OHL: Schremp Cocktail

Top prospect Robbie Schremp was a playmaking force Friday night as the London Knights beat up on the visiting Barrie Colts, 8-1. OHL reporter Dave Fortier provides these scouting reports on Shremp, fellow '04 eligible Vadim Karaga, and a number of drafted prospects such as Ivan Khomutov.

Robbie Schremp, C, London, (2004)

An excellent skater who maintains a low centre of gravity thanks to his wide skating stance … strong and balanced on his skates … has good speed and one-step acceleration, and is very agile … displayed some beautiful footwork … stood still with the puck and then made a quick backwards move to avoid a checker before firing a pass off … possesses excellent passing skills … makes hard, accurate passes which he fires off in a split second …took several hard accurate slapshots and wristers, showing off an explosive release on both …a relentless worker who is not afraid to go into the corners …always in the middle of the action … skated hard to come back in his own zone …his teammates seem to be still adjusting to his quick decision-making and up-tempo style of play …scored one goal on a quick wrist shot from the side of the net …made excellent passes throughout the night, picking up two assists, and was a major scoring threat all game long.

Vadim Karaga, LW, London, (2004)

Showed explosive speed and one-step acceleration …quick and agile on his feet …doesn't need much room to beat a defender …a very flashy player …an excellent puckhandler who doesn’t shy away from traffic, despite being undersized …attacks defenders aggressively and without hesitation, which draws penalties … a good, smart passer who makes quick decisions on the fly … needs to add strength, as he can be easily knocked around, albeit he was never intimidated tonight and showed impressive fearlessness in the corners.

David Bolland C, London, (2004)

Talented pivot was counted upon to take key draws for the Knights … loves to head straight to the net and displayed excellent hand-eye co-ordination, picking up a number of rebounds … a good, well-balanced skater who is fairly agile, but not overly fast … has a hard wristshot, which is quite accurate … . showed nice creativity in his passing selections …played the majority of the game with Schremp and Brandon Prust …picked up a pair of goals as a result of heading to the net for rebounds and taking advantage of Schremp`s pin-point passing … also had an assist on Schremp`s goal, which he fed him from behind the net … has a long reach for his size … shows good strength, although it wouldn't hurt him to add a few extra pounds of muscle.

Dylan Hunter, LW, London, (2004)

Off to a great start this season with 17 points in eight games … scored a beautiful goal, picking the top shelf with hard, accurate wristshot …looks to have worked on his acceleration, as he seems to be faster down low this season …still possesses the excellent puck skills and a solid passing game, as shown with his 13 assists …has added offense without sacrificing his aggressive, pesky side … a very solid defensive player as well.

Ivan Khomutov, LW, London, (NJ)

Provides London with another solid scoring threat beyond their first line, and therefore won’t be facing the opposition’s top checkers each night … possesses an excellent wristshot and quick release, which he displayed on a beautiful goal from the high slot … showed off his solid passing skills, feeding his linemates well throughout the game … possesses very good size and excellent balance … a tough, very aggressive player who isn’t afraid to muck it up … picked up a double minor in a spirited battle with Colts’ captain Jeremy Swanson, which Khomutov instigated.

Corey Perry, RW, London, (ANA)

Much more aggressive with the puck this year, using his size and skills to better advantage … headed into traffic without fear … doesn't seem to get intimidated as much anymore … still clumsy at times and no doubt still adjusting to his added weight (put on 15-20 pounds during the off-season) … looks more confident and committed now … scored a goal where he headed straight into the slot and fired a hard wristshot … also showed off his strong passing skills with a nice assist on Danny Richmond’s goal.

Danny Richmond, D, London, (CAR)

Gives London a dynamic 1-2 offensive blueline duo alongside Dennis Wideman … an awesome skater … very mobile and possesses terrific lateral movement … skates backwards well and can turn a corner in a split second … showed a good, hard slapshot … loves to jump in offensively and displayed a knack for spotting when the opposition’s defense was vulnerable … scored a nice goal, sneaking late into the play and firing off a hard onetime slapshot … played fairly physical and wasn’t afraid to get his nose dirty … an excellent prospect.

Georgy Ryazantsev, RW, Barrie, (2004)

A stocky forward with a short, choppy stride …displayed good agility, but seems to lack the breakaway speed and explosive acceleration to pull away from defenders in the corners … a strong puckhandler with very good balance … hard to knock off the puck … is still getting accustomed to the North American style of play … struggled defensively tonight, as he was running around in his own zone and looked lost on some plays … one of London’s goals was the direct result of him allowing his man to walk right to the net unimpeded … did not receive much ice time when the game was starting to get out of reach for the Colts.

Hunter Tremblay, LW, Barrie, (2004)

A very aggressive pest who is always working and forechecking hard … an agile player with average speed … uses his agility to confront opponents quickly … always keeps a close check on his defensive assignments.

Jeremy Swanson, D, Barrie, (FLA)

Working hard in the gym over the summer and is much thicker and stronger this season, although he could still be more aggressive physically … boasts a very hard shot ... solid in his defensive play and is very adept at using the poke check which is one of his best assets.