Alright, so here's my thoughts, player by player, for guys who stood out:
Makar: All right, I officially was wrong about Makar, I know it was just a scrimmage but seeing him live made a big difference. He attacks with serious tempo and defends more than competently. One more year of college and he'll be ready to step into a top 4 NHL role.
As for his shot, live I didn't see it as a muffin at all. He's got a short release, and while there isn't much velocity on it in the air, it comes out of nowhere, and he changes the angle by pulling it into his body very quickly and naturally. I'm also not convinced he's trying to score every time, either. He sent it low through traffic a lot, so I think he shoots for rebounds, which IMO is a smart way for a defenseman to think. Rebounds cause chaos and opportunities in front of the net, I hope that philosophy holds true in the pros.
Kaut: Man, do I like him. Poise, poise, poise everywhere. Scored a breakaway goal at one point with a silky backhand five-hole move. He played with confidence and looks every bit the part of a blue chip forward prospect. There is also no chance in hell he is only 174 pounds. He has some meat on that frame already when you see him live.
Morrison: Speaking of shots, Morrison's wrister is pretty dreadful. You can see it coming a mile away, and it was no threat at all. Way too slow to get it off. Overall does not look the part of a D+2 player.
Francouz: Frankie was a brick wall in goal, not much got by him. He looked to be very in control, and with a lot of the action in close to the net he was quick to find the puck. He also has an extremely active stick and made a lot of poke checks, often into traffic, to get it out of harm's way. It's unusual to say the least. Perhaps
@Gigantor The Goalie can comment on how effective that strategy is.
Annunen: I was also really impressed with Annunen. He made some great sprawling second effort saves and uses his angles well. I'm hardly an expert on goalies but what I saw seemed really strong.
Ranta: He's very aggressive and takes a lot of shots. Not all of them hit the net but he's very much a shoot-first player. Moves well too, but hard to figure out his vision in a 3 on 3 scrimmage.
Wiess: Played with a ton of confidence, and cut to the front of the net a lot to get chances. You can see how crafty he is, he's just as willing to slow the play down a bit to find a pass as he is to attack. Certainly wasn't shy about going into traffic despite being a featherweight.
O'Connor: I liked him a lot, his seasoning at DU really shows and he got a lot of dangerous chances and at least two goals. He jumped out with good plays a bunch of times.
Breton: Stood out several times with good defensive and offensive plays. He seemed to read the play really well away from the puck, and he was responsible for a lot of changes in possession.
Anderson: I kind of struggled to get a read on him. He made some good and some bad plays on both sides of the puck. Lost a battle in front of the net that led to a goal at one point. Otherwise it was tough to figure him out.
Shvyrev: He's a really smart passer, made some sharp plays through the neutral zone and kept trying to set people up with cross-ice lasers. Even if most of them didn't connect, they were certainly put right where they should be in tight spaces.
Kovalenko: His skill really stands out, and he has a sneaky good shot. Tries to pick the corners a lot, and succeeded once. Won the shootout portion with a nasty backhand move, almost the way MacKinnon approaches shootouts with a ton of stickhandling moves as he comes in close.
Kotkov: Just can't fathom why he wasn't drafted, I hope the Avs get a contract on him. Got a lot of skill and he makes a habit to be in the right spot to take passes. His skating would probably be a detriment on bigger ice (slow) but that's nothing that can't be fixed.
Lewis: Dangerous everywhere, attacks in a lot of different ways. He seems like more of a goal scorer than a playmaker. I can see what they like about him.
Smirnov: He kept trying to beat the defensemen one on one and never managed it. His feet just don't allow him to be as nimble as his hands are.
The defensemen invites didn't impress me at all aside from Breton. Dime a dozen sorts. That gave a lot of (possibly unearned) opportunities to the forwards which is why the write up was heavy on them.