On Valentine’s Day we watched the Raiders play host to the Swift Current Broncos. Prince Albert held the Broncos to only 13 shots and ended up winning 5-0, but how did Prince Albert’s draft eligible prospects impact the win?
Kaiden Guhle (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — A) Defense
This game looked easy for Kaiden. He moved effortlessly around the ice and showed his usual high end skating. He read opposing rushes very well and adjusted his gaps appropriately. Kaiden showed the lateral mobility to stand even man rushes up early in the neutral zone and the backwards quickness to slow down odd man rushes and buy time for his back checkers. In the defensive zone, he was very explosive and powerful when ending the cycle and pinning the opposing forwards. When he is the weak side defenseman, Kaiden made the correct reads and joined the rush as an extra attacker. Although he has high end skating ability he was not a threat to carry the puck out of trouble, rather choosing to make the quick smart outlet and let his forwards do the work. In the offensive zone, Kaiden walked the blueline confidently with his head up. There were a number of times when Kaiden and his partners used a high scissor to confuse the Broncos high coverage and generate shooting lanes. All of the Raiders were on the same page while killing penalties and moved the puck well on the power play. Game Grade: B+
Ozzy Wiesblatt (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — B+) Forward
Ozzy picked up 2 assists and was dangerous all game. He has high level poise with the puck and excellent vision. He showed game awareness while attacking the offensive blueline and was able to gain zone entries with ease. If the Bronco defenders had a tight gap Ozzy used his speed to drive the man deep to create space for his teammates in the high slot. When the defenders respected his speed, Ozzy faked the deep drive and cut to the middle of the offensive zone creating space for himself. He was effective on the forecheck with one of his body checks leading directly to a teammates goal. On the power play Ozzy attacked seems with both his body or the puck. On one PP goal he was running the mid-wall, recognized the killers were sleeping and attacked the center of the box. This opened up the goal line where Ozzy made a clean pass which led to a clear back door goal. He was dangerous all game and was rewarded for his efforts. Game Grade: A-
Ilya Usau (4 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C+) Forward
Ilya finished the game with a goal and an assist. He is most dangerous in the offensive zone during the power play. As the strong side PP option, he is poised along the mid-wall or goal line and he is very good at reading when to be the backdoor attacker from the weak side (scoring a goal doing just this). He made a few poor decisions on line rushes (one resulted in a too many men on the ice penalty), but in general he was a positive influence on the game. He is strong while protecting the puck during the cycle and attacked the net with the idea of scoring a goal. Game Grade: B