Game played 11/02/2024.
Aleksey Chichkin (D, L, 6’4″, 222, Regina Pats, 07/21/2005)
Grade: B-
Comments: Chickin is another one of Regina’s big defensemen and he uses his size to make big hits. He can improve on his offensive abilities including skating with the puck up the ice and walking the blue line. However he does play a solid stay-at-home game. Against the rush, he keeps a fantastic gap, not giving any space to the puck carrier. It seemed more often than not that he was forcing a dump in or making a check between the blue and red line than allowing a player to skate into his zone.
Kolten Bridgeman (D, R, 6’3″, 197, Regina Pats, 10/28/2006)
Grade: B
Comments: Bridgeman plays a solid defensive style game and uses his size to his advantage. At 6’4′, he was still able to skate well, sticking with opposing players on the rush and keeping a tight gap to force dump ins or pinching them off at the boards. He did a great job of taking player’s sticks away, making stick lifts and staying tight in front of the net so passes to the slot wouldn’t get through. On one play in front of the net, he saved a sure goal by lifting the forwards stick before they could get to a loose rebound in front of an open net. Bridgeman can improve on his offensive abilities and moving the puck out but he did make a nice play when pinching at the blue line. On a bouncing puck, rather than focusing on stopping the puck, he took the man out of the play, then found the puck in his skates and got it back in deep.
John Babcock (D, L, 6’2″, 204, Regina Pats, 04/25/2004)
Grade: B+
Comments: Babcock seemed to have a plan for his game from the moment the puck was dropped and that was to shoot. He finished this game with 10 shots on goal, most coming from the blue line where he found lanes and moved along the line to find openings that he could shoot through. He also wasn’t afraid to move in and take the space when it was available, getting inside the top of the circle to be a more dangerous threat from the outside. He plays a very confident game and he plays at his own pace. Against forecheckers when collecting the puck in his own end, he would slow down, control the speed of the forward and then when he got close to the puck, would make his move to either pass it D to D, or try and turn up the ice. On the powerplay, he continued to walk the blue line nicely, taking the space all the way to the faceoff dot and made a tape to tape pass across the slot. Babcock also looks stronger than his opponents, checkers often would bounce off of him or would have a hard time sticking him to the boards in the corners.
Logan Peskett (RW, R, 6’2″, 196, Regina Pats, 09/14/2006)
Grade: B-
Comments: Peskett was quick and was able to jump on loose pucks, making quick decisions on what he wanted to do. On a broken play in front of the net, he was able to find the loose puck and took a quick snapshot that required a good save. Peskett excelled most on the rush. He was shifty by using his edges to cut hard to the inside or to the wall and then would use a fast three strides to get by the defenseman as they transitioned. He used this move to give his team a few controlled zone entries that gave his team time to set up in the offensive zone.
Anthony Wilson (C, R, 5’11”, 200, Regina Pats, 04/27/2005)
Grade: B
Comments: Wilson is a fluid skater and gained control of the offensive zone with ease at times. With a quick first step and great strides, he gets up to speed quickly and keeps his head on a swivel to find where he will go with the puck next. He created lots of opportunities for his team off the rush with this speed, flying down the wing and either taking the puck deep to the corners or stopping, turning around and looking to the net for his teammate who entered the zone just behind him.
Tye Spencer (C, R, 5’7″, 150, Regina Pats, 06/27/2004)
Grade: B-
Comments: Spencer lacks size and strength but he does possess a great shot. After receiving a pass in the high slot, he corralled the puck and in one motion, ripped a wrist shot that the goalie was well late to react to, but he rang it off the crossbar. Spencer helped open the scoring for his team after picking off a pass on the penalty kill. He took off down the ice and as he entered the offensive zone, stopped, and set his teammate up for a one-timer goal.
Cole Temple (C, L, 5’10”, 161, Regina Pats, 03/20/2007)
Grade: B+
Comments: Temple stood out on offense for his team due to his creativity and quick release shots. He has a nice stride and liked to pick up speed down the wing. As he crossed the blue line, he would cut hard to the middle of the ice, finding space between the two defensemen and would either let go of a shot by quickly pulling the puck in and picking an upper corner, or making a quick chip pass to a teammate on the wall. He has a shot that is difficult to block thanks to him being able to change the angle in numerous ways. He can let go of hard shot by pulling the puck in tight to his body, or keeping his hands stretched out for a quick snap shot. He showed off his ability to be calm with the puck when a bouncing puck came his way. He easily settled it down got his head up, and found a teammate in the slot who rang the one-timer off the cross bar.
