Game Report: Vancouver 4 Regina 3 (SO)

1ST PERIOD VAN T. Cheek (8) (J. Houck, C. Popoff) 16:01
2ND PERIOD VAN K. Kessy (5) (D. Sward) 4:42
REG L. Scheidl (11) (M. Klimchuk) 11:24
REG K. Burroughs (1) (L. Scheidl) 18:01
3RD PERIOD VAN K. Kessy (6)  7:16 (SH)
REG M. Klimchuk (12) (L. Scheidl, D. Stevenson) 19:06 (PP) Shootout Regina Lane Scheidl No Goal Morgan Klimchuk Goal Dyson Stevenson No Goal Colten Mayor No Goal Adam Brooks No Goal Adam Rossignol No Goal Emil Sylvegard No Goal Vancouver Trevor Cheek Goal Jackson Houck No Goal Carter Popoff No Goal Kale Kessy No Goal Brett Kulak No Goal Anthony Ast No Goal   Thomas Foster Goal Regina Matt Hewitt 27/30 Vancouver Payton Lee 25/28 Regina 1. Morgan Klimchuk LW - Klimchuk's game reminds a lot of that of what Patrick Marleau brings to the San Jose Sharks. Very deft at finding soft spots in the offensive zone and have a quick release on his shot. Klimchuk also isn't very comfortable with the physical part of the game. So, his game comes and goes in spurts. He's one of those players that you might not notice all night but burn you near the end of the game, kind of like he did tonight. There is a niche for Klimchuk at the NHL, but whatever NHL team takes him will have to take the good with the bad. Klimchuk is 2013 draft eligible. 2. Kyle Burroughs D - Burroughs is a player that has been on the cusp of my top 30 2013 draft eligible players this season. Known as a puckmoving, mobile dman, but is undersized and gets in trouble in strength and leverage battles. Needs a better stick in order to be more effective in the defensive zone. Burroughs has a future as a potential offensive, puckmoving Dman, but needs the experience, reps and guidance in order to get there. Vancouver 1. Kale Kessy LW - Kessy was his usual robust self tonight but also managed to pot a couple of goals tonight. Has a hard, heavy shot that he used twice to his benefit. Kessy is a big body that is pretty firm on his skates. A heavy skater that finishes checks. Has the look of a very raw power forward. It will be interesting to see how his game fairs in the pro ranks. Had himself a solid game tonight. 2. Payton Lee G - Lee played much better tonight after watching him get shelled last week against Portland.  Rare for a 16 year old to be a starting goaltender for his WHL club but that's where Lee finds himself with the Giants. Lee will be a "trial under fire" type position all year. The experience will help him but getting shelled game in, game out may hurt him mentally down the road. Vancouver will have to monitor his starts closely but Lee is a bluechip prospect for the Giants and should be treated as such.

Game Report: Kootenay 5 Brandon 3

1ST PERIOD KTN A. Vetterl (1) (J. Martin, K. O'Connor) 4:47
KTN J. Descheneau (4) (J. Leach) 6:57
KTN S. Reinhart (6) (B. Montgomery) 7:30
BDN J. Hawryluk (5) (T. McGauley, A. Bertaggia) 14:56
KTN C. Shirley (5) (J. Dirk, J. Descheneau) 16:24 (PP)
2ND PERIOD KTN K. O'Connor (3) (L. Philp, J. Leach) 2:20 (PP) 3RD PERIOD BDN R. Pulock (9) (E. Roy, T. McGauley) 6:43 (PP) BDN A. Bertaggia (14) (T. Seaman) 9:23

Brandon
Corbin Boes 11/15
Curtis Honey 16/17

Kootenay
Mackenzie Skapski 32/35

Brandon
1. Alessio Bertaggia LW - Bertaggia was a madman tonight. Putting his body in harms way and desperate to make a play. Some plays were nifty and successful, others were thwarted and looked down right painful. Bertaggia was crashing net all nighy long, something that may not be wise considering his size and stature but one has to admire the heart and courage he played with to get his team back into the game. Bertaggia has a sneaky, quick trigger on his shot and blazed a trail up and down his wing.
2. Ryan Pulock D - The more I watch Pulock play, the more he continues to impress. A do it all type defender. Scores a goal on one end and shuts things down at the other, all while playing big minutes doing it. Pulock to a shot to the face late in the 2nd period, came back early in the 3rd to launch a bomb from the point for a powerplay goal. You can add gutsy to his long list of credentials. Was one of four players on the Wheat Kings to finish on the plus side of the ledger. For my money, should be the 2nd Dman drafted after Seth Jones in the 2013 NHL Draft.

