The Malik Report

I had a conversation with Grand Rapids Griffins equipment manager Brad "Dogg" Thompson that was really enlightening today: Brad and I talked about the players that have impressed us both at the camp and the level of the try-outs' play, and we both agreed that the truth of the matter regarding those who've received short shrift in this blog is simple:

There simply is no vast gulf between the try-outs and the pro prospects any more. Everybody attending the Wings' summer development camp, which wraps up tomorrow with an 11 AM scrimmage, is really good. Everybody can keep up with both the team systems drills and Jiri FIscher's skating drills, no matter how difficult they might be.

Nobody taking part in this camp has stood out in a negative manner, and whether you're talking about 6'9" Jarret Meyer or Korean "exchange prospects" Won-Jun Kim or Jin Hui Ahn, each and every participant has acquitted himself very, very well.

The difference between the tryouts and the pro prospects is simple: they have at least some aspects of their game that are elite, not just professional, but elite, and through a combination of natural gifts and hard work, they can bring their skill levels to heights that are truly at or near AHL or NHL levels.

There's nothing for any participant who's not shone like a star to hang their head about: everyone who's here can keep up and then some. Everyone here has some sort of level of top-of-their-competition-level-and-more skill, and everyone who's here has blended into a Detroit Red Wings-level of execution of drills and competition in team play.

We are at a point in hockey where everyone trains pretty well, everyone eats pretty well, every player takes part in skill development camps as kids and teenagers and everyone has a higher basic level of skill than hockey has ever witnessed at any time in its history--and that's not hyperbole, it's the truth. If I say a player has "bobbed along with the other fish," that's not a slight, that's saying that they've bobbed along at a Detroit Frickin' Red Wings level, and in many cases they've only eluded my analysis because there are over 40 prospects here, and it's my job to keep more of my attention attuned to the prospects who are Detroit Red Wings property or Red Wings draft picks en route to pro careers.

Over the years that I've covered this camp, my job's gotten a lot harder in terms of separating the good from the very good from the great and elite, and that's a good thing, not a bad thing.

For those of you who've been craving more than my daily audio interviews, I finally overcame my fear of my crappy photography skills and just took pictures (and the audio from today is particularly good, too):

Goalies working on edges. pic.twitter.com/UdwRAdz2Ke — George Malik (@georgemalik) July 6, 2015

But the pros are the pros for a reason:

Here are the players who took part in today's systems/team drills and Jiri Fischer's skill drills:

Team Howe:

Forwards:

Tyler Bertuzzi 59, LW

Andreas Athanasiou 72, C

Anthony Mantha 39, RW

Zach Nastasiuk 62, C

Dominic Turgeon 78, C

Hampus Melen 83, C

Alex Kile 44*, LW

Julius Vahtalo 67, C

Bryce Gervais 49*, RW

Evan Polei 82*, LW/C

Connor McGlynn 80*, C

Anthony Greco 37*, RW



Michael Babccock 81, LW*

Sheldon Dries 76*, C

Defensemen:

James De Haas 75, D

Vili Saarijarvi 71, D

Marc McNulty 74, D

Won-Jun Kim 51*, D

Nicholas Azar 87*, D

Kevin Lough 94*, D

Kevin Lidstrom 64*, D

Goaltenders:

Chase Perry 50, G

Tomas Kral 68*, G

*Indicates try-out

Team Lindsay

Forwards:

Axel Holmstrom 96, C

Dylan Larkin 25, C

Evgeny Svechnikov 22, LW

Tyson Spink 73*, LW

Alex Globke 45*, C

Jerome Verrier 70*, RW

Mike McKee 58, LW

Christoffer Ehn 92, C

Nick Betz 54*, RW

Chase Pearson 17, C

Jin Hui Ahn 84*, RW

Adam Marsh 63, LW

Adam Lidstrom 85*, LW

Defensemen:

Travis Walsh 89*, D

Joe Hicketts 53, D

David Nemecek 46*, D

Patrick Holway 79, D

Grant Gabriele 86*, D

Jalen Chatfield 97*, D

Jarrett Meyer 95*, D

Goaltenders:

Jake Paterson 36, G

Joren Van Pottelberghe 31, G

Adam Lidstrom was back on the ice today, and I learned an interesting fact: Mike Babcock not only took assistant coaches Jim Hiller and Andrew Brewer with him to Toronto; he also took strength and conditioning coach Peter Renzetti, so in addition to breaking in a new AHL coaching staff (Mike Knuble was here today, by the way), the Wings have been breaking in a new strength and conditioning staff.

