Monday, June 21, 2004
Scouting Notes: Roman Tesliuk, Devyn Dubnyk, Max Gordichuk
I was sorting my files around when I came upon some scouting notes of mine from one of the Giants/Blazers playoff games.
The playoffs are a great time to scout and watch the prospects, since it gives you a good view of how they play under pressure in a 'natural' environment (As supposed to the WJC which is not 'natural' for the player), and the atmosphere in the Pacific Coliseum is rockin'
Here are my reports from Game 5 of the Blazers/Giants series (Which the Giants won, yeah baby). The players profile are Devyn Dubnyk, a lanky 6'5" goaltender, (ranked 2nd amongst NA goalies), Roman Tesliuk, a Ukey defenseman (ranked 26th among NA skaters), and Max Gordichuk, a 6'5" frankendefenseman (ranked 70th among NA skaters).
Max Gordichuk, D (2004) � An oddity (sort of looks like Igor the hunchback). Very �upright� style, as in Max rarely bends down, gets his body lower than a standing position, goes down to block shots...this style suggests a lack of conditioning or flexibility (or possible injury?)...On a 2-on-1 against (Giants scored), Gordichuk was covering, but stood up tall as Courchaine passed the puck by him. Max should have been down to block the pass across�he also took two bad penalties along the boards (high sticking and elbowing) because he was standing tall and delivered high hits. His �upright� style also negatively affects his shooting and stickhandling (rarely carried the puck while skating) as he doesn�t get enough body into these efforts.
Skating style is very wide�covers a lot of ground going forward with powerful strides, but his forward-to-backward quickness needs work. Needs to get more assertive with getting down and out of his �upright� style. Mostly partnered with Roman Tesliuk, and didn�t see a lot of ice time.
Devan Dubnyk, G (2004) � Giants only had 9 shots on Dubnyk in the first 2 periods, so Devan was obviously rusty with the lack of work�let some questionable rebounds in the 3rd period. To his credit, the scoring chances the Giants got in the 3rd and OT were �golden� as the Blazers defense left him out to dry. Dubnyk is very skinny and could stand to gain some bulk or use more padding in order to expand his net coverage. Despite given little support on some chances, Dubnyk did not come up with the big saves when needed. OT winner was rather weak through the legs. Communicated well with his teammates when the puck was played into his zone.
Puckhandling: The bare minimum � he stopped the puck behind the net for teammates, but showed nothing more. At the very least, he didn�t butcher any plays.
Roman Tesliuk, D (2004) � Very eager to carry the puck up the ice. A fast and strong skater (Quick and powerful strides) who can carry the puck up the ice without much of a loss of speed... His head was down a few times while carrying the puck, mainly in the 1st period. Strong balance on his skates enabled him to win his fair share of physical battles. Saw significant ice time in all situations. Despite his natural skills, did not display a lot of offensive creativity and brilliance in the offensive zone. Reminded me of Bret Hedican with his speed, balance, and lack of offensive brilliance.
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In the games that I've seen Dubnyk play in, he has always looked very clumsy and prone to weak goals. Maybe I just see him on his bad days, but I find it hard to see why he is so hyped up, other than the fact that he is tall. I wouldn't spend a 1st round pick on him, based on my own viewings.
Tesliuk is an underrated gem, and despite his weak offensive numbers (14 points in 70 games), he has good skills and plays a solid defensive game.
Gordichuk is just a freakshow, and I don't think he'll succeed in the NHL without a serious change in his conditioning and adjustment to his skating style.
Of course, those are just my opinions. If you don't agree with them, then you are just wrong ;)
The playoffs are a great time to scout and watch the prospects, since it gives you a good view of how they play under pressure in a 'natural' environment (As supposed to the WJC which is not 'natural' for the player), and the atmosphere in the Pacific Coliseum is rockin'
Here are my reports from Game 5 of the Blazers/Giants series (Which the Giants won, yeah baby). The players profile are Devyn Dubnyk, a lanky 6'5" goaltender, (ranked 2nd amongst NA goalies), Roman Tesliuk, a Ukey defenseman (ranked 26th among NA skaters), and Max Gordichuk, a 6'5" frankendefenseman (ranked 70th among NA skaters).
Max Gordichuk, D (2004) � An oddity (sort of looks like Igor the hunchback). Very �upright� style, as in Max rarely bends down, gets his body lower than a standing position, goes down to block shots...this style suggests a lack of conditioning or flexibility (or possible injury?)...On a 2-on-1 against (Giants scored), Gordichuk was covering, but stood up tall as Courchaine passed the puck by him. Max should have been down to block the pass across�he also took two bad penalties along the boards (high sticking and elbowing) because he was standing tall and delivered high hits. His �upright� style also negatively affects his shooting and stickhandling (rarely carried the puck while skating) as he doesn�t get enough body into these efforts.
Skating style is very wide�covers a lot of ground going forward with powerful strides, but his forward-to-backward quickness needs work. Needs to get more assertive with getting down and out of his �upright� style. Mostly partnered with Roman Tesliuk, and didn�t see a lot of ice time.
Devan Dubnyk, G (2004) � Giants only had 9 shots on Dubnyk in the first 2 periods, so Devan was obviously rusty with the lack of work�let some questionable rebounds in the 3rd period. To his credit, the scoring chances the Giants got in the 3rd and OT were �golden� as the Blazers defense left him out to dry. Dubnyk is very skinny and could stand to gain some bulk or use more padding in order to expand his net coverage. Despite given little support on some chances, Dubnyk did not come up with the big saves when needed. OT winner was rather weak through the legs. Communicated well with his teammates when the puck was played into his zone.
Puckhandling: The bare minimum � he stopped the puck behind the net for teammates, but showed nothing more. At the very least, he didn�t butcher any plays.
Roman Tesliuk, D (2004) � Very eager to carry the puck up the ice. A fast and strong skater (Quick and powerful strides) who can carry the puck up the ice without much of a loss of speed... His head was down a few times while carrying the puck, mainly in the 1st period. Strong balance on his skates enabled him to win his fair share of physical battles. Saw significant ice time in all situations. Despite his natural skills, did not display a lot of offensive creativity and brilliance in the offensive zone. Reminded me of Bret Hedican with his speed, balance, and lack of offensive brilliance.
---
In the games that I've seen Dubnyk play in, he has always looked very clumsy and prone to weak goals. Maybe I just see him on his bad days, but I find it hard to see why he is so hyped up, other than the fact that he is tall. I wouldn't spend a 1st round pick on him, based on my own viewings.
Tesliuk is an underrated gem, and despite his weak offensive numbers (14 points in 70 games), he has good skills and plays a solid defensive game.
Gordichuk is just a freakshow, and I don't think he'll succeed in the NHL without a serious change in his conditioning and adjustment to his skating style.
Of course, those are just my opinions. If you don't agree with them, then you are just wrong ;)
