HAbsRus Hamilton Scouting Report 1
Oct 19, 2003 21:06:26 GMT -5
Post by Cranky on Oct 19, 2003 21:06:26 GMT -5
HAbsRus Scouting Report 1
Another season and another series of HAbsRus Scouting Reports on our prospects and our future in Hamilton.
Before I start the reports, I like to clear up a few things. At any one point, one mans opinion may differ from another’s even if both of them are watching the same event. Any report that I file will be a translation of what I saw and what I perceive for that game. It may or may not apply as a current career trait for that player. One needs to see at least several games to establish a history and even then, it still one mans opinion.
Some may consider the reports harsh but please bear in mind that I am using what I believe is an average NHL player as a baseline for abilities.
Having said all that, here we go:
................................
Game Report:
[/li][li]Fast, moderate hittting. The teams were equally balanced.
[/li][li]The team lacks the hard, down low game the team had last year. With Ward and Ryder gone, Dagenais is trying to fill that role. He is game but not as effective. If anything, the Dogs resemble the parent team in size and down low play. The are not as well disciplined in the trap and I don't know if that is what Jarvis wants. After all, the Hab's HAVE to play the trap because of lack of talent, The Dogs have a lot of talent relative to their AHL brethren.
Player Report:
[/li][li]Mike Komisarek:
Last year, I wrote four AHL reports on Mike and have followed his career closely because I think that he may be a large factor in the Hab’s future.
In today’s game, Mike showed the good, the bad and the ugly of his abilities. His skating speed appears to have improved and it is very good. However, he lacks first step quickness and has a largish turning area. This is no surprise considering his size and strength. His very heavy wrist shot is a known quantity to all by now and it remains one of his most effective offensive weapons. He seems to be slightly heavier and stronger then last year. I would estimate around 235-240 pounds and it shows out there. He is clearly the largest and strongest beast on the team by a big margin.
The good news.
One dramatic difference from last year is his change of attitude. He is developing a nasty streak that was not apparent in Hamilton but started to show up when he was called up last season. He now looks for an opportunity to hit someone or rough someone up. He lacks the quickness to be a body wreaking open ice hitter but what he does is try to crush anyone coming down the boards. On several occasions in this game he slammed, or should I say “heavily shoved” the opposing forward into the boards and they stayed down in some pain. No one underestimates Komo's stregnth when he tries to drive their upper torso and head through the glass and over to Bay Street. He liberally uses his stick to crosscheck and puts a lot of strength and pain behind every kidney whacking. The other thing I notice is he has learned some of the (HA highly approved) dirty work that comes with his job. On a few occasions he “accidentally” slammed the back of the players helmet with a two-hander and slew footed a few players head first into the boards. He gets away with it because there seems to be no one big enough to do anything about it. (Rule 666 of the Ice Jungle)
The bad news.
Mike still needs to do a LOT of learning in reading the plays and deciding what to do. Some of the problem includes a tendency to skate to within a few feet of the blue line, look down and pass. There is nothing inherently wrong with that UNLESS you do the same thing too many times and the opposing forwards read it ahead of the action. He chooses that option often even though he has the speed and power to cut into the boards and drive forward. It’s almost a deliberate attempt to remain behind the play as a defensive defenseman. I noticed that when he played collage hockey, he would always stay back and towards the center in a 2-2-1 formation. He appears to have learned that a bit too well and instead of looking for option to go forward, he looks for option to get rid of the puck. The problem is compounded by his telegraphing his passes. That extra second and telegraphing gives the opposing forwards the time to change direction. The other major problem is that he is not reading the plays properly and does not know what to do when they happen. In heavy traffic, he always shoots it forward even though a lateral pass is more of an option. You can tell that he is told by the coaches to keep the puck movement in a forward direction. While it is sound logic, it turns over the puck on most occasions.
Another example: On the PK, two man were coming on him from his right side, One of them accelerated and looked back as if he was going to pass to the man behind him. Komo bought it and stayed high, whereupon the one with the puck went around him, turned Komo and passed back to the trailing man. This is a difficult play to stop but he should of not turned around and should of kept the man in front of him or to his side. Once he got pulled and turned, his back was to the totally unhindered trailing man and a goal was scored. Another goal was scored when there was a few second left in overtime and he pinched too far into the opposing zone, thus resulting in a breakaway. One other glaring fault is his occasional tendency to wonder into the opposite end of his defensive zone. He tries to pinch in and gets pulled out of position.
There is a lot of work to be done on his “vision”. It was a glaring fault last year in Hamilton and it appears that the coaching staff has a lot of work to do. He is, without a doubt, a “heavy duty” four-tool man with attitude and it will be worth the few years of development until he adds the “vision” part. One more thing, he did not go back to the bench cursing and upset at himself. He has more confidence in himself then he did last year.
[/li][li]Patrick Traverse:
He is slower then he appears on TV. I had not seen him play live for about four years and he seems to have slowed a bit. His physical play is very limited and his play in traffic is confused. Half his shots, which is no better then a hard pass, missed the net by few feet. His overall play can be classified as a high caliber AHL'er. Period. End of story. I am not even going to bother to say anything else about him.
