QMJHL Report: Lewiston MAINEiacs

The Lewiston MAINEiacs have not had a lot of success in the last few seasons but this year, they are one of the better teams in the QMJHL, due to the maturation of some younger players. General Manager Roger Shannon has surrounded himself with some good hockey people resulting in strong drafting and aggressive personnel moves. McKeen's correspondent Rick Springhetti looks at a trio of prospects who have helped Lewiston this year.

Samuel Henley (2011), LW, Lewiston

Brother of Buffalo Sabres draft pick Cedrick Henley .. improved his skating this season, especially his balance and agility .. turns are a lot more fluid .. also showing a big improvement in his defense to the point where he is often used on the PK .. able to use his long reach in the defensive zone to cut passing lanes and in the offensive zone to make it difficult for opposition to make good breakout passes .. has a good shot on net but still needs to work on his release .. doesn't initiate much contact but uses his size well to protect the puck .. at times, he will show some interesting puckhandling skills but just doesn't use those skills often enough .. responsible player who gives up some offence to bring an element of defensive play that the MAINEiacs need.

Andrey Makarov (2011), G, Lewiston

Was first noticed by many at the 2010 Under 17 Challenge where his performance impressed many NHL scouts .. goaltender has decent size at 6-foot-2, and 165 pounds .. very unorthodox style .. keeps his stick active not only in terms of positioning but also when he is stopping the puck .. seems to have a little bit of trouble adjusting to the QMJHL-style-of-play, but doesn't get too much defensive support from an offensively-minded Lewiston team either .. strong glove hand .. has trouble controlling his balance, especially when moving laterally .. issue mostly seems to be with his upper-body that jerks around a little too much .. stays mostly in his crease not handling the puck too much .. controls rebounds fairly well when he is playing with confidence .. uses any part of his body to make a save .. not afraid to dive for loose pucks even physically moving opponents out of the way to do so .. can get frustrated when things don't go his way.

Dillon Fournier (2012), D, Lewiston

Puck-moving defenseman with good mobility who is still learning the game at a higher-level .. brother of teammate Stefan Fournier .. retrieves and then passes the puck quickly making it difficult for opposing defensemen to establish a strong forecheck .. skates well moving forwards but there is still some work to do on his lateral mobility .. stride is fluid and effortless giving him the ability to log a lot of minutes .. relies too much on his quickness defensively and he gets himself in major trouble if he has to battle physically for position .. has a decent shot on net and usually gets it through traffic, he just has to use it a little more .. at 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds, he needs to bulk up quite a bit.