Amateur Scouting Report: Justin Pogge

I had an opportunity to see the Leafs future #1 netminder tonight, as his Marlies visited Hamilton in the first game of a home-and-home, picking up a 3-2 victory in overtime. I say "future #1" with conviction after what I saw tonight. Not that there was any doubt before I got to see him in person, we all remember his great World Junior run, a tournament where he was named MVP of the gold medal winning Canadian squad.

First Impression

At first glance he looks very big, and takes up a lot of net. He is strong and powerful, but his balance and skating could still be improved. He likes to wander when playing the puck, but has a hard shot and great hockey sense. He always seems to know where his teammates are, and is able to get them the puck, even under pressure. That doesn't mean he is immune from any mistakes. A couple of times tonight he was caught hanging on to the puck for too long, and it nearly cost him.

Pros

He uses his size to his advantage, cutting down the angle very well. He is rarely caught out of position because of his power, which is a credit to his conditioning. His rebound control and reflexes both seem to be above-average, although one of the goals was scored when he got a large piece of a puck with his glove hand, it popped up in the air and landed in the net. I would write that off as a fluke because even getting his glove on the shot in the first place was remarkable.

Cons

His only downsides are his skating and balance, and they aren't even that bad. I'm really nitpicking when I say those are issues. They are just some areas he can improve at, although he is already better than most goaltenders in those areas. His maturity has also improved from last year, he now knows player's tendencies and has adapted very well to professional hockey.

Future

Pogge's future remains unchanged from when they brought him up from the Calgary Hitmen. Play 2 or 3 years in the AHL and gradually make his way to the #1 job in Toronto. I believe that a 3rd year in the AHL can only be a good thing for Pogge. There is absolutely no reason to rush him, especially when it is up to a lackluster team such as the Leafs. I can see him splitting time with Vesa Toskala next season, but I wouldn't like it. It's not that he can't handle it, he's just as ready as Carey Price, but he can only get better from playing in the AHL. The Leafs don't need him, and shouldn't waste him. I know for Leafs fans keeping Pogge down in the minors feels a little like Christmas Eve, but it's for the better if you wait until morning to open your present. You don't want to spoil the surprise.

Amateur Scouting Report: Tobias Stephan

When the Dallas Stars took Tobias Stephan 34th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, they knew what they were getting. At 6'2" 190, Stephan is a tall and skinny young goaltender who plays mainly a stay-at-home butterfly style, with some floppiness to his game. He is currently playing for the AHL's Iowa Stars after spending 4 years with Kloten of the Swiss League.

Tonight, he was on his game. The "Baby"-Stars picked up a 6-0 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs on "Carey Price Bobblehead Night", with Stephan getting the shutout. Stephan wasn't too busy, facing only 23 shots, but stopping them all. The lackluster Bulldogs' offense only managed shots from the outside, a goalie's dream. Stephan was very square, but did not challenge very much. He stayed deep in his net, but kept the rebounds to a minimum.

He uses his long legs to his advantage, spreading them out low on point shots, virtually eliminating all goals from that area. His glove hand is not exceptionally great, but it's passable. His strength could also use some work, being only 190 pounds, he could really benefit from adding some muscle.

Stephan wears a Tim Thomas-like "Mage" helmet, that really bugs me. I prefer the classic goalie helmet a lot more. He was also called up for a brief stint this season with Dallas, losing 2-1 in overtime to Chicago on October 13th, 2007, so you may have heard his name. His future also looks very bright, as Mike Smith was traded to Tampa Bay at the deadline, leaving the back-up spot open if the Stars decide to dump Johan Holmqvist.

As for the Bulldogs side of things, it wasn't pretty. Yann Danis did not come out for the 3rd period, after letting in 5 goals. Fatigue was definitely an issue, and penalties really killed the Bulldogs. Cedrick Desjardins, who I interviewed earlier this season, got the nod for the 3rd period, and allowed 1 goal. He stopped 3 breakaways and made on left toe save on what many thought was a sure goal. Now the Desjardins has the full-time backup spot in Hamilton (Due to the Huet-to-Washington deal) he was looking to make an impression, and he played well. I would definitely give him the next start, especially since one of the goals on Danis was a dump in which he bobbled, and was banged in by an Iowa forward.

