Monday, October 26, 2009

Regina Pats 5 Swift Current Broncos 2

The Swift Current Broncos have several players who are eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. I will make a few comments on these players, however, based on what I saw of them last night they are not priority prospects. One of the players I focused on was Andy Blanke, who was a fourth line left-winger last night. Overall, I did not think that Andy's contribution to the game was enough to merit draft consideration. He did display a good work ethic and was an aggressive forechecker in the limited ice time that he received.
Andrew Sullivan of the Broncos is a fourth line right-winger who is also eligible for the 2010 Entry Draft. Unfortunately, it is difficult to evaluate Andrew because he did not play very much. When he was on the ice, he appeared to have a short skating stride and did not seem very comfortable handling the puck. He will need to prove his overall game in order to be a draft consideration for this year.
Of all the Bronco players with a 1992 birth date, Brody Luhning was the only one to play a regular shift. He is a right-handed defenseman with decent size, but his overall skill level is rather basic. In other words, I'm not sure what type of player he is. I will need to see more of Brody, Andy Blanke, and Andrew Sullivan before I would consider any of them for this draft. Hopefully, they will improve during the season and prove me wrong.

I would also like to add some general observations about players in last night's game that have already been drafted:

-Cody Eakin scored two goals and now leads the WHL in goalscoring with 15. For a center his goal/assist ratio is abnormal and does not appear to be an anomaly. Over his WHL career, Cody has 50 goals but only 35 assists. He recently signed an NHL contract with the Washington Capitals, and based on what I've seen from him he merits the contract for sure. He's a good skater with excellent speed and acceleration. In this game he scored two goals demonstrating a quick release on a hard and accurate shot. Personally, I would like to see Cody improve his vision of the ice and puck distribution skills. In the future, Cody projects to be an asset to an NHL organization. He will be a good player at the American Hockey League level, and I see him as a potential role player in the NHL. With his speed, quickness, and individual skill level I could see him killing penalties. However, he may have to switch to the wing in order to reach his potential.

-for Regina, this is the first time I have seen newly acquired defenseman Cody Carlson. He was a defense partner of Colten Teubert in last night's game and I liked how they played together. Cody is comfortable handling the puck and takes some of the pressure off of Teubert. When Teubert plays with young and inexperienced defense partners he sometimes tries to do too much and over handle the puck -- which gets him in trouble with turning the puck over. In this game, his passes were crisp and accurate.

2 comments:

Gordie Know - How said...

In a game such as the one when the Pats outperformed the Broncos -- Teubert definitely skates and stick handles to his ability. However, in other games when the Pats seem to struggle, Teubert is quite noticeable for the wrong reasons -- puck turnovers. Even saying this, I believe Teubert will live up to his first round expectations if he sticks to being a stay-at-home defenceman.

Bobby Shoot to ScOrr said...

I agree with you Gordie. Last yrs World Jr's was a good example of Teuberts strenths. Paired with Hickey on D his puck distribution was D to D or up the wing. Played tough in the corners and front of the net.