The Doldrums of Summer

Image "borrowed" from www.invisibleoranges.com
With the convention wrapping up this past weekend, Hawks fans are about to go into deep withdrawal, because there won't be much Hockey to discuss, whatsoever. Camp isn't for almost 2 months, and there will barely be a whisper of anything, other than the cup being paraded around the Chicagoland area. Until then, here are some things for you to amuse yourselves. Theses are the two highlight videos I made this year, for the Hawks. Enjoy.




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Blackhawks NewsSign It, Trade It, Mail It Away!

Just when things slow down in Blackhawk Land, Stan Bowman pulls us right back in. Tuesday the Blackhawks announced a couple of deals.

First of all, the team announced that they had re-signed, NOT RESIGNED, Ryan Stanton to a one year extension. No financial term have been announced yet, but you can expect something in the area of a two way $600K deal. Stanton has been a solid, on the cusp, player in Rockford for a few years now, and made his NHL debut against the Blues in the last game of the season. This isn't a huge development as Stants would still be the #8 guy on the NHL roster.

Stanton is pretty highly regarded in the Hawks system, and still only 23 years old. He specs out at 6'2" and 205lbs, which is on the large side of average for NHL defenders. Players and fans seem to really like him, so hopefully we'll get a chance to see him this year, and under favorable circumstances.


Just a short while after the Stanton re-signing, and all sane Hawks fans dreams came true; after winning the cup that is. Dan "Gorilla Salad" Carcillo was traded to LA for a conditional draft pick. Since others in the Blackhawks Blog Brotherhood covered this more eloquently rthan I, you can just read for yourselves. To say I vehemently agree with their points is to put things lightly.

Go forth and read:

The gents at The Committed Indian
And the fine young cannibals over at HockeeNight
On to the Mailbag. Figured I would throw it out to the fans to answer a few questions. Here we go:

Several people asked about the prospects that will need to fill the open roster spots.

Excellent question. With the passing on of Gorilla Salad, there is yet another spot opened up. Realistically, the Hawks need to replace Bolland, Stalberg and Frolik at a minimum. This is assuming that Bolland was slotted for the second line center spot.

As far as second line center goes, the Blackhawks seem to be pretty content with a Marcus Kruger, Brandon Pirri and Drew LeBlanc slugging it out for the position. They have pretty decent potential, as Pirri was the AHL's regular season leading scorer, and LeBlanc was the Hobey Baker award winner in College this spring. Word has been circling that Leblanc is considered further along than originally expected. The issue I would be worried about is faceoffs. Hopefully the addition of consultant Yanic Perreault, and the re-signing of faceoff wizard Michal Handzus will help the kids along in this process. Kruger would "seem" like the most likely, with his experience, so we'll see how this plays out. If that happens, then Pirri or Leblanc move down to the 4th line.

As far as some of the open wing spots, you can bet on Ben Smith making the team out of camp. The organ-I-zation has been high on him for a while, but there just simply wasn't any room. He could be slotted on the 3rd line, replacing Stalberg, or the 4th line, replacing Frolik. The speedy and gritty Jeremy Morin will get a long look, probably making the team, in those two spots as well. The dark horse in this race is Jimmy Hayes. He has the size but he doesn't use it to his advantage as much as the coaches would like. He's more like a poor man's Eric Daze, than Bryan Bickell. With his frame, he "should" be the leader in this race, but they really don't seem to know if they want him at center or wing. Personally, I'd like to see him on the 4th line with Handzus or one of the kids, and I wouldn't be opposed to Bollig out there from time to time. If Kruger can't hack the second line job, he could play center or wing there as well.

The Hawks are going to try and slot Bickell in on one of the top two lines, at least to start, which might mean that Saad slides down into the bottom six. This leaves the third line around Shaw open for Morin or Smith. I could see lines shaking out something like this, come fall:

Kane-Toews-Bickell
Sharp-Kruger-Hossa
Saad-Shaw-Smith
Morin-Handzus-Bollig

While I really have no use for Bollig, Quenneville will play him, so that's why I included him. I'd much rather have Jimmy Hayes playing in that slot, but the Mustachio rules the roost.

If you mention Kyle Beach, I'll cut ya!

As far as the defense goes, it's a real tight ship organizationally. The top 7 spots are spoken for, unless someone really blows the doors off the joint, in camp. Stanton seems like the logical "first responder", if there are injuries, and Adam Clendening could see some time, in an emergency, as well. Dylan Olsen, Klas Dahlbeck, and Shawn Lalonde aren't all that far behind either.