Kootenay
1. Sam Reinhart C - Reinhart is such a rare blend of speed, hands and hockey smarts all wrapped into one package. 2014 Draft Eligible has emerged as the scoring leader for the Ice this season and should remain their leader as long as he is with the team. Chipped in with a goal tonight, has numerous other opportunities that he barely missed on. Reinhart, Jaedon Descheneau and Collin Shirley should form as the future for the Ice going forward. All 3 are dynamic scorers for that club.
2. Joey Leach D - Leach was dynamite tonight for the Ice on the backend. Broke up numerous rushes and chipped in with a couple of assists. Played a well rounded game tonight. Threw some hits, won some board battles and made good decisions with the puck. Depending on how the Ice improve or regress during the season, Joey Leach could become prime trade bait for one of the contending club as a 20 year old. A solid defender.

Game Report: Team Russia 5 Team WHL 2

1ST PERIOD RUS Mikhail Naumenkov (2) (Kirill Kapustin, Anton Shenfeld) 7:06
RUS Andrei Sigarev (2) (Alexander Khokhlachev) 19:50
2ND PERIOD WHL Ty Rattie (1) (Tyler Wotherspoon) 8:15
RUS Kirill Dyakov (1) (Kirill Kapustin, Mikhail Naumenkov) 8:43
RUS Alexander Khokhlachev (2) (Andrei Sigarev) 14:39 3RD PERIOD WHL Adam Lowry (1) (Colin Smith, Ty Rattie) 3:42 (PP) RUS Yaroslav Kosov (1)  18:32 (EN) Team Russia Andrey Makarov 22/24 Team WHL Laurent Brossoit 10/13 Eric Comrie 17/18 Team Russia 1. Alexander Khokhlachev C - Khokhlachev's best game the series. Really showed off his stick skill by depositing a goal at the mouth of the crease and had a dandy tip that hit the crossbar. He and Yakupov never really gathered chemistry together much in this tourney even though they were tied at the hip for most of it. A Bruins draft pick that should be known more for his deft offensive talent but is also a solid defender in his own right. 2. Mikhail Naumenkov D - Naumenkov was likely Team Russia's best defender over the tourney. Brings a little bit of everything type defender. Has some offensive ability with a crisp shot. Solid defender in his own zone. Doesn't mind the physical stuff. Added a goal and an assist tonight. Fully expect him to on the Team Russia squad for the World Junior Chamionships. Team WHL 1. Ty Rattie RW - Rattie was the only player that could create anything offensively tonight. Used his speed on the rush to get the puck into the scoring areas. He really attacked the net tonight. Rattie a superb offensive player that is equal part playmaker as he is a sniper. Should be on the Team Canada World Junior Roster in December. Can be a roleplayer on Team Canada if they feel they have too many scorers as Rattie's game is diverse enough. 2. Eric Comrie G - Only played in half the game tonight, but that was plenty of time to showcase off his athleticism and his composure in the net. Comrie only gave up one goal in his half the game. Tried to keep the game close while Team WHL tried to get its offense in order. Team WHL's defense was poor tonight, especially defensively. Lots of blown coverages and turnovers. Plenty of point blank looks but Comrie was up to the challenge. Comrie is eligible for the 2013 draft and if he keeps up his numbers, he may get himself into the 1st round.

Game Report: Tean WHL 1 Team Russia 0 (SO)

1ST PERIOD
No Scoring

2ND PERIOD
No Scoring

3RD PERIOD
No Scoring

Team Russia
Nail Yakupov No Goal
Vladimir Tkachev No Goal
Andrei Sigarev No Goal

Team WHL
Mitch Holmberg No Goal
Hunter Shinkaruk Goal
Mark McNeill Goal
Sam Reinhart Goal

Team Russia
Andrey Makarov 35/35

Team WHL
Laurent Brossoit 30/30

Team Russia
1. Yaroslav Kosov RW - Kosov was a handful tonight. Big bodied Florida Panthers draft pick was a terror cutting in off the wing. Kosov and Nichushkin were two of the better players on this night as the big bodies were the players that had a chance to get to through the vaunted WHL defense and get near the opposing net. Kosov has good wheels and a nice set of hands for a bigger player. Can't seem to buy a goal in this Super Series.
2. Andrey Makarov G - Makarov was the best player on the ice tonight for either team. He had the forcefield up all night until the shootout came around. Made a number of big saves and was tracking the puck unbelievably well on this night. Had to wonder if he was going to be beat at all. Team WHL finally got to him in the shootout. Makarov is a cool customer. Doesn't get rattled and fights for his ice. Is really strong when the pressure is applied around his crease.

