Weal Watching

Mckeen's correspondent Marlon Martens has notes on a trio of Regina Pats including Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick Carter Ashton and 2010 NHL Entry Draft eligible forwards Jordan Weal and Hampus Gustafsson. Weal was recently ranked No. 45 among North American skaters by Central Scouting.

Carter Ashton (TB), RW, Regina

The definition of power forward .. uses an unsuspecting, yet heavy wristshot, allowing him to score from outside of the paint .. hurt another player with his powerful slapshot .. can get his feet moving for his size .. ability to fight through checks and players bounce off him .. can handle a hard pass as he cuts through the neutral zone .. uses his long reach to make unthinkable plays .. will staple players to the boards, but should do this more often .. tendency to bring the puck off the wall, make a few elusive moves and release a shot .. could be more dominating at times, especially with his frame and skill set.

Jordan Weal (2010), C, Regina

With Jordan Eberle away at the World Juniors, Jordan Weal excelled with the extra icetime and the responsibility of being the go-to guy .. seems to have inherited similar traits as Eberle .. a real energy guy with offensive upside, but his lack of size (5-foot-9), may hurt his draft order .. speedy, uses quick short strides and hustles back hard (with his mouth guard half out of his mouth) .. frequent verbal communicator .. tenacious along the boards, often winning puck battles .. willing to dive to make plays, once contributing to a goal .. effective hip check .. gets down low for clean faceoff wins .. shows emotion by playing harder and slapping his stick in disgust .. displayed his hand-eye, knocking pucks out of the air .. ability to stickhandle in close .. couldn't get a backhander up when in tight .. wants to shoulder the load and shows a real desire to make an impact .. still learning lessons - on the powerplay he was pokechecked trying to dangle through the defense instead off setting up a play .. got caught out late and didn't have the strength to stop his opponent barging in to score .. could go mid-to-late second round.

Hampus Gustafsson (2010), LW, Regina

The check dodging Swede steals pucks and controls plays with poise and confidence (almost lackadaisical) .. smaller, yet evasive .. handles the point on the powerplay using his accurate rising wristshot .. knows where the pucks going before he gets it .. likes shooting, but often resists temptation to make a better play .. responded after a benching by going to the dirty area, tipping a shot off the post .. a good technical skater but displayed average speed .. could be picked up in the 5th or 6th round.