AHL: Getzlafs Pro Debut Revealing

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks may have ended its affiliation with Cincinnati this week, but the hockey fans of Ohio won't forget the impressive comeback their team made anytime soon. Cincy overcame a 3-1 hole to take its series against Milwaukee, but then fell to Chicago in the next round. Ryan Getzlaf showed he is an excellent playmaker at this level, but could use a physical dimension to his game; Ilya Bryzgalov was in top form at times and showed he is a capable number one goalie; Jordan Smith was shifted from defense to LW and Pierre Parenteau just may have the moxie to land himself a third-line NHL role one day. We also take a look at Aaron Rome, Curtis Glencross and Kurtis Foster.

Ryan Getzlaf (Ana), C

Logging plenty of ice time in the AHL .. centers the first line with Lupul and gets the first nod for every situation except for the PK .. strong center with good two-way awareness and excellent playmaking ability .. excellent on draws, proving he belongs in the center slot .. great hand-eye coordination .. has a power forward body but seems to shy away from that kind of game at this level .. wasn't a fore-checking force .. upper-body strength needs to be upgraded .. his skating is an area of concern .. he has a long stride with a slow first step and his foot speed could be upgraded as it tends to be slow .. could keep his head up more when in full stride, although he does keep his feet moving and shows good effort to get from point A to point B .. uses strong legs to get a good push-off .. struggles to get outside on defenders and lacks one-on-one elusiveness .. tends to shy away from just rushing through a defender and driving to the net, so he relies on his vision and playmaking ability to get through the rough spots .. sometimes has trouble with lateral movements and changing directions, or switching over from forward to backward skating .. tends to shoot the puck from low percentage locations .. has an uncanny ability to find his man and deliver unreal passes, thanks in part to his patience .. his playmaking ability also helps him control the half-boards, causing other teams to back off .. passes are generally crisp tape-to-tapers .. is a PP weapon and quarterbacks the Ducks' PP from along the boards .. his wrist shot's release takes too long, but it's still an accurate shot that packs a lot of punch, a la Patrick Marleau .. is capable of getting himself out of trouble with deft moves and his long, rangy reach lets him shield the puck away from defenders .. defensive game should be commended .. his skating can hinder him on the back-check, but his hustle and smarts help to make up for that deficiency .. stats may have been inflated playing with Joffrey Lupul and Dustin Penner .. doesn't create turnovers and needs someone to get him the puck before he can shine .. has the tools to be an elite playmaking center who can also score on his own and also bring a tougher game .. intriguing prospect that needs grooming and coaching.

Jordan Smith (Ana), D

Was on a tryout contract and is expected to remain in Juniors next season .. has been playing on the fourth line as a LW mostly .. defensively responsible when in the forward role and is also able to be a physical presence .. his size and mean streak are key to him getting playing time up front .. is a dangerous forechecker and causes opposing defenders to keep their heads on a swivel when he's on the ice .. loves to finish hits and does an effective job in using the angles to line up his mark .. corked a guy with a memorable open-ice hit .. put back on defense after Popovic struggled early .. gets PK and PP ice time on the defensive side .. has limited offensive upside .. he will jump in a play to create another outlet for the rush but isn't a playmaker or a quarterback .. his outlet decisions are often safe off-the-glass kinds of plays .. if he gets the puck in the offensive zone on the point he'll take a quick, low shot to the net or will dump it deep .. is a fine skater with a wide stance that allows for optimum balance and is strong on his feet .. makes a smooth transition from forward to backward skating .. impressive agility for his size, although he's not a speedster.

Aaron Rome (Ana), D

Stepped it up offensively in the playoffs .. isn't afraid to jump up and make things happen offensively and benefits from having a defense-first partner at times .. a solid skater with impressive bursts of speed .. has a good first step and acceleration .. gets into second gear quickly and can stay with anyone in a confined space .. loses long foot races because he lacks that separation gear .. his top-end speed could use work but overall he's a very smooth skater .. usually good at holding the zone .. has good hand-eye coordination .. his defensive zone awareness is superb and he makes everything look easy .. is calm and reliable in his own zone .. impressive puck-moving defenseman .. not a creative playmaker, but he also doesn't hurt his team with errant passes .. shows a willingness to sacrifice his body .. not a physical player .. calm demeanor often frustrates the opposition, sometimes leading to their bad penalties.

