I haven't watched the stream yet, deliberately, because I don't want to bias my live viewings.
Like I mentioned earlier, I went there live. The stands were pretty much packed, so it was a pretty good atmosphere. Reinbacher got some nice cheers for his shootout attempt.
So, I'll start with some disclaimers:
-I was at ice level, at one end of the scrimmage. One reason being it was pretty packed, but there were some empty seats. I haven't been at ice level for a while, but I wanted to this time. There are so many things you can see that you cant otherwise. You have a better view of where the players are looking at, their body language, small ice battles, how they read the D for the F, or the Fs for the Ds, you can look at just how much space the defensemen cover or deny at entries. What's lost is part of the neutral zone and basically half of the game on offense or defense for one of the two teams when they get to the other side.
-This is a scrimmage at the start of July. Players who were just drafted often arent in game shape. Reinbacher was on the ice for the first time last friday in about a month. Players are in different periods of their off-season training. Some might have started game situations, others might be focusing more on strength training and others might be paying big bucks to charlatans for breathing scams. Some players will be better come training camp.
-Since this is a scrimmage, by taking away the physical play, or most of it, you also take out of it what seperates most of these guys. It isn't just about size. Some 6'2" guys just can't cut it when the physicality of AHLers and NHLers is brought into the equation.
-Players are at different stages of their development. You expect the ones further along, in their early twenties to be better. You're looking at these players to be better than last year, but also show that they've acquired skills that will translate to the NHL. For example, Smilanic and Tuch are physically ahead of other players. They master set plays better. Theres more procedural memory of where to be on the ice depending on which situations. However, they might not know how to change the angle of the Dmens ice as much as a 19 or 20 year old. They might not use the space available to their advantage as much or know how to manipulate defenses to make their teammates more open. A guy like Beck, who's younger, does this way better. This means even if they (younger guys like Beck) might not be as ready for pro per say, they project much better in the future .
-There are some things you can project, or can evaluate despite it only being a scrimmage: tools (skating, size, puck handling), how they handle themselves on small ice, on the outside of the ice, in the inside parts of them, some aspects of IQ (how are they finding open ice, how are they handling it with the puck, how are they looking for teammates, how are they managing opposing forwards, how are they getting caught by deception, how are they angling themselves for hits or being pinned along the boards etc). This is why I wouln't I wouldn't be confident talking pure upside about players like Mailloux or Reinbacher, but I would be pretty confident saying Dufort will not have any sort of career, barring a miracle. Guys like him were the great athletes at our school, but AHLers and NHLers are great athletes on top of having technical skills, standout skills and being able to apply intelligent plays at a really high pace. Dufort didn't use space well, didn't position himself well for physical contact, didn't use variations in his speed, etc. Basically a throwin player to fill the roster.
-I will make negative comments on players, which doesn't mean I don't have an appreciation of these players. I think about paths to the NHL for them, but also paths to busting or being middling or flawed players. I wouldn't put too much stock in this as this is how I like to look at things personally.
-There are some players I won't comment on because they didn't stand out positively (to me).
That being said, here are some general, then specific comments:
General comments: There's not a lot of upside up front. Most of it has already turned pro and management team will have to find a path towards getting a high end player offensively. Some people might say Stone or Eichel weren't that great as scorers this year. However, both of these guys have the ability to turn it up a level and score like any of the best players in the league. At this moment, this team doesn't have enough on the roster or coming up. On the other hand, that path might be by trading from a position of depth. That position would be defense. There's a lot of talent in the backend both on the club and coming up. That might also have played a role in the scoring. Forwards were getting denied.
Struble: I think people are aware of the tools. He's strong, he was powerful and fast strides. He has a mature game from playing years in the NCAA. Despite his height, he takes away a lot of ice when forwards try to attack his side. Very active stick, knows his set plays, good IQ at finding open guys, but not to create offense, more so for transition or keeping plays active. Didn't show much offensively. I liked him quite a bit.
