AHL: Rearguard Admirals

The Norfolk Admirals have a vast arsenal of towering defensemen and three of them are first-round NHL draft picks. McKeen's correspondent Max Giese tracks the progress of several current Admirals like Vladimir Mihalik and Andy Rogers, as well as former Admiral Jack Skille who now plays for the Rockford IceHogs.

Vladimir Mihalik (TB), D, Norfolk Admirals

Gigantic defenseman with Herculean strength and a colossal reach .. lazy-footed with some balance issues to iron out, but it doesn't matter much because his compact strides swallow up the ice and his pivoting along with his first step are fine .. carries and handles the puck with composure and makes an accurate first pass .. must begin to clear his crease area with more conviction and become less prone to getting beaten to the outside by speed .. doesn't anticipate the play well, instead he gets caught reacting to the play and his defensive reads are often tardy because of it .. fails to fully harness his massive frame, as he can be physical at times but will also fall back to passive defensive postures, which lead to many of his defensive shortcomings .. after playing in Tama Bay's first two games this season, Mihalik remains a work in progress.

Andy Rogers (TB), D, Norfolk Admirals

A towering stay-at-home defenseman with fantastic mobility and a healthy snarl to his game .. a mean, heat-seeking missile that hits to hurt .. has remarkable feet for a player of his size with tremendous range, recovery speed, and power in his strides moving both forwards and backwards .. maintains tight gaps and successfully deploys his long reach to disrupt the options of the puckcarrier before standing his ground with a jolting bodycheck .. runs around a bit defensively and struggles when the puck is in his feet because of his pedestrian hand-eye-coordination .. lacks finesse skills with the puck and is guilty of locking up mentally at times .. struggling to see the ice and unable to execute the first pass, Rogers is often forced to chip the puck off the boards or defer it to his partner .. his size, mobility, and toughness will likely land him an opportunity in the NHL if he can stay healthy.

Matt Smaby (TB), D, Norfolk Admirals

Big and physical stay-at-home defenseman that can bang bodies and clear his crease area effectively .. able to maintain tight gaps and successfully angle off his man to the wall before imposing his strength on them with a suffocating bodycheck .. fully coordinated into his massive frame and is a fluid skater with tight footwork .. does a solid job maintaining healthy defensive positioning and aptly utilizes his long reach .. bluntly put, Smaby struggles to get the puck out of his own end because of his tendency to lose his composure when pressured .. must wrench-up his entire game to deserve getting another look in the NHL.

Blair Jones (TB), C, Norfolk Admirals

The type of forward that is the first man up the ice on the forecheck and the first man back to cover his defensive assignments .. strong skater with good speed and a crisp acceleratory gear ..utilized on the point during the powerplay because of his heavy slapshot .. lacks high-end skill and despite his ability to speedily carry the puck up ice, he fails to do much with it once in scoring position .. likes to dump and chase to set-up the opportunity to grind the puck down low on the cycle .. tireless in pursuit and is a valued penalty killer thanks to his mature defensive positioning and willingness to sacrifice his body to block a shot .. provides Tampa Bay with immediate depth up-front and the potential to develop into a regular bottom-six forward in the NHL.

Radek Smolenak (TB), LW, Norfolk Admirals

Lacks the ability to gain separation from defenders in the open ice, as his feet rarely leave the ice and he often glides around using C cuts to weave his way around the ice .. most effective from below the hash marks where his impressive touch-passing game and in-close puck control are displayed .. owns a soft pair of mitts and an innate sense of timing around the net .. still needs to strengthen his frame, but he does an effective job going to the goalmouth and getting lots of pucks on net .. has an endearing level of grit to his game and willingly engages in confrontations with multiple opponents, however he deploys unorthodox defensive tactics and must tighten up his play in his own zone.

Juraj Simek (TB), LW, Norfolk Admirals

Skillful offensive winger that sees ample time on the powerplay, but his poor defensive game leads to diminished icetime at even strength .. fluid skater that can accelerate around defenders and his nimble footwork aides in his ability to slip away from defenders .. possesses soft hands with slick puck control and the way he intelligently shifts his stick to change his angles of attack keeps opposing goaltenders and defenders on their heels .. mildly physical, but he must upgrade his defensive game before the Lightning can call him up for NHL duty with confidence.

Chris Lawrence (TB), RW, Norfolk Admirals

An enticing physical package that hasn't yet put it all together to become a prominent force in the pro-game .. blessed with prodigious skating ability and strong strides for a player of his size .. failing to generate much with the puck on his stick because his hands could be softer and his middling on-ice vision limits him .. more of a crash-and-bang-type-of-player right now that is physical and competitive .. has a strong stick, but he must upgrade his balance to further his effectiveness in traffic areas .. utilized on the penalty kill and utilizes his long reach well to congest opponent passing lanes.

Jack Skille (Chi), LW, Rockford IceHogs

After registering one goal in six games to begin the season with the Chicago Blackhawks, Skille was recently sent down to Rockford and to his credit, did not sulk over managements decision and came to play with a positive attitude .. a world class skater with powerful strides and the ability to beat defenders wide with ease .. owns a hard shot that stings goaltenders through their pads .. has successfully improved his lower gears and is doing a better job at utilizing his linemates and finding the quiet space in the offensive zone .. Skille is an NHL-caliber-physical-package and won't be in the AHL much longer.