Rookie Tournament: Bruin Trouble with Ottawa

McKeen's correspondent Gus Katsaros was recently on hand at the Toronto Maple Leafs-hosted Kitchener Rookie Tournament featuring rookies from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins. In this first installment, McKeen's looks at several prospects from the Bruins and Senators including Erik Karlsson (pictured) who was a standout during the tournament.

Boston Bruins

Zach Hamill F, Boston

Smallish forward was named team captain .. made efforts that weren't very intense to get the puck from the opposition and didn't check opponents, but contained them .. skilled, slick and creative with the puck, using quick hands, vision and anticipation .. made a few big inside/out moves, deceiving defensemen and backing them off to create space for himself .. good outside speed, and cradles the puck in deep despite a smaller body .. needs to upgrade faceoff ability, as he was beaten often .. forces the play and keeps feet moving on the forecheck .. can be flustered into getting rid of the puck when pressured, leading to forced errors .. held on to long and didn't always use teammates efforts to get to the net .. lacked a physical edge, playing in a preservation mode.

Jamie Arniel F, Boston

Needs strength, as he was overmatched along the boards .. responsible defensively but has to keep his feet moving .. low, semi-hunched skating stride, bears down and gets good speed for his stride .. strong on the draw, excelled in the faceoff circle .. can be caught behind the play and reacts as opposed to anticipating the play and creating .. can be lost in positioning .. big work to fight off Ottawa's Regin and came out in front to score on a wraparound .. lacks elite offensive skill, but works hard and is defensively responsible.

Michael Hutchinson G, Boston

Big, covers a lot of the net both on his feet and in the butterfly .. drops fast into his butterfly stance .. tends to over commit at times throwing himself out of position .. reads the play well, but doesn't anticipate well - reacting instead of getting square .. deflects easy pucks into the corners for his defensemen to recover away from the prime rebound space in front of the goal .. a hybrid-style, not strictly a butterfly goalie, yet drops often when he doesn't have a firm grasp of where the puck is .. watches/finds the puck by peaking around scrums in front, which forces a relaxed positional stance, sometimes too late to react to a shot on goal .. was saved by three posts against the Senators in the second period alone .. was good at making the big save at a crucial moment, keeping the Bruins in games and allowing them to win it.

Ottawa Senators

Erik Karlsson D, Ottawa

Quick hands .. started conservatively, making simple plays and chipping it out .. patient and poised beyond any other rearguard in the tournament .. seemed reserved, almost bored early on .. can upgrade urgency at times, although early energy levels didn't match end of tournament bursts, especially in his attempts at creating offense when down a goal .. takes an aggressive stance at the blueline keeping pucks in play .. has quick feet and short, smooth, quick strides .. smooth, graceful and fluid skater .. too quick for the competition at this tournament .. like a car revving hard at the starting line of a race, he is ready to explode out of the gate knowing he wouldn't receive a pass to be sent away and forced back to his defensive role .. did not see much action on the PK .. rocket shot with a big wind up and tries to blow it by opposing checkers from the point instead of just getting it to the net .. patience and poise at the blueline is above his age .. makes quick stop/starts and hard to fool, yet will resort to stick checks when stepping a pace behind .. doesn't give up the line much, using an active stick to force lanes .. likes finding the open weak side while play bunches around the other end of the zone .. protects the puck well, but is easily out muscled and should distribute before being overtaken with size .. willing to take the body when the threat level heightens, and is fast to recover from errors, forced or otherwise .. best defenseman in the tournament.

Peter Regin F, Ottawa

Led shooting drills in the warm up .. diligent checking pressure, quick stop/starts .. protects the puck well, using his body to shield and ward-off opposition draped all over him .. good first-step acceleration and blows by slow rearguards with change of pace .. smart and responsible defensively .. covered the point when the defensemen pinched .. shifty and imaginative .. has a lot of body language with shoulder fakes, hip juts and quick mesmerizing hands/feet that defensemen see in different combinations every rush, coupled with agility .. could improve his faceoff acumen .. a little soft and doesn't play a physical game .. lost his man, Arniel, down low, overpowered by a slightly smaller frame and losing positioning that led to a goal against by the Bruins .. must be better in positioning with his body, especially for his size, otherwise one of the standouts of the tournament.

Erik Condra F, Ottawa

Rocket wristshot .. trouble with long shifts, but he cut down as the game progressed against Boston .. some quick bursts of speed, particularly when making bee-lines for the net, which he did regularly without the puck .. better when in motion than in stationary position .. plays a healthy physical game, checking along the boards and getting involved every shift .. spunky, tireless worker .. slippery and elusive on the attack, using quick bursts of acceleration and protecting the puck .. versatile, lining up on both wings .. could be a Binghamton baby.

Jim O'Brien F, Ottawa

Wide, arcing horseshoe stride .. big wind up .. still unbalanced in turns and cuts .. takes wide arcs during the play and rarely battled for the puck along the boards unless it was lower than the goal line .. hunched-over skating stride always seemed to be caught a step behind and mostly on the perimeter .. killed penalties with his stick waist high covering pointmen .. fairly adept at faceoffs, winning most he took, in particular in the defensive zone .. has to be smarter about outlet options, both identifying them and sending passes across .. stops moving his feet when close to the end of shifts and doesn't go hard to the bench - coasting over .. for the second straight year, he had an overall invisible, disappointing rookie tournament.