Ladd Dominates in Ottawa

Carolina Hurricanes' prospect Andrew Ladd was the top performer at the Ottawa Rookie Tournament this past week, leading the field in goals (4) and points (7). We provide scouting notes on Ladd and other notable names representing the Hurricanes.

Brett Carson, D .. did little to stand out .. strong at tying up his man .. boring skater could get himself more involved physically .. decent enough positionally to not look out of place but he never makes his man pay physically .. feet are often in quicksand .. quite strong on the puck but isn't the most accurate passer .. penchant for some risk-taking with the puck .. got knocked out of the Canes' last game by Guillaume Latendresse's deadly hip check.

Danny Richmond, D .. excellent set-up skills .. powerful point shot, but needs to keep it lower .. could use better strength/balance on his feet .. very smooth, agile and can control the flow of the game .. could be more aggressive and airtight in man-on-man situations .. short, quick strides to accelerate .. sometimes one fake too many with the puck.

Jakub Vojta, D .. still a mystery to scouts .. flashes of elite moves with the puck .. very smooth with great quick hands .. struggled to keep the puck in the zone often mostly due to a lack of hustle .. stopped moving and creating late into game one and for the rest of the tournament .. sometimes comes off as a little flaky .. not yet very strong on the puck .. seems mentally behind on many plays, somewhat passive as if his head hasn't caught up to his feet .. doesn't make guys pay; they just squeeze in between him and the boards and keep going.

Andrew Ladd, LW .. looked like the most NHL-ready player in the tournament .. quick stick, nice big reach .. extremely active lumber is his finest weapon .. constant energizer along the boards keeps the puck in the opponent's end thanks to his physical might and resilience .. just mows through guys with his body .. fearless character guy without mental complexes .. gets involved in corner battles and doesn't give up until the puck is in the net .. active, mobile penalty killer who hounds defensemen ..exceptional balance .. nifty backhand beat the sprawling Loic Lacasse low glove-side .. a step ahead of every guy on the ice on every single shift.

Ondrej Otcenas, C .. very weak on the puck .. crafty but undersized .. looks very green and not used to North American ice and style .. made some poor reads on offense .. brutally weak on faceoffs .. he shows some impressive anticipation skills on offense, but even when he gets the puck it gets taken away quickly.

Craig Voakes, C .. quick little puck magnet has an excellent pair of hands .. great wrists just pluck pucks out of grasps of opposing players .. stronger than he looks and never stops battling .. had several playmaking chances where he thought too long and spoiled a potential scoring opportunity.

Vince Bellissimo, C .. pleasant surprise of the tournament can really set guys up and consistently wins puck battles .. he and Ladd made beautiful music together on the same line .. very confident, strong and well-balanced when the puck is on his stick .. never rushes a play; always very composed and on-the-money with his passes .. thinks the game like a pro .. strong pair of arms win him a lion's share of faceoffs .. surprisingly quick and active stick .. excellent puck protection skills .. must work on his release and shot power .. love his patience and balance; he just outwaits and outmuscles opposing defensemen and just when they think they have him in their grasps he feeds a linemate for a scoring chance .. not as good as Ladd, but pretty good.

Joe Barnes, C .. got layed out with a hip check by Steve Later early in the tournament and didn't come back thereafter.

Justin Peters, G .. played very well positionally .. showed surprising flexibility when going down to cover the lower part of the net .. lively glove swallows up pucks .. still not the most agile goalie but has gotten better.

Kevin Nastiuk, G .. well-coached netminder .. fundamentals have improved by leaps and bounds since his draft year, particularly his balance .. square to the shooter and reacts very well on second shots, whereby he manages to stay in position .. pucks hit him right in the mid-section .. on the right track.

Ottawa Rookie Tournament: The Top-10 Performances

1. Andrew Ladd, F, Carolina

2. Jeff Glass, G, Ottawa

3. Andrej Meszaros, D, Ottawa

4. Maxim Lapierre, F, Montreal

5. Vince Bellissimo, F, Carolina

6. Guillaume Latendresse, F, Montreal

7. Alexander Steen, F, Toronto

8. Rostislav Olesz, F, Florida

9. Kenndal McArdle, F, Florida

10. Patrick Eaves, F, Ottawa