RIVER READINGS: Rivermen winger Stefan Della Rovere hammered Kyle Beach in a third-period fight that left the Rockford opponent bloodied and with a dislocated right shoulder. Beach was wheeled down the hallway on a stretcher by EMTs and taken to a hospital after the game. …
Senior Paul Karpowich (STL) has been the key behind Clarkson's improved defense. The Thunder Bay, ONT native has appeared in all eight games to date, posting a 5-1-2 record that includes two shutouts. Karpowich has held the Golden Knights' opponents to two or fewer goals in six of the team's eight games thus far.
Cody Beach named Western Hockey league Player of the week. There is an interview with him on the WHL sight. He says he is looking to concentrate more on playing hockey and he will take care of business when it needs to be done otherwise he will walk away from fights. He says his center is constantly on him to focus on putting the puck in the net.
Ty Rattie is off to an impressive start with 15 goals and 14 assists after 19 games. If he keeps it up he will have to be considered one of the Blues top prospects. Who was the last Blues prospects to score 45+ goals in a season in juniors?
Ty Rattie is off to an impressive start with 15 goals and 14 assists after 19 games. If he keeps it up he will have to be considered one of the Blues top prospects. Who was the last Blues prospects to score 45+ goals in a season in juniors?
I had high hopes for Sonne lol. He was just a case of an older more mature player taking advantage if Jr hockey I guess. I thought he really could be at least a 2nd line NHL center. Now I think he is likely to be a career AHLer.
I had high hopes for Sonne lol. He was just a case of an older more mature player taking advantage if Jr hockey I guess. I thought he really could be at least a 2nd line NHL center. Now I think he is likely to be a career AHLer.
I don't think so. Remember that Sonne started out hot the year after he was drafted and then lost most of the year to injury. Sonne put up huge numbers as a 19-20 year old (in his 2nd full season after his draft). He wasn't some overaged guy, starting the year as a 20 year old (or 3rd season after draft eligibility).
But I did have big hopes for Sonne (figured worst case he was a 3rd line center). His game just didn't translate (I have no idea of why). Rattie is scoring at a great pace in his 1st year after being drafted. I think that is pretty impressive - granted his team is very good.
He does have two years of eligibility to play for Canada WJC. I hope he makes it this year.
Rattie had 2 goals lsat night to give him 17 in 20 games.
Tesink has not played in the Sea Dogs last few games. Does anyone know if he is hurt or has been traded?
From the Sea Dogs website
Sea Dogs Head Coach Gerard Gallant juggled his forward lines throughout the evening, as just 10 forwards dressed due to injuries to Jonathan Huberdeau, Stanislav Galiev and Ryan Tesink.
Rattie's having a heck of a season, has anyone seen him play this year? I'd love a scouting report on what he's improved on and what weaknesses are still showing.
I'd like to see and updated scouting report too. I think two things dropped Rattie to the second round.
1 He only weighed about 162ish lbs which made him undersized
2. More importantly he has a choppy skating style that isn't pretty but it is effective and he has good speed.
I'd like to see and updated scouting report too. I think two things dropped Rattie to the second round.
1 He only weighed about 162ish lbs which made him undersized
2. More importantly he has a choppy skating style that isn't pretty but it is effective and he has good speed.
I suspect that he's added muscle and the resultant weight, and his body is maturing (he's growing into it). It doesn't usually happen gradually, but rather in threshold levels (as far as the player learning how to use the added muscle and how to move his body with the added weight).
Maybe he's significantly stronger and knows better how to use his weight and that strength, while, at the same time, the competition with the top-line players much older than him is gone (as they've moved on to the pros). He's moved up one notch in the WHL competitive levels in terms of strength, bulk, body coordination and experience. All that would give him more room to operate on offence. I am sure that he also worked on his skating, stickhandling, passing, shooting and other skills over the off-season, as well. That would allow him to produce more, and finish better, when given the opportunity.
All of that could be enough to make him a better player.
