Reply With QuoteContinued....
TEAM BLACK ROSTER:
Goaltenders:
Brandon Hope - Hope was tested often and played a solid game. I loved how vocal he was on the ice. His athletic ability is unreal and once he finds a way to settle his game down (sometimes over commits) a bit he will be a fantastic goaltender. I like Hope as our starter more than Maxwell but both had good games so I see a 1A/1B type of scenario this season.
Gunner Rivers - I feel a little bit for Gunner as he was shellshocked in his period of play. Fortunately, Rivers held his own and made a few of the game's best saves
Brodie Barrick - Played a solid game but nothing to praise or criticize about at this moment in time
Defence:
Derek Diaz - no opinion
Nathan Chiarlitti - The sting captain played solid (as usual)
Joshua Chapman - Made a few nice hits and played well in all of his shifts.
Jack Kuzmyk - I noticed Kuzmyk a few times but it was mostly because I felt he was trying to do too much and as a result was caught out of position. Kuzmyk was a decent skater and will make a good depth defenseman onthis team
Anthony DeAngelo - The 15 year old was the first player who "wow'd" me. The kid has off-the-charts patience with the puck and is going to be an absolute gem for the Sting. I didn't notice him as much in the latter two periods but he oozes confidence and his puck skills are a rare commodity for a defender. I can definitely see why the Ryan Ellis/Ryan Murray comparisons are being made
Joey Benvenuto - If Arsenault was the surprise player for Team White then Benvenuto was the player who surprised me for Team Black. He wasn't flashy but his game was steady for a smaller defenseman (walk-on from Upper Canada). I am guessing he impressed more than myself there with a solid all-around game by making only a few mistakes (transitions were slow at times)
Ben Pataki - no opinion
Forwards:
Nail Yakupov (2012)- Surprise, surprise - Nail was absolutely dominant walking through 3-4 players at times. The more I watch him the more I am impressed. IMO, there is no way that Nail Yakupov doesn't go 1st overall next June. Yakupov and Galchenyuk showed great chemistry with sniper Reid Boucher as the trio combined for a few highlight real goals.
JC Campagna - I cannot believe I am saying this but....JC was one of the better players on the ice today. He showed the talent that the Sting probably drafted him on. His compete level was up (rare) and he carried his line on most shifts. If JC played like that last year there is no doubt that he would've been an NHL draft pick.
Reid Boucher (New Jersey)- Reid was a sleeper of mine in this past draft and after watching him live today I am convinced that he's a dandy. Great late round steal for the Sting. Simply put - Reid Boucher is a pure sniper. I can definitely see Reid finishing 2nd in team scoring this year and as a result Yakupov's assist totals should skyrocket (as I tweeted earlier)
Daniel Kikandrov - I wanted to see more from Nikandrov but he just didn't do too much this morning.
Jake Milligan - I noticed Milligan quite a bit but unfortunately it was mostly because of his awful skating stride. I haven't seen a stride like that in a long time. However, I was impressed with the late round pick's effort. He showed up and was competing hard every shift
Justice Dundas - Dropped the mitts and fared well in the games only fight. I think he's going to become a fan favourite in Sarnia.
Justin Thomas - Now, here is a solid all-around forward who's going to fit perfectly on the 3rd line. I loved the style he played with as he wasn't afraid to get his nose dirty. Good skater with good hands.
Louie Rowe - Huge kid at 6'5" so he was easy to spot on the ice. He played well back in the spring for the mini camp but wasn't as noticeable among the players this time around. He's a player with definite potential but I think he played a bit timid today.
Nicholas Sproviero - Another small '95 born player who is going to need more development.
Ryan Kujawinski (Sting 1st Round pick - 6th) - I was very excited to see Kujawinski play today but was left extremely disappointed. He's a lanky kid with good skating ability but he looked a bit overwhelmed. I was hoping to see the jitters wear off as the game progressed but that didn't happen. Hopefully he will work his way through things in this afternoon's scrimmage and through tomorrow's games. He bobbled a lot of passes this morning.
Alex Talcott - scored a late goal for Team Black in a goal mouth scramble
Colton Pickett - no opinion
Billy Exell - no opinion
Nathan Mater - formed a pretty solid third line today with JC and Thomas. Plays a good all around game with some grittiness
Alex Galchenyuk (2012)- He has some tremendous chemistry with Nail. It's too bad that they won't be going to the same NHL team. Alex showed why he's going to be a top pick in next year's NHL Entry draft as he's one of the team's best skaters and has unreal hockey sense.
I won't be able to attend this afternoon's scrimmage (@2pm) but I hope to get to tomorrow morning's scrimmage and Tuesday's Black and White game.
I tweeted my thoughts from the morning scrimmage today and will do the same tomorrow if I attend.
Follow @rossyyoungblood
I was using the hashtag #stingcamp
Not dressed this morning were: Connor Murphy, Craig Hottot (unable to find out why), Patrick Harrison and Dominic Alberga
As I tweeted earlier, if the camp indicates anything then Sarnia's top two lines will likely be:
Yakupov - Galchenyuk - Boucher
Rensfeldt - Carnevale - Ritchie
Originally Posted by majorleaguebrian88
