Best prospects to gather in Buffalo

As a hockey fan in the Midwest, you have to envy the folks in Buffalo, who will get a look at many of the top prospects to be selected in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft on the same ice on Sept. 24.

The fourth annual edition of the All-American Prospects Game will take place at the First Niagara Center in the border city bringing together 40 players all eligible for selection upcoming draft. For the players, it will be the start of a crazy season where every move they make, every shot they take and every shutout they break, will be done under watchful eyes.

Most of the prospects come out of the USHL, but there are some that are testing the waters in the OHL and WHL across the border and a couple that are entering their first year of college a little early.

Of the 40, 27 come out of the American Midwest, including two of the four goaltenders, seven of 14 defensemen and 18 of 22 forwards.

Following is a look at the Midwest based players in order of position and alphabetically:

Goaltenders

Ryan Edquist – A 6’0,” 170 lbs. goaltender from Lakeville, MN, Edquist is a ’98 who will play with the Madison Capitols this coming season and move on to University of Minnesota next fall.

Last season, Edquist played at Lakeville, High School, appearing in 25 games and posting a 1.43 Goals Against Average, with a .937 Save Percentage. He dazzled in three playoff matches with a 0.33 GAA and a .973 SP. He also made a late season debut with the Capitols, appearing in one game and he played two others with the USA U-17 Selects.

Tyler Parsons – A 6’1, 180 lbs. ’97 from Chesterfield, MI, Parsons will take his act north of the border this season as one of four players from this list that will suit up for the OHL’s London Knights.

Parsons will actually be a returnee to the Knights, having appeared in 33 regular season games last season with a 3.53 Goals Against Average and a .905 Save Percentage. He also helped the Knights in the post season, playing in eight games with a 3.43 GAA and a .917 SP.

Defense 

Michael Campoli – A 6’2,” 195 lbs. ’98 from Ann Arbor, MI, Campoli will play a second season with the US National Development Team, stepping into the U-18 ranks as he prepares to attend Boston College next year.

As a member of the U-17 Development team last season, the defender put up four assists and 18 penalty minutes in 55 total games, including 35 in the USHL.

Derek Daschke – A 6’2,” 190 lbs. ’98 defenseman from Troy, MI, Daschke will suit up for Cedar Rapids in the USHL for a second season in preparation for his move to the University of Western Michigan next fall.

Last season with the Roughriders, Daschke  put up 12 points and eight penalty minutes in 55 games and finished with a +9 rating. He also played four games with the U-17 USA Select Team and collected an assist.

Mitch Eliot – A 6’0, 190 lbs. ’98 from Grosse Pointe, MI, Eliot is the son of former NHL goaltender and current color analyst for the Detroit Red Wings, Darren Eliot. He will suit up for Muskegon in the USHL this season and has already commited to Michigan State next season.

Last season in 58 games at Muskegon, Eliot contributed four assists and 73 penalty minutes and was a +1 on the ice. In the post season, he played in 11 more games, adding an assist and 32 penalty minutes.

Ben Gleason – A 6’0,” 168 lbs. ’98 from Ortonville, MI, Gleason is the cousin of NHL defender Tim Gleason.

He will return for a second season with the OHL’s London Knights this fall, having collected five assists and 16 penalty minutes in 41 regular season games last season before moving into the post season where he played in four more games.

Alex Green  – A 6’1,” 173 lbs. ’98 defender from Chicago, Green will play a full season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks this fall and has committed to attend Cornell University next year.

Green played 25 games with Chicago Mission U-16 last season collecting five points (1g, 4a) and he also got a taste of USHL play, suiting up for three games with the Lumberjacks.

Ryan Lindgren – A 6’0,” 198 lbs. ’98 defender from Minneapolis, Lindgren will play a second season on the US National Development Team, moving from U-17 to U-18 and he plans to attend University of Minnesota next fall.

Last season, Lindgren played 55 games for the U-17 USNDTP and collected 19 points (3g, 16a) along with 85 penalty minutes. He was named Captain for the USA U-17 Select squad, playing six more games with them and picking up an assist.

Sam Rossini – A 6’3,” 198 lbs. ’98 from Inver Grove Heights, MN, Rossini is set to play with Waterloo, in the USHL this season and has already committed to move on to University of Minnesota next fall.

Rossini also played with Waterloo last year, collecting five points (1g, 4a) and 30 penalty minutes in 44 games. He also played in four games with the USA U-17 Selects, collecting three points (1g, 2a) and six penalty minutes.