With the Goaltending, unless there is a miracle, there is only one new player you have a chance of seeing. Antti Raanta. He was signed to be the backup/heir apparent to Corey Crawford. If he doesn't pull a Salak, he'll be the backup next season, or earlier if Khabibulin wilts. There is a definite drop off in talent after Raanta. Kent Simpson would be next, followed by Mac Carruth, and finally Brandon Whitney. If they get past Raanta, expect the Hawks to sign a veteran for emergency duty.

At what point is the faceoff considered won?

Like hitting, won faceoffs are somewhat of a subjective statistic. What constitutes possession? I think it's safe to say that a won faceoff is when a players team takes unabated control of the puck, whenever that may be. Its really subjective to the official scorer's opinion.

Why did Stan spend so much on Bryan Bickell?

I've seen this quite a few times, and before July 5th, I may have agreed. But once Free Agency opened, equivalent players like David Clarkson, and Ryane Clowe grabbed the money and ran. Bickell is 2 years younger than Clarkson, and three years younger than Clowe. Bickell had 23 regular season points in a third line role, while Clowe had 19, and Clarkson had 24. When you take all of this into account, the Blackhawks got a player two years younger, for between $850,000 or $1.2 million less per year. Stan won this derby, because Bickell will be easier to unload than the other schmucks just because of his age and salary alone.

And finally from Fork at HockeeNight: Describe Sopel's dong in 5 words or less.

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2013 Blackhawks Prospect Camp

"Expendable Youth"

As I have for the past few years, I took the trek out to Johnny's Ice House West to see the Blackhawks Prospect camp. Deep down, I love this kind of stuff, and in another life I may have been a scout. Judging talent is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine.

I was disappointed that a few of the top Hawks prospects weren't in camp:

Teuvo Teravainen was excused to limit extensive traveling, as a result of his involvement, in August, with the Finland U-20 team in NY.

First round pick this year, Ryan Hartman, was out with a shoulder injury.

Newly signed goalie and prospective future Rockford starter, Antti Raanta was out with a minor leg injury.

Draft pick from last year, and Andrew Shaw clone, Garrett Ross was a no show.

Kevin Hayes, who was the Hawks first round pick three years ago, didn't show up until Friday.

Below is my list of notes from the two days I was in attendance, and also, be sure to check out the over 250 pictures I snapped: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.691178257575241.1073741826.163171723709233&type=1&l=09ae85676f

Players in Green are Blackhawks Draftees and/or players under contract.
Players in Orange are Free Agent invitees.

