2/16/2022
Kelowna, BC – Below are the evaluations on the players who Neutral Zone NHL feels made positive impacts in the Prince George Cougars versus Kelowna Rockets game on February 16, 2022. The game ended with a 5-2 road win for the Cougars over the Rockets, but we feel there are players on both teams who deserve to be recognized. We focused primarily on 2022 NHL Draft eligible players, but we do have game evaluations on a few potential free agents and Ethan Samson who was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2021 NHL Draft. We did not evaluate an under-agers and we are only commenting on this game.
Prince George Cougars
| Tyler Brennan | Prince George Cougars | WHL | L | G | 6’4″ | 192 | Prince George Cougars | 2018 | Winnipeg, MB | 2003 | 2021-2022: C+ |
Brennan looked totally in control as he stopped 41 of 43 shots in the Prince George win. The 6’4″ athletic goaltender may have looked quick and explosive when moving laterally, but the thing that jumped out to us was his ability to stay within the posts. Brennan was ready from the start as his first save came on a one timer from the high slot. Where not only did he make the save, but he calmly found his defenseman and made an easy pass to start transition. There were times early in the game where Price George was running around and we liked his ability to get whistles. He gave up two goals in the third period. The first was on a beautifully placed short side shelf goal where Babcock caught him leaning for a potential royal road pass and the other came with 0:30 seconds left on perfectly executed tip in the low slot. We liked his confidence when handling the puck as he had 10 attempted passes or exchanges with teammates and 9 of them were clean. Brennan also made a 200′ clear while short handed in the first period. Neutral Zone currently has him rated as “C+” for the 2022 NHL Draft, but we will be watching him closely as the season moves into March.
| Ethan Samson | Prince George Cougars | WHL | R | D | 6’3″ | 183 | Prince George Cougars | 2019 | North Delta, BC | 2003 | 2020-2021: C+ |
From the first shift of the game it was very easy to notice Samson’s smooth confident demeanor as he worked well with his defensive partner to generate clean defensive zone exits. He effortlessly made himself available as a neutral zone hinge and his movement to be an outlet below the goal line was excellent. Samson may have earned a secondary assist on a power play goal that originated with a clean breakout that he started, but what we liked started on the puck retrieval below his goal line. The entire way down the ice he looked over his shoulder to see Kelowna’s forwards changing so when he wheeled the net Samson was prepared to draw the forecheckers to him before making a hard flat tape to tape pass across his body to his right side. He also scored a power play goal where he showed poise and the shooting awareness to change the angle on his snap shot before he fired it through a partial screen. Including his goal Samson finished the game with five high quality shots. One he shot wide that wrapped out of the offensive zone, one was a snap shot that went high glove for no rebound, one was a one-timer that went high glove for no rebound, one was an incredibly athletic one-timer off a bouncing puck that went shoulder height for no rebound and his final one was his goal. In total he played 26:55 including 4:13 while on the power play and finished with 7 giveaways compared to 9 takeaways. Samson won 56% of his puck battles and wears an “A” for Prince George.
| Keaton Dowhaniuk | Prince George Cougars | WHL | L | D | 6’0″ | 165 | Prince George Cougars | 2019 | Star City, SK | 2004 | 2021-2022: C+ |
The left shot Dowhaniuk looked very comfortable playing the right side. We liked how he defended line rushes with a hidden poke check and how quickly he recognized that he had back-checkers making it an even man situation so he could stand the rush up early. He showed nice lateral mobility without the need to cross over when pinching opposing forwards off near the defensive blueline. In the defensive zone Dowhaniuk showed a quick first step and the ability to end the cycle, but he will need to continue adding lower body strength and power to effective against professionals. He did not spend a ton of time on the ice killing penalties, but we liked his spatial awareness as he maintained shooting lanes and did not get tied up in front of his net. Along the offensive blue line Dowhaniuk showed nice poise and loose hips. He did not get anchored to the ice and smoothly moved across the line to open shooting and passing lanes. We also liked how he recognized an opportunity to slide laterally for a one-timer and the power / stick whip he got behind the shot. In total he earned 20:49 in ice time with 0:48 being on the power play, finishing with 2 hits and 4 giveaways compared 5 takeaways. InStat shows him as only winning 14% of his puck battles compared to his season average of 55%.
