Saxon Eric
Registered User
- Dec 18, 2005
- 20,177
- 27,035
Good wrap upMy thoughts from watching the final two games of the tourney:
Good:
-- I only saw Bjork in one game but he looked to be on a different level than everyone else. That is a bit to be expected but it was good to see. Hopefully he carries the play into the season.
-- Studnicka was the second most notable player. He showed off his skill, played well defensively, and showed more grit/nastiness than I remember. He definitely needs to clean up the turnovers though. He made a few too many blind passes to the other team.
-- I thought Vaakanainen was really good as well. He showed his usual solid defensive play but seemed more involved offensively than we have seen in the past.
-- I liked Lauko as well. His speed and tenacity stand out every time I see him. He was also constantly getting into it after the whistle as well.
-- Steen was good in the first game I saw (2g, 1a) but was a bit less noticeable in the final game. Still had his moments but inconsistent (which is normal for young players).
-- Zech showed a lot of confidence with the puck on his stick. It'll be interesting to see him develop in Providence this year.
-- Asselin was constantly mixing it up with the other team and made some nice plays as well (including a PP goal vs Buffalo).
-- Hannoun is tiny but he stood out among the camp invites. He had a couple points and was surprisingly physical given his size. Wouldn't mind seeing him get a shot in Providence.
-- All of the goalies seemed fine to me. None of the goals I saw would I consider 'soft' as the majority of them came on the PP or odd man rushes.
Not so good:
-- I thought Andersson looked OK for the most part but he had 2 brutal giveaways right to the other team leading to a 2-on-0 and 2-on-1. We'll see how he does in camp (I thought he looked good in the preseason last year) but the QMJHL is looking more likely in my opinion.
-- Shen was essentially invisible. I don't recall a single play he made in the 2 games I watched.
-- Koppanen is pretty meh. It wouldn't surprise me if he was back in Finland before the end of the season.
-- Sherman is basically the defensive version of Koppanen...just kinda there and if you notice him, it's more likely because of a screw up than him actually making a good play (though good on him for dropping the gloves). Given the defensive depth in Providence, he'll probably be seeing a lot of the press box (or even possibly the ECHL).
I'll add Scott Conway and Robert Lantosi both on AHL deals had their moments and I wouldn't be opposed to signing a few more of these guys,we'll see if any gets invited to the main camp or Providence camp