Sunday, February 28, 2010

Ryan Yessie's Thoughts on Sarnia and Owen Sound from February 19

Ryan returns with his thoughts on the Owen Sound/Sarnia game from February 19th

"Owen Sound returns to Sarnia for the 2nd Friday in the last 3 weeks. A Shayne Campbell breakdown lead to Owen Sound stealing the win 2 weeks ago, but Campbell comes back strong with the first Shutout of his OHL career. Combined with a highlight reel goal by Craig Hottot, Sarnia wins 5-0.








Keevin Cutting - #2 - D - YOB: 1992 - 6‘1” - 177lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2011
Report: Fe
b/19/10: Cutting played decent tonight. He wasn’t noticeable most of the game, but he was, he was either throwing a couple decent hits, or moving the puck effectively, minus one bad turnover. In a 5-0 loss, and with a -3 rating not being noticeable most of the game was probably a good thing for Cutting. Cutting would greatly benefit from adding some muscle to his frame, as he has an extra year compared to most 1992’s and the game he appears to play would improve with that.
(Cutting had -3)

Cameron Brace - #7 - RW - YOB: 1993 - 5‘9” - 160lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2011
Report: Feb/19/10: After watching Brace two weeks ago, I decided to pay more attention to him tonight. His size may limit his ability as a pro, but for a 16 year old rookie his skating, and puck handling abilities are noticeable even after a handful of OHL games. He’s getting about 3rd line ice time, but he is certainly making the most of it and may be able to land a spot on the 2nd line next year.
(Brace had -1)

Jesse Blacker - #12 - D - YOB: 1991 - 6‘2” - 185lbs.
NHL: 2nd Round - 58th Overall by Toronto in 2009
Report: Feb/19/10: Blacker was pretty disappointing tonight. He was easily consuming the most ice time, but he made several turnovers, many which either resulted in goals or scoring chances. Of the 5 goals tonight, Blacker was on the ice for 3 of them. Blacker moved the puck up the ice well on a couple occasions but turned it over more than he advanced the play on the big passes. Blacker is a decent skater but could certainly improve in that department. Blacker’s frustrations peaked when he missed a hit, which resulted in him fighting the much smaller Hottot of Sarnia, however despite the size, Blacker did lose that fight. Unfortunately a game to forget for the Leafs 2nd round pick in ‘09.
(Blacker had -3, 7 PIM)

Steven Shipley - #19 - C - YOB: 1992 - 6‘2” - 204lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Feb/19/10: Steven Shipley has been great both games over the last couple weeks. He produced a lot less this time around, but played the exact same effective game, however was just stopped by a hot goaltender. Shipley protects the puck as well as anyone in the OHL this year. You see a little bit of Greg Nemisz in his puck protection abilities. However where Nemisz is stronger along the board, Shipley can protect the puck and create offense from anywhere inside the blueline, and has a lot more offensive upside in terms of making a team better offensively, because of that ability to directly turn a puck protection play into a set up for a scoring chance, where as Nemisz generally appears to protect the puck for possession for the purpose of controlling a play rather than having him create an offense chance. Shipley‘s skating is decent for someone at his size, if he can improve it slightly, it should be enough for him as a pro, but should he really work on it, it should make him that much more dangerous as an NHLer. Shipley is a player I would like to see a top winger beside. He sometimes tries to do too much and doesn’t get enough support, where as if he had a pure 1st line offensive talent beside him, it could really make him that much better. Overall these last few weeks I see a lot of potential in Shipley.
(Shipley was -1)

