Ryan Yessie's Thoughts on Plymouth and Sarnia from February 21

Ryan returns with thoughts on the late February blowout between Plymouth and Sarnia.

"This game for the most part was over after the 1st period. Tyler Seguin leads the Whalers to an 11-3 win over Sarnia.







Colin MacDonald - #3 - D - YOB: 1992 - 6’3” - 184lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Feb/21/10: MacDonald seems to always have a rough time in Sarnia, going head first into the boards last time he played in Sarnia. MacDonald got a little extra attention from me tonight, and again I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to see much of him. He took another hit from behind in his second shift. Then after returning he spent some time on the penalty kill, where he blocked a shot and was sent limping off after the puck had cleared. It was about another period before I saw MacDonald again. MacDonald appeared to be a smooth skater, looks very relaxed and composed, moves the puck up the ice well, and looks like a low risk defenceman, that has got good size, as well as decent skating.
(MacDonald was -1)

Austin Levi - #7 - D - YOB: 1992 - 6’4” - 195lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Feb/21/10: Levi was the least noticeable than he’s been all season. He looks as if he has lost his spot on the top four with MacDonald’s seemingly improved play, as well as the addition of Gilbert. Levi appeared to have limited ice time, some of which was reserved to the penalty kill. Levi has got progressively less physical in Sarnia, although he is still hitting, he’s not only becoming a safer checker, but he’s hitting less, which occasionally works against him, but is also better than the out of position hits he was throwing closer to the start of the season. I’ve liked Levi’s play, but he is most likely a depth defenecman (3^rd pairing on a healthy NHL defence) that could be a penalty killer as well, but he could get drafted very close to teammate Colim MacDonald as the two are at similar points in terms of projectable future.
(Levi had +1, 2 PIM)

Tyler Seguin - #9 - C - YOB: 1992 - 6’1” - 186lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Feb/21/10: While many of the Plymouth players let up, after taking an 8-2 lead mid-way through the game, Tyler Seguin was not one of those. Seguin who had already scored two very nice goals, kept playing full steam ahead obviously with a scoring race in mind. He was not able to pad his stats, but still played full tilt evenw hen the score was 10-2, and 11-3 so take that for what it’s worth. Seguin who hasn’t really showed up at the games in Sarnia after he ripped them apart in the 2009 playoffs, but that changed tonight. Seguin made some nice plays with and without the puck, he was willing to back check while Sarnia was in transition. He made some nice moves on the defencemen displaying top level puck handling. The first goal Seguin scored he put a great move on and used his stick handling ability to deke out Campbell and bury it. The second goal he absolutely releases a rocket of a wrist shot, an exhibition of how quick his release is, as well as his accuracy, as you could hear it just touch the post and/or crossbar as he picks the corner. Very few goaltenders CHL or NHL could have stopped that shot. Seguin is very much the Duchene of this draft behind Taylor Hall’s Tavares for this year. That should be taken as a compliment, because although he’s being regarded by some to be a potential 1^st overall pick, I don’t think there’s any question on draft day, Taylor Hall is the guy who gets picked 1^st overall. But Seguin may very well be in his last OHL season.
(Seguin had 2G, 1A, +3)

Beau Schmitz - #17 - D - YOB: 1991 - 5‘11” - 190lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Feb/21/10: Schmitz has not been much of an impact player this year for Plymouth after standing out last year with his puck handling and offensive abilities, he has been very quiet at both ends of the ice. Schmitz played decent tonight, displaying a bit of a surprising physical game as he always has despite his slight stature. If he wants to shot at becoming a legitimate prospect he needs to enhance his skating ability a little based on his size as well as becoming stronger in all 3 zones. Schmitz is a valuable defenceman in the OHL, and would likely be capable of earning an AHL contract, but he needs to add more to his game, particularly better breakout speed in order to raise himself to an NHL level potential defenceman.
(Schmitz had 1G)

Jamie Devane - #23 - LW - YOB: 1991 - 6’5” - 217lbs.
NHL: 3^rd Round - 68^th Overall by Toronto in 2009
Report: Feb/21/10: Devane continues to be reliable but not spectacular for Plymouth. Along the boards yet again Devane was important, however again he didn’t really create much offense, but he did benefit from the great deal of goal scoring his team did today. Devane is a decent skater, I wouldn’t consider it a strength just yet, but it is pretty good for someone at his size. Devane continues to prove how good he is in the defensive zone, and how good his positioning as well as his willingness to block shots. Devane gets the majority of his ice time. Devane appears to be benefiting from the addition of James Livingston and Robbie Czarnik with Livingston joining him on the 3^rd line he has scored over half his points all season since the acquisition of Livingston at the trade deadline. Still he’ll be hard pressed to gain 20 points this season.
(Devane had 1G, 1A, +3)

