Agree that Stetcher looked better than Subban. Surprised by that. Thought Stetcher showed well.
Juolevi looked mobile and good one on one. Joulevi and Stetcher were good on the PP.
Demko showed a good glove and looked solid. Score could have been a lot worse.
Both Neill and (in particular Olsen) had major problems in their own end. Brisebois was steady but nothing like dynamic.
Some forwards showed a bit of flash and some got effectively in on the fore check. Thought Valk was the best of the forwards which in itself is a little depressing.
Cassels forced the play at times and created some turnovers but overall looked slow and very ordinary.
I think it's a stretch to see any the forwards as having NHL potential.
Puljujarvi looked a little Kopitarish. Young talent in Edmonton is simply scary.
I wonder how much playing with Olli vs Bresbois influenced the performances of Subban and Stecher. I don't think Bresbois was bad, but Juolevi is on another level and really plays a game that would compliment either Subban or Stecher.
Legitimately everyone else is saying Cassels was quick. Except for you.
"Gilliam" Brisebois: imo, still looks like a guy who hasn't properly grown into his body yet. He looks maybe even taller than last season...and just as gangly. He's still plenty mobile in some respects, but everything just looks more difficult than it should be to coordinate for him and it's not as smooth as he was even in his draft year where he was already a super scrawny dude. He was always going to be a real project though...i'm hopeful that eventually he starts to grow into his frame and get things sorted out.
He had some good moments, plenty of bad ones where he was just a split second off what he should be doing.
As for way too many other thoughts because i'm way too excited about the return of Canucks-ish hockey...
Tate Olson: Thought he was still the worst of our defencemen. Though our defencemen were basically the best of our skaters. A lot of spazzy play but interesting tools.
Juolevi: Exactly as expected. Nothing ever looked out of control for him. The number of plays he neutralized before they could even get started is superb even in a scrambly tournament like this. Always in position to support the play with and without the puck. I get that this isn't the sort of tournament where his skillset really jumps off the screen...but i'm flabbergasted people didn't manage to notice anything he was doing. His brain was everywhere.
Tiny Subban: All over the place, good and bad. His puck-rushing offensive flair is super exciting in a tournament like this...but good heavens he must've conceded 20+ completely clean zone entries. Felt like at least one per shift. Sloppy systems or not, in those 1-on-1s, a 5'9" defender just can't do that. Especially when they struggle like that in defending the cycle, and seem to wander in coverage.
Stecher: Compared to Subban, the structure in his game side by side is immediately apparent. The wheels stand out a ton, but he showed a lot of restraint when necessary too. Defensively, showed much better feel for how and when to pressure...comparatively speaking. Exciting...but then, he should look good with his experience.
The Forwards mostly were not good. But that's not overly surprising.
Cassels: Did a really nice job along the boards and on the cycle. Showed he's got the wheels to keep up at this level...but still looked far from explosive or quick. Really hope the healthy offseason has given him the extra step he needs to hold his own at the Pro level though. You can see the positional savvy is still there.
Carcone: One of the few who really seemed able to generate anything. Used some speed and tenacity to take advantage of some sloppy play. No idea what we have here, but at this level he can certainly generate a few things.
D'Aoust: So glad we invited him actually, in that it's just hysterical watching him try to skate hard. Some entertainment at least.
Abols: Awkward and not really effective offensively, but he was pretty imposing physically. Not mean, but he used his size well. Though he should 'cause he old as a-balls. *insert pricipuns.gif*
LaBate: The guy's a huge 23 year old with Pro experience in a tournament for children. Looked the part. Though showed very little real skill.
Valk: Hustles like the dickens and knows where to go to create offense, but he's just so physically disadvantaged even in a tournament like this. Nice having him around though.
The rest, there's really just nothing to say.
So we had Roy on our team ? (2nd rounder by Edmonton in 2013)
Is he an invite or what ? What's up with him ? He's still only 21
"Gilliam" Brisebois: imo, still looks like a guy who hasn't properly grown into his body yet. He looks maybe even taller than last season...and just as gangly. He's still plenty mobile in some respects, but everything just looks more difficult than it should be to coordinate for him and it's not as smooth as he was even in his draft year where he was already a super scrawny dude. He was always going to be a real project though...i'm hopeful that eventually he starts to grow into his frame and get things sorted out.
He had some good moments, plenty of bad ones where he was just a split second off what he should be doing.
As for way too many other thoughts because i'm way too excited about the return of Canucks-ish hockey...
Tate Olson: Thought he was still the worst of our defencemen. Though our defencemen were basically the best of our skaters. A lot of spazzy play but interesting tools.