#	PLAYER	HT	WT	AGE	Notes
	Forwards
79	COHEN ADAIR	6'1"	200	21	Nothing of note
76	SAM BABINTSEV	5'11"	167	18	Nothing of note
75	JASON BAST	5'10"	196	24	Nothing of note.
52	ALEX BROADHURST	6'0"	170	20	One of the more talented forwards. Veteran of these camps. Nose for the net. Confident.
72	MILOS BUBELA	6'3"	186	20	Tall, lanky. Decent hands.
20	CHRIS CALNAN	6'1"	190	19	Worked well with Broadhurst on Tuesday. Gritty forward.
4	PHILLIP DANAULT	6'1"	198	20	Clear leader of the second group on Tuesday. Hawk for the puck. Does all the little things well, but nothing flashy. Certainly a defensive specialist.
63	GRAYSON DOWNING	6'1"	167	21	Every time I see this kid's name I think of KK Downing from Judas Priest. I know, this dates me. Nothing special on Tuesday, but made some really slick stick moves in the scrimmage on Thursday.
64	QUINN GOULD	6'2"	185	23	Nothing of note.
48	RYAN HARTMAN	5'11"	181	18	Hurt. Didn't play.
83	JOHN HAYDEN	6'3"	210	18	Big boy. Likes contact. Power forward type. Was flying around and sticking his nose into everything. Think of what Kyle Beach SHOULD have been. Click the text here to see his Blackhawks TV "Mic'd up" video
15	KEVIN HAYES	6'3"	205	21	Didn't show even though his Twitter said he was heading to Chicago Tuesday night. Eventually made it out Friday. Nice to see you could make it out, kid.
22	VINCENT HINOSTROZA	5'9"	165	19	No show on Tuesday, played on Thursday. Nothing of note.
68	MATT LORITO	5'9"	165	23	Scored the first goal of the scrimmage on Thursday after stealing the puck from Sam Jardine at the White team's blue line. Smallish, which will hold him back.
43	ANTHONY LOUIS	5'7"	145	18	Tiny. Quick feet. Bounces off defenders. Pro defenders would beat him to death, though. Once he puts on some weight, he may have a future.
58	CHRIS MCCARTHY	6'1"	190	21	Nothing of note.
11	MARK MCNEILL	6'1"	214	20	Clearly the leader of his group Tuesday. Really didn't show anything flashy. Growing into his body. He reminds me more of a Ryan Kesler type player.
39	TYLER MOTTE	5'9"	190	18	Saw him play, but nothing stood out.
60	PAT MULLANE	5'11"	190	22	Nothing special. Returning player
54	TIM O'BRIEN	5'11"	170	20	Quick hands. Nice shot. Scored a slick goal in Thursday's scrimmage
46	GARRET ROSS	6'0"	182	21	No show. A player I wanted to see more of since his freakish season in juniors this past year.
70	MAXIM SHALUNOV	6'3"	187	20	Got NHL size. Progressed from last year. His size could earn him time in Rockford within a year or two.
59	DARIO SIMION	6'1"	185	19	Skates well. May develop in time
73	GARRETT THOMPSON	6'2"	191	23	Nothing of note.
	Defense
37	TRAVIS BROWN	6'2"	186	19	Looked really good Tuesday. Improved from last year. Johnny Oduya type of player.
17	JAKE CHELIOS	6'2"	185	22	Looks better than 12. Nothing spectacular. Played both wing and defense, but did neither exceptionally well.
71	LUKE CURADI	6'5"	247	22	Tall as hell, weighs almost 250 lbs, and moves well for big guy. Played wing in camp even though he's listed as a defenseman. Looks almost exactly like Bryan Bickell on the ice and plays that way too.
38	CARL DAHLSTROM	6'3"	211	18	Looks bigger than his size, and big shoulder pads make him look very broad shouldered. Lumbering. More slow and smooth. Would get walked at the pro level.
6	DILLON FOURNIER	6'2"	175	19	Really slick hands. Going to be good.
8	KIRILL GOTOVETS	5'11"	194	22	No show. I wanted to see this kid, who was acquired from Tampa for Philippe Paradis last season.
28	JUSTIN HOLL	6'2"	180	21	Returning player. Looks bigger than his stats say. Veteran of these camps. Click the text here to see his Blackhawks TV "Mic'd up" video.
56	SAM JARDINE	6'1"	195	19	Stocky. Physical. Looks to have recovered from a freak injury suffered at Ohio State, last year, where his leg was severely cut with a skate.
44	STEPHEN JOHNS	6'4"	220	21	Looked much better than 2 years ago. Still kind of slow when he gets out out position but a big body that likes contact. He is very intimidating, and can impose his will on others. Hawks want to sign him, but word is that he wants to finish another year at Notre Dame. It's time for him to go pro.
62	GLEB KORYAGIN	6'0"	181	18	Nothin of note
55	GUY LEBOEUF	6'5"	200	23	Large frame. Threw his body around a little bit at the scrimmage
49	ZACH LOESCH	6'5"	204	20	Another big guy. Hard shot
86	NICK MATTSON	6'1"	185	21	Expected to see something of note, and didn't.
41	ROBIN NORELL	5'11"	192	18	Smallish. Quick feet. Typical European d-man. Patient with the puck. Likes to shoot.
47	MICHAEL PALIOTTA	6'3"	198	20	Returning player that always seems to be around the puck. Kind od a defensive leader with Brown, and Holl.
42	ROBIN PRESS	6'4"	205	18	Nothing special of note. Decent size.
65	VIKTOR SVEDBERG	6'9"	223	22	Moves well like last year. Covers a ton of space with his wingspan alone. Going to be interesting to see how he handles AHL fowrads, this year. If he does well, it's not a stretch to say he'll end up in the NHL someday. He's no Zdeno Chara, but then again who is? Would be nice to see him put on 10 more lbs of muscle.
51	DAN WEISSENHOFER	6'2"	200	21	Nothing of note
45	NOLAN ZAJAC	5'10"	182	20	On the smaller side. Expected to see more after hearing that his brother Travis, in New Jersey, claims that Nolan is the best Zajac in the family. If he is, he didn't show it.
	Goalies
85	MAC CARRUTH	6'4"	181	21	Seems to get down on himself when he lets a bad shot go by. Covers upper half very well for a butterfly goalie. Had a freakish season in Portland, playing in front of future first round draft pick of the Nashville Preds, Seth Jones. Didn't play in the scrimmage
33	MATTHEW O'CONNOR	6'5"	195	21	Covers a lot of net. Slightly slow recovering for rebounds. Did nothing to hurt his chances. His size alone could end up getting him signed somewhere.
31	ANTTI RAANTA	6'1"	189	24	Minor injury held out. I was VERY disappointed about this. This guy was the major reason I went to camp in the first place.
34	KENT SIMPSON	6'2"	190	21	Leader of the goalies with Carruth. Solid. More traditional butterfly. More Confident than Carruth. didn't play in the scrimmage
40	MATT TOMKINS	6'2"	190	21	Nothing flashy. Just stops pucks. May be a silver lining late 11 pick. Had a rough 7 minute stretch in the scrimmage on Thursday, but recovered.
30	JACKSON WHISTLE	6'1"	190	18	Awkward stance. Definitely developing. Held his own in the scrimmage. Shut the white team out for 30 minutes.
32	BRANDON WHITNEY	6'6"	198	19	Looked good. Covers a lot of net but relies on position and size more than reflexes. Confident. Could be that next development goalie, after Carruth and Simpson, in the Hawks system.

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Free Agent Frenzy Weekend

"Rime of the Ancient Mariner"


The Free Agent period opened up Friday, and the fact that it was the day after the country just spend 24 hours blowing itself up was appropriate. Due to the new compliance buyouts, the day was interesting, to say the least. Some big names moved their place of residence and some teams raised some eyebrows. Lets get right to the Hawks "moves":

MICHAL HANDZUS

He's back. The Blackhawks decided that Handzus provided enough veteran leadership and did a good enough job in his time here, that another year couldn't hurt. The job he is more likely brought back for was to help new Blackhawks faceoff consultant Yanic Perreault help develop the talents of the young Hawks prospects that all seem to have an issue in said category. Based on the assumption that AHL leading scorer Brandon Pirri will be given every opportunity to win the ever revolving job of the Blackhawks second line center, and that he is atrocious at faceoffs, it would be safe to assume that Handzus is being brought back as more of a mentor and veteran leader, than a difference maker. He'd make a great fill-in if Shaw struggles to center the 3rd line, and he'd also be a perfect veteran 4th line center. For a 1 year $1 Million deal, this nothing to worry about. I doubt he could ever stay healthy enough for a full 82 game season, plus the playoffs, but his experience and veteran presence can be helpful.

MICHAL ROZSIVAL

He's back, too, and this was the theme of the day for the Hawks. Most people, including me, figured that the Hawks would look to go a little younger for a #6/#7 defenseman, but they had other plans. Bowman gave Rozsival a 2 year deal, which I don't really understand. With a few young d-men waiting in the system, like Adam Clendening, Ryan Stanton, Shawn LaLonde, Klas Dahlbeck, and Dylan Olsen, I'm not really sure why Roszival was needed for two more years. Brookbank comes off the books next summer, so maybe then Rozy slides into the #7 slot with one of the kids coming up. Like Handzus, I can't see him staying healthy for 82 games, but the veteran presence should be great for the kids like Nick Leddy. I personally felt someone like Jeff Schultz or even Mike Komisarek would have been a cheaper, and younger option, but Bowman didn't agree. He played so well in the cup run, and with the shortened regular season, that I'll keep an open mind. If Rozsival can't keep up, I'll be the first to be up his ass.

NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN

Now, on to their prize free agent signing. Ok, maybe he's not a prize, but he certainly is functional. I've made no secret that I was a huge Khabby fan, his first time around. The problem is that he's now 40 years old, and well past his prime. The good news is that Khabby should only get about 20 games of action, if everything goes as planned. If things go to hell, we could see Antti Raanta and/or Mac Carruth making their rookie debuts. When looking at his stats from this last seasons, there are some very promising points. Although his record was only 4-6, he faced an average of 33 shots a game, which is nothing close to what he'll see with the Hawks. Khabby also had a .923 save percentage, which is almost identical to what Crawford and Emery had. With all of this, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say he'll be just fine. I would have liked to see them sign him for a little cheaper contract than $1.7 million, plus a potential $300k performance bonus, but it's better than having a goalie shortage. It gives me a chance to pull my Khabibulin AkBars jersey out of the closet.

