OHL: Bang for the Clutterbuck

Doug Evinou provides scouting notes from a recent Brampton-St. Mike’s OHL playoff match. He highlights the play of Wojtek Wolski, Tyler Haskins, Phil Oreskovich, Scott Lehman, among others. Also find out about the 2006 draft-eligible speedster Cal Clutterbuck and his progress as a member of the Majors.

Wojtek Wolski (2004), LW, Brampton

Struggling in the playoffs, but we have no major worries .. his effectiveness has been limited by the fact that Brampton’s defensemen struggled to clear the zone against the Majors’ relentless forecheck and couldn’t get the puck to Wolski in full stride .. this seems to be the problem for Wolski that has dogged him all year; his teammates are not as quick as he and not on the same page .. Two things can be said about Wolski; firstly he is too good to be playing in Brampton, but secondly, he plays a style that would benefit from a playmaker who would feed him the puck .. he needs guys who can clear space for him and he has not gotten that all year, which explains the moderate stats .. turned the puck over to Tim Brent at his own blue line when pressured by an impending check from Cory Viteralli, resulting in a scoring chance … this was one of a few battles Wolski lost along the boards .. Wolski at times seems to take shifts off, skating in cruise control and then heading off the ice .. sent line mate Kamil Kreps in alone on Justin Peters with a nice pass, and then narrowly missed burying the subsequent rebound .. we have mixed feelings; needs to learn to create more by himself.

Phil Oreskovic (2005), D, Brampton

The Battalion knew they needed help in the defensive end after last season, so they used their first round selection in the 2003 OHL draft to select the 6-4 Oreskovic from the Toronto Young Nats system to help fill the void … the Battalion lean heavily on the young rearguard in almost all situations, and Oreskovic has responded with poise and steadiness … paired with Rob Smith on what is arguably Brampton’s top pairing … very strong on his skates, with good balance and decent speed … doesn’t contribute a lot of offence at this point in time, but can move the puck and has a good shot … the whole Battalion defensive corps struggled moving the puck through the neutral zone against the Majors’ persistent puck pursuit, but to Oreskovic’s credit, he was less culpable than most in the numerous turnovers that occurred during the game … it is reasonable to expect that Oreskovic could be a future Jay Harrison franchise-type rearguard for the Brampton franchise over the next few years.

Tyler Haskins (2004), C, Toronto

Haskins is the ideal Dave Cameron foot soldier, committed at both ends of the ice, and gives 100% every shift … a very intelligent player with excellent on-ice awareness; Haskins’ abilities with the puck are steadily improving … didn’t record a point during the game, but was still honoured as second star for his work at both ends of the ice … displayed his speed in the third period, sneaking behind the Battalion defence for a break-away, but failed to convert … was one of several Majors’ forwards who were successful in forcing turnovers by pressuring the Battalion defence as soon as they got the puck, rushing them into making faulty passes through the neutral zone … not afraid to skate into high traffic zones and take a hit to make a play … at only 6-0 and 185lbs, Haskins likely isn’t a good enough skater or offensive dynamo to be a first round pick in this year’s NHL draft, but would be an absolute steal in the third round.

Scott Lehman (2004), D, Toronto

Lehman continues to develop into the two-way defenseman the Majors have needed since trading Kevin Klein earlier in the season … a fine skater with good balance and speed, he can carry the puck up the ice, and frequently joins the rush to create odd-man scoring opportunities … a very capable passer who gets the Majors’ transition game going with solid first passes … allowed Brampton forward Jamie Fraser to beat him to the outside and behind the net on a wrap-around goal in the second period … the play was emblematic of Lehman’s biggest criticism: at only 6-1 and 185lbs, he isn’t strong enough to steer opposition forwards out of scoring areas … his forays into physical play are usually ill-timed, and result in him being out of position or in the penalty box … is regardless as skilled a defenseman in the draft crop, likely to be selected in the mid-rounds.

Cal Clutterbuck (2006), RW, Toronto

The Majors’ 2003 first rounder has been on an upward learning curve all season, highlighted by a strong performance with Team Ontario at the U17 championships in December, and his play during these play-offs … Coach Cameron has promoted Clutterbuck from his early season spot on the fourth line to riding shotgun on the top line alongside Majors’ dynamo Tim Brent … an absolute water bug on the ice, skating at top speed and finishing all his checks … developing into an agitator in the OHL, fearlessly challenging veteran leaders and tough guys despite lack of size at 5-11 and 165lbs … a very talented offensive player with the ability to stickhandle through traffic and find his team mates with crisp tape-to-tape passes … offensive production has exploded playing alongside Brent during the play-offs, where he has registered 6 points in 9 games …assisted on Tim Brent’s opening goal in the first period … like all of the Majors’ forwards, takes his defensive responsibilities seriously, and has improved his positioning in his own end from the start of the season … the Majors will be counting on Clutterbuck to keep expanding his role on the team next year, and help fill the void that will be left with Brent’s imminent graduation to the professional ranks.

Ryan Wilson (2005), D, Toronto

Was recently named the Majors’ 2003/04 Rookie of the Year … Wilson’s comfort level with the puck is much better then at the beginning of the year …in the third period, beat a man by jumping inside with the puck and carried the puck along the blue line to the middle of the ice and got a good shot on the net … quickly becoming renowned as a terrific open-ice body-checker, and he caught Battalion captain Chris Clayton with his head down in this one during the third period … could still improve his footwork, both in acceleration and with the puck … only 6-1, but the Windsor native is a very solid 195lbs already at just 17 years old, and had no trouble handling Brampton’s monster forwards like Adam Henrich, Kreps and Wolski.