On Sunday November 3rd we traveled to Hamilton to watch the Bulldogs take on the visiting Ottawa 67’s. This would be our first viewing of the 67’s and quite honestly we were not expecting much. Ottawa was playing their third game in as many days at the end of a long road trip playing against the home team with a day’s rest. However, with the chips stacked against them we were interested to see how Ottawa’s draft eligible players would respond to the challenge… and they certainly did not disappoint. They have six draft eligible players in the lineup and 5 of them had very good games. Only goaltender Will Cranley (4 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) had an average performance (allowing 4 goals on 18 shots), but sometimes that can be expected on the backside of a “3 in 3” road trip with a big young athletic goalie who have big upside.
Jack Quinn (4 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — B-) Forward
Jack was the most impressive draft eligible prospect on this day, showing all of the traits pro scouts love including some very good skills, strong skating, IQ and the dedication to work as hard without the puck as he does with the puck. In the first period he pounced on a Rossi turnover, moved into a shooting lane and ripped a high hard wrist shot past the goaltender to tie the game up 1-1, and spark his team. Four minutes later, he displayed high end vision and poise while being the puck carrier on a 2 on 1. Jack resisted forcing a shot or pass and made the head’s up play to delay, create space and find a streaking defenseman jumping into the attack who scored Ottawa’s go ahead goal. Jack continued to show puck poise all night on offensive opportunities. He does not panic under pressure and makes intelligent passes rather than make “hope” plays. He is more than willing to take a hit in order to make the right puck play and can spin off of body contact very well. We also love the fact that he will use his speed to get a step on a defenseman while driving wide on a rush and use his strong edges and puck protection to take the puck to the net. The coaching staff trusts Jack to play in all situations and he is the first guy up on every Ottawa penalty kill. He gets his body in the puck lane, has a very active stick and is also cagey knowing when to play contain and when to get aggressive, close ice on the power play defenseman and pressure. He shows maturity by playing with defensive commitment on each and every shift. Jack back checks with a purpose and continues to stride through the neutral zone into his own end. Jack has a great motor and high end compete. It is obvious that he hates to lose and expects to win every battle. Very impressive. Game Grade A
Marco Rossi (4.75 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — A) Forward
There is no disputing the offensive talents Marco possesses. He is a player that wants the puck on his stick, loves to carry it on the rush and wants to be the guy either making the primary assist or burying. Given those traits and given that he has the skating speed, agility and slick puck skills to do so will make him a very attractive draft choice. He is excellent at coming out of the offensive corner with the puck and using his speed and agility to carry the puck through the slot while being pressured yet finding a seam for a shot or a great pass. He has very good vision in the offensive zone and can release the puck on a pass at the very last instant to an open team mate. When attacking 1 on 1 he is full of confidence and will not hesitate to attempt to try and undress an opponent using puck skills at any time. However, his confidence can also produce some turn overs and in this outing Marco made quite a few turn overs through the neutral zone when rushing or just inside the opponents blue line when on the attack. We find that when starting an attack with puck on stick he has already made the decision to carry the attack and is focused on who he has to beat with skating and skill as opposed to looking to see where his passing options are. With age and maturity we feel he will learn to move the puck more quickly and more often when attacking through the neutral zone. After an offensive zone turn over Marco can be a “sniffer” while coming back through the neutral zone and often times appears to be waiting for his opposition to make a poor decision with the puck. He is very opportunistic both with and without the puck. Although his skill level is at the top of his draft class, we feel Marco will need to put some defensive focus into his game for long term National League success (in the 7-4 win Marco had 2 assists, yet still finished -1). This was only our first live viewing and we will be looking for better defensive commitment and effort next time we see him. Simply, Marco’s elite talents will take him to the next level, but his willingness to embrace defensive consistency will keep him there. Game Grade A-
Alec Belanger (4 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Defense / Forward
Alec is certainly an interesting prospect. He made a great impression on us due to his versatility. He is normally a defenseman for Ottawa, but was used as a left winger in this viewing and also dropped back to the blue line with the second power play unit. We enjoyed watching him in his minor midget draft year where he was among the very best defensemen when it came to an offensive game. In his underage OHL year he played in 27 games with the 67’s and was able to produce 8 points, decent numbers for a rookie defensemen in the Ontario Hockey League. Why and when he was converted to a forward is unknown to us, but we came away very impressed with his game. He is a strong skater and as a winger kept his game very simple. He was very good at making himself available on the boards supporting his defensemen as a breakout option, responsible with the puck through the neutral zone, passing or dumping when appropriate and showcasing his offensive talents when opportunities arose. In this game Alec set up the forth goal on the power play while playing the point with the second unit. He was fed a pass for a one-timer, sold the shot and then sent a nice flat on the ice crisp pass to a low slot man for an easy redirect into the net. On his next shift he retrieved a puck low behind Hamilton’s net and sent a quick pass out to a slot for a team mate to burry the winning goal. He easily jumped in to this third line winger role without missing a beat and displaying nothing but high hockey IQ and dedication. Perhaps Ottawa sees him as a more valuable winger than defenseman. Or perhaps with Graeme Clark out for an extended period due to injury and young Jack Beck away at the U17 tournament Alec was just called upon to fill a void. Either way we are certainly interested is seeing more of this prospect as his game continues to develop. Game Grade B+
Anthony Costantini (3.75 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C-) Defense
Anthony is a rookie this year with the Ottawa 67’s. We came away impressed at how poised and intelligent his quiet game is. We were impressed watching Anthony make quick pivots and head into corners in the defensive end to retrieve pucks. His head is on a swivel, aware of both the checking pressure coming at him abd how the opponent set up their fore check to jump first passes to create turn overs. Anthony showed very good IQ and a deft passing touch by making the correct reads and making very short accurate passes that avoided checks and found open men that led to easy breakouts. At this stage of the game Anthony is content to follow the attack up ice as opposed to jump in and join the attack which is exactly what his coach wants him to do. He is at effective holding the blue line and did not show panic by vacating the offensive blue line early on a contested puck. When the opposition did make a rush against him we found Anthony to be very man focused and we like the confidence he shows in his skating and ability by playing very tight gap against his man and rush. On one particular play he used a timely pivot to turn and go for a loose puck, angled off Hamilton’s big stud forward Kaliyev to win a retrieval and moved the puck quickly to an open man. Anthony will need to add weight to his frame to be considered a National League prospect, but his hockey IQ and skating ability make him a very intriguing long term prospect. Game Grade B
Yanic Crete (4 Star Amateur Prospect, NHL Grade — C) Forward
Yanic played a third line right wing role even as a left shot. He is a player who is noticeable all game, and while he did not dominate offensively he certainly looks like a prospect who is on the verge of having his game come together. He is a strong skater with good speed while driving wide and is very effective along the wall. When carrying the puck we found Yanic to be a very dangerous player who has the ability to make a deft pass into the middle while under pressure and then drive around the defender to create odd man situations all over the ice. He is also very good at the chip game and uses his speed to generate opportunities. His consistent effort paid off versus Hamilton where he potted the sixth goal of the night. With only 30 OHL games under his belt, Yanic is another young player to keep a scouting eye on as he cuts his teeth in the OHL level and his game continues to develop. Game Grade B