Went to the scrimmage this morning.
Few tidbits:
Consistent notable pairings:
Coronato & Kerins
Ronni & Fuek
Following players a cut above everyone else:
Coronato
Kerins
Poirier
Kuznetsov
Stromgren
Fuek
Huckins (surprised me)
Whynot
Individual notes:
Klapka
- big body
- hard on pucks
- tough to knock off the puck
- hands were okay for a big guy
- didn't distribute the puck much at all, always trying to do it alone which stood out like a sore thumb
- faster than you would think
Coronato
- Above average speed
- Great hands
- Good release
- Very stocky so the fact he's undersized doesn't seem like an issue
- Always in the play
- solid backchecking, can really see a 200ft game in him
Kerins
- Great release
- Average speed (not a bad thing)
- Some good chemistry with Coronato early on
- Great puck control
- Hard to get off the puck
Ronni
- 200 ft game for sure
- Better than I expected
- Great vision
- Not over flashy with the puck
- Can see his upside as being a solid bottom 6 guy for sure
Standout Player -
Poirier- Offensive upside very noticeable
- Great edge work
- Great puck control
- Great vision
- Defensive awareness seems to have improved drastically
- Loves to carry the puck into the zone
- Ability to deke like a forward
Not sure about the big booming shot from the point (didn't see it much) but I have high hopes this guy can turn into our offensive threat on the blueline/powerplay. This guy was a cut above everyone else on the ice, not a single person looked remotely skilled. His partner in St.John Kuznetsov was 2nd with Whynot probably 3rd in terms of skill.
I feel like Poirier may be closer to the big club then you would have though even just last year. I feel he looks the same if not better than Rasmus did the year he made the jump. I don't want to jump the gun here or anything but I after today I feel like he could be a dark horse to make the team potentially depending on our D depth come camp.