Game played on 1/11/2025.
General Game Notes: The US NTDP’s U-17 squad visited the Lincoln Stars for a Saturday night USHL contest. Neutral Zone scouted the game which quickly spiraled for the visit youngsters. Lincoln found space to operate deep in the NTDP’s end and flummoxed the USA goalie with a barrage of early shots. An early timeout did nothing to stem the bleeding for the U-17 squad. After six goals against in the first, a goaltender change was made with the more experienced Carrithers coming in for Slavik. Despite the goalie swap, the homeside Stars scored two more goals before the first intermission. The rest of the game was a chance for Neutral Zone to see which U-17 players continued to play hard despite the big deficit, and to observe some of the depth players for Lincoln (included a few uncommitted ones). In the end it was 11-2 for Lincoln, who remain near the top of the Western Conference.
Kade Kohanski (C, R, 5’10”, 185, Lincoln Stars, 06/02/2005)
Grade: B
Comments: Kade Kohanski is a 2005-born, developing forward for the USHL Lincoln Stars. He plays a little smaller than his measurables. He follows in after the play and operates along the perimeters. He has an opportunistic approach to the game flow. With the puck he can make a clever pass, such as his backhand feed late in the first for an assist. Kohanski gets to the net perimeter on the attack. He is static as he turns, but can cut cross-ice quickly. He lined up at Center more often then not tonight, struggling with faceoff draws early but rebounding to finish around 50%. Kohanski had some clean faceoff wings while on the powerplay unit. Kohanski is currently uncommitted.
Aiden Janz (LW, L, 5’9″, 175, Lincoln Stars, 05/05/2007)
Grade: A-
Comments: Aiden Janz is an eager, young (2007 born) forward for the USHL Lincoln Stars. Despite his youth, this winger plays with good situational awareness. Janz has well-time zone entries on the rush while carrying speed. On offense he finds openings. He scraps to the net front, earning a late tip-in goal in this game. Janz has fast footwork, using his edges to accelerate. Janz is an intelligent forward who plays smart but tough hockey and is currently uncommitted.
Hunter Anderson (LW, L, 5’9″, 185, Lincoln Stars, 04/28/2005, Denver)
Grade: B
Comments: Hunter Anderson recently moved to Lincoln from Sioux Falls. He Denver commit had mixed, but at times impressive debut weekend. Anderson moves north-south along the boards and can sneak in behind the defense. At times, however, he seemed to stutter and was unsure of the play (perhaps due to his new surroundings). On the attack he was offside at times (again, he’s new to the team). His has noticeably good stickhandling. The puck is in and out as he delivers instant puck movement. With possession he cuts side-to-side for seamless passing. Hunter had an early assist on the goal that chased the NTDP’s starting goalie out. He added a goal in the second period off of a very well-placed and patient assist from #13Shlaine. When on defense, though, Anderson was a bit of a turnstile, barely engaging. His energy level may have been down with his team up by a touchdown. Anderson is an offensively minded winger who moves the puck impressively. He seems to still be finding his way on his new USHL team.
Nikolas Young (D, L, 6’0″, 167, Lincoln Stars, 03/21/2006, Clarkson)
Grade: B+
Comments: Nikolas Young is a high-end offensive defenseman with a big shot. The 2006-born Clarkson commit is not the fastest skater on the ice, but he moves well with a balanced stance. He scored two goals against the overmatched U-17 NTDP. He let go a big shot from inside the faceoff circle, smoking the NTDP’s goalie for his first goal of the game. Later on in the opening period, he backhand-flipped the puck into a small opening to beat the netminder (and resultingly, chased the starter out of the game). He used his size to keep the smaller U-17 forwards away from his team’s net front. Young is a promising, balanced blueliner for the Lincoln Stars.
Jack Pechar (RW, R, 6’1″, 197, Lincoln Stars, 03/20/2005, Northeastern)
Grade: A-
Comments: Jack Pechar is a balance forward for the USHL Lincoln Stars. Usually a Right Wing, he lined up at Center tonight and won about two-thirds of his faceoff draws. Pechar brings the puck up ice effectively, using acceleration and upper-body movement to move into the attack zone. He scored the opening goal of the game, using quick hands to flip in a pass at the net front. Pechar has an athletic build and he works for loose pucks along the boards. Chasing a rebound along the end boards, he let go a quick pass from behind he net for an assist. Pechar is a well-rounded forward who played a productive game against an overmatch opponenet. He is purportedly committed to Northeastern.
