WHL: A Robak Moment

McKeen's correspondent Randy Gorman begins his tour of the WHL's 2008-draft-eligible-players with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Defenseman Colby Robak is considered the Wheat Kings top prospect, as he is currently ranked No. 31 on McKeen's Midterm Rankings for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and featured in this report.

Colby Robak (2008), D, Brandon

A strong powerful skater with agility .. likes to carry the puck and spring his forwards with great passes .. must work on his pivot turn on the back skate, as his foot speed could be better but that is something that will come with time and experience .. looks for the open man with his outlet passes from his own end or when carrying the puck through the neutral zone .. has a heavy shot with good accuracy and he has a great one timer from the point .. remains cool under pressure and rarely makes bad decisions with the puck .. has worked hard at making the right play in his own zone and elevates his game to make adjustments for any situation that may arise .. is positionally sound, is a student of the game, and works hard in practice according to his coach .. when the occasion arises, he throws good bodychecks and punishes opposing players .. the knock against him is that he sometimes lacks focus and consistency and that has to change .. he battles hard, shows opposing players a lot of grit, and uses his huge frame (6-3, 200) to his advantage .. does the little things like blocking shots and staying with the opposing puckcarrier and not allowing him to gain body position, which is key to a good defensive game .. shows leadership qualities and wants to improve in all aspects of the game .. plays the triggerman on the powerplay and has a great shot and he especially likes to use the shooting lanes to unload it .. keeps his shot low and makes smart plays in the offensive zone .. while on the penalty kill, he sometimes tends to over compensate and gives way to much room to opposing skaters down low .. he should develop into a solid 5-or-6 d-man at the next level .. likely a mid-second round pick in this year's draft.

Alex Grill-Donovan (2008), D, Brandon

Alex is sluggish on his skates and needs improvement in this area as it is a concern .. better foot speed and improved agility will propel him to the next level .. he moves the puck up ice quickly and his passes are generally good and on the money .. the only knock on Alex in this area of the game is that he likes to make long outlet passes and he misjudges the distance and occasionally they are intercepted leading to turnovers .. has a good hockey IQ but he will probably not add a lot offensively, as he is a stay-at-home defenseman who looks after his own end first and foremost .. plays with a lot of heart and grit and loves to compete .. he needs to work on controlling his hard and fast shot from the point .. shows promise in becoming a bigger physical presence and will certainly get better after he adds a little more weight to his 6-foot-2 frame .. has shown signs of a mean streak and likes to win the little battles along the wall .. he sometimes plays with fellow rookie Colby Robak, so he has learned the finer points of playing in his own zone, as he often compensates when Colby joins the offensive rush .. plays the body well on opposing players and keeps them to the perimeter when possible .. knows when to use the boards when clearing the puck .. has not seen a lot of powerplay minutes this season, but on the flipside, he does get out there on the pk and doesn't look out of place by showing good poise like a mature, veteran d-man .. he will be called upon more next season with the Wheat Kings .. it is tough to tell whether he will be a late round draft pick or be drafted at all, especially with time missed to injury this season.

Matt Calvert (2008), LW, Brandon

A strong skater with good foot speed especially on the backcheck, as he uses his speed to his advantage at both ends of the rink .. this is one area of his game that is a strong point and he utilizes it to the best of his ability .. plays a high-energy, finesse game and sometimes catches opposing players off guard with his deceptive speed .. he makes good passes to his linemates, as they are usually tape-to-tape .. he made a dandy pass to his teammate late in a game in Vancouver to tie the game for his team, which they eventually went on to win in overtime .. looks when he passes and makes the smart play on turnovers, as he does not rush or panic when making decisions with the puck .. goes to the open holes and creates space for other players and makes things happen while he's out there and has a great shot and quick release for such a small player (5-9, 172) .. must add more muscle to his frame, as he often is knocked around and off the puck by more aggressive players, however, he is not afraid to compete hard and will take a hit to help facilitate a play .. he has made notable improvement in the defensive part of the game .. works hard on the forecheck and backchecks reasonably well and protects the puck down low in his own zone while cycling the puck along the wall looking for a teammate to make a play to .. plays both the pp and pk logging major minutes for his team as a 17-year-old .. positionally, he is sound, works hard to set-up plays, and looks for rebounds when on the powerplay in front of the net .. on the pk, he plays a very up-tempo game and forces opponents to make occasional bad decisions because of his tenacious forechecking .. should be a late-round pick at best, as his size is a concern, however he does have a little upside where scouts like his overall game as a package, but he still has room to improve in some areas of the game and scouts hope he grows a couple of more inches.

Sanfred King (2008), RW, Brandon

King is an average skater, nothing fancy, but he keeps his feet moving and plays up and down his wing with precision .. has a smooth-skating stride that allows him to carry the puck and chase down opposing players .. still needs work on his play away from the puck and must learn to read plays with his teammates, as to not be caught out of position, which lead to odd-man rushes .. knowing where to create open ice and out-guessing opposing d-men in where the play will develop will come with time and coaching .. at 6-foot-2 and 191 pounds, King is a project, but has the potential to develop into a power forward at the pro level with time and a little patience .. he does not shy away from the rough and tough physical parts of the game, as he crashes the net looking for tip ins and rebounds .. according to his coach, he is not afraid to drop the gloves on occasion .. his defensive game needs a little fine-tuning, but he does tie up his man and he is a tenacious backchecker who shows lots of grit and determination .. he plays the body well and avoids using the stick to slow down opposing forwards, thus he is learning early that using the stick usually results in a trip to the penalty box .. King has not played many minutes on the powerplay, but he has shown some promise as a big, lanky forward that likes to crowd the front of the net causing a screen for the opposing goalie .. is tough to move out from there but needs to add a little more weight and that should make him an even more formidable presence in front of the opposing teams' net .. King needs quite a bit of work on certain aspects of his game, but the jury is out on whether he will be drafted this year.

Jordan Hale (2008), LW, Brandon

A grinding-type winger with great size (6-3, 217) and the potential for secondary scoring .. he is a very physical player who finishes his checks and is strong on his skates .. at 17, he is very defensive minded, backchecks well, goes to wall and works hard for the puck like a tough warrior .. plays with a lot of grit but must work on his foot speed to make it to the next level.

Andrew Hayes (2008), G, Brandon

As a 17-year-old, he has not appeared in many games this season but when he has been between the pipes, he shows promise with good lateral movement and a good glove hand .. however, he needs to work on his rebound control .. has good size (6-0, 205) .. displays good communication with his teammates and challenges shooters by cutting down the angles .. shows a strong competitive spirit.