Maccelli scored Dubuque’s lone goal as they were defeated by Muskegon Lumberjacks 1-2 and thus eliminated from the USHL playoffs. He was playing left wing on the second line and was constantly used on the top power play unit.

The 5-foot-11 Finn scored by using a nice shoulder fake in a neutral zone 1 on 1 situation and creating enough room for himself to get to hash marks, from where he lifted the puck top-shelf. Apart from scoring that nice goal, Maccelli was pretty invisible. He didn’t have a lot of time with the puck and was often forced to make bad decisions. Maccelli’s skating is still very average in every aspect and he doesn’t play with a lot of pace, which is very worrisome to me.

All that being said, Maccelli’s production this season was excellent as he finished third in USHL scoring with 72 points in 62 games. With Maccelli signing with Ilves to play in the Finnish Liiga next season, I’ll be interested to see how his game translates to the pro level.

Maccelli was involved in every goal, as he scored once and had two assists Dubuque’s 2-3 win over Madison. He was left wing on the second line and was featured on the top power play unit.

Maccelli had the best game I’ve seen from him this season. He was driving the play, using good top speed and patient stickhandling to carry the puck through the neutral zone. Maccelli was running the first power play combination from the left half wall. He showed an accurate release on the wrist shot that he scored on the power play. He showed above-average hockey sense in a couple of really nice set-up passes in the offensive zone.

The 5’11” winger has an offense-first mentality and he can cheat on his defensive duties. I have not been a fan of his work ethic in the past, but at least in this game, he showed a decent effort on the backcheck and covered for his defenders. Maccelli still likes to hold the puck for too long and often makes overcomplicated plays. Physically he is still very raw and often avoids battles in the corners.

Maccelli recorded an assist on the power play in Dubuque’s 5-3 win over Sioux Falls. He has started his first full USHL season very well, as he has nine goals and 21 points in his first 19 games.

I can’t say that I was overly impressed with Maccelli’s game. He has some skill and playmaking ability, but you can also notice a couple of major flaws in his game. As a skater, Maccelli is just OK. He is not very fast and that concerns me a fair bit, especially because he is quite small. Sometimes Maccelli loves the puck too much and fails to make the right and simple play. He did make one very skilled play which resulted in a partial breakaway, but more often he just lost the puck trying to deke the opponent. I was also a bit disappointed with Maccelli’s lack of defensive effort in this game.

Maccelli had a mediocre game in Dubuque Fighting Saints’ 3-2 loss against the Green Bay Gamblers. He was held pointless, although he recorded 3 shots in the game. Maccelli’s best quality is his puck-handling ability. He was able to make a couple of nice moves with the puck here and there, but he also attempted way too many complicated dekes which resulted in a loss of puck possession. I thought Maccelli’s skating was only average to above-average, which is a bit concerning considering he is listed at 5’11” and looked even smaller to me.

He made some nice passes in the offensive zone, but also caused a couple of bad turnovers because he kept the puck for too long. Maccelli’s defensive game is a work in progress and he did not get any time on the penalty kill. His team took a lot of penalties, which meant that he sat at the bench for long stretches of time.

Maccelli got a primary assist against Lincoln Stars and he now has 15 points in 24 games, respectable pace for U18 player. He also recorded four shots in the game.

The forward definitely has a lot of skill. He has very good puck handling abilities and his puck possession is good. However his style of play needs some fine-tuning. Maccelli loves to keep the puck way too much and he doesn’t give the simple passes as often as he should. And since there is less room and time in the small rink, he often loses the puck to the checking player when his first solution is to carry the puck constantly. He also gave couple of sloppy passes in the neutral and defensive zone.

Despite the negatives, Maccelli has pretty interesting skill set. His ability to give creative and crisp passes was easily noticeable in the power play, and especially at the offensive end he made a lot of right decisions off the puck. His skating is also above average already and he was one of the quicker players of his team.

Maccelli got an assist at the first minute of the game after giving fine pass to Lassi Thomson, who was able to shoot the puck to the goal. He also created multiple other goal-scoring opportunities.

Maccelli is the kind of player that is easily noticed. He is one of the most skilled players of his age group. His stickhandling skills are magical, he keeps the possession of the puck even at tight spaces and it is really hard to get puck away from him. Even though he sometimes carries the puck bit too much, he is excellent playmaker and he is more than capable of giving precise and creative passes.

His biggest downside is his size. Forward is bit smallish and his physical side is still under development. Also his shooting is not on the level of other offensive skills. Maccelli has good work ethic though and his defensive game is constantly improving. He is quick and agile skater too.

Young forward got himself on the score sheet with a goal. Forward has played just five games in U20 league but the goal was already his third goal and fifth point of the season.

Maccelli was largely invisible on ice as he didn’t play with the puck often. And even though he came to help the defense quickly and he was often the first forward to help defense, he wasn’t able to break passes and his checking game was largely ineffective. This area of his game clearly needs an improvement but it should improve if he continues to play like this.

Forward is the most impressive when he gets the puck. His offensive skills are top notch. Maccelli is able to give sharp and precise passes and he knows how to handle the puck on tight space. His stickhandling abilities are excellent and Maccelli is the kind of player who can make really creative decisions on offensive zone. His skating is also one of the positive sides of his game. Even though there is still room for an improvement, his agility, acceleration and top speed were already above average on U20 level.