Robbie Czarnik - #27 - C - YOB: 1990 - 6’0” - 175lbs.
NHL: 3^rd Round - 63^rd Overall by Los Angeles in 2008
Report: Feb/21/10: This game was the very different from the game Czarnik played in December. He played with a lot of energy, and drive, but tonight even though he put up 3 points, Czarnik looked very off. Czarnik has legitimate speed, but didn’t look anything special, he showed some physicality, but really it looked like a very big off night for him. Czarnik seems engaged in the play offensively, and seems to want to create offense, and do what needs to be done, he also has a solid shot with a good release.. But defensively, and when I say defensively, I mean outside the oppositions blueline there was A LOT of floating being done by Czarnik. I only saw him skating hard back twice, the others he was either floating or very slowly gliding back to his defensive zone, it would have been very discouraging watching this from a Plymouth point of view, because unless the team was in a position to offense, Czarnik really didn’t look like he cared what happened in this game. This is a little more understandable when the team is in a blowout, but this was also occurring far before this game was over.
(Czarnik had 1G, 2A, +3)

Phil McRae - #38 - C - YOB: 1990 - 6‘3” - 195lbs.
NHL: 2^nd Round - 33^rd Overall by St. Louis in 2008
Report: Feb/21/10: McRae is a player who I was pretty impressed with tonight, although the stats don’t show it, McRae skated hard every shift, he was going into the corners, he drove to the net, it just didn’t add up to a lot of points for him. He showed a pretty quick release, and good play along the boards. Defensively McRae looked very aware and was playing smart. At the same time, once this game was over McRae was smart and respectful not going out of the way to hit, and not forcing the puck at the net instead he dumped the puck in deep and did what he could to kill the clock, instead of trying to run up the score, and was a very good part in helping this game advance rather than getting out of control.
(McRae had 1A, -1)

Nathan Chiarlitti - #5 - D - YOB: 1991 - 6‘0” - 185lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Feb/21/10: The majority of the Sarnia Sting quit midway through this game. Nathan Chiarlitti was one of the few that did not. He was still trying to block shots, made a great play on Seguin near the end of the second period even though this game was essentially over. Chiarlitti is starting to show his hidden offensive side, now 2^nd in scoring among defenceman for Sarnia despite the fact he is known for his defensive reliability, and leadership more than offensive skill. Due to Sarnia playing with 4 or 5 forwards on the power play, Chiarlitti is the 2^nd defenceman used, so he doesn’t gain a lot of time or experience, so it has taken him much longer to develop his offensive tools, than it would have otherwise if he was given more time on the power play. Chiarlitti is starting to rush the puck up the ice more, displaying the improvement in his skating, although still floating around average for a 17 year old his age. Still the knock on his game is the physical side of the game. He is starting to produce well for the amount of offense he’s allowed to engage in, but physically, his hitting is still to far between, and could really benefit from gaining some upper body mass along with a bit more of an edge to his game. In the 3^rd period Chiarlitti joined the rush on a short handed opportunity, and scored a very nice goal as he gained the rebound and displayed nice hands to go backhand, forehand and roof. Chiarlitti at this point looks like a safe pick between 5^th-7^th, but the development of his physical game may be the biggest part in determining how far he goes in his career. His -33 on the season may scare a few teams, but it’s more of a tribute to the excessive amount of ice time he receives on a bad team, rather than his ability defensively, as he is constantly hung out to dry to try to defend 2 on 1’s.
(Chiarlitti had 1G, -1)"

Thoughts on Brampton and Plymouth from November 1

Welcome to the month of November folks. Hope you remembered to set your clocks back an hour! Otherwise you could have missed part of a close game between the Brampton Battalion and Plymouth Whalers. The Battalion came into the game on a four game losing streak and are fighting to stay out of the Eastern Conference cellar. Meanwhile, the Whalers are one of the better teams in the Western Conference. One might have pegged this one to get ugly, but the Battalion played very solid. Their top defensive pairing of Matt Clark and Ken Peroff did an extraordinary job against Tyler Seguin and the Whalers top line today, holding Seguin pointless.

Brampton definitely is not the most skilled team in the league, look no further than their second worst goal per game rate in the league. But they work hard and they are incredibly disciplined (least penalized team in the league). Just because they don't take penalties, doesn't mean they aren't physical and in your face either. They hit you hard, they forecheck you hard and they do an excellent job of taking away space from offensive players in the defensive end. Brampton was also without defenseman Cameron Wind (flu), which really hurt their transition game and their powerplay, but they persevered through it and came out with a 3-2 victory over Plymouth. This was in thanks to two third period goals from Sam Carrick and Barclay Goodrow.

