WHL: Irving Berlin Wall

Swan Hills, Alberta native Leland Irving ranks among the WHL's top five goalies in wins, goals-against and save percentage, while his Everett Silvertips sit atop the U.S. Division of the Western Conference. Patrick King provides insights on three '06's in Irving, Brady Calla and Jonathan Harty, plus three youngsters in Zack Dailey ('08), Taylor Ellington ('07) and Zach Hamill ('07).

Despite playing without star forward Peter Mueller, scratched after experiencing back spasms, the Everett Silvertips put up a strong effort in a loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Brady Calla (2006), RW

One of the most reliable forwards on the team, earning ice time in all situations .. tremendous skater blessed with blazing speed .. played on the top line with John Lammers and Zach Hamill .. a regular on the PK with Mark Kress .. beat a defender wide while on the PK, resulting in a scoring chance .. uses his speed to win the races to loose pucks in the corner .. strong on the forecheck, always moving his feet, and is also a solid and reliable backchecker .. hustle and determination are rivaled by few, gives his all on every shift .. prevented a goal while killing a penalty, breaking up a pass across to an open forward parked on the far side of the net .. also created a partial break for Kress while shorthanded as he poked the puck away from a defender by the boards .. communicates very well with teammates; looks over his shoulder when coming back defensively and directs other forwards .. however, in spite of the skating and all-around game, he's not a natural finisher and his offensive upside is a question mark at this point .. nevertheless, does everything well and should earn consideration for first-round honours next summer.

Leland Irving (2006), G

Ranks among the WHL's top five goalies in wins (3rd, 13), goals-against (3rd, 2.01) and save percentage (5th, .922) - all in just his first season as starter .. cuts down the angles well, often making saves from the white ice .. adopts a butterfly style, staying strong to the shooter and not allowing too many juicy rebounds .. deflects most shots to the corners .. doesn't panic, maintains a cool, calm demeanor even when the puck is loose in front of his net .. rarely gets beaten down low as he is very adept at taking the bottom half away from the shooter .. despite facing few shots in this contest, still managed to sustain his concentration .. strong moving laterally, will usually slide across in the butterfly position .. did allow one soft goal which ended up being the game winner - got handcuffed by a shot near the slot that went five-hole .. all in all though, boasts very impressive mental makeup and shows signs of possibly being an NHL starter one day.

Zach Hamill (2007), C

One of the fastest players on the ice and consistently using his speed effectively .. rushed hard on the forecheck and backcheck all night, skating on the top line with John Lammers and Brady Calla .. never blows defensive assignments and is always one of the first players back .. plays in all situations, on the top powerplay and the second PK unit with Calla .. a smooth skater and confident puckrusher .. not afraid to start the attack from behind his own net .. displays excellent playmaking vision .. on one play, he pounced on a loose puck and, with his back turned to the net, made a nifty pass to an open Calla for a scoring chance .. he still could have asserted himself more into the offense, however, all things considered, there's plenty of upside on the horizon here.

Zack Dailey (2008), C/W

Listed as a center but played more often on the wing with Michael Wuchterl and Ryan Sawka .. a very fast skater, always moving his feet .. boasts an extra gear of speed which sets him apart .. extremely strong first few steps as he reaches his top gear in only a few strides .. displays sharp vision of the ice as well, always finding open areas in the offensive zone to set himself up for a scoring chance .. scored a memorable first career WHL goal on the PP .. backhanded a shot, collected his rebound, then faked and outwaited the goaltender and pulled the puck back to the left for a goal .. also solid in terms of defensive awareness as he keeps his head on a swivel to assess all areas of the ice .. despite his diminutive stature - listed at 5-foot-6, 155 pounds - Dailey is surprisingly effective at tying up his man .. took a big hit along the boards but was back out there for the next shift .. whatever he loses in size, he makes up for with his determination and hustle .. rewarded for his hard work with icetime late in the game while the Tips were down a goal .. a player to watch for in '08.

Jonathan Harty (2006), D

Played on the third pairing with Graham Potuer and also saw time killing penalties .. best asset is his speed and skating .. he tends to overcommit defensively however .. went for a big hit behind his net, leaving his side open which resulted in a scoring chance .. also overplayed a three-on-two when he slid across, taking out the puckcarrier who had already passed the puck, leaving his man alone with the puck in front .. needs to upgrade his defensive awareness as he gets overly aggressive with puckcarriers .. also holds onto the puck too long at times .. on one play, he lost control of the puck at the offensive blueline, resulting in a goal the other way .. his blazing speed is clearly evident, however speed doesn't always compensate for his mistakes.

Taylor Ellington (2007), D

Victoria, BC native skated on the second pairing with Cody Thoring .. displayed average speed and skating .. good size at 6-1 and 210 pounds, and covers the front of the net effectively, using his frame to clear space for his goaltender .. at times though he tries to do too much in the defensive zone and will chase the puckcarrier and give away position in front of the net .. on one particular play, he took his player out in the neutral zone with a crushing hit, which resulted in a goal against on a two-on-one .. not overly physical and doesn't do anything fancy .. shows limited offensive upside .. however, demonstrates the tools to be an effective stay-at-home defenseman if he keeps it simple.