Hutson: Someone mentioned he didn't look that small on the stream. I disagree. He, along with Mesar, definitely look small. His skating stride is still weird, like he's running as if he's in Naruto, but hey, it works. He and Beck look like very, very competitive and driven guys. Hutson was the first guy on the bench between periods. He has a lot of IQ on offense. I mentioned in the draft thread that Michkov already does a lot of the things skills coaches want to see in their players as far as creating offense goes. Hutson is the same. Lane is the perfect first name for him as he's always finding and creating lanes with his edge work and puck handling. He has a lot of deception to his game. A lot. opposing players always end up engaging or changing the angles of their skates, giving Hutson an opportunity to create offense, which he does every shift. He's definitely a puck hog though, but it has purpose, unlike Oleg Petrov, for example. He's going to have to get faster, stronger and I'll already predict he'll have some catastrophic turnovers in the NHL. I think he'll succeed in most of the things he'll try (you're looking for skilled players to succeed in at least70% of their skilled attempts, which he does), but some NHLers won't get caught and it'll be very costly. This was the case with Subban, even though people here never wanted to admit it. Unlike Subban, I think he's a lot more consistent and a lot less of a wild horse who ignores defensive responsibilities. Very exciting player.
Engstrom: My favorite player. I can't say I found any flaw to his game. If someone told me he was a top 20 draft pick or that he was 20-21-22, I'd believe him. Best technical skater on the ice in four directions. Fast, agile, good size in terms of height, very good puckhandler. Does well in small ice, along the boards. But, many first rounders have his skills. But, where I really enjoyed his game is his IQ and pace. He sees the ice very well, he uses his tools to his advantage. What will be key is that he continues to progress and that he handles the NHLs physicality. Let's hope he does because that will make him a very interesting player for us.
Mailloux: His physique is so funny. He has a small face, but long limbs and a long neck. He's really big and has a huge reach. He was way too physical for a scrimmage and seemed to want to destroy someone, which he did at one point. So many tools though and a good passer. At times, he looks like Brent Burns (not necessarily this game, but from my viewings this year). I look forward to training camp because I question both his defense and decision making on offense. Like, many of his tries were just pure athleticism and technical skills. Can't lie, he would scare me as a forward, he seems intimidating.
Reinbacher: He hasn't had a lot of time on the ice in recent weeks. Despite this, you can see he's a very good skater both straight forward, backwards and laterally. Like Struble, he denies a lot of ice for forwards. He doesn't have the puckhandling skills of Mailloux but again, no hockey for the last month. It's still something I thought was the case this year, but theres potential there. Personally, what stood out to me was the same that stood out during my viewings. He's such a smart player. He's adaptable.
Beck: I have to disagree with those who watched the stream and thought he was average. Guy is very intense and I think coaches will love him. He does everything. Great at battling for small ice, along the boards, always cutting to the inside or creating space for his teammates. Very high IQ player and relentless. Very efficient in how he plays. Strong physically for his age and size. He looks way more like a first rounder than Mesar.
Mesar: Tough game for him. He clearly has technical skills, but those are worthless if you're not deceptive, you don't have high compete or you lack the offensive IQ. We'll see how he does this year. He's very small.
Roy: Smart player, good stick skills and knows where to be on the ice. He's very give and go. I don't know who taught him that upright skating style but it pisses me off. It diminishes his stride length, which in turn hurts his speed. I hope he gains more pace as thats been my criticism of him since my first viewing of him. Really looking forward to training camp in his case as I find he's such a wildcard. Scrimmage aside, what I do like about him is that his versatility will be a path to the NHL for him, even if hes not a high scorer.
Tuch: Strong, good at set plays, decent skater and has a good shot. However, from having watched him since his draft year, I'm just disapointed at how slow progress has been in his game. I thought he would be better by this point. I think he can play on bottom lines in the AHL right now, but there's very little in terms of offense. If it comes, it'll be from hanging in front of the net, finishing plays or a good shot. He should look better with games that have physicality.
Smilanic: Fast. That's it. Not smart like Heineman.
Parker-Jones: He's huge, as everyone knows. Had a decent second part of the scrimmage where he even showed nice hands. But, I don't see it. I don't even want to elaborate there lol. That said, I imagined a guy like him being an amazing skater while having great hands and it would be scary. Which is why I've liked Tage Thompson ever since I first watched him with the Blues.
I'll watch the stream and compare later, since while I could see a lot, there's quite a bit I missed from being where I was sitting.
GAME 3 - Drummondville Voltigeurs @ Victoriaville Tigres - Drummondville Voltigeurs leads series 2-0Wagers: 2Staked: $80.00Event closes