WHL: The Rumsey Diary

McKeen's Hockey correspondent Patrick King reports on select players on the Brandon Wheat Kings and Swift Current Broncos, including LA Kings draft pick Ned Lukacevic and Calgary Flames property Myles Rumsey.

Ned Lukacevic (LA), LW, Swift Current

Played on the second line with Brady Leavold and Marc Desloges; the trio also forms the team's top power-play unit .. made a nice move early when he pulled the puck from his left to the middle before firing off a quick wrist shot .. creates offence off the rush with exceptional puck control and stickhandling ability .. scoring chances seem to occur when he's on the ice .. strong anticipation and speed .. finished a lot of his checks .. showed hustle coming back defensively early in the game, but not so much in the third period .. some inconsistencies shift-to-shift are disconcerning .. sometimes loses focus and desire and is like a completely different player .. all the tools are there to be a potentially solid pro, but it's unclear whether his head is in it.

Myles Rumsey (Cgy), D, Swift Current

Flames seventh rounder plays on a pairing with Marc Defoe .. is a strong skater with better than average speed .. plays a two-way game but can be pressured into making bad decisions from time to time .. has a keen instinct as to when to pinch in offensively .. a leader out on the ice .. decent in all areas, but does not excel at any aspect .. needs to improve defensive positioning .. what you see is what you get, nothing fancy .. a long shot at making the NHL.

Daryl Boyle (2006), D, Brandon

The other half of Brandon's top pairing duo with Corey Courchene .. confident, but somewhat erratic, puck rushing rearguard was pickpocketed trying to create a chance the other way .. stickhandling skills are strong and he skates with a silky smooth stride that generates effective speed .. does not get beaten wide by speedy forwards .. impressive vision and anticipation skills .. patiently assesses situations and sets up teammates in a wide-open game .. must add upper body bulk .. defensive positioning has some raw aspects .. shows some potential for the next level, but needs to keep working.

Corey Courchene (2006), D, Brandon

Versatile player had alternated between forward and defense before seemingly settling in as a defender this season .. very solid rearguard in the poor man's Kevin Klein mold .. paired with Daryl Boyle on the top pairing, top power play and penalty kill .. confident puck rusher with pretty good hands, good speed and agility .. hard, accurate wrist shot .. scored his first goal of the season when he faked a shot from the slot, pulled it around the sliding defenseman and fired the puck top corner .. aggressive on defense, pressuring opposing defensemen at his blueline .. does not hesitate to block shots .. must shoot the puck more .. has some conditioning issues to iron out as he at times looks out of steam .. must also maintain focus deep into games .. could get himself on the radar if he puts things together this season.

Luke Hunter (FA), C, Swift Current

On the top line with Andrew Wasmuth and Jerrid Sauer .. captain of the Broncos and deservedly so, plays every shift like it's his last .. performs in all situations and leads by example with his never-say-die attitude .. best aspect of his game is his defensive awareness .. plays on the team's top pk unit and is more than willing to block a shot .. always moving his feet; creates turnovers with exceptional work habits and smart hockey sense .. a wizard in the faceoff circle, winning well over half the faceoffs .. finishes every check .. did not display much offence .. grinding forward deserves another look from NHL teams.

Derek LeBlanc (2006), C, Brandon

Ice time has increased this season after graduation of many forwards from last year's roster .. big, strong customer uses his size to his advantage .. stands in front of the crease on the power-play, creating havoc as he's very difficult to move .. made a nifty drop pass to a teammate resulting in a scoring chance .. did not display very much offence and seems to have limited offensive ability .. very reliable defensively as he's often used on the pk .. uses his stick effectively to block passing lanes .. finishes his checks well and will take a hit to make a play .. would like to see him assert himself more offensively.

Theran Yeo (2006), D, Brandon

Sophomore defenceman played on the team's second pairing with Riley Day .. not very disciplined as he's prone to taking poor penalties .. is a liability defensively; defensive positioning needs a lot of work .. can be pressured into making poor decisions; giveaway in the first period resulted in a goal .. makes poor and lazy clearing attempts which lead to chances for the opposition .. overly aggressive, has a tendency to go looking for the big hit without success .. takes himself out of the play when he tries hitting the puck carrier after passing the puck .. scored his first goal of the season on the power-play when his seeing-eye shot found the short side along the ice; had it not gone in, it would have created a rebound .. has a lot to improve on if he's going to be a dependable junior player, especially defensive zone coverage.

Daniel Rakos (2006), C, Swift Current

Plays on the third line with Levi Nelson and Zack Smith .. defensive-minded pivot without much grit .. started a rush from his blue line but took a big hit when he tried cutting to the middle with his head down .. physical play seems to intimidate him as he was invisible after receiving the big hit in the second period .. uses his stick to slow players down rather than moving his feet .. impatiently slashed his stick in the neutral zone to get his defenceman's attention .. does not have the talent to make it to the NHL.

Mike Nichol (FA), G, Brandon

Positioning is very sound as he's good at challenging opposing forwards .. his puck control, however, is a big concern as he allowed far too many juicy rebounds .. needs to learn to deflect shots to the corner as he ricochets them back in the slot quite often .. needs to improve skating as he's not very strong moving laterally; lost his balance and fell to the ice when moving in the first period .. sometimes looked awkward making saves.