Another uneventful practice, which makes me think it’s me. The only thing from practice is that Craig Berube is still intimidating, and I wasn’t even the one being yelled at.
Plus, the one time we made eye contact, I froze. Seriously, that guy is scary and I’m not afraid to admit it.
Only three videos taken today, one of Riopel at practice, one of Bobrovsky at practice, and a shootout attempt by Dowling on Bobrovsky. Check them out at the BroadStreetHockey YouTube page.
It’s Sunday and it’s nice out, so let’s get straight to the bullet points.
- Jesse Dudas (D, Bloomington IHL/Corpus Christi CHL, tryout) had a really good game today, as he scored two goals. Well, I think he did. I didn’t see a deflection, but he beat Phillips from the point with Dowling and Rinaldo creating traffic in front.
- Oliver Lauridsen (D, St. Cloud State) had a pretty good game again today, using his body a lot more. For a 7th round pick, he might turn into a decent player. He was stopped by Stewart on a penalty shot.
- Zac Rinaldo (C, London/Barrie) is crazy. Seriously, the guy is slightly unhinged. He reminds me a lot of Steve Downie as he is a great pest with tons of energy, but somethings amiss. On the forecheck, he hit Banwell to force the turnover. But then he failed to make the pass, got double teamed, then leveled by Banwell. He didn’t react well, as he jumped right up and started throwing punches. Not 3 minutes later, he is alone at the side of the net, but can’t deposit the puck into the open goal (he was likely off balance). Bobrovsky stretched across and made a nice save, then Lauridsen came in and knocked him down. Rinaldo again jumped right up, started talkin, and Lauridsen just started pounding on him. I don’t think many of his fellow prospects like him.
But, Rinaldo is a pretty good hockey player. Right now, he scares me. If he can keep it under control, he would fit the Flyers mold very well. Until then, I don’t like him.
- Michael Banwell (D, Maine, tryout) had another solid game, including the encounter with Rinaldo. Afterwards, he saved a goal as the puck came out from behind the net and dribbled along the goal line.
- Sergei Bobrovsky (G, Novokuznetsk) was the star of the game as he made several key saves. He let in a Dudas goal that might have deflected, but pinged off the crossbar through traffic. Tough to fault him on that. He looked a little shaky early, but he changed his blocker and glove from practice to the scrimmage. At some point, he has to feel comfortable in his equipment.
He stopped two penalty shots in overtime, then didn’t allow a goal on five shootout attempts. He stopped Pither, then made a nice stop on Kyle Mountain (C, New Hampshire, tryout) in OT. In the shootout, he stopped Bourdon, Dowling, Chaput, Rinaldo, and McGinn. Only Chaput put the puck wide.
- Justin Dowling (C, Swift Current, tryout) again looked good, though not as good as yesterday.
- Shane Harper (RW, Everett/Adirondack) is an intriguing player. He definitely has speed and skill, but he wasn’t making very good decisions. Almost an unpolished Darroll Powe, with more stick-handling skills.
- Luke Pither (C, Barrie) is another player who has impressed. He once again showed off his passing skills and great wrist shot. In overtime, he had a penalty shot but put it right in Bobrovsky’s chest.
- Adam Morrison (G, Saskatoon) had a good day. I’ve been down on him all week, but he had a pretty solid scrimmage. Nothing spectacular, but he made a few solid saves and looked positionally sound. He gave up a penalty shot goal to Phil Ginand (C, Mercyhurst College, tryout), his only blemish until Wellwood won the game in the shootout.
In the shootout, Morrison stopped Holmstrom, Banwell, Rowe, and somebody I apparently forget before giving up the goal to Wellwood. He had a really nice pokecheck on Banwell to prevent the goal, then got lucky as Rowe hit the post.
- Michael Chaput (C, Lewiston) The first time I’ve looked for him, I was marginally impressed. He has decent vision and good passing skills, but he’s still largely invisible. Nothing good or bad to say about him, but for a 3rd round pick, that’s probably not a great thing. Either way, he has time.
- Tye McGinn (LW, Gatineau) had a goal that was disallowed – not sure why – but once again had a fairly decent game. He’s visible but not impressive, which is something.
- Eric Wellwood (LW, Windsor) had another solid game, culminating with a wrist shot he fired past Brian Stewart from the near boards.
- Mike Testwuide (RW, Colorado College) is a guy a lot of people are curious about. To be honest, he isn’t exactly impressing me. He’s definitely good along the boards and he has a nose for the net, but I’m just not blown away by him. He will likely be a top-6 forward in the AHL next year, but right now I don’t see him competing for an NHL job.
- Ben Holmstrom (C/RW, UMass-Lowell/Adirondack) rebounded from a terrible scrimmage Saturday to have a decidedly average day today. Later, Stewart stopped him on a penalty shot. He hasn’t been very impressive so far, especially since he has a habit of shooting into the goalie’s chest.
- Chris Rawlings (G, Northeastern, tryout) didn’t play in the scrimmage, but I took a picture of him in practice, so he gets a bullet.
The Orange Teamwon 3-2(SO) to even the series at 2. Yes, this is a series.
