Sean Keogh's Game Report: Petes and 67's From January 7th

As some of you may recall, Sean Keogh used to contribute to this blog and still occasionally does from time to time. I met Sean while working for HockeysFuture several years ago, and he's a stand up dude. He's always been a huge OHL fan and continues to follow the league, however unfortunately he's stuck in Graduate School in Europe (perhaps I'm exaggerating about the "stuck" part). This leaves him on the outside looking in. But when he returns for the Holiday break, it's always great of him to contribute. It serves as an interesting read because of nature behind the report. Obviously Sean follows the league closely, but for the last few years, he only gets to see games live around Christmas. That means, his reports can serve as a very good account of how far players have progressed in that one year. Essentially, changes may be more obvious to him because he's not seeing them play throughout several points of the season.

Anyway, without further ado, here's his report.

This was my first time being in the stands for an OHL game this year, and for better or worse it was not a particularly competitive match-up. On paper and on the ice it was a mismatch, as the division-leading offensive juggernaut from Ottawa was up against a last placed Peterborough who has struggled all year, although less so of late. On the other hand, the two clubs met up Thursday in Peterborough for the first half of a home and home, and the game was surprisingly tight.

In the end the game was not particularly close, as the 67s took it 6-0 in what easily could have been a far worse result for the Petes. Although the play was incredibly one-sided, the 67s just could not cash in the first period. The final shots were 43-23 and if there was a scoring change counter, it would have been far more lopsided. It is always hard to watch the players on the losing team in these games, particularly unfortunate considering Peterborough might have the better 2011 NHL Draft prospects.

As long as the 67s play as they did tonight, they are an extremely dangerous team. When the first line of Prince, Toffoli and Martindale was on the ice, the puck rarely left the Peterborough zone. With the blueline back to full health, and Mrazek more than capable of bailing his team out as well, the 67s are a fairly complete team behind their dominant top line. Peterborough on the other hand looked overwhelmed and out of sync, and really nobody on their club stood out positively in this game.

Ottawa 67's

Tyler Toffoli – Drafted by Los Angeles
The triggerman on the top line, Toffoli was constantly dangerous all night, scoring one goal and assisting on another. He easily could have had a couple more goals too, hitting at least one post and constantly buzzing around the net. His goal was a classic goal scorer’s play, digging a puck out of a scramble in front, dragging it to safety and ripping it high. He also had a couple of nice breaks on the penalty kill, drawing a penalty on one. There is a lot to like in his game, and he is a well-rounded and competitive junior player, but as an NHL prospect it is really all about his goal scoring ability, particularly thanks to his shot. Many times tonight he got himself open off the cycle work of his linemates and wound up for a shot. Other times he was more involved in creating the play, and I think it is important for him to stay aggressive.

Ryan Martindale – Drafted by Edmonton
The pivot on the top line, Martindale was like his linemates constantly dangerous, picking up the sixth goal for the 67s late in the game. Of all the chances he created for or received from his linemates, the goal was actually one of the less impressive, a weak backhander in front of the net off a slick pass from Prince. He looks a step quicker and more assertive than last year. Had a number of nice plays making quick cuts into the middle, but seemed to rip the shot high or wide every time. Cycled well with his linemates, uses his reach better now, and finds guys effectively, but there is always something just a tad missing. It will be interesting to see if Edmonton signs him this year or if he gets another year in the OHL in 2011-12.

Shane Prince – 2011 Draft Eligible
The draft eligible member of the 67s top line, Prince had an excellent game, picking up three assists, creating a ton of chances and being named first star. He set up Nesbitt beautifully for the first goal, was involved in Toffoli’s snipe, and made a slick pass to Martindale for his. The top line was running through him tonight most of all, and the puck was on his stick a ton. Quick dish passes, give and gos, it was a fairly impressive display. I saw Prince a handful of times live last year and was not overly impressed. His skating has clearly improved significantly. But even in this game he was not really burning people with speed but rather quick darting moves and agile cuts. His physical tools are not exceptional in general, not an amazing shot or great size or superb hands, but his anticipation is off the charts. One of the reasons the line was so effective is because Prince in particular, but Toffoli and Martindale as well, simply won so many races and cut off so many passes from the Petes that they regained control all game. Prince is clearly an intense player who demands a lot of himself. The line was a bit snakebitten in the first, and a couple of times he banged his stick against the boards out of frustration. There has been a lot of debate about Prince’s NHL potential, and I will reserve judgment on that until I get a few more live views this month.