Forwards 

Joey Anderson – A 5’11,” 195 lbs. ’98 from Roseville, MN, Anderson will return for a second season in the US National Development Team Program this year and move on to the University of Minnesota-Duluth next season.

Last year with the USNDTP U-17 team, Anderson played in 55 games and picked up 42 points (21g, 21a) and just eight penalty minutes.

Kieffer Bellows – A 6’1,” 195 lbs. ’98 from Edina, MN Bellows can rely on his father to get him through this pressure filled season. His father, Brian Bellows was selected second overall in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars. Bellows will return to the US National Development Team this season and will play at Boston University next fall.

Last season, Bellow helped Sioux Falls claim the Clark Cup in the USHL. In 58 regular season game he contributed 52 points (33g, 19a) and 78 penalty minutes while finishing as a +10 player on the ice. In the championship playoff run, he played in another dozen games, adding 12 points (9g, 3a) and 12 peanlty minutes and again finished with a +9 rating.

Bellows enters the season ranked #13 in the Hockprospect.com rankings and #17 by Future Considerations and he is clearly touted as a first round pick in next summer’s draft.

Alex DeBrincat – A 5’7,” 161 lbs. ’97 from Farmington Hills, MI, DeBrincat will return for a second season with the Erie Otters this season, having picked up more than 100 points in helping the team win the West Conference championship and get within a couple of games of the league title.

In 68 regular season games, DeBrincat collected 104 points (51g, 53a) and 73 penalty minutes and finished with an amazing +59 rating. He went on to play another 19 playoff matches and added 15 points (9g, 6a) and 26 penalty minutes.

Trent Frederic – A 6’2,” 205 lbs. ’98 from St. Louis, Frederick will return for a second season with the US National Development Team program this season before moving on to play at the University of Wisconsin next fall.

Last season, Frederic appeared in 55 games with the USNDTP U-17 squad and collected 14 points (5g, 9a) and 42 penalty minutes.

Tim Gettinger – A 6’5,” 216 lbs. ’98 from North Olmstead, OH, Gettinger will be playing his second season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League this fall.

In his rookie season in the Soo, Gettinger collected 25 points (10g, 15a) and 13 penalty minutes and finished with a +10 rating in 54 regular season games, before going on to play another six in the playoffs where he added a goal and an assist and one minor penalty. Gettinger also played in four games with the US U-17 National Select team in four games and scored a goal.

Max Jones – Another second generation prospect, Jones is a 6’2,” 2015 lbs. ’98 from Rochester, MI who is moving to the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights this fall.

His father, Brad Jones, played in 148 NHL games after being drafted in the Eighth Round (156th Overall) in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.

Last season Jones played 38 games with the US National Development Team U-17 squad, picking up 28 points (18g, 10a) and 189 penalty minutes.

A physical and competitive winger, Jones is currently ranked #5 by both Hockeyprospect.com and Future Considerations and appears a shoe-in to be a First Rounder at the 2016 NHL Entry draft.

Clayton Keller – A 5’9,” 165 lbs. ’98 from Swansea, IL, Keller will return to the US National Development Team this fall and will suit up for Boston University next fall.

Last season split time between the U-17 and U-18 clubs playing in the USHL and Internationally with both. In 45 games with the U-17 team he collected 59 points (25g, 34a) and 24 penalty minutes while adding another 23 points (9g, 14a) in 16 games with the U-18 squad as well.

A skilled forward who came out of the Shattuck St. Mary’s program, Keller is currently ranked at #23 by Future Considerations while hockeyprospect.com lists him at #9.

William Knierim – A 6’3,” 213 lbs. ’98 from Skokie, IL, Knierem will begin his second season of play in the USHL this fall at Dubuque and he has already committed to attend Miami of Ohio next year.

Last season at Dubuque, Kierim played in all 60 regular season games collecting 28 points (12g, 16a) and 90 penalty minutes and in another eight playoff games he collected seven more points (4g, 3a) and eight penalty minutes. He also appeared in four international games with the USA U-17 Select team an picked up four points (1g, 3a) and 16 penalty minutes.

Jack Kopacka – A 6’2,” 190 lbs. ’98 from Lapeer, MI, Kopacka is another that has chosen the Major Junior option and he is headed for what he hopes will be his first full season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League this fall.

Kopacka last season played four games in the Soo, picking up an assist while also turning in 21 games with the Compuware U-18 team collecting 18 points (8g, 10a) in 21 games. Kopacka was also included on the U-17 USA Select Team roster for four games.

