NHL: Baby Panthers on the Prowl
The Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins had a chance to evaluate their young talent during a recent rookie tournament in Kitchener, Ontario. McKeen's correspondent Gus Katsaros was on hand and has notes for each team beginning with Shawn Matthias and the Florida Panthers.
David Brine, C
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Making The Cut reality show winner made his second appearance in the Panthers rookie tournament, this time sporting a 'C' on his chest .. has grown into a mature role, knowing to pick his spots and press, or to hang back and be defensively responsible, a good indication as to why he was named captain .. good skater with a horseshoe skating stride, wide, with small, quick strides .. fluid both in forward and backward motion and takes direct routes to his checks while sneaking into clear space in the offensive zone .. played on the first powerplay unit with centering duties .. wasn't as visible as in last year's tourney .. scored Florida's go-ahead goal against the Penguins coming from behind the net and using a quick shot to beat a sprawling Pens goaltender .. lacks elite hands, but has a mature two-way game for a role player.
Michael Frolik, RW
Rimouski Oceanic scoring sensation was an overall improvement in his second rookie tournament, a marked improvement over last season .. came out hard, and hit his man on the first shift .. looked around to make sure of his positioning, involved on every shift, hitting his man along the wall, or moving into position for a quick pass .. quick hands, smart decision-making .. has become a lot more diligent in the defensive aspect of his game and is much more involved mentally and physically .. turns in a tight radius with the puck .. played center in the second game .. has upgraded his forechecking and is more tenacious in the way he attacks at the puckcarrier .. protects the puck very well, winning a lot of one-on-one battles along the boards and sticking with his man in open ice .. has elevated his intensity without the puck .. could shorten his shifts a bit .. excellent shooting ability and very creative with the puck, using a decent skating stride and explosive acceleration, especially when identifying scoring chances.
Already making an appearance with the Panthers last season for a four-game cameo, scoring twice, the Mississauga native was impressive in every aspect of his game throughout this tournament .. hung out on the side of the net (as well as in front) on the powerplay looking for the quick stuff into the goal .. big and physical .. quick and soft hands .. good wristshot with a very quick release .. hard-working in the offensive zone .. excellent sense of position and where to be after he loses the puck, or where to go to get it back .. hard to knock off the puck .. finds a lot of open ice for his size, and gets shots off really quick with little room to maneuver .. distinct presence every shift, leading the offense both off the rush and controlling the play in the offensive zone .. should curb the stickwork on the forecheck and when he's lost a step on the opposition .. really crafty and able to get in behind the opposition to set himself up for quick passes, a very Brett Hull-like quality, only missing the elite Hull-like shot .. excellent play to be all alone in front for Florida's second goal against the Senators, with the presence of mind with no one around him to make a slick backhand/forehand move and beat the Sens goalie clean .. excellent work off the rush, using his long reach and outside speed to get around the defenseman and cut inside for a quick shot .. battles hard in front of the net .. a good bet to make the Panthers.
Kenndal McArdle, LW
Made his professional debut with Rochester last season, including a stint in the Florida Everblades .. hasn't improved his skating much from last season and could upgrade his sloppy stride .. despite going hard to the net on a play, he called for the puck in a stopped position, not in open ice where the teammate would have had to pinpoint the feed through the opposition and was frustrated when he didn't get the pass .. makes some sketchy decisions like leaving the puck at the point, while being chased, forcing his defender at the point to hurry the play or get caught flat-footed with a checker right on him .. good low, hard shot that he's able to get away in a skating motion .. has the presence of mind to get to the net after taking the shot looking for rebounds ..cuts in well with nifty, quick footwork, however isn't a very good overall skater .. physical, finishes his checks with passion but uses stick checks when he doesn't have position .. has a good sense of where to be to get the puck, as he uses his body well to shield it and isn't afraid of going hard into the corners to come away with it .. can work in a bubble sometimes and seems to spring the puck upon unassuming teammates with curious passing decisions losing possession in the process .. still has some work to do.
