OHL: The Saginaw Defence Rests

The Saginaw Spirit suffered a huge blow, when leading goal scorer from last season Ryan McDonough decided to pursue his hockey playing options in Austria. The fortunate news is that Jack Combs amid speculation that he would be playing in the AHL has returned to an offensive-strapped Saginaw team. The strength of the team now lies exclusively on the backend where the big three Nick Crawford, TJ Brodie and Adam Comrie, all of whom are NHL draft picks will be relied upon heavily to carry this team into the playoffs. McKeen's correspondent David Burstyn looks at several Saginaw Spirit players eager to make an impact this season

Jordan Szwarz (2009), RW, Saginaw

Szwarz has really acclimatized himself on this team and has emerged as a go-to-guy in only his second season .. he lacks finish but is an adept passer, capable of finding his man in traffic and open ice .. a fixture on the PP, who likes to set up on the half boards and down low .. tries to suck the goalie out of position before making a pass through the crease .. good stickhandler, he prefers the cycle down-low game and is quick to distribute the puck .. at times, he gives up the puck and needs to develop more patience with it .. the fact that he does not play with offensive wizards such as Combs and/or McDonough has hurt his game somewhat this season, largely due to the fact that he cannot finish and needs to be on a line with someone who can .. an ok skater, he maximizes the most he can out of his average stride .. a focused and head strong player who always comes back and plays better without the puck than he does with it at times .. an ultimate character player, he will do whatever it takes to win including fight and play through injuries .. with the return of Combs it should really help to elevate his game .. has the potential to be a mid-round NHL pick based on myriad of intangibles he brings to the table.

Richard Jarusek (2009), LW, Saginaw

The Spirit's second round Import selection is more than the sum of his parts .. a big rangy winger whose coordination has not quite caught up to his ever-growing body .. his limbs flail uncontrollably when he skates but as such he is very difficult to contain, as he is everywhere on the ice .. needs to lengthen his stride to get the most out of it .. he is a choppy skater and has a jerky start-up .. thrives along the boards even though he is not always successful in gathering the puck he will compete and battle .. struggles in open-ice situations and needs to react much quicker .. the problem is when he does hurry his actions, he is prone to making careless mistakes .. at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, he is one of the bigger players on the roster and given his stats in Brno (Cze Jr.) 44-11-18-29 he may be able to produce offensively once he gets used to the pace of the league and positioned with players that can bring out his bang-and-crash game.

Brad Walch (2009), D, Saginaw

Walch is the first player born in Saginaw to play for the Spirit after leaving the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL .. not known for his defensive acumen, Walch posted paltry offensive totals last season that included no goals and a mere four assists in 53 games .. employed more as a shutdown defender, Walch assumes the fifth spot in the defensive rotation and gives the Spirit a reliable stay-at-home defenseman .. not physical, he relies heavily on his lateral agility to defend .. he is a swift skater who is always in position, as he plays such a defensive-minded game, rarely if ever touching the puck or for that matter wanting to .. when forced, he can make an ok pass out of the zone, however he understands where his game is best suited and that is to prohibit others from scoring .. angling off, eliminating passing lanes and aggressively stepping up on guys is his forte .. given the dynamic on the backend, Walch will not garner many headlines, as he is not as sexy as the four defenders ahead of him, nonetheless his icetime and contributions will be very valuable to the team, especially one like Saginaw that will be hard pressed to score goals.

Edward Pasquale (2009), G, Saginaw

All eyes will be on Pasquale this season, as he is finally given a chance to prove himself as a legitimate No. 1 and an NHL draft .. has waited and bided his time patiently first seeing backup duty for Mike Murphy in Belleville and most recently Ryan Daniels in Saginaw .. his strength is his butterfly and how quickly he can drop down to it .. his technique and mechanics are flawless in that regard .. he moves quickly from post-to-post, however he tends to leaves holes by the post due to his lack of coverage .. his problem is that he plays too deep in the net and needs to come out on a more regular basis .. when he uses his size, he is more effective and challenging forwards appears to be a confidence thing .. he handles the puck ok and can make a play with it .. still suffers from mental breakdowns, as he is prone to letting in occasional soft goals .. needs to show more mental composure and will be given every opportunity to develop under coach Watson .. given the lack of experience in backup goaltender Joseph Lepera, it is Pasquale's job to lose, a position he has never been in before, as he has always had to stand on his head to get noticed .. it should be very interesting to see how he responds to that type of challenge and pressure.

Nick Crawford (Buf), D, Saginaw

The most experienced of the three NHL-drafted defensemen on Saginaw, having played the most games with the organization .. he had a great camp with Buffalo and learned many valuable lessons from his defensive partner Craig Rivet .. returns to Saginaw having much more confidence handling the puck but needs to do a better job of identifying his wingers, as he missed many opportunities to make strong passes that would have advanced the play .. stickhandles well enough but still needs to be smoother when skating up the ice with it .. taking more chances offensively, which will require him to react faster in getting back into the defensive zone .. more responsibility has been thrust on him this season, however given his mature game he should be able to handle it .. Crawford will need to refine the offensive part of his game even though he will likely be a shutdown/match up guy at the next level it is crucial for him to be able to score at the junior level.

Adam Comrie (Fla), D, Saginaw

Struggled in Florida's rookie camp and has looked very ordinary upon his return to Saginaw .. has the skill, size and puck-handling ability to be a player in the OHL but lacks hockey sense and it ultimately affects his play .. routinely skates up the ice with the puck and even though he has limited speed, his vast body allows him to skate with the puck in front of him making it hard to knock away from him .. he could do a better job skating away from traffic and finding more accessible routes to the net .. better known for his offensive game, away from the puck he needs considerable work .. he is always on the wrong side of the puck, doesn't recognize changes in play and is poor in 1-on-1 situations, as he does not know how to position himself .. tries to do too much in the defensive zone and gets caught running around .. he has great stick skills, however too often he will try to beat his man at the line or in down-low situations, which are rather unsuccessful plays that forces him to haul or hook his man down to prevent a breakaway .. very erratic and inconsistent in his play, as his efforts vary from shift-to-shift ..offensive catalyst on the PP, as he is the QB on the first unit .. his decision-making is suspect however, as he always shoots and rarely finds the open man .. his stick skills intimidate the opposition and often draw them out of assignment, however instead of trying to find the open man he usually settles on a low percentage slapshot that is blocked by a series of feet before it even reaches the net .. an enigma, coach Watson will have his work cut out for him to make him a more serviceable player on the backend, one who will win Saginaw hockey games not be the direct result of losing them.

T.J. Brodie (2009), D, Saginaw

Brodie returns to Saginaw after a brief training camp with the Flames .. has grown an inch (6-1) but is still having difficulty putting the weight on (173) .. his stickhandling skills and speed coming out of the zone marry well with one another, as Brodie is Saginaw's most reliable option coming out of the zone .. unmolested when he gains momentum in two to three strides, he has often been referred to by teammates as the human breakout .. very composed with the puck .. methodical in his decision-making in both the offensive and defensive zone .. played more than half the game but showed little sign of fatigue, as he is naturally fit and wiry strong .. is able to out-muscle guys along the boards due to his propionate strength .. the success of the Spirit hinges largely on his shoulders, as he should be able to establish himself as one of the better defensemen in this league .. a future in the NHL appears imminent at this stage in his career.