Game played 11/10/2024.
General Game Notes: Quite a different looking Brampton Steelheads lineup this time out, what with six regular veteran players off due to injuries, the entire team seemed to be playing in a confused state. Other than Finn Harding stepping up into a bigger role of leadership and doing an admirable job there, the visiting Brantford Bulldogs took hold of the game in the late second period and never looked back. Also the two players that are touted to potentially be considered as first round selections in this year’s NHL draft, Porter Martone for the Steelhead’s and Jake O’Brien for the Bulldog’s, it was a clear win for O’Brien in this particular game. Martone wasn’t himself and was doing things that were not becoming of a first round selection. O’Brien on the other hand was the best player in the entire game. Final score ended up 6-3 for the visiting Bulldog’s and if the Steelheads don’t get some of their players back off the injured list they are going to have trouble maintaining their early rankings in the CHL top 10.
Jack Ivankovic (G, L, 5’11”, 178, Brampton Steelheads, 05/22/2007)
Grade: B-
Comments: Jack didn’t have a good game today and with each successive goal that was being scored (five) he was moving further back in his net. It also looked like Jack was overcompensating to his stick side, which was very strong, and left his glove side exposed. Like we mentioned earlier, with each goal that was scored on Jack he was moving further back in his net and he was cleanly beaten to his glove hand side a couple of times. Jack wasn’t his usual self and probably missing his regular D that were out of the lineup due to injuries.
Jakub Fibigr (D, L, 6’0″, 171, Brampton Steelheads, 07/22/2006)
Grade: B-
Comments: Jakub just takes too many punishing checks, usually after he makes his passes and admires them. This guy has the makings of being a good rushing defender but his physical game suffers time and time again. Jacub just needs to want the puck back when he makes his good, accurate passes but we don’t know how many times he can get hit with the hard hits before he learns to get out of the way and go get the puck back.
Jack VanVolsen (C, L, 6’2″, 190, Brampton Steelheads, 01/12/2006)
Grade: B-
Comments: Jack had an ordinary game where he wasn’t willing to go into the tight spaces in and around the opposition’s goal, fearing that he would take some punishment and pain. Jack must make a decision to figure out how to get into these areas, where he can use his reach and good stick skills in order to get shots to the net. Jack’s skating skill and speed is good but to no avail if the defenders on the opposition are of equal skill set and don’t fall for Jack’s tricks.
Carson Rehkopf (C, L, 6’2″, 202, Brampton Steelheads, 01/07/2005)
Grade: B
Comments: Carson didn’t have one of his best games and was being knocked around whenever he tried to create some space in the offensive zone of the opposition’s end. This player who has size in his favor, doesn’t really use it when playing against physical style defenders and therefore the result is usually a stalemate. Medium sized to larger D men, that take the body and don’t fall for Carson’s stick fake, won almost every time in this game and Carson along with his line mates were ineffective.
Gabriel Chiarot (F, L, 5’11”, 192, Brampton Steelheads, 09/17/2006)
Grade: B
Comments: Because Gabriel is a physical checking player who finishes his checking assignments each and every shift, it would make perfect sense that he gets some like minded team mates to play along with him. This is basically not the case and therefore Gabriel’s hardwork is relatively being wasted. Other players that play the same style who are suffering the same kind of fate right now are Adam Zidlicky and the youngster Troy Patton. Bang and crash, in your face and can add some offence if all players were working hard together. Gabriel just has to persevere and wait for things to develop.
Luke Misa (C, R, 5’10”, 176, Brampton Steelheads, 02/28/2005)
Grade: B
Comments: As Luke is mainly playing on the top line for his Brampton Steelheads team, alongside Porter Martone and Carson Rehkopf, this unit was playing against the best defensive players for the visiting Brantford Bulldogs. Luke scored a nice goal in the first period and that was all that we heard from the entire line for the rest of the game, as the entire line works as a unit or they will not. Luke basically feeds off the passes from his line mates and in this game the opposing teams defenders, with the assignment of stopping the top line, were better.
