There's not nearly enough Brandon Hickey talk in this thread. The guy was the best defenseman out there - he was never out of position, he made great passes and snuffed out chances before they became anything. And while we should be so lucky that he actually turns out this good, Hickey glides around like Doughty out there. Stretch though that may be, it isn't a stretch to say Brandon Hickey is this team's best defensive prospect, and there's a convincing argument to be made he's the best prospect in the system.
Oliver Kylington is too explosive for development camp - if he didn't want to give the puck up, there weren't many guys who could get it from him. He skates himself into trouble - a number of rushes started with a spectacular flourish and ended with Kylington pinned into the corner of the offensive zone. He almost looks like the sort of player who needs professionals who can keep up with what he's trying to do, because most of his forwards flat out couldn't. Also, he was born for 3-on-3.
Rittich was el terriblé - lost the net a bunch, a couple posts, and a buzzer beater to top it all off.
McDonald had his best performance in three years of development camps - no head scratching goals.
Tyler Parsons looks really good. Really athletic, aggressive and a super compact stance. Lot of explosiveness in his lower body, and it's easy to see where the Quick comparables come up. Really good in shootouts too.
Matthew Phillips had a highlight reel shootout effort, andade a nice play up the middle to shape shift between the D. Didn't get much of a shot off - I was standing next to a woman whose kids clearly grew up playing with Phillips and she got enthusiastic every time he got the puck. I thought it was sweet and spent a lot of the 2nd frame wondering why I'm such a jackass. Outside of those two notable moments, there wasn't a ton notable about his game. He's a project, but he has a long way to go if he's going to have a future in pro hockey. He looks about one tenth as elusive as Johnny.
Andersson needs a treadmill. Kanzig blew by him. And not because Kanzig has been Scott Niedermayer all week - he's been his usual glacial self. Rasmus was out of breath and didn't have the focus to stay with him. Really not impressed with his camp.
Jankowski was better at the start when he was on a line with Tkachuk and Austin Carroll - they had a few good shifts down low. Once they got split up, the lines were in a blender the rest of the way. Both Mark and Matthew (we need a Luke up front) are going to be top 6 NHL forwards.
Tkachuk's skating concerns are way overblown. He's got a really powerful stride and he's never behind the play. He doesn't look like he's got that top gear that Gaudreau or Bennett have, but he'll never struggle to keep up.
ET is deserving of all the hype. Physically imposing, great on the fore check and cycle, had a nice play where he walked the line and dangled through some guys, great top shelf finish on both in game goals, his penalty shot was tricksy and he looks like he has a real future. Excited to see him develop, really hope he comes to Everett or better yet Stockton.
Nothing changed from yesterday re Kanzig and AOM -don't see those players with roles on this team at the NHL level.
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