Went to the dogs' game today. The place was packed.
Took a spot in the stands and began to chat with two men, one of which happened to be an ex-scout for the Mooseheads. It's when you go to those events that you see how hockey is loved and how a lot of people know their hockey.
I was really impressed by that Farnham guy. Small guy, but he's a speedster, he works hard and he doesn't back down from anyone. Hope they tend him a two-way(AHL/ECHL) offer.
Beaulieu had a pretty average game, still almost scored on the PP, but had two bad penalties. Displayed his skills and his good skating ability but the guys were fore-checking hard and he's not used yet to the speed of the level, you can see it. He needs to take better decisions, on one play he tried to deke around a guy instead of just doing an 'over' to his partner. But that will come with maturity and that's why he's going to start in the AHL.
Pretty good game for Tinordi who seems to be very hard to play against 1v1. He made a very long pass to send Lefebvre on a breakaway, showed great vision there. Didn't make many errors during the game, he was paired with smaller Nic Gagné who didn't look out of place either. Tinordi will need to make his plays faster as the pressure comes quick at the Pro level.
Gallagher was buzzing almost every shift, especially when he was playing with Bournival, he's very good at opening himself to passing lanes in the slot and is always in the face of the goaltender.
Bournival did good, while not great, didn't make many mistakes, saw him win a 3v1 battle along the boards, very feisty and his footspeed will be amongst the best on the Dogs' team.
Berger looks faster than last year but he didn't show much offensively, laid a good hit on St-Denis but beside that a quiet game for the Swiss.
I liked Chaput, did lots of good plays, he's talented and was dangerous on many occasions, I think he has his spot on the team.
Fortier did score, but he wasn't very dominant. Expected more from him, he did the good plays and was flawless defensively but I want more out of him offensively, maybe it's time to say farewell to Olivier.
Geoffrion got connected by Owuya in the center zone and score from a slapper, he's a good AHLer and when matched with Palushaj and Leblanc they were dangerous. I still don't think he will amount to more than an injury call-up.
Hagel fought against Schultz and he did farely well, expected him to look way worse than that. I'm not sure about him, if he has his spot or not. Didn't look bad or good.
Now here's one guy that is impressive, Patrick Holland. Speed, smarts, seems like he's always where the puck will end at. He did good on both sides of the ice, I'm looking forward to see him play this year.
Lefebvre displayed his speed on a few occasions and was robbed by Desjardins on a breakaway.
Leblanc will have a great year in the AHL and looked stronger and faster than last year. Made smart plays as advertised and had a few chances offensively.
Macaulay doesn't have that split second yet but he's big and laid a few good hits. Might be worth giving him a contract.
Nattinen scored a beautiful goal 3 seconds before the end of the game, a snapshot from the slot top shelf. He looks more confident on the ice and should be a top6 forward for the Dogs.
I didn't notice Ouellet much, did he even play?
Palushaj seemed way too fast and strong for this level of hockey, but with him it's not whether or not he can dominate against try-outs and prospects but it's if he can make the next step which is the NHL, he looked bigger than last year, but I'm eager to see him against NHL players.
Quailer looked good, jumped on a rebound to score, and those are the kind of goals he'll need to score if he ever wants to make the NHL. With his frame he has to go in front of the net. His skating speed looked fine, I think it won't be a very hard period of adjustment for Steven.
Small Randford did good today, definitely could receive a try-out by the end of the year with the Dogs.
Like the way Torquato plays the game and thinks it, interesting invite from the management.
Really disappointed by Avtsin and Schultz who were pretty invisible throughout the game.
Didn't really notice Stejskal.
Pateryn did good with Beaulieu, which could eventually become a pair for the Dogs, safe, physical.
St-Denis was solid, flawless.
Owuya was physical and didn't look out of place, he's not the fastest skater though and reacts slowly.
Liked both Boutet and Corbin, nice to see the organization invite big bodies.
