WHL: Barkers Price is Right

Medicine Hat's victory over the expansion Everett Silvertips earned the Tigers a birth in the 2004 Memorial Cup. We have notes from playoff games featuring the Tigers' Cam Barker, Yannic Seidenberg and Kevin Nastiuk.

Cam Barker (2004), D

Forced the forward that was on a one on one to the wall .. got on the penalty-kill very late during the first disadvantages in both playoff games, however saw much more time on the kill as the game went along .. tremendous mobility with a stride that is not only graceful, but powerful .. has a tendency to lunge at the puck carrier and try to grab on .. rarely looks for a big hit .. had a multitude of defensive partners, although did get the bulk of his even strength shifts with Riley Day .. sees the ice well and consistently moves the puck crisply to the open man .. takes a hit to make a play .. terrific hand-eye coordination .. needs to improve in the physical aspect of the game and take greater advantage of his size and strength especially in front of the net and in high traffic areas .. shoots the puck confidently and with purpose .. allowed his goalie to get an unobstructed view of a point shot .. reads the play and has a high panic threshold .. got extra shifts in the latter part of the game .. a regular on the power play .. uses his body to protect the puck .. has improved his poise while on the rush, although at times still forces the puck in to heavy traffic unnecessarily .. tied up his man along the boards .. never hesitates to take something off his shot in order to get it on net .. over handled the puck at times .. adept at not letting pucks past, basically he is like a vacuum because anything that he can reach usually ends up on his stick .. uses an active stick to intercept passes on the PK .. effortless slap shot that explodes off the blade when he gets his full weight behind it .. has a heavy wrist shot .. made a sparkling breakout pass which led to a scoring chance .. stickhandles well and has the ability to make checkers miss .. knows how to protect himself from taking the full impact from a big hit .. on the ice in the final minute of the series clinching game to help the Medicine Hat Tigers advance to the Memorial Cup.

Brett Robertson (2004), C

Played on a line with Chris St. Jacques and Steve Regier .. drew a cheesy obstruction/hooking PIM .. at his best when he plays a high energy game with lot of intensity .. wound up for a slap shot from the point and was well wide and high .. drives hard to the crease and is fairly effective in traffic .. made a sweet outside – inside move in the slot area for a glorious scoring chance .. beat a defender with an excellent move at full speed, however shot the puck a few feet over the net .. solid on his skates with good mobility and excellent acceleration .. received an interference PIM .. takes the body and closes quickly on the forecheck .. works hard and got a lot of important shifts late in the game protecting a lead .. not afraid to stir things up by running or bumping the goalie.

Kevin Nastiuk (Carolina), G

The scouting report on Nastiuk must be for the shooters to go five-hole on him as that is where a lot of the shots (albeit unsuccessful) were aimed .. gets down in the butterfly very quickly .. just got his skate on a wrap around .. stayed square to the shooter even as the player went from post to post .. rarely gave the opposition anything to shoot at, especially in the lower half of the net .. poised .. deflects most shots in to the corner .. swallows up most shots .. rarely if ever loses his angles by overplaying a shot .. named WHL Playoff MVP by posting 16 wins and only four losses .. he registered a GAA of 1.93 and Sv% of 0.917.

Kris Russell (2005),

Partnered with Dan Idelma .. although he does have age on his size due to not being eligible for the Entry Draft until 2005, he still is undersized .. moved the puck efficiently off the wall .. carelessly turned over the puck with little pressure .. put himself out of position by going for a hit in the neutral zone .. like many younger d-men has a low panic threshold and tends to get rid of the puck quickly .. played the right point on the power play .. doesn’t hesitate to pinch in the offensive zone, but is usually the first guy back in the defensive end .. displayed excellent vision by firing a shot just wide so that it could be redirected past the goalie for a power play goal .. still developing, but looks to be well on his way to becoming a puck rushing defenseman at the Junior level.

Riley Day (2004), D

Partnered with Cam Barker .. received an interference PIM .. uses an active stick while killing penalties .. closes the gaps quickly on the puck carriers .. dishes a crisp breakout pass.

Yannic Seidenberg (2004), C

German import .. took a blatant and uncalled punch to the jaw while killing a penalty .. on the power play .. took his team off a potential PP by giving an ill-timed slash .. really pressures the puck carrier using his elite mobility, acceleration and top end speed .. world class wrist shot that can fool most goalies .. shifty stickhandling forced a defender in to taking a holding PIM .. came back in the defensive zone and adeptly stripped the puck carrier from behind .. sloppily allowed the puck to get past himself along the wall, which created a scoring chance .. not a crusher, but does take the body .. on the ice in the final minute of the WHL Finals clinching game to help the Medicine Hat Tigers advance to the Memorial Cup.