Blowfish
Count down ...
Up front, I thought the best player was probably Martin Bakos. Certainly skill wise he was sharper than most. He had more clean cut snipes and more nifty set-ups than anybody else on the ice. He wasn't as good as Bjork from last year, but this camp wasn't as strong overall. There were no Bjork/Donato/Pastrnak types this year, IMHO. That doesn't mean it won't prove to be a good group though- DeBrusk had a very underwhelming first camp and look at the season he just had.
They kind of kept the forwards in pairs and I think my top "pair" was Koppanen
and Steen. Steen is like a poor man's Marchand, small but quick and tenacious. He doesn't have Marchand's hands or creativity but he has similar heart and drive. Koppoanen is what he is, big and strong and his skating continues to improve, he's not "fast" but he doesn't look slow anymore. He's smart, he works hard and opts to shoot more often than not in 2on1 situations. I could see him becoming a quality 3c one day, in the mold of a Lars Eller.
Bakos and Lauko were probably the second best pair, at least off the rush. Lauko has an uncanny way of splitting the D without the puck to get behind the defensee where Bakos could drop in saucer passes for Lauko to bust in against the goalie. Lauko is fast, but I think his speed is more smarts/change of pace/opportunistic than unrivaled jets. He has hands and moxie too, often deking himself out of (and back into) trouble. In the smaller area games, Bakos was the stronger and more noticeable of the two, making more clever passes and then sniping when he had the shot.
Studnicka and Hall were probably 2b for me in terms of most effective pairs. They were actually better than Bakos and Lauko in the smaller space games, but were not as strong off the rush. They both pass really well and set each up for great chances. Hall seems shorter than advertised, at least 2 inches shorter than Studnicka (but maybe that's a function of their skating styles?). Studnicka looked very good; he's big and strong, he battles hard, sees the ice and passes well but also has the hands and confidence to look off a passing option and slip through traffic with the puck on his own. He leads by example and while I don't think he's ready now, he looks like a lock to become a middle6 center in the NHL.
Lagunov & Shen are up next. Shen has skill but it's not polished or completely under control yet. I saw him lose the puck as often as he made a good move or clever play. Like Lauko, he is very good at slipping behind the defense and getting open, and again I thought it was more opportunistic speed/change of pace than pure straight line jet speed. Lagunov was more of a passer, trying to set up Shen whenever he found an opening. Lagunov was also good at stealing pucks in the games, more reading plays and picking off passes than pinning someone on the wall and taking the puck.
Some other notables... Fossier, like Shen had some hit or miss moments. The puck seemed to find him at times, but he liked to take the puck out of traffic to quiet space and it kind of made his linemates stagnant. Still, he has skill and smarts. Becker is a moose and he had a couple nice goals on the day. Kuhlman also had a knack for tucking pucks just inside the posts.
Wow nice job PM. Thoroughly enjoyed reading your takes. Much appreciated
