Just left the Atlanta Thrashers - Nashville Predators prospect game. Some quick impressions:
- I don't know if all 500 folks who bought tickets showed up, but the crowd was excellent tonight
- The Thrashers prospects came out hard, and really took it to Nashville. The chippy tone was set early, and "pleasantries" were exchanged often.
- Levko Koper played like he had a burr in his britches. His hustle was excellent, and he wasn't afraid to go hard after guys much bigger than him.
- Tonight's big winner was "Scorin" Jeremy Morin. The left winger tallied two goals, one assist, and was blocking shots in the defensive zone. Excellent two-way play.
- Atlanta's other goal scorers were Matt Andrerson, Scott Lehman, Darryl Smith, & Eric O'Dell.
- Atlanta goalie Peter Mannino flashed the leather to great effect, making several impressive glove saves.
- Toward the end of the game, it seemed fatigue landed the Thrashers youngsters in penalty trouble.
More after the jump...
Tim's Take:
Hey guys, Tim here, I figured I'd chime in with my thoughts on the game. First of all, Ben Wright posted a mini-scoresheet on the Thrashers homepage. I've updated Aaron's original post to match the "official" sheet. (You can see it here.) Let's go line-by-line and talk about some of the guys tonight.
Morin - O'Dell - Kozek (A): Our best offensive line of the night, these three were a step ahead of Nashville's rookies every time they stepped out onto the ice. I've heard a lot about how Jeremy Morin needs to work on his skating, but it certainly didn't seem to slow him down tonight. He plays a good positional game and hustles when he needs to. Tonight, Morin scored 2 goals, added an assist, blocked shots, broke up plays in the defensive end, and wove through and around defenders. He was, to me, the most impressive guy on the ice. O'Dell and Kozek didn't disappoint either. This line was buzzing all over the place.
Paquette - Kaip - Siddall: How many different words are there for "nasty?" You want to talk about a mean line? This is it. They hit, they hit, and they hit again. This line was perhaps the most fun to watch, and the crowd agreed when Rylan Kaip won the only fight of the night.
For those of you who are big Jimmy Bubnick fans, he hit the post tonight. Also, Evander Kane didn't play, but he was at the Ice Forum. I walked past him during first intermission; it seemed like he was on his way out. I wouldn't be surprised if he was finishing up a workout. He didn't play tonight to rest up in anticipation for Thursday's preseason game.
Postma (C) - Lehman: The top defensive pairing of the night performed well. Scott Lehman sure looked a lot less lost on the ice than he did during his short (3 minutes TOI or so) call-up last year. Paul Postma continues to be one of the best-looking guys on the ice. Once he puts on some weight, he'll be challenging for a spot on the team. His passes are clean and easy to handle, he's fast, he's got a good shot, and has a good stick and positioning.
Drew Paris looked good again tonight. He saved at least two goals by digging pucks out of the paint while Peter Mannino was out of position or down on the ice. I think we'll see more from Paris in the future.
Peter Mannino looked very solid in goal. He didn't have a chance on the first and third goals. The second it looked like he maybe should have stopped, but he looked like he might have been screened. It was a pretty solid shot from the point. Overall, I was very happy with how he played.
Your 3 Stars of the night: Jeremy Morin, Peter Mannino, Eric O'Dell
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