Michal Repik, RW
Diminutive Czech playing junior in Vancouver with the Giants really keeps his feet moving and is involved all over the ice on both sides of the puck .. hardly ever stationary and keeps his feet moving .. short, quick strides to get where he's going .. as expected from a smaller player, he's a little easy to knock off the puck and isn't a big physical presence, yet didn't shy away from getting into the play on the boards .. could keep his stick down on the ice instead at waist level, as pucks can zip by close to him where he misses because the blade isn't set on the sheet .. quick hands, but doesn't carry the puck much looking for outlets instead .. didn't display the best shooting ability in game situations, but in the warm up he was firing bullets with a short wind up .. shows a lot of top-six skills while not having the best overall tournament, but he was visible every shift for the Panthers .. likely headed to the Americans for seasoning.
James DeLory, D
Did not dress in the first game versus Ottawa .. former Oshawa Generals rearguard didn't look motivated and seemed to lack intensity .. very non-chalant all game, with low intensity .. didn't have the greatest positioning and lost a lot of space battles to speedier forwards .. forced to rely on stickwork to check due to being a step behind in the play, and uses the lumber a little too much - crosschecking forwards from behind .. finished his checks but really went out of his way to make hits along the boards and was often caught out of position .. has to stop with the unwarranted stick checks, and has to elevate his intensity to become a professional.
Hulking first round selection in 2007 (10th overall) was the main puckrusher on the powerplay and played the point, although was missing a distinct offensive edge in the first game .. physical and tough, he was a big hitter, although he doesn't take away the outside lane very well, allowing forwards to saunter into the zone, while he took away the pass into the middle, forwards got free passage to the net .. has to cut the space more effectively in his own zone .. has a difficult time containing space and didn't really cover his own zone all that well in the first game (although he was much improved in the second game) .. looked slow at times, lumbering skater with a hunched-over stride, although took off when rushing the puck, especially with the man advantage .. didn't take his man very well in his own zone in the first game, and improved that over the second game, using more effective space with his long wingspan and big size .. could be due to this being just a rookie tourney but he needs to upgrade his urgency, as he looked bored a lot of the time .. good skater, fairly agile (average), although he didn't show any big breakaway gear .. was a marked improvement mentally and physically in the second contest, showing a much more dynamic edge, and smarter overall decision-making on both sides of the puck .. an intriguing prospect.
AJ Jenks, C
Plymouth forward was a scrappy figure that didn't distinguish himself much in the first game as much as in the second game with more work and responsibility .. unexceptional skater, very unbalanced and looked tentative making forays with the puck, passing it off a lot, although that had to do with a lack in skating ability .. not afraid to initiate contact using his body a lot, but he still had a tendency to use his stick too much when the body checking opportunity wasn't quite there .. this leads to unnecessary penalties and happens when he is caught a step behind the play .. had some issues with pace and lack of urgency in his own game .. protects the puck very well along the boards and when carrying it, although he did an excellent job containing the puck along the boards in the opposition zone to kill penalties .. a lot of feistiness and played a good energy game.
Adam Comrie, D
The 6-foot-4, third round selection in 2008 (80th overall) makes some questionable decisions on both sides of the puck .. average skater, lumbering but doesn't contain explosiveness or much agility .. watches the puck in the defensive zone, not really covering anyone and allowing the Pens to sneak in behind him for clear passages to the net .. also has to spread out and not get too close to his own man .. unnecessary penalty using his stick to crosscheck the opponent, something he does a lot .. should be more physical for his intimidating size, but he's slow and it hinders his ability to get to his checks and doesn't do a very good job taking away available space quickly enough .. too slow to make a breakout decision with the puck behind the net, putting his teammates out of position and then throwing the puck up the middle where it was intercepted at the blueline and brought back for a scoring chance .. probably nerves, but he didn't have a great showing in the tournament.
Mike Duco, LW
A thorn in the side of many players all tournament long, the Kitchener Rangers sparkplug, taking advantage of the home surroundings capped-off three fights against the Pens with a really good, hard low shot from the left side for a nice goal .. a feisty, aggressor-type player that doesn't take any guff, and will initiate the yapping and after-the-whistle shenanigans .. despite the aggressor label, he did display some keen offensive skills, creativity and vision, as well as good passing ability and a decent shot .. could sometimes operate in a bubble, not using his teammates enough, while other times getting rid of the puck quicker than necessary for preservation purposes with bigger opponents bearing down on him.