BCHL: Dustin The Wind

South Surrey took a bit of a gamble on the skilled, but volatile Dustin Slade after the Regina Pats of the WHL sent him packing after growing weary of his emotional outbursts on the ice. However, he has been a model citizen in the playoffs and is a huge reason they are playing the Nanaimo Clippers in the Coastal Division Championship starting Friday. We have notes on Slade and a number of his Eagle teammates from recent games.

T.J. Mulock (Free Agent), RW

Undrafted South Surrey sparkplug wears an A .. took a breakaway pass at full speed and had the goalie beaten, but rang the shot off the post .. very good top end speed .. has the vision to succeed running the powerplay from the point .. dished out a nice pass to a teammate in the slot .. tried to force a point shot through traffic without luck .. tenacious second effort around the puck, which often results in a scoring chance from his hard work .. picks up his man after a face-off .. doesn't shy away from traffic .. plays on the penalty kill .. excellent effort stripping the puck away from an opponent in the slot .. has been overlooked in the past, however, should be able to make a living somewhere playing hockey.

Andrew Kozek (2005), C

Versatile forward got stopped on the door step .. displays good vision, especially on the power play .. had some trouble beating a defender one-on-one .. has very good overall speed and mobility, but could add a bit more power to his stride .. waited for a pass and allowed himself to be taken out of the play .. came back hard to support the defense after driving to the net .. his wrist and slap shot lack some accuracy, he is a threat to score given his quick release and a healthy zip to his vast array of shots, however, he needs to work on hitting the net and picking the corners as his accuracy sometimes fails him .. isn't hesitant to shoot .. supports the man with the puck .. knocked home an overtime goal over the goalies shoulder .. can make checkers miss with his ability to accelerate .. isn't an overly physical player, yet did display some surprising grit finishing a hit or two along the wall.

Tyler Eckford (NJ), D

His progress has slowed since the start of the season, however, he remains a solid NHL prospect .. wears an A .. shows very good patience with the puck and has the ability to go end to end at a moment's notice .. at times he isn't able to use his teammates effectively as he pushes too deep and gets caught in no man's land with few opportunities left, but to dump the puck in or force a shot .. displayed some feistiness late in the period .. tried to "sell" the official on calling a penalty .. can hit with authority .. failed to finesse a breakaway pass over the stick of the last defender .. logs a ton of minutes in all situations.

Dustin Slade (2005), G

Has the tools to be a factor on draft day and even though he looks like he is starting to put his emotional outbursts behind him, there will be teams that will shy away from him .. great poke check to knock the puck out of harm's way on a power play .. remained poised and showed no signs of flipping out after getting high sticked .. was beaten high on the short side on the first goal .. stays square to the shooter and covers the net well .. must work on his ability to regain his feet after he goes down as he struggled on more than one occasion to recover .. terrific reflexes, especially notable is to make incredible kick saves .. skated well out to get a to loose puck and just before the opposition forward gained possession to clear the zone .. he'll stop any shot he sees and has gained a well-deserved reputation as a "money goalie" .. selected the first star three times (third star in the other) in the second round versus Chilliwack .. played with composure and not letting traffic affect him and keeps his mind on the task at hand .. stopped a penalty shot in the last minute of play that would have sent the game in to overtime.

David Rutherford (2005), RW

Slick skating speedster would be a first day selection if only he were three or four inches taller .. made a bunch of terrific dekes to get past the defender and then tucked home a slick shot on the far side .. looks for the man on the two-on-one .. took a stick to the face while driving to the net .. simply amazing to watch if given any room to handle the puck, but his noticeable lack of size will hurt his chances of being drafted .. displayed desire hanging around in the crease with a defender draped all over him, however, was only able to muster a weak shot on goal .. corrals even the hardest pass with relative ease .. soft hands in tight quarters .. was cut for 24 stitches and played the next game with a visor.

NOTES: Tim Crowder missed games 3 and 4 versus Chilliwack due to strep, but is expected to be in the lineup versus Nanaimo.