| Hudson Thornton | Prince George Cougars | WHL | L | D | 5’11” | 181 | Prince George Cougars | 2018 | Winnipeg, MB | 2003 | 2021-2022: C+ |
Thornton may look a bit undersized at 5’11” 181 pounds, but once you watch him compete you realize very quickly that he has the aggressiveness and strength to win battles. We liked his fist step explosiveness when he recognized the opportunity to win a race for 50/50 puck and he used that same explosiveness to end the cycle quickly. As a weakside defenseman he showed nice recognition on when to activate into the offense or when to be patient. Thornton’s hard flat passes, puck poise and ability to avoid coverage as he slid to the backdoor made him a key member on the Cougar’s power play (3:03TOI), but the play that separated him from his peers had nothing to do with skill as it occurred when he caught a Rocket’s penalty killer from behind to prevent a clear breakaway without taking a penalty. On the play he showed the type of speed and compete that NHL teams should be aware of. Thornton also had two primary power play assists. Both were nice passes, but the first came on a goal line to far blueline stretch pass up the middle that deserved to be on the highlight reel. In total he earned 20:38 in total ice time, won 60% of his puck battles and had 9 giveaways compared to 13 takeaways.
| Carter MacAdams | Prince George Cougars | WHL | L | LW | 6’3″ | 187 | Prince George Cougars | 2019 | Langley, BC | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
MacAdams is a long lanky left wing who made the most of his opportunities finishing the game with a hat trick on four shots. The first two goals are the type you love to see a 6’3″ winger score as on both he drove the net and waited around with a prepared stick long enough to bang home a rebound on one and a quick cross body one-timer on the other. The third goal looked like a real goal scorer’s goal as he found the opening for stretch pass before heading in for a forehand-backhand-forehand quick stick snap shot over the goalie’s blocker side pad. As he continues towards professional hockey MacAdams will need to add more defensive detail by stopping hard on more pucks, but we loved his fearlessness when blocking shots. In total he earned 14:15 in ice time with 1 hard hit while providing defensive back pressure, won 25% of his puck battles and had 3 giveaways compared to 1 takeaway.
| Cayden Glover | Prince George Cougars | WHL | L | LW | 6’1″ | 185 | Medicine Hat Tigers | 2019 | Brandon, MB | 2004 | Not yet rated |
The 6’1″ 185 pound Glover is currently playing left wing on the 4th line for the Cougars, but he certainly made an impact on his first shift in this one as he scored on an absolute rip from the top of the circle right dot lane. The former WHL 25th overall selection has always showed the ability to score at lower levels and maybe this is a sign of things to come for him in the future. He finished the game with 12:41 in total ice time and won 50% of his puck battles.
Kelowna Rockets
| Jake Lee | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | L | D | 6’2″ | 194 | Seattle Thunderbirds | 2016 | Sherwood Park, AB | 2001 | Free Agent Watch |
Lee is a big strong left shot defenseman who has gone undrafted in the previous few drafts, but we feel made an impact in this one. Offensively the over-ager played with confidence and jumped up into the rush whenever possible. Incredibly he attempted thirteen shots on net, finishing with six shots on goal and another rocket that hit the crossbar to go out of play. Of his thirteen shot attempts 3 generated playable rebounds, 2 were intentionally shot off the end wall to create chaos in front of the Cougar’s net and 2 additional shots were blocked. We loved his confidence as a puck carrier along the offensive blueline and we liked his ability to read when to activate for a mid-wall scissor. Defensively he showed maturity by not running around and trying to do too much in the 5-2 loss. In total he earned 19:36 in total ice time including 1:25 while on the power play and 2:18 while short handed. We feel with the combination of his size and mobility that he will earn an opportunity for a professional career.
| John Babcock | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | L | D | 6’0″ | 201 | Kelowna Rockets | 2019 | North Vancouver, BC | 2004 | Not yet rated |
Babcock is a thick athletic powerfully built 2004 left shot defenseman. Tonight he showed the skating ability to retrieve pucks while a forechecker was bearing down on him combined with the stick/puck skills to make a subtle move to generate passing or skating lanes. We liked his awareness scan the ice before he received a pass so he could make a quick decision to either move the puck quickly into his forward’s hands or move his feet for more options. Babcock used a hidden poke check to his advantage multiple times with our favorite being on a two on one where at the last second he jabbed his stick out to tip a potential shot high and wide. He finished the game with one goal on three shots. He scored on a beautiful short side shelf goal from his strong side that some may think was accidental, but we saw him try the same shot midway through the first period and Brennan barely got his right shoulder on it. Neutral Zone currently has Babcock as an unrated 2021-22 NHL Draft prospect, but we feel his improvement over the past 6 weeks is something that will make us pay closer attention as he has 7 points in his last 10 games. Tonight he earned 16:00 in total ice time including 1:35 while shorthanded. He won 56% of his puck battles and finished with 4 giveaways compared to 6 takeaways.