I've talked to the prospects about this, however, and they've said that trainers are trainers, and they don't feel that there's a big difference between "Renzo" and the new gents.

In terms of the drills I witnessed...

Without fail, the days have begun with goaltenders warming up in either the West Rink, where the locker rooms are located, or across the way in David's Rink. Today, Mike Knuble, the Griffins' one remaining assistant coach, helped the goalies engage in a set of drills that are best listed from my notes:

Drill for goalies: Knuble having goalie square up from rt post on goal line to center of horsehoe, square up to left post, come to center of horseshoe, butterfly to stop a shot.

Drill 2: Move back, glove side square to post, square to opposite side, take shot from tops of circles far out, slide across, square up to post, square up to center, shot from side to which you squared up.

Drill 3: From faceoff dot, shots to blocker, shots to glove—separate drills.

Drill 4: Butterfly at one top of the D, slide across to the other side and stop a tight shot. Slide across on knees.

The goalies only got 15 minutes' worth of square-up-after-recovery work, because the coaching staff got on the ice in short order.

The first drill involved four repositories of players in which a skater would come out from the blueline and make two passes laterally to a player on the opposite side of the ice (i.e. northwest blueline to northeast blueline), skating through center to the far blueline, and the players would peel off in a 2-on-0 on the goalie whose side of the ice they came from.

The drill involved first the "near side" winger receiving the puck and then the "wall" winger receiving the puck; then a third forward was slid into the drill with this third winger playing a "high man" trailing his compatriots slightly. That winger would receive the puck in an attempt to create a "stretch" through the neutral zone and then a back-door goal.

The second drill involved a set of forwards placed at the east and west sides of center ice, and defensemen at the northeast and southeast bluelines.

The forwards on the east side of the ice would skate up to the northeast defenseman, the defenseman would exchange passes with the forward, then skate into action trailing his forward as they skated toward the net closest to the defenseman, the defenseman would peel off toward the point, receive another puck, and a second forward would fold into the drill after taking a shot on net, with the first forward providing a screen and the second forward eventually passing to the defenseman for a point shot with a screen.

Make sense? Well it got even more complicated when the drill was reversed, because the second forward had to skate through a set of cones before passing back to the defenseman at the point, with a coach shadowing the forward-to-defense passer through said cones.

The third drill was simpler: forwards lined up at the northeast and southeast bluelines, the defense came to center ice, and defensemen would come out of that repository at center to face opposite the northeast and southeast forwards. Put simply, the defensemen would watch the forwards "whirlpool" around the big repository at center and then loop in in a 1-on-1 situation.

The drill was then reversed in a counter-clockwise loop, and the trick to the drill was this: the forward was able to build up speed as he skated to his opposite blueline and then looped around center ice, while the defenseman started out flat-footed, and often facing sideways. As such, a gaggle of scoring chances resulted.

This drill was changed to involve 2 forwards vs. 2 defensemen going in 2-on-2, it was whittled down to a 2-on-1 with 2 forwards against 1 defenseman, and forward exchanges or forward-to-defense passes forced the defensemen to "gap up" and charge into the forwards they were facing instead of standing still at the blueline waiting to be attacked.

Eventually, the forwards and defense regained the usual "four corner repository"-style drill, and a set of players exiting their own zone would interchange passes with a coach at the far blueline before skating back in on 2 defensemen, who were told to "gap up" as the play transitioned from a breakout to a break-in.

Then a 3-forward set-up received rim-around-the-back-boards passes from coaches standing on the goal lines, and again, the three skaters would skate to the far blueline and then return toward 2 defensemen, and as you could expect, the interchanges between forwards taking the dump-in and breaking out allowed players to push the puck up the wall or the middle of the ice, but it was surprising--okay, maybe not that surprising--to see players start to get things wrong and need assistance or re-starting of the drill (and by players getting it wrong, I mean everybody up and down the lineup).

