Anyone going to the on ice sessions? Could you tell us who looked good etc.?
Back-up Goalie
prospects camp
Anyone going to the on ice sessions? Could you tell us who looked good etc.?
All-Star
Camp
I was there for the camp tonight and might go again tomorrow morning.
I'll name a couple guys that stood out for me, most of them will be pretty obvious because they will be the older kids.
Daniel Asham, Dakota Conroy, Carter Proft, and perhaps Cody Nelson as well will all have a decent shot at making the team this year.
Both goalies seemed to do pretty well, Papirny should be a good goalie.
Nikkel should push for a spot on defence, but its hard to say when none of the regulars are there to compare him too.
Pankewicz looked like the best defenceman out there to me.
If I head there tomorrow morning I'll remember to bring a pen so I can write down what I see.
Assistant Coach
Asham is going to be a good player. Conroy looks bigger and stronger this year. Proft will challenge for a spot. Nelson looked impressive as well.
Nikkel was the best D man IMO out there today. Pankewicz is going to be awesome I think as well.
I thought all the goalies looked really good as well
All-Star
Couple notes from the intrasquad game today.
Harms and Proft were the two forwards that stood out for me.
Asham and Nelson didn't look as good as they did on Friday.
Jack Palmer could make the team next year.
Pankewicz looked great again, really likes to jump up an should be a good offensive defenceman.
Goalies both looked good again.
Pulock was out there and as per usual he looked like god on skates.
Assistant Coach
Jack Palmer - Interesting looking kid. Got real good size to him and can skate. He looks like a WHL player.
Mackenzie Bauer - Wow what a talent. He is real small they have him listed at 5'7. If he can grow an inch or 2 this year we have a nice little gem here
Brendan Harms - Looked alot better today. Kid has alot of talent and he is used to the bigger guys from his time in Junior A
Aryton Nikkel - Dominate. If he does not make the team I will be shocked if he does not make this team
Kord Pankewicz - Wow can this kid ever skate. Drooling at the thought of him making end to end rushes already.
Fuhr and Papirny - Both were very good. Looked fundamentally sound.
Dakota Conroy - Little disappointed with him. Looked to be going not as hard as the others. Hopefully he picks it up at main camp this year
Carter Proft - looked much more confident. I expect he will challenge for a spot
Cody Nelson - Kind of an up and down type of game. I expect with the cages off he will shine a little more
John Quennville - Big kid already going to get bigger. Raw yet but I think a year from now we will be pretty happy with this kid
Tanner Jago - Another Defenseman that I think will have a shot. Lot of skill here and he looked bigger then his listed 6'0 180
Danny Asham - Less dominate today but still looks a step above most of the kids here.
Overall a nice group of prospects. All these kids can skate and it is pretty clear that is a top priority for the Wheat Kings scouting staff. What concerns me is a lack of size but it is tough to tell with these kids because alot of them will come back here next year a couple of inches taller.
General Manager
Guys who looked good to me
Nikkel - Could be a stud
Thom - Looked pretty composed
Palmer - Looked a bit like Seaman
Harms - Obviously a class above everyone else
Proft - A big forward that should make the team
Waltz - Tries to hit a lot, a more offensive Miller
Quenneville - Looked like a big body who can skate and play
Never argue with idiots, they just drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.
Back-up Goalie
Prospects camp
Can some of you guys who saw the prospects this weekend predict what our roster will look like next year? Some questions that I have are as follows: I would like to see what you fans think of my comments.
1. The overage question---Melnychuck only--no Ciarelli( not tough or talented enough to occupy an overage spot). No Gustaffson--once again not good enough to be a 2 spotter. Find some overagers from other teams that have too many to keep or don't bother. Let a 17 year old play and develop.It would be be nice to find a MacKay type player. Kelly Mc seems to be good at doing this.
2. Address the tough guy question as Ferland is too valuable on the ice to be scrapping too much.
3.With all the assets this team has I would like to see two things happen to strengthen the team. Firstly, the goaltending question. If Curtis Honey is good enough I think trading one of Boes or Liston would bring the required offensive player this team will need. Secondly, trading one or two of your 7 defencemen once again for offence and giving your top end prospects like Nikkel, Kuczek, and Waltz a chance to play. Making these two moves would certainly help for the upcoming season without losing any top prospects.
It looks to me as if Kelly has a decision to make as to whether he makes moves to strengthen the team this year before he loses Stone and Ferland or waits for next year by going young and playing his top 17 year old prospects. No matter what he does it appears to me the Wheatking prospects have never looked better as evidenced by the performances of some of the higher bantam picks like Palmer, Bauer, Harms,Cooper etc. Kudos to the scouting staff and Kelly Mc for running a first class organization. Comments?
Assistant Coach
I agree about Thom he was a big kid out there I didn't realize he was only 15 till much later. Hopefully he rounds out his game this coming year.
Waltz was a bit all over the place for my liking. Maybe he will settle down at main camp.
looking at our team for next season
Stone(19) Ferland(19) Walker(19)
Seaman(17)) Swyripa(18) Meuiller(18)
Favreau(18)
Pulock(17) Melnychuk(20)
Fransoo(18) Miller(19)
Roy (17) Hunter(18)
Galbraith(18)
Liston(18)
Boes(18)
In my mind
Asham and Harms are near locks to play. Conroy,Proft and Nelson I think will all make it as well. I Think McGauley should make it too. Palmer I think will be a nice dark horse.
That is 7 guys fighting for 7 spots? That is not including any Euros they bring in either or trades or overagers.
I cannot see them leaving Nikkel out this year. He will be here and play every other game. Too bad Kuczek was hurt but I think he has a shot as well.
I really wonder if they make a deal for an Overager and/or a 19 year old forward before the season starts. We have so many decent young D men it just seems like the logical thing to happen
General Manager
Kuczek is ready to play in the dub. I agree about waltz maybe roaming too much, they should be able to work that out of his system. IMO, Kuczek is ready for full time duty, Nikkel should play 45 games and waltz could wait a year. But realistically, some of them will be traded for scorers....Originally Posted by Joe Hallenback
Never argue with idiots, they just drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.
4th Liner
Can you give me a little more on what you thought of Thom? Saw a ton of this kid this year and I think he may develop to be a lot better than his draft position. He is pretty raw and has lots of learning to do but he isn't shy about learning it would appear.
Also on Quenneville, I think the Wheat Kings made out like bandits on this kid. He has fantastic vision and isn't scared of anywhere on the ice. I think from time to time he can get a hair complacent but he has a skill set that should make fans excited. He is big but I personally think he will actually drop some weight first but I think he will over his career put it back on as a more muscular lean frame and be a monster on the ice. I watched only a bit of this kid in league play and from what I saw I thought he would be a lot higher. His game has some awesome potential.
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