WHL: Thunderchild and Lightning

Special thanks to Glen Springer for help in putting the notes together.

R.J. LaRochelle (2005), D

Rugged blueliner partnered with Mark Ashton .. got caught watching the puck .. tied up his man effectively along the wall and in the crease .. pounded the snot out of a player in a fight and proved he can really throw'em, while at the same time showed great sportsmanship in a fight by just sitting on the player that was prone on the ice as the officials were busy with the rest of the scraps going on at the same time .. received a five minute fighting major and a game misconduct.

Kris Versteeg (bos), RW

Pint-sized Bruin draft pick might just be the real deal .. played on a line with Rob Klinkhammer and John Lammers until the latter was tossed .. heavy wrist shot .. dropped down to block a point shot .. received a two minute elbowing pim .. nice give and go to set up a scoring chance .. explosive speed/acceleration and extremely mobile .. made some sweet moves stickhandling in traffic .. doesn't allow his size to be an issue as he often initiates contact .. takes the pass at full speed .. takes a hit to make a play, but lacks the strength to bull his way through heavy traffic .. came out from behind the net and tucked in a cheeky little shot on the short side .. although he lacks power behind his hits, he generally gets the body on the puckcarrier.

Mark Olafson (wsh), RW

Middle-weight power forward played on a line with Michael Kaye and Justin Cruse .. showed good awareness of fellow players on the ice .. exhibits above average transition skills .. cuts down time and space for the puckcarrier while on the forecheck .. has the ability to beat a defender one-one-one due to his strength on the puck and solid stickhandling .. surprisingly quick first step and nice overall top speed .. played on both the powerplay and penalty-kill.

John Lammers (dal), LW

Talented smurf displayed a quick release on his wrist shot .. although he is generously listed at 5'11 and 190 pounds, he shows no hesitation to finish his checks .. played on the powerplay .. good forechecker due to his excellent mobility and elite first step and overall quickness .. willing to mix it up with larger players .. appears ready to become a more complete player .. received a fighting penalty and a very questionable game misconduct in a line brawl.

Colton Yellow Horn (2005), LW

Pint-sized winger wouldn't look out of place on an atom team .. played on a line with Kyle Pess and Jonathan Filewich .. pounced on a turnover and got a shot on net .. received a 10 minute misconduct for being part of a fracas .. on both special teams .. not afraid to stir things up as he tends to be a bit of an agitator .. cuts down passing lanes on the PK .. drives fearlessly to the net, however, hasn't developed soft hands to do much with it when he gets the opportunity .. short choppy strides that limit his top end speed, but does have good mobility and first step quickness .. unless he is a late-bloomer Yellowhorn's lack of size combined with an extra gear will make him a long shot to have his name called on either draft day.

Michael Kaye (2005), RW

Played on a line with Mark Olafson and Justin Cruse .. slapshot explodes off of his stick .. gets in quickly on the forecheck .. drew a penalty for catching the puck and skating with it for too long before dropping it .. was part of the line brawl and received a five minute fight penalty .. stickhandles well at top speed .. good overall speed and mobility.

Jonathan Filewich (pit), RW

Overall was a very disheartening performance from the one time Cougar who has really failed to fulfill the expectations of a superb rookie season in 2002-03 .. on a line with Kyle Pess and Colton Yellowhorn .. played on both special teams .. out muscled in the corner and rarely competed in the first two periods .. didn't work hard on the backcheck or forecheck .. displayed more willingness to exert himself to gain puck possession as the game went along .. did score the game tying goal late in the third period capitalizing off a turnover.

Ben Wright (2006), D

Young blueliner seem to play with multiple defensive partners .. got more playing time once LaRochelle was tossed in the first .. smooth skater .. lost the handle with little pressure at center ice .. positionally sound .. developing in to a reliable puck mover, especially in regards to the breakout pass .. cuts down time and space of the opposition while killing penalties .. sloppily turned over the puck late in the period, which led to a quality scoring chance.

Robert Klinkhammer (2005), LW

Large-bodied winger is extremely hard to bump off his skates .. parked himself in front of the net and maintained position .. strong effective skater, but not overly quick, mobile or pretty to look at .. played on the powerplay .. his heavy wrist shot seems to handcuff the goalie.

Michal Gulasi (2005), D

Czech blueliner partnered with Brent Seabrook .. wears an A .. lined up on the wing for a few face-offs while on the powerplay, but returned to his defensive spot immediately after the draw .. excellent overall speed and is very agile .. played on the PK .. will move in to the high slot if the opportunity presents itself .. not a power hitter, but uses plays the body effectively .. supports his defensive partner well .. doled out a solid hit along the boards .. during a powerplay he pinched up in to the slot and got away a howitzer-like slapshot for a great scoring chance .. received a ton of ice time in every situation.

Lenny Thunderchild (2006), D

Fearless young blueliner blindly threw the puck around the boards behind his own net and it was picked up easily by a forechecker .. stickhandles well enough to get out of trouble .. defensively usually makes the safe play to get the puck out .. not very mobile and looks especially awkward making the transition from skating backwards to forwards and vice versa .. clears the traffic out of the crease .. not afraid to mix it up in traffic.