Mental and physical fatigue have begun to show among the players as well as the bloggers, and by the time the drills wrapped up with another "street hockey"-style game where the nets were placed just inside the faceoff circles on each side thereof, and a set of players in a diamond <> behind the nets and at the "half walls" created would funnel pucks to sets of 2 players opposing each other, much more grinding than highlight goals were the result.

The West Rink received a Zamboni resurfacing at 9:45, and as Team Lindsay took a break, Team Howe headed to David's RInk for Jiri Fischer's drills,

Fischer's drills involved players hopping from one leg to the other, involving changes of balance that required the skaters to sometimes fight very hard against their body's natural instincts.

The first drill had players hop from their left leg to their right, bent knee, almost "taking a knee" as they skated forward; the second drill was a re-set of the first with the players tucking their trailing legs underneath their body as they almost "took a knee," and the technique was a bit lacking at times.

The third drill involved what I can only describe as a "skate skate and then hop," where players would pull their trailing legs underneath them while skating forward in a crossover--except they were only able to place that back leg on the ice--sort of skipping along.

Drill four was hopping over the big foam "Border Patrol Systems" blocks of foam you've seen the players hop over, hopping off their back leg onto their inside skate, and then the players were asked to skip over the blocks of foam twice instead of once.

Drill five involved the players skipping, tucking their back leg under them and nearly touching their hands to the ice, on purpose, to crouch in a sort of hunched shape...

And after the players emerged mostly unscathed from said drills, Fischer had the players take clockwise or counterclockwise loops around cones shaped in a diamond <>, and instead of leaning in on the skate closest to the circle, they had to skate on their "outside" leg and keep the inner leg off the ice before skating to the next one of three total <> sets of cones in a "top leg" crossover.

Back over on the West Rink...

The players were engaged in a set of "circuit drills," in 5 teams of 4 skaters, and the four stations included:

A south station where a player would skate out from the glove or blocker side half boards 1-on-1 against an opponent, and they would check each other as they tried to skate toward a forward standing next to the net on the goal line, who'd pass the puck into the slot for one of those two battling forwards to shoot on goal;

A north station where a goalie was screened against point shots, with players folding in to provide a double screen;

An east station where 2 players faced the boards, took a dumped-to-the-boards puck, and would try to out-compete each other to "clear" the puck to coach Tom Watson, who would dump the puck right back into the boards;

And a west station where a 1-on-1 battle was preceded by a total of 4 passes between the opposing players.

So, in terms of player evaluations, bearing in mind that this is a skill development camp taking place in July, with only a modicum of contact and some players having not skated for 3-4 months prior to the camp:

Team Howe:

Forwards:

Tyler Bertuzzi 59, LW: Bertuzzi had a lot of company in the "quieter today" category. Just about everyone who skated today looked a little worn out, but Bertuzzi's enthusiasm remains boundless, and that's a good sign. I don't think that he knew how to take things seriously three years ago, and now as a turning-pro athlete and hockey player who is an upright-skating 2nd or 3rd line instigating winger with an excellent shot, wonderful playmaking skills, a nose for the front of the net and a manner that just pisses people off, he's been one of the leaders of this camp, and when he's skated at his very best, he's looked like a 1st line winger who could score 15-20 goals. He's been that damn good at times, and I didn't know he had it in him.

Andreas Athanasiou 72, C: Unable to skate due to a "split fingertip" healing from the Western Conference Finals and still trying to put weight back on after suffering a broken jaw, what I've seen from Athanasiou is someone working his tail off to regain strength and somebody who's been even-keeled and cool in the locker room, almost making sure that he lets his fellow players know that this is a business trip, not just a vacation.

Anthony Mantha 39, RW: Figuring Mantha out is trying to project whether a player who could be a disinterested, ineffective Johan Franzen-type or an interested, effective, healthy Johan Franzen-type when he's on, and that's actually quite difficult. Mantha has a top-shelf top-shelf shot, his release is fantastic, his aim is superb, he can also pass and make plays, he sees open ice very well, he works hard in closed corners and his skating is absolutely superb for a 6'4," 210-pound hunk of top prospect. In the skill development drills, he's been having a lot of fun, and I'm starting to wonder whether having fun Mantha and serious, pissed off Mantha can get along, because the former is a nice kid, and the latter scores goals like nobody's business.

