[Tilley]

Made the yearly trek out to Charlotte to see the Heat in person. The Heat dominated Friday night's game except for a couple of minutes in the third while a more balanced game Saturday afternoon results in a 5-4 loss to the Checkers. The Heat remain first in the division, although the Marlies have two games in hand and only a single point behind.

Friday's lineup:

Walter-Street-Kolanos
Horak-Reinhart-Ruegsegger
Howse-Laing-Nemisz
Sylvester-Olson-Aliu

Breen-Carson
McKelvie-Lamb
Matczak-Callahan

Taylor

Saturday's lineup:

Walter-Street-Kolanos
Horak-Reinhart-Ruegsegger
Howse-Laing-Nemisz
Sylvester-Olson-Aliu

Breen-Carson
Matczak-Piskula
Breen with Lamb
MacKenzie with Piskula

Brust


Some parting thoughts:
Carson and Breen are a dominate shut down pairing for the Heat. Breen has improved tremendously since I watched him last April. He's a much better skater and much more physical in comparison to Pardy (when Pardy was with the Knights). Don't mistake Breen for an offensive dman, but he is a very good shut-down defender. Carson would be my first call up, but Breen is a close second.

Reinhart is a very intelligent player. Reads plays exceptionally well and is great in all three zones. He is still transitioning to the higher level of play offensively. You can see he has skills, but he can't quite put it together yet. It will be interesting to see if he can contribute more offensively by the end of the year, but he has smart linemates in Horak and Ruegsegger who are also very high hockey IQs. If he doesn't get the offense together, he will make an ideal 3rd line/shutdow center in the NHL.

I was impressed with Lamb. Physical, with a few skill plays that I didn't expect to see. He has more offense than he's shown thus far and once he is fully adjusted to the level of play, I would expect him to be a nice top 4 dman in the AHL with the potential to be a two-way bottom pairing option (similar to Ference) if he gets a chance in the NHL.

Nemisz has improved his skating since April and does not look to be a limiting factor for him. He's playing on a 3rd/4th line and besides a couple of hard working plays, doesn't show the offensive ability that some had hoped he would show. He doesn't get any PP time, but he would be a great option down low to screen the goalie and put away any loose rebounds.

Taylor was very sharp Friday night while Brust allowed a couple of softies Saturday afternoon. Brust had two seemingly easy stops from the point get through him. Although it definitely not his best game, Brust is excellent in tight. Great lateral movement and extremely quick reflexes. That said, if I needed a call up it would be Taylor. Taylor is a calming factor while Brust seems to be more havoc enducing. Taylor is not flashy, but very technically sound with efficient movements.

Matczak is not an AHL level defenseman. He was lit up all weekend long. The veteran rule handcuffs the Heat with dman as it would be ideal to dress Breen, Carson, McKelvie, Lamb, Piskula, and MacKenzie. Unfortunately that can't happen. Therefore Matczak gets in the lineup and gets overwhelmed. He was steam-rolled by a Checker forward leading directly to a goal and was out-muscled or out of position seemingly every play. I would expect the Heat to add another defenseman before the clear day deadline to bolster the back end.

Olson is a great find. He is like a more skilled version of Bancks although at the center position. He is constantly hustling and is great along the boards. He's not huge, but plays much bigger than he is. Don't mistake him for a top 6 forward, but he is a great 3rd liner in the AHL and could earn a cup of coffee in the NHL if he continues to develop.

If anyone has any questions based on this weekend's play, I'll share my thoughts.