Dalton Smith – Drafted by Columbus
Smith had a solid game, chipping in a short-handed goal and skating on the second line with overagers Thomas Nesbitt and Cody Lindsay. The goal was a nice drive to the net, although Smith only had to overpower Lino Martschini, a 5’5”, 126lbs import from Switzerland, to pick up a rebound on a shot from Marc Zanetti. He had a handful of other scoring chances down low. The hands and skating did not look any better than last year, but he played a solid game overall. Sometimes Smith seems to get lost looking for hits, and finding the right balance between offence, defence and physical play remains elusive, though he can contribute an all-round game when he is on, and for the most part he was in this game.

Cody Ceci – 2012 Draft Eligible
A late 1993 birthday, Ceci looks ready to be drafted. He was skating on the second pairing with Marc Zanetti all game, playing in all situations and performing confidently and competently. I like Ceci as a prospect because he is so well-rounded, and already has a pretty solid build. His skating has improved and it will be interesting to see how much further his game can improve before the draft next year.

Sean Monahan – 2013 Draft Eligible
This was my first proper look at Monahan, who is having a solid rookie season playing on the third line for the 67s. He was quite good in this game, setting up two goals, one for Ben Dubois, and another for Tyler Graovac. The latter in particular was the result of a nice play along the boards, give and go at the point, and dish to Groavac down low. Another young player with a solid build, he is a remarkably well-rounded prospect for somebody who only turned 16 a few months ago.

Petr Mrazek – Drafted by Detroit
It was not a busy night for Mrazek. He made a handful of nice saves, bailing out the 67s on one or two occasions for the shutout, but in general having a relatively easy night stopping all 23 shots he faced. Maybe his most memorable moment was when he took a hack from a Petes player and reacted by going after him, an interesting move for a goalie with two career penalty minutes.

Peterborough Petes

Austin Watson – Drafted by Nashville
Although nobody on Peterborough had a particularly good game, Watson was probably the best. He had a few good chances, a couple as a result of turnovers by the 67s, and a couple others he created himself, but could not break the shutout. As always Watson was solid in all three zones, demonstrating good defensive track and solid penalty killing work. I have seen him have better games in the past.

Matt Puempel – 2011 Draft Eligible
Not a great game for Puempel. He was relatively noticeable, but was fairly ineffective overall. When he was controlling the puck, he was knocked off the puck frequently, and lacked the skating ability to really create space for himself. I know he is a player who thrives on finding space and being in the right place, but tonight he was not particularly dangerous and had few such opportunities. He has been scoring at a great clip lately though, so it was possibly just an off night for him, like the rest of the team.

Alan Quine – 2011 Draft Eligible
I was really looking forward to seeing Quine and was disappointed I barely saw him. He was quite invisible all night. Playing on the first powerplay unit he was noticeable only because the puck was then on his stick, but at even strength he created little offence other than one impressive rush late in the game. Like with Watson and Puempel, it was not a great game to evaluate him.

Clark Seymour – 2011 Draft Eligible
Other than engaging in some rough stuff at different moments in time, Seymour was more or less invisible. The size is there, but the Petes blueline as a whole seemed to struggle with the skill and speed of the 67s, and Seymour was neither better or worse than the other defencemen in that regard.

Slater Koekkoek – 2012 Draft Eligible
A promising prospect who had a couple of nice offensive plays from the blueline. Showed off some nice vision and mobility moving in off the point showing confidence with the puck. Like with Seymour, it was a hard game to really evaluate his defensive play.

Thanks a lot to Sean for this report. Hopefully he can give us another one before he heads back to school.

Thoughts on Ottawa from September 25

I caught the 67's in action against the Niagara IceDogs last night. The Dogs were looking for their first win of the season after two close losses to Kingston and Barrie, while the 67's were trying to get their 2nd win of the season.