[/li][li]Carl Dykhuis:
He is head and shoulders better then any defenseman the Bulldogs have. His physical play is not in the Komo class but his outlet passes are crisp, not telegraphed and he clearly has better positioning and vision then any defenseman I have seen live (AHL) in the last two years. His decision making in heavy traffic is very good. The only thing that remains is his lack of aggressiveness when taking the body. He has never had that to any large degree and perhaps never will. Clearly, he is an NHL defenseman in the AHL and does not belong there. Hopefully, he adds an aggressive dimension or gets traded to a team that can use him.
[/li][li]Thomas Plackenac:
Thomas does not appear to have added any weight from last year. He seems to be a bit stronger through aggressiveness. He speed is very good, his quickness is above average and above average agility and balance. He played on the line with Balej and seem to have some chemistry. The best way I can describe his game is “responsible”. It appears incrementally better then the end of last year but nothing dramatic.
[/li][li]Josef Balej:
Excellent speed, very quick and agile. Heavy shot and takes every opportunity to unleash it.
The most improved forward for the Bulldogs appears to be Balej. Last year I heavily criticized him for his peripheral play and his “blinders” when he was playing. This year, he is playing with Plekanec and he is involved in every corner of the rink. He uses his speed to fore check and he is not afraid to take a man out physically. While he does not throw mid ice checks and crush people, he is willing to absorb punishment to keep possession of the puck and he will put up a “light fight” for it in the corners. This is a FAR cry from this time last year.
[/li][li]Gordie Dwyer:
He is not NHL material and to be honest, he is not AHL material. While he can skate and shoot the puck, he is clueless as to what to do with it or start a play. You can see that is “studying” his options while slowing down and by that time, everyone is covered and the only thing for him to do is throw the puck in. It does no good because by then, he also lost all his momentum. His defensive play consists of looking around, counting everybody and trying to figure who is “his” man. I am not sure what Savard was thinking when he picked him up but it certainly was not his “vision” or potential. Perhaps it was his ferocious fighting ability.
[/li][li]Pierre Dagenais:
I did not pay a lot of attention to him but he appears to be taking the Ward/Ryder course of physical play.
[/li][li]Alexander Perezhogin:
Very good skater, very quick, good balance. There is nothing spectacular to report about him. He is involved in the play and he does know where to go and which man to take but at this time, there is nothing special about him or his play. He is playing with Gratton and that should help him in his positioning. Also, Gratton gives 100% and he will pull Perez right behind him if he has to. Please keep in mind that it is early in the season and he is still trying to get used to the far more abusive AHL caliber of play. If anything, he is playing way better then Balej was playing at this time last year.
Another season and another series of HAbsRus Scouting Reports on our prospects and our future in Hamilton.
Before I start the reports, I like to clear up a few things. At any one point, one mans opinion may differ from another’s even if both of them are watching the same event. Any report that I file will be a translation of what I saw and what I perceive for that game. It may or may not apply as a current career trait for that player. One needs to see at least several games to establish a history and even then, it still one mans opinion.
Some may consider the reports harsh but please bear in mind that I am using what I believe is an average NHL player as a baseline for abilities.
Having said all that, here we go:
................................
Game Report:
[/li][li]Fast, moderate hittting. The teams were equally balanced.
[/li][li]The team lacks the hard, down low game the team had last year. With Ward and Ryder gone, Dagenais is trying to fill that role. He is game but not as effective. If anything, the Dogs resemble the parent team in size and down low play. The are not as well disciplined in the trap and I don't know if that is what Jarvis wants. After all, the Hab's HAVE to play the trap because of lack of talent, The Dogs have a lot of talent relative to their AHL brethren.
Player Report:
[/li][li]Mike Komisarek:
Last year, I wrote four AHL reports on Mike and have followed his career closely because I think that he may be a large factor in the Hab’s future.
In today’s game, Mike showed the good, the bad and the ugly of his abilities. His skating speed appears to have improved and it is very good. However, he lacks first step quickness and has a largish turning area. This is no surprise considering his size and strength. His very heavy wrist shot is a known quantity to all by now and it remains one of his most effective offensive weapons. He seems to be slightly heavier and stronger then last year. I would estimate around 235-240 pounds and it shows out there. He is clearly the largest and strongest beast on the team by a big margin.
The good news.
One dramatic difference from last year is his change of attitude. He is developing a nasty streak that was not apparent in Hamilton but started to show up when he was called up last season. He now looks for an opportunity to hit someone or rough someone up. He lacks the quickness to be a body wreaking open ice hitter but what he does is try to crush anyone coming down the boards. On several occasions in this game he slammed, or should I say “heavily shoved” the opposing forward into the boards and they stayed down in some pain. No one underestimates Komo's stregnth when he tries to drive their upper torso and head through the glass and over to Bay Street. He liberally uses his stick to crosscheck and puts a lot of strength and pain behind every kidney whacking. The other thing I notice is he has learned some of the (HA highly approved) dirty work that comes with his job. On a few occasions he “accidentally” slammed the back of the players helmet with a two-hander and slew footed a few players head first into the boards. He gets away with it because there seems to be no one big enough to do anything about it. (Rule 666 of the Ice Jungle)
The bad news.
