Steen Leaves Positive Impression

Toronto Maple Leafs youngsters won the Ottawa Rookie Tournament with a perfect 4-0 record. The results, however, were deceiving as Toronto iced a considerably older lineup than other teams (with six players aged 24-25), physically intimidating the opposition with fierce, tough-nosed hockey. We have the notes on key participants.

Staffan Kronwall, D .. made some nice moves on the pp; crisp passes, impressive little deke on the penalty killer and let go of a hard snap shot at the goalie's chest .. economical puck moving style .. mostly surehanded, with a few minor passing miscues .. quite adept at joining the rush and making a nifty pinch towards the corner .. his positional coverage is somewhat shaky and he lacks extension to keep guys from going by him at times.

Dominic D'Amour, D .. drops the gloves and likes to get dirty .. looked fumbly with the puck and did not get many shots through .. turns well on skates .. takes too long to make decisions with the puck at times .. nhl is not looking imminent.

Steven Later, D .. was a standout in the tournament until getting sloppy in the last match .. good poise and collected approach on the puck .. strong, tough, big kid .. undressed opposing forwards several times with some nifty stickhandling .. strong, low shot from the point .. loves to dish out hip checks at open ice and shelved Joe Barnes with a body blast .. hard, low point shot is a good one .. pinches impressively, but should improve his first step quickness .. strong on his feet .. against Montreal he got caught twice being too pretty with the puck, overhandling it and getting into big trouble .. if he simplifies his game a tad he will be a solid pro.

Alexander Steen, C .. lead-by-example kind of guy .. drives through checks towards the net with nice quickness .. strong on his feet .. excellent passer and doesn't waste a moment, reacting in a split second .. hard slap shot has some jam to it .. can explode on the puck instantly when it is in his sights .. went for a hit at open ice but didn't knock Sergei Kostitsyn off his feet .. all-purpose potential, no frills - he has a real shot at making the Leafs at camp.

Jan Steber, LW .. big guy doesn't have soft hands nor much vision to write about .. looks slow-witted and obvious on offense .. did decent work along the boards, but is slow to mark his man .. has the tools to be a decent pro mucker, but will not be an effective one until he learns to think the game quicker.

John Mitchell, C .. gifted playmaker but isn't seen a whole heck of a lot in traffic .. good skater with nice turns and soft hands on the puck .. must show more desperation on defense and strengthen his lower body .. ho-hum.

Martin Sagat, LW .. falls down too easily .. hand-eye coordination did not impress, as he consistently failed to corral feeds .. took too long to clear the puck after a race towards it in his own zone.

Ottawa Rookie Tournament: The Top-10 Performances

1. Andrew Ladd, F, Carolina

2. Jeff Glass, G, Ottawa

3. Andrej Meszaros, D, Ottawa

4. Maxim Lapierre, F, Montreal

5. Vince Bellissimo, F, Carolina

6. Guillaume Latendresse, F, Montreal

7. Alexander Steen, F, Toronto

8. Rostislav Olesz, F, Florida

9. Kenndal McArdle, F, Florida

10. Patrick Eaves, F, Ottawa

For complete results, including standings and scoring leaders, click HERE.