Neutral Zone NHL scouted the game between the St. John Sea Dogs and the Moncton Wildcats in Saint John, NB on December 9th. Players below stood out as top prospects and grades are for this game only.
Etienne Morin #5 (D, R, 6’0″, 183, Moncton Wildcats, 03/09/2005) – Etienne Morin LSD that is an excellent skating defenseman with great mobility and transitions forward to backwards effortlessly. Morin is always in a good strong position throughout the rink to be defending or on the offense and if caught out of postion his quickness and skating ability allows him to get back to where he needs to be. Morin is an exceptional gifted offensive defender with great on ice vision; he opens up passing lanes by using fakes and stick blade decoys opening up pass lanes to distribute the puck and this was noticeable where he quarterbacked the PP unit. He defends extremely well and has a very active stick in all three zones and his gap control is very effective causing the opposition to dump the puck in regularly. In the defensive zone he defends well and jumps on lose pucks or when the opposition has the puck taking away time and space below the dots. He processes the game extremely well and has great instincts to jump into the rush being that 4th forward. His confidence and poise with the puck is very strong when breaking out of their own zone or on the blueline in the offensive zone. He consistently gets shots through to the net from the blueline causing more offensive zone scoring opportunities. Grade: A-
Alex Mercier #10 (F, R, 5’10”, 172, Moncton Wildcats, 09/22/2005) – Alex is a late 2005 birthday eligible for the 2024 draft – Alex has quickness and mobility to his game and accerlates very well. His edge work is very quick and uses this to his advantage to get away from defenders or to jump on lose pucks. He processes the game well and distributes the puck with good decision making abliities. Mercier is shifty once he has the puck on his stick eluding defenders in close or on the rush. He has quick hands and a quick release – this was noticed on offensive zone entry when he received a pass on his backhand transitioned to his forehand and got the shot off not allowing the goalie to get set. Where he didn’t have a good shooting lane he shot for rebounds for his teammates allowing offensive opportunities off a broken play. Would like to see Alex use this speed and creativity more consistently in the offensive zone which I believe he has he capability to do. Grade: B
Preston Lounsbury #20 (C, L, 5’11”, 163, Moncton Wildcats, 04/12/2005) – Preston had an excellent game showing his speed from start to finish scoring 2 goals in this game and had many additional opportunities by utilizing his speed. He has an excellent skater that has quickness mobility and strong edges and either wins puck races or gets on the forecheck extremely well. On breakouts Preston has good timing to be open for passing outlets and once he receives the pass uses his speed to seperate himself from the opposition and distributes the puck well under pressure. He is very deceptive when he has the puck and caused many offensive opportunities throughout the game. His speed was really evident through the neutral zone attacking with speed and scored one goal on the rush but had other opportunities in the same situation where he didn’t capitalize on. He was very responsible in the defensive zone and had his head on a swivel and an active stick taking away passing lanes. He didn’t shy away from contact and in the offensive zone stayed within the dots for shooting opportunities and attacked the net for rebounds. Grade: A-
Adam Fortier-Gendron #24 (D, L, 5’10”, 189, Moncton Wildcats, 01/21/2006) – Adam is a 2006 born Defenseman eligible for the 2024 draft. Adam was a very consistent contributor to his team in all three areas of the ice. Adam is a very mobile defenseman that has good agility pivots and transitions from forward to backwards. Adam displayed a strong gap control in the neutral zone and kept pucks in on the offensive zone making good decisions with the puck either passing it to his teammates or getting the puck deep allowing more offensive zone time. As a first year defenseman he showed good patience with the puck and made good quality passing decisions on the breakouts. Given that Adam is an above average skater would like to see him get up the ice and join the play more consistently as I believe he has the ability to join the rush and contribute more in the offensive side of his game Grade: B
Luke McPhee #26 (F, L, 5’11”, 192, Moncton Wildcats, 03/04/2005) – Luke is an an above average skater and has quickness and agility to his skating with strong edge work. He works very hard in his own zone and on the forecheck and uses his speed to attack the opposition making contact or winning puck races consistently. In the offensive zone he is not afraid to get to the net looking for rebounds and doesn’t stop until the whistle blows. In the defensive zone Luke is responsible and is a good position to retrieve pucks being open for passes distributes the puck well and battles hard on lose pucks. Given his quickness would like to see Luke use this speed through the neutral zone and on the attack which would allow more offensive zone time Grade: B
