It was quite an intense scrimmage. Lots of hitting. They only played two 25 min periods with an ice clean in between, but it definitely had a game feel to it.
The first person I was impressed with today was Eddy. He's an absolute bowling ball of a guy. He scored one of the three goals for the Red Team. He's got decent hands for the role he'll probably be expected to play with the Heat.
Brodie was really really good, like StrykerSteve said. Exactly what he did in Calgary, he did tonight. Creative, fast, plays great in his own zone, holds the line well... what more can I say? He's awesome.
If Brust isn't one of the two goalies that makes this team, I'll be pissed. He uses his stick so effectively. A player from the Black Team came in on a breakaway and he poke check/sprawled five feet out of his crease. I looked up at Ward to see his reaction, and he looked over at Malarchuk and Sigalet and gave them a thumbs up. Both goalie coaches had huge grins on their face haha. Also, he had a shutout.
Patterson was good today too. He was hitting everyone. Such a strong player. There's about six or seven guys at camp who could easily fit into a fourth line role. Patterson is one of them.
Baertschi was average. Didn't notice him too too much. He was on a sniper line with Street and Horak (who scored a goal tonight). They had good puck movement in the scoring zone.
Reinhart is really good in his own zone. He applies so much pressure and his stick is so active that he seems to make the defensemen double guess who they pass to. He scored the only goal for the Black Team today.
Drew MacKenzie is going to make the Heat. Mark my words. He'll be one of the final 8 d-men picked. He's so solid defensively and is a really good puck mover. He's probably been the most impressive invitee so far. I know I said Mouillierat was the most impressive, but I change my mind haha.
Lamb was good as usual. Something that surprised me is he likes to join the rush or even lead the rush. He may have better offensive skills than we expect.
Ferland was almost invisible tonight. Didn't notice him until he hit a couple of guys, but other than that he was invisible.
Brett Olsen has flashes of brilliance. One day he'll look good and one day he won't. I'm going to continue to watch him because he could be a decent callup.
Wahl was impressive today. Lots of flash with him. He's still a really good playmaker. He played on a line with Sylvester and Ferland. He even hit some guys, but dodged hits as well.
Ruegsegger could very easily make the fourth line... if Eddy, Aliu, Bancks, and Bouma weren't at camp. He scored a goal today by grinding the #### out of the d-men. He such a rugged, gritty guy that I'd love for him to make the team, but at the very least he's going to be a very reliable callup.
After today's practice (which is far from the time for cuts), I'm going to rule out some players that I think likely won't make the team (or wouldn't if I was Ward):
TEAM RED:
TEAM BLACK:
Haha I didn't know what you looked like or else I would've talked to you.