Game played on 10/11/2024.
General Game Notes: This game was dominated by the Iginla (who played C on this night), Cristall and Graham line. The trio accounted for 10 points with Cristall leading the way with 5. This game marked the return of Cristall from Washington. Portland seemingly had no answer for the Iginla line, especially in the first two periods, as their 1v1 compete level was not very good. The result was a 9-4 final with Portland scoring three PP goals in the third. Scout: Bill Maguire
Michael Cicek (F, R, 6’1″, 189, Kelowna Rockets, 01/26/2004)
Grade: B+
Comments: Cicek put in another solid performance on this night even though overshadowed on this night by the Iginla line. He has been a consistent noticeable performer through the early part of the season. He is listed at 6’1′ but does not really demonstrate a noticeable physical game. He is a fast and highly skilled player with a good release that generates a lot of shots due to his speed. Even though he is not necessarily physical he does use is decent size to drive the net coming off the wing. He does struggle somewhat defending on the down low coverage.
Kyle McDonough (C, L, 5’9″, 164, Portland Winterhawks, 02/16/2007)
Grade: C+
Comments: McDonough is hard working centre but several times came out on the wrong side of puck battles on this night. He did not look good on few occasions getting beat out of DZ corners when he clearly had good body position to begin with. He is not a flashy player that has average speed. He will need time to evolve his overall skill set to become a more effective player.
Kyle Chyzowski (C, L, 5’10”, 157, Portland Winterhawks, 08/16/2004)
Grade: B
Comments: Chyzowski was a somewhat noticeable player on this night relative to the rest of the team. He was good in the first two periods but not the level he showed in the third. He is very sound in all areas thus is relied upon heavily by the coaches in all areas. His work ethic is excellent, has noticeable flat out speed and can make plays with the puck. With that, he is on PP1 and PK1.
Ryan Miller (LW, L, 6’0″, 178, Portland Winterhawks, 05/03/2007)
Grade: A-
Comments: Miller was very impressive on this night as his work ethic did not change from beginning to end of the game. He was basically the only noticeable player (other than Chyzowski) for Portland as they had a very poor first two periods as they got down 8-1, but he was bringing it the whole time, he does not stop. You know exactly what you will get from him every shift. Miller is an excellent skater that uses his speed to try to drive D wide along with using it to get in quickly on the FC, and he will finish on the body and go to the net-front without hesitation. He protects the puck well on the walls and back pressures hard. He handles the puck well and can make plays, either off the attack using his speed or down low off the wall. He does many things well.
Diego Buttazzoni (C, L, 5’9″, 183, Portland Winterhawks, 01/13/2006)
Grade: B
Comments: Buttazzino like the rest of his team was not very noticeable through two periods. It is apparent though, he has an good overall skill set. He scored on a netfront PP goal off a rebound. He is relatively small at 5’9′ but he was willing to compete for pucks on the wall and get involved in a netfront battles, although not all the time. He has good hands along with a good release leading to his good offensive stats. Given his size, for him to be a high end North American pro he must compete harder all the time as he has good offensive numbers but not elite.
Photo Credit: Dan HicklingHickling Images