Jared Harding (D, L, 5’8″, 162, Brampton Steelheads, 12/05/2007)
Grade: B+
Comments: Jared was surprisingly a breath of fresh air in this game for the Steelhead team as he was just playing hockey and not getting caught up in the sometimes unfortunate youthful shenanigans. Jared, although still smaller in stature than lets say his older brother team mate, Finn, was displaying some playmaking abilities and smoothness to his skating flow. Jared is slowly but surely getting some qualities of players like Quinn Hughes, and Lane Hutson, when he distributed the puck or was moving while carrying the puck, in all directions. Jared is getting better at eluding the hit and isn’t standing around watching his pass. He is hopefully going to get a few more opportunities to see some limited, selective shifts, up with the big team and then go down to the Jr. Canadian’s OPJHL team keeps working on being a puck moving and scoring D. He must jump out of the way of the opposing team’s physical players after he moves the puck, as he is still not ready to take the big hits, from the more physically developed players. This player is full of promise if brought along carefully.
Troy Patton (C, L, 5’10”, 178, Brampton Steelheads, 06/12/2008)
Grade: B+
Comments: Troy should be considered as one of the Steelhead’s top players in this game, despite his limited minutes played. Troy was matched up against Jake O’Brien and he not only won many of the faceoff’s head to head(5/6), he also was winning the short races, and could physically stay between one of the best forwards in the league. I can’t really comment on much more about Troy’s game and would hope that he gets some consideration when ice time is allotted while his team is going through all of these injuries.
Porter Martone (RW, R, 6’3″, 208, Brampton Steelheads, 10/26/2006)
Grade: B-
Comments: If Porter has a few more of these performances in the near future his stock is going to go way down. We call these performances growing stages, which young men have to get, in order to grow. They say that if you fall down 6 times you have to get up seven times(Chinese Proverb). Porter was down at least six times in this game and he got up but didn’t like the special attention he was getting and displayed some behaviors that are going to be hopefully rectified quickly. Looking at the referees for calls, hitting players when they are in vulnerable positions are just a couple of biggies. The critics call these games Stinker’s and Porter should get back to scoring goals and fighting for territory near the net. This season is too important for Porter to waste on taking selfish penalties. He is the captain and should lead by example and get back to fighting for goals in the dirty places, which is what he does best.
David Egorov (G, L, 6’1″, 154, Brantford Bulldogs, 05/18/2006)
Grade: B+
Comments: David was only scored against three times in this game and was the busier of the keepers in this game. All three goals were on David’s catching side. When David is able to see the puck he usually gets a piece of the shot unless like today he is beaten by very good shots. The fact that David is starting to understand what his defensive players are capable of doing, he can then gauge his approach as to how aggressive he should play. As for an example when Protz and Moore were on the ice he could come out strong and challenge the shot, knowing he was going to see clearly. All in all David gave a good showing and deserved the W.
Tomas Hamara (D, L, 6’0″, 194, Brantford Bulldogs, 03/09/2004)
Grade: B+
Comments: Tomas played a very good defensive role as well as being the puck carrier for his team when breaking out of his own end, either when on PP or when even strength. What we really thought was impressive is that Tomas was relatively playing as an unassuming puck distributing defender, who was using his very good read and react stick checking first style, following up by taking the body, only when necessary in order to separate the puck carrier from the puck.
Owen Protz (D, L, 6’1″, 213, Brantford Bulldogs, 02/07/2006)
Grade: B+
Comments: Owen occasionally gets chasing around after pucks in areas that are not his responsibility. Usually it happens in his own territory, when he gets caught trying to cover for his D partner. There was one blatant mistake when Owen was chasing a pinch, on his wrong side at the opponents blue line and he tried to poke check the puck carrier using one hand on his stick. The referees were blocked out from the play and Owen had his stick ripped from his hands. The opposition player’s promptly skated down the ice and scored on a two on one. These were the only errors that were telling. Owen was a force for the rest of the game physically and it appeared that not one player on the opposition team wanted to have any part of Owen Protz. Owen plays like the old style of policeman, that patrols his beat. If you are thinking that you can come into his backyard you are sadly mistaken. I know that not one player is able to match Owen’s physical style and his presence.
