Seems like the Dallas scouting staff is having a "meeting" in Kitchener tonight. Dallas scouts have been watching the various OHL games this afternoon (In Peterborough at the Niagara game and in Guelph at the London game) and have convened in Kitchener tonight with GM Nieuwendyk and Les Jackson to watch the Owen Sound-Kitchener game.
The annoucers said something like a dozen Stars scouts and Joe Nieuwendyk/Les Jackson are there. Never heard of that many people from one organization being somewhere at the same time when not meeting at the draft/pre-draft (I suspect it was a preliminary draft meeting as well however).
G Smith finally had his first pointless game since September 29
Faksa with an assist. Meh.
Faksa was pretty great most of the game. He was a big factor in the first goal and he was excellent defensively all night. Faksa and the rest of the team (Besides a little speed bumps at the end) were pretty great at shutting down one of the best teams in the country. Drew a few penalties as well. Only issue is he fanned on a couple chances, but he wasn't alone in that regard.
How would you rate the overall strength of Kitchener? (If you've watched them a lot. I haven't)
Lol they are supposed to be the best team in the OHL but they lack secondary scoring which as a Dallas fan should know affects the rest of the team including the primary scoring. Without a strong, experienced second line (Got some very talented players, just not old enough), the first line has suffered. It will get better though and I expect Faksa to wind up with about 75-80 points and if he comes back to Kitchener next year around 95 points.
I'm going to predict a Benn type jump for Ritchie from junior to NHL. By all accounts, last season he was a beast defensively and played a great checking line role. Now he's scoring a ton on top of that. I see him getting a good long look at camp next year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by glovesave_35
I'm wary of Ritchie's uptick in scoring as well and I'm not advocating him skipping a necessary step. This is where scouts make their money. Looking at scores and stat sheets will tell you little about whether a player is sponging off another or whether they have developed chemistry with another good player. Dallas scouts should be able to get a good read on that even if he plays all season with Strome. i predict he'll get a long look and be one of the last cuts at training camp next year no matter what happens this season. He brings too many complimentary things to the table to not give him a look. He could do worse apprenticing in the NHL alongside Benn and Eriksson.
*Edit: Mods feel free to move these posts to a more relevant thread. Apologies.
Not really sure what you're getting at here, or whether you simply changed your mind. I agree with the 2nd post though.
Just before the season started, I alluded to Ritchie possibly being one of the top scorers in the OHL, a real gem (an imposing gem - a rough diamond?), well, if you're watching the Subway Super Series tonight you know what I'm talking about.
I have Ritchie at 4 hits, 2 NZ takeaways, while doing well with puck possession. Also took a stupid (though aggressive) penalty. Most noticeable Team OHL player tonight through one period.