| Noah Dorey | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | L | D | 6’3″ | 192 | Kelowna Rockets | 2018 | Surrey, BC | 2003 | 2021-2022: C+ |
The 6’3″ left shot looked to be a man amongst boys for long stretches of this game as there were times when it looked like he could do whatever he wanted to do. Dorey started the game with a massive hit along the his defensive blueline. The hit showed everything you like in a good sized two-way defenseman as he quickly moved laterally to his left before loading onto his right inside to explode through the Cougar’s puck carrier. Both players went flying, but it was great sign for his potential to end line rushes early. As the game went on we saw more of the same as his defensive angling seemed to force players to make puck decisions before they were ready. Overall his skating ability is a real asset as he can play both sides as well as has the confidence to carry the puck out of trouble when necessary. Dorey had the primary assist on a third period goal after he expanded his reach to handle a poor pass and then fired a 24″ snap shot that was tipped in. In tonight’s game he earned 17:50 in primarily 5 on 5 ice time, but he did earn 1:00 of shorthanded ice time. He also had 2 shots. One of which resulted in a glove save for no rebound. The other after he activated down his off-side wall, made a hard fake to his right before showing the explosive edge control to drive to his left for the shot that ultimately deflected off a defender’s shaft out of play. Dorey won an overpowering 80% of his puck battles and had 9 giveaways compared to 6 takeaways.
| Nolan Flamand | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | L | LW | 5’9″ | 159 | Kelowna Rockets | 2019 | Saskatoon, SK | 2004 | 2021-2022: C+ |
All we can say about Flamand is that he plays his ass off and he competes like someone we would love to have as a teammate. If you just look at his impact on this one while playing shorthanded you’ll see a player who impacted the game as much as anyone. He was an absolute puck hound up the ice forcing poor decisions and bad passes. He showed that he was not only willing to block shots, but that he was also fearless as he got big low to eat pucks including laying down to block a one-timer from 25′ away. He also showed the awareness of when to pressure or when to be passive and he generated a breakaway by forcing a Cougar’s defenseman across the blueline to his backhand before stripping him of the puck. As a center he won 19 of 33 face-offs while playing a team high 21:52 for the including a game high 2:40 while shorthanded. Flamand also had a game high six grade “A” scoring chances, including three that were one-timers from inside the house. He won 56% of his puck battles and had 4 giveaways compared to 6 takeaways. Flamand is a gamer.
| Gabriel Szturc | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | L | C | 5’10” | 176 | Kelowna Rockets | 2021 | Cesky Tesin | 2003 | 2021-2022: C |
Although he did go 7 for 16 on face-offs, Szturc is a skilled left shot forward who played primarily the right side. He may not be the biggest player on the ice, but he does an excellent job of understanding body positioning and the importance getting his hips in front of an opposing defender’s when in a foot race for loose pucks. An example of this occurred on his primary where he won a body positioning battle on a race for a loose puck. He then maintained a wide base that allowed him to possess the puck to initiate a mid-wall cycle. Szturc also showed the game awareness to slide into the face-off circle to avoid coverage while his linemates were cycling. He may not have received every pass, but his presence at the dot created confusion for the Cougar’s defensive zone coverage. He won 42% of his puck battles and 5 giveaways compared to 4 takeaways.
| Mark Liwiski | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | L | LW | 6’1″ | 194 | Everett Silvertips | 2016 | Dauphin, MB | 2001 | Free Agent Watch |
Liwiski was a man missile versus Prince George. He did not just look to make contact. Instead he looks to knock every Cougar off their feet knowing that the next time he was coming at them that there was a chance they might bail or short arm the puck. He impressed with the simple fact that he played to his strengths. Liwiski hacked and whacked his way to five shots on goal and they all were the type of shots he will be generating at the professional level. We liked his ability to drive wide and shoot while his feet were moving. As the middle drive he handled 10′ passes and got his shot away while his feet were moving. While cycling Liwiski set picks and rolled off contact to shoot pucks from in tight and moved his feet for rebounds. We can’t say it much more. Liwiski kept his feet moving and was very difficult to contain. Tonight he earned 17:47 with 16:50 of it coming while even strength. He won 5 puck battles and 6 giveaways compared to 4 takeaways. Liwiski also led the game with 5 hits and each of them were bone jarring.
Logo courtesy of the Prince George Cougars
Stats provided by InStat