I was at the Moose game last night and here's what I observed:
Forwards:
Gustafsson: Probably our most dangerous forward. For a man of his size, he's got wheels. He's big and strong and uses his strength along the boards and in front of the net. He has a bit of a mean streak. He was also pretty good at the face-off circle. He was really sound defensively (he plays defense first and his positioning is great, especially for a rookie) but he was a threat offensively as well. Broke away and started an odd man rush with his speed a couple of times. He has a nice hard shot too.
Vesalainen: Dennis Beyak will love him because tight turns are his bread and butter. He was consistently losing defenders by tight turning and spinning with the puck. He reminded me a bit of Wheeler, as he worked the half-boards a lot in the offensive zone and was making quite a few nice passes that resulted in dangerous chances. He wasn't a liability defensively. Would like to see him shoot more. He also had a tendency to try to do too much in the neutral zone; he was trying to weave through tons of defenders. Would like to see him use his teammates more in that situation.
Suess: Really liked his game. He's another guy who was taking care of his zone first. Great stick checking and he has some sandpaper to his game. Goes to the net hard offensively. He was another guy who tended to overpass a bit though. Would like to see more shots. He scored a nice PP goal to give the Moose the lead with less than four minutes remaining but Vesalainen deserves most of the credit as it was a sweet setup by him.
Griffith: Didn’t have a great game by his standards. Didn’t notice him much but I also don’t think he got as much ice time. He’s really missing his buddy Logan Shaw. They have great chemistry together. Griffith was robbed of a goal when he was hauled down on a breakaway on an empty net. Griffith showed great speed and effort to get in that position but the refs elected to call a minor penalty rather than award a goal.
Spacek: Really nice game by him. His goal in the second period was courtesy of a lucky break but he was around the net all night. One of the few Moose players who I saw playing more of a shoot first game.
Lipon: He plays a very tenacious game and he was physical again tonight. Very similar to Brandon Tanev. I’m assuming Stoykewych is gone next year and if that’s the case Lipon is likely named captain. If not he definitely deserves another cup of coffee in the NHL.
McKenzie: Love this kid’s effort. He’s tiny and I’m not sure if the skill is there but he plays a determined style and goes to the dirty areas that he needs to go to. I hope it pans out for him. Love the effort. Hopefully everything else comes with experience.
Poirier: I believe he is property of the Moose but he actually had a really good game for some reason. Maybe our second most dangerous forward after Gus. He was just buzzing all night. I know he was a former 1st round pick of the Flames back in 2013 so the talent should be there. His stats this year in the AHL aren’t dazzling though so he probably just had a random good game.
The fourth line (Pedersen, Maier and Moynihan) generally played quite well and routinely had the Wolves hemmed in. Not sure if they were just having a good game but they looked really good.
Defense:
Schilling: He was our best defenseman, on both ends of the ice. We know he struggles with the Jets but I guess in the AHL the game is slow enough for him because he knows when to pinch and when to get back and he’s an effortless skater out there (compared to the others). His shot from the point helped create several chances for us and he’s good at stopping breakout passes from the opposition and he always seemed to get his stick in the passing and shooting lanes in the defensive zone.
Kovacevic: Really liked his game too. He’s such a smooth-skating defenseman. He got caught out position a few times defensively but mostly knows where to be. Just seems like a solid, steady defenseman, both in the offensive zone and the defensive zone. His game kind of reminded of Enstrom later in his career but Kovacevic is bigger and more physical. He looks super promising and if the Jets fall out of the playoff race I would like to see him get some games this year.
Gawanke: Great offensive instincts and he wasn’t actually a liability defensively (like he was last time I saw him). He needs more seasoning in the AHL for sure though. I also would’ve liked to have seen him get more ice time. Particularly on the PP, I really like his point shot. It’s not hard, but it’s accurate.
Nogier: Steady defensively, blackhole offensively. He’s another candidate for Moose captain if Stoykewych leaves.
Stanley: Had a fight and a game misconduct about five minutes in so I couldn’t get a good look at him unfortunately.
Comrie: He was announced in the arena as the first star, stopping 25 of 27 in the W. Not sure if I agree with that but he played real solid. Not spectacular, but solid. First goal was on him. He was slightly screened but it hit his glove and he should have had it. Second goal wasn’t his fault, just a great shot. He was under absolute siege in the final three minutes with the Moose up and stood his ground. In the second period, the Moose stopped playing for 5-10 minutes and Comrie kept them in it. Also, the Moose were turning the puck over a lot in the defensive zone (especially in the first period) and Comrie was there to bail them out. He’s certainly a capable AHL goalie and I’m happy to have him back in the fold to mentor Berdin.
Also, congratulations to Danny Moynihan, who scored his first career AHL goal today in his first game with the Moose.