Pierre Parenteau (Ana), RW

A small forward who shows both the courage and the ability to not only handle a physical game, but thrive in it .. will finish his checks, but his small frame usually doesn't result in too much damage being done .. has excellent leg strength and balance .. seems to always be on his feet and keeps them moving .. will take a hit or a hard slash to make a play .. has a quick release which he frequently uses to fire off shots from all angles .. shot itself lacks power and its accuracy can be spotty .. exceptionally quick feet .. is agile, elusive in the open ice with the puck and has a quick stride, although he lacks that elite second gear .. can still get to the outside with his elusive one-on-one moves and deceptive speed .. extremely competitive kid that goes hard to the net .. gets a lot of PK ice time .. he makes safe passes that never hurt his team, but he can't make the game-breaking dishes that have defenders scared like Getzlaf can .. gets second unit PP time .. his guts, skating and defensive awareness could land him a third line role in the NHL.

Ilya Bryzgalov (Ana), G

Was the MVP of the Admirals series and led his team to an unbelievable comeback after being down in the series 3-1 .. is a butterfly goalie that goes down on every shot .. a big, lanky kid with a lot of range that doesn't use big pads .. has a strong, controlled push laterally which he generally follows by dropping to his knees, which can be a problem on good passing plays .. scrambling instincts are rough and he loses position and flops to his belly too often .. his reflexes are impressive and are close to elite levels .. kicks his legs out extremely quickly .. his blocker side is excellent and his glove hand is also quite strong, although it's inconsistent at times .. shows impressive agility for his size; he can nearly hit the splits to make a save and has good extension with his legs to make the tough second saves, or those out-of-position saves .. remains square to the shooter and his butterfly stance doesn't give the shooter much to look at .. that form sees him get his shoulders square and high and he doesn't lean forward .. his rebound control is just average, but he uses his blocker well in that role .. despite his flaws, he still looks capable of being the #1 goalie when Giguere's time in Anaheim is over.

Curtis Glencross (Ana), LW

Throws powerful hits despite his 190-pound frame .. plays a wrecking ball style with aggressive fore-checking and hard hits .. acceleration is exceptional .. foot speed is both quick and powerful .. doesn't have a second gear but he keeps his feet moving and has the ability to close the gap quickly on the back-check .. wrist shot is very hard but often lacks accuracy and he sometimes takes too long to get it off .. playmaking abilities are just o.k. .. not a scoring threat or a big power forward, but he is a good skater that loves to hit and won't hurt your team because of his strong defensive play .. hustling, buzzing forward in the Tootoo mold should find a home on the Ducks third or fourth line .. impressive playoff performance .. put on the fourth line to be a physical force, but his strong play in a game led to some third line time .. was buzzing all night giving a great effort .. constantly flying back and fourth .. was the first on the forecheck and always comes back hard on the back check.

Kurtis Foster (Ana), D

A big, imposing defenseman who fails to use his size to his advantage .. doesn't have a mean streak .. he'll take a hit to make a play, though he doesn't consistently move forwards from the front of his net .. has an offensive flare to his game .. shot is powerful, perhaps one of the hardest shots in the AHL, but it lacks accuracy .. he tends to aim high and look for the perfect shot, rather than using his forwards for possible deflections .. powerful skater for his size with a surprisingly good first step .. has the ability to rush the puck up on his own .. has a long reach and is strong on the puck .. has the ability to complete crisp, tape-to-tape passes .. may be a fifth or sixth defenseman that brings size and can play on the second power play unit because of his hard shot .. skating and good positional play are strengths, but he really needs to use his size more to his advantage .. he was injured twice in this viewing but responded each time by playing through two nagging injuries .. played a two-on-one exceptionally well and went down to block the shot once it was clear that the rushing forward had no other choice .. that shot drilled him square on the ankle, although he never missed a shift after limping off the ice after that play .. second injury was from a dirty hit which was called for boarding .. he jumped in a play to make it a three-on-two and after two nice plays by Getzlaf and Lupul, he missed an open net by a lot.