My full tournament report card (minus goalies) that I started typing in between periods and inside the last 5 minutes of game 3.
Erik Brannstrom (9.5/10) (my pick for Vegas MVP)
In my view Brannstrom was the most consistently brilliant player up and down the Vegas roster. His passing was always crisp including some beautiful end to end stretch passes. His puck handling was so impressive and so intelligent that there were many times it looked like he was the running the show all by himself. To add icing on the cake he had multiple occasions where he would deck players bigger than him with some huge hits. Brannstrom is playing like he sees his opportunity to earn a spot with the big club, and really with the way he's playing it's starting to look likely.
Gage Quinney (9/10)
My pick for the biggest surprise of the tournament. All it took was one assist off a brilliant pass in game 1 period 1 and his confidence has just been bursting at the seams. Quinney has played some very intelligent hockey showing great offensive instincts and execution and even a few moments of defensive brilliance. If this level of play is the norm, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him as an injury call up this year and a roster regular in the next. And given that he is a Vegas grown hockey product, that is such a big win win for the team and player.
Nic Hague (8.5/10)
To most Vegas fans, he'd be their easy pick for player of the tournament. To me I look for the positives and negatives and Hague did have some negatives to his game. Yes, he was a massive factor with a handful of goals, he had some moments of sheer defensive brilliance, and his size has been so imposing to all his opponents. If not for the cons I'm about to list, I'd give his performance a perfect 10. So, number 1, he had some moments of pure defensive sloppiness. If he's defending 1 on 1, for the most part he wins each bout. But there have been a handful of times where the opponents set up offensively and it seems like Hague just loses all focus and gets embarrassed. #2, while his footspeed has greatly improved from last year, he still struggles to mark speedier forwards. He accounts for this by intelligent positioning at both ends but I think that issue still places him at least a year away from making the NHL. At the speed of today's NHL he will absolutely be ripped apart in his own zone. If all goes right, he could be NHL ready next year though the safer bet is another two before we see the Hague show. Also, before I forget, there were moments (not too many) where Hague just made poor decisions with the puck and either fumbled it or made a poorly aimed pass.
Zach Whitecloud (7.5/10)
Whitecloud almost never does anything flashy. He rarely does anything that makes the heart rate spike save for a bomb from the point that Glass tipped in. But, what Whitecloud does he does so efficiently and so safely. His positioning is almost always correct, his zone exits are intelligent, his stick checking may not always jar the puck loose but it sufficiently slows the play down. You need guys like Whitecloud who rarely do anything wrong and play smart responsible defense. On that note, while I feel his first step in his skating could be a bit more powerful, I do feel of the Vegas prospects, the kid is the most NHL ready. I fully believe he could slot into Vegas' bottom pairing today.
Cody Glass (8/10)
My grade for Cody is lower largely based on a few lulls in game 1 but primarily what I felt was a weak game in G2. But he had an absolute MONSTER game 3 (if I was judging purely on game 3 his score would be as high as Brannstrom's). Glass' biggest weakness, aside from needing more meat on his frame, is that in being such a measured, mature, and super intelligent player he often plays a little too careful and that translates into a drop in his all around impact. With the Suzuki trade, Glass has a fire under his ass and he's made a bigger effort to assert himself on every play and that's what Glass needs to do consistently. He needs to pair his high hockey IQ with attempts to influence every play he can. I've been saying since I first watched him that given Glass' passing, his skating, his hands, his high hockey IQ, and his formidable forechecking game...he is a lock to be a top 6 center. I've never been so sure of a prospect having a low end potential cap of any prospect drafted outside the top 3. But if he wants to be a top line star he can't be a "lying in wait" kind of guy who pounces rather than presses. Game 3 is promising for Cody and we'll see how much of that he brings into preseason. I would still say given the makeup of Vegas' roster, it's more likely that he gets sent back to juniors this year. Depending on how he develops over this year, he could find his way into the Vegas lineup next year.
Sidenote: Glass in game 1 aggressively forechecking the Colorado defenseman behind the net then quickly making a wrap around backhanded pass right onto Bouchard's stick to assist on a goal is one of the highlights of the tournament for Vegas and perfectly highlights at what a high level Cody playmakes.
[Just for reference's sake] Nick Suzuki 7/10
Yes he isn't our prospect anymore but I felt for posterity and trade analysis' sake I'd include my thoughts on the guy we gave up for MaxPac. Dumped asset bias aside, I don't think Suzuki had a very strong two games. I think enough of his skill and potential was on display that he's worth of a 7/10 but no higher. While yes, his passing and his ability to get shots through were a positive, he had this nasty habit that didn't seem to improve from last preseason of being pushed out to the left side perimeter any time he faced any competent defensive pressure. It's pretty confusing to me that he has this tendency because he does have great hands and can stickhandle very well. That he was so reluctant to try to beat defenders on the way to the net makes no sense to me. As a guy that insists on playing center he sure finds himself along the left wing a lot. And it really highlights why I've been saying for months that given his style of play, it doesn't suit him to be a center at the next level. It's no longer a hypothesis because I've seen it in practice. Suzuki just doesn't want to cut across the grain and drive the net where guys like Glass, Quinney, Kolesar, Wong, and even Brannstrom have no such issues. It seems to be against Nick's nature. He seems far more content finding open space along the left wing and waiting for opportunities to open up. With guidance from Montreal maybe he can amend this element of his game but if they can't, then there's no use in Montreal fans rejoicing that they've shored up their center depth because Nick Suzuki as is, is not a future NHL center.
