WHL: Worth The Price

Currently the Tri-City Americans are fourth in the US Division with 15 wins and Carey Price (right) has 13 of those. We have notes from a recent game featuring Price and some of his younger teammates that are eligible for the 2005 and 2006 NHL Entry Drafts.

Carey Price (2005), G

Positionally sound Tri-City goaltender is making a push at being in the top 10 overall for the 2005 Draft .. went down awfully early as the puck wasn't even released .. swallowed up a shot from the wing .. made a great play coming out past the crease to clear a loose puck out of the zone .. came across smoothly to take away the far corner .. will take the initiative and whack a player that hangs around in or around his crease .. gave the shooter the top corner, but quickly took it away with his shoulder .. made a terrific move putting his left pad down, which closed the hole on a puckcarrier in close .. because he takes away the holes, shooters are often left trying to pick the corners which leads to a higher percentage of missed shots .. came out square to the puckcarrier, giving him nothing to shoot at .. plays with emotion, although doesn't let it get him off his game .. is terrific at directing rebounds in to the corners .. communicates well with his defense .. doesn't give up too many rebounds and when he does they are usually deadened off his pads and end up near his feet which he easily pounces on .. will come out past the paint when it is prudent to do so .. blessed with great agility not only side-to-side, but up and down and in and out .. had a few minor issues catching the puck, however, still seemed to be able to steer the rebounds out of harms way with his glove .. beautiful kick save off a blast from the high slot .. moves the puck crisply and on the tape when he attempts a breakout pass .. was extremely poised facing a shooter on a mini-breakaway and deflected the shot wide .. doesn't get rattled by traffic.

Matt Swaby (2006), D

Young raw blueliner with plenty of work ahead to make himself a NHL Draft possibility .. partnered with Andy Thompson .. moved in deep to get a loose puck and fired it on net .. lost his man in front and it nearly cost his team .. flubbed on a shot from the point and his miscue turned into an odd man rush .. tends to guess and thus gets caught out of position .. can also take himself out of the play as he fixates on the puckcarrier .. must work on improving his passing .. doesn't posses the touch or vision to make a long breakout pass .. even when he takes the player out, he often turns the wrong way giving up defensive position .. except for his first few strides being a tad choppy, his skating doesn't stand out.

Clinton Pettapiece (2005), C

At times played left wing on a line with Dylan Stanley acting as center, but generally played with Kirk Meaver and Matt Schneider .. uses his superior speed to get in on the forecheck .. lacks the strength to punish the opposition his body .. can be an elusive skater given his mobility and stickhandling, however, he lacks the presence and vision to be much of a threat in the offensive zone.

Kirk Meaver (2005), RW

Gangly forward is still getting comfortable at the WHL level .. played on a line with Matt Schneider and Clinton Pettapiece .. has good overall speed and mobility which he uses to pressure the puckcarrier .. was knocked over a bit too easily in open ice .. strength on the puck is a problem as he just isn't strong enough yet to fend off checkers .. received an obstructing hooking penalty .. played on the penalty-kill .. stride his a bit choppy, especially the first few steps.

Shane Gimas (2005), D

Pinched up and delivered a solid hit along the wall .. moves the puck efficiently to his defensive partner .. partnered with Logan Stephenson .. has the skating ability to elude a forecheck .. can be pressured into turnovers or rushing a pass .. needs to work on getting stronger on his skates .. had a few issues with sloppy stickhandling .. plays the man well on the one-on-one, however, has a tendency to lunge for the hit .. has trouble reading the play and can be slow to react .. was caught flatfooted along the boards and was easily beaten, giving up an odd man rush .. made a nice play taking the puckcarrier out with a stiff bodycheck .. has the ability to lead a rush with his above average speed, but his stickhandling is a real sore spot and consistently gets him in trouble .. appears to be lost at times, not knowing what to do .. got knocked down in front of his own goal while killing a PIM .. needs to make the opposition pay a price when driving to the net .. did get a lot of ice time, especially at even strength and killing penalties .. played some on the powerplay.

Chris Inglis (2006), LW

A work in progress .. skating looked a bit stiff late in his shift .. needs to improve his tenacity away from the puck and especially with regards to skating harder when he caught up the ice .. got open in the low slot and banged home a puck for his first and only goal (to date) of the season .. doesn't have the strength to stay on his feet after a solid hit.