AHL: Fehr Bears

Former WHL MVP Eric Fehr is among the top 10 AHL rookie scorers and enjoying a solid pro debut with the Hershey Bears, the new farm team for the Washington Capitals. Midwest correspondent Max Giese provides scouting and game reviews on Fehr and three other top prospects for the Caps in Tomas Fleischmann, Boyd Gordon and Jared Aulin.

Tomas Fleischmann (Wsh), LW

The most impressive of Hershey's prospects on this night .. a quick, darting skater with good agility, although isn't an end-to-end burner .. a charismatic and slippery player who oozes confidence with the puck .. sturdy on his feet and tough to contain when in possession .. blessed with gifted hands, excels at protecting the puck even maintaining control with players all over him .. appears to have it on a string at times .. doesn't overhandle the puck though .. boasts a well-defined passing game and quarterbacks the Bears powerplay from the point .. made safe plays mostly, never stretching the ice with homerun attempts .. sports an effective, punctual shooting arsenal .. let go a big, accurate slapper from the point that arrived about a foot off the ice, causing the goalie to cough up a juicy rebound which Boyd Gordon easily tapped home .. also shows good accuracy on his snapshot and seems to know how to use his shooting abilities .. aggressively enters high-traffic areas and is confident enough in his abilities to challenge defenders 1-on-1 .. however his defense is still missing .. comes back and activates his stick, but overall is a bit lackadaisical, often leaving the zone early or attempting a riskier tip-out and skating by the play .. can be a liability at times as he's always thinking offense .. not a physical player either .. will absorb hits however doesn't initiate contact and is also on the small side.. is he talented enough for the NHL is the question .. he'll find a fit somewhere though likely only as a top six forward.

Eric Fehr (Wsh), RW

Tall, rangy winger with some dangle .. displays shades of both Cheechoo and Lupul given his ability to thrive in traffic and take the puck to the front of the net .. did a nifty job shifting the puck around a defenseman then bulling him over to go outside .. uses his long reach to effectively protect the puck down low on the cycle .. wins loose-puck battles .. excels at bringing the puck out from the corner and positioning himself for scoring chances .. loves to shoot and possesses a very hard and accurate shot even though his windup and release are on the long side .. could use better variety as he tends to shoot high and doesn't focus enough on creating rebounds .. dangerous in close, likes to lurk at the side of the net in search of rebounds .. adequately sets up his linemates .. mostly a safe puckmover, won't turn the puck over .. his skating still needs work as he possesses merely average acceleration and top speed .. nevertheless, given the length of his reach and stride, he is able to get outside a defender and into shooting position .. hard to dispossess once he gets the puck .. not afraid to get his nose dirty either .. not a pure physical force, opts for pokechecks over initiating contact, but has added bulk and will add more muscle over the coming years.

Boyd Gordon (Wsh), C

Sent back down to the AHL after spending the first few weeks with the Capitals .. brings the same game every night .. strong on the faceoffs - takes all the key draws .. also plays a sound two-way game, utilizing his speed to disrupt on the forecheck and to neutralize opposition rushes .. very diligent on the backcheck .. spirited player at all times, willing to wade into the thick of things at either end .. willing to crash and bang and set up a screen in front of the net .. will score most of his goals here as he boasts a quick, accurate shot even though he's not a natural goalscorer .. scored in this game when he crashed the net and buried a rebound .. his playmaking ability is nothing special, seems contempt to either skate it in on his own or play dump-and-chase .. likes to cycle .. strong on the puck for the most part, albeit isn't particularly illusive one-on-one, and is easily contained if the defenseman can skate with him .. sports a good burst of speed as he keeps his strong legs moving .. draws penalties with his speed .. works as hard as anyone defensively, willing to sacrifice his body to block a shot or collapse down low to help his defensemen out .. appears ready to take on a checking role in the NHL.

Jared Aulin (Wsh), RW

Blessed with magnetic hands and can dangle the puck with the best of them .. can mesmerize opposing defensemen with his puckhandling ability .. also boasts a quick shot release, showing it off in this game with a stinger from the top of the circle that rang the crossbar .. however, despite his obvious assets, he looks surprisingly ineffective .. still gets easily neutralized off the rush and struggles to beat defenders 1-on-1 .. although he displays plenty of pace to his game, he isn't a burner and appears to lack pure speed .. could also stand to get stronger as he was pushed off the puck a number of times by bigger defenders .. his hands and big shot were always noticeable, however, he didn't accomplish much beyond that.