Sidenote: while I praised Suzuki's passing and stickhandling, he did have a small handful of moments of brutally mishandling the puck at key moments including as Vegas had a 6 on 4 powerplay attempting to tie up the game against San Jose, his fumble along the point led to a turnover, and San Jose was able to sink in the empty netter.
Reid Duke (7/10)
Duke has the best work ethic in the Vegas prospect pipeline. Period. What he lacks in pure talent in execution, he more than makes up for it in pure hustle and pretty competent puck management. He's also not afraid to mix it up physically and I think Duke does have the toolkit to be a bottom 6 roster player. How he does when he gets the opportunity is up to him but I see a ceiling as a third line winger or maybe even center down the line.
Keegan Kolesar: (7/10)
Weak game 1 notwithstanding, Kolesar had solid performances from Game 2 on. He plays a pretty competent near pro level game. His strength and vision allow him to find the right areas of the ice and occasionally make some terrific plays and he found more chemistry with Glass as the tournament dragged on. The issue is I do think he has pretty average hockey IQ. His execution isn't always perfect and as a result his AHL production makes sense. Like Duke, I feel Kolesar has the potential to make the bottom 6 but at this time I don't think he's ousting anyone we already have there.
Dylan Coghlan (6.5/10)
Coghlan was an oddity in this tournament. There were times he looked like a stud and others where he looked like a deer in headlights. He did good work with Hague. His puckhandling and roving along the point is solid and he occasionally makes good defensive plays but there are far too many times where he really demonstrates his inexperience. I'm not convinced he will ever make the NHL. And if he does, it will probably be as a bottom pairing defenseman on another team. I doubt Vegas' blueline will ever be so shallow that they'll need to call on Coghlan's services. Things may change but if I had to bet I'd bet on career AHLer for his outlook.
Tyler Wong (6.5/10)
Wong's kryptonite is his consistency and execution level. The kid has more hockey IQ, hands, and pure skill than most here. When you're a guy his size you need those traits but you also need execution and I just don't think Wong has it. Sure he can undress defenders with his dekes and his speed but he really struggles to challenge goalies with his shots. His playmaking attempts are rarely timely enough to really be dangerous. It's a shame to see because Wong hustles well and anyone can recognize his innate abilities and talent. If he can work on some fundamentals, he has an outside shot to make it into the NHL and even in a top 6 role so if I'm Vegas I wouldn't drop him any time soon but he's still a ways away.
Ben Jones (6.5)
The talent is evident, the potential is there. What isn't there is enough assertiveness in the play to make any comfortable call on his performance or any kind of call on his outlook. Too often Jones faded into the background and I wouldn't notice him. He had enough positive plays that my grade is more positive than neutral or poor but I'd like to see more out of him in future years. One thing I can say is there's no way he sees NHL time in the next two years. I'd say he's at least three years out barring some explosion in development.
Lucas Elvenes (6.5/10)
In terms of shot strength, skating speed, and offensive involvement, there's no question that Elvenes deserved to drafted as high as he did. What I don't see is any sort of dynamism in his game, his best plays came out of opportunities that would present themselves to him. He gets props for trying to press the issue but the continuing issue I see is that Elvenes sees and skates this game in straight lines. Meaning he's a very north south player and that isn't a compliment to two way play. I think there's enough sheer skill in Elvenes' game that if Vegas can develop him better he's got an outside chance to make the NHL but as of now I feel his game is not nearly dynamic enough. With the kind of player he is, he needs to be good enough to at least be a depth scoring option on a third scoring line and for now I don't see it.
Leschysyn/Wagner/Weis (6/10)
I categorize all three the exact same way because they all played more or less the same way. Standard, unremarkable, tough to interpret hockey you expect out of depth guys in these prospect games. All three played subpar defensive support games and all three had either sloppy or ineffective shifts offensively. I don't view any of these guys as future NHLers. Wagner appeared to be the most tenacious forechecker so maybe he's got something of a chance.
Xavier Bouchard (6/10)
Given how fresh he is out of the draft and how long it can take a defender to develop I spare Bouchard of the (not likely to make the NHL label). On the positive side of things, I see a lot of good fundamentals from him and plenty of room to improve. He did have the good sense to activate from the point to collect the wrap around pass from Glass to get a goal. But past that I saw really sloppy play out of him at both ends of the ice. The inexperience shows but I'm not remotely ready to wonder if he's a bust. I just think it may be 3 years before he'll even sniff the NHL.
Ryan Chyzowski (6/10)
I rarely noticed the kid but I did take special notice of a few particularly sloppy puck handling plays. I didn't notice him enough to make any kind of call on his outlook, but he simply did not do anything to impress in these games.
Shael Higson (4.5/10)
The kid is bad. Not only am I under zero impression that he will make the NHL, I really found myself wondering why he was here. Probably just to round out the numbers. His hockey sense is poor, his passing is poor, and his defensive positioning is poor way too often. Not always, hence 4.5/10 but too often for him to even be worth anything to the Chicago Wolves.
Did not notice them much at all: Kemp, Pinard, Corcoran
I'm not as confident evaluating goalies so grain of salt on my impressions on the tendys.
Jordan Kooy (7.5/10)
Yes, he got lit up a number of times but he got challenged with the toughest shots of any of the three goalies and he stood tall on a great many of them. A good number of the goals allowed were simply not his fault. He looked to be the most developed of the goalies who played. Very composed and had great lateral movement
Jiri Patera (7/10)
He wasn't challenged much but he kept LA's scoring low, so well done to him.
Maksim Zhukov (6.5/10)
Like Kooy, the defense in front of him let him down but why I rank him lowest is because he seems to be the most easy to rattle and lost composure often. His movement style was far too jumpy and I think that's something he absolutely has to work on.
