OHL: Robbie Schremp and draft darkhorses

This installment of player notes includes a heads-up on two OHL draft-eligible prospects that are quickly climbing the charts. Find out who they are.

Oct 3, 2003 – The Mississauga IceDogs suffered their first loss of the season (3-1-0-0) at the hands of the Ottawa 67’s, playing for the first time this fall without star prospect Robbie Schremp, who has left to play for the US under-18 team.

In an ongoing story, Schremp and his agent Scott Norton requested a trade for unspecified reasons, whereby the 17-year old centerman has refused to play with the IceDogs until a trade takes place.

Don’t expect him back in an OHL lineup anytime soon – it appears that the IceDogs will not rush to unload the prized centerman, despite early interest from several teams, most notable being the London Knights.

The IceDogs (and owner Mario Forgione) have yet to release Schremp, a situation that might result in a feud between Hockey Canada and USA Hockey. It appears that there is no agreement in place for CHL players moving to play in the United States. Hockey Canada and USA Hockey are currently holding discussions.

Notebook

Ottawa 67’s budding power forward Bryan Bickell and the IceDogs’ netminder David Shantz are both seeing their draft stock rise. Conversely, defender Kyle Wharton has been less than impressive.

David Shantz … Native of Hamilton Ontario won the IceDogs starting job between the pipes at pre-season, making overager Matt Harpwood expendable … Last year’s Junior B goalie of the year was a seventh-round choice (121st overall) by Mississauga in the 2002 OHL Priority Draft … A quick, acrobatic butterfly goaltender .. Excellent at stopping shots down low, with lightning-fast legs .. Covers much of the net due to his good size and is superb laterally .. A good puck handler who makes crisp, well thought-out decisions on shoot-ins .. Has a strong glovehand, excellent focus and reads the puck movement well .. Well-positioned and very composed .. If he sees the puck he stops it .. Very strong stick-side as well as glove-side, although more work is needed on the angles … Simply a mature goalie and a well-spoken individual who will climb the charts big-time for the 2004 draft.

Bryan Bickell ... Sophomore winger will benefit by plenty of icetime after the loss of 20-year old Matt Foy to the pro game .. Explosive skater is an attacking winger with a nose for the net .. Strong and a towering presence (6-4, 215) .. Has a quick first step, a crisp, snappy wrist shot with good accuracy ... Excellent offensive instincts and jumps on loose pucks well .. Plays well in traffic and is strong on the puck with a nice long reach .. Willing to take the body, although must utilize his great frame with better consistency .. Can be a force near the crease when on his game .. Very up-beat and a take-charge player; a definite gamer … Size, skills, touch; he has all the tools to go in the first two rounds of the draft … Already has three multi-goal games this season.

Kyle Wharton … Played sparingly due to a crowded blueline of the 67’s last year, but is getting chances to prove his worth on a younger back end this year .. Has a pretty good range with strong, smooth skating stride and a strong handle on the puck .. Decision-making abilities are only average, as is his vision .. Puck receiving and shooting release require polish .. Needs a boost in confidence, looks intimidated and unsure of himself .. Struggles at clearing the zone .. Timing and positioning are off, which is affecting his balance big time .. After a horrendous first period (several giveaways and lackluster one-on-one play), he rode the pine for much of the second, before seeing a few minutes in the third … It’s still early and we’ll keep you updated on his progress.

Elgin Reid … Rookie blueliner was selected in the first round (19th overall) in the 2003 OHL draft and is not NHL draft-eligible until 2005 .. Not playing a lot of minutes as of now, but definitely catches your eye when he gets his chance .. An instinctive blueliner who can motor fast with explosive straight-away speed .. Will be a fine player if his head is as good as his makeup .. Good puck poise, positioning and great vision .. Excellent passer and smooth receiver .. Shoot release is crisp, although the shot itself needs better velocity .. Energetic player shows a good work ethic, although his timing is understandably off for a 16-year old .. Willing to go down and block shots … Looks like a gem, although the viewings have been limited; we’ll keep you updated.

