AHL: San Antonio on a Rampage

The Toronto Marlies drew the San Antonio Rampage in the first round of the AHL playoffs, beginning the set with two games at Ricoh Coliseum before heading off to San Antonio for three. The teams split the first two games in Toronto, featuring miscues and advantages for both clubs. McKeen's correspondent Gus Katsaros was on hand to take notes on San Antonio key players, including newest arrivals and Michigan teammates, Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik.

Kevin Porter C, San Antonio

Keeps up with the flow of the game very well, sometimes working behind the scene and moving in for quick strikes, becoming an outlet in the clear, or to pick up a loose puck .. can be overwhelmed by bigger defensemen laying into him, but that could be a component of playing his first professional game .. has to be more diligent covering his man in the defensive zone .. quick release .. shifty .. has to keep from being hit .. kicked out of the faceoff dot for being a little overzealous .. good dash, lots of speed accepting a pass and taking it across the Marlies blueline with quick and deceptive change of pace only to be hauled down, drawing a penalty .. tries to finish checks and will be better once he upgrades his strength, and gets accustomed to the speed of the professional game .. made good darts to the net and was sneaky in getting into the play in offensive zone .. two assists on Kolarik goals in the second game bode well for both players development.

Chad Kolarik LW, San Antonio

Plays a little too deep in the defensive zone leaving the points open .. good skater, cuts well .. wide stride, gets good speed with massive strides .. skates well getting into open areas well .. should keep his stick on the ice, especially with a penchant for going hard to the net .. could be more physical at times .. really battles in front, using his body to gain positioning .. hard to get an accurate read on his skating, except that it is inelegant, yet effective and speedy with good acceleration .. more physical than initial game, taking a big run at Marlies defender .. wide stride, even when coasting - not moving his feet .. followed the play to the net and threw it into open cage with Pogge down .. good instincts to get to the net without the puck, an element contributing to a hat trick in his second career professional game .. good shot, deceptive .. plays bigger than his 5-foot-11 frame.

Enver Lisin RW, San Antonio

Has an erratic shot .. used on a regular shift between Michigan rookies, Porter and Kolarik as well as a pk and powerplay time .. such a phenomenal skater, where his hips act as a swivel, and gets excellent speed with minimal strides .. an Antoine Vermette in the making, if his hands can catch up to his feet .. deceptive set up for a good wristshot, which seems to be the shot of choice using a quick release to get bullets from all angles .. likes to shoot high, far side .. could be a better passer, but is usually traveling at such a speed that teammates may not be able to keep up .. backchecks well, but can be a bit lax in the defensive zone .. a developing talent that auditioned well in the NHL to end the Coyotes season.

David Spina LW, San Antonio

Good skater, gets down low to extend his stick while forechecking and to hit .. quick to jump on a Marlies bad clearing attempt and skate into the goal, but missed with a high shot .. is hit a lot and puts himself into positions to get smashed, both in open ice and along the boards .. gets back hard defensively, and sticks to his man in coverage, but can lose him if the puck veers from within eyesight .. picks up his man on the backcheck, instead of just trying to get back into the play .. always moving his feet .. gets good top-end speed from streaking through the neutral zone .. scored his team's first goal by going hard to the net to get a quick feed .. could disguise his intentions better 1-on-1 .. slick hands with a nice move to elude a Marlies forward high in the offensive zone, by getting the puck by him, through the legs leaving the defender to travel in the opposite direction .. low center of gravity, very Martin St. Louis-like without the long stick .. took a bad retaliatory penalty .. a little on the smallish side, but has some big-time-offensive upside.

Bill Thomas RW, San Antonio

Gets into dirty areas of the ice and supports scrums along the wall instead of getting physically involved .. goes to the front of the net without the puck .. has to get quicker in both decision-making and execution .. does not possess an active stick, and used sparingly .. is muscled off the puck easily .. could be a balance issue .. too many stick checks, not enough physical work .. big shot with a quick release .. quite possibly a career AHL talent at this point.

Keith Yandle D, San Antonio

Powerplay pointman .. gets in deep on occasion with pressure down low .. can be more aggressive physically .. has trouble containing bigger forwards in front of the net .. takes away space from forwards on the rush very well, pushing them off the side and not allowing them to get inside .. gets across quickly to take away space in the slot .. fluid skater, dangles the puck by extending his arms and pulling it back toward him at the last second while rushing .. can be easily knocked off balance .. good quick decision-making with pressure, looking for the safe play when there is not an outlet .. good powerplay QB in the AHL, which should translate well in the NHL.

Dylan Reese D, San Antonio

Likes to jump into the rush .. can overextend himself looking for his man and is caught out of position, scrambling back .. decent skater, a necessity to rush the puck from the backend .. did not look very good in Game 1, making many mental mistakes in his own end, which probably led to his benching in the second game.

Logan Stephenson D, San Antonio

Tough and likes to play with a physical edge .. inelegant skater, not very fast and lacks mobility .. loses balance easily and when he is caught, he gives up the puck or makes bad outlet decisions .. overextends himself and scrambles to get back into position .. makes an occasional outlet pass that connects, while the majority of time makes his teammates scramble to recover turned-over pucks, or look out for suicide pass .. was directly involved in the Marlies first goal, losing his man in front and not picking up another .. despite good size, he does not look like an impact NHL blueliner.