Played on March 20, 2024
Rhett Stoesser (G, L, 6’2″, 206, Red Deer Rebels, 01/31/2005)
Game Grade: C
Standing at 6’2″ Stoesser is a below average sized left catching goalie. He showed an upright goaltending stance with arms wide as he tracked potential passes and shots. His shuffling was quick, controlled and we did not notice him sliding outside of his posts. Overall he faced 46 shot attempts with 26 hitting the net giving up five goals for an 0.810 sv%. Fourteen of the shots came from inside the expanded house and all five goals against came from the low slot below the hashmarks. The first goal came on a breakaway from the redline in. The second goal against came on a 4 on 3 where the left defenseman activated into the high slot and then through a perfect pass into the left wing for a one-timer that Stoesser had no chance of saving. The third goal against is one that he wishes to have back as it came on a breakaway with a backchecker. We feel he could have utilized a poke check to break up the shooter’s momentum. The fourth goal against came after a defensive zone breakdown in coverage where the goal scorer had a clear one-timer from the left hashmark. The fifth goal against was a off a lucky bounce that deflected off his net front defenseman to a wide open man on the strongside post. Stoesser’s game was not as bad as the numbers reflect but the goalie’s job is to stop the puck.
Quentin Bourne (D, L, 5’7″, 160, Red Deer Rebels, 03/04/2006)
Game Grade: C+
Standing at 5’7″, 160 pounds Bourne is an undersized left shot defenseman with a smooth pivot and four-way agility. He does not cross over when pivoting, instead using a powerful heel to heel thrust that allows him to stay tight to his man. He showed nice puck poise along the offensive blueline and quick release shot that hit the net (5 shots) but as his game evolves we would like to see his point shots have more purpose behind them rather than just firing hard snap shots 24″ in the air into the goalie’s glove. When receiving passes Bourne showed a soft first touch and did not need to stickhandle before making hard accurate passes to his teammates (completed 92% of his passes). Defensively he was strong on pucks and showed the leg drive to pin his man to the wall and then used his quickness to win races to loose pucks as he led Red Deer with twelve takeaways and had two rebound recoveries after shots. Bourne was on the ice for two goals against with the first coming on a 4 on 3. On the play he guessed on a potential pass and ended up pivoting in the opposite direction of the pass. It was no doubt a mistake that he wished he had back. The second goal against came off of broken defensive zone coverage where he had to defend a 2 on 1 from the left goal line. Yes had no support but Bourne made the passer’s life easy by trying to defend the play with his stick parallel to the ice. He also had a 2 minute penalty for cross checking after his stick went into his opponent’s throat while he was attempting to defend himself from a hit. At this point we do not view Bourne as an NHL prospect.
Jake Missura (D, R, 5’11”, 180, Saskatoon Blazers U18, 06/07/2008)
Did not play.
Derek Thurston (D, L, 6’0″, 183, Red Deer Rebels, 06/04/2006)
Game Grade: C
Standing at 6′ Thurston is a below average sized left shot defenseman with a shoulder width skating base and a bit of a forward leaning chest over his knees posture. This posture allowed him to initiate contact when engaging in wall battles or while trying to clear shooting lanes / box out. Thurston is not a killer but he definitely looks to make contact as often as possible with this fearless attitude allowed him to win 71% of his puck battles and then start offensive transition. Offensively he goes with his first option and does not second guess this decision. Overall his passes may not be overly dynamic but he confidently completed 9 of 10 passes. Defensively Thurston was on for two goals against with the first coming after he got caught flat footed in the neutral zone and was unable to catch the opposing forward from behind. After his first few steps he did show good straight line speed but the play showcased that he is still developing his quick explosive first step. The second goal against came while defending a 3 on 3 line rush where on the zone entry Thurston backed off the line allowing the opposing forward too much time, space and too many options. At this point we feel he will have a quality WHL career but we do not view him as an NHL prospect.