Prospect Info: 2023 Rookie Faceoff

[Hockey Duckie]

Etem's 3-stars:
1. G Clang
2. D Luneau
3. F Pitre

 

[HanSolo]

We’re going to look at this as an uninspired Lacombe game, but I’d guess he played close to 20 minutes and had 3 assists. Dude is criminally underrated around here. I think he’s going to be a 2nd or 3rd pairing defenseman for 10 years in the NHL.



You’re absolutely correct and I misspoke.

I was pro Lacombe from his brief NHL stint.

I'm wondering if he tried harder then cause, big show of course and this is a meaningless friendly.

 

[duxfan1101]

The goals were:

Pitre from IDK
Luneau from Carlsson and LaCombe
Luneau from Crnkovic and Codd
Mintyukov from LaCombe and Nesterenko

 

[190Octane]

3 pairs of oakleys? Either you guys are slackers or I have an accessories problem.

Let’s not add Ray Bans into this conversation also.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Pitre and Clang were the big standouts for me. Carlsson had his moments. Luneau was everywhere but was a catastrophe in his own end.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

We’re going to look at this as an uninspired Lacombe game, but I’d guess he played close to 20 minutes and had 3 assists. Dude is criminally underrated around here. I think he’s going to be a 2nd or 3rd pairing defenseman for 10 years in the NHL.

I thought LaCombe played a great game, if you're looking for controlled and a calm presence. I'm a huge LaCombe fan! Defensively, he's often in the right place and the right time. He saw two 1-v-2, was in great position for both situation, but Clang couldn't make a save he should have. He was on the PP (Minty was his partner) and the PK (Luneau for all situation except at the end of the game, Hinds at the end of the game).

1st assist was on the PK. He cut off a pass into the middle and the puck popped out to Pitre. Pitre used his speed and did the rest.

2nd assist was on ES, iirc, with LaCombe in the middle of the ice, near the blue line. He quickly finds Carlsson low in the right circle and Carlsson darts a puck to Luneau slicing down.

3rd assist was on the PP with a no-look pass back to Minty for a Minty Snipe.

Although LaCombe possesses a lot of offense, he's more focused on the defensive side of things, which is why he was involved in two 1v2 events. He will come down every now and then, but not as often as Minty, Zell, or Luneau. Also, LaCombe would rather pass the puck out of the d-zone than carry it.

I guess I can see why people think LaCombe played an uninspired game if comparing to Zell, Minty, or Luneau. LaCombe was playing the stay-at-home D for this game and still managed 3 assists as well as play the shutdown role at the end of the game (Warren got sent off on a penalty).

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Oh, hey. We can re-watch the game.

Shortie goal:
Around the 1:31:18 mark is the PK and you see LaCombe's stick interrupts a pass from down low to the slot. The puck bounces to the top of the ice and Pitre sees it. Pitre passes the puck forward and away from the vegas defender. Then he uses his speed to make a breakaway happen. Sweet backhand into the net that would make Teemu proud!

 

[HanSolo]

My extended thoughts:

Overall I thought the best period for everyone was the first. A lot of guys got sloppier into the second and third.

Luneau was solid throughout and looked really impressive. For a guy that plays second fiddle to Zellweger and Mintyukov, I was really impressed with his vision, 200ft positioning and play with the puck. He may not be as electric as Zellweger but there's some legit talent there.

Zellweger clearly has the footspeed, vision, and hands to be a threat but there were times I felt he was forcing passes or shots that weren't there. I'm not gonna cry hockey IQ concerns over a rookie friendly but I was hoping for a little better execution from the space he was he wearing for himself. And, on the other hand, he's not used to playing with a lot of these guys.

Same goes for Carlsson. Some sloppy passing angles here and there but it's a slapdash lineup of guys he's barely played with. His skating is good but with a better first step, he'd be even more effective. Clearly has tremendous vision and good game sense, and to say nothing about how nobody on the Vegas side could outmuscle him. His time playing against grown men really showed tonight. He and Zell are definitely in the mix to earn spots and it'll be interesting to see how they look in preseason. I'll say that the play on North American ice didn't look to he much of a factor. Yeah he had less room to work with but he still had plenty of positive plays with the puck. His marking defensively could use a little work but he showed he's not afraid to get in tight on a puck Carrier which is good. Definitely has a bit of Getzlaf in him. Passed up a few good opportunities for a shot opting for the set up play.