I haven't seen Rattie play yet this season and I'm planning on watching a lot fewer Jr and college games this season due to other priorities but Rattie sure is racking up the points. He's currently 6th in WHL scoring with 32 pts 20 games. I think he'll eventually be passed by his teammate Sven Bartschi who has 27 pts in 12 games. Yes, only 12 games! I'm sure Rattie is benefiting a bit by playing on a good team but at the same time, he's certainly one of the top reasons why they're a good team! I remember reading somewhere that he put on a good 10-15 lbs of muscle this summer so it's good to see his body is maturing and he's putting in the work in the gym. I've never really understood why players fall due to being light. He's only 5'11" so he is a bit undersized but a lot of 17-18 yr olds aren't even close to finishing filling out yet. IMO, if two 17 yr olds were just as effective hockey players and one was 5'11" 190 lbs and the other 5'11" 160 lbs, I'd probably go more towards the lighter kid than the heavier kid. Why? Because even though the heavier kid might be closer to being NHL ready, if the lighter kid is able to be just as good as the kid who has 30 lbs on him, what's he going to be able to do on the ice once he fills out his body? I loved the Rattie pick. He's no guarantee and he's a good notch or two below Tarasenko and Schwartz but at 32nd overall, he was a steal IMO. Not that it matters but I had him rated 20th going into the draft and I would probably move him up a few spots now.
I'm not sure what to make of Sonne. Rattie plays a completely different style of game and is much more offensively skilled than Sonne so I'm not worried about Rattie repeating Sonne's swan dive when he turns pro but I did think Sonne would do better as a pro. While I think Sonne got way overrated by Blues fans after he scored 100 pts as a 19 yr old (not a 20 yr old), I did think he would eventually be a good NHL 3rd line center since he had a good work ethic, had a good amount of grit and played well defensively but all of that somehow seemed to disappear once he turned pro. I don't get it. My only guess is that perhaps after he scored 100 pts in his last season in the WHL, he thought he could make it as a pro simply on offense but he's simply not skilled enough. If he's ever going to make it, it's going to have to be on effort, heart, grit and defensive play. Where that went from Jrs to the AHL, I don't know but unless he somehow finishes this season out strong, I could very well see the Blues not giving him another contract. He's got 5 pts in 14 games for the Rivs so far which is ok, not great but what's important is how he's playing overall, not just his stats and regarding that, I haven't heard a thing. I haven't heard much of anything really on how the Rivs players are playing so hopefully he's playing better than his stats indicate.
I watched Schwartz play last weekend against UNO. UNO won 5-2 but it was much closer than that and it seemed almost the entire game was played on special teams as both teams took a lot of penalties. The game was tied 2-2 with 6 minutes left in the game when Jaden sniffed out a puck 5 or so feet in front of the net on the PP and roofed it top left corner to put CC ahead. CC then scored 2 empty net goals to seal it. Rylan assisted on Jaden's goal and scored one of the empty netters. Both Schwartz brothers were credited with assists on a goal earlier in the game but the scoring was eventually changed as it was determined the puck deflected off another CC player on the way to the net and apparently Jaden even touched it. The two brothers are tied in leading the team in scoring with 9 pts in 6 games. They didn't play last night but they play top rival Denver tonight. CC's had a relatively light schedule so far with the 6 games while most other teams have played 10-12 games so far. I think CC played a couple of games against Canadian university teams and against the US U-18 team and those don't count obviously.
Regarding his play, he was good but not quite as impressive as some previous viewings of him. His vision and hockey sense was still very apparent and he's a bloodhound around the net. I was hoping to see him rush the puck a bit more as I wanted to evaluate his speed but that never really happened. I think UNO was keying on him so his brother and linemate Scott Winkler carried the puck a lot of the time when that line was on the ice while Jaden would fight to get open to get a scoring chance. UNO did a pretty good job of containing that line but Jaden was still able to make the difference with the game winner.
Wow, that's a lot of stuff. Sorry for writing a book, folks!
I had Rattie rated in the low 20s as well. He has CERTAINLY moved up in rating of that draft's draftees. I think Rattie will prove to have been a steal. Like IA, I don't think Rattie's offensive production will disappear in the pros (as Sonne's has done). He has sweet hands, very good offensive sense, good passing skills and other skills. At 5:11 and a muscular 190 (when he finally fills out completely), I think he'll be a very effective forward (2nd Line on a strong team, possibly 1st Line on a weak team).
