| Marcus Kearsey | Charlottetown Islanders | QMJHL | L | D | 5’10” | 173 | Charlottetown Islanders | 2022 | Deer Lake, NL | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: B
Comments: Kearsey earned 18:59 in ice time (3rd among D) including 4:16 on the PP (1st among D) and 3:02 on the PK (4th among D). He finished -2 (tied for team worst) with 1 goal, 4 shots, 1 grade ‘A’ opportunity, 2 PIMs, received 1 hit, had 2 shots blocked, 11 giveaways, 12 takeaways (game high) and for the season he is winning 59% of his 50/50 puck battles. Kearsey is a below average sized left shot defenseman who plays a reliable two way game. Offensively he moved the puck quickly and when he did not have a clear passing lane he showed the quick burst and edge work to jump passed a forechecker or spin off contact into space. We liked his puck anticipation as his twelve puck recoveries were a game high and we liked how he scanned the ice locating both the forechecker and open teammates. He scored a power play goal at 17:35 of the first period after receiving a pass from his right, walking to his left and shooting through a screen. On the play he made one stickhandle before releasing his snap shot and although he scored here we know he’ll need to continue working on his release without stickhandling as he moves into higher levels. Kearsey also had two shots blocked with one coming on a one-timer and the other coming after joining the line rush and losing an edge.
| Owen Conrad | Charlottetown Islanders | QMJHL | L | D | 6’3″ | 210 | Charlottetown Islanders | 2023 | New Glasgow, NS | 2007 | 2024-2025: A- |
Game Grade: B
Comments: Conrad earned 18:48 in ice time (4th among D) including 2:36 on the PP (3rd among D) and 2:27 on the PK (7th among D). He finished even with 1 assist, 4 shots, 2 PIMs for holding on an ill timed step-up at the defensive blueline, received 1 hit, had 1 shot blocked 5 giveaways, 3 takeaways and for the season he is winning 55% of his 50/50 puck battles. As an 07 Conrad is a big physically imposing left shot defender who showed the strength to pin opposing forwards to the wall to end the cycle as well as the combination of leg drive and power needed to clear shooting lanes. During offensive neutral zone transition he showed the puck poise to pull forecheckers in one direction and then fire hard tape to tape passes up the middle. We also liked his ability to one touch tape to tape passes with authority. Conrad picked up a secondary assist off of a heads up play in the neutral zone where he read a loose puck after a face-off and then fired a hard pass to the right dot-lane. His quick thinking and movement froze the opposing left defenseman to allow for an easy zone entry.
| Matthew Butler | Charlottetown Islanders | QMJHL | L | C | 5’7″ | 153 | Charlottetown Islanders | 2022 | St. John’s, NL | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: C+
Comments: Butler earned 15:06 in ice time (7th among fwds) including 2:28 on the PP (6th among fwds). He did not play PK. He finished -1 with 4 shots, 2 grade ‘A’ opportunities, 7/14 on face-offs, 3 giveaways, 5 takeaways and for the season he is winning 45% of his 50/50 puck battles. Butler is an undersized fleet footed left shot forward who was in constant motion. Offensively he darted from behind coverage into the open ice and in the offensive zone he used the net as a screen or a place to get lost before jumping out for a rebound. Defensively he used his quickness to win races to the valuable ice and he showed an understanding of how to keep his hips below his opponent’s so he could take away their leverage and skating mechanics. At this point Neutral Zone feels he is a bit to undersized and light to play in the NHL but his tenacity, quickness and game processing will allow him to have real success playing on the big ice sheet in Europe.
| Anthony Flanagan | Charlottetown Islanders | QMJHL | R | RW | 5’10” | 171 | Charlottetown Islanders | 2023 | Blainville, QC | 2007 | Not yet rated |
Game Grade: C
Comments: Flanagan earned 8:26 in total ice time (10th among fwds) including 1:37 on the PK (6th among fwds). He did not play PP. He finished even with 0 shots, 4/5 on face-offs, received 1 hit, 5 giveaways, 2 takeaways and for the season he is winning 48% of his 50/50 puck battles. Flanagan showed a deep knee’d wide skating posture with a full length stride that ends with a bit of a heel kick. we feel as he gains core strength his stride will improve and he will gain both speed and explosiveness when he completes his stride with a toe snap. He used his wide base and deep knee bend to absorb hits and maintain puck possession. He is an August 2007 so we feel that a huge commitment to off season training will go along way towards his future success in the QMJHL and beyond.
