Mid-Season report card

Annie has written up her mid-season grades so I figured it's time to do mine.  I actually meant to do them the other day, but just like my still unwritten Christmas cards, other, more important things like family, have been a priority.  On that note, I hope you all had a very wonderful Christmas, I know I did.

Question:   Sister got me a heritage jersey, I love it.  I would like to put Prokop's name and number on it, but he wasn't on the team when those jerseys were introduced.  So is it acceptable to still do it?  Or is that a foul?  I don't want to foul.  If it is a foul, don't worry, my backup plan is Dow.

Anyways, moving on.  I read Annie's and they're more spot-on with how I feel than usual.  I guess there are some things about this team that are just flat obvious.  I'll just go in order by number.

Eric Comrie-- A
I admit, I was not a Comrie believer last season.  Part of that was that he was 16, part was because of how damn good Rimmer was.  I knew Coms was young and would be great someday, I just was nervous that it wouldn't be this season.  With Rimmer traded, Eric was obviously going to be the #1--could he handle it?  I had a lot of doubts.  Luckily, I've been proven wrong.  Normally I don't like being proven wrong, but sometimes it's a good thing, like with Comrie.  Yes, he's still  young, yes he still makes what I will call errors he can learn from.  My only concern is his workload--he's played 32 of 35 games AND played in the Top Prospect game.  While I believe the work and experience is good for his development and future, at 17 I worry about fatigue and/or injury.  

Wil Tomchuk-- A-
It took a few games at the start of the season for Wil to realize the WHL is a different and faster level than he's played before, but he seems to have found quite the groove.  I think he has been steadily progressing throughout the season and has become really solid, really reliable, and he keeps developing.  He plays smart, doesn't seem to get rattled, just does work.  And does it well.  Tomchuk effectively uses his size and skates well also.

Drydn Dow--A+
I have been a Dow believer since his first year in the league, I dunno, something about being the little guy, the underdog.  But I also believe he's been underrated by, well, everyone else in the universe, until now.  His contributions to the team are absolutely invaluable.  Last season he really got to show what he is capable of, he had outstanding chemistry with Derek Ryckman.  In my little heart I hoped Bob would keep them both at the OA deadline, just to keep that magic, but he didn't.  He did, however, keep Dow which was absolutely the smartest move in the history of ever.  Drydn may be smaller than a "typical" defenseman, but he is super smart with the puck.  He's also smart with what he can do with his smaller frame, like outskate bigger guys and easily duck himself away from huge checks.  Dow is offensively minded to, having played some time at forward over the last few seasons showed that.  His work on the penalty kill is solid and effective.  I think his veteran leadership is a quiet but calming presence on and off the ice.

Brodie Clowes--???   incomplete.

Justin Hamonic--A
Solid.  Steady.  Reliable.  Consistent.  Smart.  Big.
That sort of summarizes Hamo pretty well, I think.  He's not going to make a huge impact on the score sheet, but his job is to keep pucks away from the goalie, and at that he's quite effective.  Outstanding at the shot blocking work he does.  He uses his big frame to get bodies out of the way.  Justin skates well and makes smart plays with the puck.  It's never flashy or anything, just solid work.

Michal Plutnar--B
I have a feeling he's better than I give him credit for, I don't know.  Having him paired up with Dow has worked well.  I certainly don't think Michal is bad or anything, I guess I just look at him and think how much better he could be with some more--a lot more--meat on his bones.  But then I think of smaller-statured Dow and then I don't know what I expect from Plutnar.  According to the roster on the Ams site, Michal is only 5 pounds lighter than Tomchuk.  So I should probably shut up about that.  What have I actually said about Michal here?  Nothing.  He's a good skater, decent play-maker.  He doesn't make many mistakes with the puck.  Don't know what my problem is.

Lucas Nickles--B-
This grade is an average of the whole season so far, he started out the year doing A+ work, had a superb start to the season.  But production has dropped off severely and has been doing C work.  Don't worry, I'm not saying he's the only one with consistency issues, believe me.  But it is a bit disappointing after the way he started out.  He obviously did work over the summer to improve skating.  He also plays a physical game and that's good.  Just needs to find whatever mojo he had at the start of the year.

Zachary Yuen--C
Will the real Zachary Yuen please stand up?    It's like he's just going through the motions.  Yuen's never been one to show a lot of emotion anyways, but it's like he doesn't care.  Or that he just cares enough to show up, but meh.  He's got moments where the real Yuen, the outstanding D-man Yuen shows up.  But like many others on the team, it's not showing through on a consistent basis.  It's not like he's making mistakes or screwing up or sucking, he's just not...himself.  We've all seen him do better, I know he can do it.  I don't know if it's because he's already been drafted, he's just biding his time till he can be out of here, or what, but it needs to be changed.  Prior to this season I would have bet money (zero dollars) that he'd be on this year's World Juniors team, but I see why he wasn't even invited.  So get it together Zachary, I KNOW you can do better, let's see that Yuen again pretty please?  kthx.