Brody Beard .. Strong kid can really handle the puck and distribute it effectively .. Needs to work on clearing the zone and improve his first-step quickness … Another of Kilrea’s blueline kids, Beard was a third-round selection a year ago (eligible for this year’s draft).

Chad Painchaud … 17-year old winger will play good minutes this year for the IceDogs .. A tad skinny, but will sacrifice his body to make a play .. Quick hands and great top-end speed .. A take-charge player with great puck moves and good first-step quickness .. Willing to fight for the puck along the boards .. Instincts and effort are there, but needs to find ways to get open … I see a project who shows flashes of being very solid, but his body is not in agreement with his style … Has to add bulk.

Cody Bass … Skinny (6-0, 165) 16-year old pivot from Guelph Junior B played sparingly, but showed loads of promise .. Slick skater with excellent top-end speed and a scorer’s eye .. A ball of energy; makes things happen and attacks the net vigorously … Will earn more minutes over the course of the season and we’ll be keeping an eye on it … 2005-eligible.

Adam Abraham … 16-year old blueliner out of Detroit Little Caesars, a Rose Point, MI native .. Pretty impressive for his age and the size is there (6-1, 180) .. Understandably green in terms of positioning and must work to polish his one-on-one skills .. Handled mainly stay-at-home duties and showed consistency, poise and understanding of his role .. Vision needs some work, but the first pass out of the zone is accurate and crisp ... Has to spend season working to add an increased physical game.

David Halasz … Gifted Slovak blueliner out of Kosice was drafted in the first round (33rd overall) in the 2003 CHL Import Draft .. Has pretty good size (6-1, 185) and growing .. Good puck-moving skills and mental makeup .. Knows his role, but needs to guess less and stay back on the play more .. Logs much icetime with the absence of Will Colbert from the blueline, although adding strength is a must .. Dependable with a ranging toolset offensively and defensively, but is not particularly noticeable .. Has deceptive speed and does not show his great acceleration nearly enough, although he is still adjusting to the North American ice surface .. Takes his man out well, but positioning is here-and-there; he’s erratic in that regard … Too early to say what role he will play as far as the draft is concerned … Something tells us we’re not yet seeing the real Halasz yet; he’ll need to adjust to the surroundings.

Peter Tsimikalis … Shifty forward is daring and gives full effort on every shift .. Speed is okay, but acceleration needs work .. Hands are average, not much finish there .. Good passing skills and instincts .. A very solid backchecker, determined and competitive … We think he’ll be drafted, but his upside is not on par with Bickell’s.

Julian Talbot … Sophomore is bigger and stronger than last year and likes to drive to the net in search of scoring opportunities .. Lacks good top-end speed needed in order to outrace opposing defensemen .. There’s not enough fire in this kid, he never really gets going and seems to wait to do things for him .. Passing game is neither crisp nor accurate and he doesn’t finish his checks well enough … Not as good as his older brother Joe Talbot.

Drafted Players

At 16-years old, Patrick O’Sullivan (Minnesota Wild) was one of the more promising young talents in the CHL and came close to eclipsing the century mark in points for the IceDogs. Two years later, he looks, at best, like the same player.

O’Sullivan is an incredible player with the puck, but he’s haunted by indecision and a lack of a solid frame. He consistently gets knocked off his skates and outmuscled along the boards. He has avoided contact and we barely see his powerful slap shot anymore. The loss of Robbie Schremp will not be a positive for him.

19-year old blueliner Pavel Voroshnin (Buffalo Sabres) has become the IceDogs primary puck carrier this season. He has an explosive point shot and an accurate first pass out of the zone. Strong, not intimidating with his frame, but he can take his man out if necessary. Poised for a big year – look for him to dominate.

Matt Foy has moved on to the pro game, which left many wondering how

Corey Locke would perform without his services. Needless to say, Locke has not missed a beat amassing 7 goals and 14 points in only six games thus far. The stickhandling wizard is showing improvement in his first-step quickness (known as his Achilles heel). We’re seeing more jump out of him with the 67’s than we did earlier at the Canadiens camp. He should lead the league in scoring again this season (and he is currently doing that).

More to Come … We will provide in-depth analysis on David Shantz, his story and where he stacks up for the draft.