Tanner Howe (LW, L, 5’10”, 176, Regina Pats, 11/28/2005)
Grade: B
Comments: Howe is a skilled winger who also isn’t afraid to play a scrappy role in front of the net. He has soft hands, stick handling his ways between defenders to get deep into the offensive zone, keeping his head up and control of the puck. He also uses his edges well to cut to open space, constantly looking for an opening he could take advantage of. In front of the net, he battles hard to screen the goalie, maintaining his position against the defenseman while also being ready for shots coming through, trying to get his stick on it. Howe scored the first goal of the game for the Pats late in the third while short-handed. He joined the rush and was at the far side of the net when the puck came his way. He made no mistake with his half-slap one-timer, finally getting past the goalie.
Cameron Kuzma (C, L, 6’2″, 192, Regina Pats, 07/17/2008)
Grade: B-
Comments: Kuzma has great size up the middle of the ice and played well in his own end, stopping the opposing teams chances before they really had a chance to develop. He backchecks hard, taking away the middle of the ice or on odd-man chances, taking the passing option away so his defensemen could focus on the puck carrier. On one play, he got back just in time and got in tight on a player who had just received a pass in the slot that would have been a shot from point blank range. Kuzma coupled his hard skating into his own end with hard skating on the forecheck and made a great steal down low which led to him making a pass in the slot for a great chance.
Jaxsin Vaughan (C, R, 6’1″, 206, Regina Pats, 01/10/2006)
Grade: B
Comments: Vaughan has silky hands that he used to slip by checkers in open ice. He did a great job of using his body to protect the puck while keeping his feet moving at full speed, then as the defenseman got close, he would change his body angle to side-step the check, pulling the puck through and continuing towards the net. All game long, he was in and around the net but just wasn’t able to finish on any of his chances. In the last minute of the game, he had the puck in the corner and was able to make a pass out to his defenseman who was walking into the high slot, leading to a slapshot goal that gave Vaughan a primary assist to finish the game.
Braxton Whitehead (RW, R, 5’11”, 160, Regina Pats, 06/09/2004)
Grade: C+
Comments: Whitehead deserves to be recognized this game due to his numbers in the face-off dot. He was trusted by his coach in all game situations, taking twice as many draws as the next player on his team and held a 73% win percentage. He was also able to create some offense for his team off the rush. On a three on two chance, he drew his defender out to him but used his speed to get around and made a pass to the slot for a great scoring chance that was saved by the goalie.
Joey Rocha (G, 6’2″, 179, Swift Current Broncos, 01/22/2005)
Grade: A-
Comments: Rocha played an exceptional game, making 37 saves on 39 shots and held a shut-out until the last three minutes in the game. He made numerous one-timer saves, getting his pad out quickly, stretching all the way to the post to take away the bottom portion of the net. At times, his team had defensive breakdowns but he was there the whole time, making point blank save after point blank save on players all alone in the slot. On shots from the outside, he was well outside of his crease, not giving any angle to the net behind him. He did well to follow the puck through traffic, making a quick pad save after a shot was blocked from the point but came right back to the net off the other teams stick. He was calm in the net and didn’t panic despite dealing with lots of pressure in his own end. He can improve on keeping himself in his net and not over extending himself when he can’t grab a rebound, making sure not to leave the other side of his net wide open for if a pass comes across.
Eric Johnston (D, L, 6’0″, 188, Swift Current Broncos, 02/18/2004)
Grade: A-
Comments: Johnston had a great game and was effective all over the ice. He is strong down low and was a wrecking ball in the corners, knocking players down and laying hard checks into the boards. Against the rush, he keeps his gap tight and doesn’t give up space, always a stick length away, adjusting to the players speed and made numerous poke checks to stop the rush chances. His offensive abilities was matched with his skill in his own end. He pushed the pace well, quickly turning up ice and finding his wingers for stretch passes or skating the puck out of his end himself. On the blue line, he walked the line well and found lanes to get shots through. His game was rewarded at the end of the night where he took off for a rush towards the empty net, protected against the defender and finished in the empty net to secure the win for his team.
