8/20/10 - Vol One

    Since it’s inception in 1996, the Prospects tournament has turned out more NHL and collegiate players than any other off-season tourney of its kind.  For the second straight year I entered a team loaded with talent.  This year, Joey Haydock (Stevens Point), Derek Knetter (Wausau West) and Dylan Dock (River Falls) made the trip and all three of them are moving on to junior hockey this season.  Haydock, a ’92 birth date, is a speedy forward and developing quickly into a NAHL prospect.  Signed by the Janesville Jets (NAHL) at their main camp this past month, Haydock’s age, his talent and his work ethic will carry him this season. 

    Dylan Dock, the River Falls native, earned a roster spot on Springfield (NAHL) after considering a spot on one of the two Ontario junior league teams courting him.  Dock, a ’91, is a North American league player.  He has “NA” speed, puck skills and grit.  He is a blast to watch on the ice and even better to listen to in the locker room. 

    Knetter is headed to Janesville (NAHL), but I’m predicting that he eventually ends up in the USHL before playing division one.  That’s a bold prediction, but his big frame, his athleticism, his 3.978 GPA and the 29 he put up for an ACT score makes him a prime candidate for a prestigious university some where.  I spoke with a college coach in Toronto that weekend that was in love with his skill and his over all game.  He watched Derek play the weekend before in Minneapolis and he was shocked a USHL team hadn’t nabbed him.

    Max Strasser (Beaver Dam), an unknown to most in the state, is headed to Owatonna of the NAHL for 2010-2011.  Strasser is an interesting project.  He has great speed, break away speed and he’s physical.  Strasser is roughly 6'0" and 185 lbs. and he is so tough to knock off the puck.  His speed and his '92 birth year makes a a NA prospect and poissibly a USHL player if he figures out the game at the next level.  He could use some work on his play away from the puck and getting his teammates a little more involved, but those things can be hashed out at the next level and are typical when you’re one of the best guys on your high school team.  
 
   Russell Oakes (Beloit), goaltender Brad Jerzewski (Edgewood) and Eric Loasby (Appleton United) also made the Toronto trip and are headed to the tier three, Minnesota Junior Hockey League.  Brad, tendered by Rochester (MNJHL), had a great career at Edgewood and could make the leap to the NAHL with a big year at the tier three level.  The same can be said about Loasby and Oakes.  However, all three are ’91 birthdates and their junior clocks are ticking fast.

    Amery's Kyle Schultz, the state's fifth leading scorer in 2009-2010, skated with Russell, Brad and Eric in Toronto, but they will square off several times next season against each other in the MnJHL.  Schultz signed with the Minnesota Wildcats after a fantastic senior season, asolid weekend in Toronto and a nice off-season. 

    Trevor Hoth (Stoughton), Nick Deery (West Salem) and Kamen Klasinski (Pacelli) had big off-seasons with me and were outstanding in Toronto.  Hoth is convincingly one of the best forwards in the state and is being recognized for it.  After a freshman campaign with the Madison Capitols, Trevor Hoth has been to the WIAA State Tournament in both his sophomore and junior years and has carried his Stoughton squad offensively in the process.  Hoth has played back to back years on my Toronto team and has drawn the attention of a few scouts in both the USHL and the NAHL. 

    Deery is a West Salem kid that I met last summer through goalie guru, Larry Clemens, at Mike Valley’s goalie clinic.  Nick, a ’94 birth date, has a unique story.  I took Nick on my Toronto team despite the fact that he has never played a period of varsity high school hockey.  As a sophomore last year at West Salem, Nick feared he would get cut from the varsity Sparta/West Salem Co-op.  In fact, with two senior goaltenders battling for the same spot, Nick would have been cut.  So Nick took a third string back up spot or a “practice goalie” role with the Hudson Crusaders of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League.  He played a total of five games in 2009-2010 with Hudson, but entering the 2010-2011 season I would wager to say that he has been on the ice more then any other goalie in the state and against some elite competition.  Deery has been sound in nearly every Wisco event he attended this summer and he basically skated in my entire off-season schedule.  He has worked his tail off and has turned himself into one of the states best at the midget level. 

    This was Klasinski’s second straight Toronto trip with me and if you don’t know who Kamen is, then you haven’t done your homework.  Last year as a sophomore, Klasinski, the Stevens Point native and two sport athlete, injured his ankle playing for Pacelli’s football team and was limited to 15 games for Pacelli’s hockey team in 2009-2010.  His injury and probably the fact that he plays for Pacelli, has kept Kamen a secret to puck pundits here in Wisconsin, but he has quickly turned into a top prospect.  Klasinski is 6’0” 185 and athletic.  He put up 23 goals and 16 assists in 15 games last year and plays both defense and forward.  I feel defense fits his skill set the best.  He sees the ice really well, makes a great first pass, can bail out of trouble with a nice escape move, has good hands, decent footwork for a defenseman and is what I call a “pond duck” others call it an offensive, defensemen.  He gets the game and doesn’t see it as a game with different positions, rather a game with six guys working together to put the puck in the opposition’s net and keeping out of his own. 

    Some other notables who made the Toronto trip were players who put up some gaudy numbers last high school season as juniors.  They have all had nice off-seasons and they have their senior year ahead of them for further development.  They are talented prospects, they need to continue to work, but I’m confident their best hockey is still ahead of them.  Defensemen Dylan Zink (Monona Grove) forwards Connor Johnston (Monona Grove), Jon Langan (Sheboygan), Jay Routheau (Green Bay United) and Kyle Fink (CMP) fall in this group.  Zink has good feet, great hands, nice vision and a little rocket for a shot.  Johnston also has a solid set of puck skills and he can wheel.  Langan is a lanky forward with some speed and he shows his agility while attacking defenseman one on one, while Routheau is a physical player that brings a ton of energy each shift and has a nose for the net.  He (Routheau) is developing quickly as is Kyle Fink from Catholic Memorial/Pius.  Fink has a tremendous upside.  He flew under most of Wisconsin's radar last year but showed up on mine after I attended a few CMP games last season while watching teammate Cody Dixon.  Fink is a heads up hockey player, with good speed, solid puck skils and awesome puck protection.  As a senior in 2010-2011, Fink should develop into a NAHL prospect.

For information on the 2011 Wiscohockey.com Prospect tournament team click here...

Tournament Website

"This is the most amazing hockey weekend for an elite player, a coach and for hockey mom and dad," Coach Chris Walby. 

          
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