Major Offensive

The Mississauga St. Michael's Majors opened at home with a pair of wins against division rivals Brampton Battalion and Conference leader Barrie Colts. They fought to a shootout victory by way of a third period goal by Ryan Lopes against Brampton. Gus Katsaros from McKeen's Hockey was on hand for both games and files notes on several prospects, including NHL draft picks Casey Cizikas and Cameron Gaunce.

Casey Cizikas (NYI), C, Mississauga

Spirited finisher, scored due to being in front of the net for a tip .. plays physical along the boards, trying to get himself between the puck and opponent .. isn't the greatest skater, but keeps moving his feet and is always involved in the play .. stuck up for teammates in a scrum and had a spirited tussle where he held his own against Brampton .. showed strength and balance during the fight .. despite good distribution skills, he's a better goal scorer, and positions himself in scoring positions .. stops moving his feet on the defensive and was inconsistent backchecking .. Islanders 4th round pick in 2009 (92nd overall) played in multiple situations, special teams and a regular shift .. buzzed in the offensive zone and could have buried more chances to end the game before overtime, while not having the same impact in 6-2 drubbing of the Colts.

Devante Smith-Pelly (2010), C, Mississauga

Draft-eligible in June 2010, he carved his way into having a good two-game opener, including a four-point game (1-3-4) against the Colts, but doesn't have the elite scoring talent, as he relies on a strength game .. a hard-working, physical winger, yet a lumbering skater - Lurch-like .. lacks some speed and acceleration but makes it up with solid positioning and resolve along the boards, fighting hard along the wall .. big willingness to get to the net, and plants himself in front, not skating by scoring zones .. strong upper-body and plants and fights for his space in front of the net .. can stop moving his feet at times and seemed to pick his spots more in the game against Brampton .. impressive when bullies his way to the net, as he is tough to hold back and will be a force with more size .. may not make a deep offensive contribution but will always give a solid effort.

Riley Brace (2010), LW, Mississauga

Makes subtle plays in the corners and gets into position in the offensive zone .. intense and intelligent, positionally sound .. must rely on solid positioning and sneakiness due to smallish nature (5-11, 155) .. keeps his stick on the ice in all zones or just above and is prepared for passes with good one-touch skills .. can sometimes go out his way to make a hit, which isn't his forte .. displayed a good work ethic and followed the puck fairly well .. good defensive awareness and plays his position .. could be a good checking forward .. seemed ordinary in both games aside from some subtle moments sprinkled throughout.

William Wallen (2010), LW, Mississauga

Scored shootout winner against the Battalion .. smallish (5-8, 170) finesse winger - played all three positions throughout the two games .. slick hands and surprisingly heavy shot with a quick release .. intelligent, opportunistic and anticipates the play using good positioning to play the percentages (rebounds, tips etc) .. doesn't remain static and buzzes around in the offensive zone .. is a little unbalanced and knocked off the puck too easily .. slippery and elusive, using quick bursts, snake-like movements in open ice to get by bigger defenders with combination of stop/starts along the boards .. handles the puck a lot, and sometimes over handled when an obvious outlet was available .. a real scrappy and spunky scorer despite being slightly undersized.

Cameron Gaunce (Col), D, Mississauga

Selected in the 2nd round, (50th overall) in 2008 by the Avalanche .. has become a solid, smart and multi-faceted blueliner and is able to play in all situations .. makes intelligent plays along the blueline, especially under pressure from forward covering the point, spots outlets or gets pucks through to the net .. can sometimes over handle the puck and didn't always display the urgency needed for the situation, especially on the defensive side .. watched the puck at times, not recognizing his assignment in front of the net .. was overaggressive in front of his net under scrambles, showing good focus and resolve to hold his ground, but made one too many cross-checks for a penalty against Barrie .. was more in patrol mode, taking in the play and reacting rather than being distinctly involved in the play .. was low key for most of the game, not making many mistakes, nor making big plays to stand out.

Stuart Percy (2011), D, Mississauga

Big, physical and defensively sound .. not draft-eligible until 2011, but making impact with the Majors by patrolling the blueline as a physical, defensive presence .. big body with strong upper-body strength with a little mean streak .. lacking elite skating speed and has an average skating stride .. isn't a standout by any means, but doesn't make many mistakes either .. makes a good first pass, sometimes risked through the middle, otherwise making safe plays along the boards .. he has some underrated offensive skills, especially holding the puck in at the point, or getting pucks through forward checkers and down low .. won't light it up, but could be a rock on the backend.