U18 Report: Germany Part 2

Performance reviews and scouting reports on Team Germany from the Under-18 Four Nations tournament in Slovakia.

Other Players

Marcel Muller (2006), LW

Notes: tied with Russian Vladimir Voronkov for the most penalized player of the tournament (27 PIM) .. the gritty winger played a decent two-way game in the tournament opener against Russia, however the game did exposed his limited skating ability .. threw a hard open-ice hit which knocked Vasily Vinogradov out of the tournament for two games .. returned back conscientiously .. wasn't so mean in the second game against Slovakia and hardly made any use of his size .. was stiff in the offensive zone when asked to finish the scoring chances .. repeated the same areas of concern also in the third game against Czech Republic .. filled the role of a dependable defensive forward but the rest of his game was lacking .. his effectiveness is limited when he is either unwilling or unable to use his size .. didn't help his draft stock with this so-so performance.

Scouting: an average skater with good balance, agility and top-end speed, but needs to upgrade on his first-step quickness and acceleration .. a diligent gritty two-way forward .. plays with an edge and is effectively takes the body along the boards .. can throw a surprising hit on the opponents .. average puckhandling skills .. should make more nifty moves with his stick .. willing to play dump-and-chase .. good defensive awareness and shuts down the passing lanes of the opposition precisely and stays with his man .. effective on the backcheck .. limits the options of the opponent well .. versatile player who can play both center and left wing .. a nice asset on penalty killing units .. solid at picking his spots and finding open space .. decent wrist shot could use a faster release .. heavy slap shot with solid accuracy .. should develop smoother in-close finishing skills.

Bruce Becker (2006), C

Notes: centered the top line, however couldn't find his game in the tournament .. looked so-so in the opener against Russia and couldn't generate quality offense after a decent opening period .. the faster-paced game against

Russia revealed that he can't execute at a high tempo and needs to slow down to make his moves .. faded in the second contest against Slovakia despite showing a few solid shifts with a dependable two-way play late in the game .. didn't control the play of the line as he was expected to .. unimpressive in the final matchup against Czech Republic .. traffic play was a negative issue with him .. couldn't catch the eye with any asset which would help him to get a better rating from the tournament.

Scouting: an average skater .. capable of moving his feet fast, but lacks the needed stride effectiveness to emerge as a good skater .. should accelerate faster .. doesn't look overly flashy and quick .. okay agility on his skates .. could use more balance as he tends to get knocked off the puck easily .. average top-end speed .. okay stickhandling skills .. decent at controlling the puck and dealing with passes .. prefers passing to shooting .. a solid passer on powerplay units .. needs to develop a bigger variety of shots .. uses primarily his quick wrist or snap shot .. average slap shot with a slow release .. decent in-close finishing skills .. not a significant force in traffic because of his lack of size but doesn't play afraid .. can get outmuscled by bigger opponents .. shows a commitment to the defensive play but is hampered by occasional downs in this asset .. can read the developing plays in his own end adequately well, but is raw in defensive positioning.

Robert Bote (2006), RW

Notes: the tallest player of the tournament started the tournament on a cold note after an unimpressive performance against Russia .. couldn't find a way how to be effective in the offensive zone and was knocked off his feet regularly even by smaller opponents .. picked up on his play in the second game against Slovakia a bit but still not a convincing performance .. proved that bulking up is essential for him .. made several accurate passes which sent his linemate into a scoring chance .. finished the tournament with a sub-par performance against the Czech Republic .. the Czech players gave him a tough time when they played his body .. was too fragile to be effective .. size gives him potential but has a long way to go.

Scouting: a lanky forward .. a decent skater for a big man .. okay effectiveness of his stride but could develop a bigger top-end speed .. decent first-step quickness .. okay acceleration .. decent agility .. could use more speed when moving the puck .. an adequate stickhandler with a limited hand-eye coordination .. doesn't dangle the puck in traffic .. can find the open man but should work on the passing accuracy .. decent wrist shot with a fast release .. hard snap shot with average accuracy .. needs to upgrade on accuracy and hardness of his slap shot .. average defensive awareness .. should progress at limiting the options of the opposing forward .. still should spot his man faster .. a decent forechecker .. should crash the net more often .. doesn't show much of a mean streak .. often on the receiving side of the hits and often gets knocked off his feet .. prone to occasional positional mistakes .. digs for pucks along the boards but isn't a gritty worker .. shoots right.

Alexander Oblinger (2007), LW

Notes: showed limited skating skills in the opening game against Russia where he couldn't keep up with the faster Russian players but played a belligerent style all game long .. focused on filling a gritty role and was willing to initiate physical contact often .. battled in the defensive zone regularly but failed to create plays .. slightly upgraded on the offensive side of his performance during the second game against Slovakia .. proved that he needs to pick up on his acceleration as he couldn't keep up with the fastest players .. spotted his man quickly in his own end .. an average factor in the third game against Czech Republic but made his presence felt with his feistiness .. tried to be more creative and prepare chances for his linemates, but the plays he created were neutralized by the Czech defense.

Scouting: blessed with average wheels .. should upgrade on his acceleration and foot speed .. solid balance and lower-body strength .. could use softer hands and better puckhandling skills .. needs to corral difficult passes more smoothly .. doesn't stand out in one-on-one situations .. limited creativity .. tends to overlooks odd passing lanes thanks to a low patience with the puck .. average vision and hockey sense .. unleashes a hard accurate snap shot .. okay variety of shots .. decent finishing skills .. a tenacious player who doesn't shy away from the physical contact .. often performs in the slot .. can finish his checks and throw open-ice hits .. okay nastiness along the boards .. doesn't perform as a two-way forward but is adequately responsible in his own zone .. spots his man quickly but could upgrade on defensive positioning and get rid of the occasional defensive floating .. an '89 born forward .. shoots right.

