I'm back. Here are some of my key evaluations from Prospect Game #1:
G, Cal Peterson:
Although it was a breakdown by the defense, he got eaten up on a deke for the first goal. Not long after that, he had a Jonathan Quick moment where he horribly mishandled the puck behind the net and it miraculously didn't end up a goal. Other than that, I thought he was very good and made a few really impressive saves.
D, Jacob Moverare
Not a fan. I watched his first game in NA this season, and he struggled mightily with positioning right out of the gate. I heard he pulled it together down the stretch, but I didn't like his game today either. His first 5 seconds on the ice he got absolutely pylon'd. I don't see what his selling point is. Gap control is supposed to be a strength of European dman coming from bigger ice.
D, Kale Clague
Great decision making and movement with the puck. Have a feeling this kid turns out to be what Thomas Hickey was supposed to be for us. Impressive player. Does a lot well.
Both F Drake Rymsha & F Jaret Anderson-Dolan displayed above average offensive ability, which is significant considering our suspect forward offensive upside as a whole. Rymsha was pretty relentless crashing the net. They both scored goals.
In my opinion Minny Duluth F Alex Iafallo was the most impressive, well rounded King prospect. He went into the dirty areas with purpose. Good skater. Well rounded performance in all areas.
F Boko Imama who came over in the TB trade is a real fun guy to watch. In a good scrap he got the better of F Keegan Kolesar who is one of the nastiest heavyweights in the WHL, so obviously he can handle that role. He was very physical, around the puck a lot and made some skill plays. Jordan Nolan type with better hands.
D Stepan Falkovsky was my surprise of the day. Never even heard of him. 6'7 tower out there who can obviously get it done with his shot as he put up 21 goals in the ECHL in his first year pro. I liked his first pass out of the zone, he didn't seem clunky with the puck like a lot of huge dman tend to. His skating obviously needs some work, but there might be something there.
F Matt Schmalz I still don't see much in the way of creativity or offense from him.
Highly skilled producer F Spencer Watson was a little quiet today.
F Matt Luff showcased his beam of a shot today and also had a nice dish. Another really well rounded guy like Iafallo as he had a play or two where he backchecked HARD.
D Matt Roy was really poised and solid back there but didn't get to see his nasty side.
That's all for now guys. Till tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed.
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