Cole Burbidge #8 (LW, L, 6’1″, 164, Saint John Sea Dogs, 08/26/2005) – Cole shows a high level hockey IQ and processes the game well either being in the right position to receive passes distributing the puck or carrying the puck in to the offensive zone. He has natural offensive abilities and has good quick hands in close and has strong vision on the attack to distribute the puck. Once the puck is on his stick he uses fakes either with head/shoulders or with his stick opening up passing lanes or shooting lanes. Burbidge supported the puck well in the defensive zone and was very reliable in his own end. Cole needs to work on his skating for quickness forward stride and edge work which will allow him more time with the puck to showcase his offensive abilities. Grade: B
Vince Elie #18 (RW, R, 5’8″, 176, Saint John Sea Dogs, 04/05/2005) – Vince has a good hockey IQ in his own zone defending well being in a good position with his head on a swivel recognizing the opposition where they are on the ice and uses an active stick. Elie is strong at getting pucks out of the defensive zone being available for passes or battling along the boards to get pucks to his teammates or out of the zone. Elie has a good foward stride and protects the puck well in his own end or through the neutral zone. Vince sees the ice well and makes a very good quick and accurate pass in all three zones. Elie needs to work on his quickness/acceleration and needs to consistently drive the net in the offensive zone. He is effective when he protects the puck and drives to the net with it which he needs to do more consistently Grade: B-
Nicolas Bilodeau #72 (D, L, 5’7″, 157, Saint John Sea Dogs, 03/24/2005) – Bilodeau is an above average skating defenseman that has good mobility edges and transitions. On dump ins he transitioned very well and got to all lose pucks quickly and effectively. In his own end he was very good below the dots defending and keeping the opposition outside with good body positioning and stick work. In the offensive zone Nicolas got shots through to the net with accuracy causing scoring opportunities for his team. Would like to see Nicolas make quicker decisions with the puck specifically in the defensive end; at times the passing opportunity was there but he held on to the puck a little too long taking away the easy quick pass. Grade: B
Neutral Zone NHL scouted the game between the Charlottetown Islanders and the Cape Breton Eagles in Charlottetown on December 3rd. Players below stood out as top prospects and grades are for this game only.
Luke Patterson #10 (F, L, 6’1″, 184, Cape Breton Eagles, 06/27/2005) – Luke’s work ethic was on full display on every shift and played well in his own zone defending and in the offensive zone. He is an above average skater with strong edges and overall quickness and agility. Luke has strong offensive instincts and has quick hands; his skating quickness showed well in the third period where he out raced the defenders to a puck in the neutral zone and used his quick hands to beat the goalie high blocker on the breakaway. Patterson played well supporting the puck in the defensive zone and battled hard on face offs. A very strong showing for a first year player playing in back to back games on the road Grade: A-
Cam Squires #12 (F, R, 6’0″, 167, Cape Breton Eagles, 04/11/2005) – Squires is an above average skater that has strong offensive instincts with good anticipation. His play around the puck really stood out and he has quick hands and a quick release to get shots directed at the with speed and accuracy; he is good with the puck in tight spaces and plays within the dots allowing better shooting angles. He played on the PP and was effective in front of the oppositions net causing traffic and scoring opportunities. He showed the ability to beat players on the rush through the neutral zone and within the offensive blueline using fakes and deception to gain more space. In the defensive zone he appeared in good positions to support the defensive structure on be in a good position for breakouts while distributing the puck well when needed. Would like to see Cam get stronger allowing him to win more puck battles in the corners as when he has the puck he can be dangerous Grade: B+