The big boost to the 67's line-up was the return of captain and Minnesota Wild first rounder Tyler Cuma. Cuma hadn't played for the 67's in over 9 months after injuring his knee at the World Junior camp last season. On the downside, Ottawa did not look good tonight. With Corey Cowick already out until at least Christmas with a shoulder injury, the team recently learned that fellow first line forward Anthony Nigro will also be out for a little while. He has contracted mononucleosis and will be out for at least a few weeks. Losing those two guys hurts, and it showed tonight. The 67's just don't have the depth at forward to sustain two major losses like that. The inabilities of their third and fourth lines were a major reason for their loss. They were a combined -3 and were on the ice for every even strength goal scored against the 67's (save the empty netter). In the absence of scoring depth, you need to ensure that your 1st line is really rolling and they were off tonight too. Tyler Toffoli and in particular Ryan Martindale did not have strong games.

Their defense also struggled mightily tonight. They looked very disorganized and the communication was not there. Turnover after turnover occurred. Even the pairing of Julien Demers and Travis Gibbons was out of sync, which is odd considering how much time they spent together last year. Much like the depth of their forward lines, their depth on defense hurt them also, with the third pairing of Cody Ceci and Derek Hartwick being responsible for two goals against. While Ceci played OK, Hartwick's inability to make quick and smart plays really hurt the team.

The Dogs ended up winning this one 5-3. They were leading 4-1 going into around the halfway point of the third period, but the 67's battled back to get within one. Their sudden burst of intensity was too little too late.

Here are my thoughts on some players performances for the 67.

Thomas Nesbitt (2010, but 1990 born)
Nesbitt was part of the one scoring line that actually was working tonight (with Dalton Smith and Matias Sointu). After such a strong preseason, Nesbitt has carried that success into the regular season. He was all over the place tonight. He works hard in the offensive zone, he works the cycle well, he comes off the wing with speed in order to drive to the net. He was also very responsible defensively tonight. I think he has about as much pro potential as Corey Cowick does, and Cowick managed to get drafted in 2009. If Nesbitt can continue to produce and play the way he has, he could have a shot of being drafted too. He finished the game with 1 goal and 2 assists.

Marc Zanetti (2010, but 1991 born)
Don't really have much to say about Zanetti, but just wanted to point out that he was playing forward tonight. I'm not sure whether this is a permanent thing, or a part time thing to help cover the Cowick and Nigro losses. He was part of that poor third line with Jon Carnevale and Andrew Merrett. Considering what I saw from the 67's defense tonight, I'd say they are better off putting him back on defense, where he has the potential to be a physical and relatively quiet presence.

Matias Sointu (TBL)
I was really impressed with Sointu tonight. He centered the powerful Nesbitt and Smith line. He's a little spark plug out there. Good skater, good stickhandler. Despite his size, he wasn't getting pushed off the puck. On the contrary, he was winning loose puck battles. He showed a lot of playmaking ability, in particular on the second period Dalton Smith goal. He won the battle for the puck behind the net, made a nice back pass into the slot and the puck eventually found Smith's stick. He was constantly creating plays, and surprisingly, he was also coming back defensively. Despite only registering an assist on the night, I thought he was Ottawa's best player. Reminds me a lot of a Buffalo prospect by the name of Felix Schutz, who used to play in the QMJHL and had a solid rookie year in the AHL last year.

Tyler Toffoli (2010)
Toffoli didn't have his best game tonight, but he did show some effort. If not for the inabilities of his linemates (Martindale and Cody Lindsay), they might have been more effective. He set up Lindsay and Martindale numerous times for scoring opportunities, only for them to fumble the puck or fail to corral it. Intriguingly, he was playing some center tonight, which I've never seen before. It seemed that he and Martindale were trading taking the faceoffs while on the same line. Once Chris Byrne shuffled the lines in the third period, he took over full center duties after Martindale was moved to another line. Toffoli is a good playmaker, but I'm not sure I like him at the center position. He seems more dangerous when he can work the slot and come off the wing.

Julien Demers (SJ)
It was his first game back after suffering a mild knee injury during San Jose's camp, and he was covered in rust tonight. He and partner Travis Gibbons were not in sync all night. He was directly responsible for the 4th IceDog goal by Chris DeSousa. Due to a lack of communication, and just a poor read, Demers threw the puck behind the net from the corner. But Gibbons wasn't there, he was starting to head up ice looking for the breakout. Instead, Andrew Agozzino was there, receiving the nice pass from the opposition, to which he put it out front to DeSousa in the slot (where Andrew Merrett failed to take his man to the net) . DeSousa roofed it top shelf and the Dogs were up 4-1. I say he was covered in rust because he just didn't look comfortable all night. He rushed plays with the puck and was not the calm presence he usually is.