Juolevi: Exactly as expected. Nothing ever looked out of control for him. The number of plays he neutralized before they could even get started is superb even in a scrambly tournament like this. Always in position to support the play with and without the puck. I get that this isn't the sort of tournament where his skillset really jumps off the screen...but i'm flabbergasted people didn't manage to notice anything he was doing. His brain was everywhere.
Tiny Subban: All over the place, good and bad. His puck-rushing offensive flair is super exciting in a tournament like this...but good heavens he must've conceded 20+ completely clean zone entries. Felt like at least one per shift. Sloppy systems or not, in those 1-on-1s, a 5'9" defender just can't do that. Especially when they struggle like that in defending the cycle, and seem to wander in coverage.
Stecher: Compared to Subban, the structure in his game side by side is immediately apparent. The wheels stand out a ton, but he showed a lot of restraint when necessary too. Defensively, showed much better feel for how and when to pressure...comparatively speaking. Exciting...but then, he should look good with his experience.
The Forwards mostly were not good. But that's not overly surprising.
Cassels: Did a really nice job along the boards and on the cycle. Showed he's got the wheels to keep up at this level...but still looked far from explosive or quick. Really hope the healthy offseason has given him the extra step he needs to hold his own at the Pro level though. You can see the positional savvy is still there.
Carcone: One of the few who really seemed able to generate anything. Used some speed and tenacity to take advantage of some sloppy play. No idea what we have here, but at this level he can certainly generate a few things.
D'Aoust: So glad we invited him actually, in that it's just hysterical watching him try to skate hard. Some entertainment at least.
Abols: Awkward and not really effective offensively, but he was pretty imposing physically. Not mean, but he used his size well. Though he should 'cause he old as a-balls. *insert pricipuns.gif*
LaBate: The guy's a huge 23 year old with Pro experience in a tournament for children. Looked the part. Though showed very little real skill.
Valk: Hustles like the dickens and knows where to go to create offense, but he's just so physically disadvantaged even in a tournament like this. Nice having him around though.
The rest, there's really just nothing to say.
So Forsling is definitely superior at this point? To Brisebois that is.
I really liked Stecher tonight. Unfortunately I don't see him having a great chance of making the canucks due to complications with Tryamkin and Larsen having khl releases. At this point, based on that rather limited one game sample, he's first call up. Subban looks great offensively but yeah defensively lots of work, Stetcher looks more ready.
Nobody else really stood out, demko looked ok, joulevi was rock solid defensively but needs to show more offensively.
Legitimately everyone else is saying Cassels was quick. Except for you.
So we had Roy on our team ? (2nd rounder by Edmonton in 2013)
Is he an invite or what ? What's up with him ? He's still only 21
Interesting ... it would seem that only Oiler draft picks managed to score in this game.
Roy played last year in Bakersfield and struggled big time. He is an example of the wasted picks the oilers have had over the past ten years. He can have a few good shifts--but putting the shifts together into a proper game is the problem
Subban looked like a hot mess out there, constantly outmatched in his own end. Juolevi will be a stud. Such a smart player. Stecher looks like he has a future as well, already passed Subban in the eyes of management.
Daniel Wagner (PITB) has a pretty detailed article on the Marco Roy invite: http://www.vancourier.com/pass-it-t...itees-who-is-marc-olivier-marco-roy-1.2343898
An interesting question...
Stecher played a game that while a offensively aggressive and confidently rushing the puck up ice, seemed overall far more structured with and without the puck. A lot easier to read off of for a partner.
Brisebois wasn't a rock, but Subban at this stage in his development doesn't seem like a very easy partner to play with. He was very unpredictable and kind of erratic in his positioning and application of pressure. He bypassed the smart easy play often, in favour of the more extravagant high reward option. Didn't consistently apply pressure at smart moments defensively. Tough for partners with more structure to read.
Juolevi and Stecher seemed to be working more as a real tandem...whereas Subban and Gilliam seemed to be working more as two individuals.
I'd actually guess that if you flipped the partners around...you may well just end up seeing Brisebois look a bit better and Juolevi look a bit more stressed in trying to anticipate his partner's actions.
But who knows. Maybe we'll even get a chance to see it at some point in the tournament?
Subban looked like a hot mess out there, constantly outmatched in his own end. Juolevi will be a stud. Such a smart player. Stecher looks like he has a future as well, already passed Subban in the eyes of management.
Daniel Wagner (PITB) has a pretty detailed article on the Marco Roy invite: http://www.vancourier.com/pass-it-t...itees-who-is-marc-olivier-marco-roy-1.2343898
Roy played last year in Bakersfield and struggled big time. He is an example of the wasted picks the oilers have had over the past ten years. He can have a few good shifts--but putting the shifts together into a proper game is the problem