OHL: One Tough Parent

The defending Ontario Hockey League champions the Guelph Storm have a new outlook this season, led by a younger core of players. One of Guelph's most promising youngsters is rearguard Ryan Parent, an aggressive defensive workhorse. We have the details on Parent as well as several other Storm standouts, including 2006 draft-eligible stud Michael Caruso.

Ryan Parent (2005), D, Guelph

Sophomore has emerged as a mature, reliable rearguard for Guelph .. logs big minutes and does not lose steam late into the game .. a force near the crease, clearing space with authority .. punishes opposing forwards with skillful, well-timed body blasts .. always looking to unload on every shift .. a man-on-man stalwart .. effective banger along the boards and ties up his man effectively .. although exuberant he plays a disciplined physical game; his hits are predominantly legal (only eight PIM in 24 games so far) .. tremendous upper-body strength; threw Matt Halischuk to the ice using only one arm .. an above-average skater; top-end speed could be improved, though quickness is deceiving .. very good balance .. puck carrying is not his forte; has not yet developed much confidence when moving the puck up the ice .. can be pressured into making poor outlet passes .. underutilizes a booming slapshot; should take the opportunity to unload it with greater consistency on the power play .. if his mental makeup develops as we expect he will be a surefire first round selection.

Michael Caruso (2006), D, Guelph

Storm's first rounder this summer is already a difference maker .. a savvy, cool all-around rearguard .. skates with a smooth stride, displaying excellent speed, acceleration and flowing lateral movements .. makes easy transitions from forward to backward .. first pass out of the zone is always crisp and accurate .. does not overhandle the puck; very economical with his decisions .. excellent poise and tremendous vision .. jumps into the rush at opportune moments .. very impressive defensive awareness for his age; handles positional assignments like a major junior vet .. keen anticipation of the puck .. plays the man instead of the puck; thwarted a rushing Cal Clutterbuck .. has not yet developed a strong physical game .. unphased when frustrations are fueled in the opposing player .. trusted with considerable minutes, a sign of dependability.

Ryan Callahan (NYR), RW, Guelph

Team captain and rightfully so; plays every shift with passion and determination .. partnered up with Kyle Spurr and Mark O'Leary on Guelph's top line .. creates chances with a die-hard attacking approach .. on a pk stole the puck at the blueline, rushed to the opposing goal creating a dangerous scoring opportunity and drawing a penalty by driving the net hard .. good vision and playmaking savvy .. keen anticipation of the puck .. conscientious defensively and sacrifices his body to make a play .. plays a chippy style; uses his stick as a weapon to gain possession and aggravate .. competitiveness and desire alleviate the size factor.

Matt D'Agostini (2005), RW, Guelph

On a line with Tyler Doig and Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn .. off to a productive start (24-10-10-20) .. blazing speed; always dangerous when he's on the ice .. has a shoot-first mentality and needs to simplify his game a little bit .. got around his man by the boards and nearly hooked up with Callahan on a two-on-one, but lost the puck due to one deke too many .. goes to the net with authority and looks for rebounds .. needs to bulk up and work on faceoffs .. sparkplug is on the scouting radar big time.

Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn (2005), LW, Guelph

Won't be a great factor until he adds some muscle .. plays with Tyler Doig and Matt D'Agostini on the second line .. saw ice time on the first power play unit .. very good playmaking instincts, but his effectiveness in that respect can be neutralized with physical intimidation .. upper body strength is lacking; gets knocked off the puck with relative ease .. nice vision, good quickness though not explosive.