Dalton Smith (2010)
I think I was right to have confidence in his ability to break out this season (see the Big Guy Breakouts Sunday Top 10). Was part of the strong Nesbitt and Sointu line. He's a big body and he uses it. Parks himself right in front of the crease, which is where he scored both of his goals. He's got good hands in close, as the first goal he dug the puck from the IceDog defender's skate, pulled it back and roofed it top shelf on Mark Visentin. I liked how he used his size to create room for his linemates too, and he was a physical presence on the forecheck. One thing that particularly impressed me was his penalty killing effort. Went down and blocked a shot from the point, got up quickly, and dove for the loose puck to tap it over the blueline. That showed a lot of gumption. He's quickly becoming a player to watch for 2010.

Tyler Cuma (MIN)
After returning from Minnesota's camp (where his play was apparently rusty), he did not look good tonight. It takes nothing away from the level of prospect he is, because I've seen him at his best. But he's definitely not 100% comfortable and confident yet since returning to the ice from that injury. He had a lot of trouble with the puck tonight, just couldn't create plays or handle passes. Whether it was bad ice, or nerves, he was fumbling it all over the place. Defensively, he was pretty solid, however he seemed too intent in trying to take the body and as such was putting himself out of position. The couple of nice plays he did make defensively, were as a result of a poor decision making, and he had to come back hard into the zone to erase the scoring chance. In those instances, he showed how dynamite a defender he can be, where he used his strong closing speed to come back and push his man off the puck. He's nearly impossible to get around when he's on his game. He's going to take time before he's back to playing the way 67's fans are used to, but when he does, the defense should be fine.

Ryan Martindale (2010)
Martindale did not have a good game tonight. The puck was jumping all over his stick and he just couldn't find the handle on anything. My biggest concern with Martindale is the fact that he's 6'3, but he plays like he's 5'6. I didn't seen any evidence tonight of a big guy using his size to his advantage. You take a look at a guy like Dalton Smith, who's using his big frame to shield the puck or to win battles. And then you see Martindale who's even bigger, but was soft on the puck, wasn't involved physically and looked generally passive. He didn't skate very hard tonight either. In a draft year filled with excellent OHL players, in particular forwards with size (Austin Watson, Andrew Yogan, etc), Martindale isn't doing himself any favors right now in terms of his draft stock. He finished the night with an assist.

Cocy Cedi (2012)
You'll be hard pressed to find a younger player in the OHL right now. Ceci is still 15 and will be until December 21. Considering his age, I thought he played a pretty good game tonight. Unfortunately for him, he was paired with Derek Hartwick who was handling the puck like a hand grenade. He didn't really make any plays that made him stand out in a bad way, which for a young defender like him is a good thing. He's got a long way to go before he's NHL draft eligible and he'll definitely grow into a more prominent player during that time.

Petr Mrazek (2010)
Chris Perugini is apparently a little banged up from a collision with first overall pick Daniel Catenacci, so Mrazek is starting all the games this weekend for the 67's. He was their first round selection in this year's import draft. I liked a lot of what I saw from him. He's not a big goaltender (5'10), but he was really aggressive in challenging shooters. He was coming right out passed the blue ice to cut down angles. Despite giving up four goals, I'd say he could only be faulted on one of them. This was the Dylan Wood wrap around goal. He didn't put his stick down to cover his five hole and Wood slid it in. He also had trouble with one long shot that snuck through his equipment and nearly into the net. But he's apparently playing with borrowed equipment, and thus he may be a little uncomfortable. Mrazek is definitely very agile in the net and moves side to side very well. On one occasion, he stoned a Dog forward point blank in the slot after a pass came out from behind the net. He reacted quickly and got to the middle of the net to block it. His rebound control was excellent tonight too. Other than a few shaky things, I think he impressed. It'll be interesting to see if he battles Perugini for ice time as the season goes along.

That's it folks. As usual, I welcome your comments if you saw the game or have any questions.