WHL: White Shines Bright

Calgary Hitmen forward Ryan White keeps impressing with his solid two-way diligence and despite failing to amass great numbers this season (28-5-10-15) is a first round candidate with untapped offensive potential. Also reviewed from the Hitmen are Brodie Dupont, Lukas Vantuch and Isaac Reid.

Ryan White (2006), C/W, Calgary

A candidate for the first round of the upcoming NHL draft .. plays on the line with Brodie Dupont and Brett Sonne on a very low scoring Hitmen club .. good hands for a strong, stocky forward with good vision in the offensive zone .. positions himself effectively in open areas to create chances .. still has to learn to create time and space for himself, but when provided with the opportunity he can be extremely dangerous .. pounced on a loose puck in the slot and in one motion he turned on a dime and fired it far side off the right post .. tremendous shooting skills with an explosive wrist shot .. skates low to the ice, using his lower body strength effectively to get from point to point .. responsible defensively, ties man up confidently and played on the pk .. finished his checks hard .. stood up for teammate after Mark Ashton delivered an intimidating hit, which resulted in White dropping the gloves as a response .. a lot of raw promise with production not very reflective of his worth as a prospect.

Brodie Dupont (NYR), C/W, Calgary

Played on the left wing on a line with Ryan White and Brett Sonne .. very feisty and in-your-face, like Jarkko Ruutu .. sometimes quite undisciplined, such as he threw an extra punch in the face of an opponent after a whistle .. constantly jaws with opponents after stoppages in play .. very strong forechecker who is a solid, fast skater .. plays in all situation .. goes to the front of the net on the PP where he will score dirty if needed .. potentially effective shift disturber should he make the NHL.

Lukas Vantuch (Bos), C, Calgary

Has played mostly on the third line with the Hitmen this season .. first few steps are somewhat awkward, but once he gets going he can be quite fast for his size .. skates with a hunched-over style, getting very low to the ice .. reaches full speed in five-to-six strides .. susceptible to lower hits due to towering frame, which looks taller than listed (6'4) .. dishes out punishing checks along the boards, rarely passing up the opportunity to make solid body contact .. displayed pretty good vision when he found an open man coming towards the slot, getting the pass off to set up a goal despite a defender draped all over him .. if his skating improves he can develop into a reliable pro.

Isaac Reid (2006), LW, Calgary

Played on a line with Kris Deines and Carson McMillan .. drives to the net strong and uses his size to his advantage .. good skater and decent speed .. finishes his checks effectively.. did not display much offensive upside in limited ice time.