Calvin Crombie (RW, R, 6’0″, 170, Brantford Bulldogs, 09/03/2005)
Grade: B+
Comments: Calvin is a very good defensive player who has a comparable physical side to his game and when he plays within himself, emotionally, can play on a shutdown unit which has the ability to counter on the offensive side. Calvin did just that today and was a plus +1, chipping in with two helpers. Calvin also didn’t take any penalties while playing the assertive physical style.
Nick Lardis (RW, L, 5’10”, 167, Brantford Bulldogs, 07/08/2005)
Grade: B+
Comments: Nick took a big hit early in the game but it didn’t deter him from doing what he does well, that being an offensive player first and chips in with a good defensive stick checking style defender. Nick moves the puck around efficiently to the open team mate and continues to get to places and spaces where he has opportunities to score. One goal and one assist with four shots on the net. Plus + 2. Scoring at about a goal a game clip.
Zakary Lavoie (RW, R, 5’11”, 178, Brantford Bulldogs, 03/13/2004)
Grade: B
Comments: Zakary is a playmaker/goalscorer who has the potential to make a bigger contribution for his team when he decides to get his cardio/conditioning in order, or maybe better said that he lose about 10 pounds by getting in better shape. How Zakary does it is totally up to him to ask the trainers what he needs to do to get faster in order for him to keep up with his centre Jake O’Brien. Zakary, if quicker will not be getting hit as often and then lighten both of his line mates loads. He just looked slow at times and tires easily. This guy could become a top player in his last season in this league and then see where his career goes after all is said and done.
Jake O’Brien (C, R, 6’2″, 168, Brantford Bulldogs, 06/16/2007)
Grade: A
Comments: Jake was the best player in this game for both teams as he was constantly around the puck for each and every shift.This guy is scoring high on all categories but extremely high in the IQ and skill department. Enough said. Jake needs to work on his faceoff’s and he isn’t yet strong enough to just try to win his backhand draws by turning his bottom hand over, as he loses the element of surprise and is predictable. He is starting to shoot more and the result today was three goals. He has a very quick release and accuracy with deception. Can’t tell where his shot is going.
Luca Testa (LW, L, 6’0″, 182, Brantford Bulldogs, 04/10/2006)
Grade: B
Comments: Luca played an effective game today as he scored a breakaway goal when he drove into space with his very good skating speed and made the opposing keeper separate his pads in order, then slipped the puck through this space. When Luca is more effective it’s when he gets the feet moving and he makes subtle adjustments laterally. These subtle or cunning adjustments cause the defence for the opposition to make desperate measures and usually Luca wins a battle or scores a goal, as in this case. Luca is also improving his understanding of playing in a good defensive position. Luca is not always between his checking assignment and his goal but he is getting better. When Luca stops watching the puck when his team doesn’t have possession and he finds his check, he can be a more effective player for his team.
Cole Brown (RW, L, 6’3″, 170, Brantford Bulldogs, 04/27/2005)
Grade: B+
Comments: Cole had a big part in the win for his team as he and his presence along with the physicality he brings causes the oppositions players to take notice whenever Cole is on the ice. Cole just finishing his checking assignments without any showmanship added is proving that effectiveness. Cole doesn’t need to add anything other than his workmanship or lunch bucket attitude and just go about the game as if it was another day in his office. His office is along the boards and in front of the opponents net. Cole made a great pass to Patrick Thomas, to score a PP goal. He also is parking himself on the edge of the opponents crease more frequently and is distracting or screening the keeper. He did get a penalty in the first period, but it left a mark on the opposition’s keeper’s mind if not his body, when Cole crashed into him.
Patrick Thomas (C, L, 6’0″, 178, Brantford Bulldogs, 08/21/2004)
Grade: A-
Comments: For this observer, Patrick was the second star of this game and if not for one of his team mates getting the hat trick, was the other first star. One goal, two assists, 14/23 face offs won, played against one of the hottest players in the league for most of the game and cooled him off enough to get his mind off of the game completely. Other than playing in all situations, special teams and being a total inspiration for his team, I don’t think that you could ask for more from Patrick. A true leader.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images