| Michael Lastarza | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | L | RW | 5’10” | 185 | Boston University | 2022 | Montreal, QC | 2004 | 2021-2022: C+ |
USHL: Des Moines Buccaneers vs Waterloo Blackhawks, December 31, 2021: In the 5-3 win versus Des Moines LaStarza earned 18:28 in total ice time, including 4:15 while on the power play. Statistically he finished with 2 assists, was +1, 3 shots on goal (3PP), 2 grade “A” scoring chances, received 2 hits, had 1 additional shot blocked and had 6 giveaways compared to 3 takeaways. LaStarza played an important role this night for the Hawks providing offense at a key time during the game. With LaStarza’s agility combined with long ice speed, he is a threat to any defenseman flat footed. He picked up a couple points, one being quite a fortuitous bounce. He shows himself off well in the offensive zone but something needs to be said about his compete level in his own zone. LaStarza created turnovers with stick battles and stick lifts and that last second effort could have played a part in keeping a puck out of his own net. LaStarza is strong on his skates as well, being able to absorb hits and make plays off of them. He’ll reverse you if you think he’s not ready for contact. Grade: A-
USHL: Waterloo Black Hawks vs Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, November 27, 2021: In the 5-3 loss to Cedar Rapids La Starza earned 14:50 in total ice time, including 1:26 while on the power play. He did not contribute to the shorthanded game. Statistically he finished with 1 goal and 1 assist, an even plus / minus rating, 2 shots on goal, 1 grade “A” scoring opportunity, had 1 hit and 4 giveaways versus 3 takeaways. It was a nice offensive night for La Starza. On his goal he showed awareness by reading that Cedar Rapids’ weakside defenseman was caught flat footed in transition. As he saw his linemate had total control of the puck La Starza flew by him into open ice where received the pass and went in to score on a breakaway where he showed the quick hands to fake backhand-forehand before bring the puck to his backhand to roof it. On his primary assist he carried a puck along the strongside wall through the neutral zone where he sucked the opposing defenseman into stepping up on him at the offensive blueline. He then gave a beautiful five foot touch pass to a streaking middle drive who went in to score the goal. Both goals are examples of the natural offensive instincts that La Starza has and his ability to create for himself and his teammates.
USHL: Waterloo Black Hawks vs Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, November 25, 2021: In the 3-2 loss to Cedar Rapids La Starza earned 16:32 in total ice time, including 2:20 while on the power play and 0:04 while shorthanded. Statistically he finished with 0 points, was -1, had 4 shots on goal (3PP), 1 grade “A” scoring opportunity, went 1 for 1 on face-offs, had 3 shots blocked and had 8 giveaways versus to 6 takeaways. La Starza is a slightly undersized skilled, slippery forward who plays a speed and possession game. He has a good first step to get moving in open ice and pull away from back checkers. He loves to carry the puck through open ice and patiently holds onto the puck to make the right play. He keeps his head up and demonstrates excellent patience with the puck. When carrying the puck through open ice, he displays good speed, lateral movement, stop/start ability, and change of direction. He is smart about when to utilize the button hook after entering the offensive zone which byes him time and space and allows him to distribute the puck for offensive opportunities. Grade: B+
USHL: Waterloo Black Hawks vs Tri-City Storm, November 13, 2021: In the 5-1 loss to Tri-City La Starza earned 17:19 in total ice time, including 3:41 while on the power play. He did not contribute to the shorthanded game. Statistically he finished with 1 assist, an even plus / minus rating, 27 minutes in penalties, lost his only face-off, has 2 hits, had 3 shots blocked and 10 giveaways versus 3 takeaways. In offensive situations La Starza was constantly in motion and very difficult to keep an eye on. While cycling his continuous stopping and starting, tight turns and changes of pace made allowed him to present an open stick that was prepared to receive passes and make plays. On line rushes we liked how he used his speed as the middle drive to blow past the weakside defenseman sprinting to the far post and then make a hard cut to the near post once he was behind the Tri-City defenseman. It was a great way to use his lower body strength or leverage to take the opposing defender’s legs away creating space for himself. We also liked La Starza’s passion and emotion. He finished with 27 minutes in penalties with all of them being hard earned minutes. The first 2 penalty minutes were from a post whistle scrum in the first period and the remaining 25 minutes were from a fight with Shawn McEwen with 2 minutes remaining in the third period. It may have been an ugly loss for Waterloo, but there is zero doubt that National League organizations loved the fire and competitiveness La Starza showed all night.