Team WHL
1. Travis Ewanyk C -  Was laying players out left and right before he got met with that double edge sword that forced him from the game with an apparent ankle injury. Ewanyk had a couple of nice open ice hits before he got taken out of the game by a low bridge hit from one of the Russian defenders. Ewanyk has a potential future as a checking line center at the pro level.
2. Laurent Brossoit G - Brossoit equalled Makarov save for save through 60 minutes keeping the game scoreless. Unlike Makarov, he was perfect in the shootout as well. Brossoit really played well tonight. Could have been the best game I have seen him play ever. Didn't get rattled, was composed through 60 minutes. It looked as if time and score didn't matter as he was just focused in on making the next save. Has to be on the radar for for a Team Canada World Junior invite, if not potentially make the team. This great game could not come at a better time for him.

Game Report: Team OHL 2 Team Russia 1

1ST PERIOD OHL Ryan Strome (1) (Garrett Meurs, Matt Puempel) 9:50 2ND PERIOD
NO SCORING 3RD PERIOD OHL Frankie Corrado (1) (Ryan Strome, Dougie Hamilton) 9:16
RUS Nail Yakupov (2) (Albert Yarullin, Maxim Shalunov) 19:24 Team Russia Andrei Vasilievski 26/28 Team OHL Jordan Binnington 8/8 Jake Paterson 7/8 Team Russia 1. Nail Yakupov RW - Team Russia had pracitically no offense going on tonight, as they could only muster 16 shots through the entire game. Team OHL stuffed them at every turn, which is a kudos to Team OHL for their defensive play. Yakupov scored late in this game which is a complement to him that he doesn't need much of an opportunity to capitalize on a chance. Really got beaten up in this game but much to his credit he kept plugging away and didn't quit on the game or his team. Yakupov does have some enigmatic things about his game that need to be ironed out but his will and his drive shouldn't be questioned. 2. Andrei Vasilievski G - The best player on Team Russia tonight and likely was the only reason the game was close. Team Russia ran into penalty trouble at the worst times tonight but Vasilievski was his teams' best penalty killer. When Vasilievski is on, he is tough to beat along the ice and tonight he was a wall in Team Russia's net. Team OHL 1. Tom Wilson RW - Tom Wilson did not show up on the scoresheet but his physicality was all over the ice as he handed out hit after hit. He has come a long way in terms of his skating, but in terms of his overall hockey sense, he knows what he is and relishes that role. Its good to see a player take on such a physically demanding role and enjoy doing it. Very much in the conversation to make the World Junior club for Team Canada as a 4th line energy player. 2. Dougie Hamilton D - Hamilton was a rock on the backend for Team OHL tonight. Team Russia only mustered 16 shots on the game and a lot of that was because of Dougie Hamilton. He is a unique blend of size and mobility, with equal parts of offense and defense. Rock solid with and without the puck. A great deal of maturity in his game. Should be a shoe-in to be on the backend for the Team Canada World Junior Team this winter and anchor that blueline.

My Mock Team For Canada World Junior Club 2013

Jonathan Huberdeau-Ryan NugentHopkins-Ryan Strome
Jonathan Drouin-Mark Scheifele-Nathan MacKinnon
Brett Ritchie-Boone Jenner-Ty Rattie
Phillip Danault-Sean Monahan-Tom Wilson
Mark McNeill

Ryan Murray-Dougie Hamilton
Morgan Rielly-Cody Ceci
Griffin Reinhart-Mathew Dumba
Scott Harrington

Malcolm Subban
Zachary Fucale

Thoughts:
My lineup consists of a variety of types of players. A solid blend of youth and experience, size and speed, right and left handed shots. 4 2013 Draft Eligible players in Nathan MacKinnon, Sean Monahan, Jonathan Drouin and Zachary Fucale. Team will be dependent upon whether Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is let go by his AHL club. Two players I couldn't fit into the club but I wanted to make the club are Ryan Murphy on defense and Charles Hudon at forward.

Will wait to see how the real club shakes down. Should be a very competitive team again this year, making for a very competitive tournament. USA and Russia should have very formidable clubs as well.