WHL: Andy Franken-Schultz

Watching the Hitmen, one can only imagine what a great defenseman you could create if you combined Andy Rogers’ skating ability with the vision and hands of Jeff Schultz. We have notes from a recent game featuring these two blueliners as well as a few others.

Andy Rogers (TB), D

Partnered with Dustin Kohn .. threw some heavy hits along the boards that had the opposition hearing footsteps .. excellent first step acceleration .. plays on the powerplay and penalty-kill .. uses his speed and mobility to close the gap on the puck carrier .. took himself out of the play by going for an ill-timed hit .. once again went for a big hit behind the net and took himself out of the play .. has started to initiate the play this season instead of reacting to it, however, he still lacks the vision necessary to help him take the next step in to a powerhouse offensive defenseman.

Brett Carson (Car), D

Partnered with Jeff Schultz .. retrieved the puck from the corner and was able to clear the zone with a back hand pass .. moved up in to the high slot in order to blast a shot .. allowed the winger to get past him at the point and although he displayed terrific speed to catch up, he was eventually forced into taking a PIM .. plays on the powerplay .. received a penalty for a viscous knee on a knee hit .. poor discipline .. froze the puck carrier along the wall .. moves the puck quickly on the powerplay .. will pinch in deep from the point looking for the pass .. drilled a slap shot wide and high .. kind of a “tweener” on the Calgary blueline as he doesn’t read the play as well as Schultz or have the physical skills that Rogers has.

Konstantin Pushkarev (LA), RW

Played on the number one line with Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd .. Worked hard along the boards to get the puck and move it to an open linemate .. got open at the side of the net and would have had an easy goal if the pass had made it through to him .. got to a loose puck, but fired a shot from a bad angle shot that went well wide .. blessed with the poise to control the play from the side-boards .. took a short pass through a maze of defenders and had the vision and hands to deliver a soft pass to a teammate in the open .. played on the PP .. elite stickhandling ability .. blasted a howitzer from the high slot that gave the goaltender problems .. intercepted a pass at the point, beat the defender wide along the boards and then drove hard to the net where he was finally stopped trying to go five-hole .. had a checker draped all over him while stickhandling behind the net and was still able to get free .. not hesitant to shoot when the opportunity arises .. stickhandles in traffic with ease .. solid on his skates and doesn’t get bounced off the puck easily.

Ryan Getzlaf (Ana), C

Centered the top line of Konstantin Pushkarev and Andrew Ladd .. wears the C .. came back deep to support the defense .. gets excellent pressure on the puck carrier, especially on the PK .. has elite speed and mobility .. made a nice pass from behind the net that just failed to connect .. played on the powerplay .. terrific give and go with Ladd that almost culminated in a goal .. drew a penalty by driving through a pair of defenders and forcing one of them to take him down .. can often be found grinding it out in the dirty areas to make a play .. strong on the puck.

Jeff Schultz (Wsh), D

Partnered with Andy Rogers .. crisp passer, almost always gets the puck into the right spot for the player receiving the pass .. was forced in to a penalty when he was beaten wide .. very poised with the puck .. has elite hand-eye coordination .. still has poor mobility and overall speed .. got his stick in the way to break up a pass on the PK .. buys his defensive partner time by picking up the forechecker .. has terrific hands and vision .. great at making the first pass .. is usually able to get the shot through from the point .. held on to the puck for too long and turned it over after being pressured.