Minty had a pretty meh second period but was one of the few guys who looked Improved in the third. Head always on a swivel, very good sense of the space on the ice and where his teammates are paired with pretty consistent passing is a strong combo. He has a good but not great release on his writer. Hoping it's just a work in progress as a little more zip on his shot would go a long way.

I'll be honest. I forgot Pitre was a draft pick from this year. Definitely a spark plug type energy guy who isn't afraid to get up in a bigger player's face. Definitely noticeable out there, but from my vantage point it looked like his puck handling and decision making with the puck could use some improvement. Couple that with maybe like 15-20 more pounds of muscle and the kid could be a real steal from the third round.

Noah Warren is definitely going to be a Dirk favorite. Probably the truest Manson type we have in the system with the physicality. He's imposing and strong on his skates but I'd like to see him work a bit on his agility, the explosiveness in his stride, and a little more work on gap control. With his imposing style of play he showed he can neutralize an attacking player effectively, but when he's not in position to cover the gap, his guy is going to make an effective play with the puck. I noticed that more after the first period. He didn't outright blow coverage in a bad way, but he wasn't neutralizing the way he could have been.

Nate Gaucher seems like a lock to make it as a solid depth guy. I don't really see the toolkit to be a top 6 scoring threat but I can see a solid two way blue collar third liner with the capacity to chip in occasional depth scoring.

I've talked about Lacombe a few times in the thread but I didn't really explain myself. It's not that I thought he didn't look good. It's that he didn't look as good as I was expecting. It's been pointed out that he had multiple assists but what bothered me was seeing the occasional listless play with the puck on his stick and he just didn't seem to either be driving the play with the puck on his stick or scanning the situation to find the best play in a cerebral kind of way. He mostly just got the puck and handed it off. So while, yes, he ended up on the score sheet numerous times, I never felt like he was driving those plays. Felt more like incidental assists. In his own zone he was mostly solid with good gap control and stick positioning. He missed assignments a small handful of times, but nothing egregious. Smooth skating, seems to have good vision. Solid game, just nothing outstanding for me.

Nesterenko was pretty disappointing overall, seemed to make a lot of errors with the puck on his stick. I guess the one thing I can say in his favor was he was effective at getting to loose pucks, just didn't seem to have the capacity to actually do something positive when he had it.

Hinds was mostly unnoticeable except for a few bad moments of blown coverage. Didn't really notice anything negative or positive in the offensive zone.

Myatovic stood out to me from, on more than one occasion losing the puck from being hounded by pressure from Vegas that he couldn't get himself out of. Didn't notice much else from him.

Terrance looked all right but could use work on his passing under pressure.

The other forwards were completely unremarkable to me.

Clang was most solid on short play offense from Vegas but he seemed to go into panic mode anytime they had extended pressure in his zone. Not ideal but definitely something that can improve with experience.

Overall a solid performance by the kids. Unfortunately for the other side of my fandom, Vegas' best players on the ice were Brisson and Cormier and I don't think I could, in good faith put them top ten among a joint Ducks-Knights ranking. I thought as a whole, Vegas' lineup operated better as a unit with better team passing but the individual talent disparity was way too much.

 

[pbgoalie]

Nice response from Clang. 2 good saves

In Irvine he seemed to be a guy that fights to stop everything. Glad to see this!

 

[MMC]

 

[MMC]

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Thank f***ing god that hockey is back to distract me from the raging dumpster fire of a baseball team across the street. Wasn't able to tune in tonight (I'll watch the replay if I have time) and probably not Sunday either, so your updates and reports are most appreciated.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

My extended thoughts:

I've talked about Lacombe a few times in the thread but I didn't really explain myself. It's not that I thought he didn't look good. It's that he didn't look as good as I was expecting. It's been pointed out that he had multiple assists but what bothered me was seeing the occasional listless play with the puck on his stick and he just didn't seem to either be driving the play with the puck on his stick or scanning the situation to find the best play in a cerebral kind of way. He mostly just got the puck and handed it off. So while, yes, he ended up on the score sheet numerous times, I never felt like he was driving those plays. Felt more like incidental assists. In his own zone he was mostly solid with good gap control and stick positioning. He missed assignments a small handful of times, but nothing egregious. Smooth skating, seems to have good vision. Solid game, just nothing outstanding for me.