To conclude, Tobias Stephan is another young, promising goaltender playing in the "A." His future is in his hands, like most young netminders. His situation in the Stars' organization bodes well for him, and he should compete for the NHL back-up job in Dallas next season.

Amateur Scouting Report: Drew MacIntyre

The Hamilton Bulldogs hosted the Manitoba Moose and Drew MacIntyre this afternoon on "Pink in the Rink" day, to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. It was an overall successful day, except for the fact that the Bulldogs lost 5-1. Jaroslav Halak did not play well at all. His rebound control was not what I have seen it before, and his body language showed that he did not want to be here. That, I feel, brings your team's moral down right from the start. When they see that their goalie doesn't even care, they will feel a little dejected themselves. Halak's behaviour, and performance, has not been acceptable so far this season, and I hope head coach Don Lever plays Yann Danis these next few games. Today's focus is on Manitoba Moose goaltender, and Vancouver Canucks prospect Drew MacIntyre.

MacIntyre is a tall, lanky butterfly style netminder. He has very sharp reflexes, and his vision through traffic is exceptional. He was able to either grab a hold of pucks or deflect them out of harms way, into the corner, showing me that his rebound control is very solid. He was rarely ever caught out of position, and was bursting with confidence out there. His skating wasn't fantastic, but his strength in his legs more than made up for it. He is able to come across the crease with ease. He loves to come out and challenge, and is always communicating with his defense. I was surprised that I was actually able to hear him all the way up in the stands, and that really helps out the defencemen. The lone goal they got on him was a tip in about 2 feet in front of him, and he had absolutely no chance. He is great down low, and not very many pucks snuck through without him noticing. He had incredible focus and there is not too much I can nitpick about him other than his below-average skating. In my opinion, he deserves a shot at the next level, because I am interested in seeing how he does. He looked in control out on the ice, and he was just as strong at the end of the game as he was at the start. The Moose were actually outshot in the game, so MacIntyre was quite busy throughout the game. I wasn't really sure if I was keen on this guy before the game, but he proved me wrong today. I am now a big fan of his, and I am looking forward to seeing him play at the next level.

Amateur Scouting Report: Adam Dennis

Rochester is in Hamilton this week, and that means I get a chance to see Sabres' prospect Adam Dennis play. This is installment #1 of my "Amateur Scouting Report" series. I will also report how Jaroslav Halak does, and list some skaters who stood out to me at the end.

First thing that popped into my head when I saw Adam Dennis was "Michelin Man". I've seen him play before, but he looks a little bulkier this season. I think he should lighten just a tad on the shoulder pads, for his benefit. He has a strong, fluid butterfly style, but struggles a little bit in terms of quickness. He's a little on the slow side like I said, but that's a technical thing that can be worked on these next few years. He has the basic moves down pat, you can tell, but he just needs to work on doing the moves faster. He's very calm and relaxed in net, unlike many young netminders, and that bodes well for him. All around good positioning, but he can get caught standing still on quick plays. He needs to work on getting better pushes, and having a little bit quicker feet. He seems to lose the puck quite easily on screen shots, but that may just be a one night thing, and I won't make that judgment quite yet. Some games you just can't pick up the puck, and maybe today was one of those days. Solid rebound control, and quick reflexes. The second goal was very weak, he was off his angle and let Lapierre score from an impossible angle (off the inside of his blocker, and in). He seemed to tire out later in the game, may need to work on his conditioning/endurance if he wants to make the next step to the NHL level. I got an overall comfortable feeling from him, but there are obvious problems that need to be worked on. The good news is, that the problems he has can all be worked on and are not very serious. He has lots of time to work on his skills and will likely be in the NHL someday. It's up to him to decide whether it's as a starter or back-up.

Jaroslav Halak started the game for the Bulldogs, but was pulled after 24 minutes. He gave up 4 goals, a couple of them from the fluky/weird variety. He did not look comfortable in net, probably because it's early in the year, so don't look too far into it. He was replaced by Yann Danis who stood tall and led them back from a 4-1 deficit, eventually to a 4-4 tie. The Amerks ended up winning the game in a shootout, with both goalies looking great. It took 11 shooters before the first goal, Clarke MacArthur beat Danis to win it.

Some skaters that stood out to me:

Hamilton
Sergei Kostitsyn
Maxim Lapierre
Matt D'Agostini

Rochester
Kamil Kreps
Anthony Stewart
Clarke MacArthur