GUSTER12345 Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 http://bsndenver.com/colorado-avalanche-rookie-camp-day-one-review/UPDATED: Colorado Avalanche Rookie Camp Day One Review with Interviews The GoodMikko RantanenUnsurprisingly, Rantanen looked like a man among boys out there today as his skill level allowed him to shine. His edge work, something that was noted extensively during development camp in July, remains top-notch and any chance he had he was picking corners and making the goalies look bad. He was aggressive and in the 3-on-2 drills that were run, he wasted little time taking advantage of being a left-handed player on the right wing, cutting to the middle to create space and scoring chances.Colin SmithLike another player who will be on this side of the list a little further down, the drills run today tailored perfectly to showing off Smith’s skillset. His speed, quickness, and puck-handling ability were on full display throughout the session and these types of practices make it look like Smith will be impossible to keep out of the NHL forever. Unfortunately, we’ve said this about Smith in basically every rookie camp he’s made an appearance.He’s a lightning fast player, though, and guys like that can always take you be surprise if given the proper opportunity. Given his lack of size and Patrick Roy’s preference towards bigger forwards, he might be a square peg trying to fit inside a round hole right now.Julien NantelA player who had been a bit of a mystery since being drafted in 2013, Nantel looked excellent today. His quickness moving the puck really stood out and his creativity and playmaking ability were on full display as he and Rouyn-Noranda teammate J.C. Beaudin showed off a bit of their natural chemistry today. His quick release definitely jumped off the ice and his performance on day one has made him a player to watch the rest of this week.Mason GeertsenA name that has been seen over and over in the last 12 months, Geertsen’s meteoric rise through the Avalanche ranks ran into no roadblocks today as he put on another dominant display. His powerful skating stride and impressive conditioning level stood out among his peers throughout the morning. When given the opportunity, he even played a little defense, knocking pucks away and wisely resisted crushing Smith as he defended the diminutive forward in front of his own net.Michael Schumacher/Reid PetrykWhile certainly not the same player, they had basically the same day under the same circumstances so I’m arbitrarily lumping them together. They both showed off impressive offensive abilities all morning and looked a cut above the majority of the juniors players. It definitely shows that these guys are accustomed to playing professional hockey. I liked what I saw from them today.Sergei BoikovA player whose strengths fit very nicely into the drills run today, Boikov certainly built upon the momentum he created at development camp and put up a strong showing today. While his defense was nothing special, it wasn’t really a problem area either and his ability to skate and move the puck showed up very nicely. He’s a player who seems very comfortable in his skin doing what he does best. I’m intrigued to see how he performs as the week goes on and presumably the sessions get more physical. The BadJustin HamonicAn AHL contract already in hand, I certainly expected Hamonic to come into this and be a bit more prepared than the two tryout players who are also competing for jobs. He repeatedly flubbed pucks and caused multiple drills to come to a much slower pace or a complete stop altogether because he couldn’t quite get it together. It’s only one day so there’s no sense in getting too worked up but for a guy who was already fighting uphill on the depth chart, it certainly wasn’t the start he wanted.Cody CorbettLike Hamonic, Corbett is trying to prove he is worthy of legitimate ice time in the logjam of defenders San Antonio is sure to face when their season opens. Unfortunately for Corbett, you can’t be a player whose biggest strength is puck movement and then proceed to struggle handling pucks all day. Having seen him before, I’m willing to chalk it up to nerves but there’s no doubt Corbett made a handful of poor decisions with the puck today that left observers scratching their heads.His play will need to elevate significantly this week if he wants to be a serious contender to push for meaningful playing time. Mixed BagChris BigrasWhile Bigras didn’t have a bad day by any means, you’d definitely expect him to thrive a bit more in the drills that were run today. It was a lot of up-and-down play and his skating and puck skills were on display, as well as his trademark poise and sound decision-making, but nothing about his game really jumped off the ice and said “WOW.” Bigras is going to need to show more in the next two days if he wants an extended look from the Avalanche during this pre-season.Duncan SiemensLike Bigras, there were no glaring mistakes, no moments to truly give you pause. Unlike Bigras, these drills weren’t tailored to his strengths as a player. In a lot of ways, that’s a good thing because his puck-handling is where he needs the most work before he can make the full-time jump to the NHL. Unfortunately, nothing he did today suggested there has been a significant leap in that area of development yet. I’ll be very curious to see how his entire game comes together throughout the week.Alexis PepinI actually liked a lot more of what I saw from Pepin today than I have in the past. He’s a powerful body who still isn’t a great skater and I wonder about the effort at times but his shot is certainly no question mark. He uses his sturdy frame to get effect and generates serious heat when he fires the puck and he scored multiple beautiful goals throughout the morning session. I’d like to see some more of his game develop beyond just an ability to shoot so I’m leaving him in this category for now because his all-around game still left a little on the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Welcome Guster to hockeyforums Do you think Rantanen will make the roster this season? or maybe I should ask are you hopeful Rantanen will make the roster this season? The Aves are kinda a wild card in the ever so competitive central division, but I for one don't have a real good read on the team since their success in 2014 took a tumble in 2015. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUSTER12345 Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 Welcome Guster to hockeyforums Do you think Rantanen will make the roster this season? or maybe I should ask are you hopeful Rantanen will make the roster this season? The Aves are kinda a wild card in the ever so competitive central division, but I for one don't have a real good read on the team since their success in 2014 took a tumble in 2015.I would love to see him make it. I mean he's so young, but he's a lot bigger and talented than a lot of the other young players his age to make NHL teams. With that contract they gave him, I would hope he would be on the roster. I expect (well hope!) big things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 @GUSTER12345 Is Justin Hamonic related to Travis Hamonic on the Islanders, if I had to guess I'd lean towards them being related, not really that common of a name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zz_ Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 I would love to see him make it. I mean he's so young, but he's a lot bigger and talented than a lot of the other young players his age to make NHL teams. With that contract they gave him, I would hope he would be on the roster. I expect (well hope!) big things... I would sure hope he does, he was the #1 European skater at the draft, slipped to us at 10. Only reason being is he was over shadowed by the McEichel stuff. I think he landed in our laps, beyond shocked he didn't go 3-9. I think he will do work, I would love to see him playing top 6,, but Roy will ease him in for sure. Top 9 to start the season hands down, unless there is absolutely no way, which is never the case....The way ORy, Ducth and Mack were brought up, there would be no sense in sending him away. Yeah 2 of 3 weren't really under the Roy time,, there were all with Sakic around (on ice or off.) It would be a no brainer to keep him, he is essentially Landeskog just Finnish!! It is a shame I missed the rookie/training camp this year, I never miss camp. Plus I just bought his (Rants) jersey, kind of need him to play if I wanna sport it, though it'll be hard to not wear my Varly jersey.... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUSTER12345 Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 @GUSTER12345 Is Justin Hamonic related to Travis Hamonic on the Islanders, if I had to guess I'd lean towards them being related, not really that common of a name.I have it on good authority that Travis is Justin's step father. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podein25 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I have it on good authority that Travis is Justin's step father brother? I assume you meant that since Travis is 25 yrs old and Justin is 21. Both from the Winnipeg area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUSTER12345 Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 GO AVS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 @GUSTER12345 Thanks so much for the hard work in getting this prospect evaluation in order....very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUSTER12345 Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 @GUSTER12345 Thanks so much for the hard work in getting this prospect evaluation in order....very helpful. Don't mention it, my good man. Tough start yesterday, huh? My head is hurting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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