Bears and Moose Gunned-down in Big Smoke

The Hershey Bears and Manitoba Moose were both recently roaming in Toronto only to be gunned-down by the Marlies. McKeen's correspondent Gus Katsaros was on hand to file player notes from both teams including John Carlson, Karl Azner, Michael Grabner, Sergei Shirokov, Cory Schneider and several other prospects.

Hershey Bears

John Carlson (Wsh), D, Hershey

Partnered early and for most of the game with Karl Alzner .. swift, mobile with exceptional offensive and puck rushing skills .. played every other shift and in all critical situations, except for a period where Hershey took multiple penalties in the third and partnership with Alzner was dissolved .. played only a few minutes of PK in the third period .. intelligent and sneaky, particularly in a play in the first period on the powerplay where he would sneak into the slot between the faceoff circles while the puck was in the corner and he lifted the defenseman's stick to open a passing lane for the player in the corner to the point for a hard shot on goal - looked like a set play .. played almost the entire powerplay, and surprisingly, not all on the point, more from the slot position .. plays a solid positioning game in front of the goaltender, protecting the slot .. highest scoring Bears defenseman .. focuses on the body, not the puck at all times and recognizes how to maximize body contact without taking obstruction penalties .. exemplary effort all around.

Karl Alzner (Wsh), D, Hershey

Long reach, active stick and uses it to sweep ice from the rush in front of him, almost using the stick to funnel rushers toward the perimeter, where he could use his ample frame to contain along the boards .. excellent gap control, and uses free space smartly .. fluid, exceptional skater with good forward acceleration and edge work, yet makes oddly wide arcs moving backwards and can seem unbalanced .. physical and takes the body at all times .. thinks the game well, complemented by good anticipation of situations before they happen .. with partner Carlson, he was used every second shift pretty much all game .. defensively responsible .. very agile for his size and has better lateral movement when in motion than from stand still position .. the lone Bears rearguard to kill entire 5-on-3 penalty, and then had to do it once again shortly after in a penalty-filled third period .. takes away passing lanes at all costs .. good puck-moving skills, not elite .. premium defensive defenseman.

Andrew Gordon (Wsh), RW, Hershey

Plays high in defensive-zone coverage .. lazy movements, lackadaisical approach and not very energetic for the most part until the puck is in sight .. standing on perimeter for the better part of the game, and a wonder as to how he's third in scoring for the Bears .. extra forward for the first powerplay unit .. should do more in motion instead of passive, waiting stance .. physical and can finish checks .. goes to the front of the goal without the puck and sets up a screen .. good core strength and planting of his feet into the top of the crease and bringing a defenseman to him for a better screening effort .. consistently lagged the play, both on offense and defense, unless he was directly involved.

Alexandre Giroux (Wsh), LW Hershey

Big and strong .. can be creative, either solitary or with teammates with great puck skills .. might stand around at times waiting for a play that won't materialize .. vocal praise of teammates after a strong hit in the second period .. so little movement culminates in a lot of scoring chances though .. deceptively quick for his size .. can be explosive and invisible on the same shift .. conservative approach to on-ice energy, almost lackadaisical, yet pounces hard once an opportunity presents itself .. puck is drawn to him wherever he is on the ice .. Bears leading scorer struggled with footwork and pace for the most part, perhaps due to the game the night before.

Oskar Osala (Car), LW, Hershey

Big, clumsy and awkward at times, but dominant, physical and creative at other times .. will do a lot of chasing .. big lumbering stride that gets better after a sluggish startup .. good offensive instincts and distribution skills .. used in a more primary defensive role with spot duty on a second line .. can fade in intensity on longer shifts and stops moving his feet, with body to follow .. good protection of the puck with big body and reach .. smart positioning .. can throw his weight around and get overpowered on the same shift .. makes good use of space and gets to the net without the puck .. could use his body better more consistently to protect the puck, and shouldn't hurry to pass it off when headed with pressure.

Chris Bourque (Wsh), LW, Hershey

Stops moving his feet and waits for passes in the offensive zone .. creative, yet careless .. plays the point on the powerplay while the only other defenseman played lower in the slot .. flowing skating style .. undersized forward had a lot of fun in the warm up with teammates and generally seemed happy to be back in the Hershey fold after claimed up by the Penguins .. used as a penalty killer in the third period when the Bears were down by two goals and needing an offensive spark .. did little in terms of offensive creativity, despite some interesting dangles .. a go-to player for the coaching staff when in need of offensive spark, but didn't work out in the overall scheme for the Bears on back-to-back nights.

