AHL: Phantoms Menace

Philadelphia's AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, rolled into Ricoh Coliseum to finish off three-game in three-nights, bringing with them an arsenal of prospects after the Philadelphia Flyers restocked due to a disastrous 2006-07 season. Steve Downie accompanied players such as Ryan Parent, Stefan Ruzicka, and Alexandre Picard, as the bad-boy winger was just recalled to the parent club after serving his 20-game suspension for a preseason incident. McKeen's was on hand and has notes on many developing Phantoms.

Stefan Ruzicka (Phi), RW, Philadelphia

Returned from the NHL after going pointless in three games with less than five minutes of icetime, the heavily used third-year pro was double-shifted early in the first period against the Marlies .. keeps moving his feet and anticipates the play effectively .. does not show enough aggressiveness in his forechecking, but reads the play well enough that he can 'cheat' by taking away passing lanes and forcing the man to an unwanted lane up-ice .. follows the intensity and flow of the play .. plays a smart defensive game - much improved from last season, moving quickly to get back into defensive position .. takes his man and follows him to the net .. plays very low in the zone in defensive coverage using his stick to take away passing lanes .. moves to find open ice providing a serviceable passing option for his teammates .. has a 'pass-first' mentality instead of taking advantage of a decent, quick shot .. active in all zones .. used extensively on different lines and in most situations .. does not bring much to the table in the form of a physical game, but does not shy away from work along the boards, or scrums .. could use his medium build (6-foot, 100 pounds) more effectively .. follows the boards when cycling and sometimes gives up the puck when in pursuit .. has a dominant presence at the AHL level that could translate well in the NHL.

Alexandre Picard (PHI), D, Philadelphia

The 2003 third-round pick spent the majority of last season with the parent club, where he set a club record for most assists by a defenseman (and by a rookie) in a game, with five assists, (February 1, 2007 vs. New Jersey) .. has recorded 20 points in 22 games for the Phantoms this season (22-5-15-20) .. offensive-minded blueliner is a good outlet passer .. finds his targets with crisp and hard outlets from inside the defensive zone, or blueline to blueline - like in the first period, almost sending a forward in alone .. reads the play and reacts well, but can lose his man in defensive zone coverage, watching the puck instead of focusing on the man .. decent skater, which allows him to carry the puck deep into the zone with the presence of mind to take a quick look, verifying if his position is covered to maintain pressure on the opposition defenseman .. that particular play almost resulted in a quick shot-on-goal and on the turnover resulting from the same play, he recognized he was out of position and skated hard to get back into a defensive position .. plays a roving position, not indicative of a traditional defenseman .. can be caught out of position due to this but makes it up with good skating efforts, especially short bursts .. really likes jumping into the rush and has a knack of spotting the transition but does not choreograph it very well, sometimes jumping the gun in anticipation .. quick shot off the point on the powerplay tipped in by Kane in close, to fool Pogge and take away the shutout .. exceptional vision and long-outlet passing .. does not use his body very well in physical play along the wall, preferring to use his stick or getting in late hits.

Steve Downie (Phi), C/RW, Philadelphia

Played center in his first shift with Ruzicka and Grant .. first shift was low intensity - not skating hard and showing little effort to be part of the play .. could be due to unfamiliarity with center position, or third of three games in three nights .. followed that first shift with another lower intensity effort, culminating in an interference penalty by being caught out of position .. started the powerplay at center .. did not show any feistiness over the first two periods however, increased the intensity as the game wore on .. had a better first shift in the second, taking the lane afforded him to loose pucks, but seems to be missing the fiery edge that has identified him as a player throughout his junior and thus far, professional career .. has not been given much room with possession of the puck, with a player usually within a stride of him, a sign of Downie not actively heading to open ice .. took a penalty in the second by getting his elbows/stick up high (finally some feistiness) .. had a noticeable display of frustration on a broken play deep in the Marlies zone, with a slight 'look at the heavens' and didn't do much to get back in defensive support .. seems to be more effective on the wing as opposed to playing center .. as a forward on the penalty kill, he plays his spot high in the defensive zone and collapses well when the puck gets in deep, but does not keep his stick on the ice allowing point men to complete passes across easily .. stepped it up with a lone ranger rush, disregarding teammates that were forced to stop at the opposition blueline while he carried it in late in the third period when the Phantoms were down a goal, only to be tripped and have the play broken up and go the other way .. was recently called up to the Flyers looking for that feisty edge .. will not be breaking any scoring records, but could be an effective Chris Neil-type with 10 goals and 100-plus penalty minutes.

