OHL: Thwhartoned

Scouting notes on four Ottawa 67's players, including the improving Kyle Wharton and Bryan Bickell, who remains a lost soul.

Bryan Bickell (2004), LW

Has pretty good hands around the net, when he is near the net, which is not as often as we would like .. doesn’t work hard enough and at times a noticeable floater .. possesses a truly wonderful burst of speed .. doesn’t sacrifice his body enough .. like a piece of furniture sometimes; just stands there, especially on the backcheck .. doesn’t get rewarded with a lot of power play duty .. doesn’t have the coach’s confidence and has not been able to earn it .. upside alone should make him a solid second-round pick, but earlier would be a stretch.

Kyle Wharton (2004), D

Showing an improving shot from the point, but must work on the quickness of his release .. wrister is really quick, accurate and crisp, but struggles to get the slapper through traffic most of the time .. a fluid skater with very good speed, but average balance and sometimes lacks giddyup on his first step .. doesn’t cut the mustard on smaller, essential plays; fans on clearing attempts and sometimes lacks reach to get to loose pucks .. has an excellent pro-type body .. doesn’t pay enough attention when the puck is on his sticks; tends to rush plays with a lot of bodies around him .. needs to keep his head up more .. he’s getting better with increased icetime.

Will Colbert (Ottawa Senators), D

A smart, attentive and calming force on the blueline .. solid, but without that extra sixth sense on offense .. helps out his forwards on the backcheck; gets pucks due to his reach and quickness .. a smooth skater with a rather deceptive burst of speed when he gets some open ice .. has the upside of a fifth-sixth defenseman in the NHL.

Elgin Reid (2005), D

Possesses a sneaky quick point shot; nice release and good accuracy .. very raw in one-on-one situations; must learn to utilize his body to box his man out .. positioning game is steadily improving .. looks like he’s having a case of the nerves in his first playoff action .. icetime is up, confidence is growing; he’ll get major minutes next year.