WHL: Shatterproof Glass

The Ottawa Senators are hoping that they might have gotten a bit lucky with their 89th overall selection of Jeff Glass in the 2004 Entry Draft. We have notes on the streaky goaltender along with a number of his Kootenay Ice teammates.

Jeff Glass (Ott), G

Stingy Senators draft pick gets himself square to the shooter .. steers shots in to the corner .. looked solid standing up and forcing the puckcarrier to shoot high on a breakaway .. keeps the puck in front of him, however did give up a few juicy rebounds that led to unfulfilled scoring chances .. quick reflexes .. comes across quickly, while still maintaining position .. got his pad down to stop a heavy blast from the point .. communicates with his defenseman .. isn’t hesitant to challenge the opposition and take away the angles by coming way out .. wasn’t tested very often and rarely faced a quality second shot, but maintained his concentration throughout to register a shutout.

Roman Polak (StL), D

Partnered with unsigned veteran James Cherewyk .. amazingly fluid skater with smooth lateral moves .. uses his defensive partner effectively .. plays with a nice mix of finesse and sandpaper .. will take or give a hit to make a play .. tremendous transitional game due to his ability to stop on a dime and cut back against the flow .. a mainstay on both special teams .. excellent first step quickness .. can take the pass at full speed .. held his own is what amounted to nothing more than a wrestling match.

Nigel Dawes (NYR), LW

Tiny Kootenay captain played on a line with Adam Cracknell and centered by Dale Mahovsky .. dished a crisp breakout pass to a teammate breaking open .. played on both the powerplay and penalty-kill .. took a long time to shake off the effects of a hard hit delivered in open ice .. amazing vision, especially in the opposition’s zone .. breakaway speed .. beat the goalie with a crisp, but stoppable shot along the ice .. does what he has to in his own end, however, he still has some work to do before he could be classified as a two-way player .. has a knack for getting open in the danger areas.

Ben Maxwell (2006), C

Centered the third line of Brett Sutter and Casey Lee .. went to the net with authority and got a solid backhand on goal .. supports the defense and looks surprisingly poised in his own zone .. intercepted a pass in the opposition end, but failed to do much with the turnover .. saw a little time late on the powerplay .. not very effective at playing the body.

Martin Sagat (Tor), RW

Frustratingly passive winger played on a second line with Adam Taylor and Ryan Russell .. needs to keep his feet moving .. nice long stride, but is too passive on the forecheck .. smart backhand pass off the wall to gain the offensive zone .. forced a turnover which created a two-on-one, however, he failed to get the puck over to the open man in time for a scoring chance .. solid on his skates.. choppy first few steps .. condor-like reach makes life difficult for the point man trying to set up on the powerplay .. lacks a certain grit and passion that would take his game to the next level .. moves the puck well .. worked hard to get back to support the defense .. often played the point on the powerplay .. has some pop to his wrist shot.