Mike still needs to do a LOT of learning in reading the plays and deciding what to do. Some of the problem includes a tendency to skate to within a few feet of the blue line, look down and pass. There is nothing inherently wrong with that UNLESS you do the same thing too many times and the opposing forwards read it ahead of the action. He chooses that option often even though he has the speed and power to cut into the boards and drive forward. It’s almost a deliberate attempt to remain behind the play as a defensive defenseman. I noticed that when he played collage hockey, he would always stay back and towards the center in a 2-2-1 formation. He appears to have learned that a bit too well and instead of looking for option to go forward, he looks for option to get rid of the puck. The problem is compounded by his telegraphing his passes. That extra second and telegraphing gives the opposing forwards the time to change direction. The other major problem is that he is not reading the plays properly and does not know what to do when they happen. In heavy traffic, he always shoots it forward even though a lateral pass is more of an option. You can tell that he is told by the coaches to keep the puck movement in a forward direction. While it is sound logic, it turns over the puck on most occasions.
Another example: On the PK, two man were coming on him from his right side, One of them accelerated and looked back as if he was going to pass to the man behind him. Komo bought it and stayed high, whereupon the one with the puck went around him, turned Komo and passed back to the trailing man. This is a difficult play to stop but he should of not turned around and should of kept the man in front of him or to his side. Once he got pulled and turned, his back was to the totally unhindered trailing man and a goal was scored. Another goal was scored when there was a few second left in overtime and he pinched too far into the opposing zone, thus resulting in a breakaway. One other glaring fault is his occasional tendency to wonder into the opposite end of his defensive zone. He tries to pinch in and gets pulled out of position.
There is a lot of work to be done on his “vision”. It was a glaring fault last year in Hamilton and it appears that the coaching staff has a lot of work to do. He is, without a doubt, a “heavy duty” four-tool man with attitude and it will be worth the few years of development until he adds the “vision” part. One more thing, he did not go back to the bench cursing and upset at himself. He has more confidence in himself then he did last year.
[/li][li]Patrick Traverse:
He is slower then he appears on TV. I had not seen him play live for about four years and he seems to have slowed a bit. His physical play is very limited and his play in traffic is confused. Half his shots, which is no better then a hard pass, missed the net by few feet. His overall play can be classified as a high caliber AHL'er. Period. End of story. I am not even going to bother to say anything else about him.
[/li][li]Carl Dykhuis:
He is head and shoulders better then any defenseman the Bulldogs have. His physical play is not in the Komo class but his outlet passes are crisp, not telegraphed and he clearly has better positioning and vision then any defenseman I have seen live (AHL) in the last two years. His decision making in heavy traffic is very good. The only thing that remains is his lack of aggressiveness when taking the body. He has never had that to any large degree and perhaps never will. Clearly, he is an NHL defenseman in the AHL and does not belong there. Hopefully, he adds an aggressive dimension or gets traded to a team that can use him.
[/li][li]Thomas Plackenac:
Thomas does not appear to have added any weight from last year. He seems to be a bit stronger through aggressiveness. He speed is very good, his quickness is above average and above average agility and balance. He played on the line with Balej and seem to have some chemistry. The best way I can describe his game is “responsible”. It appears incrementally better then the end of last year but nothing dramatic.
[/li][li]Josef Balej:
Excellent speed, very quick and agile. Heavy shot and takes every opportunity to unleash it.
The most improved forward for the Bulldogs appears to be Balej. Last year I heavily criticized him for his peripheral play and his “blinders” when he was playing. This year, he is playing with Plekanec and he is involved in every corner of the rink. He uses his speed to fore check and he is not afraid to take a man out physically. While he does not throw mid ice checks and crush people, he is willing to absorb punishment to keep possession of the puck and he will put up a “light fight” for it in the corners. This is a FAR cry from this time last year.
[/li][li]Gordie Dwyer:
He is not NHL material and to be honest, he is not AHL material. While he can skate and shoot the puck, he is clueless as to what to do with it or start a play. You can see that is “studying” his options while slowing down and by that time, everyone is covered and the only thing for him to do is throw the puck in. It does no good because by then, he also lost all his momentum. His defensive play consists of looking around, counting everybody and trying to figure who is “his” man. I am not sure what Savard was thinking when he picked him up but it certainly was not his “vision” or potential. Perhaps it was his ferocious fighting ability.
[/li][li]Pierre Dagenais:
I did not pay a lot of attention to him but he appears to be taking the Ward/Ryder course of physical play.
[/li][li]Alexander Perezhogin:
Very good skater, very quick, good balance. There is nothing spectacular to report about him. He is involved in the play and he does know where to go and which man to take but at this time, there is nothing special about him or his play. He is playing with Gratton and that should help him in his positioning. Also, Gratton gives 100% and he will pull Perez right behind him if he has to. Please keep in mind that it is early in the season and he is still trying to get used to the far more abusive AHL caliber of play. If anything, he is playing way better then Balej was playing at this time last year.
, excellent work.