Jonathan Matsumoto (Phi), C, Philadelphia

NCAA pivot made his professional debut with the Phantoms last season, appearing in 16 games and scoring two goals .. Flyers third round pick, 79th overall, has decent acceleration - first-step and in motion .. sneaky on the rush following the attack as the last man into the zone, and is usually the fastest player on the ice .. brings high energy to every shift, constantly moving his feet and reacts to the play effectively, quickly recognizing a fast break or to get back in a supporting role .. great skater with effective stop/starts .. likes to carry the puck over the line on the rush but using some deft stickhandling, he can overplay the situation making an extra move at the line putting his linemates offside .. works really hard off the jump to get up to speed with the play .. sticks with his charges and supports the scrums along the boards looking to retrieve loose pucks .. recognizes odd-man situations along the ice and works hard to get into a supporting position .. extremely fluid skater that combines mesmerizing stickhandling at high speed .. skates to open-ice finding gaps in coverage and filling that space .. has not been tested much physically, but does not look for the physical contact .. good on faceoffs winning majority of his draws halfway through the game .. gets involved on both sides of the puck, finding ways to be productive whether creating offense or defending in the defensive zone .. could use a physical upgrade, as his 185-pound body does not seem to be enough for the physical game of the AHL.

Ryan Parent (Phi), D, Philadelphia

First unit, penalty-killer on left side .. fluid backwards skating, with minimal effort and great defensive positioning with the man down .. aggressive in front of his own net and uses his stick to take away passing lanes effectively .. good pace/urgency, defensive anticipation and decision-making .. wants to jump into the rush while sensing the attack but showed the sensibility to remain in the neutral zone and protect, rather than rush when the play came back the other way, as he was already in a good position to thwart an offensive foray by the opposition .. effective along the boards and protects the puck well with his 6-foot-2 body and long reach .. good puckrusher and backs that up with a quick, wide skating stride .. lost his balance twice in the second period in hurried situations .. could use an upgrade in strength, as he is bumped off the puck easily at higher speeds .. could be a balance issue, since his 200-pound frame should not be such a pushover .. covers the point with a skate in and out of the zone and reads the play well enough to be able to distinguish a break the other way .. anticipates the break the other way and readies himself to make sure he is the first man back .. took the speeding forward trying to split the defense out of the play, using his body to thwart forward momentum while not even considering the puck, it was the man all the way .. projects into a solid stay-at-home defenseman once he fills into the 210-215 range and could be a force with a slight upgrade in balance.

Darren Reid (Phi), RW, Philadelphia

Plays the left point on the powerplay using a hard, low shot to get pucks on net, or deep in the zone when there is not a clear shot to be taken .. on regular shifts, he has been stationary, is not getting into traffic areas and is not very noticeable on the ice .. has to step-up his intensity to the level of the game and to keep moving his feet to be effective .. lazy penalty in the third - a slash in the neutral zone away from the puck and on a player not directly related to the play .. has to step-up intensity and increase his effectiveness getting into traffic areas .. likes to find his spot in the offensive zone and skate right to it, on the left wing by the goal line, but does not do much too really get involved in the play .. whether it was due to his lack of motivation in this contest, or the three games in three nights, to even be considered a prospect any longer, he must overcome the lazy aspects of the game and be more involved, using his skating ability and decent hands in more situations and more often.