Zach Nastasiuk 62, C: Nastasiuk's just had a good, hardworking camp in which he's ensured that Jeff Nelson knows that this turning-pro player can provide rock-solid checking on the 3rd line in Grand Rapids. Nastasiuk's ceiling as a checker is much higher because he skates well, he sees the ice well, he can be a playmaker or net-front-grinder when asked and can play a top-line role if asked, but his camp has been emphasizing his ultra-competitive and ultra-reliable play. That's a smart thing to do in playing to your strengths while turning pro and trying to turn heads.

Dominic Turgeon 78, C: Turgeon, on the other hand, is someone who is well-established as a rock-solid defensive center at the WHL level, and he seems bound and determined to show anyone and everyone who's watching that he is in fact a two-way center with a semblance of his father's passing skills and a hard shot and harder competitive instincts. He wants to break out of a role that is very hard to shake in that of the guy who plays defense so everyone else can genrate offense, and especially at the WHL level, he's got his work cut out for him, but trying to reinvent yourself as someone who can put up a point-per-game is the task he's assigned himself, and especially given his added step of skating speed (though he could use half a step more), I certainly admire his gumption.

Hampus Melen 83, C: Needs time to play, needs time to find himself. I think that Melen's first year as a pro hockey player after two injury-marred seasons was a bit of an education for him, and the gangly 6'3" center plain old needs to receive regular top-two-line minutes in Karlskrona to really establish himself as a pro player. I see his strong skating and his flashes of passing skill and wonder what he can be when he gets all his tools together in a toolbox.

Alex Kile 44*, LW: Kile told Michigan Hockey that he wants to pick up Dylan Larkin's scoring slack as a senior, and I think that's an admirable goal for the steady, sound Univresity of Michigan forward.

Julius Vahtalo 67, C: What's true for Melen is true for Vahatalo, who was pigeonholed into a 4th-line checking role with TPS Turku. At 6'4" and insisting that he is in fact a goal-scoring forward, Vahatalo says that he wants to prove that he can be a 3rd line center in a league where the line you start on is usually the line you're stuck on, and after a year split between the men's league and the Junior-20 squad, his time to grab the bull by the horns is now.

Bryce Gervais 49*, RW: Every day, the 5'10," 179-pound Minnesota State University foward has gotten a little more noticeable and a little more noticeable for being a speed merchant. If I had another three days and those wonderful Curt Fraser era three-hour skating sessions to assess him, I'd be able to tell you whether he's got pro potential, but right now, I see someone who's going to go back to college.

Evan Polei 82*, LW/C: I'm pretty sure that the 6'1," 219-pound Calgary Hitmen winger is coming back for the prospect camp, and when you can move like Polei can as a strong defensive forward, there's some intriguing combinations there. Size, speed, strength and mop-up-the-zone capabilities.

Connor McGlynn 80*, C: McGlynn seems to be impressing everyone as a 6'2," 210-pound center from Kingston who's started to score goals and score more goals. It's hard to figure out what else he's got, but again, I'm not the only one who sees a little bit of Barclay Goodrow (see: someone the Wings wanted to ink to an AHL deal two years ago).

Anthony Greco 37*, RW: Greco's not big at 5'10" and 170-something, Greco's not the most offensively-talented player, but he's fast and he works hard. He brings his lunch pail to the job and he's been one of the hardest-working players in the entire camp. He'll go back to Ohio State better for having been here.

Michael Babccock 81, LW*: He's apparently going to Merrimack right after this camp, the 5'9," 160-pound winger IS the hardest worker in this camp. He's battling against that slight build and small size, but his speed, poise and defensive resolve are sights to behold, at least in a development camp setting. I hope he can translate them to the NCAA level.

Sheldon Dries 76*, C: 5'9," 176, from Western Michigan and heading into his senior season, the Macomb, MI native has mostly blended into the highly-skilled crowd.

