QMJHL: Eric the Great

To say this has been a difficult season for the Lewiston MAINEiacs would be an understatement. Whether it be the disappointing play of their veterans, the firing of their coach midway through the season, the announcement that the team was relocating or the subpar performances of their netminders nearly everything has gone wrong with the club this season. The one thing they have going for them however is a batch of good, young talent, led by Eric Gelinas who is projected to be picked in the second round at this year's draft. McKeen's correspondent Rick Springhetti has notes on Gelinas and several other Lewiston MAINEiacs.

Maxim Gratchev (NYI), LW, Lewiston

Smooth skater that can do things at full speed .. has a very active stick in all three zones .. tends to over handle the puck at times .. shows flashes of feistiness but needs to curtail the stick infractions .. gets some good strength on his shot but would need to go into the slot more often .. not overly big but strong legs make him an effective player along the wall .. misses too many defensive plays, as he is always thinking offense .. shows some flashes of a great imagination with his vision but is still a bit selfish when it comes to the passing game.

Danick Paquette (Atl) RW, Lewiston

One of the nastiest players in the QMJHL, Paquette is all about the physical game .. will try to hit opposing players at every chance and does it as hard as he can .. will also drop the gloves against anyone and has no problems doing so .. good hands in close and his rough style gives him the opportunities, as some players seem intimidated by him ..very choppy skating style, he does not pick up much speed… also has trouble with his first few steps .. gets into too much penalty trouble for some penalties that are useless or lazy .. has a good work ethic, never taking a shift off .. has trouble corralling long passes .. does ok in the defensive side of the game when he keeps his feet moving and working along the walls, but has more trouble when the play picks up speed.

Denis Reul (Bos) D, Lewiston

A monster of a defenseman at 6-foot-4 and 226 pounds, his upper body makes him look even bigger .. as can be expected, not much finesse to his game, he basically tries to outmuscle the opposition .. needs to improve his foot coordination, as his pivots are very laboured, but it also makes him lose some of his power behind the physical game .. has a strong shot but his windup is very slow .. positionally, he does well, not often chasing opposing forwards .. however, he gets into trouble when he does, as players can often beat him on the outside.

Etienne Brodeur (2009) LW, Lewiston

Hard-working player, he does not back down from opponents .. protects the puck well using both his body and even his feet especially when he is fighting for the puck along the wall .. unfortunately, a lack of size makes him ineffective against bigger opponents and at times leading to penalties .. has trouble with first few steps when it comes to skating, only average once he gets going .. balance may be a problem, as he seems to be crouched forward too much .. spots teammates very well most of the time, but also is guilty of making odd decisions with the puck especially when trying to do too much .. willing to pay the price for a scoring opportunity .. can also dish out the hits and is good at using his legs to do so .. does not always play with required urgency at his end of the ice .. decent stickhandler, he often tries to go through opposing players, often without much results .. good hand-eye coordination

Samuel Finn (2009), D, Lewiston

Son of former NHLer Steven Finn .. works very hard in his own end .. not very big but uses his body well to shield the puck until he can get support from his teammates .. will clear the crease as best he can and take the abuse from bigger opponents in order to do so .. good team player who will always defend his teammates .. vocal on the ice and the bench, he seems to communicate with his players and the coaching staff .. not a very good skater, so he usually plays a safe game and just tries to get the puck out of his own zone .. hard shot that generally stays low to the ice known as a very dedicated player on and off the ice.

Eric Gelinas (2009), D, Lewiston

Excellent skater, he manages to hit top speed in only a few strides .. can turn on a dime without a problem .. one of the better players at getting the puck out of his zone, be it by moving it up the ice quickly himself or making good decisions with his passing .. tends to run around a little in his own zone .. also needs to pick up his physical game a little, especially at his size (6-2, 195) .. shot has some good strength behind it .. he generally gets it through to the net, but could still use a little work in this area .. likes to use the one-timer when he has a chance .. overall, his play keeps improving as the season progresses.

Pierre-Olivier Morin (2009) LW, Lewiston

Sound skater, he has a very fluid skating style .. while speed is only average, there is every reason to think that this should improve once he gets stronger .. positionally sound at all times, especially defensively .. sacrifices his offence for defence, he should try to shoot the puck more often .. average strength on his slapshot, he does manage to hit the net .. not a very physical player, but that may be a good thing for him considering his size ( 5-11, 160).