Forwards:
Gustafsson: Probably our most dangerous forward. For a man of his size, he's got wheels. He's big and strong and uses his strength along the boards and in front of the net. He has a bit of a mean streak. He was also pretty good at the face-off circle. He was really sound defensively (he plays defense first and his positioning is great, especially for a rookie) but he was a threat offensively as well. Broke away and started an odd man rush with his speed a couple of times. He has a nice hard shot too.
Vesalainen: Dennis Beyak will love him because tight turns are his bread and butter. He was consistently losing defenders by tight turning and spinning with the puck. He reminded me a bit of Wheeler, as he worked the half-boards a lot in the offensive zone and was making quite a few nice passes that resulted in dangerous chances. He wasn't a liability defensively. Would like to see him shoot more. He also had a tendency to try to do too much in the neutral zone; he was trying to weave through tons of defenders. Would like to see him use his teammates more in that situation.
Suess: Really liked his game. He's another guy who was taking care of his zone first. Great stick checking and he has some sandpaper to his game. Goes to the net hard offensively. He was another guy who tended to overpass a bit though. Would like to see more shots. He scored a nice PP goal to give the Moose the lead with less than four minutes remaining but Vesalainen deserves most of the credit as it was a sweet setup by him.
Griffith: Didn’t have a great game by his standards. Didn’t notice him much but I also don’t think he got as much ice time. He’s really missing his buddy Logan Shaw. They have great chemistry together. Griffith was robbed of a goal when he was hauled down on a breakaway on an empty net. Griffith showed great speed and effort to get in that position but the refs elected to call a minor penalty rather than award a goal.
Spacek: Really nice game by him. His goal in the second period was courtesy of a lucky break but he was around the net all night. One of the few Moose players who I saw playing more of a shoot first game.
Lipon: He plays a very tenacious game and he was physical again tonight. Very similar to Brandon Tanev. I’m assuming Stoykewych is gone next year and if that’s the case Lipon is likely named captain. If not he definitely deserves another cup of coffee in the NHL.
McKenzie: Love this kid’s effort. He’s tiny and I’m not sure if the skill is there but he plays a determined style and goes to the dirty areas that he needs to go to. I hope it pans out for him. Love the effort. Hopefully everything else comes with experience.
Poirier: I believe he is property of the Moose but he actually had a really good game for some reason. Maybe our second most dangerous forward after Gus. He was just buzzing all night. I know he was a former 1st round pick of the Flames back in 2013 so the talent should be there. His stats this year in the AHL aren’t dazzling though so he probably just had a random good game.
The fourth line (Pedersen, Maier and Moynihan) generally played quite well and routinely had the Wolves hemmed in. Not sure if they were just having a good game but they looked really good.
Defense:
Schilling: He was our best defenseman, on both ends of the ice. We know he struggles with the Jets but I guess in the AHL the game is slow enough for him because he knows when to pinch and when to get back and he’s an effortless skater out there (compared to the others). His shot from the point helped create several chances for us and he’s good at stopping breakout passes from the opposition and he always seemed to get his stick in the passing and shooting lanes in the defensive zone.
Kovacevic: Really liked his game too. He’s such a smooth-skating defenseman. He got caught out position a few times defensively but mostly knows where to be. Just seems like a solid, steady defenseman, both in the offensive zone and the defensive zone. His game kind of reminded of Enstrom later in his career but Kovacevic is bigger and more physical. He looks super promising and if the Jets fall out of the playoff race I would like to see him get some games this year.
Gawanke: Great offensive instincts and he wasn’t actually a liability defensively (like he was last time I saw him). He needs more seasoning in the AHL for sure though. I also would’ve liked to have seen him get more ice time. Particularly on the PP, I really like his point shot. It’s not hard, but it’s accurate.
Nogier: Steady defensively, blackhole offensively. He’s another candidate for Moose captain if Stoykewych leaves.
Stanley: Had a fight and a game misconduct about five minutes in so I couldn’t get a good look at him unfortunately.
Comrie: He was announced in the arena as the first star, stopping 25 of 27 in the W. Not sure if I agree with that but he played real solid. Not spectacular, but solid. First goal was on him. He was slightly screened but it hit his glove and he should have had it. Second goal wasn’t his fault, just a great shot. He was under absolute siege in the final three minutes with the Moose up and stood his ground. In the second period, the Moose stopped playing for 5-10 minutes and Comrie kept them in it. Also, the Moose were turning the puck over a lot in the defensive zone (especially in the first period) and Comrie was there to bail them out. He’s certainly a capable AHL goalie and I’m happy to have him back in the fold to mentor Berdin.
Also, congratulations to Danny Moynihan, who scored his first career AHL goal today in his first game with the Moose.