Defensemen:

James De Haas 75, D: De Haas has a stiff challenge ahead of him in attempting to establish himself as a regular NCAA contributor with an OK Clarkson team. The 6'4" behemoth is fleet and light-footed, he's a strong passer, he's a good puck-rusher and in these summer camps, he looks like nothing less than an NHL-quality defensive prospect. During the first two seasons he's played at Clarkson, he's been OK, posting around a dozen points in three dozen games, but the Red Wings are pretty stacked at the position he's playing, so he's going to have to really crank 'er up to earn a contract. He's got two years to work on doing so.

Vili Saarijarvi 71, D: Saarijarvi stated today that he is going to play for the Flint Firebirds for sure, and that's exactly where he should be--racking up points at the Major Junior level while continuing to grow into his body. He's more 5'10" than 5'9" or 5'8," but he isn't big-bodied, and that's probably why he's been labeled a "small defenseman." The elite-skating, right-shooting offensive machine seems to anticipate plays when he makes superb passes, uses his stick to break up rushes against or takes hard, accurate shots, but there are times when someone who can generally hack the bump and grind just fine does get overpowered, and those instances remind you that just because he signed an NHL contract doesn't mean that he's NHL ready. Yet.

Marc McNulty 74, D: I will be rooting for Marc this upcoming season. He's gigantic at 6'6," he skates like De Haas, there are times that he has hands like Saarijarvi, and those things just don't come together quite regularly enough for the Wings to sign him to a contract, though he's clearly not out of the prospect fold. Big, mobile, playmaking or puck-carrying, he's a bright young man who's a free agent because that big body and that big skill set have yet to intersect. Perhaps another year with Kamloops will allow them to do so.

Won-Jun Kim 51*, D: Kim's been good, again, earning an A+ for effort and showing that he can keep up just fine during the camp. He's started to get beaten a little more regularly in physical battles, but his positioning is strong and solid.

Nicholas Azar 87*, D: 6'3," 201, heading to Harvard, he's the Kevin Lough of the free agent, NCAA-bound try-outs. He's certainly got a lot of raw skill in that big body, but he needs some time to put it together.

Kevin Lough 94*, D: Definitely a "small defenseman" despite a 5'11," 194-pound status, the Colgatte senior has been chugging along at a fine clip, but he's just not standing out.

Kevin Lidstrom 64*, D: Whoo boy. I really, really, really don't know what Kevin Lidstrom's ceiling is. I don't know if Kevin does. There are times when he makes the right play at the right time or even before the right time that he reminds you of his father, there are times that he looks like a professional hockey player at the AA level--which, essentially, he is as an Allsvenskan player--and there are times that he just blends in with everybody else, perhaps because he is a Lidstrom. For somebody who harbors dreams of playing in the NHL, he's got a long way to go in terms of ensuring that rock-solid becomes something more.

Goaltenders:

Chase Perry 50, G: Perry is still very raw and still learning how to make that big body's arms work the way his legs seal the bottom of the ice, but he has improved by leaps and bounds over the course of all of four days working with Jeff Salajko and Jim Bedard, and that's probably what the 6'4"-to-6'5" goaltender needs--more coaching. Spider Goalie was sort of left to the wolves playing minimal minutes, mostly in mop-up work, at Colorado College, and he has the natural ability to stop the dang puck, but he's very, very rough around the edges, and the big butterfly goalie needs to work very hard on improving his glove and blocker to go with all that size and those wonderfully maneuverable legs.

Tomas Kral 68*, G: Kral has been another incredibly hard-working young man who remains a 5'11," 178-pound goalie that needs to be way more aggressive to maximize his size. He's probably headed back to the Czech Republic, but he's going to come back to the wide ice learning that it doesn't matter if the rink is 85 feet wide or 100 feet wide or anywhere in between--if you get to the top of the blue paint, you can stop pucks a whole lot easier.

*Indicates try-out

Team Lindsay

Forwards:

Axel Holmstrom 96, C: Axel has to keep the good times rolling, and he has to be a little deceptive to do so, kind of like his skating. Axel is somebody who charges up and down the ice well and really likes to drive the middle lanes, so it's been interesting to watch him a little out of his comfort zone as a winger, and he's done very well. He certainly looks like someone with oodles of NHL potential in terms of his shot, his passing, his nose for the net and that choppy skating stride that's way better than anybody thinks it is, and he just needs to fill out a little bit to win more one-on-one battles. That's the part where he's not a Holmstrom yet, and with a little time, he can find a little more will.

