I would like to point out that Amidovski is starting to be more engaged. It looks like he is starting to turn the corner a bit. He isn’t quite there yet but you can see his confidence is starting to rise. He is starting to attempt different plays that he would not have previously. He had three really good opportunities yesterday. One of those opportunities just trickled off the end of the stick blade. I think we will see a much more confident second half.
Caden Kelly seems to have settled into a role. He is being more physical. It is resulting in more penalties but at least he is asserting himself in a positive way. He’s not a big player but he has gained a considerable amount of weight and I find he is leveraging it much more consistently. He is finding his way to the net more. He is disturbing the net front as well when he doesn’t have the puck. He is winning more corner puck battles. I don’t’ feel he has a high ceiling but I think he can contribute more in a station to station role and can contribute a lot more without the puck. As a 3rd line presence, I think he can flourish.
Korbler still does not have a point but I have to give him credit. He is working hard, skating hard, makes good decisions with the puck but he jsut doesn’t have the talent to translate that into consistent offence. His penalty killing is solid. He is another of those prototypical 3rd liners that a team needs. The problem is he is ann Import. It is a wasted role for an Import. We can fill those roles with depth picks. He will be fine enough to be a part of the team this eyar but I struggle to see how they pas son an upgrade in the next Import draft. It is too bad in a way because he does have utility, just not enough to pass on a high Import pick this next offseason.
Dietsch is really starting to settle in. His decision making and presence has really taken off. Reviewing his stats this year, you will notice he has not had a game where he was worse than a -1! That is crazy! I think someone had mentioned Jeremy Van Hoof. I think that is probably a really good comparison. I think he will play a strong 2nd pairing role next year and then graduate to a first pairing shut down sort of guy as an 18 and 19 year old. I REALLY like what I have seen from him.
Whitehead is also starting to come around. The kid is a +7! That is tops on the team. For real! Why? He is active. Very active. He skates hard non-stop. He is now up to .62 PPG. That is right there with Dever this season and Gerrior last season. I think Whiteheads game is really turning a corner. Six PowerPlay Assists is very strong considering he is on the 2nd unit. His results in the face-off dot needs to improve. Sitting at 45%. He needs to get that up. He is likely to play as the #1 centre next season. Dever and Foster may both return as OA’s which could change that depending on how DC wants to deploy the lines but, regardless, he is in consideration. This is why I think DC has placed Ekberg and Amidovski on his wings. I think DC wants to see that line carry over to next year and maybe even further into the future.
Another solid surprise has been the work of Josh Brady. I wasn’t sure about him through the first month or so. He seemed to be slow making decisions. He was Turing over pucks and allowing the opposition to keep possession in the d-Zone longer. He seems to have improved in that area. He is making quicker decisions and we’ve seen him start to jump up on the rush a bit more as well. It is a sign he is getting more comfortable. I am pleasantly surprised he has turned the corner. He is fine in a 3rd pairing role. Will he get to a 2nd pairing role int he future? Maybe not but I think he can be a reliable 3rd pairing RHD. That is all we can ask for out of a 10th round pick. If he ends up having a higher ceiiing then that’s great but just stay solid on the 3rd pairing and I will be VERY happy.
Houben still has some work to do on his skating. He’s choppy like a lot of big kids his age. But, he is getting his chances. he is working hard. You can see he is putting in extra effort. He wants to be better. He is still learning how to use his size. He’s 207 pounds and will likely Ned up around 225-230. As he works on his skating and tightens up the stride, that increased weight will combine to create a lot of power. That kid is going to be a bruiser. Tough to contain. I look forward to seeing where he ends up.
That leaves me with Yanni. That kid has the heart of a lion. We aren’t seeing it translate into points but that kid doesn’t back down from anyone, ever. It will take him a little more time to develop but when you look at a kid like Luke Torrance on Oshawa, I think he see a lot of similarities. Torrance is 2” taller but they play a similar game. You won’t’ see the offence out of Yanni this year but I think you will start to see him go up to .4PPG next year, then .7PPG as a 19 year old and 1.1 PPG as an OA. He will be a longer burn but he is going to be worth it I think.
I think this highlights that fact that ensuring players are not thrown into bad situations early where they are overmatched and broken down they end up developing quite well. Make sure there is enough talent to surrounding them ensures they can get puck touches and gain confidence.
I think we have a good group of younger players. Add in Nelson who also has a lot of promise and you can see there is a lot to be optimistic about. Moving Pinelli will hurt us in the standings over the 2nd half but I think we have enough hungry young players combined with some responsible older players that it won’t hurt their development. We wills till get our fair share of puck play. We’ll still sneak up on some better teams. Facing some backup goalies will help of course. We wills till get a lot of that in the 2nd half. Maybe some easier goals than normal.
We may only get picks for Pinelli but if that is the case, we will still have enough on the left side to keep it real. Gerrior, Stonehouse, Amidovski, Yanni, and Houben are all candidates for LW. We should be ok. The PP will suffer for sure but opportunity opens for others.
