OHL: Lalande Of The Bulls

Rookie goalie Kevin Lalande has been pushing veteran Eric Tobia for the starting job in Belleville all season long.

During a recent afternoon tilt against the St. Michael's Majors, Lalande made 28 saves in relief of Tobia, who allowed three goals on the first nine shots and was yanked just six minutes into the contest.

This wasn't the first time that the native of Clarence Creek, Ontario had stolen the spotlight from the 20-year-old Tobia according to OHL correspondent Doug Evinou, who files the following report from St. Michael's College Arena.

Kevin Lalande (2005), G, Belleville

Emerging rookie is currently sporting a .921 save percentage and slowly taking over the No. 1 job in Belleville .. boosted draft stock dramatically after a recent 42-save win over the mighty London Knights (2-1) .. replaced starter Eric Tobia just six minutes into this game and settled his team down immediately, crossing the crease to make a nice skate save on a Darryl Boyce wraparound .. had no chance on a pretty 3-on-1 passing play by the Majors orchestrated by Tyler Haskins, which was the only goal Lalande would surrender .. made 28 saves and allowed the Bulls to close the gap to 4-3 before Cory Vitarelli iced it with an empty-netter .. a butterfly goalie who displays excellent athleticism .. moves well in his crease and boasts the flexibility to make strong leg-stretching saves at the posts .. demonstrates solid leadership abilities on the ice as he is both vocal and demanding .. could end up as the OHL's top-ranked goalie for the next draft if he delivers a strong finish.

Evan Brophey (2005), C, Belleville

Slick pivot has grown over an inch since last season to 6-foot-2, while his point totals have followed a similar growth pattern .. has acclimatized well at Belleville's cavernous Yardmen Arena with 40 points in 33 games after being acquired from the Barrie Colts in October .. a strong, fast skater with excellent hands .. solid in the faceoff circle; cleanly won a draw in the offensive zone back to the point .. likes to work high along the sideboards on the power play, moving the puck to the pointmen and waiting for opportunities to unleash his pro-caliber wrist shot .. set up Bulls first goal in this manner with a pinpoint accurate feed .. displays some leadership abilities on a line with young forwards Ryan Berard and Matt Beleskey, but still must learn to be more disciplined .. took a senseless penalty with only ten seconds left in the second period, roughing up a Majors forward with a late hit in the neutral zone .. can be one of the OHL's better forwards when he plays smart and hungry .. however his inability to do so consistently is frustrating, though he has improved in this department since last season .. should hear his name called in the second or third round.

Geoff Killing (2005), D, Belleville

Not a flashy player but seems to get the job done .. logs a ton of important defensive minutes paired with overage standout Pat Sutton .. a decent skater with some size .. kills all penalties and seems to play every other shift even strength, but has absolutely zero presence in the offensive end and doesn't see the power play .. still, it seems like a freakish statistical anomaly that he doesn't even have a single point in 45 games this season, as he gets about 25 minutes a game and moves the puck competently .. did an excellent job tying up massive Majors' forward Peter Franchin who was driving towards the goal on a powerplay .. showed impressive durability and competitiveness on one particular play .. absorbed a huge neutral-zone check while making a pass, dusted himself off and got back into the action like nothing happened .. exhibits very little aggression at all, rarely getting involved in after-whistle skirmishes, although he wrestles along the boards and can tie up his man (and sometimes two) in his own end without a problem .. bit of a strange player whose effectiveness in his own end could draw late draft consideration.

John Hughes (2006), C, Belleville

First-overall pick in last year's OHL Priority Selection .. missed early portions of the season due to concussion-related problems, but has been healthy for the last 25 games and is starting to contribute more offensively (20 points in 39 games) .. benefits from having strong linemates in stellar overager Marc Rancourt and the tenacious Andrew Maksym .. however, his performance is somewhat disappointing in terms of NHL potential .. his speed and quickness is not quite top end yet, which it will need to be if he hopes to overcome a lack of size (5-10, 170 lbs) at the pro level .. appeared somewhat confused in his own end on one third-period play, failing to recognize his assignments quickly and then being unable to tie up his man due to a lack of strength .. largely ineffective offensively in this contest, and when that happens he brings very little else to the table at this point in his development .. while he should develop into an good OHL player, it's beginning to look like he may not be the star that one might expect from a No. 1 pick.

Ryan Berard (2005), RW, Belleville

Speedy winger has some nice tools, including a 6-foot-2 frame and above-average skating abilities .. however, his development since the beginning of this season has been largely disappointing .. offensive contributions have never reached expected levels and he is not using his size as aggressively as he should .. he is getting opportunities to play with talented pivot Evan Brophey, but will have to start producing if he wants to improve his draft stock .. sees very little icetime on the powerplay and was not instrumental in producing many quality scoring chances for his line .. given deep OHL talent pool this year, it is starting to look like he might be on the outside looking in come June.