WHL: Cowen Crunches Opposition

Jared Cowen (2009), D, Spokane

Large bodied 6-foot-4, 220-pound defenceman is an excellent candidate to be selected in the top five in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft in Montreal .. Central Scouting has him listed number one of all WHL skaters in their Preliminary Rankings .. he moves the puck crisply and on target .. boasts a heavy shot.. can get himself in some trouble if he starts to run around looking for the big hit .. shows poise with the puck and won't just blast away from the point .. does a nice job closing down the shooting lanes .. very hard to get by one-on-one and has the ability to crush an opponent hard against the boards .. delivers a crisp, hard breakout pass .. possesses a canon from the point .. uses his stick to back off puck carriers .. sometimes can be guilty of trying to do too much, which can leave an opponent unmarked .. strong on his skates with above average speed and mobility for a player his size .. receives a ton of ice time in all situations. (24gp, 3-5-8)

David Conrad (2009), LW, Spokane

Listed at 6-foot-0, 180-pounds .. does a nice job cutting down time and space on the puckcarrier .. lacks power to his shot .. a good overall skater, but needs a bit more speed and strength to be a threat one-on-one .. doesn't possess top end breakaway speed .. supports the puck well and tries to get open .. a player that gives you a good effort most shifts, but isn't an offensive threat .. most effective playing a simple game up and down his wing .. needs to pick up his determination level and add some more sandpaper to his game .. has seen time on the powerplay and penalty-kill .. looked alright on a line with Seth Compton and Ryan Letts. (22gp, 2-3-5)

Stefan Ulmer (2009), D, Spokane

Pint-sized Kloten, Swiss native is listed at 5-foot-9, 165-pounds .. he's extremely quick out of the blocks as well as having tremendous mobility .. moves the puck well at the point .. partnered with Brett Bartman .. still needs to improve his strength especially in the dirty areas .. stickhandles well at full speed and has the ability to elude a forechecker one-on-one .. has a difficulty in not being outmuscled in front of his own net by larger forwards .. should be more careful with the puck, sometimes tries to get a bit cute at the point .. is hesitant to shoot at times even when there seemingly is an opening .. has the speed to recover if he gets caught pinching .. a regular on the powerplay .. is a bit lackadaisical in Chiefs' zone and doesn't pay the physical price enough to consistently move the puck out of his zone .. but keeps it low and generally gets it through. (24gp, 2-15-17)

Levko Koper (2009), LW, Spokane

Listed at 6-foot-0, 190-pound .. smart with the puck especially while killing penalties .. boasts good mobility and closes down time and space of the puckcarrier .. supports the puck relatively well .. moves in and out of traffic like a pesky mosquito .. has the ability to pick the corners on a goalie .. will go down to block a shot .. takes the pass smoothly .. sports good vision with the puck .. possesses an active stick which helps close down passing lanes .. doesn't shy away from traffic, but is far from being physically imposing .. the type of player that is versatile enough to play on almost any line and be effective .. sees time on the powerplay and is currently leads the Chiefs in goals and points. (24gp, 14-10-24)

James Reid (2009), G, Spokane

Little used backup goaltender is .. tends to allow holes over his shoulders when he drops down to his knees .. does a nice job staying square to the shooter, although has some difficulty maintain his positioning when he is forced to move across quickly .. playing time the rest of the season will continue to be hard to come by as long as Dustin Tokkarski is the big dog for the Chiefs .. must work on his rebound control and not allow pucks to get put back in the slot .. he's poor out of the net and his mediocre handling of the puck is exposed out of his net .. shows good poise and one-on-one with the shooter. (3gp, GAA 0.97, 0.967 Sv%)