Manitoba Moose

Michael Grabner (Van), LW, Manitoba

Scored tap-in only 11 seconds into first game on hard drive to the net .. high energy, rarely stationary looking for open ice to become an outlet .. streaky quick .. looked a little tired early in first game, and reverted to a perimeter game without puck focus .. stopped moving his feet and sluggish without direct involvement in the play .. displayed active on-ice frustration to broken plays .. tight turning radius, better suited to the left side .. entered second game on season high five-game point streak - that coincidentally began during a Marlies visit to Manitoba .. streak would end at five, as he was pointless in this game .. lined-up on the right side for faceoffs in the offensive zone before taking wing on the left side .. good spacing when covering the point .. not driving his feet, and rather coasted into position .. may not remain stationary much, but uses coasting momentum to perpetuate him along the ice .. can be weak physically at times .. difficult game (afternoon) to play in the schedule after a game the night before .. seemed to be labouring through this game .. reluctant to use his body and pay the price physically .. excellent offensive instincts and smarts didn't register through a less than stellar performance.

Sergei Shirokov (Van), RW, Manitoba

Had few shifts in first period due to extended periods of penalty killing time .. on one rare shift he headed to the net without the puck to set up shop by the side .. all about the offense in movements and anticipation .. tries to cheat early out of the defensive zone for quick breaks and has a sneaky way he weaves through traffic to get to the net .. doesn't find open ice as well and limits himself as an outlet .. didn't consider becoming an outlet and almost led to a turnover from a rusher getting pressured .. scored the third Moose goal by getting to the net and tapping in the rebound, very little effort, just good positioning .. will do a lot of flybys at the net without stopping if the puck isn't there, but has success when he stops off to the side, drawing a defenseman and opening up shooting seams or as outlet at the side of the goal .. barely visible in the first period of second game despite a regular shift .. good overall acceleration and speed from long skating stride, which is a little sluggish on first few start up steps .. easily rubbed out along the boards and isn't a physical presence .. streaky creatively and could be dynamic when he cranks up intensity, yet he rarely made use of his offensive skills .. reads the game well and complements it with excellent anticipation .. continuously attempts to cheat out of the zone early for breaks .. will skate himself into a corner as a puck rusher and doesn't get the puck in front of the net or to teammates, ending in turnovers .. generally disappointing overall two-game performance.

Cory Schneider (Van), G, Manitoba

Hybrid, athletic butterfly goaltender, that doesn't solely rely on technique, and can improvise .. fights for space .. doesn't give up on plays, making exemplary second efforts .. quick and agile, strong stretches for post-to-post and lateral movement .. technically sound and doesn't overshoot positioning .. mentally prepared and doesn't get rattled over little mistakes .. comes out of the crease to cut down the angle with a player bearing down, but can be prone to fakes and flop, which leaves the net open .. might be better to come out a little less further to recover in case of a fake .. gets big from a compact initial position .. juggled and almost lost out on a puck that went through his trapper .. quick glove and lateral movement, but not very fast .. seems to use technique to compensate for lack of speed.

Mario Bliznak (Van), C Manitoba

Quick release .. kills penalties and takes faceoffs .. responsible defensively and covers a lot of ice .. long reach .. seemed a little dazed at offensive pressure at times .. made himself an outlet and didn't just charge up the ice in support of breakout out of the defensive zone - smart decision making .. misses elite speed and weak first-step explosiveness .. lost his man coming out of the corner and gave up on the chase allowing free access to the slot and a scoring position - a rare slip .. started second game at center .. a first-unit penalty killer and relied upon in most defensive situations to diffuse pressure .. good down low and responsible in the defensive zone .. good vision and smarts, just missing high-end talent to complement good instincts .. takes active looks at his surroundings and adjusts positioning in relation to the play, not just focusing on where the puck is .. lost his man up high in the zone that went hard to the net and scored the Marlies second goal .. defensive specialist.

Dan Sexton (Ana), RW, Manitoba

Undersized property of the Ducks placed in Manitoba .. turns his back to the puck/play often .. misses physicality and shies away from board battles .. quick, speedy and deceptively fast off the hop, needing relatively few steps to get to top speed .. protects the puck well, despite size and physical limitations .. can skate himself into a corner and loses the puck .. good change of pace .. misses inside game, mainly due to size and lack of upper body strength, yet with the Ducks, he moved into dirty areas very often, and found scoring success .. ineffective for most of the game .. bounces off bigger opponents and retaliates with disguised, yet flagrant stick swings, which may work in the AHL with one referee, but won't with the two-ref system at the NHL level .. temporary assignment to Manitoba, but size is a hindrance for NHL, despite having a great showing overall.

Nikita Kashirsky LW, Manitoba

Quick release, decent shot .. involved in the play at all times, visible .. gets his body between the puck and defender, using good protection skills .. sparkplug up front, getting involved in corners and applying forechecking pressure .. lacks the size of a typical power forward .. excellent stick preparation in front of the net, and stops in the slot with pressure in the zone, attracting defensemen from down low and forward up high, opening lanes for teammates .. hard worker in all three zones .. took faceoffs and played some center in this game .. thinks and reacts to the game well, with an up-tempo and focused attention to being a difference maker regardless how slight on every shift .. good skater, gets decent speed, despite a sluggish and unbalanced startup stride .. showed excellent potential as long as he can put some weight on and focus on an inside game that's bursting to be revealed.