PLYMOUTH, Mich. — The future is almost here.
On Wednesday, USA Hockey kicked off its National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp. This year, the NTDP is looking at 2010-born players to make its U17 team for next season.
It's a big deal.
There were two games played on Thursday, with players suiting up for Team Larkin and Team McAvoy. One was at 9 a.m., while the other was at 3:30 p.m. I combined both games into this story.
It was my first day at camp, so I picked the players who popped the most. This story is not indicative of who I think should make the team, or players who are in the best position to.
Let's dive in.
Colby Arnold
St. Louis AAA Blues 15O, 3/19/2010, G, catches left, 5-10/163
Hometown: O'Fallon, Mo.Â
Arnold came within 49.6 seconds of a shutout, which is mind-boggling for this kind of event. Arnold didn't give up many rebounds and had intelligent positioning to cut down angles. He was always square to shots, and while he's athletic, he didn't need to flop around to make saves.
Joey Cullen
Moorhead High, 4/17/2010, F, left shot, 5-11/161
Hometown: Moorhead, Minn.Â
Cullen was arguably the best player on Thursday. His mix of pure, dynamic speed and skill in transition made him a constant play-driver. On offensive zone cycles, he was able to make creative passes to teammates that defenders weren't expecting. When the puck was on Cullen's stick, he had no problem holding onto it and moving his feet to open up more lanes. It wasn't much of a shock that Team Larkin forward Ryan Teuscher had a hat trick playing with Cullen in the second game. Cullen is the son of longtime NHL forward Matt Cullen.
Dylan Delgado
Honeybaked 15O, 7/20/2010, F, left shot, 5-10/161
Hometown: Weston, Fla.Â
Delgado's hands were absurd. He was able to dangle defenders with ease and get to scoring areas. He was the perfect kind of subtle winger for a play-driving center. He made nice, small-area passes under pressure and showed a high IQ. Delgado is stronger than he may seem for someone his size. On one play, Team Larkin defenseman Evan Miller stepped up and got all of him, but Delgado was able to stay on his feet and maintain possession.
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Sam Lee
Belmont Hill, 9/29/2010, F, left shot, 5-11/161
Hometown: Woburn, Mass.Â
Lee has been highly productive through three games (I wasn't there for Wednesday's game, but he had multiple points). In Thursday morning's game, he had a sweet goal off the rush. He was assertive with pucks and drew a penalty with his shiftiness. In the afternoon game, he scored a beauty, coming from the corner, dangling through defenders and sniping one upstairs over the goalie.
Maverick McKinnon
St. Thomas Academy High, 9/14/2010, F, right shot, 5-9/170
Hometown: Forest Lake, Minn.Â
McKinnon is why I mentioned earlier that Cullen was arguably the best player on Thursday. The Forest Lake, Minn., native was assertive with pucks as a play-driving center. His patience with pucks was outstanding, and his vision in all situations was high-end. He was strong, too, not allowing defenders to knock him off pucks. He was reliable on face-offs. I always noticed when he was on the ice.
Carter Morris
Shattuck-St. Mary's 16U, 1/22/2010, F, left shot, 5-10/165
Hometown: Anchorage, AlaskaÂ
Morris was at his best in the afternoon game. His skill, mixed with his dynamic skating, made him a force down the middle. In the first period, that speed allowed him to beat a defender, get a shot off and then score around the net moments later. Even when he didn't have the puck, his feet were always moving. That speed came in handy on forechecks, too, as he made smart reads to intercept breakouts. He set Team Larkin forward Jack Trupiano up with a beautiful pass through traffic right above the crease.
Jack Queally
St. Sebastian's, 7/27/2010, F, left shot, 5-11/181
Hometown: Norwood, Mass.Â
There are a lot of high-skill, top-six projected forwards at camp. Queally is one of the only ones who played both sides of the puck well on Thursday. He was assertive and patient with pucks, especially in the morning game. He was all about getting off quick shots in the morning game. Come the afternoon, his hustle was apparent, on one play lifting the stick of a guy zipping ahead of him and stealing the puck. He was also one of the only players to stir things up with opposing players.
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Chase Schulberger
Woodbridge Wolfpack 15O, 11/9/2010, D, right shot, 6-2/190
Hometown: Quakertown, Pa.Â
Schulberger showed himself as a strong two-way presence. He wasn't afraid to jump into the offense and handled pucks well. In the afternoon game, his rush led to Teuscher scoring on a rebound. In his own zone, Schulberger maintained good gaps and stepped up in the neutral zone to kill plays. What I loved most, though, was his mean streak. There was a lot of skill on the ice Thursday, but not a ton of physicality. Schulberger brought a dose of that. Also, when pucks went high, he was grabbing guys down low to cover them.
Dean Stevens
Minnetonka Bantam AA, 9/18/2010, F, right shot, 5-8/141
Hometown: Excelsior, Minn.Â
If I were a defenseman and I was even slightly caught flat-footed, Stevens might be the last person I'd want to see coming down my side with the puck. Stevens' speed is explosive. His shiftiness and edgework set him apart on Thursday. Pair that with his wicked release, and Stevens was one of the top players. His hands also allowed him to get to space.
Ryan Teuscher
Fox Motors 15O, 1/16/2010, F, left shot, 5-8/170
Hometown: Wyoming, Mich.Â
Teuscher had a hat trick in the afternoon game. His first goal came off a pure snipe from a weird angle, while the second was a rebound and the third was a one-timer. I liked Teuscher's compete. There was one play in which two defenders were all over him and he fought them off and delivered a pass to the slot.
Blake Wilichoski
Milton Academy, 4/18/2010, F, right shot, 5-11/161
Hometown: Danvers, Mass.Â
Wilichoski scored a nice goal in the second period of the morning game. On an odd-man rush, Wilichoski faked the pass across and instead dished it back to the trailing player. He got the puck back and scored on a wraparound. The biggest thing with Wilichoski was his patience with pucks and willingness to hold until the right play became available. He was much better in the morning than in the afternoon, which was true for most of his team as well.
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Nikolai Zhukov
Hermantown High, 8/30/2010, D, right shot, 6-0/172
Hometown: Proctor, Minn.Â
Zhukov's awareness on breakouts was apparent. He was able to sense pressure and get moving to the weak side to jump-start the breakout. That was especially on display in the morning game when he used his good footwork to slide away from pressure. From the blue line, he had a wicked shot that he was able to get off quickly. He scored on a shot that slipped through the goalie in the second game.
