Here are a few thoughts on the game vs Guelph last night,
With lots of regulars out of the lineup I thought the youngsters looked pretty good. Connor Chatham dropped back and played D, and while you could see at times he was a forward playing D, he did not look out of place (I don't often see the Whalers, so I don't no if Chatham on D is a regular occurrence). In Net Zack Bowman looked fairly good despite letting in 4. The 2nd goal was a cheap one banged off a defenders skate an into the net, no chance for Bowman. The 3rd was a goal mouth scramble.. again no chance. An the fourth was an absolute lazer by Pius Suter to the top corner.. again no chance. Goaltending will definitely not be an issue for the Whalers in 14-15 (not that it was last season). Defensively, I liked the development of Alex Di Carlo & Tyler Sensky, even as 97's with limited OHL action they looked calm and composed and like veterans. Yannick Rathgeb, looked pretty good on the power play, made some nice outlet passes. Really liked Mathieu Henderson's game, very smooth skater, calm under pressure, made great outlet passes, skating the puck out of trouble numerous times, and ran the power play very well. Got tons of pucks through on the PP creating lots of opportunities. Up front, I was expecting Vilardi to really carry the team offensively, didn't exactly see that. He didn't stand out amongst players I think he is much better then, a disappointing viewing for myself. Nicholas Caamano, had what I'd call limited ice for a team dressing just 16 players, but you can see he has dynamic hands, and great offensive vision. He definitely needs to bulk up an be stronger in the corners, but he is 16 so some growing pains are expected. Liam Dunda looked improved over my two viewings last season, really used his big frame to protect the puck and win puck battles. Drove the net well, was a presence in front of the net, it also looked like his skating improved. If he could add some scoring touch he could be dangerous. Danny Vanderwiel wore the C and in my opinion he was one of the best forwards on the ice, scored the 1st Whalers goal. Brook Hiddink had the 2nd Whalers goal. Really liked what I saw out of 1st round pick Will Bitten, looked good on both the power play and penalty kill. Scored the 3rd Whalers goal, looked dangerous offensively, was directing traffic on the PK and was great on the forecheck. You can see he has a very high hockey IQ, the points may not come rapidly to start the season, but they will most definitely come, an in the mean time he will be a useful top 9 forward.
My potential lineup for the Whalers,
Milano-Campagna-Vanderwiel
Mistele-Vilardi-Crus Rydberg
Chatham-Bitten-Mercer
Dunda-Sills-Yetman
Caamano,Hiddink,Scognamiglio
Peters-Wesley
Curcuruto-Rathgeb
Henderson - Jones
Sensky, Di Carlo
Nedeljkovic
Bowman
Personally I feel between Mercer, Caamano, Yetman, Hiddink, Dunda, Sills & Scognamiglio they can all be interchangeable with whoever is exceling staying in the lineup. The top 6 looks really good, as does the d-core and the goaltending, the bottom 6 is where the upgrades can be added late in the season, although Bitten & Chatham look capable on the 3rd line. The Whalers should be in the top 4 in the West this season anything less id feel would be a bit of a let down.
