Just to clarify one last bit about Wagner (I was writing that post from my phone). When I say he has no deception, he wasn't very strong in the drills where he needed to do a head fake or stick fake before retrieving the puck. Also, during the drills, he telegraphed what he was doing well before he did it. There was even a time during the 2-on-1 when the defenseman put his stick in the lane before Wagner even passed it, and he passed it right into the defender's stick. So... yeah, deception and consistency are two things I think he can work on.
Anyway, onto the defensemen.
#34 Paul LaDue - Probably one of the most nondescript camps out of players I noticed. Not necessarily bad, because I like to think I notice glaring mistakes. But I wouldn't say he wowed me with anything, either. It's random, but in previous camps, I thought he had a shorter stick, and now it seems bigger than before. For one of the veteran prospects in this camp, I wish he stood out a bit more, or took on more of a leading role like Leslie did.
#40 Damir Sharipzyanov - For a bigger and lanky guy, he skates pretty well. He also showed some good deception and savvy during drills and the scrimmage. Like Dergachyov, he hung around Zykov quite a bit in the few opportunities available. Among the defensemen on Team Black, I think he did the best all round job in the scrimmage: he blocked shots, pushed the pace, and moved the puck pretty well. In an organization with weaker defensive depth or more contracts available, I could see him getting a contract, but I think he is a victim of numbers in the Kings organization.
#41 Alex Roach - My enthusiasm for Roach has waned quite a bit from when he came in as an invitee as an 18 year-old. Back then, he was younger with some skating difficulties, but he would make some simple plays that I appreciated as a defenseman. However, he's still having issues with top end speed, and he yielded inside position to a much less experienced Dergachyov. He did make a well timed spin-around move while holding onto the puck during the scrimmage, but I just don't see his skills or his overall play improving at a well enough rate to warrant moving up in the organization.
#42 Kai Wissman - Of the three German defensemen invites, he stood out the most as having very good top end speed when doing the puck protection drills. Beyond that, I admittedly did not notice much about any of them.
#45 Alex Lintuniemi - For a bigger guy, he skates pretty well. It's not really a concern, but an observation: he frequently over committed to making some plays, and they didn't work out. Keep in mind, this is when a player is supposed to learn and develop skills, so I'm not trying to say he lacks hockey sense or anything like that. This is how he learns. What I am concerned about is it seems to have been an issue last year as well, so I just think it's important to note the possible lack of improvement of an important skill two years in a row.
#47 Dominik Tiffels - As stated before, I didn't notice much that I recall about the German invites. He moved the puck and passed it better than the other two, but beyond that I don't remember anything.
#48 Jonas Mueller - He seemed like a lanky kid, and during the battling drills, he wasn't very strong.
#56 Kurtis MacDermid - He's another player who was rather hot and cold. During the individual drills, he didn't stand out a whole lot. He's a big, strong, and tough defenseman. He skated better during the game than during the drills. He could top out as a Matt Greene type of role. But he just doesn't show any top end skill or savvy that would put him in any higher role. Works well within a structured system, though.
#58 Erik Cernak - Out of all the defensemen, he has the best tools. His combination of size and talent is remarkable. His focus and decision making left a lot to be desired. I mentioned before, during the drills, he would spend so much time playing with the puck and wouldn't pay attention to the other players. It's the sign of a young kid. During the scrimmage, there were so many opportunities he had a chance to do SOMETHING with the puck, but he lost control or tried to do too much with it. With his talent and mean streak, however, he could do quite a bit once he matures.
#59 Jacob Middleton - An almost polar opposite of Cernak. He has the size, but he played a very composed and structured game. He's not soft, but he didn't show the mean streak that MacDermid or Cernak showed. His skating is above average for his size, but overall, he was missing top end talent. Granted, there are still players like Scuderi, so don't think he is a lost cause, either.
#62 Zac Leslie - I think he had the best camp out of all the defensemen, and the only trait Cernak has on him is size. Leslie has the best raw skill out of the defensemen in the camp, with top end skating, edge work, and puck movement and management. He didn't participate in the scrimmage, and he didn't do any of the drills which involved physical play, but even when healthy, this is probably one of the biggest criticisms of his game. That, and his ability to stay healthy.
#78 Steven Johnson - He fell into the LaDue category of being solid but visibly unremarkable. He did everything expected of him with few mistakes, but I also couldn't point out where he had a top five skillset in any particular field compared to his peers. I thought he looked average.
#81 Matt Roy - His best skill is his skating, and I think it was among the best with his peers. While not necessarily the fastest skater, he showed very good balance and strength on his feet. He also has a deceptively hard shot.
#82 Chaz Reddekopp - For a player criticized for his skating, I thought he managed pretty well. Even during the scrimmage, he managed to set himself up for a breakaway... and he missed the net. That said, Reddekopp is a player whose body of work in games looks much better than in individual drills, and he didn't back down from a challenge when a bigger and more experienced player started pushing him around. He pushed back. That said, he's nothing short of a project, who will need to improve his edgework and top end speed to be effective at the next level.
