Game Recap – 7-6 final for London in overtime. Shots 45-26, London. All around dominant effort for London, who were dominant on the power play early. Erie hung around & earned a point with some timely goals and solid goaltending to keep them in the game.
Jamie Drysdale (4.75 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — A, NZ NHL Draft Rank – 8) Defense
A similar outing to the report on Drysdale on Oct 18 vs Guelph. Drysdale is showing consistently as a top defender on the ice for either team in the game. A young defender who is an above average skater with excellent edge work and ability to elude opposition forechecks. Drysdale had his hands full vs London this game. London is starting to show their all around strength as a team after a slow start. Erie was bombarded early in the game and on their heels most of the night. Drysdale showed good composure on the forecheck and transition game. He was less offensive in this game but continued to show well on the power play and led his team with shots on net. A good game to see how a young defender adjusts to a tough road environment, Drysdale showed a high IQ defensively and used his body positioning well to win pucks. We are used to seeing Drysdale dominate the play with the puck – tonight was a nice chance for us to see his defensive game – it is underrated based on this performance. Of the elite and already drafted defenders on the ice Drysdale showed he can defend as well as any of them. Game Grade: A
Hayden Fowler (4.25 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Forward
A left shot skating forward who does a number of things well for the Otters. Fowler is a first unit power play player, a key penalty killer, and plays in all situations for Erie. Fowler had a productive night on the score sheet with a seeing eye goal in the second period to get Erie back in the game and two quality assists off the counter attack. He plays a confident game with the puck and shows a decent first step in transition. Erie were on the heels most of this game and Fowler showed well defensively with his speed to close gap on attackers and his willingness to get his stick and body in shooting lanes. He was also effective in the counter attack tonight with some crafty plays to free up teammates in space. In a game where Erie relied on limited chances off the counter Fowler was dangerous and had a number of quality chances around the net. Game Grade: B
Aidan Campbell (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Goalie
A massive goaltender with good mobility who competed well tonight. It is rare as a scout to write comments about a draft eligible goaltender who gives up 7 in a game but Campbell was key to helping his team earn a point. With a strong game and a great 3rd period Campbell actually gave Erie a chance to win. London dominated the game early – shots were 32-12 after two periods and London held a 5-4 lead. Erie scored 2 in the third and London needed an empty net powerplay goal to tie the game with a minute left. Campbell stood tall all game and competed well on second shot chances. Campbell’s rebound control was strong – pucks were directed to the right areas or covered up – with his size a bunch of good chances just hit him. He gave up 7 goals on 45 shots but gave his team a chance to win. Noteworthy, we viewed Campbell a few weeks ago vs Guelph and he was chased after 30 mins. A very nice response. Game Grade: B+
Luke Evangelista (4.25 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — B-) Forward
No change from our viewing a week ago on Oct 25 vs Saginaw. Evangelista continued to show as a high skilled, high IQ right winger Evangelista and operates very well on the wing on London’s top line. Evangelista showed strong board play in transition and was clean finding pucks along the wall in hitting teammates with pace. Offensively, he was excellent on the cycle, he uses his body positioning and footwork well to win pucks and finds good angles to the net. He set up the second goal of the game with a nifty play to keep the cycle going and create space for his line mates. He continued to create space for himself with a pass first and give and go approach game. We continued to like his patience and willingness to hang on for an extra second to let the passing play develop. Evangelista continues to see most of his opportunities 5 on 5. His play in the first half of this game was limited as London played half the first period of the game on the power play but he made a number of clever plays off the cycle on London’s to win pucks and create space for himself and his teammates. Game Grade: B
Kirill Steklov (4 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C-) Defense
No change from our viewing a week ago on Oct 25 vs Saginaw. A lanky defender playing out of position vs older offensive players and continues to play as a top 4 defender on a deep London defensive unit with 3 NHL draft picks. Steklov continued to defend well and showed an ability to get his big body in the way of opposition forwards. A little clean up of his puck skills is required, at times he looked a bit lanky and uncoordinated when under pressure. Consistent with our viewing a week ago this player continues to show good attitude and no fear in his game as a young defender. He pushed the pace well in transition and was not afraid to make mistakes – he used his reach and speed well to recover and get back in the play defensively. As a rookie on a deep team his sees penalty killing and powerplay time and is continuing to develop playing with better players. Game Grade: C+
Antonio Stranges (4.75 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — B+) Forward
No change from our viewing a week ago on Oct 25 vs Saginaw. Stranges has consistent, noticeable speed in open space on nearly every shift. He set up the first goal of the game on a 2 on 1 with a great break down the left side and a nice feed. Stranges continued to show an ability to create space on transition and was on a number of odd man rushes this evening. With any luck he could have scored a few and set up a few more goals this evening. A young player who early in his Jr career has shown he can create space offensively with his first few steps. He presents challenges to defenders in the transition game. Game Grade: B+