Geoffrey Schemitsch - #26 - D - YOB: 1992 - 6‘1” - 180lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Feb/19/10: Schemitsch played much better today, but still his assets and flaws seem to be magnified on the ice. Schemitsch is a guy who can be forced into turnovers. When he’s only had a very short time with the puck, a panic seems to set in and he can make some pretty bad turnovers. However if Schemitsch is given enough time (just a few seconds) he’s nearly flawless in his puck movement. When there was no forecheck, he could thread the needle sending the puck from his own zone to the opposition blueline. However with a strong enough forecheck, Schemitsch usually gave up posession of the puck. His shot from the point looks decent, but could improve and make him that much more effective, as his puck movement skills on the powerplay looked very good. Defensively Schemitsch looks reliable, not a guy you would want as your top shutdown guy, but someone who is going to be steady enough. His one on one play seems to be the best asset to his defensive game. A few times Schemitsch looked out of position defensively, but would really only require minor altering. Schemitsch should be a reliable draft pick for a team in the second half of the NHL draft.
(Schemitsch had 2 PIM)

Kyle Flemington - #6 - D - YOB: 1992 - 6‘7” - 227lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2010
Report: Feb/19/10: One of the key acquisitions in the Jordan Hill trade; Flemmington is starting to make his impact with the team. It’s hard to believe I’m actually talking NHL Entry Draft about a guy who spent a quarter of the season in Jr. B, but Flemmington may just be the exception. He uses his massive 6’7” - 227lb. Frame to physically punish his opponents. He has thrown some of the biggest hits in Sarnia this year, and has looked his strongest defensively along the board and behind the net. A low risk, low reward type defenceman, he’s in no way going to be the next Tyler Myers, but his skating is respectable for a 17 year old at his size, if he can get a little better, it could really help him out. He doesn’t appear to have much in terms of offensive potential, instead is safe making minor plays with the puck, and doesn’t attempt big break out passes nor does he try to push offense. He appears to be a player who understands his role, and what his strengths are and plays into them. Flemmington has quickly become one of the most feared fighters in the OHL, and has layed down a beating onto several who have opposed him, although it is difficult to find someone who can match his size in a junior league. Being behind Sol, O’Connor, Hermenegildo, Underwood, Walsh and Lepkowski on the depth chart, Saginaw did the right thing for his development in sending him to Jr. B and letting him get 20-25 mins/game, and it‘s clearly benefiting him now. Flemmington plays a safe enough game, along with a clean physical style to make him a very desireable player in the final 2-3 rounds.
(Flemmington had 5PIM tonight)

Shayne Campbell - #1 - G - YOB: 1992 - 6‘2” - 175lbs.
NHL: Eligible in 2011
Report: Feb/19/10: Sting fans have been waiting a long time for Shayne Campbell to put it all together for 60 minutes straight, and tonight it finally happened. Shayne already displays great quickness and reflexes, as well as a great ability to recover back into position, and a really fast glove hand. His raw skills are impressive. Campbell also has the ability to make the big save. Some goaltenders have that ability to make a big save on what looks like a sure goal, despite Campbell’s record he has shown many times he can take away an open net, and steal goals away from the opposition. Campbell’s issues come from his lateral movement which has been improving a little, but his consistency is clearly the biggest battle so far in his junior career. Campbell has a tendency to allow at least one bad goal per game. Not only does this bad goal count against him, he appears to lack the ability to regain composure, and most of the goals he allows are in bunches. The next 3 minutes after a goal scored on Campbell are the most crutial, and unfortunately playing on one of the worst teams in the CHL this season, more times than not Campbell will face scoring chances within a minute or two after allowing a goal, and a lot of the time those shots also turn into goals. However on this night Campbell stood tall and stopped all 28 shots from Owen Sound, some of which were great scoring chances, including a penalty shot midway throught he 3rd period. Two weeks ago Owen Sound was in Sarnia, and he lost that game 5-4, giving up 4 of the 5 goals. 3 of the 4 goals he allowed occurred within 26 seconds, so if you strike those 26 seconds, Campbell would have stopped 57 of 58 shots in two games vs. Owen Sound. Fortunately for Campbell he has a late 1992 birthdate, so he will still have one more season to prove himself as a legitimate NHL prospect, but if his raw skills, as well as his performance tonight are any indication, Campbell has some realistic NHL potential.
(Campbell stopped 28 of 28 shots)

No comments: