panic threshold and hockey sense are quite impressive as he made a lot of good little plays and showed flashes of above-average skills as well. It's a shame he got hurt again as he injured his knee at the camp.
Stefan Noesen, Left Wing, Ottawa Senators: Noesen was up and down at the camp. There were moments when he made some nice offensive plays, showing creativity and skating skills that were a tick above what I had heard and seen of him last year, and he worked as hard as usual physically. However, his decisions weren't the best and some of his offensive attempts ended up hurting his team more than helping.
Shane Prince, Left Wing, Ottawa Senators: Prince played well at the camp. His skating was impressive, as his acceleration, agility, and top gear all looked above-average. He had the puck a lot and showed attempts at creating offense, although he tried doing a little too much at times. Prince definitely demonstrated offensive creativity and skills, though, and overall he was one of the better skilled forwards at the camp in terms of performance.
Jarred Tinordi, Defense, Montreal Canadiens: Tinordi played very, very well at this camp in his own end. I had heard towards the end of a mostly dismal 2009-10 OHL campaign that he started to turn it around and if the performance he showed at camp was any indication of his future, I may be more optimistic to say he has a top four future. His gap control, stick-work, defensive reads and one-on-one were all at a desirable level and he was truly a shutdown force. Tinordi flashed the occasional okay pass, but he really needs to stop trying to get involved offensively, because it usually ends up with a turnover every time he does.
Vincent Trocheck, Center, Florida Panthers: Trocheck had quite a performance and ended up being a significant all-situations players. His work ethic was tremendous, and despite his smaller stature, he was one of the better defensive forwards due to his hustle. He also showed solid offensive skills with the puck, creating from the perimeter and making a lot of fine passes.
T.J. Tynan, Center, Columbus Blue Jackets: I didn't get a lot on Tynan, but he certainly made quite a few above-average to plus plays with the puck and his skating looked solid to above-average, although I didn't see the plus top gear he showed in college last year.
As always if there was someone I omitted or you have any questions, use the contact tab below or leave a comment.
Corey Pronman is an author of Hockey Prospectus.
You can contact Corey by clicking here or click here to see Corey's other articles.
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Summer Skate (09/01)
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