Spirit Enter a New Era

GM/coach Watson has wasted little time to leave his stamp on this team. After a successful start to the season, the Saginaw Spirit only trailed the Windsor Spitfires and Kitchener Rangers in the powerful Western Conference. Watson, then orchestrated a blockbuster deal shipping out his two best defensemen, TJ Brodie and Nick Crawford in exchange for NHL-draft eligible Michael Sgarbossa and Ryan O'Connor. The move has essentially made the Spirit younger but the team will suffer in the short term. The Spirit has leaned heavily on Ivan Telegin and Josh Shalla this season, who are also NHL-draft eligible. Cody Sol and Nick Trecapelli lead the backend while rookie winger Vincent Trocheck is getting ample playing time under Coach Watson.

McKeen's Director of Scouting David Burstyn has notes on several Saginaw Spirit prospects looking to make an impact this season. Ryan O' Connor, Nick Trecapelli, Ivan Telegin, Josh Shalla, Michael Sgarbossa, Cody Sol and Vincent Trocheck are featured.

Ryan O'Connor (2010), D, Saginaw

It may be a tad unrealistic for O'Connor to off set the offence generated on the backend by Crawford and Brodie, but he is cut from the mould of an offensive defenseman .. already given a regular shift on the PP, his offensive skills are refined and well-suited with the man advantage .. skilfully moves on the line to utilize his shot .. he opens up the ice for his linemates by becoming a threat on the line to blast one from the point, opening up passing lanes .. his puck decisions are good .. his pointshot is even better .. question marks arise due to his lack of size (5-8, 170) .. he is not as polished as Ryan Ellis at this point and his play without the puck is very troublesome .. he simply cannot defend against the rush .. his gap control is ok but once a player of size pushes the envelope he usually has to back down and loses his position .. he needs to be more assertive in the defensive zone but lacks the confidence to do so .. O'Connor is capable of throwing a decent open-ice hit, but he has to time it perfectly because if he only catches a sliver of a player he will take himself out of the play .. there is still a slight glitch in his skating, as he does not possess high-end speed .. some NHL teams will like the offensive dimension his game brings, which could see him land within the top two rounds.

Nick Trecapelli (2010), D, Saginaw

A late birth, Trecapelli saw action last season albeit in a limited role, however the recent trades on the backend have helped Trecapelli as his icetime has increased .. still not getting primetime minutes in any situation, he is a serviceable defender whose confidence continues to build at the OHL level .. not overly astute with the puck, he cannot make a play with it .. his puck struggles are a direct result of a system that does not encourage defenders to push the puck up ice .. he is at his best when he keeps his game simple anyways .. chipping the puck off the glass or making a short pass away from centre serve him well .. panic starts to creep into his game once he gets above the blueline with the puck .. defensively, he does not always mark his man and does not close the gap with enthusiasm .. he needs to react quicker to the transition game .. given his lack of icetime to this point in his junior career his mistakes are not uncommon .. he is a hard worker and will sacrifice for the good of the team.

Ivan Telegin (2010), C, W, Saginaw

Telegin has been a member of all Russian International teams to this point in his career including both the U17 and U18 team .. he is better suited on the wing, as he is simply not creative enough to be a centre nor is he defensively responsible enough either .. Telegin can explode into the offensive zone but has very little in terms of a backup plan if his original play does not go according to plan .. he has made upgrades on his speed and appears to be quicker out of the blocks .. his biggest setback at this point is his inability to work for his opportunities, as he seems to only want to play when the puck is in his vicinity .. when he applies himself, he can be a force that is difficult to contain, as he thrashes his big body (6-3, 185) and creates space for himself .. he does not always take the direct route to a scoring chance and is often caught taking wide looping circles to exit the offensive zone, as opposed to quick stop and starts to angle a player to the outside .. offers very little in terms of resistance when a play is deemed finished according to him .. he needs to finish his checks and work harder at both ends of the ice .. a stronger work ethic is needed for him to be effective, as he has the potential to be a top-6 forward or bottom out as a 13th forward role player.

Josh Shalla (2010), LW, Saginaw

Shalla has exceeded expectations this season, as he has averaged over a point a game through 25 contests .. broke out in October scoring 11 goals in 12 games and has been a model of consistency this season .. situated on the top line, Shalla has a great set of hands and a rapid release to bury his chances .. he has a nice scoring touch around the net but can blast a nice slapshot away from the goal as well .. he is capable of scoring garbage goals as well as skilled ones .. his biggest issue is his lack of foot speed, being 6-foot-1 and close to 190 pounds, it takes him a while to get going .. once he gets moving he can run guys over .. he shows a fair degree of agility with his ability to stickhandle around guys standing still .. his commitment to the defensive side of the puck has shown up well with his plus-19 rating .. not afraid to initiate contact, he has engaged in 1 fight in his three year OHL career, earlier this year against Zanetti .. he is more of a finesse/power forward who has made the most of his opportunities this year .. frustrated with his lack of playing time last season in Guelph (1 goal in his final 27 games) the change of scenery has done wonders for his confidence .. scoring goals is always at a premium amongst NHL teams but he needs to upgrade his skating to be considered a high-end prospect.

Michael Sgarbossa (2010), C, Saginaw

The adjustment for Sgarbossa has been a rocky one, as he has yet to make an impact on the score sheet and has looked shaky on the defensive side of things .. had a brutal first outing, going minus-3 in a loss to Erie and looking completely out of place in the Saginaw system .. his creativity has been robbed a tad due to the lack of premier linemates that he was accustomed to playing with in Barrie .. average skater and lack of physical involvement make him an ordinary player in this new environment .. he needs to find some chemistry with a set of new linemates and this should be done rather quickly by coach Watson.

Cody Sol (Atl), D, Saginaw

No defender will benefit more from the trade of the top two defenders than Sol, as he will be slotted into the top spot on the backend .. whether Sol is ready for it or not, he will have little choice but to spearhead offensive breakouts and defend against the leagues best .. a capable defender, Sol has done a much better job in the last year of stepping up on his man and administering punishment in the process .. his defensive reads have improved considerably, as he has realized how to use his size and reach to his advantage .. routinely sticks up for his teammates, as he has developed a mean streak and refuses to back down from anyone in the league .. Sol's biggest improvement needs to come with his puckhandling and puck-rushing ability .. he no longer handles the puck like a hot potato .. slowly starting to make better decisions with the puck and the more he is exposed to handling it will make him a better pro as a result .. Sol appears to be on his way of craving out a pro career for himself.

Vincent Trocheck (2011), C, Saginaw

Trocheck has become a favourite option of coach Watson .. the rookie has not disappointed, as he is within the top-6 of rookie scoring and is the third highest point getter of all 1993-born players in the league .. he is a fluid skater with natural hockey instincts .. whether in the offensive or defensive zone, he is able to make a contribution .. he is smart away from the puck and angles off players three years his senior into dead ends .. he knows where to be in the offensive zone and has slick passing skills .. Trocheck has the potential to be a first-line centre for the Spirit and has the support of Watson so the transition should be a gradual but eventual one.