Saturday, November 26, 2016

Tyson Strachan Vs Utica Comets 11/25/2016 (Grade B-)

Tonight's 5-2 loss to the Comets was disappointing on many levels. Tonight's roster lacked the forward depth to allow the Amerks to compete for a full 60 minutes. In what has developed into a common trend for the Amerks there was almost no physical play. Nick Baptiste was a glaring bright spot tonight. He was on a mission to make things happen tonight and looked by far the best player on the ice for the Amerks. His silky smooth mitts have now netted him 9 goals and 3 Assists in just 11 games at the AHL level.

Tyson Strachan had a lot of things I wanted to see him fix about his game on Wednesday. He needed to be more physical in front of the net, turn the puck over less and be more efficient starting the breakout. From the very beginning of the night he made significant strides.  He was very conservative passing in the zone and sent every thing up the boards. Also he did a much better job clearing players from the front of the net and keeping their stick off the ice. Unfortunately Strachan's night ended prematurely. He took a shot directly in the face at the twelve minute mark in the 3rd. Based on the amount of blood on the ice it was very clear he was not going to return.

I was pleasantly surprised by how active Strachan's stick was tonight. He made a few very nice poke checks at the blue line tonight causing turnovers. He also made a nice interception that led to an odd man rush and deflected a few cross ice passes on the kill tonight. Overall Strachan played a good defensive game, but his lack of a physical presence is unacceptable. At 6 feet 215 pounds Strachan can't afford to play the style of hockey he does.  He doesn't move quick enough not play the body in open ice. It almost cost the Amerks a goal when he got beat in the slot trying to poke check the puck away early, but Ullmark was up to the task. He faced a similar situation in the second period and whiffed on the hit at center ice, falling to the ground, and giving the Comets an odd man rush.

I'm going to give Strachan a B- tonight but I'm grading him on a bit of a curve. He had a lot to fix after what I saw from him Wednesday and I was happy to see that he did so very quickly. Strachan has virtually no offensive value and is extremely conservative pinching on the point, but if paired with the right defensive partner, I think he can be an effective player. If he is paired with Burgdoerfer or Fedun I think he can do very well, if he adopts a physical style of play.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Erik Burgdoerfer Vs Providence Bruins 11/23/2016 (Grade B+)

There were a lot of questions facing how the Amerks would perform tonight after the recent call ups of Cole Schneider and Cal O'Riley. They looked very much like an undermanned roster playing without a captain. In O'Rilely, Schneider and Fedun, the Amerks were missing their top 3 point scorers this year accounting for 47 of the Amerks 135 points accumulated before tonights game. Including the 4 points Carrier has that is over 37% of the Amerks total scoring missing from the lineup. Tonight there was no quit in the Amerks and Bailey Nylander and Baptiste all played very well offensively and were able to combine for 3 goals and 3 assists. But top to bottom the Amerks did not play well enough to be competitive tonight.

The box score of tonights game will tell you that Erik Burgdoerfer was a -2 and had four penalty minutes. That does not do the performance that Burgdoerfer turned in justice. I thought he was the best blue liner that the Amerks had tonight and that is reflected in the grade I have assigned to him ; a B+. I personally don’t thing he deserved either one of the penalties he took tonight. On the first he mad a nice play to stop a break away tying up a forward after a bouncing back pass caused a turnover in the offensive zone. The Bruins forward was able to get a hold of Burgdoerfer's stick while he played the body and was able to fool the linesman into a hooking call. On the other Burgdoerfer made a phenomenal backtracking play to stop a sure fire goal scoring chance created from a turn over committed by Strachan.

Defensively he turned in a great performance. He was constantly glued to a man in the defensive zone and did a very good job getting the puck out of the zone when he was called upon. When his man went behind the net he was quick to follow him and promptly staple him to the boards so a team mate could swoop in and start the break out. He did a great job in front of the net moving his man out the goalies way. Early in the second he did a fantastic job hounding his man and lifting his stick off the ice so he couldn't receive a centering pass. Unfortunately the pas made it to a waiting Bruin on the point who fired a shot above Ullmark's shoulder. His partner did not do as good a job in front of the net. Honestly it looked like they were trying to run Burgdoerfer around the zone with a decoy forward for much of the night so they could set up shop behind Strachen all night long. The thing I like most about Burdoerfer's defensive play is the intelligence he plays the game with. His head is always on a swivel and he is constantly aware of his responsibilities.