Now on to the rest of the league. There are a few notable signings throughout the league. Here we go:

Ray Emery - Emery gave up what would have been a relatively similar deal to stay in Chicago, for a shot at a starting job in the the goalie graveyard known as Philly. He's taking a huge risk by jumping ship because he is not going to have nearly the defense he had here in Chicago. No matter what horseshit Philly fans will feed you, they are in salary cap hell, and they have people like Bruno Gervais, Kent Huskins, and Kurtis Foster on the back end. I guess time is running out for him, so good luck to him.

Viktor Stalberg - The infinite laugher of the day was Viktor Stalberg and his apparent enormous ego, going to Nashville for $3 million a year. This is a guy that pissed his coach off so much that, with all of his speed, ended up a healthy scratch for two finals games and three other playoff games. If they were upset with the ego and shenanigans of Alex Radulov, I'm just dying to see what they do with a guy that has the same ego, but half the talent.

Carter Hutton - Former Rockford fan favorite signed with Smashville, as well, to compete with Chris Mason for the spot to back up Pekka Rinne. This is a job that would probably entail 10-15 NHL games. In all honestly, he just didn't have the chops for the show, so enjoy Milwaukee, Carter. They should be be wetting themselves in Milwaukee because, according to Chris Block, Hutton dominated Milwaukee.

Rostislav Olesz - The poor guy was stuck under the black cloud of the Blackhawks for the last few seasons, and it was unfortunate, because he can play. I have no idea what the Hawks organization hated about him, but they did their best to waste 2 years of his career. I wish him all the best in New Jersey, and I hope he does well. It wasn't fair to him, so I hope he makes up for lost time.

Jeff Schultz - I felt the behemoth former Capitals defenseman would have made a great replacement for Michal Rozsival as a #6 dman, as he is younger, bigger and much cheaper, but he ended up going to LA. So much for that.

Stephen Weiss - Weiss is an impressive former Florida Panther center that was always held back by the fact that he was buried in that market, like David Booth and Nathan Horton before him. He ended up in Detroit with Daniel Alfredsson for $4.9 million a year, where he'll break out of his shell and show why he's one of the more talented centers in the league.

Daniel Alfredsson - Alfie broke the hearts of all Ottawa fans by first telling them he was coming back for another season, and then defecting to the burns out hell hole known as Detoilet. He'll do well there, like all Swedish born players usually do, but c'mon, man. Don't taint you legacy. Detoilet is no closer to the cup than Ottawa is.

Nathan Horton - SEVEN years for in Lumbus. SEVEN! IN COLUMBUS!

Mike Komisarek - The other player that I had in mind to replace Rozsival, but he quickly signed a one year tender in Carolina for peanuts. Guy has leadership qualities, and would have been a nice veteran addition.

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Back Up The Brinks TruckBryan Bickell Cashes In

During all the draft hoopla on Sunday, it was announced that Bryan Bickell had re-signed with the Blackhawks for four years at an annual cap hit of $4 million a year. Some may say that he could fetch somewhere in the area of $5 million a year on the open market, but that is just an asinine amount of money for a guy that performed well in the final dozen games of a three year contract. Please allow me to piss in the punch bowl, but $4 million for a guy that could most 235689 likely live his life on the Hawks 3rd line is a little steep.

For three years a healthy portion of fans and bloggers have bitched and moaned about Bickell not using his big frame and mistaking himself for Patrick Sharp. A dozen, or so, decent playoff games and all of a sudden he has become the second coming of Cam Neely or even Brendan Shanahan. Let's not all forget the frustration that led me to once brand him, One Trick Bick. For three years he chose to fire 40 foot wrist shots on net instead of throw that big frame into the opposition and create havoc in front of the net. Deceptive wrist shots are nice, but it's the rest of your game that defines you.

Fast forward to the playoff this year and maybe something finally clicked; OR he was thrown on a line with two world class players that take the focus off his big toothless face. Whatever it is, I hope it continues, and I never have to bring up his contract again. Conventional wisdom tells one that he'll be a point of contention for the next four years because, well, $4 million is $4 million. For all of our sakes I hope he turns out to be the power forward the Hawks have been waiting for. He has all the tools and the attitude the Blackhawks brass and fans like.

Welcome Back, Mr. Bickell, I hope you raise hell in Conference III for the next 4 years!

