Hall of Famer
Posted 23 June 2012 - 10:53 AM
Edited by thelastonealive, 23 June 2012 - 11:20 AM.
Proud recipient of the 2011-'12 Sergei Brylin Award for Most Underrated Poster.
Proud recipient of the 2007-'08, 2008-'09, and 2009-'10 Lady Byng Award for Nicest Poster.
Proud recipient of the 2008-'09 Bobby Holik Award for Funniest Poster.
Proud recipient of the 2009-'10 NJDevs.com Stanley Cup for Best Overall Poster.
2009 NJDevs.com Survival League Football Champion
This Is Team. - Ilya Kovalchuk, 7/20/10
Senior Devil
Posted 23 June 2012 - 03:10 PM
A Legend
Posted 23 June 2012 - 03:35 PM
Graham Black-LC - Swift Current, 6’0” 173 (1993*)
Overage forward who has come out of nowhere this season to excel and be a good producer for the Broncos. His offensive skills have been impressive, and will have a chance to be drafted given the relatively weak field of 18 year olds available this year.
The first thing you notice about Black’s game is his speed. He goes from point A to B in a hurry, and defenders really have to respect his skating ability and give him a bigger gap than most players. With his speed, Black likes to attack and create match up problems for opponents. He drives to the net hard with or without the puck, and it allows his teammates to have some extra room to make plays.
With the puck, Black makes very good plays. He has a very quick release, and loves to sneak into the slot, receive a quick pass and get his shots off and score goals that way. He also has good hands in tight, but a lack of size does not allow him to be as effective around there. Black always has his head up, and makes good decisions with the puck.
Defensively, Black must improve his play without the puck. He takes awkward lanes to the point, which does not allow him to take away shots or passes effectively. He gets caught puck watching, and loses track of where his check is many times.
A late bloomer who plays a strong two-way game and uses his speed well, but who doesn’t have a great upside.
11/8/11 A disappointing game, couldn’t do very much with bigger defenders than he is accustomed to. His lack of size really showed today. With the puck and with room to maneuver, really showed his offensive instincts and skills. Once had a saucer pass that was about 3 feet off the ice tape to tape, was pretty impressive. He read the play well and got into good areas of the ice to have some room to make plays, but once a Sweden’s defenseman engaged, couldn’t do very much one on one. He’s a good skater, but not phenomenal. Doesn’t have the power in his steps to be explosive. Defensively was responsible, but couldn’t knock anybody off the puck. Used his smarts to strip pucks away a few times.
11/11/11Canada West kept the game tight, had some lucky bounces and managed to pull out a win. Alex Kerfoot scored the OT, breakaway winner. Showed some nice hands. His offensive skills with room is very good. It’s with opponents around him that is the problem. Looked invisible tonight other than the goal.
11/13/11 Came out to play on this day. His usual problems along the boards were still there, but his offensive talent was electric. Made many good plays with the puck. On the 2nd goal Canada West scored, he was in a 1 on 1 situation, around the left faceoff circle, Kerfoot sold the wrist shot, put the puck between the defenseman’s legs, went around him quickly, jumped on the loose puck and snapped it home. Best goal of the tournament. He played with a lot of confidence and made his presence felt. From a scout’s perspective, was no where close to deserve one of the top forward awards of the tournament, but for fans certainly did with his performance tonight. He played hard in the defensive zone, and made a conscious effort to get pucks out effectively. He’s going to be a player I’m going to be really interested in come draft day. Will scouts get mesmerized with his offensive play, and ignore the weaknesses to his game?
A slick skating forward that makes things happen every shift; he needs work in his zone.
Artur Gavrus – LW/C – Owen Sound Attack, 5’10” 168
Belarus hasn’t developed a ton of NHL prospects, but the next in line to have a shot appears to be Gavrus. Selected 55th Overall in the 2011 CHL Import Draft, Artur put on an outstanding performance in the 2011 Under 18 Division A championships, which likely caught the eye of Attack scouts who chose him. During the season Artur played in the Belarus 2 league as a 16 year old. Artur came over to the Attack and put up good numbers, before suffering a concussion. Gavrus returned, but in Game #1 appeared to go down with an “upper body injury” which looked very much like a second concussion for Gavrus this season. He went on to play again for Belarus at the 2012 Under 18 Championship, but put up significantly less points.
We weren’t really surprised that he suffered two concussions this year. He constantly seemed to put himself in positions where he could get hit and got rocked constantly in our viewings, which was a big concern for us. His skating is above average, although not quite where we would like it to be for a player his size. Positionally Artur is at his best on the power play. He constantly seems to know the right places to be to score and has shown the ability to do so. He has a good shot and sees the ice well. His vision is good and he is a decent puck mover. He will really need to build around his offensive skills to help him develop into the player he could be. He looks like a guy who, if he makes it will be considered a project, as there is a few years of building around Artur before he could make that jump. If he stays focused on that goal, his offensive skills will only get better, as will hopefully the rest of his game. Artur is a player who we really don’t follow the consensus and see him going more in the middle of the draft, rather than the first few rounds.
A pint-sized offensive forward who can put up points, but he has suffered injuries due to his lack of size.
General Manager
Posted 25 June 2012 - 03:23 AM
OFFICIAL KEEPER OF:Dainius Zubrus......Andy Greene.......Vladimir Zharkov and Alexander Vasyunov
Winner of the 07/08 ,08/09 & 10/11 Slava Fetisov Award For Best International Poster
Head Coach
Posted 25 June 2012 - 07:51 AM
A Legend
Posted 02 July 2012 - 04:27 PM
Artur Gavrus – New Jersey Devils – 180 Overall
Owen Sound Attack (OHL) – Left Wing – 5’9″ – 175 – Jan. 3, 1994
Gavrus is a player who based on skills alone, probably should have been selected a little higher then 175th overall. He has the skills that you look for in a top 6-9 forward at the next level, but has a lot of room to grow with his awareness and positional play in his own zone. Drafted by the Owen Sound attack in the 2011 CHL Import Draft, he came into the OHL and has an up and down season. For pockets of time he looked like a player who was ready to break out and become an offensive leader for the Attack, while other times he would seem to be going through the motions. It’s not uncommon for imports to struggle with consistency in their first year in the CHL, so its hard for me to hold that against him. What do I like about him? He is a very effective skater who displays some good footwork and agility. His 4 way mobility is impressive. I like his puck skills and creativity, and as he seems to be a natural finisher with some soft hands around the net. My concerns are his lack of strength and positional play. I’m not sure how well he could adapt to a defensive role at the next level, as he has a long way to go away from the puck. I also have concerns about his awareness, as he has consistently put himself in positions to be hit, and hit hard. He needs to be much more aware of his surroundings, keep his head up and make quicker reads of the ice. He could be a breakout player next year in Owen Sound, and wouldn’t be shocked to see him one day earn a professional contract.
All-Star
Posted 02 July 2012 - 04:40 PM
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