lot's to be excited about

[wango tango]

nhl entry draft is coming up. elliott is expected to be a high round pick, gallimore could go too, and possibly morrison. one of the euros taken in the nhl entry draft will probably be the blades selection in the chl import draft.

team canada holds their development camp for the world juniors in the middle of august.

september the new york islanders come to saskatoon for their training camp. that includes a rookie game in prince albert between the isles rookies and u of s huskies. two sold out islanders games vs edmonton and calgary. i'm hoping former isles and saskatchewan guys like trottier, bourne, and gillies make the trip too.

the multi-million renos to the cuc will be done this fall, i'm curious to see what everything will look like when they're done.

world junior hockey championships start boxing day.

and it'll be a crazy season with the whl hosting the memorial cup this year in brandon.

hopefully the blades can meet expectations for this season and make it a really magical year.

[Trav]

landed a impact 18 yr old, unless if its a goaltender, they might be better off picking up a young guy and then letting him play in europe for a year if Kytnar did happen to come back cuz we all know he'll be on the team if he does.

[wango tango]

should be either ahl or whl for kytnar. where a team picks doesn't matter as much with the chl import draft.

[dagley]

forgot to add Brandon regaining the East Division crown this year, hehe :P

[Scout]

Courtesy Michael Rimmerde:


Elliott, Stefan - D - Saskatoon WHL
Stefan Elliott / Saskatoon Blades WHL

D-R / 6-0.5, 180 / 30-Jan-91

Skating: 50 / Skill: 70 / Sense: 65 / Compete: 45 / Tough: 35

Strengths: Can do a lot of things with the puck. Great transition game and can take the puck end-to-end. Runs the power play smoothly and smartly.


Weaknesses: Soft and lacks the strength to clear the crease. Needs a lot of work on defensive zone play.


Pure offensive ability from the back end will be his ticket to the next level. Terrific offensive instincts and does everything you want a d-man to do with the puck. Makes a great first pass, can take it end to end with speed, and has all the PP ingredients.


Seems fine skating forward and has good speed when rushing the puck, but every other aspect of his skating leaves me scratching my head. Pivots sometimes look awkward and lateral quickness looks lacking in the d-zone. Just not sure what to make of the skating - he seems to have quick, light feet but so many bad things happen to him in his own end that I wonder about it.


Needs a lot of work on d-zone play. Has trouble containing speedy forwards and I see him make a lot of gap mistakes. Gets sloppy with the puck when pressured. Seems to need a little space to get the puck out safely. Almost no physical presence and lacks strength. Will need to be paired with a big stay-at-home at the next level.


Summary: Just don't have a good gut feeling on this player. He's not Mike Green - despite having similar offensive abilities. Green was a physical, aggressive player in his own end and Elliott is pretty meek back there. I think he'll play - but maybe only a PP specialist. I'd consider him around the mid-2nd range just on his PP specialist upside. Pretty sure he's going to go much higher than I have him.


Draft Day: He seems like a consensus first rounder, but who knows. Should be in that 20-35 overall range, but NHL teams might have the same concerns I do, so a slide to the mid-2nd round is possible.


Scout

[Scout]

Gallimore, Burke - RW - Saskatoon WHL
Burke Gallimore / Saskatoon Blades WHL

RW-R / 5-11.5, 195 / 08-Jan-91

Skating: 45 / Skill: 50 / Sense: 50 / Compete: 40 / Tough: 30

Strengths: Overall decent skill level. Consistent, if not especially passionate, effort level.


Weaknesses: Very soft. Probably not going to get much bigger.


This guy just didn't do anything worthwhile every time I saw him. There was some good production from this guy this season, so I know there must be some nice puck ability there. But I have to see it with my own eyes, and I just didn't.

Average skater at best. Seemed to be on cruise all the time and didn't do any of the dirty work. Seems to have no physical game at all.


Summary: This is a problem player for me. I just can't get on board with this guy - he was very bland in every viewing I had of him. I acknowledge he's almost certainly going way higher than I have him.


Draft Day: The Combine invite should mean he's no worse than mid-rounder...5th round or so.


Scout