WHL: Schwarz Czechs Out

The Vancouver Giants thought they pulled a fast one in last years' CHL Import Draft when they were able to select the St. Louis Blues first rounder Marek Schwarz with the 40th overall because they had an arrangement with his agent to come over. Unfortunately for the Giants, Schwarz rarely looked like the goalie that had some suggesting that he was the second best goaltender available in his draft year. We have a review of the Czech enigma as well as a number of his former teammates.

Mark Fistric (Dal), D

Former captain of the Giants until a second broken jaw saw him miss most of the regular season, when he returned he showed leadership by allowing Triston Grant to remain in the role .. mobility has improved since his draft year .. seemed to have gotten a lot more snarl to his game since his return and is much more of an intimidating presence in his own zone, especially in front of Vancouver's net .. partnered with Conlan Seder early in his return .. lacks the overall vision to be an offensive threat .. displays good backwards skating ability .. looks poised to become a dominant physical defender next season in Junior.

Jason Reese (2006), F

Although he rarely accomplished a lot, especially offensively, the Giants would generally be happy with the fact that he didn't look out of place regularly playing against opponents much older than himself .. late in the year played on a line with Kyle Lamb and Tim Kraus .. has a nose for the net and rarely hesitated in driving full steam in to traffic .. skates well with very nice mobility and acceleration .. will need to add some muscle to his slender frame in order to have more success in the dirty areas as well as being more successful playing his agitating style of game.

Triston Grant (Phi), LW

Wears the C .. still suffers from long bouts of ineffectiveness where he seemingly goes through the motions on the ice .. has the ability to be a dominant power forward at the minor league level, but will have to continue to work on his choppy skating stride and motivation .. showed some progress in his work habits this season.

Gilbert Brule (2005), C

Fearless center battled injuries in the last part of the season which most assuredly slowed his production and eventually cost him a chance to represent Canada at the World Under-18 Hockey championship in the Spring .. discipline improved from the start of the year when he regularly took poor penalties .. might not have the offensive upside as some in the upcoming Entry Draft, but he is a lock to become a star in the NHL .. few players as any level display as much fire in their game as Brule does on almost every shift .. some scouts have questioned whether he would be more suited to playing on the wing as he lacks a playmakers sensibility .. will shoot from anywhere.

Max Gordichuk (Edm), D

Thankfully the Oilers organization didn't invest anything more than a sixth rounder as they can't be very enamored with their large, but highly ineffective defenseman .. has yet to show many signs of being a physical presence in his own zone and rarely produces much offensively .. was a healthy scratch on occasion .. the only reason that he will garner any interest is due to his enormous size, however if he doesn't quickly start to develop some part of his game to the elite level he will find himself out of hockey.

Marek Schwarz (StL), G

Underperforming Czech import has chosen to return against the wishes of the St. Louis Blues and to return to his native country and turn pro with Sparta Prague of the Czech Elite League .. let in an alarming amount of long shots, even a few from near center ice .. has a good, but not great playoff series versus the Kelowna Rockets and was regularly upstaged by Derek Yeomans at the other end of the ice .. vaunted glove hand appeared to be more of a liability than a strength as he had some questioning his ability to catch and hold on to shots .. very athletic and did show flashes of brilliance, however never seemed to quite get his confidence to the level it was at the World Juniors where he stole the show in nets .. too often took himself out of position by overplaying a shooter .. displayed very weak puck control .. has the skill to become an excellent NHL goalie if given enough time to mature.