First Half

[SWANSKI]

LETS use a grade system and evaluate the player after the First Half. Thought it would be interesting to see people different opinions based on the First Half (not game to game).

[SectionNDeserter]

# Name Rating

Forwards
9 - Alex Poulter - 6/10, One of our better stickhandlers but has been lacking finish so far

10 - Kirill Starkov - 9/10, Very strong on the puck and a natural goalscorer

11 - Martin Hanzal - 10/10, Probably too good to be playing in the WHL. A gifted playmaker, massive size, good acceleration, great anticipation, and kills penalties almost by himself.

12 - Brandon Sutter - 8/10, One of our better two way players so far, needs to work on his conditioning.

17 - Dustin Moore - 9/10, Hits, scores, crashes the net, fights. Can't ask for too much more from this kid.

18 - Karey Pieper - 6/10, Hasn't become the player he was projected to be when he was drafted, but gets some marks for freight training some poor guy at least once a game.

19 - Ted Vandermeer - 7/10, Had a strong 2 or 3 weeks, but injury woes once again have plagued him.

20 - Pierre-Paul Lamoureux - 7/10, Below average skater, but makes up for it with excellent positioning. Probably the most popular guy in the dressing room. He is a so-so fighter, but he will fight ANYONE.

21 - Cass Mappin - 8/10, Effortless skater, loves to hit and one of the few centermen we have that wins most of his faceoffs. Will be a key guy for us next year.

22 - Evan Pighin - 7/10, Pretty good hitter, good work ethic

24 - Devon LeBlanc - 8/10, Above average skater, sound defensively and has shown a bit of a scoring touch.

27 - Brett Sutter - 9/10, Probably our best defensive forward, has good speed and puck handling skills, blocks a lot of shots, and is a penalty killing specialist.

28 - Luke Betts - 7/10, Easily our most irritating forward, likes to get under the other team's skin. Takes some undisciplined penalties though.

Defense
3 - Paul Levarsky - 7/10, Has played a solid but not flashy game so far, is one of the fastest skaters on the team.

4 - Luke Egener - 4/10, Very good positionally, wins the battles along the boards, but creates an absurd number of scoring chances for the other team with poor passes/decisions, game in and game out.

5 - Jason Lynch - 6/10, Average skater, looks a bit lazy at times, but is a legitimate heavyweight in this league in terms of fighting.

6 - Jordan Henry - 8/10, Excellent acceleration, tough to beat one on one, has a hard shot that misses the net a lot. Tries to do too much and is over-used at times when other D-men are struggling.

7 - Mike Berube - 7/10, Has a decent shot, but one that gets blocked a lot. Strong on the puck and has good lateral movement, but needs to work on his strength. Like Henry is over-used at times.

8 - Patrick Kozyra - 6/10, Has been solid defensively.

Goaltenders
31 - James Reimer - 8/10, Has been our defense in a few games this year, but has taken some other ones off.

33 - Morgan Clark - 7/10, Its tough being a 16 year old goalie but he has gotten the job done when Reimer has struggled or been injured. Likes to flash the glove, but needs to work on stopping the 'easier' ones.

[mapletoft]

Forwards

9 - Alex Poulter - 7/10, look for this guy having a stronger second half, needs to have his coaches confident in him and that was at an all-time high during the last two games before the break

10 - Kirill Starkov - 9.5/10, great stickhandler with a great shot, awesome sniper, game continues to develop two-way

11 - Martin Hanzal - 10/10, awesome, not much else to say!

12 - Brandon Sutter - 7.5/10, has not impressed the scouts like we though he could, needs to build upper body strength, excellent anticipation ability --creates numerous turnovers for his team

17 - Dustin Moore - 10/10, exceeded our expectations but likely not his, makes you wonder why he didn't join the team earlier

18 - Karey Pieper - 6/10, needs a break, like a hat-trick, injuries have hindered his development, big-time hitter

19 - Ted Vandermeer - 8/10, came on strong before injury, may be a 20-year old, but sure needs to bulk up, be stronger on his feet

20 - Pierre-Paul Lamoureux - 7/10, heart-and-soul, would love to see him get a goal on home ice

21 - Cass Mappin - 7/10, hopefully his second half will be improved after experiencing a high learning curve in the first half

22 - Evan Pighin - 8/10, strong work ethic, same as Mappin

24 - Devon LeBlanc - 8/10, stronger first two months, needs to keep his legs moving even in traffic, use his shot more, would love to see his shot used on the PP!

27 - Brett Sutter - 8/10, great shot blocker and a penalty killing specialist, has taken some nights off, needs to play grittier like last year,

28 - Luke Betts - 7/10, see Mappin

Defense

3 - Paul Levarsky - 7/10, hopefully will see more time in the secong half for his sake

4 - Luke Egener - 6/10, needs to be a consistent player game in, game out, strong without the puck, needs to improve playing with it

5 - Jason Lynch - 7/10, choppy skater, seems to be fulfilling Sutter's expectations

6 - Jordan Henry - 8/10, exceptional skater with a strong shot, needs to work on the one-timer,

7 - Mike Berube - 8.5/10, excellent lateral movement and positioning skills, strong team player, coachable likable guy

8 - Patrick Kozyra - 7.5/10, continually improving, great shot

Goaltenders

31 - James Reimer - 10/10, excellent positioning and reflexes, works well with Clark, great puckhandling skills behind the net

33 - Morgan Clark - 8.5/10, future looks bright with Clark, great glove hand

THATS MY TAKE, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SECOND HALF!!

