Cedar Rapid’s 2024 NHL Draft eligible players that Moran watched closely.
| Elliott Groenewold | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL | L | D | 6’2″ | 200 | Quinnipiac | 2025 | Montpelier, VT | 2006 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Elliott Groenewold played a team high 22:10. He also had a team high 6 power play shots with only one hitting the net and 4 of those attempts being blocked by Youngstown penalty killers. None of those blocked shots led to the puck leaving the offensive zone but each killed valuable power play time, power play momentum and will not be tolerated at higher levels. He had two minor penalties with the first coming with 1:00 remaining in the first period when he hauled a man down after getting caught flat footed at the defensive blueline during defensive transition. The second minor penalty came during a scrum after Youngstown’s fifth goal. In the 6-1 loss this was his only minus but it occurred after he misread a 3 on 2 line rush and left the middle ice before his backcheckers could get to the trailing forward. Groenewold did have a grade “A” opportunity on a third period 5 on 3 power play but again the shot was blocked. He engaged in 11 puck battles winning 6 of them (55%). His CORSI was -11.
As a 6’2″, 200lbs left shot defenseman Groenewold is really interesting. He skates well, has smooth lateral mobility and the puck doesn’t slow him down. As a 2006 it’s very impressive that he’s averaging over 19:00 per game in the USHL and I love that he’s winning 54% of his 50/50 puck battles. But here are a few things that are worth paying attention to when trying to figure where he goes in the draft. What’s his role? Where is he going to fit on an NHL roster or depth chart? I don’t see him as a power play guy.. maybe in the AHL on a shoot first unit. But with his size, skating ability and compete can he play against the other team’s top offensive unit and be a consistent penalty killer? And I find it a bit worrisome that he’s averaging having one shot blocked per-game. I know this game versus Youngstown was outlandish by having four shots blocked but that is a trait that ends careers before they even get started. I still like him though and think he’s got the physical traits that NHL development coaches will love to work with. I also love his path of going to Bishop’s, then USHL and then to Quinnipiac because he’s going to get good hard coaching and that’s the style he’s going to have to play to get to the NHL.
| Erik Kald | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL | R | D | 6’2″ | 198 | Merrimack | 2025 | Oyster Bay, NY | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Erik Kald earned 9:28 in ice time (7th among D) including 1:43 on the PP (5th among D). He did not play PK. The right shot defender finished tied for a team worst -3. The first minus came on Youngstown’s first goal when Kald unfortunately mis read a 2 on 1 rush as a 1 on 1 and was caught way outside the left dot-lane allowing for a breakaway from the defensive blueline in. The second goal against was on the second goal of the game where Kald was drawn back to the far blueline by Youngstown’s stretch man. After sagging back he was caught flat footed allowing for an easy zone entry and a one-timer in the high slot. Yes there is no doubt that his backcheckers were puck watching and left him out to dry but he was still caught flat footed at his defensive blueline. His third minus came on the the forth goal against after he mishandled a puck from his glove to his stick blade in the defensive grey area. The resulting loose puck led to a Youngstown 3 on 1 from the defensive blueline. Kald engaged in 8 puck battles winning 3 (38%). Interesting stat of the night, although he was -3 Kald had a Cedar Rapid’s CORSI high of +9.
Kald is a +6’2″ right shot defender who is going to consistently have eyes on him for the rest of the season. About this game? I honestly think it was an outlier. For the season he’s averaging 18:59 per game and winning 58% of his 50/50 puck battles. Those are things that don’t lie and they both say he’s positively impacting Cedar’s. Coaches play their most impactful guys and when it comes right down to it he plays a lot. But from watching this game scouts are going to have to look at his decision making while defending line rushes and more specifically reading the second and third wave of the rush. My honest advice to him would be never trust your forwards on a backcheck. They cheat and sniff. They’re looking to go the other way as quickly as possible so if his forwards are on the wrong side of the second wave just don’t trust them because right now and for always he should just read it as an odd man rush.
| Donovan Hamilton | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL | L | D | 6’3″ | 198 | Cornell | 2024 | Buffalo, NY | 2005 | 2023-2024: C |
Donovan Hamilton earned 11:17 in ice time (6th among D) including 1:20 on the PK (6th among D). He did not play PP. He finished with 1 hit. In his end he did whatever possible to hit and stick his man to the wall. Standing at 6’3″ there were a few times where he got his weight out over his toes ending up on the ice but in general when he made body contact he knocked his opponent off stride. Hamilton engaged in 9 puck battles winning 5 of them (56%) and his CORSI was -7.
Hamilton is another big defender on the RoughRider’s blueline and he’s winning 55% of his 50/50 puck battles. While that is very interesting and something to pay attention to he is averaging just 11:54 in ice time. Now he is coming out of prep and we know that is a difficult adjustment but he also played 20 games last season for Omaha so I don’t really count him as a rookie. I think he is good on the penalty kill, is certainly willing to block shots and packs a punch when he makes contact. But with his combination of size and strength he’s going to have to add more physicality and grime to his game. To each shift because right now he’s averaging 0.21 hits per game and in my opinion that simply is not enough to get an NHL organization excited.
| Landan Resendes | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL | R | RW | 5’10” | 165 | Boston College | 2024 | Marlborough, MA | 2005 | 2023-2024: C |
Landan Resendes earned 15:37 in ice time (2nd among fwds) including 5:15 on the PP (team high). He did not play PK. He showed off his ability to handle poor passes with 5:02 remaining in the 3rd period. On the line rush he had to reach back to cleanly gather a bouncing puck behind him but he was still able to pull the puck up to his forehand and then take a poor angle shot that led to a rebound at the top of the crease. He was -2 on the night with the first minus coming on Youngstown’s second goal when he was caught puck watching from just inside the dot-lane and the eventual goal scorer was a few feet to his left. Resendes had little to do with his second minus as he sprinted across the ice on a line change to force a dump-in from the redline. With 11:17 remaining in the 1st period he did draw a penalty after blocking a shot and then racing past the Youngstown defenseman who had no choice but to trip him. He engaged in 9 puck battles winning 3 (33%) and he finished with a -6 CORSI.
Resendes is a slippery one on one player who was electric last year in New England prep hockey and I know this because I watched him have his way with NE prep defenders for four months. But here is the thing, his success from last season was working against him at the start of his junior career because when things weren’t going his way he would revert back to playing 1 on 1 hockey and the USHL defenders were just too good to get crossed up on a tricky dribble. Over the past few weeks I’ve watched Cedar play quite a bit and Resendes is starting to get that when things aren’t going well that less is more. Meaning he’s growing from a 1 on 1 slippery water bug doing spin-o-ramas to a quick thinking explosive 2 on 1 momentum builder and opportunity creator. Offensively he has the touch and creativeness to make a difference every game but he is still learning to be a consistent presence on the defensive side of the puck. I think once he starts to use his offensive instincts and anticipation to be impactful defensively I really believe that his offensive numbers will pop. I love his competitiveness and intensity. I love that Central measured him in at 5’9.5″, 166lbs and he’s averaging 1.39 hits per-game. He is an absolute gamer and a player I would love as a teammate. I love his passion and his unrelenting fire but as someone who played in the league where he’s dreaming of being, I also know that he’s got to win more than 39% of his 50/50 puck battles to have a consistent impact on the game.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
CORSI is an advanced statistic used to measure shot attempt differential while at even strength play. This includes shots on goal, missed shots on goal, and blocked shot attempts towards the opposition’s net minus the same shot attempts directed at your own team’s net. (Wikipedia)