Rookie Defensemen watch

Coming into game thirty three of the season Colorado had played nine games and Anchorage eight. With almost a fifth of the season gone the new rookies should have started to find their feet. We're going to take this opportunity to analyse each of their game in depth and see how they have adapted to playing against other top drawer rookies and multi season pros starting with Colorado.

Preston Wreiss.

Not too much to say about the 9th round draft pick out of Sweden. Despite being an offensive D man he was utilised only on the penalty kill and barely achieved more than a minute of ice time. It appears that he hasn't been putting the work in at practice and was used mainly to give the rest of the D core a breather. Despite this he was relatively tidy of the puck completing all three passes he made.

Jake Reid.

The tough 7th round defenseman out of Ireland had a good showing in his own end this game. Racking up almost twenty three minutes with 2:36 coming on the powerplay and anchoring the penalty kill with 5:21. He picked up an early roughing penalty on Sean Stevenson Jr. in the first period but as a hard hitting enforcer these are to be expected. He made two interceptions and also willingly sacrificed his body with two shot blocks, one being a goal saver after the puck was redirected in front by Mohammad McLovin. A part of his game that definitely needs work though is his passing. Reid only managed to string four of his fourteen passes together and also cost the Raptors a goal scoring opportunity when he was hit hard in the Armada zone while holding onto the puck for too long.

Katsuo Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi went undrafted and looks like a great free agent pick up by Colorado. With limited time on the right side of the third pair Yamaguchi bagged himself an assist, a hit and two shot blocks. He took a late hooking penalty in the third which could have ended up costing the Raptors but the resulting powerplay came to nought. He completed more passes than any other rookie D man with twenty eight and also made ten interceptions proving his worth both going forwards and backwards. He does however need to keep his head up as he was twice rocked by big hits while moving the puck up the ice.

Overall a pretty good showing by the Colorado rookies, lets see how the new boys from Anchorage held up.

Jonatan Back.

The big Swede was a healthy scratch for this game and after being selected at 15th overall this has got to be a real disappointment for both him and Anchorage. Word going around is that he is often absent without leave and for both his and the organisations sake lets hope he gets his head together and shows what he can do later in the season.

Tucker Baloo.

The early tenth round pick came into the game leading the Anchorage rookie scoring charts amongst defensemen and he kept it up this game. Tallying up three points with a goal and two assists the Armada looked dangerous every time Baloo took the ice. Finishing the game a +1 with over twenty three minutes of ice time, 6:36 on the powerplay and 1:40 on the penalty kill, he was leaned on heavily. He took an inconsequential hooking call in the second and misplaced eight of his twenty seven passes but otherwise was a continual threat in the Raptors end. On top of this he made more interceptions than any of the other rookie D men with twelve and found the time to block two shots. This impressive performance earned him the third star.

Sean Stevenson Jr.

The defensive minded American is another player showing there is great value outside of the draft. Although he finished the game a -1 he was busy around the ice grabbing a hit, two shot blocks and close to sixteen minutes of ice time. Used in both special teams units Stevenson's passing was very tidy completing a total of seventeen of his twenty two passes while also breaking up the play with nine interceptions. Stevenson was often instructed to dump the puck in to get line changes but this is often the life of a third pairing defenseman. However he made the most of his time on the ice by skilfully shuffling the puck around the ice and managed to draw a penalty even though nothing came of it.

Rex Kirkby.

The 42nd overall pick was the second defenseman taken by Anchorage. He ended the night with over twenty two minutes of ice time with 6:19 on the powerplay. On top of this he finished the game a -1, a shot as well as two penalty minutes for a holding call. Kirkby completed the second most passes of the rookie D men with twenty three but will be disappointed by passing the puck away a huge twelve times. He did contribute desfensively though by making eight interceptions and And using his body to twice turn over the puck.