WHL: The Hogg Report

The Lethbridge Hurricanes find themselves well back in third place in the Eastern Conference's Central Division. They will need their best players to step it up and included in that list is Kris Hogg. We have notes on Hogg as well as teammates Zach Boychuk, Dwight King and Lenny Thunderchild.

Zach Boychuk (2008), C

Surprising 16 year-old has already chipped in with six points (2-4-6) in his first 10 games in the WHL .. played left wing on a line with Colton Yellow Horn and Ken Petkau .. moves the puck crisply on to the tapae of his linemates .. gets some time on the power play .. his very first goal came from being in the right spot to pounce on a rebound and he made no mistake hammering a one-timer low past the out of positioned goalie .. gets a pretty decent jump form his first few steps .. must improve his work habits away from the puck, especially in his own zone .. displays an ability to bounce right back up after taking a heavy hit .. gets in fairly quickly on the forecheck.

Kris Hogg (Cgy), LW

Has never been known as a big point producer at the WHL level and this year is no different as he currently has a mediocre seven points (3-4-7) in 13 games .. played on a line with Mike Ullrich and Curtis Billsten .. not the fastest skater, but has terrific vision and above average stickhandling ability at top speed .. heady all around player that plays a dependable two-way game .. isn't an overly physical player, yet he will mix it up and doesn't shy away from traffic .. is solid in the faceoff circle when called upon .. not a gamebreaker, however is the type of player that will be effective in every situation at any time of the game.

Dwight King (2007), D

The Hurricanes' first pick (4th overall) in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft has been brought along slowly in his first campaign and not surprisingly has only one point (1-0-1) in 13 games so far .. played on the fourth line with Brad Riege and various fill-ins .. gets in quickly on the forecheck and does a nice job of closing down passing lanes with his stick .. is learning to support the puckcarrier .. will take the body, yet rarely punishes anyone .. drives to the net .. saw limited power play duty .. there is a lot of upside if the team continues to show patience.

Lenny Thunderchild (2006), D

Still hasn't registered a point, although he's been limited to only six games .. partnered with Jesse Dudas .. decent straight-ahead speed, although has some mobility issues as almost appears to get tangled up in his own feet .. fearless blueliner takes a hit to make a play .. needs to learn how to avoid a hit .. has to make the simple, high percentage play instead of trying to force a pass through traffic .. can be exposed by quick forwards on the outside.