The SOO
Daniel Catenacci - #7 - C - YOB: 1993 - 5‘10” - 170lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2011
Report: Nov/21/09: Catenacci looked decent out there in this game. His skating is solid, he engages in battles for the pucks, and seems to be able to absorb a decent amount of punishment from bigger opponents. He certainly in no way stood out or take over even a few shifts as other 1st overall picks have done in the past. He will continue to be a good forward, but this seems to be a tribute to how weak the 2011 draft will be. Catenacci really didn’t have any standout flaws in his game, but none of his skills appeared to be standouts either. Combine that with his small stature, and Catenacci will be a decent prospect, and will be a 1st rounder in next year’s draft, but will not project to be more than a 2nd line forward.
(Cantenacci had 1G, +1, 2 PIM tonight)
Brett Thompson - #9 - C - YOB: 1991 - 5‘8” - 160lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Nov/21/09: To be honest when I saw Thompson listed as 5’8” 160lb.I was surprised. He looked a lot bigger on the ice than that, and played a huge impact in this game. Thompson showed off great speed, and good shiftiness when coming up the ice with the puck. He made some very solid tape to tape passes. He banged in the puck in the crease for what turned out to be the winning goal, but what was more impressive was the way he set up a 2 on 1 goal for Catenacci drawing in the goaltender and the defenceman towards him then sending it over to Catenacci for the goal that put this one in the books. Thompson wasn’t someone I was expecting too much from, but he looked really good out there tonight, I was impressed.
(Thompson had 1G, 1A, +1 tonight)
James Livingston - #12 - RW - YOB: 1990 - 6‘1” - 210lbs.
NHL: 3rd Round - 70th Overall by St. Louis in 2008
Report: Nov/21/09: Livingston is someone who once again leaves me wanting to see more out of him. He didn’t look very different from last year. He threw some big hits, he only got one shot on net, which may be playing an impact on my opinion. His skating is not great but not bad either, average skater for his size. Livingston however appeared to show some leadership qualities at times, as well as being on the ice almost entirely for every penalty, which shows that at the NHL level even if he can’t become the power forward St. Louis thought he would when they picked him in the 3rd round, he can still be a special teams player, and is more than physical enough to fill a bottom 6 role. Livingston did have great positioning on defence tonight.
Nick Cousins - #27 - RW - YOB: 1993 - 5’9” - 155lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2011
Report: Nov/21/09: Cousins looked pretty good out there tonight, displayed great speed, handled the puck well, and positioned well. He got caught a few times trying to do too much in the offensive zone, but has so much speed to his game he was able to make it back in his own zone. He played on a line with Livingston, so that shows the SOO has confidence in him going forward. He’s certainly a player to watch going into the 2011 NHL draft. He could turn out not far off of his teammate Catenacci in the draft.
Brandon Archibald - #3 - D - YOB: 1992 - 6‘3” - 200lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Nov/21/09: Above all Archibald was the one I was most disappointed in tonight. He has great size, and although he did hit, he didn’t utilize his size nearly as well as he should be. His skating is very awkward and always looks like he’s got one broken foot he leans to one side, and really can’t generate speed. However backwards Archibald is very smooth, with good lateral movement, it was very odd, and I almost think he should skate backwards both directions because he was about as fast, and much more fluid going backwards as he was going forward. Archibald turned the puck over a little too many times for a potential prospect, and was just not at the level I expected him to be at after hearing so many great things to start the season.
(Archibald had 1A, +1 tonight)
Brock Beukeboom - #25 - D - YOB: 1992 - 6‘1” - 196lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Nov/21/09: Before this game I had Archibald slightly past Beukeboom. That all changed tonight. Beukeboom played very good tonight for the SOO and was arguably their best defenceman. He plays a safe stay at home game, but seems to be a very good skater, always moving his feet, and really seems to build his game around protecting his own net. He had good body positioning on incoming forwards, and although I’d like him to hit a little more, he wasn’t bad in this regard either. Beukeboom will never put up a lot of points but seemed to hit his outlet passes fairly well. Beukeboom isn’t going to be a franchises key defenceman, but I could see him landing in a Steve Staios type role one day.
(Beukeboom had 2 PIM tonight)
Robin Lehner - #35 - G - YOB: 1991 - 6‘4” - 224lbs.