Dylan Larkin 25, C: Larkin was wearing a brand new pair of Bauer APX2 gloves as the Bauer rep was here today with sticks, and Larkin is going to have to flash some serious stickhandling to deal with the expectations foisted upon him. He IS all-round talented enough to eventually be a #1 NHL center. He DOES have a fantastic shot, a desire to go to the crease and hang around and hang around, he makes wonderful plays, he sees the ice superbly, he skates well and his defensive skills are innate. He is ALSO someone who would benefit from at least a full year in Grand Rapids, and he is someone who should NOT simply be brought up to the NHL to play as a 4th-liner. He is also going to have some struggles, and that's going to be a little harder for us to handle than him.

Evgeny Svechnikov 22, LW: Svechnikov was a little overwhelmed by his status as the biggest fish in the pond as the summer camp began, but as he's found his comfort level among his peers and playing Red Wings hockey, he's begun to show more than a pair of hands. His pace is elite and he can in fact make plays happen just as naturally and suddenly as he makes goals and scoring chances happen, and his skating is deceptively fast. His "stealth" factor is what sets him apart and allows him to create offense without being noticed, and that's something the Wings haven't had in the pipeline in a long while.

Tyson Spink 73*, LW: He can never be faulted for effort. Tyson will head back to Colgate to play with his brother Tylor and to pile up the points, but the 5'10" fireplug has done more than keep up with drills here, and he really has become someone who baffles me a little bit, because people say, "Watch that Spink, look at him, Spink has got some playmaking sense" and I see that, but it's just not absolutely elite.

Alex Globke 45*, C: Again, I'd like to see what a prospect tournament could do for the massive 6'3," 205-pound center from Lake State who's going back to the Soo later this summer. He's big, mobile, shoots hard and checks very, very well.

Jerome Verrier 70*, RW: Verrier is someone who hangs around the periphery of the prospect pipeline and someone who wants to dig right in and earn an AHL deal with Grand Rapids, and it'll be hard to stop him. The sniper with spit and vinegar hasn't been able to show his ability to aggravate and agitate his opponents here, but he sure can score goals and set 'em up, and Verrier IS AHL-talented, though he says his back-up plan is Canadian Interuniversity Hockey. I hope he earns a spot in the fall, because a scratchy, ornery sniper is never a bad thing to have in the arsenal.

Mike McKee 58, LW: Like Vahatalo, he's got to get off the fourth line. Mike McKee's done a wonderful, sometimes graceful job of taking part in drills and not hurting his teammates as a massive 6'5," 250-pound checking forward, but he hasn't stood out from the crowd in terms of any particular skill set because this is not a checking camp, but as you're seeing by the height and weight listings of these prospects, the Wings can pick and choose among big guys if they wish. The Western Michigan junior is going to have to truly carve out a niche for himself as someone who rides the line between dangerous and dangerous to his own team to find a spot with the Wings, but in the interim, his ability to blend in seamlessly in the skill drills is intriguing.

Christoffer Ehn 92, C: Real good, real skinny, Ehn has really impressed me in terms of his fleet-footedness (it's McNulty-like given that he's 6'3) and his goal-scoring abilities, but Ehn might weigh 160 pounds soaking wet at 6'3," too, and while he was able to keep up in Frolunda and will be playing for Karlskoga (not the same team as Hampus Melen's) of the Allsvenskan this upcoming year, he's going to eventually have to put up some pounds to keep up with the North American game. In the interim, he's fast, man, fast.

Nick Betz 54*, RW: The 6'4," 220-pound Erie Otters winger has blended in with the group and had some high moments where he's looked like someone to watch come this fall's prospect tournament.

Chase Pearson 17, C: Pearson remains a raw talent headed to Maine as a 6'2" center with pro bloodlines, a 6'2" center with a whole lot of body to fill out and a 6'2" center who can make plays and go to the net with equal aplomb, all while skating like his dad did, except a lot faster. He's a bit of a project player, but I see why the Wings drafted him as a slightly stealthy playmaker.

Jin Hui Ahn 84*, RW: Ahn's been solid, been strong, shown a little more flash despite being a little slower than Kim, but the Koreans are here to "be sponges," and they're still taking it all in.

