Mateychuk really is something else. He may not have an overly flashy style, and he’s going to get outmuscled at times, but, he’s such a great skater and such a SMART player. He’s all over the ice. He’ll only get more impactful defensively as he grows older and physically stronger. He may not have that booming point shot that many become infatuated with, but, he has a good accurate shot that he times very well, that was also shown in the earlier goal that Brindley was in front of the net on, and who I thought tipped the puck/got the goal. His “vision” and passing, and overall “awareness” is ELITE. That pass to end the game….
Brindley looks good. Will he or should he start with Columbus, I don’t know. Probably need an injury to another (“scoring”) winger to make the big team, though he already looks better than somebody like Sillinger. I’m very interested in how the center position and lineup/depth chart decisions play out.
McCue and Malatesta will be a pain in the ass to other teams in the AHL, Malatesta looks to be the better player right now and looks like a capable NHL 4th liner.
I’m continually impressed by McKown when I watch him play. I think he needs to simplify his game a bit, and I’m not sure how he’ll handle defensive responsibilities (and faceoffs) at the NHL level, but, looking at his overall skill or ability, if players are really given roster spots based on “merit”, guys like Kuraly and Sillinger, and to a lesser extent Danforth, should be the guys being sent to the AHL or sitting in the press box.
Elick looks good. I’ll need to see/watch more. Seems to be a more skilled, better skating Peeke, who can actually fight.
And last, but, not least, Evan Gardner. What do we have here?? 1st time watching the kid/dude….didn’t really give much attention to the team drafting him pretty high. He looks quite good positionally, good movement, and rebound control. That’s all I’ll say after 1 prospect game, but, he should probably be looked at as just as intriguing as Ivanov, IMO.