Offensively Burgdoerfer is still lacking quite a bit of polish, but I thought he played a serviceable game. I thought he looked a little bit nervy receiving the puck and mad a few errors that could have led to turnovers. He did miss a pinch on a bouncing puck that led to the first penalty he took on the night, but outside of that instance I thought he picked the right times to pinch and did a good job keeping it in the zone and finding a stick. He made a very nice pass in the first period off the boards to give the Amerks and odd man rush, and showed his ability to skate the puck into the zone on a few occasions. I'd like to see him skate the puck a little bit more often and shoot a little bit more from the point. He only registered one shot and there was no traffic when he took it.

Going forward I think that Burgdoerfer is a key piece for the Amerks. Based on the way he sees the game and the speed he thinks I see no reason why he couldn't play at the NHL level. I think he has to be a little more solid in puck possession but outside of that I had to work pretty hard to find a flaw in his game.  

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Nick Baptiste vs St.Jons Ice Caps 11/18/2016 (Grade C-)

I had very high hopes for the Amerks tonight after the return of Baptiste and Rodrigues was announced. After one period it seemed like the Amerks were firing on al cylinders and were going to dominate the game. Unfortunately they were not able to maintain that standard of play and were eventually edged in a shoot out loss. I was encouraged by what I saw from the Nylander Rodrigues and Bailey line that produced a beautiful goal in the first period. I had extremely high expectations for Baptiste tonight based on all the time he has spent with the Sabres and the production he has had with the Amerks. I felt very let down by his performance tonight and as a result I am going to give him a C- grade.

Baptiste played along side Cole Schneider and Cal O'Riley as his line mates tonight, and also received second line minuets on the power play. He registered only 2 shots on target and both of them came from very far out on the wing and were not a threat to beat the Ice Caps net-minder. He registered an assist on a nice pass to Casey Nelson that was expertly finished. Outside off that he displayed a couple flashes where he made good passes and got on the puck in dangerous situations but he didn't do enough. His line should have dominated tonight and to threaten as little as they did is unacceptable.

By far the biggest weakness in Baptiste's game tonight was his inability to get the puck off of his stick. He was clearly oozing with confidence on the puck, but it didn't do him any good. On numerous occasions in the offensive zone Baptiste tried to beat a defender or hold him off with his body, instead of dumping the puck deep. It resulted in constant turnovers. The few times he didn't play the puck directly into the defender he was moved off the puck with relative ease He was lucky not to get called for holding the defenders stick a few times as well. Late in regulation and overtime Baptiste had a chances to be the hero I expected him to be. Instead he lost the puck leading to dangerous odd man rushes going the other way that almost ended the game. In the shootout he was able to score with relative ease. Based on the elite hand speed he possess he met expectations. It would have been nice to see those quick hands in front of goal a bit more, but sadly that was not the case.

Defensively Baptiste played an incredibly average game. I thought his forechecking was serviceable, and he didn't get out of position. But he didn't make any defensive plays to turn the puck over. He did however do a good job in the defensive zone of establishing a physical presence. He wasn't exactly shaking the boards but he made a few nice hits that were able to take and Ice Cap off the puck and start the break out. Baptiste didn't make any mistakes in the defensive zone and as a result he finished +1 on the night.

In some ways it was a good thing that Baptiste's confidence never wavered taking on defenders. But he absolutely needs to do a better job getting his line mates involved. O'Riley and Schneider are arguably the two best playmakers on the roster and I'm shocked that he was not more successful playing beside them. Baptiste definitely has the talent to become an NHL mainstay but I was very disappointed by his performance tonight especially in the big moments of the game when there were plays to be made. Im sure things will get better for him as he gets reacclimatized with his Rochester team mates, and I am looking forward to seeing it.