Marius Garten (2006), RW

Notes: focused on playing a finesse style in the first game against Germany and couldn't take advantage of his speed against the faster Russian defensemen .. showed only a few shifts where he wouldn't float on the perimeter .. broke down along with the rest of the German team in the second period .. improved on his performance and registered a solid showing in the second game against the Slovakia .. could burst into scoring chances with his speed and generated trouble to the opposition with his agility .. lack of traffic play was evident in his performance .. repeated the okay performance from the second game also in the third game against Czech Republic .. emerged as a flashy player who could occasionally succeed in one-on-one situations .. was difficult to keep under control but played soft on most of his shifts .. got better as the tournament went on but his lack of size remains a severe obstacle in his pro potential.

Scouting: an above-average skater with a fast change of pace and deceptive quickness .. shows a decent agility on his skates .. blessed with okay acceleration and flashiness .. adequate top-end speed .. should add more bulk to his lower-body and upgrade on balance .. emerges as a swift puckhandler .. prone to occasional overhandling of the puck .. blessed with decent offensive instincts .. capable of solid tape-on-tape passes .. unleashes an accurate wrist shot with a fast release .. snap and slap shots should be more accurate .. doesn't use his slap shot very often .. should develop more precise in-close finishing skills .. willing to return to his own end to help out the defense, but needs to pick up on his defensive awareness .. average quickness of marking his man .. should improve on defensive positioning .. isn't a physical force thanks to his diminutive frame .. not effective in heavy traffic .. doesn't dish out hits and relies more on his finesse skills .. shoots right.

Patrick Hager (2006), C/LW

Notes: didn't impress with his play in the opener against Russia .. the Russians could rattle him when they played his body in traffic .. couldn't take effective advantage of his acceleration .. traffic play was a negative issue with him all tournament long .. bounced back with a slightly better game against Slovakia where he was used as both center and left winger .. could sneak into scoring chances twice but failed to score .. didn't show a significant commitment to defense .. his skating skills were evident in the final game against Czech Republic as he won a number of footraces .. was limited on the defensive side .. didn't perform in the slot as often as needed and got knocked off the puck by bigger opponents .. nothing fancy with his performance on the tournament.

Scouting: a decent skater .. uses a short stride .. okay agility and foot speed .. solid first-step quickness and acceleration .. decent top-end speed .. average balance on his skates .. a decent stickhandler .. can deal with difficult passes adequately well and uses both sides of the stick .. could make better puck moves when pressed in heavy traffic and be a better force in one-on-one situations .. doesn't stand out with his smarts .. should be more creative when performing on powerplay units .. slap shot of adequate accuracy could be upgraded in terms of hardness .. willing to return to the defensive zone, but is still raw in his defensive awareness .. doesn't shy away from traffic, but isn't a player who would thrive under the physical style .. doesn't lay many hits on the opponents .. needs to get stronger .. should crash the net with a bigger determination .. should bulk up so that he can't be pushed out of scoring lanes so easily .. a versatile player who can play center.

Thomas Weiszdorn (2006), RW

Notes: most productive German forward (2 points) .. best German goalscorer (2 goals) .. a limited factor during the German tournament opener against Russia .. worked diligently on the penalty killing units but avoided showing up in heavy traffic .. hardly battled his way into the scoring chances .. an average factor in the defensive end .. repeated the same drawbacks in the second game against Slovakia .. kept his feet moving but got knocked off the puck by bigger opponents .. played his most impressive game of the tournament in the matchup against Czech Republic with several solid scoring chances .. played where it hurts more often and unleashed his quick wrist shot several times .. scored his share of goals but didn't impress on the tournament with his limited play in traffic.

Scouting: an okay skater with an above-average agility .. possesses decent foot speed .. adequate first-step quickness .. should be more explosive and upgrade on top-end speed .. should upgrade on balance and lower-body strength .. can corral passes adequately well but should cover the puck more effectively .. shows trouble when heading with the puck in traffic .. shows a solid diligence on the penalty killing units .. unleashes a fast accurate wrist shot .. okay hard slap shot .. doesn't use the slapper very often .. shows decent passing skills .. adept at finding his linemates but creativity and hockey sense don't stand out .. isn't much of a physical force and can get outmuscled in the corner battles .. occasionally battles in the slot .. needs to upgrade on his defensive awareness .. is willing to return back to his own end, but should mark his man more quickly and stay with him all the way.

Adrian Albanese (2006), C

Notes: showed a decent ability to be effective on the backcheck in the tournament opener against Russia, but the rest of his game was missing .. showed that he gets into trouble when asked to switch to the extra gear .. broke down along with the majority of the German players in the second period .. refused to crash the net in the second game against Slovakia and was hesitant to show up in heavy traffic, but could distribute accurate passes on a short distance .. physical play was an issue with him in the third contest against Czech Republic but overall registered his best showing in this game .. could fire the puck just like make decent feeds to his linemates .. the okay finish couldn't save the rest of the unimpressive tournament.

Scouting: a smallish forward .. an adequate skater with a short stride .. a player of his size still could use better wheels .. possesses an okay foot speed but his stride lacks crispness .. limited top-end speed .. shows okay agility .. should further upgrade on his balance .. adequate puckhandling skills and hand-eye coordination .. a decent passer, but doesn't have the vision of an elite playmaker and tends to make passes on a short distance .. lacks hockey sense .. average in-close finishing skills .. looks for the rebounds in the slot and is willing to pay the physical price but isn't a traffic force with his modest size .. takes position in front of the opposing net .. fires a quick wrist shot .. hard slap shot with a slower release and average accuracy .. displays a decent defensive awareness as he shuts down the opposing offensive raids, but needs to do that on a regular basis.