OHL: 67s Not Rolling Over

After losing the opener of the OHL Finals to London, Ottawa came back with a strong effort to win the second match and tie the series at one game apiece. London's domination throughout the season has been well-documented, so we take this opportunity to look at several of the 67's players and how they've performed in the first few games. Lukas Kaspar's superb passing skills have been on display and defenseman Elgin Reid has shown that he's always there for his teammates. Through 120 minutes of action, we've got scouting notes on 11 Ottawa players.

GAME ONE

Mark Mancari (Buf), RW, Ottawa 67's

Huge forward who is extremely agile and smooth on his skates .. generates great speed once he gets going .. often used to skate behind the net in PP situations and charge the puck up the ice .. shoots from anywhere but had difficulty hitting the net .. missed on several opportunities throughout the game .. soft as tissue paper as he avoids the physical aspect of the game, rarely using his size to his advantage .. needs to drive to the net with more authority as his shots are usually peripheral from the right side .. has a heavy, hard shot and can really let it fly in a hurry .. looks a little lost in his defensive zone positioning and he needs to play higher on the point man.

Lukas Kaspar (SJ), LW, Ottawa 67's

Has excellent chemistry with teammate Jakub Petruzalek .. very creative with open ice .. nice skill set, soft hands, great on-ice vision and superb passing skills .. plays point on PP due to his super-hard heavy shot and ability to distribute the puck effectively .. beautiful cross-ice feed to Petruzalek for Ottawa's second goal .. nice moves crossing the line as he can suck defensemen out of position, but he lacks the upper-body strength to power through players .. skating is not spectacular and he has a tendency to float .. needs to work more for his chances as he often waits for plays to develop as opposed to initiating them .. always looking for break-out passes into the offensive zone and always the last man back in the defensive zone.

Jakub Petruzalek (NYR), LW, Ottawa 67's

Small forward who has a strong skill set .. choppy skater with small strides and is not overly fast .. needs to widen his stride, but his short and non-powerful legs prohibit this .. nifty playmaker, quick release and shot have tremendous zip .. attempts to find open ice and was even able to cut in between two defenders, but his lack of overall strength negated the scoring chance .. looks for tips but refuses to get in front of the net .. tries to backcheck but gives up on man way too easily .. looks lost in the defensive zone .. missed assignment and chased the puck carrier, completely losing his man and resulting in the GWG.

Will Colbert (Ott), D, Ottawa 67's

Captain of 67's team .. not overly physical and lacks strength to contain forwards along the boards .. Knights constantly dumping the puck deep into the zone to punish him with hits and force him to play the puck .. pressured extensively throughout the game .. looks to make safe, solid defensive plays, but his decision-making skills are suspect at times .. dove too early to intercept a pass, taking himself out of the play .. has a tendency to lose sight of plays and looked lost in PK situations, trying to do too much and chasing puck carrier as opposed to playing position .. PP QB, but does not have a really hard shot and uses it poorly .. lumbering skating style and reverse skating is not his strong suit.

Jamie McGinn (2005), LW, Ottawa 67's

Tall, lanky forward with great potential to fill out .. smooth skater with tight cuts and a nice stride .. aggressive on forecheck and he is often the first man in the zone pressuring the puck carrier .. soft hands and looks to generate offence whenever he can .. needs to work on strength and conditioning, which will allow him to stand in front of the net and bang away more goals .. must play more physically, finish checks and be stronger on the cycle.

GAME TWO

Bryan Bickell (Chi), LW, Ottawa 67's

Huge forward with good overall skill set .. needs to play more physical and be nastier .. must use his size to create more ice for him .. rarely uses his size to drive opponent to the outside or charge the net .. tall, upright skater with good take-off and decent balance .. needs to get down lower for increased speed .. sees the ice well and is able to make passes to spring teammates open .. limited 1-on-1 skills, prefers to dump puck in or go through opposition .. hard slap shot.

Chris Hulit (Free Agent), RW, Ottawa 67's

A tall player with soft hands .. extremely hard shot and fast release .. deceptive player who looks invisible on the ice but still manages to retrieve the puck somehow .. keeps his feet really far apart .. wide stance allows him to keep his options open as he can twist and turn on a dime .. sneaks in and out of danger zones .. puts himself in good position to score as his quick stick generates many dangerous offensive chances.

Julian Talbot (Free Agent), C, Ottawa 67's

First-line centre who has great chemistry with Hulit .. used in all special team situations .. uses an active stick on the PK .. looks for back door passes on PP as he often sneaks off the dot to charge the net .. set play that Kaspar uses to perfection nearly resulted in a goal .. hunched over skating style with a thick, heavy stride.

Elgin Reid (2005), D, Ottawa 67's

Aggressive defenseman who plays bigger than his size and is not afraid to get involved .. always sticks up for teammates and even engaged in a last-minute fight with London tough guy Kelly Thompson in Game 2 .. relies heavily on strong skating .. quick feet allow him to position himself accordingly and minimize scoring chances and offensive rushes .. eliminates the man from the play with well-placed stick and exceptional hand/eye coordination .. batted down many pucks throughout the game to remove the puck from the zone .. smooth skater with an effortless stride .. needs to improve upper-body strength as he was easily knocked off the puck at times along the boards .. uses speed to draw penalties but was called for a blatant diving penalty.

Brad Staubitz (Free Agent), D, Ottawa 67's

Mean defender who looks to constantly run star players and get under the opposition's skin .. tough as a bull and is playing with a high intensity level .. as an overager he plays in many critical situations and does not take a shift off .. sound defensively as he reads the ice well and has strong positioning .. recovers quickly if he gets in trouble .. QB PP with poise and is very calm with the puck, making the best possible decisions .. blistering shot from the point has scored a goal in each game of the series .. strong on his skates and is physically capable of containing forwards down low.

Derek Joslin (2005), D, Ottawa 67's

A tall and lanky defender who has really earned the confidence of Brain Kilrea .. plays in all situations and is often pitted against Corey Perry .. still making adjustments to his game as he tries to keep up with talented Knights forwards .. needs to keep his feet moving as he was caught flat-footed at times by Perry .. has a tendency to play the puck as opposed to his man .. skating is slick and reverse and lateral movement are strong suits .. quick acceleration to man the puck up the ice .. pressured extensively and worked constantly on boards .. series should really test his mental ability to adapt to a faster game and make sound decisions.