Thursday, November 17, 2016

Justin Kea vs Albany Devils 11/16/16 (Grade N/R)

Tonights 3-1 loss was a horrible game for the Amerks top to bottom. I consider myself an optimist, but the only positive I took out of this game was the impeccable work rate of Mike Aviani in the first game of his PTO (and he finished -3). For the first time on the year I thought coach Dan Lambert had a bad night. I thought he gave up on the Nylander, Schneider, and O'Riley line too fast. And I thought he should have kept Kea and Bailey together after the second period they had. Even Linus Ullmark had a bad night. Not in the traditional sense that he was bad as a shot stopper, but he took 2 penalties. He wasn't the only one to take a bad penalty tonight. The Amerks finished the night with 31 penalty minutes.
   
I don't think Kea had a bad night but I'm not going to rate him. At the half way point in the first period Kea seemed to be tackled from behind. Instead of being let up he got caught up in a fight. He was never really was able to take any swings because he couldn't stand up. After the awkward affair he was given a major and an extra 2 minutes for roughing. After serving his penalty he didn't get back on the ice in the first period. For the next two periods, the Amerks spent much of the game in special teams situations. This led to even less ice time for Kea. 

When he was on the ice I thought kea played well. Offensively he skated the puck well and led the breakout very effectively leaving the zone. On his first shift of the game he made an amazing drop pass that led to a goal scoring chance. Late in the second period Kea and Bailey created a chance with some strong checking in the offensive zone. After Kea won the puck he took a great low shot that produced a rebound. Bailey was taken down and drew a penalty. Unfortunately they didn't play together in the 3rd period. 

Defensively Kea played a good game. He was in the right place in the defensive zone and he was able to make an impact with his physical play. He did a good job following forwards behind the net and making things difficult for the Devils. Most importantly he efficiently executed the break out consistently, keeping the devils from establishing zone control when he was on the ice. 

Tonights game didn't do anything to change Kea's career arc. He is still one of the first names on the chopping block when the Amerks inevitably start to get some of their forwards back from Buffalo. I still think that Kea is one of the few Amerks that bring a physical presence, but as a fourth liner that doesn't play on special teams, there is nothing tying him to the roster.     

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Dan Catanacci vs Hartford Wolf Pack 11/11/16 (Grade D+)

Tonight's 5-2 thriller was the most exiting home game of the year so far. There are a couple tap-ins that I would like to get to before Catenacci's scouting report. Fedun played an amazing game, and is starting to look like the playmaking defenseman he was expected to be for the Amerks. He far exceeded physical expectations in his dominant fighting performance that capped off his Gordie Howe hat trick. Also Fedun and Nylander are developing quite the partnership on the power play. In my last review I mentioned that I thought Nylander could turn into a special weapon on the power play and he didn't disappoint tonight, with a goal and an assist. Last I want to give credit to Justin Kea for playing one of the best games I have seen him play at this level. He picked his spot perfectly on his first goal of the night and did a great job fighting for net front position before he redirected his second goal. I think this could be a huge game for Kea, helping him to earn some more ice time even when the Sabres get healthy, and the Amerks get some reinforcements.

I was hoping that Dan Catenacci would take the mantle from Cole Schnieder as the offensive leader tonight. Instead of rising to the challenge he seemed to have no desire in making an impact tonight. At times I felt like he was more interested in watching the game then I was. My lasting impression of his game tonight will be him slowly ghosting into the zone (both offensive and defensive) behind the play with his stick on his hips waiting for the game to come to him. For that reason tonight I am going to give him a D+. I think Catenacci is capable of playing at a very high level and for a few shifts tonight he did, but in a night where he had an opportunity to step up and maybe become the next NHL call up he did the exact opposite. 

In the face off circle Catenacci did a decent job tonight and won the majority of his face offs. Unfortunately he did not do a good job on face offs in the defensive zone. This led to first goal of night for Hartford. After he lost the face off clean he failed to get out and pressure the shooter. Instead he watched the defenseman uncork a slap shot that found its way through traffic and into the net. I would like to see Catenacci work on his timing to win more face offs clean. When he wasn't able too he did a pretty good  job of tying up the other center and working hard to win the puck. 

In the offensive zone I don't think Catenacci worked hard enough to get on the puck. Most of the time when the puck was dumped in he was slow entering the zone and watching one of his other forwards dig the puck out. In one of the few instances he was ahead of the play on the breakout he made a nice play receiving a tough pass and getting a shot off. He chased down the rebound and moved it to the point leading to a goal for Fedun. Unfortunately that was only a quick flash in what was a very dull offensive night. He very rarely skated the puck into the zone but when he did he made a nice pass to Nylander that led to a good shot opportunity. Catenacci clearly has playmaking ability, but he needs to work harder to get on the puck in the zone and create chances. 