Adam Marsh 63, LW: Marsh's goal-scoring abilities belie a 17-year-old's status as still very young. He's got a damn hard shot and a damn sneaky one at that, and there is a lot to be desired otherwise, but cracks fill in over time.

Adam Lidstrom 85*, LW: Lidstrom played for a good chunk of the team drills and skating drills today, and as I keep saying, his desire to play in NCAA hockey is completely realistic. He's not like his dad--faster, a little more of a playmaker than a goal-scorer but most definitely a reliable two-way forward and someone who can be surprisingly physical from time to time.

Defensemen:

Travis Walsh 89*, D: The MSU senior hasn't stood out but hasn't stood out in any bad ways, either. He's given flashes of maturity that are interesting, but that's about it.

Joe Hicketts 53, D: Hicketts' most impressive improvement has involved his skating. He used to simply skate like his center of gravity was 3 feet under the ice; now he's doing that while jumping through the air in Jiri Fischer's skating drills and pacing Team Lindsay in said drills--which is hard when Dylan Larkin's on your team. If he can add a little tiny edge of physicality to his game, he's going to be an all-round defenseman that you can't leave on your third pair simply because he's 5'8." He continues to improve in every aspect of his game, and that's all you can ask from a prospect going into his final year of Major Junior hockey.

David Nemecek 46*, D: 6'4" like Vahatalo, lanky like Vahtalo, he's going to go back to the Finland more ready to play at a men's league level while needing to fill out a bit.

Patrick Holway 79, D: Sort of the college version of McNulty--except that Holway is 18 and won't even be going to college for another year--the 6'5" project defenseman has 5 years to figure out how to integrate that massive frame with excellent skating abilities, good playmaking skill and a hard, accurate shot. He's big, sometimes a little nasty, but mostly very raw, and he's got time on his side.

Grant Gabriele 86*, D: This one's got time on his size. Gabriele also looks like a bit of a project, but at 6'1" and 167 pounds, the impressive defenseman with good pace and an all-round skill set that stands out from the other try-outs needs to fill out and to utilize Andy Murray's coaching pedigree at Western Michigan to pack on some savvy and scoring potential. He's been very, very good.

Jalen Chatfield 97*, D: Chatfield is a bit of a puzzle. He's an important cog on the Windsor Spitfires' defense, and it's evident that he skates quite well and can make plays, but his comfort level hasn't been here, and as a result, I've had a really hard time drawing a bead on what exactly he brings to the table. He'll probably have a prospect tournament's appearance worth of figuring things out.

Jarrett Meyer 95*, D: I get it, I get it, he's 6'9," he plays for Zach Nastasiuk's Owen Sound Attack, he isn't falling all over himself, Zdeno Chara! That's just not accurate. He's been decently good in terms of his skating and has stood out for being pretty damn composed for someone with all those body parts going this way and that, but he's also blended in with the tryouts, big time. Size isn't everything. It's a big part of the picture in pro hockey, but we'll find out what Meyer is made of in September.

Goaltenders:

Jake Paterson 36, G: I think the Chris Osgood comparisons are apt as Paterson can boot out the odd bad rebound and Paterson has a glove-side weakness that mirrors Osgood's blocker-side issue that needed work, but Paterson's also far more comfortable in that damn seamless butterfly technique and he is an excellent, excellent puckhandler. I didn't like the head on his shoulders a year ago, and thought he wasn't ready to turn pro; this time around, I believe he can hack it and that he can excel in the ECHL or AHL.

Joren Van Pottelberghe 31, G: JVP will go back to Sweden looking to slowly but surely work his way up to an SHL team, and JVP, like Perry, will go back to where he's going to play this season (Linkopings HC's J20 team) a much better technical netminder for the coaching he's received. He's no left-catching Jonas Hiller, mindlessly smacking his pads into the ice hoping that the butterfly alone can save him--he's in fact a very polished, elegant netminder, but like Perry, his glove and blocker elude him due to his wide stance and tendency to steady himself using his hands on his leg pads, and Salajko and Bedard have been working very hard to un-teach him that habit. I'm excited to see what he can show everyone in the scrimmage tomorrow.

And that is what's happening tomorrow--a scrimmage at 11 AM.

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