WHL: Billsten Buckles Down
Looking for a sure bet? Go to Vegas and put all your money on Kevin Constantine of the Everett Silvertips to be selected the Coach of the Year in the WHL and while you're at it put a little money down on Doug Soetaert as GM/Executive of the year as both have worked wonders with a roster of castoffs and youngsters. We have game notes featuring the hardest working team in the 'Dub and a few of their prospects for the upcoming 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
Curtis Billsten, RW, (2004)
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Picks up his man on the forecheck .. drove hard to the net on a two-on-one, but never received the pass .. lost the handle on a hard pass .. didn't get any time on either special team .. showed a willingness to take a lot of punishment in front of the net .. lacks the elite acceleration and strength to break free of checkers .. possesses a powerful slapshot as a defender found out when he got in the way of it .. he also was later stung by a blast from the point while standing in front .. got on late during the powerplay .. displays a willingness to take punishment in high traffic areas had an odd man rush, and wasn’t able to move the puck to his wipe open teammate in the slot .. had to fight/wrestling match with a smaller player after the latter came to the aid of a player Billsten boarded, for which he received a penalty for .. played on a line with Mark Kress and Marc Desloges .. on the positive side he was on the ice in the last minute of a tie game, however his line was trapped in their own end.
Martin Ruzicka, RW, (2004)
Very conscientious defensively .. strong on his skates and is willing to take a hit as well as give it .. is an elusive skater .. rarely created any offensive chances, but to be fair was not given any quality ice time to speak of .. he is the kind of player that doesn’t hurt you when he is on the ice, but also doesn’t really get a lot accomplished besides burning some time off the clock.
Very conscientious defensively .. strong on his skates and is willing to take a hit as well as give it .. is an elusive skater .. rarely created any offensive chances, but to be fair was not given any quality ice time to speak of .. he is the kind of player that doesn’t hurt you when he is on the ice, but also doesn’t really get a lot accomplished besides burning some time off the clock.
Mike Wall, G (2004)
Replaced an ailing Jeff Harvey halfway through the game while his team was killing a double minor penalty .. gets across the crease quickly .. displays very good athleticism .. lost sight of the puck in traffic a few times .. looked a little nervous .. stoned a forward with a wide open chance right in front of the net .. was caught looking the wrong way on a few rebounds .. displays quick reflexes .. alertly picked the puck up through a crowd and off of a deflection .. came out hard to take away the angle from a player at the top of the slot .. doesn’t look comfortable handling the puck .. although he did shutout the opposition the rest of the game and was deservedly selected the second star of the game, he doesn’t appear ready to take over the number one job from the much more poised Harvey.