AHL: The QC

If you are looking for a teen melodrama along the waves with many pretty faces, the QC is not for you. If, however, you like waves and waves of hard-working young players committed to a defensive game, the Quad City Flames might be your team, although Dan Ryder leaving the team six games into the season created an interesting sub-plot. The star prospects in the Quad Cities aren't blue-chip offensive players, but are tenacious checkers like Brandon Prust that create turnovers by playing defense first and then utilizing their offensive skills to finish those chances. The team also has little flash on the blueline, but it does have young defensemen like Matt Pelech and Tim Ramholt that are reliable. McKeen's recently had the opportunity to see Quad City on two occasions and enters notes on Prust, Pelech, Ramholt, and a number of other Flames prospects.

Brandon Prust (Cgy), LW, Quad City

Energy forward stepping up his offensive game .. effective in cycling the puck, especially as the player passing it out of the corner toward the net.. passes are crisp and accurate .. also has decent speed and agility with the puck .. forechecks hard and backchecks hard and effectively, as he strips players of the puck from or intercepts passes on the backcheck often .. finishes his checks and will drop the gloves .. improvements in offensive game make him very worthy of another look in the NHL as an energy-line forward .. Quad City's best all-around player.

Matt Pelech (Cgy), D, Quad City

Big defenseman who moves the puck fairly well with reliable, simple plays .. makes crisp passes, most of which are right on target .. shows some poise with the puck by not panicking and some confidence handling it .. typically will take a few strides with the puck and make the outlet pass, but can skate it into the zone and will pinch from the point from time to time without the puck .. pivots involved fewer steps than previous viewing this season .. has a hard wristshot or slapshot from the point and keeps it low .. size allows him to pin opponents along the boards, but he must make sure to maintain position for the puck in races into the corners or behind the net .. can layout some big open-ice hits .. willing fighter and can use his long reach to thwart opponents from landing damaging blows.

Tim Ramholt (Cgy), D, Quad City

Moves the puck well .. makes hard, crisp, accurate passes and can feed teammates with long-distance passes .. maintains poise with the puck and does not panic when hounded by forecheckers or backcheckers .. has a decent wristshot from the point and can receive a pass and shoot it in one smooth motion .. demonstrates good agility with the puck, but is at his best when he does not get too fancy .. backward-skating mechanics are strong, as he does not rely on crossovers and can maintain a wide base and power position to move quickly and with some power in any direction.

Kris Chucko (Cgy), RW, Quad City

Patience with the puck stuck out most in these viewings, as he would not be forced into ill-advised passes no matter how hard he was being hounded, be it in the offensive zone or the neutral zone .. utilized as the man in front of the net while veteran offensive forces Grant Stevenson and Krys Kolanos worked the puck around the perimeter and then collapsed toward the net or fired it for Chucko to deflect or for a rebound .. still showing good speed in forechecking and racing for the puck, as well as decent power in his stride .. if Chucko continues to put up only modest offensive numbers, he will need to add more physicality to his game to warrant NHL icetime, as he does not have the pure speed and skating to be a defensive specialist in the Paul Ranheim or Mike Sullivan molds.

David VanderGulik (Cgy), RW, Quad City

Has decent speed and does a good job staying in a low skating stance, but could afford to lengthen his stride .. reliable defensive forward whom forechecks hard and finishes his checks .. backchecks hard and effectively, stripping opponents of the puck or tipping or intercepting passes .. also positions himself on the backcheck to hold up opponents from receiving passes but not drawing penalties .. passes the puck crisply and accurately .. crashes the net and has a quick shot .. still a long shot to play in the NHL for more than an emergency recall despite defensive awareness.

Brett Sutter (Cgy), C, Quad City

Looks significantly better than earlier in the season .. confidence with the puck is markedly better, as he now maintains control, stays poised with the puck, and demonstrates some agility to spin away from checks or making toe drags around opponents .. has a hard shot that he can get off quickly .. skating is looking smoother and more confident, too, although he could still afford to lengthen his stride .. has decent speed and hustles on the forecheck and finishes his checks .. can utilize his quick feet when necessary .. looks like a player primed to breakout in the second half of the season or in year two.

Tomi Maki (Cgy), RW, Quad City

Defensive specialist is not devoid of offense as statistics might indicate.. a crisp, accurate passer who can get his passes through traffic .. has a quick shot and is occasionally called upon for shootouts .. offensive game is simple though .. defensive abilities are well known, as he forechecks and backchecks hard and finishes his checks .. combination of speed, hustle, tenacity, and defensive awareness allows him to create significant problems for opposing teams low on the forecheck .. a mainstay on the penalty kill.

Brett Palin (Cgy), D, Quad City

Big, defensive defenseman polishing his game .. passing games needs further refinement, as he makes quick, crisp passes, but they are off target more than occasionally .. does have some hands, as he can one-touch pass fairly well and make a nifty deke stickhandling wide .. 6-foot-2, 203-pound defenseman plays with some physicality down low and in the neutral zone .. demonstrates a long stride skating forward, but can get vertical and leave the power position when accelerating .. when skating backwards, Palin relies on quick feet in accelerating and relies upon crossovers, taking him out of a power position.

Adam Pardy (Cgy), D, Quad City

6-foot-4, 218-pound defenseman appears to be polishing his offensive game .. skating the puck a fair amount and showed some ability doing this, be it skating out of the corner with the puck or even going coast-to-coast .. over handled the puck on occasion and was stripped of it .. has a crisp wristshot from the point and keeps it low .. still plays with some physicality and can angle-off opponents and finish them.

Brad Cole (Cgy), D, Quad City

Tall, lanky 6-foot-3, 185-pound defenseman has a polished passing game .. makes crisp passes, connects on board passes, and can connect on long-distance passes .. has a hard pointshot that he does well to keep low .. needs to add more power to his skating .. relies on crossovers too much skating backwards and does not generate a great deal of power doing so .. skating forward, Cole's stride could be lengthened .. shows some battle along the boards, but does not pick up many penalty minutes doing so.

Gord Baldwin (Cgy), D, Quad City

6-foot-5, 205-pound lanky defenseman looks overwhelmed .. appears to lack leg strength and is upright when accelerating backwards, pivoting, or skating in general .. has a tendency to try to feather soft passes, which are often intercepted .. can connect a quick, crisp pass, which makes his feathering tendency even more puzzling .. over skated the puck on a number of occasions racing into the corner with an opponent .. has trouble rubbing out opponents and has trouble in physical battles .. additional strength would likely solve many of Baldwin's current areas of needed improvement.