Few quick observations:
Danielson’s pre-draft hype was warranted. It was all on display today. The IQ, hands, body control, vision, shot, movement without the puck, two way game. He’ll be special for years to come.
ASP was almost equally impressive. Obviously this format suits his game, but he was in full control out there. He could arguably be our PP1 QB today if not for the Ghost signing and another year of development for Mo. Every shift he was creating chances for himself and others. A couple inches taller and he easily goes top 5 in this draft.
Augustine was lights out. I don’t think he let a puck in the net, and I recall countless times guys having odd-man breaks, 2 on 0’s, backdoor one-timers, etc and he was in perfect position. Liking this kid more and more.
Gibson also surprised me and helped me cope with the 2nd round d-man selection. He showed much more offensive instinct and upside than I had read about. Scored a couple times.
Cleveland looked about as advertised. Huge, rangy, kinda awkward d-man without a single offensive bone in his body. I can now see why they took him, but that doesn’t make me hate the positional value/ lack of upside pick that this was, any less.
Lombardi is nasty. He doesn’t need much more seasoning to be a future top 6 forward in the league. Sure, the format fits his game, but he was doing the same sh*t in Flint. You can tell his size and strength has improved, and he’s bodying guys off along the boards, which yields more confidence to me that he’ll be an NHLer, moreso than the wiggle and skill he brings. Love his interviews too, the kid is motivated.
Mazur may not have the same ceiling of the previously mentioned, but he’ll be a middle 6 scoring/grinding forward that wears teams down in the playoffs.
Kasper looked like a guy who hadn’t played any competitive hockey recently and was pressing a little too hard at times to make things happen, but you still see why Steve took him. Speed, grit, shot all showed in flashes
Cossa night and day from last dev camp to today. Looking more confident and composed. Trending up.
Others who impressed were Buium, Ali, Savage, Doucet, Gylander. Obviously these guys have much work ahead in their journey to don a Wings uniform, but they are trending up.
Would’ve loved to see the likes of Buchelnikov out there. Also not sure what happened or why the Dower-Nilsson brothers missed the 3-on-3 portion, but I was looking forward to seeing Noah play especially, as this format was Taylor made for him.