Peyton Kettles (D, R, 6’5″, 190, Swift Current Broncos, 09/01/2007)
Grade: B
Comments: Kettles played two different games in one. The first half of his game was one to forget where he took two interference penalties in the first period from being out of position and getting caught flat footed. After regrouping in the intermission, he came back out playing a much different game. He is an offensive defenseman and joined lots of rushes and started some as well. He plays well on the blue line and found lots of shooting lanes throughout the game. He did well defending the rush, keeping the play to the outside but can improve on his gap control. Kettles seems to have a high ceiling if his game can be more consistent and with the playing time he is getting, he will be a good player to pay attention to this year and into his draft year next year.
Grayson Burzynski (D, L, 6’4″, 212, Swift Current Broncos, 06/04/2005)
Grade: B+
Comments: Burzynski made a few standout plays that extended his teams time in the offensive zone and eliminated chances from developing in his own end. He controlled his gap well and made a huge hit, stepping up at the blue line as the forward tried to make a move, knocking him onto the ice and taking the puck away. Recovering the puck in his own corner, he made a smart head fake with the forechecker baring down on him and quickly went the other way, making an easy breakout pass to his winger. On the blue line, he timed his pinches well and intercepted a few passes by being aggressive, staying in the offensive zone when the breakout was starting and jumping on passes through the middle of the ice. On one of these interceptions, he took the puck to the net and made a perfect backdoor pass that his teammate fanned on but should have been an easy tap-in goal.
Connor Gabriel (LW, L, 6’2″, 194, Swift Current Broncos, 08/12/2005)
Grade: B
Comments: Gabriel was a puck magnet, anytime it was close to him, it seemed to end up on his stick. He would follow the breakout smartly, taking off as a player received their pass on the wing and would make a quick stick lift, steal the puck, and quickly turn back up the ice for a transition opportunity. He has a real ability to know where the puck is going to go and puts himself in positions to get there before the puck. He made a smart steal, jumping to the middle of the ice to pick off a stretch pass, skated into the slot, and scored with a quick release shot through the goalies legs.
Brady Birnie (C, L, 5’8″, 158, Swift Current Broncos, 09/07/2005)
Grade: B+
Comments: Birnie gave his team the lead late in the first period when he jumped on a loose rebound, shooting it into the back of the net. The puck always seemed to find him in the offensive zone. He is a great skater who moves smoothly in the offensive zone. With the puck on his stick, he was able to jump into open ice with a great first step or pick up speed on the rush, weaving through the neutral zone where he would then pick his lane and take off, forcing the defender to turn and catch up. He was able to consistently get himself in tight to the net and had a few chances just outside the crease. After skating the puck into the offensive zone on an odd man rush, he made his way to the corner and then made a beautiful backhand pass to his teammate crashing the net, hitting his tape for a great chance in tight.
Connor Dale (C, L, 6’2″, 186, Swift Current Broncos, 01/29/2005)
Grade: B-
Comments: Dale used his speed to create offensive chances, flying down the wing and keeping his feet moving to get around defenders. One rush, he showed off his backhand shot after pushing from the wall to the net and while protecting the puck, let go of his shot that was fought off by the goalie. Dale made a crafty move around a pinching defenseman when he banked the puck off the wall and spun around the player to then create an odd man chance.
Luke Mistelbacher (C, R, 6’0″, 195, Swift Current Broncos, 11/02/2005)
GradeB+
Comments: Mistlebacher was all over the ice and was creating for his teammates in all three zones. He made two line passes on the breakout, leading his winger for a breakaway chance. He had fantastic hands and could stick handle out of a phonebooth. Off the half-wall, he made a quick move and head fake to deke out the defender and then made a pass to the slot which led to a rebound goal. The half-wall appeared to be his go-to place on the ice as when he had the puck here, he would look to make a move to the net or try and fire a pass into the slot. On another play on the rush, he knocked the puck down out of mid-air and as soon as the puck settled on his stick, he made a nice little chip pass through the defenseman to let his teammate go down on a 1 on 1 rush.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images