Plymouth just couldn't get anything going today. The Battalion defense smothered them. Getting talented overager Ryan Hayes back recently is a huge boost to this club offensively, as is the addition of Josh Brittain. But the Whalers are still missing R.J. Mahalak (shoulder injury) and can now A.J. Jenks to the injury list as he broke his hand in a fight last week. Once the Whalers get both of these guys back (probably by December), they should become a really tough team to beat because they'll be able to ice multiple, veteran scoring lines. Right now, their offense really seems to rely on Tyler Seguin and whatever line he ends up playing with. If he gets shutdown, they seem to really struggle. When Seguin is held to one point or less, they are 2-6 this year. The rest of the offense needs to step up if the opposing defensive unit smothers the Seguin line like it did today in Brampton. Part of the loss can be attributed to goaltending for the Whalers today too, as back up Scott Wedgewood was shaky. Gave up a weak goal, and a ton of bad rebounds. The Whalers defense actually did a good job of bailing Wedgewood out on many occasions by preventing rebounds from being scooped up by Battalion forwards.

Enough rambling, on to some individual performance thoughts...

Plymouth Whalers






Colin MacDonald (2010)
Never really noticed him in my previous viewing of the Whalers this season, but tonight he stood out. Big defender, good reach and seems to play a really smart defensive game. He did a good job of getting the puck out of the corners and up ice and he seems to have fairly good mobility for a big defender. Wasn't really a factor offensively, but did a good job with the puck in his own zone and made smart passes. I also liked his willingness to clear the front of the net, although he wasn't as physical in the open ice or in the corners as I like to see from my 6'3 defenseman. Austin Levi may be getting all the attention right now, but perhaps MacDonald is the guy we should be paying attention to. Finished the night +2 (only Plymouth defender to finish with a plus rating).

Austin Levi (2010)
When I saw him earlier this season, I came away very impressed. But today he was not good. Got caught standing around watching the play too many times and was not able to win the puck battles in the corner. He was also really soft on the puck in his own zone and became a victim of the Brampton forecheck a few times. While his mobility is fairly good for a guy his size, he needs to keep his feet moving. Got blown by at the blueline by Stephon Thorne, leading to a 2 on 1 chance for Brampton. He did see some time quarterbacking the powerplay though and looked OK doing it, although his passes need to be crisper. A lot of times I saw him trying to pass the puck with one hand firmly on his stick. Those soft push passes won't cut it in the OHL, let alone the NHL. He finished a team worst -3, however I will say that he wasn't really at fault on any of the goals. Is Levi an NHL prospect, or just your average OHL defender? I'm not going to base my judgment on two viewings this season, but I'd be curious on your opinion.

Tyler Seguin (2010)
Didn't have all that great of a game. He was trying, but he just couldn't get things to click, partly because of the great job Clark and Peroff did on him. He tried to get by Clark a few times, but each time Clark did a great job to stay with him and keep him to the perimeter. On the first Brampton goal by Thomas Stajan, Seguin was to blame. Turnover in the offensive end thanks to a bad pass by Seguin to the middle of the ice, then a breakout the other way finished by Stajan after Seguin failed to get back in time to check him. This lapse is a rarity for Seguin and is the type of play that happens to the best of offensive players as they try to make something happen in the offensive zone. On a few occasions when the Clark duo didn't get out against him, he actually made some things happen and had a few nice rushes towards the net. But he didn't get a lot of help from his linemates, Josh Brittain and Garrett Meurs. Didn't appear to be a lot of chemistry between the trio. All in all, nothing to get worked up about. Tyler Seguin is a great player, although I'm not ready to name him the top draft player yet (over Hall) like some scouting agencies appear to be doing.

Beau Schmitz (2010, but 1991 born)
Was Plymouth's most effective defender today IMO. Played a tremendous defensive game. Brampton forwards continuously tried to get by him on the rush, failing every time. He's not afraid to get physical either, rubbing out a few of those aforementioned rushers, or pushing them hard into the end boards. Even though he's not the biggest defender, his positioning helps him win battles against bigger players. I'd really like to see him take more chances offensively though, as he's a capable puck rusher, but seems to rarely do it. I was really surprised he went undrafted last year, and I'll be equally surprised if someone doesn't take him this year, or at least sign him to a contract at training camp.

Jamie Devane (TOR)
I don't want to say he was completely useless today, because he did some good work on the penalty kill. But he certainly wasn't much of a factor otherwise. For a big guy, he seems really weak on the puck. Whenever the puck hit his stick, he seemed hesitant to carry it. Made a couple bad dumps where he tried to deflect the puck to a teammate and ended up icing it. Also had a delay of game penalty for chipping it over the glass. Really seems to struggle with receiving the puck at his top speed. When he did have the puck in the offensive zone, he was very soft on it and he didn't use his size to protect it. Even some of the better enforcer/pest prospects like Zac Rinaldo have the ability to take the puck to the net at this level. He did make one nice finesse play, where he eluded a stick check of a defender at the side of the net and ended up with a scoring chance, but he couldn't get much on the shot. Also on the downside, he wasn't physical at all really. If you're not going to be a factor offensively, I'd like to see him aggressive on the forecheck and in the corners. But he wasn't. I didn't see what Brian Burke and the Leafs were seeing last year when they drafted him high, and I still don't. But then again, he is a "project" pick. Maybe he just needs more time.