I haven't seen Rattie play yet this season and I'm planning on watching a lot fewer Jr and college games this season due to other priorities but Rattie sure is racking up the points. He's currently 6th in WHL scoring with 32 pts 20 games. I think he'll eventually be passed by his teammate Sven Bartschi who has 27 pts in 12 games. Yes, only 12 games! I'm sure Rattie is benefiting a bit by playing on a good team but at the same time, he's certainly one of the top reasons why they're a good team! I remember reading somewhere that he put on a good 10-15 lbs of muscle this summer so it's good to see his body is maturing and he's putting in the work in the gym. I've never really understood why players fall due to being light. He's only 5'11" so he is a bit undersized but a lot of 17-18 yr olds aren't even close to finishing filling out yet. IMO, if two 17 yr olds were just as effective hockey players and one was 5'11" 190 lbs and the other 5'11" 160 lbs, I'd probably go more towards the lighter kid than the heavier kid. Why? Because even though the heavier kid might be closer to being NHL ready, if the lighter kid is able to be just as good as the kid who has 30 lbs on him, what's he going to be able to do on the ice once he fills out his body? I loved the Rattie pick. He's no guarantee and he's a good notch or two below Tarasenko and Schwartz but at 32nd overall, he was a steal IMO. Not that it matters but I had him rated 20th going into the draft and I would probably move him up a few spots now.
I'm not sure what to make of Sonne. Rattie plays a completely different style of game and is much more offensively skilled than Sonne so I'm not worried about Rattie repeating Sonne's swan dive when he turns pro but I did think Sonne would do better as a pro. While I think Sonne got way overrated by Blues fans after he scored 100 pts as a 19 yr old (not a 20 yr old), I did think he would eventually be a good NHL 3rd line center since he had a good work ethic, had a good amount of grit and played well defensively but all of that somehow seemed to disappear once he turned pro. I don't get it. My only guess is that perhaps after he scored 100 pts in his last season in the WHL, he thought he could make it as a pro simply on offense but he's simply not skilled enough. If he's ever going to make it, it's going to have to be on effort, heart, grit and defensive play. Where that went from Jrs to the AHL, I don't know but unless he somehow finishes this season out strong, I could very well see the Blues not giving him another contract. He's got 5 pts in 14 games for the Rivs so far which is ok, not great but what's important is how he's playing overall, not just his stats and regarding that, I haven't heard a thing. I haven't heard much of anything really on how the Rivs players are playing so hopefully he's playing better than his stats indicate.
I watched Schwartz play last weekend against UNO. UNO won 5-2 but it was much closer than that and it seemed almost the entire game was played on special teams as both teams took a lot of penalties. The game was tied 2-2 with 6 minutes left in the game when Jaden sniffed out a puck 5 or so feet in front of the net on the PP and roofed it top left corner to put CC ahead. CC then scored 2 empty net goals to seal it. Rylan assisted on Jaden's goal and scored one of the empty netters. Both Schwartz brothers were credited with assists on a goal earlier in the game but the scoring was eventually changed as it was determined the puck deflected off another CC player on the way to the net and apparently Jaden even touched it. The two brothers are tied in leading the team in scoring with 9 pts in 6 games. They didn't play last night but they play top rival Denver tonight. CC's had a relatively light schedule so far with the 6 games while most other teams have played 10-12 games so far. I think CC played a couple of games against Canadian university teams and against the US U-18 team and those don't count obviously.
Regarding his play, he was good but not quite as impressive as some previous viewings of him. His vision and hockey sense was still very apparent and he's a bloodhound around the net. I was hoping to see him rush the puck a bit more as I wanted to evaluate his speed but that never really happened. I think UNO was keying on him so his brother and linemate Scott Winkler carried the puck a lot of the time when that line was on the ice while Jaden would fight to get open to get a scoring chance. UNO did a pretty good job of containing that line but Jaden was still able to make the difference with the game winner.
Wow, that's a lot of stuff. Sorry for writing a book, folks!
I wonder if Sonne got a sniff of being a star and when he realized that he wasn't, he lost interest in doing the "small" things and doesn't have the motivation to return to "his game".
Oh, and I know how to read, so keep writing your books.
I wonder if Sonne got a sniff of being a star and when he realized that he wasn't, he lost interest in doing the "small" things and doesn't have the motivation to return to "his game".
Oh, and I know how to read, so keep writing your books.
He SHOULD have the motivation now! His career is on the line. He had a very disappointing (poor) season last year, based on Management's expectations. And he is not showing much improvement (if any) this season.
Unless he starts showing significant improvement, I have my doubts that his contract will be renewed. At this point, even an AHL career is in question.
I go to Quinnipiac University and they played Clarkson U on Friday night. I went to the game and I think you guys have a real gem in Paul Karpowich. He stole the game for Clarkson considering QU got 43 shots on net while Clarkson only got 11, and the game was a 1-1 tie. He's an excellent goalie you guys should really keep an eye on him.
