WHL: Brave Reinhart

The last place Pats' fans have had very few things to be thankful for this season. However, the future looks reasonably bright with Derek Reinhart and a cast of youngsters patrolling the backend. We have notes from a recent game featuring many of the Regina prospects.

Derek Reinhart (2005), D

Still maturing defensively, although there are signs he will eventually become a solid defensive blueliner .. partnered with Jan Zapletal .. cleared the puck out of his zone, but had time to be more creative than blasting it off the boards and past a teammate near center ice .. played the man terrifically, keeping him to the outside .. very smooth transition from offense to defense and is very quick skating backwards .. lost the handle on a pass .. made a nice crisp breakout pass right on the tape .. had some trouble handling a puck carrier behind the Pats' net .. made a good defensive play intercepting a pass near his own crease and was able to clear it off the boards and out.

Craig Schira (2006), D

Slick skating defender, handles and moves the puck well .. partnered with Curtis Patterson .. made a nice play defending on a two-on-one by deflecting a dangerous pass wide with his foot and out of harm's way .. went back for the puck and looked smooth skating behind the net and then crisply headmaning it to an open forward to breakout of the zone .. very mobile .. joined in on an odd man rush after intercepting a pass at center ice, then drove to the net and deftly deflected a shot on goal for a quality scoring chance .. was caught flat-footed at the offensive blueline and was unable to catch up to the puck carrier creating an odd man rush.

Logan Pyett (2006), D

Swift skating blueliner uses his stick to cut down passing lanes .. partnered with Kyle Deck .. was caught in no-man's land while killing a penalty when he slid up to pressure the point man which created a gap in the coverage behind him .. played the man perfectly forcing the puck carrier wide and rubbing him off the puck and staying with him until the coast was clear .. has some grit to his game and could be poised to making a run at getting drafted in 2006.

Preston Mosewich (2005), C

Alert and conscientious in his positioning without the puck .. played on a line with Braden Appleby and Jovan Matic .. got to the half boards and tipped a puck out of the zone .. plays on the PK .. supports the puck carrier .. got nothing on a wrist shot, sending it weaklu wide of the net .. reasonably quick, with a nice burst of speed from his first few strides .. was late going down to block a shot .. puts pressure on the point man.

Ian Duval (2006), C

Strong on the puck, which helps him ward off checkers along the wall and in traffic .. played on a line with Brent Hill and Jordan Fuder .. seems to be able to get himself open in prime scoring areas .. came back to support the defense, but needs to display with more urgency in his own zone .. dangerously tried to get his blade on a point shot in Regina's end instead of getting his body in front .. got away a heavy wrist shot that gave the goaltender some difficulties .. has the speed and strength to back off a defender.

David Reekie (2005), G

Came out to play the puck to a teammate, which led to a breakout pass .. looks comfortable moving around in goal .. displays no problem sucking up long shots and limiting rebounds .. is extremely solid in his positioning and keeps his mind focus on what is happening .. has an innate ability to find a shot through traffic .. his horrible 3.67 goals against average and 0.885 save percentage is more a reflection of the inexperienced defensive coverage in front of him .. there are signs he should eventually mature in to a solid goaltender if he's not shellshocked by the turmoil of this season.