WHL: Fire Tolpeko

Notes from a recent game with the Seattle Thunderbirds featuring Denis Tolpeko. The Russian import is eligible for the upcoming 2004 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Aaron Gagnon, 7, (2004), C

On the power play and penalty kill .. got bumped from out front of the net .. excellent first step quickness and overall speed .. adept at stripping players of the puck and creating turnoves .. closes quickly on the puck carrier.

David Svagrovsky, 11, (Col), RW

Wears an A .. works hard on both the forecheck and backcheck .. didn't accomplish much in the offensive zone .. stops moving his feet when tied up along the board while carrying the puck .. dished out a few heavy hits, especially in the third period .. solid on his skates making him hard to move off the puck.

Tyler Metcalfe, 15, (2004), LW

Cycled the puck effectively with Thompson .. played on the PP .. had a good scoring chance, but it was tipped well over the net .. gets bumped off the puck a bit too easily .. lacks much physical presence .. scored a late goal in the second period on the decent move on the breakaway .. almost scored a goal in the first minute of the third period .. Selected the 1st star .. gets his scoring chances and capitalizes.

Ryan Gibbons, 16, (Phx), RW

On the PP .. skates hard to get back support the defense .. uses his quickness to place tremendous pressure on the puck carrier .. put a weak one-handed backhand on net .. shows a willingness to go in high traffic areas .. got an assist by driving hard to the net to create a scoring chance, which was converted by a linemate .. lays out some heavy hits on the wall .. kind of lanky and could add some pounds .. takes a hit to make a play.

Denis Tolpeko, 17, (2004), C

Drilled a slap shot on net from the blue line .. needs to use his speed to close on the puck carrier .. plays a bit too passively on the forechecker .. on the PP .. keeps his feet moving .. went down to block a shot and missed .. superb acceleration .. makes guys miss with his amazing speed and mobility.

Nate Thompson, 19, (Bos), C

Poor start to the game .. on both special teams .. started to play with more spark while killing penalties .. seems to lack creativity in the offensive zone .. got a goal in the crease by taking some punishment.

Justin Maiser, 22, (StL), LW

On the PP .. made a nice head man pass .. drilled a slap shot just wide .. got a PIM for roughing .. went hard to the net .. on the PK .. excellent quickness .. became more effective as the game went along .. got destroyed on an open ice hit that he was trying to deliver on a larger player .. good checker.

Steven Goertzen, 26, (Cbj), RW

Wears an A .. picks up his man .. skates a ton on the PK .. played the point on the PP .. got an assist on the PP .. lost a face off 4 on 4 .. active on the penalty kill .. excellent quickness and keeps his feet moving .. displays desire on every shift and works hard in every zone .. quick stick .. displays superb hockey sense.

Cole Simpson, 27, (2004), D

On the PP .. cuts down the passing lanes .. has superb mobility to limit an opposing forward trying to beat him one-on-one .. needs to clear guys from in front of his net .. got an obstruction hooking penalty .. moves the puck well .. broke up a two-on-one by going down to block the pass .. will rush with puck if opportunity presents itself.

Zach Fitzgerald, 28, (StL), D

On the PP and PK .. doesn't get bumped off the puck .. took out a player hard on the boards .. got beat wide along the boards which led to a last minute goal .. created a scoring chance on a hard point shot .. got away with a hold on a player that was beating him wide .. seems to get caught flat footed by quicker players .. displayed grit .. came back well in a fight to arguably a draw after catching a few punches early.

Josh Lepp, 30, (2004), G

Stopped a labeled shot with his glove by getting enough of it to deflect it over the net .. got beat on a short handed goal that he had no chance on (player was left all alone in front of the net) .. great glove save on the short side (top corner) .. plays very physical, knocked a few guys down in his crease .. coughed up a juicy rebound on a harmless shot that didn’t cost him .. has the reflexes to make up for a lack of positioning .. must learn to control his rebounds better .. absolutely robbed a guy with a glove save .. glorious glove save on a breakaway.