Went to last evening's game against Chicago. Here are my observations:
Overall, no ****in bueno.
All around, Detroit looked terrible. I recognize that this is one game, so - from a personal standpoint - I'm not going to let this viewing dictate my opinion of these guys if I have little/nothing else to go on - but it was not a good at all.
I went into this game thinking that the guys weren't going to look like a team due to lack of practice/chemistry with each other and because I thought there would be a lot of individual efforts from guys with a chip on their shoulder - after all, a lot of these guys are teenagers with something to prove. That looked to be the case but the problem is, Chicago looked like a well-oiled machine by comparison. It looked like men against boys out there. If you subscribe to the idea that a prospects tournament is all about a guy trying to prove himself, then either Chicago is anomalously great or Detroit has some issues.
And for the record, that overall observation has nothing to do with the score. By pure on-ice comparison, Detroit didn't deserve to share the same ice as Chicago yesterday.
In terms of individual observations, these are the guys who stuck out, for better or worse:
The Neutral:
Coleman - First viewing - Had a surprising number of good neutral-to-offensive zone reads/plays. Doesn't necessarily look like an NHL guy, but he stood out as a one of the better "no-name" players. I'm including him as a neutral because, if not for his token good plays, he'd be forgotten.
Criscuolo - First viewing - Left me thinking that the only reason why we signed him was to be a good presence in the system. This guy is small but he has fight in his game. He battled in front of the net and made a few good plays but he was also tossed off the puck at game speed quite easily and otherwise didn't stand out. Seems like a good guy for the system, but a dead end for the organization.
Turgeon - Multiple viewings - Didn't realize he was in the game until the third period where he was a part of a couple decent drives. Overall, very mature but very bland player. I could see him being a depth NHLer but not much beyond a weak 3rd liner, given everything I've seen over the years.
Sadowy - First viewing - The best thing about this guy is that he's always trying to do something - the problem is, that something is not always good. He stood out a ton, but in good ways and bad. On the bright side, his body language read like he was trying to do too much which leads me to think his mistakes were the product of being overzealous. There's definitely some NHL in his game but I think his mental state/maturity might need work. No shame there.
Givani - Second viewing - He was either sick, went too hard in practice, stressed, or injured, because his effectiveness was nowhere to be found. He looked gassed almost every shift. The great thing about him is (1) he is a physical specimen to behold - that man is big and thick - and (2) you could clearly see that he was trying to play his style despite his lack of energy. His motor was there, it just wasn't performing. There was a play halfway through the third, when I was sitting ice level, where you could clearly see he was laboring after making contact on a 10-15 second shift in the offensive zone, so I think something was off physically.
Sambrook - First viewing - Only reason why I'm commenting on him is because I know some folks on here were high on him as a pre-draft prospect. Overall, he was "meh." Didn't stand out and didn't do anything bad. Didn't seem to be on the ice much.
Bertuzzi - Multiple viewings - I'm putting him in the neutral category only because his body language suggested he was there to serve as an example or leader for the newbies. Otherwise, knowing what I know about him, I'd be very disappointed with his development entering training camp.
The Bad:
Hicketts - Several viewings - He might have been the worst "relied-upon" defenseman on the ice. His size was definitely an issue, which is concerning considering the age group he was playing amongst, and he made a ton of bad decisions. I'm definitely rooting for him but he has a long road ahead of him if he's going to make it to the NHL. The only thing that keeps me from writing him off as a prospect is that he looked like a kid who had something to prove to his peers. He played like he was trying to show everyone there that he deserved to be there.
Paterson - Several viewings - Positionally, he looked passable; mechanically, he looked below average. It looked like he didn't want to be there. Yeah, he may be beyond the prospects tournament in terms of his years and the defense was not good at all, but he had nothing going for him. This is not a guy I would want as a back-up in a year or two. Very disappointed in his style, body language, and performance.
Svechnikov - Several viewings - Ohhhh boy. Here's a guy we can lump into the Filppula-Sheahan School of I Don't Know What To Do With My Skill. This guy is just ready to serve up disappointment after disappointment. The skill is there, the size is definitely there, but the brain is going haywire. One minute, he's deking into the zone Pavel-style, the next he doesn't know how to read the play in the corner. He exhibits tantalizing dekes and follows it up by misreading rookie plays. After seeing the huge turnout in the scouting zone, I can't imagine anyone would consider Svech a bluechip at the trade table. I'm still hoping he puts it all together but I am tempering all expectations. Also, he does not look capable of being a professional center at all. This guy is a wing at the next level, let alone the NHL.
The Good
Russo - Several viewings - This guy has to be humble as **** to be in attendance here because he was on another level. He looked like he was playing at half speed and he still was one of the only guys making NHL-level plays. If Bertuzzi didn't belong at the prospects tournament, then Russo shouldn't be fighting for an NHL call-up spot. Russo is an NHLer through-and-through today. He is not a flashy guy at all, and he's barely above average size-wise, but he can move the puck like a core NHLer. I'm at the point now where I think he's the 3rd best transitional defenseman we have in the entire organization: Green-Kronwall-Russo. He doesn't have a great shot but dammit if he can't put a puck on a stick through the neutral zone. His defense is NHL stable as well. I wouldn't bat an eye at him being considered a level above XO/Sproul today.
Hronek - First viewing - Damn. This guy could end up being included in the argument for why the late 2nd round is the sweet spot for selecting premier defenseman. There's no one shift that stuck out to me with him, and he had a couple mistakes, but the way he read plays, his focus, his skating responses, his skill, his decisions with the puck...we could have something special on our hands here. I'm going to temper the hell out of my expectations with him as this was my first viewing of him but at the very least there are a lot positives this kid possesses that cannot be taught. Also, he is/looks/plays a lot bigger than he actually is.