Xavier Daigle #17 (D, L, 6’0″, 175, Cape Breton Eagles, 03/11/2005) – Daigle had a strong showing – he played in all key situations (even strength PP and PK) and showed good poise in all situations with the puck and away from the puck. As a first year player he is relied upon in all situations and has handled it very well. He makes a strong first pass with accuracy or skates the puck out of danger which makes him effective in all three zones. In the neutral zone he defended well with tight gaps and surfing ability to take away space early forcing the opposition to make decisions with the puck. Xavier has a very active stick with quick hands in order to defend and take away passing lanes in the defensive zone; he was strong in the corners defending both with and without the puck. Daigle needs to get quicker on his first three steps both forward and backwards which will certainly help his overall play Grade: B+
Angelo Fullarton #81 (F, L, 6’2″, 200, Cape Breton Eagles, 08/21/2005) – Angelo is a big player that protects the puck well and has good awareness away from the puck in his own zone and in the offensive zone. He stays within the dots in the offensive zone always opening up to receive the puck with good shooting lanes. Fullarton has an active stick and this was observed significantly on the PK taking away passing lanes and uses stops and starts to defend well. His skating is above average and uses good angles in the neutral zone or on the forecheck being able to direct traffic with the use of his stick and body. Angelo used his skating ability to either win races to pucks or to take away time and space through all three zones. Fullarton processes the game well with a high level hockey IQ and has good vision both with the puck and away from the puck. Angelo can improve his quickness on starts allowing him more opportunities especially in the offensive zone Grade: B+
Lucas Romeo #17 (RW, R, 6’3″, 198, Charlottetown Islanders, 03/24/2005) – Lucas is an above average skater who has strong edge work and agility to get around the ice. He processes the game at a high level with good offensive instincts and plays within the dots in the offensive zone. On breakouts he was very effective either skating the puck out of danger protecting the puck not giving it away or making good passing decisions to his teammates. He was very effective away from the puck in the defensive zone always observing the opposition and being in a good support position. Lucas attacks well both with the puck or without when entering the offensive zone; with the puck he is able to drive wide and attacks the net well stopping on the net and battling for lose pucks. He shows strong offensive instincts being around the offensive net throughout the game and protects the puck well around the net with good quick hands. Grade: B+
Sam Bowness #29 (C, L, 6’2″, 183, Charlottetown Islanders, 04/29/2005) – Sam works very hard in all three zones; he plays a physical and gritty game and battles hard for all lose pucks and finishes his checks making contact and then being on the correct side to retrieve the puck. He is an above average skater and gets on lose pucks quickly and efficiently on the forecheck – he plays on edge and gets to lose pucks first or if second he takes the body effectively. With the puck he drove the net hard and stops on lose pucks battling for every inch. Would like to see Sam get quicker off his start or his first three steps Grade: B
Will Allen #55 (LW, L, 5’10”, 172, Charlottetown Islanders, 02/13/2005) – Allen is a quick skater that works hard without the puck; he is defensively responsible always being the third man high and back checks hard identifying the right player to defend. In his own zone he supports the puck well and is able to identify the opposition quickly to take away scoring chances. He was effective on the forecheck getting on the opposition quickly allowing more offensive time for his team. Would like to see Will work on his skating edges and explosiveness Grade: C+
Anton Topilnyckyj #77 (D, R, 6’2″, 177, Charlottetown Islanders, 01/04/2005) – Anton had a very strong showing in all three zones especially when noticing he is a first year defenseman in the league. Anton is a strong skater that has good mobility and pivots very well for a big defender. He played even strength pp and pk and shows good hockey IQ and processes the game extremely well; in the offensive zone he gets on top of the play just above the offensive circles and transitions from forward to backwards opening up to receive passes causing defenders to always be aware of where he is on the ice. Anton makes good accurate passes in all three zones and does it with velocity. He plays with strong gap control through the neutral zone and forces the opposition to make plays early causing turnovers in the offensive zone. In the defensive zone he is aware of the opposition with his head on a swivel and with an active stick he doesn’t allow for many offensive chances by the opposing team. Would like to see Anton get stronger which will help him in front of his own net and in the corners Grade: A-
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images