WHL Report: Saskatoon and Prince Albert

McKeen's has notes on several Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders looking to make an impact in 2012 including Dalton Thrower, Ryan Olsen, Lukas Sutter, Shane Danyluk and Mike Winther.

Dalton Thrower (2012), D, Saskatoon Blades

Thrower was easily the best defenseman on the ice in this viewing .. was an impact player at both ends of the ice .. his skating strides were smooth and crisp and his speed is better than average .. Thrower quarterbacked the powerplay, and with Stefan Elliott gone to Colorado, it seems he will continue to get big minutes on the man advantage .. possesses a strong and accurate slapshot and wristshot .. defensively, Thrower played a physical game .. he constantly threw his weight around and would try and intimidate opponents after the whistle .. although he doesn't dominate at either end of the ice, he seems to be a decent all-around player.

Ryan Olsen (2012), C, Saskatoon Blades

Olsen centered the Blades second line .. won half of his faceoffs and was positionally sound, which enabled him to read plays and make some key takeaways .. Olsen made some nice tape-to-tape passes throughout the game, but he didn't get a lot of shots on net .. wasn't afraid to get into the dirty areas of the ice, but he didn't use his 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame enough .. takes smooth strong strides, however his speed hinders him a bit .. doesn't seem to have enough speed to beat defenders one on one .. he also needs to speed up his stop and starts.

Lukas Sutter (2012), C, Saskatoon Blades

Sutter played an agitator role on the third-line .. he was always in the middle of scrums and threw some big hits .. was a key player on the Blades penalty-kill .. blocked a couple of shots and had some key takeaways .. Sutter's fearless game makes him an impact player in the offensive zone .. he would always go hard to the net and was strong along the boards .. his speed and skating is his Achilles' heel .. his skating technique is a tad awkward and choppy and his speed is less than average .. it ultimately causes him to dump-and-chase rather than try to beat defenders one-on-one.

Shane Danyluk (2012), C, Prince Albert Raiders

Danyluk seemed to lack confidence at the beginning of the game .. he rushed some passes and seemed uncomfortable with the puck on his stick .. however, he seemed to get more relaxed in the second and third periods .. he was on a breakaway in the second period, but he shot the puck wide .. got a couple more shots off, and he showed he has a strong and accurate wristshot .. showed glimpses of impressive agility, but it came down to whether he had the confidence to try and beat a defender one-on-one .. his stop and starts were strong, it didn't take that many strides for him to get going.

Mike Winther (2012), C, Prince Albert Raiders

Winther played a fairly quiet game, but he showed glimpses of raw talent .. he got time on the powerplay and penalty-kill .. his positioning was a little off at times, and was rarely in the right spot for a loose puck or a rebound .. on the powerplay, he showed impressive patience, out waiting opponents and not rushing passes .. scored a goal in the third period and got a couple other scoring chances .. Winther needs to improve on the draw .. he lost the majority of his faceoffs, and this hurt his game by giving the other team possession of the puck more times than not.