A better game to watch the first two.. Still a little sloppy, but it's getting better.
I have similar thoughts to many, but here are mine:
Kane - OJ - Seto: Kane has looked very good in pre season. This could be a very nice year for him. Seto didn't really stand out to me much last night. Olli was ok. I don't know what Lawless and Noel are seeing, but I don't see how Kane (and Seto's) game mesh with Olli's. Olli simply doesn't look like he can keep up with those 2 offensively.
Wright - Scheifele - Frolik: Frolik is looking like a very nice pickup. It's ridiculous to think about replacing Mittens and Wellwood with Frolik and Halischuck. Massive upgrades IMO, especially in regards to tenacity, physicallity, etc. I loved Wright's work ethic last year, but agree with others that his offensive game is not there. They quoted him as saying he wanted to be top 9, I don't know if I would have him in my starting 12 right now. Scheifele started slow, but had another solid game I thought. I posted before the game that it would be interesting to see how Scheifele looked with two "lesser" offensive talent. The mark of great players (centres, quarterbacks in football, etc), is the ability to make others better. Pretty interesting to me that Scheifele's line was a bigger offensive threat that Olli's line, despite the fact that Olli had the "better" wingers.
Tangs - O'Dell - Klingberg: Tangradi had a pretty decent night. Couple of assists and some decent forechecking I thought. Didn't see a tonne out of O'Dell. Klingberg had a goal and was better than I was expecting considering the word from Ice Caps fans.
Telegin - Slater - Peluso: Slater is the 4th line C on this team and I don't really think that is something the team is even thinking about changing. He didn't have a great game (not bad though), but he is also coming off an injury and didn't play much last year. I'm not too worried about him. Someone earlier said that Telegin left him wanting more (in a good way). Those are my thoughts as well. Might be a little shy to mix it up and get dirty right now, but you can see there are some serious tools there. This could be a very important year for him in St.Johns. I could see him back here as soon as next year if he develops. Even before Peluso scored, my thoughts were that the team has to find a way to have this guy on the 4th line, or as the 13th forward who plays more often than not. He is not looking like a "goon". He can skate, and looked pretty decent on the boards and on the cycle. I think we are going to need him against teams like LA, and other physical teams in the West, and I think he would be an asset in the playoffs.
On the D side, Clitsome and Buff looked pretty good. I would say that Buff was going at 75% at best, which is ok considering it was his first game.
Trouba and Melchiori looked ok out there. Trouba seemed to have a better game than in Bellville. Still early, but I'm starting to come to the conclusion that while I think Trouba could easily handle being a bottom pair guy in the NHL this season, I think it might be best for his overall game to spend a year in St. Johns playing 25 minutes a night and getting stronger. Trouba is a player that uses physicality in his game, and I think it would only help him to get stronger. He won't be able to do the things to NHL players that he probably could in the NCAA.
Stuart and Postma didn't look all that good to me. Postma looked good when skating with the puck, but I agree with Bob E, his defensive zone awareness is still not there. Stuart is one of those guys that I love, because he plays with his heart on his sleeve and will backup his teammates, but his overall skill level is just not there, and it's not a good thing that he struggles to get the puck out, or make a breakout pass against the Oilers D squad.
)