On the defensive side of the puck Catenacci was a liability for most of the night. His forechecking efforts were minimal and most of the time he let his other forwards do the work as he waited for Hartford to enter the zone. Once in the zone instead of sticking close to a man he spent most of the night in open space puck watching. His inability to be in position and close down shooters directly led to multiple shots tonight. Fortunately Ullmark was able to bail him out most of the time with another stelar performance between the pipes. But it wasn't a coincidence that Catenacci was on the ice for both Hartford goals.  

Catenacci is in a very important place in his career development. Over the coarse of this year he needs to prove weather he can earn a call up, or if he is going to become a career AHL player. I think he has a lot of potential, but his play is alarmingly inconsistent from game to game and even period to period. For him to have any shot at reaching his NHL potential he needs to put forth more consistent effort and production.







  

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Alexander Nylander vs Syracuse Crunch 11/4/16 (Grade A-)

Tonight Alexander Nylander turned in the best performance of anyone I have scouted so far this year. In a game that finished in a very disappointing final period Nylander's performance was good enough to earn the nights third star, and an A- in my grade book. I think tonight the 18 year old showed flashes of why he was taken 8th overall in the 2016 draft. However he still has a few things to work on if he is going to play at the NHL level.  

The first weakness in Nylander's game was evident the first time he stepped onto the ice and constantly affected his play tonight. In a game where it was tough to read jersey numbers because of the camouflage alternates Nylander stood out as a boy amongst men. He was constantly looking to avoid contact. He played like he was afraid when he was on the puck and very frequently stopped short of defenders to avoid a hit. In the second period he was forced into a situation where he was required to make a check at center ice and ended up picking himself up off the ice instead.  On the defensive side of the puck he looked like he didn't belong for much of the night.  His forecheck was very ineffective and he frequently lost tract of forwards in the zone. He seemed uninterested in playing defense for much of the night. I want to give some praise to coach Lambert for pairing him with Rodrigues to help compensate. I can't be to harsh on Nylander for shying from contact because at the end of the day, he is still only 18 years old and played the style of hockey that suits his game (and health) best. But he needs to pick up his intensity on the defensive end.
       
On the offensive side of the puck Nylander was a revelation for most of the night. He was smart in puck possession and had few turnovers. Even though he avoided contact it was very apparent early on that if he wanted to run away, nobody on the Crunch was going to catch him. As a result he was pumping rubber all night long. He led the Amerks in the shot column tonight and all of them (excluding one shot that sailed high) were well placed shots that forced a save and created a rebound. His highlight for the night was a perfectly placed wrist rocket that gave the the Amerks a 2-0 lead on a 2 on 1. The goalie gave him too much space on the near post and I was happy to see him take advantage instead of trying to make a play passing the puck. 

A large chunk of the ice time Nylander received was on the point during the power play. I thought he was extremely conservative and needed to take more shots from the point instead of passing to his defensive partner. He did a good job in the zone getting to loose pucks first and getting the puck either back in the corner or to a stick on the point. There was a moment when the puck was turned over and he was required to perform his defensive responsibilities in his own zone. He looked so lost that I had to watch him through the fingers covering my eyes. However there is a definitive reason that Nylander deserves to play the point on the power-play, and I think it can be the difference that turns him into an elite offensive weapon even at the NHL level. That would be his body positioning. I saw shades of Tyler Seguin in him the way he was able to set up for a slap shot as the puck came to him. It was most notable during an extended chance during a 4 on 3. The only difference being unlike Seguin he never actually followed through and took the shot. If he develops a shoot first mentality in those situations I think he can transform the Amerks into a top 5 AHL power-play unit.

After tonight it is very clear that Nylander is going to be able to contribute at the NHL level. Currently I would rate him as my top prospect within the organization. Right now I think the only thing that is going to prohibit him from playing at the next level is his size. I love potential he has on the point. My bold prediction is by this time of the season in two years Nylander will be a top 6 forward for the Sabres.