Tyson Dallman--C
Dolly is a role guy, a gritty guy.  I think he's got enough talent to NOT be on the 3-shifts-a-game 4th line, but there's not really another spot to put him.  Has that hindered his game?  Possibly.  Would he be doing better this season if he did get more ice time?  Who knows.  I don't see what coach sees in practice (cuz I'm not there) to determine ice time decisions.  And actually, even though he's on the 4th line, Tyson IS good enough to be some fresh legs late in the game without his regular lineys, he can fill in real good.  I never expected Tyson to be a big scorer, I don't see him as that kind of player, he's a Nate MacMaster-type mucker.  Once who is skilled enough to help the team out a lot, but isn't going to make a huge impact on the score sheet.  I believe every team needs at least one of those guys.  Again, the "average" grade is because I don't know whether less ice time = average play or if average play = less ice time.

Malte Stromwall--B
Consistency, or lack thereof is the problem.  Malte definitely came into the season ready to have a great year and to really make an impact on the team.  He has done that, just in streaks.  Like many of the others.  I think that's the nature of the make-up of the team this year, certainly not faulting anyone in particular.  That being said, Malte needs to get some consistency, oh if only it could just be purchased at Target.  Or IKEA.  Get it?  Swedish joke.  Ok, nevermind.  I don't know the kid but I'd bet zero dollars that he's frustrated himself and when that happens, players can grip the stick too hard and whatever other cliches exist.  It becomes a mental thing.  He needs to get some success early on as the rest of the season gets started to get that monkey off his back.  HEH, monkey at IKEA.  ok, I'll stop now.

Beau McCue--A+++++++
I don't know what is in the water in Missoula, Montana, but if it produces hockey players like this...watch out.  Can you believe this kid is a 17-year-old rookie?  He sure doesn't play like it.  Beau skates very well, like Tomchuk it took a couple of games to get used to the WHL pace.  He is super smart with the puck.  He doesn't get flustered or frustrated, at least he doesn't let it show.  McCue also doesn't shy away from physical play.  His outstanding play has earned him a shitload of ice time and he's made every second count.  Now THIS kid is going to be damn fun to watch grow and develop.

Phil Tot--D
It's hard to give him a grade since he's missed so much of the season so far, but I did anyways.  In the games I did see of Tot, I was not impressed.  Then again, I quite possibly had/have unrealistic expectations of him.  I probably hoped that the acquisition would bring big scoring since that's what the team would need with the departure of Shinnimin and Hughesman.  In that sense, Tot was not the answer.  My backup plan for Tot was for him to then be a big body in front of the net to create room for scorers.  That hasn't necessarily happened either.  He doesn't suck, I'm not saying that, he's just sorta there.  He skates well enough and all that, I just can't pin down any particular "oh THAT'S why the Ams have Phil Tot" reason.  Is it fair to then give him a D grade?  Probably not, but hey, my blog, my opinions, my grades.

Ryan Chynoweth--B
Talk about kids who need to eat some cheeseburgers. He wasn't happy in Everett so Bob got him.  Another good BT move.  Ryan is a great skater and smart with the puck.  And the kid can win faceoffs.  I mean, for real.  He's young so he has some learning to do, but he's definitely headed in the right direction.

Lukas Walter--C-
Well, the kid had nowhere to go but up.  Or away.  But seriously, Lukas' skating improved, it's still a sloppy mess, but what the hell.  It's better than I could do, so there's that.  He still doesn't make the best decisions of anyone on the team, but he's not the liability he once was.  Like I used to just cringe and sometimes vomit when he got on the ice.  Now I only grimace a little.  Just kidding.  Look, it's obvious he worked hard to get better and he did.  Is he ever going to be a WHL superstar?  God, no.  But he gets some shifts in.

Marcus Messier--B+
Boy do I love watching this kid play.  Smart and tenacious, like a dog on a bone as Westie would say.  Following in the tradition of other small guys on the Americans team, he's super fast and super smart with the puck.  He is determined, you can just sense it when he's on the ice.  He has once again missed some games due to injury (what, are those Messier's made of glass or something) and I'm sure it's just as frustrating for him to not be playing as it is for me to not see him playing.  Hopefully he'll be back here at the start of the second half so he can continue kicking ass.

