AHL: Taking Pouliot to Task

If you do not skate hard under Houston Aeros head coach Kevin Constantine, you do not play. That includes 2005 fourth overall draft pick Benoit Pouliot, whom the task master has scratched at times during the 2007-08 season. Long criticized for his lack of consistent effort, Pouliot is starting to show some improvement in this area, but he will probably never match the tenacity of teammate Cal Clutterbuck, a prototypical NHL energy-line player. McKeen's recently had the opportunity to watch the Aeros twice in ten days and enters notes on Pouliot, Clutterbuck, and a few other Minnesota Wild prospects.

Benoit Pouliot (Min), C/LW, Houston Aeros

Effort has shown some improvement under coach Kevin Constantine .. coming off a hamstring injury .. is very impressive when he does hustle, as he has an impressive speed burst when he chooses to use it .. is prone to periods of laziness, such as getting on side and most especially changing up .. also, likes to hang high and cherry pick in transition .. has a long, fairly powerful stride that gives him deceptive speed (which can make him appear lazy, but he is actually covering some ground) .. must make sure to stop at the net on odd-man breaks, instead of merely circling away, as this will help him get more rebound goals .. stickhandling almost has an artistic quality, as it is very smooth and is often one continuous motion .. is a top-six forward in the NHL if his effort remains consistently high during the course of shifts and games as a whole.

Cal Clutterbuck (Min), RW, Houston Aeros

Style of game meshes well with coach Kevin Constantine's intensity .. has good speed and is always hustling on the forecheck, backcheck, or manning the pointman ..more than willing to drop and/or slide to block shots .. must make sure not to drop too early to block shots and be sidestepped or walked around .. finishes his checks with authority .. definitely has an NHL future as an energy-line player and penalty killer.

Petr Kalus (Min), RW, Houston Aeros

Offensive numbers took a hit when Olvecky went down to injury, as he has shown good chemistry with him .. speed is still decent, but not high-end .. also shows good agility with the puck along the boards and is willing to take a beating to maintain control .. although willing to venture into traffic, he must improve his ability not to be muscled off the puck and improve at not losing control of the puck when making his tight moves .. Kalus's scrappiness allows him to muscle people off the puck in puck battles .. has a bit of an aggressive edge and intensity and will look for hits if he is agitated .. has soft hands and can receive very hard passes with ease.

Shawn Belle (Min), D, Houston Aeros

Seems to have hit his plateau .. handles the puck with much more confidence compared to earlier in his pro career, but has not translated it to any offense .. he now shows some agility with the puck, instead of using pure straightaway speed .. powerful skater both forward and backward (especially forward) .. power backwards allows him to maintain a small gap, but the 6-foot-1, 235-pounder rarely makes people pay the price .. pure strength allows him to muscle players off the puck or push them over .. has a quick wristshot from the point that he keeps low .. also has a booming slapshot .. has many of the tools to be a dominant defenseman physically, but has not yet brought it all together and seems no closer to Minnesota's lineup.

Ryan Hamilton (Min), LW, Houston Aeros

Missed two weeks in December due to injury .. at 6-foot-2 and 219 pounds, Hamilton has good size and he uses it well to shield the puck .. Hamilton does a good job of maintaining control of the puck down low by swiveling to keep his body between the puck and the attacker .. can absolutely dominate AHL defensemen who lack a physical game .. is also willing to absorb punishment to maintain control or make plays .. can buy his teammates a lot of time with how long he can maintain the puck and create plays with accurate passes .. is not overly aggressive, but can layout a nice hit.

Peter Olvecky (Min), LW, Houston Aeros

Missed the first three weeks of December with a knee injury .. 6-foot-2, 200-pound forward can fight through checks or use his size to establish position for the puck or use it to protect the puck .. able to maintain position along the boards and can cycle the puck well .. has good speed, but his game is more based on positioning, be it with the puck or in positioning himself defensively to intercept or tip passes .. makes crisp passes and can even make some pretty ones, including a nice backhand saucer pass, but they are occasionally to nobody .. can get off a quick slapshot with very little wind-up .. has shown good chemistry with Petr Kalus.

Paul Albers (Min), D, Houston Aeros

Injuries to other Houston defensemen have given Albers a chance .. is a hard, crisp, accurate passer .. has a hard wristshot from the point, but must work on making sure it is not blocked and that it does not go too high .. displays good agility with the puck and can switchback on opponents quickly .. 6-foot-1, 190-pound defenseman must improve in winning more physical battles and not just holding his own, but staying on his feet and gaining control of the puck .. long shot to play in the NHL, but is establishing himself as an AHL-caliber-offensive-defenseman after spending the bulk of his rookie-pro season in the ECHL.