Game Report – Kingston vs. Ottawa
March 7, 2017
By Kathryn Jean
It looked like the start of another one of those poor effort games at home for the Ottawa 67’s when the Kingston Frontenacs scored three goals in the first period. However, something clicked after the first intermission and the 67’s stormed back to defeat the Frontenacs 4-3 in regulation.
Kingston prospects:
Jason Robertson – Robertson was coming off an impressive three-goal effort against Ottawa the other night in Kingston. He added another goal and assist in Ottawa. Robertson has become an intriguing prospect – he has great size, great skill and incredible hockey smarts. He knows the game well and continues to be used in key situations and this game was no different.
He assisted on Kingston’s first goal to open the scoring shifting to the point and threading a pass to Ted Nichol in front of the net. He’s calm with the puck and showed great vision and high level hockey IQ. His goal came later in the period sending a ballet from the top of the face off circle. He has one of the best shots in the league especially when you look at his release and accuracy. He is just as effective driving the net as he is shooting from 30 feet away.
While Robertson is almost the full package, he’ll need to work on his skating to be most effective at the next level – especially in his first couple of steps where his skates look heavy at times. He could also use his size more to his advantage to win more puck battles. All-in -ll he has enough going for that he should be selected late-first to early-second round.
Jacob Paquette – Paquette had a quiet game but was solid defensively. He had great positioning and kept an active stick allowing him to block the lanes and eliminating some scoring chances. He regularly can read the play well and make good decisions based on that. I would think he has the ability to contribute offensively, but there weren’t many signs of that this game as he was playing a little more conservatively.
Eemeli Räsänen – Räsänen tallied two assists in the game. Both were two passes tape-to-tape from his post on the point. He’s a big, lanky defenseman who has yet to grown into his body. He has some really good raw talents: he can make crisp passes, shoot the puck well (heavy shot), bring the puck up and isn’t afraid to join the rush. At 6-6 205, he uses his size to his advantage. He has a long reach and can easily knock his opponents off the puck. He’s a bit of a project player and may need some patience as he grows into his body.
Linus Nyman – Nyman was held off the scoresheet but still showed some flashes of what he brings. He’s a small, speedy winger who had a couple of good chances off the rush. His speed combined with his quick hands made it hard to defend against him. Nyman plays comfortably in his own end but will need to add some strength to handle bigger and stronger players.
Ottawa prospects:
Noel Hoefenmayer – Hoefenmayer got the 67’s on the board early in the second which kicked off the team’s comeback. As his teammates fought for the puck along the boards, he waited at the top of the face-off circle waiting for a pass – once it reached him, he sent a heavy one-timer past the goaltender. He shows a lot of comfort jumping into the play like that and can do it effectively knowing when he has backup behind him. He was caught out of position on one goal but otherwise kept things simple defensively during the game.
Sasha Chmelevski – After a rough game in Kingston the other night where Chmelevski coughed up the puck in a couple of key situations, he had a much better effort. He has been playing on the third line in most recent games which doesn’t always give him a lot to work with but still plays first-line powerplay minutes. He scored a powerplay goal midway through the second period off a snap shot from the face-off circle. Despite not putting up great numbers recently, he still finds his teammates and finds open space for himself. I am interested to see if this goal adds some light to his confidence going forward.
Austen Keating – Keating added two assists to his point totals. His first assist was on the game tying goal where he fed a pass to Mathieu Foget on the rush and went to the net waiting for either a pass or a rebound – it ended up going in the net but it was a typical heads up play by him. He won’t dazzle you with skill but is a confident player in all three zones. His skating definitely needs work and could stand to add a couple more pounds, that being said he made a ton of progress over the summer and has a lot more strength than last season. He has a great hockey mind but skating will bog him down.