Saginaw Spirit at Hamilton Bulldogs
Saturday, March 07/2020
8-6 final for Saginaw in this game. Lots of offense early in this game with 7 goals in the first period of the game. Cole Perfetti was dynamic offensively for Saginaw early with a couple of assists in the first period and another handful of quality chances early. Jan Mysak from the Bulldogs also continued to show dynamic offensive skills with pace and speed through the neutral zone. He was difficult to handle off the rush with his pace. Bulldogs draft eligible goaltender Macro Costantini gave up all 8 goals in the game on 33 shots. Write-ups on the 2020 draft eligible players from both teams can be found below. We added Mitchell Smith from Saginaw to our radar after this game – his play continues to develop since the trade deadline where he has jumped into the top six defenders on a veteran Saginaw defensive unit and is showing more confidence with each viewing.
Saginaw Spirit Draft Eligible:
2 Ilya Solovyov (was a factor, see report)
8 Sebastian Bulovs (did not play)
22 Mitchell Smith (was a factor, see report)
91 Cole Perfetti (was a factor, see report)
Saginaw Spirit
Mitchell Smith (4.25 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Defense
Mitchell is a new addition to our write-ups as he continues to improve with each viewing. The game vs the Bulldogs was his best in our viewings so far this season. A young defender on a veteran Spirit blueline, Smith did not look out of place and played the puck with confidence. He was strong breaking down the forecheck, he jumped in on the rush to support the second wave of the attack and showed good quickness getting back in transition. On the offensive blueline he showed strong mobility and can make adjustments while shooting to get pucks through on net. We liked his gap management on the defensive side of the puck, he played the body well and used his low center of gravity well to contain forwards early in the d-zone. His hip check in the second period was textbook and was one of the best hits in a physical game. Smith showed good hockey sense in his zone and took away time and space on the opposing forwards. A player who we see excellent development compared to earlier season games and he is being rewarded with good minutes in important situations for the Spirit. Game Grade: B-
Cole Perfetti (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — A) Forward
No change for Perfetti in this game as he continues to show as an elite offensive forward and has the ability to break the game open with his high IQ offensive game. Perfetti had another first class outing this evening vs Hamilton and was very effective early in the game where he created something on nearly every shift. Perfetti came into the game second in OHL scoring with 105 points in 59 games and chalked up another 3 assists in this game. He has been a consistent offensive producer for the Spirit this season and has been among the top scorers in the league all season. He excels in space with his heads up play and give and go game – he found a number of players all evening with open looks in close. Perfetti anticipates the play well without the puck and has a knack of knocking down pucks or getting his body in the way to disrupt the opposition attack. He again looked strong on the powerplay. He is versatile offensively with the extra man and showed he can operate effectively on the powerplay on the blueline, at center, and on the wing. Perfetti is better suited on the wing in our view but continues to play a role for the Spirit at both center and on either wing. Game Grade: A-
Ilya Solovyov (4.25 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C+) Defense
Solovyov is a 2000 birth year left shot defender with good size and offensive upside. Solovyov is a year or two older than other draft eligible’s we are viewing but he is a rookie at the OHL level and has contributed consistently on both sides of the puck for Saginaw all season. Saginaw’s first round pick in the 2019 OHL import draft – scored twice in this game. He has a heavy shot and gets pucks on net with good accuracy. His second goal in the game was an excellent read to get open on the back door and he buried the open look. Solovyov managed pucks well on the offensive blueline and showed creativity in tight checking situations to make the right play. Solovyov does not turn pucks over, he plays the puck with confidence and composure and was efficient at finding players moving with pace in transition. Defensively, he has excellent length and reach and is difficult to challenge one on one. Solovyov is 6’3” and 210 lbs – while he used his body well for most of the game there were a few times he was caught flat footed. Most of the evening he showed good gap management as well and forced opposition players to make plays on their zone entry. He plays in all key situations for Saginaw and when his feet are going is a solid defender with offensive skills. Game Grade: B-
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Game Evaluation: Paul O’Hagan