I think the guys are as advertised so far.
Lohrei looks smooth and is an outstanding passer. He‘s highly offensive and created lots of great chances off the rush and in zone rotations. On the flip side, he lacks urgency in dangerous situations which leads to turnovers and he lacks physical bite. He seems to think he can just spread his base with and extend and guys pressuring him will fall away, and sometimes they do but some are big enough to cave him in or quick enough to skate around his spread and strip him of the puck. I don’t want to say he lacks “urgency” because he plays plenty fast in the Ozone, it’s just we’re used to seeing Gryz or Mac speed up when guys are about to swarm them around the net and Lohrei’s not doing that yet. Hopefully that urgency and pace will come with some coaching and experience. All in all, still very excited by what I’m seeing and looking forward to watching his growth this season in Providence.
Lysell looks a step quicker and smarter than most of the team. He had multiple shifts in that game where he controlled the play for 30 seconds, carrying, cycling with Merk and Lohrei, getting it back, making plays. I think Lysell’s game will tranlate better to the NHL because it seems a lot of the passes he makes out of these long danggle session go wasted by teammates who are suprised to see the puck suddenly coming their way through traffic. On the flip side I feel like Lysell needs to get to the interior more. He dangles and jukes and possesses and draws multiple guys to him while he’s looking for guys to slash to the net or get open and that’s all great but when guys aren’t doing that use one of those dangles to get inside and create your own shot.
Merkulov is doing a lot of good things in his own right. I feel like Lysell has the puck most of the time when this line is on the ice but Merkulov is one of the guys who will slash and play off Lysell and when Merk gets it he makes great plays and is a very willing shooter. I love all the scissor plays he’s running with Lysell. They look dynamic together. I don’t think their winger was up to the task today.
Poitras is right there with Lysell as the most dynamic and skilled. Lots of great plays, lots of quick plays around the net to get pucks inside to teamates. Tremendous ability to play keep away and draw his defender away from the net only to lose him in space. He’s been a treat to watch.
Lots to like out there from the main attractions and the supporting cast types. Topo was great on Friday, Harrison has done some good things, I’ve liked Mast’s defense, Brunet has had some flashes, Beecher has been physical, Kuntar‘s played with energy, Abate has been in guys faces and Hall looks lighter and much quicker than in recent years.
Looking forward to tomorrow‘s finale!