| Ross Campbell | Charlottetown Islanders | QMJHL | R | RW | 5’10” | 160 | Charlottetown Islanders | 2022 | Souris, PE | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Campbell earned 19:44 in ice time ( 2nd on team) including 4:39 on the PP (3rd among fwds) and 2:32 on the PK (4th among fwds). He finished -1 with 1 assist, 2 shots, 1 grade ‘A’ opportunity, 10 PIMs (for mouthing off to the ref), 2 hits, received 1 hit, had 1 shot blocked, 4 giveaways, 4 takeaways and for the season he is winning 46% of his 50/50 puck battles. Campbell is an undersized right shot forward with an ultra high compete who does not stop moving his feet. He worked to be the F1 on the forecheck and once he was within a stick’s length of his opponent he was going to make contact. He played the right point on the power play and he showed a real heater on an old school slap shot with 2:35 remaining in the second period. He was used in all situations would have led the team in ice time if he hadn’t taken a misconduct for saying hello to the ref after running into him.
| Simon Duguay | Charlottetown Islanders | QMJHL | L | D | 6’1″ | 169 | Charlottetown Islanders | 2022 | Caraquet, NB | 2006 | Not yet rated |
Game Grade: C
Comments: Duguay earned 8:32 in ice time (7th among D) including 2:31 on the PK (6th among D). He did on play on the PP. He finished -1 with 1 shot, 1 giveaway, 2 takeaways and for the season he is winning 52% of his 50/50 puck battles. Duguay showed a deep knee over toes skating posture with a long fluid stride. He is still developing the strength needed and power needed to clear shooting lanes or pin his man to the wall but he showed nice puck anticipation that allowed him to win races to 50/50 pucks for offensive transition. Unfortunately for him he finished -1 as the result of a bad change after a teammate had been caught on the ice for too long but in our mind he played simple straight forward game that limited his opponent’s scoring opportunities. A good summer of off-ice training will be very beneficial to Duguay’s overall game.
| Alexis Michaud | Charlottetown Islanders | QMJHL | R | RW | 6’0″ | 170 | Charlottetown Islanders | 2022 | Quebec, QC | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: A-
Comments: Michaud earned 19:27 in ice time (4th among fwds) including 4:12 on the PP (4th among fwds) and 3:32 on the PK (3rd on team). He finished even with 5 shots, 5 grade ‘A’ opportunities (tied for game high), received 2 hits, 5 giveaways, 0 takeaways and for the season he is winning 48% of his 50/50 puck battles.
Ondrej Maruna | Charlottetown Islanders | QMJHL | L | C | 6’3″ | 190 | Charlottetown Islanders | 2023 | Piestany, SVK | 2006 | 2023-2024: B- |
Comments: Did not play and has not played since January 7th versus Halifax.
| William Shields | Charlottetown Islanders | QMJHL | R | RW | 5’9″ | 173 | Cape Breton Eagles | 2022 | Falmouth, NS | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: B-
Comments: Shields earned 15:47 in ice time (6th among fwds) including 2:31 on the PP (5th among fwds). He did not play on the PK. He finished -2 with 5 shots, 4 grade “A” opportunities, 2 PIMs (inadvertent high stick in the offensive zone when chasing after a loose puck), had 2 shots blocked, 2 giveaways, 4 takeaways and for the season he is winning 48% of his 50/50 puck battles. Shields is an undersized right shot forward who looks to create offense whether it’s off of beating a defender 1 on 1 or sprinting into the open ice to create an odd man situation. He showed a very quick release and the ability to hit the net on quick stick one-timers or on catch and release snap shots through a screen. His shots seemed to catch the goaltender off guard and each of his five shots on net generated a secondary scoring opportunity. On zone entries he changed pace to manipulate the gap into his favor and Shields did a nice job of recognizing when the defender was leaning in one direction and then passing or exploding into the opposite direction.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images