Drouin-Stamkos-Killorn:
Drouin looked like a stud. He was fast, lethal, skilled, and loud. Stamkos was pretty good, had some nice moves and looks but he didn't seem to be trying all that hard. Killorn was very good.
Paquette-Filppula-Condra:
Paquette played like a man among boys, very physical and he blew somebody up. Flip was solid, nothing too special. Condra was fast and responsible.
Vermin-Angelidis-Ikonen:
Vermin is small and weak, he needs muscle. Angelidis is a minor leaguer. Ikonen was a non-factor. Our worst line tonight.
Stephens-Point-Erne:
Stephens never gives up and is always at full speed, love that kid. Point is going to be an NHLer, no doubt about it. Erne looked disinterested at times, he needs to use his body. Our best line tonight.
Hedman-DeAngelo:
Hedman was a beast and looked to only be half playing. DeAngelo was a little rough but you could see the talent.
Carle-Blujus:
Carle was terrible. Again. Blujus was quiet and solid, good game for him.
Koekkoek-Coburn:
Koekkoek was quiet and solid too, but didn't take over as much as I hoped he would. Coburn was good and looked to be in good shape.
Emery:
Confident and solid. Not much to write about.
Wilcox:
Looked sharp and made some very impressive saves but was a victim of the team getting sloppy in front of him.
Going to try and be more active on the board this year.
Drouin played like he had something to prove and it showed. Stammer looked like he knew it was early pre-season. He was not exactly giving a 100%. Not that he was bad or even VL4 level, just no where near top speed except in small bursts. Fine with it, save it for when it counts! Hopefully we have a long season ahead of us.
Condra looked good out there. He will fit in quite nicely on this team. And a third line of Condra, Fill and ? (Boyle, Paq Man, Killer etc) will be awesome!
The Vermin line was ineffective. They looked like AHLers that have never been on the ice together. Which might be the case, not sure did not go to any practices etc.
Hedman is already in MidSeason form. He is going to be beastmode this year! DeAngleo - needs a season in the A but there is nice potential there.
Carle is in midseason form as well, I saw 2 giveaways on the same shift from him! Doh! Did not really notice Blujus much which is a good thing for a D-Man.
Koekkoek and Coburn looked out of sync at times, and did not appear to be a good pairing. I think Koekkoek will need multiple years in he AHL before he is ready but potential is there.
100% agree with your goalie assessment. i think the one thing that stuck in my mind about Emery was he seemed small, even compared to Wilcox.
Not going to any other pre-season games, so keep the in game perspectives coming. Interesting to hear other people's view of the game.