I think you're mistaking LaCombe for Minty, Zell, or Luneau. LaCombe plays QB at the top of the zone. He doesn't hold the puck forever and a day nor dive down often. He kinda plays the puck like a European midfielder plays a soccer, moves the ball fast. When Minty scored on the PP, it reminded of a soccer play of give-n-go, but with a no look pass from LaCombe. The pass to Leo, again, LaCombe got rid of the puck fast. Vegas followed Leo with the puck and Luneau was unaccounted for, which Leo took advantage of. LaCombe is constantly scanning and moving the puck around safely, both on offense and defense. Moving the puck around fast means the opposition can't set up and/or causes some confusion. Incidental assists feels like any other d-man could have done it, but none did. Maybe you're mistaking listless for calculating or cerebral.

PV commented months ago that LaCombe made the NCAA game look easy.

I'm not saying LaCombe is a 1D or a top pairing guy, but you are not giving him credit because he doesn't look dynamic on the ice to your liking such as a Minty, Zell, or Luneau. Minty is tenacious on the offensive end that it looks like he's a power forward. Luneau's got a nose for the net as he likes to dive down often. LaCombe just plays a different offensive game. Defensively, right now, I'd take LaCombe over all three because LaCombe played a very controlled and calm game, for the most part. Minty and Zell didn't play on the PK.

 

[MMC]

 

[Mr Rogers]

Man, i wish my bosses were like MM

 

[Rasp]

McIlvane is going to be a great coach

 

[HanSolo]

I think you're mistaking LaCombe for Minty, Zell, or Luneau. LaCombe plays QB at the top of the zone. He doesn't hold the puck forever and a day nor dive down often. He kinda plays the puck like a European midfielder plays a soccer, moves the ball fast. When Minty scored on the PP, it reminded of a soccer play of give-n-go, but with a no look pass from LaCombe. The pass to Leo, again, LaCombe got rid of the puck fast. Vegas followed Leo with the puck and Luneau was unaccounted for, which Leo took advantage of. LaCombe is constantly scanning and moving the puck around safely, both on offense and defense. Moving the puck around fast means the opposition can't set up and/or causes some confusion. Incidental assists feels like any other d-man could have done it, but none did. Maybe you're mistaking listless for calculating or cerebral.

PV commented months ago that LaCombe made the NCAA game look easy.

I'm not saying LaCombe is a 1D or a top pairing guy, but you are not giving him credit because he doesn't look dynamic on the ice to your liking such as a Minty, Zell, or Luneau. Minty is tenacious on the offensive end that it looks like he's a power forward. Luneau's got a nose for the net as he likes to dive down often. LaCombe just plays a different offensive game. Defensively, right now, I'd take LaCombe over all three because LaCombe played a very controlled and calm game, for the most part. Minty and Zell didn't play on the PK.

I think you're overstating his performance a bit. Again, I don't think he had a bad game and I wasn't expecting him to play like the OFDs per se, but in comparing his on ice impact in his limited stint with the Ducks to playing against guys that he's much better than, I expected to see more impact from him in all 3 zones. Again I thought he had a good game it just wasn't quite at the level I expected from him. But it's just one exhibition game of a series of 3.

And no I don't think I'm confusing listless with cerebral. I've watched the game long enough to see the difference, and I've seen a different level from Lacombe than he showed tonight. You wanna talk about junior/minor level cerebral blueliners you can look at a guy like Lindholm before he made the jump to the NHL. For purposes of tonight's performance, I didn't think Lacombe was on that level. And I'm not saying he made no positive impact plays, I'm saying he didn't make enough of them when the opportunities were there. And when I say impact plays I'm not just talking about offensive zone dynamism. But again, this is too much offense taken over thoughts on a single performance in an ultimately meaningless exhibition game. Lacombe isn't in the strata of prospects that need to prove themselves at a rookie tourney. The real test for guys like him, Leo, Minty, Zell, Gaucher, and maybe even Luneau will be training camp. Either buy the NHL spot or take more time in the lower leagues. I'm not talking about Lacombe's performance tonight like it's indicative of his future outlook or the best of his or anyone else's present ability. This is, for all intents and purposes, a showcase but not the be all-end all.