USHL: Weekend #4, October 27, 2021: He handles the puck with confidence, he’s not afraid to make plays in the offensive zone. Does a good job at not getting overwhelmed in pressure situations. He’s able to possess the puck and control the game in the offensive zone. Made nice plays sucking opponents in only to dish to a teammate and get back into open ice. Plays hard in his own and takes care of the puck. He can reverse hit players to give himself that split second of time and space to make another play. Grade: B+
USHL: Dubuque vs Waterloo, March 30, 2021: La Starza, the youngest player on the ice in this game, was Waterloo’s best forward. His highlight play was on the penalty kill here he broke up a play and carried the puck through the neutral zone and cut inside on the defender who was playing him too loose and then drop pass to Reiners. He then slowed, opened up his stance and called for the puck to get it back and rifled a one-timer by the goalie just inside the post. The drop pass showed good vision but it was his ability to read the defender, see the one-timer option and open up for the shot that was even more impressive than the actual shot. He’s young but he’s able to play in every situation man up and man down because he has a high hockey IQ and situational awareness. He’s strong on his stick and balanced on his edges allowing him to get off checks and make plays in traffic and he was excellent on zone entries knowing when to attack the net or drive wide on a defender and when to curl back and pass to the late trailers. He isn’t a burner but he’s got a powerful stride that can power through body contact and he rides his edges well when going wide on defenders and cutting to the net. One of those plays was a nice wide drive and backhand sauce centering pass on the tape. La Starza has soft hands, vision and playmaking ability and plays the game the right way with a three-zone compete level and excelling on first line penalty kill and first line power play. College: Boston University Grade: A-
USHL: Waterloo vs. Sioux City, November 14, 2020: Michael was a tender pick by the Blackhawks and is an 2004 birth year. He is used in all situations and plays big minutes on the top unit. He is skilled with the puck on his stick and made several slick plays in space. He is still adjusting to the speed of this league but his spacing and timing are getting better. Scored a goal off an offensive zone face-off by snapping the puck under the bar. Used on the Power Play and excels when given extra time and space. Sees the ice well and constantly looks to make cross-ice reads to create chances. Works hard in each zone. On one occasion lost the puck behind the offensive goal, stopped and tracked the defender down, before stealing the puck back and starting the offensive rush again. Grade: A-
U16: Team Quebec Camp, August 17, 2019: An offensive dynamo who’s always creating chances off quick breaks and odd man rushes. Lastarza is a hound on the puck who possesses tremendous strength by winning his battles and going into the tough areas. He’s great on his edges where he’s able to move fluently side to side and beat defenders in tight quarters. Throughout the weekend he was challenging defenseman in one on one situations often creating high quality scoring chances. Although Lastarza was a little snake bit during the week he displayed a solid combination of power and skill all week, which is a rare combination to find with hockey players. At the next level, Lastarza will need to focus on using his linemates as he sometimes holds on to the puck for a too long, leading to turnovers and poor puck management. In addition, he will have to focus on the defensive side of his game, primarily in his own end where he is often skates around aimlessly.
U16: Junior Chowder Cup, August 6, 2019: La Starza was an offensive force at Junior Chowder Cup – he was very slippery in the offensive zone and was able to exploit the smallest gaps in coverage. He glides around the sheet with ease at this level and we saw him take a few tours of the attacking zone without defenders being able to slow him down. Additionally, he is able to adjust to his surroundings well and use his feet to catch passes. We saw one play where he kicked the puck to his stick without breaking stride which allowed him to generate a quality chance. He was a top point producer finishing two points behind the round robin points leader (he had 10 in three games, with seven of them being goals) with two more in two playoff games. He will merit a close watch next season as he looks ready to take a big step. Grade: B+
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
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