Michal Jordan (CAR)
Was not strong in this game at all. His terrible give away to Sam Carrick leading to the third period tying goal was a huge mistake. He cut out from behind the net and skated right into Carrick. Clearly didn't have his head up looking for the forecheck. Carrick stole the puck and roofed it on Wedgewood. This was one of several turnovers with the puck for Jordan today. It's almost as if he doesn't look ahead to where he's putting the puck or carrying it. Defensively, he's way too soft too. While he can be an effective positional defender at this level, his inability to win battles in the corners or tie up bigger forwards in front of the net spells trouble for the next level. I'm just not sure what his role would be at the NHL/professional level. Is he good enough offensively (in terms of instinct) to be an offensive puck rusher? Is he good enough defensively to be a capable two way blueliner? I just don't know.

Josh Brittain (ANA)
Different team, same Josh Brittain. A handful of great shifts where he uses his size, takes the puck hard to the net, creates scoring chances and is a huge factor. And then the rest of his shifts he's invisible. Good to see that the change of scenery hasn't helped him be more disciplined either. I'd say he's pretty close to being nicknamed "The King of the Offensive Zone Penalty." Not exactly something you want to be known for, as nothing kills momentum for your team more. Today's was a retaliation cross check in front of the net. If someone could ever harness his ability and get him to play with more consistency and desire, he'd be a heck of a player. Otherwise, he's destined to play out his ELC (if he's lucky enough to get one) and fade off into minor league obscurity.

Brampton Battalion







Matt Clark (ANA)
As I stated, Clark was simply outstanding today. Completely shut down Tyler Seguin. Showed great mobility in staying with him and keeping him to the outside on his rushes. He has the ability and size to play the man hard and he does a good job of pushing around opposing forwards in the crease. And although he didn't today, he's always a candidate to lay a big open ice hit. He's very underrated offensively too. He'll never be a big time point producer, but he's smart with the puck and has the ability to run the powerplay effectively because of this. I think with time and confidence, he could actually become an effective puck carrier too, even though I think he's pretty OK with being more of a stay at home defender. He did have a tough time getting his shot on net from the point though...missing three times in a row wide on one powerplay. I'm hoping he gets an invite to the Team Canada WJC camp. His mobility and defensive ability would be a huge asset to the team in a third pairing role.

Philip Lane (2010)
Had a really tough game offensively. The puck would not settle down on his stick. Had a number of good opportunities, but just couldn't hold on to the puck. BUT, the promising thing for me was that as frustrating as his offensive inabilities had to be for him, he didn't let it affect his game. He continued to put pressure on the puck carrier as a forechecker; he continued to try and take the puck hard to the net (drew two penalties); and he continued to battle hard in the corners. I think that really shows a high level of maturity on his part. I continue to believe that once he adds more strength, he's going to be an absolute beast at this level.

Sam Carrick (2010)
I think Carrick has a lot of skill, more so than he's getting credit for. Originally I saw him as another Jay McClement/Ryan Oulahen Battalion two way center, but I think there is a lot more natural offensive talent there than perhaps we're seeing. If he had some other naturally talented offensive players (instead of the hard working, persevering types he's surrounded be) to work with, I think we'd be seeing a lot more from him. He seems to have a real nose for the puck and I really like his solid two way game. His strip of Michal Jordan and subsequent roof job on Wedgewood showed great offensive talent. Quickly becoming somewhat a favourite of mine for 2010.

Patrick Killeen (PIT)
Killeen has kind of changed his goaltending style a bit this season. He's playing less of the traditional butterfly and more of a stand up style in order to use his size more. But he's still vulnerable to the top half of the net because his reaction time and aggressiveness in challenging shooters is still a work in progress. First Plymouth goal was a bang-bang play, as Stefan Noesen stole the puck from behind the net and passed it to Joe Gaynor who roofed it on Killeen. The second goal was off a broken play that found Myles McCauley who put it past Killeen as he tried to react and get over to the other side of the net. He does have good mobility for a big goaltender and his rebound control is improving (even if it's a bit of a weakness in itself). I still wonder if he gets a contract from Pittsburgh though, although the Pens lack of depth in the professional pipeline could work in his favor. He made 18 of 20 saves and picked up the victory.

That's it for tonight, anyone else with thoughts or question?