AHL: Monsters Have A Few Tricks, Some Treats

The Lake Erie Monsters struggled in their inaugural season in 2007-08, and are hoping 2008-09 brings marked improvement. In their effort to contend for a playoff spot in the tough AHL North Division this season, the Monsters roster features slick center T.J. Hensick, who always has a few tricks up his sleeve, and defenseman Kyle Cumiskey, who's just a treat to watch. The Colorado Avalanche has also stocked the Monsters with a few players with scary size, notably right-winger Chris Stewart and blueliner Nigel Williams.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey had the opportunity to catch the Lake Erie Monsters in action shortly before Halloween and enter notes on several Avalanche prospects.

Kyle Cumiskey (Col), D, Lake Erie

Slightly undersized defenseman is a masterful skater .. smooth skater who keeps his gaps short and does not backtrack early .. typically, lets the gap close in the neutral zone .. has good backward acceleration and keeps a wide track for maximum mobility .. able to stop and start backwards and move laterally well to shadow opponents .. smooth skater with the puck, too .. has good speed with the puck and notable speed bursts .. at the point and off faceoffs, he has very good lateral mobility with the puck .. quick feet are a real asset in his lateral movement .. handles the puck smoothly and confidently moving laterally at the point and in backwards circle .. has soft hands for fielding the puck at the point and transitioning it smoothly to a shot or pass .. makes crisp, accurate passes, whether it be outlet, on the attack, or in the attack zone .. alternate captain plays on both the powerplay and penalty kill .. thinks the game well and doesn't make bad plays or decisions .. may be some concern with his 5-foot-10, 185-pound size, but he skates too well and thinks the game too well not be in the NHL as a two-way defenseman.

T.J. Hensick (Col), C, Lake Erie

Slick offensive talent is in Lake Erie to refine his defensive game .. used his speed on the forecheck and backcheck and put in a good effort and did not run around .. played on the penalty kill and was active manning the point but didn't lose his angle .. offensively, as good as ever .. has good speed with the puck, but also has a good transmission for shifting gears .. able to employ impressive speed bursts .. able to skate around the opposition .. has soft hands for smooth stickhandling to handle the puck out wide, bring it in, or execute toe drags .. adept drop passer .. has a quick shot .. skilled and creative offensively, but offensive awareness is not actually elite .. needs to be smarter to not over handle at the blueline skating in and avoid ill-advised shots that are sure to be blocked .. looking like he'll be either a second-line center in the NHL, a third-line center on the right team, or career AHL scorer.

Chris Stewart (Col), RW, Lake Erie

Also in Lake Erie to improve his defensive game .. did a good job positioning himself for timely pass interceptions on the backcheck and manning the point .. made a number of good plays on the backcheck in this viewing .. put in a decent effort on the forecheck .. offensively, does not seem to have it .. has decent speed with the puck, but nothing impressive by NHL standards .. offensive awareness is suspect with blind passes and does not seem aware of the play around him making turnovers accordingly .. has good size (6-2, 228) and is successful at times driving the net, but not against defensemen with any size and experience .. falls inexplicably in turns too often .. has a decent wristshot, including in stride .. once lamentable defensive game is probably the future of any NHL game he might have .. NHL future looks more likely as third-liner, if things go well. Click the link for a recent interview with Chris Stewart

T.J. Galiardi (Col), C, Lake Erie

Decent transition to AHL from WHL, but not an impact player at this early juncture of his pro career .. lanky 6-foot-2, 185-pound center is a wide-tracked skater ..has decent speed and a little power to his strides, but not much speed with the puck .. adept at stickhandling out wide and can get a decent shot off in stride .. demonstrates some agility with the puck with quick spins, but passes are sometimes blind .. undergoing the transition typical of most 20-year-olds in the AHL and looked no worse than a number of others who have recently made the jump to or are strongly challenging for NHL spots.

