I saw two games last week: the Peterborough Petes vs the Erie Otters and the Hamilton Bulldogs vs the Sudbury Wolves.
All players are first time draft eligible unless stated otherwise.
Otters
Mitchell Byrne – D
Byrne was on the second defensive pair for Erie. He moves well and used that to his advantage in pinching in and keeping plays alive. He has a good shot but doesn’t much of a chance to use it as he doesn’t play on the power play.
Kyle Maksimovich – LW
When Jeremy watched the Otters he liked what he saw from Maksimovich. He did not standout in this game like he did for Jeremy. I noticed he had the puck quite a bit which is always a good sign. The problem was he wasn’t dynamic with it. He had a tendency to pass, as shown by his nine assists in nine games. As the season goes on if he can keep his point totals up and show creativity with the puck, he will get drafted despite his 5’9 frame.
Alex DeBrincat – RW
These tweets sum up my thoughts on DeBrincat:
https://twitter.com/joshweissbock/status/654839259812229120
He’s a phenomenal hockey player no doubt about it but no one his size has had success at the NHL level. Even if he scores 120 points he’s still has less than a 2% chance of making the NHL. I know as Columbus fans we love all the shortness that is Cam Atkinson, but DeBrincat is even smaller than Cam if you can believe it.
Taylor Raddysh – RW
Raddysh has one of the best positions in all of the OHL, playing on a line with DeBrincat and Dylan Strome. While he is the third wheel so to speak on the skills he brings fits perfectly with those two stars. To start Strome and DeBrincat are both excellent passers and Raddysh has an excellent shot. Raddysh led the team with eight shots and is tied for the led on the season with 38. He also brings that physical edge that Strome and DeBrincat lack. He’s willing to go to the corners and fight to get the puck to his playmakers.
Wolves
Alan Lyszczarczyk – C
Lyszczarczyk is in his first year with the Wolves after coming over from the Czech U-18 league. He was the top scorer in that league but thus far hasn’t been able to translate that to the OHL, with just four points in nine games. Lyszczarczyk is a quick skater and has decent enough hands. He got a lot of power play time so I would expect to see his point totals rise. If he can show he can score at the OHL level he has a shot at being drafted in one of the later rounds.
Michael Pezzetta – C
Pezzetta is a strong defensive forward. He was the most used forward on the PK in my estimation and didn’t look out of place. His offensive game is a work in progress but enough tools are there to think he could develop more in that area. He has a good shot and he likes to use it averaging 2.6 per game, most among Sudbury forwards.
Dimitry Sokolov – C
Sokolov is the highest rated player on Sudbury. He was given a B rating by NHL Central Scouting and ranked 12th in Bob Mckenzie’s rankings. After seeing him I came away unimpressed. He didn’t show me anything that screamed this is a top prospect. His skating was just average. He spent a lot of time stuck in his own end without the puck so I didn’t get a great read on his puck skills. When he did the puck he did well to protect it with his body. He had a few shot attempts, but most of them were low quality. I will be seeing Sudbury again next month so I will get another chance to see why he is so highly thought of.
Notes
I was very impressed by David Levin, the first pick in the OHL draft this past summer. Levin has a remarkable skill level. He was one of the top players on the ice and did something to stand out every shift. He scored a great goal finishing off a two on one rush. He misses the cut off for next year’s draft by one day. He is a (very) early candidate to go first overall in 2017.
Bulldogs
Ondrej Kachyna – D
Kachyna came over to Hamilton this year from the Czech U20 league. He’s a big body, listed at 6’2, 187. He skates well enough, he’s not a burner by any means but he moved up and down the ice efficiently. He has a real hard shot but thus far hasn’t been able to turn it into any goals.
Cole Candella – D
Candella had a very good game. He impressed me with his offensive instincts. He looked to the join the rush and create odd man chances. He has a good wrist shot and used it whenever he could. He had four shots in the game tied for the team lead. He also saw time on the power play. He has five points on the season which is one shy of his total from last season.
Ben Gleason – D
Ben is the cousin of Tim Gleason. Ben started the season with the London Knights but fell victim to the numbers game in London and was traded to Hamilton. He’s being leaned on heavily by the Bulldogs who are trying to replace the loss of Jordan Subban. Gleason was at his best on the power play where he picked up an assist. He showed good awareness in the offensive zone, getting three shots. He has good mobility from the backend.
Notes
Brandon Saigeon, Hamilton’s top 2016 prospect missed the game due to injury.
Peterborough
Jonathan Ang – C
Ang was a +16/-14 for 53% which is exceptional against Erie who are currently the top ranked team in the CHL. While those numbers are impressive they could have been even better if Ang and his line mates shot the puck more. His line had a ton of offensive zone time, but they just didn’t attempt many shots. The Petes as a team had 30 shots Ang’s line had just five. This is a flaw that I’m starting to see with Ang in particular. He tends to be too pass happy in the offensive zone. There was many times where he tried to force a tough pass rather than just take a shot.
Adam Timleck – RW
I noted in the Windsor game how Timleck did a good job at getting into the slot and getting good chances. He was rewarded for that hard work as he scored on the power play by again getting into the low slot. For someone who is 5’8 it’s impressive he can get into those areas of the ice.
Matt Timms – D
I continue to be impressed with the way Timms joins the rush. He such a good skater that he can keep up with forwards and then get back on defence. He showed how valuable that was in this game. He scored a bad angle goal from below the goal line. Most defencemen would never get an opportunity like that as most tend to stay back and play it safe.
You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot
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