Jonas Kemps (D, L, 6’6″, 185, USA NTDP U17, 01/16/2008, Minnesota State)
Grade: B
Comments: Jonas Kemps is a sizable, mobile defenseman for the U-17 US NTDP. The 2008-born MSU commit was one of the few defenders for USA to play effective against Lincoln’s offense. Kemps played effective in-close defense, tracking his opponent throughout the zone. Kemps was able to turn and shift in motion to track his opponent. He positions well and uses his size in defense. He was able to use his bulk to check, or block, effectively stop offensive chances. Sometimes he played a little off the puck and was slow to react, however. Kemps did well to actively defend even as the out-of-hand game wore on.
Sammy Nelson (LW, R, 6’2″, 185, NTDP U17, 09/19/2008)
Grade: B
Comments: Sammy Nelson is a big-bodied two-way forward for the US NTDP U-17 squad. He is north-south mobile and showed range with his feet and his stick reach when defending. Nelson is a 200-foot player, and consistently went end-to-end despite the big deficit. Defensively, he disrupted the flow of the opponents in their own end. Nelson continued to play with effort as the blowout dragged on. He had a notable play late in the game, showing calm nerves and hand-end coordination: Nelson had his stick knocked loose, but grabbed it mid-air. He then went back down the ice to challenge and opponent for the puck and stall the Stars” offensive rush. Nelson struggled to win faceoffs tonight. Nelson is a young (2008 born), defensive forward [uncommitted].
Abe Barnett (D, L, 6’1″, 180, NTDP U17, 09/21/2008)
Grade: B
Comments: Abe Barnett is a well-built defenseman for the US NTDP’s U-17 squad. He sweeps into position on defense. He is not the fastest skater on the team, but gets where he needs to be with smooth movement in all four directions. Barnett keeps his head on a swivel against the opposing rush. He back-skates smoothly and keeps a wide stance. He pursued the attackers along the perimeter on defense. It was a total team defeat, but it would have helped to have seen Barnett more actively engage the Stars forwards physically (considering he has bigger, muscular frame). Still, he did well to stay disciplined on defense despite the huge deficit on the scoreboard. [uncommitted]
Lucas Zajic (RW, R, 5’11”, 175, NTDP U17, 01/19/2008)
Grade: B
Comments: Lukas Zajic is a two-way forward for the U-17 team of the US NTDP. The young (2008 born) Badgers commit made some plays in both ends of the ice. On defense, he showed a strong base. Zajic played tough and played close defense to hold his ground against larger opponents. On offense, he delivered strong, quick passes. His short and intermediate feeds had a little heat on them but were on-tape. While not especially fast, Zajic is quick and dodgy in traffic. He can keep moving in short steps to create open passing lanes. He was calm and aware the puck, not pressing the action despite the huge deficit his team faced.
Trevor Theuer (LW, L, 5’10”, 180, Saginaw Spirit, 02/12/2008)
Grade: B+
Comments: Trevor Theuer is a young (2008 born), talented winger for the NTDP’s U-17 squad. In a lopsided game he helped provide a little offensive pressure for the US team. The Miami commit is slick with the puck, sneaking through tight spaces with possession. He is hard to catch and is slippery when pursued by the defenders. Theuer is shorter but thickly build; Without possession, he holds his position at the net front and doesn’t get budged. He had an assist on the first goal, sending a pass to #54 Glance who tipped it in for the score.
Landon Amrhein (F, R, 6’4″, 185, NTDP U17, 04/06/2008)
Grade: B+
Comments: Landon Amrhein is a 2008-born winger for the US NTDP U-17 team who play a hard game as his team was down badly. He played smart, tough defense and pestered the opponents. The uncommitted forward out of Texas was active and aggressive with stick-on defending late in the game. On offense, he holds the puck and circles. He is deceptively fast and has good balance turning on his edges. He made a nice play late in the game to circle with the puck, out-flacking the defense. He then spun around for a late goal for the NTDP.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images