I caught the Gens/Frontenacs game last night. I made a conscientious effort to watch DeHart, and a couple of things stood out at me.
One, he's good with his stick. I counted three times when the Frontenacs were breaking in towards the Generals' zone, with DeHart being one of the defensemen back. He broke up two of the plays with nice poke checks. The third one resulted in a shot on net when the poke check missed.
Which brings me to the second thing that stood out for me. He's nowhere as physical as I thought he'd be. He's a big guy, but he doesn't play a big man's bruising game. He's more fond of the poke check than he is laying out a hit. And even along the boards, he rubs out his opponent rather than trying to smear them on the glass.
His puck skills are pretty good. He was running the point on the Gens' PP, but his role was similar to Kurtis Foster's last year in Tampa Bay, with Christian Thomas playing the part of Stamkos. Most of the time DeHart's job was to pass it around until they had a chance to set up Thomas for the off-wing one-timer. One thing DeHart seemed pretty good at was maintaining the blueline. A couple of times he received bouncing passes from his forwards, but was able to keep the puck in the zone.
Overall, he had a solid game. Not outstanding, but solid. It was just a bit surprising to me how non-physical he was, especially in a contest that got quite chippy.
Nelson played his first game last night for the Sioux vs u of manitoba exh game. He played well, had a couple hits and a assist. Great hands and hes only going to get bigger weight wise which will help. He played hard in the corners, well if you dont then you wont play for North Dakota but he looked solid overall.
gregoire was awesome out there. goal and 2 assists, nice player on both ends of the ice which is what us sioux fans have gotten use to!
the sioux play in alaska for 2 games next weekend then at bemidji state then maine to open this new season.
you can catch all sioux home games on DIRECT TV fcs (channel 617 & 623 fri and sat nights). Also road games vs wisconsin and denver are usually picked up on direct tv fox sports if you have the 12.00 sports pack. Also, a few are usaully picked up by the NHL network throught the season.
you can use these links below to follow nelson and gregoire throughout the season. Good luck to the isles and go sioux
Was curious as to if De Haan was going to start the season in NY?
There will be an answer to that question on Wednesday. Along with a Nino Niederreiter decision. By all indications, it seems as though at least one of the two will be given a 9 game audition at least. This is one of the harder organizations to predict when it comes to personnel moves.
Unbelievable coast to coast goal. Great to see considering he is advertised as more of a gritty, defensive forward. He is also team captain which is a plus.
Unbelievable coast to coast goal. Great to see considering he is advertised as more of a gritty, defensive forward. He is also team captain which is a plus.
Bridgeport bound next season?
I'm sure he learned it from Gordon's Overspeed system in training camp.
Also, didn't see it noted anywhere but David Toews hurt his ankle a few days ago and is out for up to 8 weeks. Initially they thought it was broken but now it seems to be a bad high-ankle sprain.
DeHaan with 2 assists in his return to Oshawa against Kingston. The Gens were down 7-2 at one point, but fought back to tie it at 7, before eventually losing in a shootout.
I thought he looked shaky early on, but got better as the game went along. During their comeback, the De Haan people around here hope to see showed up, making crisp outlet passes and generally controlling the flow of the game. In OT, it looked almost as though he didn't even come off the ice.
His offensive game is impressive, but he's still got to improve his defense and strength. He was being more assertive physically than I remember him last season, but he wasn't exactly out-muscling or knocking people over. His strength is still at the junior level. He'd get overpowered quite easily against pros.
now where did everyone rank him in their top isles prospects again?
I started voting for him as of spot 6 in our rankings.
When I look at our prospects and ask myself the question "Who is likely going to have an NHL career?", I can only list a few prospects before Lee. He's just one of those kids who seems to have enough of each prerequisite to look like a gamer down the road in some useful capacity.
There was another thread over at the prospect boards discussing Bjugstad vs. Nelson vs. Lee. The majority concensus was that Lee DIDN'T belong in that conversation.
Here's hoping that trick last night was a sign of further things to come.
I think I've mentioned elsewhere, but I'm still tipping on him becoming pro after his sophomore season and being on the Island after one season in the AHL.
19th, as he should've been. System's deep, he's still young, and before now, there was a lot of uncertainty about how he'd perform in college hockey.
As opposed to the slightly smaller uncertainty level now.
Dice, really enjoyed the prospect blogs - as I knew I would!
I don't see 18 prospects in this organization having a better shot at the NHL than Lee. I felt we fans vastly underrated him this past summer.
In general, people need to view Lee differently since he spent so much time practicing - and excelling in - several sports. He's not just a hockey player; he's an athlete. He's got a winner's pedigree and anyone not knowing what to expect of him upon his being drafted should have had their doubts e(r)ased no later than this past season. In a league that is arguably the top NCAA developmental league, he downright dominated and put simply, won. Scoring, +/-, playoff explosion, MVP, championship... his pedigree of being a winner only expanded and was further confirmed.
Now, I don't know if he's the second coming, but his track record to date screams of "blooming power forward with size, drive, determination and a knack for being amongst the top everywhere he's been thus far".
After last season, I'd be disappointed to see anything less than a 12-15-27, +5 freshman year.
See my prior post as to other expectations... This is 'take it to the bank stuff'!
