OHL: New Dog House for IceDogs

In an ironic twist, the Niagara IceDogs moved from one of the newest rinks in the OHL, the Hershey Centre, to one of the oldest, the Jack Gatecliff Arena. Their rivals the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors made a similar switch however in the other direction, as they relocated from the old St.Mikes arena to the Hershey Centre. The IceDogs are considered top contenders this year in the East. The cozy confines of the Jack Gatecliff arena suit the IceDogs style of play, as they are a team equipped with speed and grit. Many key players have returned including Stefan Legein and potential top-5 NHL draft pick Alex Pietrangelo. McKeen's reviews several IceDogs poised to make a splash this season.

Alex Pietrangelo (2008), D, Niagara

Pietrangelo has all the tools to be a longstanding pro .. his size, his skating and his overall skill set are tailor made for the NHL .. he has all the key components that make a great skater - acceleration, flat-out speed and mobility .. his reverse movement is also strengthened by his ability to cross over quickly and efficiently .. it is scary to think how good he will be with increased strength and conditioning .. he does not get involved physically but showed a slight willingness to finish his checks .. he does not feel comfortable making opponents pay the price and as a result, it leaves him open to hits from behind .. he does not use his size to bulldoze players, rather he ties people up and uses his finesse skills to play defense .. he is tough to beat one-on-one. once again due to his marvelous skating .. at times he can be caught trying to do too much and loses his down-low coverage but always seems to recover .. he is equally adept at carrying the puck out of the zone or making a first pass .. a methodical player, he approaches the game with a laid-back style that gives the illusion that he does not work very hard .. he makes things look so easy it almost appears that he is not challenging himself and scouts are left to wonder if there is another layer to his game .. his main strengths lie in his smarts and understanding to play within his limits, thus neutralizing potential mistakes as a result .. the burning question NHL scouts will be asking is does he play with enough urgency to be a star player or a support one?

Chris VanLaren (2008), D, Niagara

Van Laren played well in last year's training camp and almost made the team out of the gate .. there was some confusion as to where he would play last season due to card issues and the belief that a spot was in fact open for him on last year's squad .. he actually played in North Bay as opposed to Kingston last season, due to the confusion .. a fluid, effortless skater, he has nice start-up speed and above average mobility to keep up and defend .. struggles with the puck as he adjusts to the pace of the game .. still prone to rookie mistakes, position wise .. he can lose his man when forwards are crossing into the zone however, in one-on-one situations, he is able to keep his man to the outside .. still maturing into his continually growing 6-foot-2 frame, he will need to add more muscle to his sinewy frame.

Dylan MacEachern (2008), LW, Niagara

After a successful season with Milton of the OPJHL and nine games with the club last year, the sixth round selection joins the IceDogs full time this season .. a surprisingly strong and brash winger, he will force plays out of sheer will and determination .. once he gets his feet moving he is very difficult to contain and defenders are often forced to haul him down .. very strong on his skates, he digs into the ice staying low, while dropping his shoulder to fully gain position on defenders .. only knows one way to play and that is tough .. he is like a bull in a china shop, as his reckless approach serves him well to create his chances .. he is more of a north-to-south skater .. his turns are not overly fluid and his change of directions hinders his defensive play .. he looks awkward when defending because he lacks the understanding of where to go .. offensively he works on instinct, as he appears not to have any set play in his head rather, he just does what he feels he needs to do .. an interesting prospect but NHL aspirations might be too high.

Barry Sanderson (2008), LW, D, Niagara

Generously listed at 5-foot-10, the Michigan native is a peppy little skater who can manufacture decent speed in the straightaway .. swift turning radius, he is not dynamic and will not blow by players largely due to his short stride that lacks rink-long speed .. played both the forward and defensive position in this contest and actually looked more comfortable hanging back, as he had more time to make a play .. he made safe, economical plays that did not cost his team however, he did not provide them with any scoring opportunities .. limited offensive game .. he does show some promise handling the puck when in full motion however, too often he will look to get rid of it .. needs to work on his confidence and not be afraid to make a mistake.

Stefan Legein (CBJ), RW, Niagara

It is amazing what difference a year can make because at this point last year, Legein was trying to establish himself as a top-six forward and then nine months later, he was an early second round NHL pick, as his hard work and persistence paid off .. this year, with the key departures of Chris Lawrence, Jordan Owens, Oskar Osala and his former roommate Travis Fuller, Legein has quite the shoes to fill to supplement the offence for his club .. an explosive and dynamic player with or without the puck .. great first step powered by a lower body that saw considerable gains in the strength department this season .. he is alert and dangerous especially by the net .. he takes the time to evaluate his first, second and third options and is hungry for the puck .. not afraid to really push the envelope in attacking and trying to sneak between players to make a move toward the net .. he will score a bulk of his goals from in close as he uses his wristshot .. he rarely takes a shot from the point as that is too far for him .. his improved strength has allowed him to fend a defender off with one hand and make a play with the other .. should be the leading scorer of this team and has a good supporting cast up front .. coupled with Luca Caputi, the two have formed good chemistry early in the season .. Legein's play has often been compared to Darcy Tucker however, his offensive skills are eerily similar to former NHLer Cliff Ronning, which should make him fully equipped to play in the NHL .. watch for him to make an impact and have an outside chance of making Canada's WJC.

Chris DeSousa (2009), C, Niagara

Sensationally small but built like a boulder .. he is strong and does not back down from any battles in any area of the ice .. excels along the boards, as he can wrestle his way into a scrum and retrieve the puck .. highly competitive player whose energy rubs off on others .. never stops working, as he constantly drives his feet forward to advance the puck .. decent skater who will need to work on his start up but gets there when he is in motion .. will need to tone his body and refine his upper-body strength, especially his arms so he can truly hold off the opposition along the glass .. spark plug of a player who oozes character and should be a fan and team favorite in no time .. has the potential to wear a letter in his OHL career.

Andrew Agozzino ( 2009), C, W, Niagara

It seems that Agozzino has been on the OHL radar for a long time now .. he has always played ahead of his age group and two seasons ago, he was actually the captain of the 1990-born Vaughn Kings .. his play may have digressed slightly as he returned to minor midget for his OHL draft year .. he played on a superior team and developed lazy habits, which saw his stock plummet from a potential top-3 selection to 15th overall .. a smaller yet creative player, he can make plays in tight quarters .. has a nice hard shot in the slot but he will need to make quicker plays in traffic .. decent skater, he has an ok first step but at 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds, he is still grossly undersized and strength in all facets of his game will hopefully improve with physical maturity .. despite his small stature, he looks to finish checks and executes them with precision timing .. focusing on his defensive play more than looking to create, his time will come to be an offensive contributor .. for the time being, he will need to establish a role for himself in order to become a better hockey player.