[SWANSKI]

HERE IS MY TAKE-i LIKE some of the comments however if the Rebels were all that good they would be in first.
9- Poulter- 5.5 I dont think hes played to potential, yet hasnt got to play in key situations until lately.
10-Starkov-9 has lived up to potential with work ethick and scoring touch, just cant score in shoot outs
11-Hanzal-9.5 close to perfect most nights
12.Brandon Sutter-8.5 For a 17 year old, and the role hes thrust into hes performed well
17. Dustin Moore 9.0 hes played well for never playing in the league and seems to play well no matter who he is put with.
18. Kerry Peiper 5.5 early and 7.5 Late.- His physical play is getting better and better.
19.Ted Vandermeer- 7.5 Ted I feel has improved his play however the injury bug has struck again.
20. Pierre Paul- 7.5 Plays the role given to him whether it Be D or a banging forward.
21 Cass mAPPIN- 6.0 again hasnt played much and just turned 16 but struggles on the d side of the game with getting the puck out.
22. Evan pighin- 7.5 Has shown flashes of brilliance, Just waiting for that to be consistent.
24 Devon Leblanc 6.0 Great shot again struggles on the D side of the puck, needs a better 2nd half.
27. Brett Sutter 9.0 Does a great job on both sides of the puck and PP and PK.
28 Luke Betts 6.5 Again hasnt played much and showed a whole bunch when he does. Good Right hand though.

D
3 7 Ok For ice alotted
4. Luke egner 5.5 Seems scared at times and must improve the turnover game.
5. Jason Lynch 6.5 Gets 9.5 for toughness however struggles with the speedy forwards in his own zone.
6. Henry 8.5 Last year 6.5 First half Has a huge upside, has now quit taking Dumb penalties, and has to be the rebs best and Hasnt Consistenly.
7. Berube 6.0 I dont think he has performed to capability or maybe we just exspected to much.
8. Kozyra- 7.5 I think this kid is playing well and has great potential.

Goal
Reimer 7.5 Again has had Flashes however his positioning always makes him make incredible saves that should be routine.
Clark 7.5 For a young Kid he has played well and the future looks good for him.

[longtimefan7]

Pretty well agree with most except for Swanski-ranked players as if we were if the bottom five in the league. Your comment about us being in first if the players are that good. Heres some food for thought-Red Deer sits in fourth place in the central division-one point out of second. They also are in seventh place overall in the league. The players are doing alot of thing right.
Anyway heres my take of the first 37.

Forwards
#9-POULTER- 6.5/10 - Confidence was a factor, seems to overcome that with more ice time. Look for good things from him to the finish.

#10-STARKOV- 8/10 - Soft hands with a great shot. Still needs to work on playing both ends of the ice.

#11-HANZAL- 10/10 - Definetly a player who could be playing up a level or two

#12-BRANDON SUTTER- 8.5/10 - Huge upside to Brandon. Has good hands, sees the ice well, and is a team player. Needs to be given more recovery time between shifts in first part of the game so he can finish without looking like hes dying out there.

#17-MOORE- 9/10 - Great addition to the team. Should see him in a NHL training camp in the fall of 2007.

#18-PIEPER- 7/10 - Good energy player - plays his role well minus injuries

#19-VANDERMEER- 8/10 - Strong leader - to bad for the injury as he was really starting to lead by example

#20-LAMOUREUX- 7/10 - Tough to be a utility player. His positive attitude is incredible. Great team player

#21-MAPPIN- 7/10 - Strong centerman for a young guy. Would like to see him take more key face-offs. Looking good for the future.

#22-PIGHIN- 7/10 - Strong on the puck with a good quick release. Still need to work on reading the play - will come with experience

#24-LEBLANC- 7/10 - Needs a stronger second half - Great shot but needs to look to make a play sometimes

#27-BRETT SUTTER- 10/10 - HEART PLUS!! The kid brings tons of positive to every game. Exceptional PK guy

#28-BETTS- 8/10 - What a sparkplug. Always seems to be giving his all. Nice part of the future.

Defense
#3-LEVARSKY- 7/10 - Nice stay at home D-man. Will only get better with time

#4-EGENER- 6/10 - Need to find his game again. Good luck to him after the break

#5-LYNCH- 6/10 - Team enforcer - enough said

#6-HENRY- 8/10 - Very good skater with a great shot (when on net). Still tries to do to much. Would like to see him maybe drop the mitts once or twice. Definetly can use shorter shifts

#7-BERUBE- 8/10 - Strong skater, good poistion. Great playmaker (shows on PP). Good team player. Could use more upper body strength for the battle in the corners

#8-KOZYRA- 7/10 - Good D-man. Is a keeper.

Goalies
#31-REIMER- 8/10 - Very good most nights. I still think he sits to far into his net, but can come up with some pretty big saves when needed

#33-CLARK- 7/10 - What a glove. No doubt #1 back stopper material

Merry Christmas Everyone !!!