Nothing has been written about Bullard's speed, either good or bad. He's the big, gritty center to compliment fast, but small wings.
Let's see if I can help with that. I'll skim the odd-numberd yearas of scouting reports in his career:
1983: nothing
1985: needs to utilize linemares more, could improve playmaking (this is clear from looking at the stats, I don't know if there is any modern center with a greater G:A ratio.)
1987: exceptional skater with acceperation and speed... doesn't see the ice as well as expected... defensive game is where he's lacking and that's no secret... not physical by any means... has become a more hard worker... not the most coachable on the team, he's pretty much set in his ways... but he has changed and improved his attitude.
1989: will beat opponents with speed to the outside... good balance and agility... has become a better passer... has learned to play better positionally... will take punishment to make plays... good strength... taking the body more, but not a crushing hitter...demonstrating new maturity
1991: hands are now his best weapon... defense no better than average... he'll take hits if in close proximity to the boards but don't expect him to come charging out of the corners with the puck... skills are declining.
I was really looking for skating stuff. Looks like he was an excellent skater early on, and slowed up later, which is normal. He's definitely part of that 1987-1992 class of players that burned out quickly. I saw other stuff of interest so I threw it in too; I think it gives a good picture of how his career and skillset developed.
I really need to get that book. Right now, all we know is that he was very good, he "delivered toughness in spades," and his offense was decent (but likely not as good as his defense, as evidenced by his All Star nods in the Western league).
I don't recall getting anything on him in The Trail. Very limited stuff all-around on Western Players, and Trapp is no exception.
(what makes Scott Gomez a step up from Allison, for example?)
Playoffs. And now, longevity too. When I took Arnott for my MLD 4th line, it was between him and Gomez.
Hell, Allison and Arnott are both better overall players than my maligned 2nd liner Gardner, but to complete the skill set complement on the line I needed a tough playmaker, he was the guy. Allison's not tough and Arnott is not a playmaker.
I'm willing to call goaltending a wash in general, though I think of Kralik's lack of World Championships experience is similar to a question mark about ability to handle playoffs. While Lemelin had several very good playoff runs (see his profile), most notably his trip to the finals in 1988, when he had a 11-6, with a much better save % than the average goalie that playoff year.
In short, I think goaltending is basically equal, though Lemelin is much more proven in playoff-type situations, as far as I can tell.
Hold on, what lack of World Championship experience?
Kralik played in 4 World Championships and one Olympics, plus another game in another Olympics (which he won) for a total of 39 games. That's pretty sweet.
He was top goalie in two of those tournaments, and won a gold and four Silvers. Based on his GP and tournament records, it appears his W/L record was 25-7-7, with a 2.25 GAA. Tretiak's average in this period, in the same tournaments, with a much stronger defense, was 1.67.
1985 was really his crowning moment, though. After a middling preliminary (4-2-1, 16 GA), Kralik allowed just 2 against USA (who averaged 3.42 per game in the prelims), 3 against Canada (who averaged 4.71), and 1 against the Soviets (who averaged a whopping 7.43 in the prelims).
Lemelin was outstanding in 1988, in fact, this was the first hockey I can remember truly sitting watching. Even with that year, the dude's 23-25 in the playoffs, posting a save% that, when weighted by minutes played, averaged 3 points below the league playoff average during his career. I don't think that's BAD for a AAA goalie, but I don't see how this qualifies him for a pressure situation more than Kralik.
Newspaper quotes on Percy Traub that I added to his bio. He seems to be a fairly tough defenseman who could go on rushes on occasion:
All the following quotes are from The Morning Leader newspaper
Good stuff. I want royalties for letting you use Regina papers to win a series against a Regina team.
Here's where I see the D-men here:
Ruttan, Zhitnik: Another level. Could easily be MLD players. Zhitnik is a poor man's McCabe in all areas. He played top, tough minutes like McCabe but lost the battle more than McCabe did. (see adjusted +/-)
Trapp, Streit, Manery, Plager, Sargent: Can definitely play in the MLD in some capacity.
Traub, Juzda, Paladiev, Malakhov: solid AAA starters.
Moore, Quenneville, Zidlicky: middling AAA players. Could be the difference makers in the series if they see the ice much.
Jörgen Pettersson, another large two-way player who can bump bodies with Scott Mellanby.
Let's not oversell the guy as a physical player. Goes into the dirty areas, bumps bodies, sure, but he's not anything close to the wrecking ball Mellanby is. At the AAA level, Mellanby wrecks most guys, including Pettersson. I should also take this opportunity to point out that Pettersson's best offensive seasons for adjusted points (+10% to be fair as he's an 80s player) are 65, 62, 56, 54, 47. Mellanby's are 67, 64, 58, 54, 52. Pretty much the same at peak, but Mellanby really established himself with seven more 40+ adjusted points seasons. He wasn't a bad defensive player himself, and he should dominate Pettersson in all three zones.
Wish I had more time to start some arguments of my own instead of just replying to stuff that was said, but I don't. This was an awesome AAA finals and these two teams stood head and shoulders above the rest, IMO. Good luck, TDMM.