Just got home from the game. I sat two rows up behind the St. Louis bench... closest I ever sat in my life.... for 15 dollars LOL. Anways... my two cents on the game:
Wennberg looked extremely composed. Nearly had a goal before his actual goal. Controlled the puck well. Very impressive.
Rychel had a hell of a goal on his first shift. Made some good passes too.
Dano, I didn't really notice him much. He did play more physical then I thought he would.
Josh Anderson..... played VERY well. I was extremely impressed with him. Threw the body around and seemed very composed. Even got involved in multiple scrums.
Calvert had a tremendous game. Was all over the place. Continued to heat his rivalry with Jackman. Man, those two hate eachother. Actually, hate wouldn't be the word haha.
While Dansk ended up finishing the game and getting the win for the Jackets, he looked shaky, at least to me. Rightfully so. Tons of nerves and emotion in his first game but I can easily see him backing up Forsberg this year in Springfield mainly because I believe that Forsberg is the better goalie of the two, as of right now.
As for defensemen, Prout committed several 'dumb' penalties. despite having a few assists, Didn't have a good game at all in my opinion. Looked out of place at times..
While he certainly won't make the big club, Sifers (defenseman) played a really good game tonight.
I was really interested in honing in on Simon tonight. I thought he played pretty well. Has tons of speed and seems to have good moves. Although, there was one play where he and Moutrey had a 2-on-1 breakaway, Simon had a clear shot to the net and decided to pass it to Moutrey who was more covered... let to the breakaway being broken up. Would've liked to see him take that shot as he possibly could've had his first goal. Also, he didn't seem physical at all which is expected (lacks size and that's... well.. just the opposite of the style of game he plays).
Oh, and McElhinney had an extremely strong game. The lone goal he gave up was off a deflection of Heatherington, his own teammate.
As for St. Louis... it was awesome to see the team so up-close. Crazy to actually here the players and coaches communicate and hilarious to see their smelling salt reactions. Boy, I absolutely LOVE Tarasenko's game. Such a smooth player. Very vocal. Very swift.
Best of the best, as in had the strongest game (in order): Calvert, Wennberg, Boone, Rychel, Anderson.
All in all, had a great night. Can't wait for opening night. Nationwide was alot more crowded tonight than I thought it would be. I was pretty impressed!