Luke Kunin – A 6′,0″ 195 lbs. ’97 from Chesterfield, MO, Kunin is headed to University of Wisconsin as a freshman this fall having graduated out of the US National Development Team Program.

Last year, with the U-18 team, he appeared in 61 games and wore the captain’s ‘C’. In USHL and exhibition play, he collected 42 points (27g, 15a) and 34 penalty minutes.

William Lockwood – A 5’10,” 151 lbs. ‘9 from Bloomfield Hills, MI, Lockwood will be returning for a second season with the US National Development Team Program this sesason before moving on to University of Michigan next fall.

As a member of the U-17 Development Team last season, Lockwood played 53 games and collected 21 points (14g, 7a) along with 16 penalty minutes. He added three points (2g, 1a) in six International games with the U-17 Select squad.

Mitchell Mattson – A 6’4,” 190 lbs. ’98 from Grand Rapids, MN; Mattson will return for a second season with the Bloomington Thunder in the USHL this month and plans to attend University of North Dakota next year.

Last season Mattson played in 13 games with the expansion Thunder, collecting seven points (2g, 5a) and a minor penalty and finished with a +2 rating on the ice — impressive on an expansion team that had its struggles. Before playing in Bloomington, Mattson first played an impressive final season at Grand Rapids High School in Minnesota, contributing 48 points (22g, 26a) in a 25 game regular season and added three more (1g, 2a) in a couple of playoff encounters.

Mattson also appeared in four games with the Team USA U-17 Selects where he scored a goal and added two assists.

Drake Rymsha – A 6’0,” 183 lbs. ’98 from Huntington Woods, MI, Rymsha will suit up for a second season with the London Knights in the OHL.

Last year, Rymsha played in 62 games with the Knights, picking up 12 points (5g, 7a) and 51 minutes in penalties. He has already played in the Ivan Hlinka tournament last month for the Team USA U-18 Selects and he picked up a goal and assist in the Czech Republic/Slovakia event.

James Sanchez – A 6’2,” 190 lbs. ’98 from Northbrook, IL, Sanchez is another from the US National Development Team and he will be attending University of Michigan in 2016.

Last season in 52 games with the U-17 Development Team, Sanchez contributed 13 points (6g, 7a) and 74 penalty minutes and he also played in six games with the USA U-17 Select Team, picking up an assist and a minor penalty.

Keenan Suthers – A 6’7,” 220 lbs. ’98 from Macomb, MI will be headed back to the US National Development Team this season before moving on to the University of Western Michigan next year.

Last season, in 53 games with the U-17 team, Suthers collected 11 points (4g, 7a) and 27 penalty minutes and he played in another half dozen games with the Team USA U-17 Selects, picking up a goal and assist.

Matthew Tkachuk – A 6’1,” 196 lbs. ’97 from St. Louis, Tkachuk is another second generation talent, the son of Keith Tkachuk, a legendary American talent who started a great NHL career after being drafted in the First Round (19th Overall) in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.

Tkachuk is rated as the #4 Prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft by both Hockeyprospect.com and Future Considerations. He played on the US National Development Team U-18 squad last season, collecting 96 points (38g, 58a) and 119 penalty minutes in 65 games. He also played for Team USA in the World U-18 Championships, picking up 12 points (2g, 10a) in seven games.

Riley Tufte –  A 6’5,” 205 lbs. ’98 from Ham Lake, MN, Tufte will be playing his first full season with Fargo, in the USHL having made a seven game debut at the end of last season. He is already set to attend the University of Minnesota-Duluth next season.

Tufte began a busy 2014-15 season as the captain of the Blaine High School team. In 24 regular season games, he contributed 51 points (23g, 28a) and 30 penalty minutes and he helped the team to a deep playoff run that sended in the State Consolation event. In six playoff games, he added 12 more points (6g, 6a) and one minor penalty.

Following that, he moved on to Fargo and picked up five points (1g, 4a) in his seven games. Tufte also played 21 games with Team Northeast in high school play, collecting 21 points (12g, 9a) in 21 regular season games and another two assists in three post season games.

As a member of the Team USA U-17 Selects, Tufte appeared in six more games and assisted on one goal.

Garrett Wait – A 5’11,” 163 lbs. ’98 from Edina, MN, Waite will play with Waterloo in the USHL this fall and move on to the University of Minnesota next year.

Wait last season played with Edina High School and picked up 65 points (22g, 43a) in 24 regular season games before adding 11 points (3g, 8a) in five playoff matches.

He added an assist at the Ivan Hlinka tournament earlier in the summer.