NHL: 2nd Round - 46th Overall by Ottawa in 2009
Report: Nov/21/09: Lehner played outstanding and earned the shutout tonight. Lehner’s reflexes are second to none, he really doesn’t come out of his crease enough which is really the only knock in his game, and at his size it doesn’t hurt his game as it would to other goaltenders. His reaction time, as well as his recovery ability are simply amazing. I was a little weary about him getting drafted so high, but after seeing him, he simply stole this game. If Sarnia had scored first this would have been a very different game. At one point during the tie game Lehner made a save and gave up a rebound and an open net, he quickly recovered and dove across the net and got enough to prevent the puck going in. Simply blown away by Lehner’s performance tonight.
(Lehner stopped all 25 shots for a shutout tonight)
Sarnia
Shayne Campbell - #30 - G - YOB: 1992 - 6‘2” - 175lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2011
Report: Nov/21/09: Campbell played great in relief of Adam Courchaine who suffered an upper body injury. Letting in 6 goals over the course of the two games, many of those wouldn’t have been stopped by any goaltender in the league. Campbell continues to show great reflexes, and is starting to get quicker with his recovery. Because of his quickness he makes saves that other goaltenders at his general skill level wouldn’t make. Although there are those out there that feel Campbell isn’t capable of being a starting goaltender, he reminds me a lot of former goaltending prospect Parker Van Buskirk, however Parker’s development was largely ruined playing behind overagers, with the injury to Courchaine, Campbell will now get an opportunity to show that he can handle the starting job, when/if Courchaine does get traded. Campbell certainly made a big step in that direction with his performance this weekend.
(Campbell stopped 56 of 62 shots in 2 games this weekend)
Joe Rogalski - #74 - D - YOB: 1991 - 6‘2” - 185lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Nov/21/09: As promised I was going to do a write up on Rogalski, so I did watch him closely this weekend to get a good look at how he has developed this season. Rogalski continues to rush the puck up the ice, but is very smart about moving the puck to his linemates at the right time. He appears to be the kind of player that doesn’t want to play selfish often passing instead of shooting on the power play. Skating wise Rogalski has it down in both directions he is an above average skater, and a very good one for a defenceman pushing 6’3”. Rogalski has a decent shot, but if he used it more often he might be more effective with it, which is something he should look to improve in. Also what needs improvement is Rogalski’s ability to add muscle. He’s shown a willingness to hit, but just simply isn’t as effective as he could be being only 185 and not looking a pound bigger. Rogalski is reliable in his own zone, probably not a guy you’d put on your PK in the NHL, but is someone who can do his job in his own zone. At the start of the year I said Chiarlitti had taken the edge over Rogalski as the top prospect out of Sarnia this year, recently Rogalski has re-claimed that title, and if he continues to improve may hear his name called in the 2nd/3rd round. There’s no question his strengths are skating, and his puck moving abilities, as well as his potentially imposing size at 6’2“-6’3”.
Thanks to Ryan Yessie for this report. Anyone else out there have comments on the Hounds or Sting?
Would it be advantageous for the Colts to split up Brodie and Crawford while playing even strength. While its tough when watching the tube, Brodie's point production seems to be slipping and while they are great players, sometimes being on the same line may not be the best scenario. Did both guys play on the same line in Saginaw?
ReplyDeletesorry please delete wrong thread
ReplyDeleteStumbled-on,
ReplyDeleteI'll just answer your question in this thread, even though I'm sure you meant to include it in the Barrie/Mississauga one.
It depends on your defensive philosophy really. Right now, Brodie and Crawford are combining to give the Colts quite the outstanding first defensive pairing. Either of them has the ability to move the puck safely and quickly up ice, as well as being able to play quality defense. That makes them a deadly defensive pairing. Marty Williamson's job isn't necessarily to increase T.J. Brodie's statline. It's to make sure the Colts win hockey games. And with that pairing in tact (and playing 30+ minutes a night), they are not just winning hockey games, they are dominating them. The old adage is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
If the other pairings in Barrie start to struggle, perhaps you think about splitting up the pairing (maybe Brodie with Prout and Crawford with Gottschalk). But right now, they seem to have found a perfect chemistry.
As to whether they played together in Saginaw, no they did not (for the majority). Brodie was usually paired with Cody Sol, while Crawford usually paired with Joe Underwood. But being teammates for so long, they obviously have a strong comfort level between them.