WHL: Mikkelsons Above Par

Brendan Mikkelson of the Portland Winter Hawks and Gilbert Brule of the Vancouver Giants are both eligible for the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and both are expected to be top choices. We have notes from a recent game featuring the two as well as Marek Schwarz.

Brendan Mikkelson (2005), D, Portland Winter Hawks

Swift-skating defender is extremely mobile .. makes players pay the price in the crease .. was out muscled for the puck in behind the net .. partnered with Kevin Tipper .. nice hand-eye coordination deflecting a shot wide of his goal .. played on both the penalty-kill and powerplay .. skated with authority to bring the puck out of his own zone .. made an excellent move stickhandling through traffic .. doesn’t play with the same edge as does Braydon Coburn or Michael Funk, but also doesn’t have the propensity for turnovers (especially the unforced kind) .. once the Winterhawks shortened their bench late in the game to four defenders, he was paired with Funk.

Gilbert Brule (2005), C, Vancouver Giants

Centered a line with Tim Kraus and Mitch Bartley .. got free on the PK and forced the defender to take a penalty, but even then Brule was still able to get a decent scoring chance .. amazingly quick release .. takes a hit to make a play .. dished a nice pass to Adam Courchaine in the slot, who was then able to wire it home for a powerplay goal .. played the point on the powerplay, but even the Giants’ coach thinks he might be better used down low .. had a fight with Brandon Dubinsky late in the game and won a close decision.

Marek Schwarz (StL), G, Vancouver Giants

Let a soft shot from a bad angle slide through his five-hole .. looks a bit nervous early in his WHL career .. moved the puck straight to a forechecker for a glorious scoring chance, which luckily for the Giants he was able to stop .. came across square to the shooter and made a terrific save .. elite athleticism, especially his lateral movement .. has a tendency of staying down when he goes down .. still adjusting to the increased traffic in and around his crease as well as the smaller ice surface.

NOTES: Giants' Don Hay told a radio show that Dallas Stars' first round selection in 2004, Mark Fistric has lost 15 pounds since his broken jaw a week ago .. the Spokane Chiefs traded defenseman Liam Couture (19) for forward Kyle Howarth (18) of the Medicine Hat Tigers.