In the same vein as our preseason game recap from before this will be in the same “scouting” format. We are going to take a look at each of the players and give a hot take about each players’ games.
If interested in the fancy stat portion of last night’s game you can take a look at it here.
Forwards:
Scott Hartnell: Played an overall good game. Took an awkward boarding from Craig Adams and seemed to be more apprehensive (it is the preseason after all, no need to get too riled up). As advertised was in and around the net all night.
Artem Anisimov: Centered a line for Hartnell and Bjorkstrand. Would expect a player of his talent and skill to dominate the game but nonetheless performed admirably on the PP and PK.
Oliver Bjorkstrand: Most of the guys on the site are quite high on him and he showed exactly why. His exits from the zone were clean and smooth. Top end speed is elite. Will need to bulk up to play in NHL, pushed off the puck extremely easily.
Brian Gibbons: Speed is his game. Makes sense why Jackets brought him in, could see him as a cheaper more skilled version of Derek McKenzie. Effective on PK tonight as well.
Brandon Dubinsky: Dubinsky is Dubinsky, you always know what you are going to get. He will forecheck like the dickens, will center somewhere within your top nine and do a damn good job at it. His line continuously drove play all night.
Josh Anderson: Most impressive rookie on the ice. Created multiple opportunities for himself and his teammates. Physicality will never be in question.
Kerby Rychel: Didn’t seem to stick out to much on the ice. Held his own but really didn’t do anything terrible impressive. His post game comments show just how motivated he is to make this team out of camp.
Michael Chaput: Had the worst possession numbers on the team last year but fancy stats be damned, he was one of the most important players on the ice last night. Was in the right place at the right time, even providing much needed relief on the PP and PK.
Cam Atkinson: I wrote this offseason that I didn’t believe he was going to improve very much this season, I personally thought he may have plateaued and we wouldn’t see much more production. Although it is only the preseason, his game changing speed was on full display, an attribute that had been missing the past two seasons. Refreshed Cam es muy bueno (is very good).
Sean Collins: Provided valuable fourth line minutes. Considering he is one of the well versed training camp attendees, you would hope he would make a bigger impact but, alas, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.
TJ Tynan: Sparkplug. Definitely needs some pro seasoning. Tough to project long term.
Corey Tropp: Seemed to only play one period. Did not see any mention of injury post game. May have just been a precaution but other than a couple of skirmishes, he was mostly invisible.
Defense:
Will Weber: Fancy stats tell me he was the only player that was a positive possession player today. Eye test tells me he was one of the worst players on the ice. Stuck out like a sore thumb with his giveaways and overall poor exits.
James Wisniewski: Lot of rust. Missed on multiple checks. That shot is something to behold though. Didn’t see a lot of offensive dynamo Wiz tonight.
Fedor Tyutin: Much more agile. Possibly a change of skating style.
Cody Goloubef: By far the best defensemen on the Jackets last night. Crisp exits. Excellent poise. Depending on Erixon injury, he may very well end up being the 7th defensemen at the beginning of the season.
Jack Johnson: Was the worst possession player in the game last night along with Austin Madaisky. Didn’t challenge any zone entries. Seemed less physical than usual, could be a product of the preseason.
Austin Madaisky: Couple of boneheaded mistakes in his zone. Like Will Weber it seemed like he was thrown in the deep end. Should be in the next round of training camp cuts.
Goaltenders:
Sergei Bobrovsky: You always know what you are going to get from Bob. Night in and night out, you will get a Top 5-10 goaltender in the league.
Oscar Dansk: Rather shaky the other night but seemed to find a rhythm tonight. Hoping within the next couple of games he is able to play a full game against NHL level competition.
Overall Thoughts:
3-0 is nothing to complain about even if it is the preseason. Next weeks games should give us a better idea of what we will be looking at line wise. The team has been out shot thus far, a development that will need monitored but overall should get remedied when the NHL caliber players start playing much more consistently. Cuts are coming. Brace yourselves.
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