OHL: Attack of the Clune

Daniel Carcillo, LW (Pit), Sarnia

Hard-working yet not particularly rangy winger .. struggled to get open well on the PP; positional sense is disappointing .. has a nice release; a snappy, quick wrister .. does not appear to be quick enough mentally to create at a high level .. a good receive-and-shoot guy .. a sneaky-quick skater, but not fast and at times does not move his feet as well as he should .. creates chances by attacking the net .. willing to throw his body around; has average lower-body strength .. disappointed in offensive man-on-man situations; neither quick nor deceptive enough to create by himself .. looks frustrated so far this season due to the lack of talented linemates (injured Dan Fritsche has yet to play a game) and appears to be trying to do too much himself, turning over the puck frequently .. will amass his share of points, but rarely in a pretty manner.

Richard Clune, LW (2005), Sarnia

A deceptive, often unassuming player, but every now and then shows a burst of explosiveness .. made a pretty passing player from behind the net, jumping on the puck and feeding the onrushing linemate with a crisp, accurate delivery .. quick feet, short steps .. not blazing, but sharp on his turns and takes off quickly with first step .. it takes a while to appreciate just how effortlessly he moves around the ice .. invisible in the first period, but commanded attention in the second before disappearing again in the third .. moves well at full speed with the puck, but failed to complete a number of fast-rush passing plays .. exhibited nifty change-of-pace moves with the puck entering the opponent's zone .. hangs around the net on the PP, looking for tips and rebounds .. needs to develop a more powerful skating stride and build up lower body .. opportunistic when the puck reaches him, but needs to show better puck pursuit mettle.

Derek Joslin, D (2005) Ottawa

Keeping the 67's blueline injuries in mind, he has been regardless Ottawa's smartest, rangiest rearguard so far this season .. a savvy, instinctive passer; looks seasoned on the PP .. has a nice reach and very polished positional sense .. a good, clean all-around skater, laterally and backwards; sufficient speed .. unloads a sharp, low slapper from the point, but struggles with his release, especially on the one-timer which he fanned on several times .. played in PP and PK situations (even when down two men), earning high marks .. it appears that Brian Kilrea has been showing more trust in him on specialty teams situations than Kyle Wharton who has not shown good hands .. crisp, tape-to-tape each and every time; it is hard to believe this kid was in Vaughan last season .. pounced on a loose puck around John Hecimovic's feet and raced with good speed into the Sting zone, but the subsequent slapper on Mike Iafrate was weak .. made a strong positional move tying up a driving Danny Carcillo near the slot .. stood his ground in front of the net .. strong for a kid starting his first OHL campaign and will get stronger .. could use 5-10 more pounds of bulk, though frame is decent for a puck-moving type.

Trevor Solomon, D (2006), Sarnia

A transparent (often in a good way) stay-at-home rearguard .. somewhat rough on his turns .. skates with what is a slightly stiff, bent-over back outline .. conscientious, but not showing a lot of range at the moment .. frustrated his man effectively; gets into the guy's grill by keeping his body close .. needs to add a greater physical dimension, but made several satisfactory checks .. has above-average size for a rearguard .. Belleville's first round pick in the 2003 OHL draft.

Jamie McGinn, LW (2006), Ottawa

Played a relatively small number of shifts; most of them very short .. strong work ethic, consistent drive, but hands are not there yet .. 67's third round pick in 2004.

Scott Restoule, C (2005), Sarnia

An effortless, smooth straightaway skater .. sharp, quick turns; graceful stride .. an unpolished stickhandler at full speed .. has a nice reach and a quick stick .. not a big kid, but stronger than anticipated at the faceoff circle .. took some beating along the boards; still has filling out to do .. effective, hard working on the cycle .. drove the net from the left side, sneaking in with a nifty inside-out move on the defender, ultimately mustering a shot off, albeit at a bad angle .. it would be nice to see more consistent energy and slightly quicker feet.

Elgin Reid, D (2005), Ottawa

Looks more physically filled out than last season .. took the body hard successfully at open ice .. could be a potential Brendan Bell-type, but is not yet very sturdy on his feet .. tried to carry the puck out of the zone by himself with a man on his back, but was stripped off it resulting in a near-breakaway by Sarnia .. has not made considerable strides in decision making since last season and may have to endure depth duties until he shows better vision .. guys beat on him left and right way too easily due to a lack of lower body bulk.

Anthony Guadagnolo, G (2005), Ottawa

Impressed a lot last season after a mid-season call-up and stuck around for the duration (Lukas Mensator's leave to WJC tournament and Danny Battochio's successful surgery on malformed blood vessel near his brain, which ended his season) .. coming into the year as the backup to Battochio, but a platoon is more likely due to his excellent early play .. biggest improvement since last year is his positional movement; shots consistently hit him in the chest, also indicating good vision .. had Sarnia completely stumped all night, stopping 55 of 59 shots on goal (turned aside all 25 shots on goal during the crucial second period) in a 6-4 67's victory .. excellent near-elastic flexibility and lateral movement .. balance has improved dramatically .. smothered most high shots sans rebound .. very strong down low and did not go down prematurely .. possesses a sharp, lively glove hand on high shots and down on the ice .. still has that Cujo-esque flair for the spectacular as last season, but has been much more economical .. could make Battochio expendable soon.