WHL: Life of Riley

The Calgary Hitmen were concerned that their goaltending wasn't going to get it done in the playoffs. This lead them to trade Scott Bowles to Prince George for Justin Pogge in a multi-player deal just before the deadline. We have notes on Bowles before he was moved as well as Dustin Kohn and Riley Merkley amongst others.

Brodie Dupont (2005), LW

Quick skater with good overall mobility .. played on a line with Riley Merkley and Steve Covington .. likes to cycle with the puck .. needs to compete harder for loose pucks, however does put a lot of pressure on the forecheck .. most effective when he keeps his feet moving, which isn't always the case .. takes the pass well.

Riley Merkley (2005), C

Terrific two-way forward gets in extremely quick on the forecheck .. centered a line of Brodie Dupont and Steve Covington .. plays hard away from the puck .. excellent overall skating ability .. is mobile and has elite top end speed and acceleration .. drew a penalty on a great effort driving through a check after a faceoff .. displays pretty good poise with the puck .. plays on the powerplay and penalty-kill .. ties up the opposition effectively off the draw .. positionally sound and can be counted on to pick up his man defensively .. keeps his feet moving at all times .. not a physical force, but does take the body well.

Dustin Kohn (2005), D

Lined up on the right side partnering Darryl Yacboski .. his slap shot takes off of his stick .. moved the puck quickly .. pinched up in the neutral zone and allowed his man to get by him .. plays on the penalty-kill .. dished out a nice tape-to-tape pass .. does wander out of position at times .. good first step quickness .. has the stickhandling ability to beat a man one-on-one .. sees the ice well and can generally make a crisp and accurate breakout pass .. took an undisciplined crosschecking penalty to put his team down two men and later received a weak penalty because he was tired after being on the ice for an extra long shift during a powerplay.

Scott Bowles (2005), G

Recently traded to the Prince George Cougars .. lightning fast glove hand .. was tested with a breakaway early in the game and got just enough of it to make it go wide .. was beaten over the glove on the short side from the right faceoff dot .. maintained proper positioning on a point blank shot that came off a pass from behind the net .. came across quickly and stopped a slap shot .. kicked out a rebound right in to a prime scoring area, which points out a flaw in his game that he must work on steering shots in to the corners .. made an excellent save by getting his right pad down to shut the door on a breakaway.

Daniel Spence (2006), G

Represented Team Pacific at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in Lethbridge and looked shaky backing up Leland Irving .. excellent mobility and reflexes, especially when kicking out the pad to make a save .. has an air of confidence about him that is a bit unusual for a young goalie .. quick glove hand .. doesn't put himself out of position by overreacting to a shot .. moves side-to-side efficiently, while maintaining solid positioning.

Karl Alzner (2007), D

Represented Team Pacific at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in Lethbridge and recorded one assist in six games .. generally takes the man not the puck, however, was undressed by a puckcarrier later in the game when he went for the puck .. became mesmerized by the puck while killing the penalty .. good job of covering the front of the net .. plays a bit on the PK .. makes a fine transition from skating forward to backwards .. supports and communicates well his defensive partner .. does a decent job clearing the crease .. looks fairly poised for his age and is usually in the proper position .. displayed decent toughness in battles for loose pucks .. not afraid of playing physical.