Justin Feser--A-
If Malte buys some consistency at IKEA, he should pick up some extra for Feser.  I'm too lazy (and on too slow an internet connection) to go back through every game Feser has ever played in the WHL, but if my memory serves me right, he's always been fairly streaky.  So I can't say I'm overly surprised, but it is still frustrating.  For him too, I'm sure.  Not that it need to be repeated, but the loss of the high scoring put a lot of burden on Feser's shoulders to be one who could get some scoring going, and he has, but not on a consistent basis.  Is it tied to Malte's inconsistency since they're linemates?  Maybe.  Who knows.  Feser needs to lead by example and work his ass off night in and night out, which he does for the most part.  There's been a couple of games where it was like he was giving 95%, but overall he's steady and solid, a hard-worker.

Justin Gutierrez--C
I'm going with "average" for Gutz too, again not sure if that's due to limited ice time or if the limited ice time is due to inexperience.  He and Dallman are similar in that sense.  BUT Justin has been steadily improving and has been given a few extra shifts here and there.  He's very tall and very very skinny (more cheeseburgers!).  His lanky body-awkwardness reminds me of Matt Schneider.  With a different center of gravity, he's not one to turn on a dime like some of the shorter, stockier guys.  His skating is improving with every game he plays.  He looks determined to make every shift count.  It will be good to how he develops and matures as a player the second half of the season.

Mitch Topping--C
So aggravating.  He's another one that needs to get some consistency at the store.  He'll make some really smart and brilliant plays, then in the next shift it will be some bonehead move where the other team likely scores.  It's frustrating to watch.  He's a 19-year-old veteran defenseman.  He NEEDS to be better.  More consistently better.  He's a big team unifier, for lack of a better term, he's a big presence in the locker room and in the community events the team does and that is huge, but his on-ice performance has GOT to get better.  Fast.

Brian Williams--B
Talk about tenacious!  One night sister and I were watching as he seemed to go right through huge opposing players.  It was unreal.  He could easily be squished like a bug, but he's not.  I told sister it's such a great thing he got to play with Shinnimin last year to see how a small guy has to play--with a heart 1000000 times bigger than his body.  And Brian does.  He seems to be getting better and more fearless with each passing game.  He skates great and is definitely a smart player.  B-Dubs is fun to watch and I only see him getting better and better.  If he keeps up that heart and determination, he'll be unstoppable.

Connor Rankin--B
I had such high hopes for Connor after his rookie season.  Last year I was disappointed but chalked it up to some kind of sophomore slump.  This season?  I dunno.  He has got to get the puck to the net.  He skates well and has the talent, it's just not all coming together for some reason.  I'd even settle for streaky at this point.  Gah, I should look at the stats before I type.  He's 4th on the team in scoring with 11 goals, 19 points.  Still, I expect more.  Maybe I need to lower my expectations, but like I said, I think the talent is there, it's just in need of honing.  Or something.  It's not like I need to say this is a rebuilding year, and they are young and experienced.  Could that have something to do with some of these veteran guys struggling with consistency?  Abso-freakin'-lutely.  Which is why I didn't mark Rankin (or Feser or Stromwall) lower in the grade department.

Jesse Mychan--C+/B-
Again, this may be a case of my expectations being flawed.  And obviously one has to take into account coming back from a horrendous injury.  That being said, Mychan is still not what I'd hoped he'd be this year.  His time with the Americans last season was short due to injuries, but effective.  I thought he surely would be a big-time impact player this season.  That hasn't happened.  Again, it's not like he's sucking.  But he's not...I dunno.  Not what I'd hoped.  Would I go out on a limb and say Bob shouldn't have kept him at the OA deadline?  Hard to say.  Not that you'd get an objection to keeping Ryckman from me, but in the tossup over Jordan Messier and Jesse it was a good choice.  And again, the makeup of the team is completely different than last season when I was more impressed with Mychan and that totally influences his play (and everyone else's).  Also, with various injuries--to Mychan and others--the lines have been shuffled around a bit and maybe he just hasn't found the right chemistry.  Season is half over, if that's the issue, he'd better find some chemistry quick.

Clint Filbrandt--incomplete
Kid hasn't has much of a chance to play due to numbers, wouldn't be fair to grade him.  

Luke Lee-Knight--incomplete
He stole a HUGE game in Portland, but I can't really grade him on one game.  

Parker Bowles--A
Had it not been for the recent emergence of the awesomeness of Beau McCue, Parker is the one player I'd probably be gushing about the most.  Another rookie who doesn't play like it.  He's fast, he's physical.  Parker isn't afraid to check or be checked and he's logged a ton of minutes.  He's smart with the puck and reads the plays real well. Bowles still has some learning to do, but I definitely think he's on the right track.