John Tavares: Noticeably better with the skating and strength on the puck. He's ready to have a monster sophomore season. He had a couple sequences that you wouldn't have seen from him in last year's campaign, and he's become even better than he used to be on the forecheck and in the corners. He's dangerous every time the puck is on his stick. It's a shame Okposo will be out until Christmas, because they probably would've done great together. In the meantime, though, I'm sure he'll find good chemistry with Moulson and Comeau.
Andrew MacDonald: The Isles' best player this game. He's incredibly impressive. Not only is he playing his trademark smooth style in all three zones, but he's now mixed in a physical element highlighted by a nasty hip-check (something I'm pretty sure he added to his arsenal this year). Let me go out on a limb and say he's more than ready to replace Streit's defensive production while the headliner recovers from shoulder surgery. Offensively, he's still not gonna bring all that much, but I'm personally fine with that.
Radek Martinek: Back, and if he keeps this up, better than ever. I know it sucks to get excited about this guy because he's so injury-prone, but seeing him today reminded me of how damn good this guy was before he went down. He seemed to be playing with more of an edge than normal, but more importantly, he was showing offensive aptitude that only came in very short flashes two years ago. He had a couple real good shots on goal and really pinched well to make plays out of whole cloth. If he stays healthy, I think he can have a career year. Keep your fingers crossed.
James Wisniewski: This guy had a good game as well. MacDonald and Wisniewski will make a for an adequate top pair while Streit recuperates. He plays a chippy game in his own end, and I thought he did really well offensively. Doesn't have quite the homing missile slapshot that Streit does, but it's really important that he brings it from the right side. This way, when Okposo returns, he won't have to play the point. That'll be refreshing.
Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina: The newcomers did OK. I liked their PK work. They came as advertised, which is important, because they'll need to be steady in the wake of Streit's absence.
Calvin de Haan: Straight-up not ready. The Isles shouldn't even bother giving him his nine games; that's better saved for next season. He overcame the physical woes from last preseason, but he's still having trouble adjusting to NHL game speed. There's no question that he will need some semblance of AHL time before he hits the bigs unless he takes a serious leap forward over the course of this season. He got burned several times, most egregiously when he whiffed trying to hip-check Curtis Glencross (which later led to a Glencross score). He'll go back and dominate both the OHL and the WJC, which will be better for him than struggling in epic fashion at the NHL level.
David Ullström: Half-decent game, but he's having trouble with the speed adjustment also. The AHL will be the perfect place for him, where I think he'll do well this year. Could compete for a spot next year, but there's no rush with him. I think he'll eventually stick in the NHL.
Nino Niederreiter: Did not distinguish himself until he nearly had the tying goal in the closing seconds of the game. In the other areas, he didn't contribute nearly as much as I had anticipated. I don't think there's any reason to put this guy in the NHL over Jesse Joensuu. Save the year on his ELC and let him go back to play his 18-year-old season in the WHL. I don't think an NHL season will be very productive for him. Furthermore, his acceleration still needs work.
Rick DiPietro: Call me crazy, but I thought he looked great. He had a couple sparkling stops in a perfect first period. After that, he let up goal #1 on a deflection when nobody knocked Stefan Meyer out of the crease. Goal #2 was when Glencross made de Haan look like a turnstile and initiated a 3-on-1 that forced DiPietro to go low too early. Goal #3 was on a freak play when Ricky tried to clear but put the puck in the crease after it deflected off de Haan and Ales Kotalik. If he had a good D in front of him, I think he would've pitched a shutout. I hope he can perform like this for 20-25 games this year in relief of Rollie the Goalie.
Mikko Koskinen: Only played one period, but I thought he was really impressive. A couple beautiful saves on the PK and some very impressive stops otherwise. He showed great mobility and athleticism to the point where I was convinced the hip injury is truly no longer an issue for him. His lateral movement was really on point this game. He might be able to man the pipes sooner than I originally thought.
Matt Martin: Showed the improved skating he displayed previously in rookie camp, using it to his advantage to draw a penalty when he left a Calgary defender in the dust. It was called a minor for holding, but he might've had a penalty shot with a different ref. He also showed some nifty passing that reinforced my original theory that he can be a supporting top six player with the right development. Considering it appeared Konopka will do fine, I think Martin to Bridgeport is the Isles' best option for the beginning of the season.
So wrapping up, while this game didn't mean much, I did see some things that got me pretty excited to see what the team has in store for the regular season. Stay tuned to see if this stuff carries over when the games count.
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