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2013 Blackhawks Entry Draft Class

"Deep Thoughts" with Ryan Hartman

Less than a week removed from a Stanley Cup win, the Hawks front office were right back to work at the NHL draft. The Hawks made a few deals and ended up selecting 8 players. Here are the deals they made:

First of all, Dave Bolland was sent to Toronto for 51st and 117th overall selections in this year's draft, and a fourth round pick in the 2014 draft.

The second deal was a little more unexpected. Michael Frolik was sent to Winnipeg for their 74th and 134th overall selections.

The third deal was a trade with San Jose. They swapped picks #117 and #151 for #111 and the SJ 5th round in 2014.

Also in Hawks news, during the fourth round, it was made official that the Blackhawks had signed Bryan Bickell for $16 million over 4 years. I'll weigh in more on this later.

This is the final tally of picks:

Round	Pick	Player	Position	2011/12 Team
1	30	RYAN HARTMAN	RW	PLYMOUTH (OHL)
2	51 from TOR	CARL DAHLSTROM	D	DJURGARDEN U18 (SWE)
3	74 from WIN	JOHN HAYDEN	C	USA U-18
4	111 from SJ	ROBIN NORELL	D	DJURGARDEN U18
4	117 from TOR	TRADE TO SAN JOSE	--	----------
4	121	TYLER MOTTE	C	USA U-18
5	134 from WIN	LUKE JOHNSON	C	LINCOLN (USHL)
5	151	TRADE TO SAN JOSE	--	-----------
6	181	ANTHONY LOUIS	C	USA U-18
7	211	ROBIN PRESS	D	SODERTALJE JR

Ryan Hartman - By all accounts Ryan Hartman is cut from the Andrew Shaw and Garrett Ross cloth. If the NHL fans out outside of Chicago hate the Blackhawks now, just wait until Hartman, Ross, and Shaw are all playing at the UC. NHL Central scouting says the following, "He's not the biggest guy (5'11", 185), but he shows no fear of getting involved and battles for the puck. He can hit hard and is aggressive on the forecheck. He sees the ice well, gets the puck through traffic with creative passes and offers a very good shot that he gets off quickly". Check out this scouting report for yourselves:

Ryan Hartman Scouting Report
Hartman Story on NHL.com
Another good scouting report

Carl Dahlstrom - Tall (6'3") thinner (191) defenseman from the Defenseman factory known as Sweden (which became a pattern for the Hawks Sunday).

Carl Dahlstrom Scouting report (note 20 lbs weight discrepancy)

John Hayden - Big, American kid that can play Right Wing or Center. Just one of a slew of American kids that the Hawks picked Sunday. John Hayden Scouting Report

Robin Norell - Average sized Defenseman from Sweden. Looks to be a puck moving type of player. Not much out there about him. Robin Norell statistics

Tyler Motte - Smallish and another player that can play Right Wing/Center. Looks to be a steal, according to UnitedStatesOfHockey.com:

"One of Team USA’s best players in the tournament, Motte was making an impact in all zones and in all situations. He led Team USA with five goals, but was also an expert penalty killer for a team that allowed just two power-play goals against. He did a lot of the little things like blocking shots, jumping passes and stripping a lot of pucks to show that despite his relative lack of size, he can contribute defensively. Motte also has very good speed and solid puck skills to go along with a good, accurate shot. The size factor may hurt his final draft position, but whoever selects him is going to get an incredibly competitive forward with some good offensive upside."

Luke Johnson - ANOTHER smallish US kid (5'11" 165). Based on his stats, he's a goal scorer. Committed to University of North Dakota.

Check out this great list of links on Johnson

Anthony Louis - At 5'6" and 191, he sounds like a short stocky sniper. Maybe a Martin St. Louis type? This is what UnitedStatesOfHockey.com had to say about Louis:

"Though similarly sized to Kelleher, Louis is drawing a touch more interest from scouts and still appears to have an outside shot at getting drafted. The big thing about Louis is that he engages very well for a player at his size. He showed some good creativity, creating time and space for himself and teammates and making good feeds in the offensive zone. He scored the biggest goal of Team USA’s tournament with the late game-tying marker against Russia in the semifinal. Louis somehow dove and connected with the puck to knock it under the Russian goalie in a net-front scramble. That goal was somewhat indicative of Louis’ tournament. He wasn’t afraid to pay the price for offense and at times he was rewarded. He’ll still have the doubts about his size, but his competitiveness could win a team over late."

Robin Press - Last guy selected. About the only thing he has on his side is that he's yet another Swedish defenseman. He's 6'2" and about 190, and judging by his stats, he's a puck mover and offensive D-man.

Robin Press stats

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