 

[Kalv]

Oh, hey. We can re-watch the game.

Shortie goal:
Around the 1:31:18 mark is the PK and you see LaCombe's stick interrupts a pass from down low to the slot. The puck bounces to the top of the ice and Pitre sees it. Pitre passes the puck forward and away from the vegas defender. Then he uses his speed to make a breakaway happen. Sweet backhand into the net that would make Teemu proud!

In the dev camp Pitre was super slow in the vids I saw. Really refreshing seeing he can actually skate. Wouldn't beat a top4 NHL defender but still

 

[Leonardo87]

Just a reminder:

Remaining tournament schedule:

Sunday, Sept. 17 vs. Colorado (City National Arena, Rink 1, 1 p.m. PT)
Monday, Sept. 18 vs. Los Angeles (City National Arena, Rink 2, 12:30 p.m. PT)

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Was exciting to watch Ducks hockey again.

I think people are sleeping on Clang. I have an odd feeling that he may even overtake Dostals net in the future

 

[AngelDuck]

Coulson Pitre was a great pick. He had better stats than a lot of players drafted above him too

Not optimistic about Myatovic. Just felt like the safe pick and don’t see much potential - but it’s early obviously

 

[Kalv]

Coulson Pitre was a great pick. He had better stats than a lot of players drafted above him too

Not optimistic about Myatovic. Just felt like the safe pick and don’t see much potential - but it’s early obviously

2 periods through, I also felt underwhelmed with his play. But hey, this is only the first game with not much of a meaning. Besides, I think I recall Nico just went through a horrible event in personal life. I'm sure he will have a good season.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I think you're mistaking LaCombe for Minty, Zell, or Luneau. LaCombe plays QB at the top of the zone. He doesn't hold the puck forever and a day nor dive down often. He kinda plays the puck like a European midfielder plays a soccer, moves the ball fast. When Minty scored on the PP, it reminded of a soccer play of give-n-go, but with a no look pass from LaCombe. The pass to Leo, again, LaCombe got rid of the puck fast. Vegas followed Leo with the puck and Luneau was unaccounted for, which Leo took advantage of. LaCombe is constantly scanning and moving the puck around safely, both on offense and defense. Moving the puck around fast means the opposition can't set up and/or causes some confusion. Incidental assists feels like any other d-man could have done it, but none did. Maybe you're mistaking listless for calculating or cerebral.

PV commented months ago that LaCombe made the NCAA game look easy.

I'm not saying LaCombe is a 1D or a top pairing guy, but you are not giving him credit because he doesn't look dynamic on the ice to your liking such as a Minty, Zell, or Luneau. Minty is tenacious on the offensive end that it looks like he's a power forward. Luneau's got a nose for the net as he likes to dive down often. LaCombe just plays a different offensive game. Defensively, right now, I'd take LaCombe over all three because LaCombe played a very controlled and calm game, for the most part. Minty and Zell didn't play on the PK.

LaCombe was really solid, and he walks the line really well. No complaints at all.

In the dev camp Pitre was super slow in the vids I saw. Really refreshing seeing he can actually skate. Wouldn't beat a top4 NHL defender but still

I remember one of the knocks on him in his draft profile was his poor skating but he keeps getting separation and he finds room around the net.

 

[Leonardo87]

I missed the last period but was impressed with Leo, Luneau, LaCombe, and Pitre. Leo started if off with that great pass for Luneau first goal, and hit iron twice I believe, could have easily have a 2-1-3 production night.

Our prospects are looking like they should, one of the best pools in the league, and not all of them were even playing last night.

I honestly think Leo and LaCombe should make the Ducks full time, think they are already penciled into the line up. Their paths have been different compared to the other players who played last night, and have been seasoned enough in their leagues to be ready for a NHL roster spot, imho.

 

[ScarTroy]

Saw this posted elsewhere, but this was first shift for Carlsson where he broke off the skate blade. Used his speed well and got the puck off the defender before what looked like he was maybe going to try a wraparound until his skate had other ideas.