Tom Fritsche (Col), LW, Lake Erie

Any NHL future is as a defensive forward .. puts in an excellent effort on the backcheck and reads the play well on the backcheck .. puts in a good effort on the forecheck .. has okay speed and some speed bursts, but needs additional speed and more power .. tries to dump and chase, but doesn't have the speed to win the races .. mans the point well and is a threat to knock the puck away with a stickcheck .. has a quick wristshot .. 5-foot-11, 183-pound winger is not a physical presence defensively .. 22-year-old rookie pro could become a fourth-line NHLer.

Kevin Montgomery (Col), D, Lake Erie

Twenty-year-old trying to transition from OHL to AHL, and it shows .. passing game needs refinement for the AHL .. able to make fairly crisp and accurate passes, but too many passes are not crisp or are flubbed .. faced the same issue with his shooting .. does have a decent slapper skating the puck .. a little hunched-over skating the puck .. does a good job keeping his head on swivel skating back for the puck .. must work on defensive positioning to not get walked out of the corners .. like many Lake Erie defensemen, could use more bulk at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds.

Darcy Campbell (Col), D, Lake Erie

Very serviceable depth defenseman .. has good mobility backwards and lateral mobility to stick with opponents .. keeps his head on a swivel defensively .. adept at using leg drags to block shots and passes .. a little hunched-over skating the puck .. moves the puck well on the powerplay and reads the play well .. plays on the powerplay and the penalty kill .. 6-foot-1, 180-pound blueliner could afford to bulk up, but still plays with a little physicality .. 24-year-old played college hockey at Alaska-Fairbanks and is only in his second season of pro hockey (missed much of 2007-08) .. a two-way AHL second-pairing defenseman is an asset as an NHL team's ninth or tenth defenseman.

Robbie Drummond (Col), RW/C, Lake Erie

Good energy forward .. puts in a great effort on the forecheck and backcheck .. 5-foot-11, 175-pound forward is not a physical presence, but makes it difficult for opponents to break it out or gain the next zone .. has decent cruising speed on the forecheck with a little acceleration and power .. doesn't utilize his toe enough in turns and thus only crosses his feet over and does not generate power in turns .. has a little speed with the puck and can drive wide, but stickhandling needs work .. does not appear confident with puck on his stick and loses the handle too often .. does not hot-potato the puck, but stickhandling does need improvement .. has a decent wristshot .. despite modest size, he uses his body to establish position for the puck .. improvements in stickhandling and more mass might give Drummond a shot as a depth energy forward in the NHL.

Derek Peltier (Col), D, Lake Erie

Four-year college player a more mature rookie, but a long shot to play in the NHL .. 5-foot-11, 190-pound defenseman has a stout build, but struggled trying to contain large opponents along the boards .. adept at transitioning the puck forward .. able to regroup well circling backwards and moves the puck forward quickly with a crisp pass .. makes crisp d-to-d passes .. takes pucks off the boards smoothly .. saw some time on both the powerplay and penalty kill and skated in the final minute of the game .. 23-year-old is a long shot to play in the NHL but seems to have a future as a serviceable two-way AHL defenseman.

Michael Vernace (Col), D, Lake Erie

Third-year pro looking like a career AHL-caliber player .. puts up some points offensively, but more of a powerplay specialist .. has a hard shot from the point .. wind-up on shots is exceptionally smooth .. very hard one-timer .. decent wristshot .. makes crisp, accurate passes from the point, but breakout game needs work .. rarely makes direct passes on the tape but instead just wraps it up the boards, which is safe but not optimal .. pinches low into the offensive zone at times .. has fairly quick feet in lateral movement, but a bit upright .. fairly wide track skating backwards, but speed backwards is average .. takes too many steps pivoting from backwards to forward .. defensive game down low needs work, as he gets walked out of corners and loses assignments near the net .. must improve ability to clear the puck out of his own zone .. shows he can skate with decent knee bend and some power, but often is a bit upright .. 22-year-old looking like a long shot to play in the NHL.