“Plandowski is a smooth skating two-way defensemen who relied on his outstanding anticipation and incredible mobility to impact the game in all areas of the ice. What first stood out with the right-handed blueliner was his eagerness to add himself to the rush. Plandowski showed excellent instincts on breakouts to proactively jump ahead, with the objective of adding extra numbers to the counterattack and overwhelm the defense. He looked for paths to the net and relished crashing into high-danger areas in hopes of creating chaos. This also applied to his movement on the cycle, as he enjoyed leaping to open spots or passing lanes and kept his positioning extremely fluid and animated. His willingness and enthusiasm to create offence off the puck, by staying volatile and active in his positioning, is extremely intriguing. Plandowski doesn’t need to have possession of the disc to make an impact, which might become especially valuable alongside playmaking stars at the next level.” – Andy Lehoux

“Broz had some difficulty adjusting to new linemates at the start, but as the game went on, they began to chime together. Even though this was not a very offensive game for him, he displayed that he can play a responsible two-way game and doesn’t need to have the puck to be effective. Broz is an efficient skater, who at times gets caught gliding around, but when he starts moving his quick feet, he is hard to handle and shut down. Using his first three steps to gain great acceleration, and also his edges to be able to control his positioning, change direction quickly and adapt to plays efficiently. Broz did not have a shot attempt in this game. He has soft hands and is able to navigate his way through traffic with good puck control, being very effective along the boards and on the cycle. He was able to display his high-end vision in this game a few times, but did have a few plays where you could tell the lack of chemistry on his line affected him, not knowing how hard or fast to make his passes, resulting in making some incomplete passes to teammates. In the offensive zone, Broz was able to consistently create options for teammates, finding soft spots easily, especially in front of the net. He was very effective on the transition, being able to create offensive zone entries by taking it himself, finding an open teammate at the blue line, or dumping the puck in and chasing after with a strong forecheck. There was one play that really stood out to me, where Broz displayed great effort and was able to pin Roman Schmidt along the boards and come away with the puck, finding Coronato in front, who then made a quick pass to Samoskevich for a high-danger scoring chance. Without Broz’s effort, that play doesn’t happen. Throughout this game, I noticed Broz playing a very responsible two-way game. Using shoulder checks to stay aware, giving full effort on backchecks, and also hunting down pucks and using his stick to tie up and stick lift opponents efficiently. At this time, I would start to consider Broz in the late first round to early second at the draft.” – Dylan Krill

“Rolofs showed a decent offensive zone net-front presence and jumped right into board battles to try and free the puck. He does well to set his linemates up for shot opportunities and has good passing and safe cross ice passes. He was able to hold good possession in the offensive zone while he had a man trying to take him down. Although, there were moments throughout the game where he had turnovers or the puck was easily picked off of him. Overall, Rolofs was able to keep up with the game pace well with occasional moments where he’d trail behind the play. He showed to be typically pretty good in the faceoff circle and showed he has the smarts to send the puck into an open spot for a line mate that could get there for a shot opportunity, but wouldn’t always produce on the play. He showed to have a bit of reach to try and intercept the plays. Towards the end of the game he had a decent cruising speed but was seeming to lose momentum.” – Olivia McArter

“Lockhart is typically a really good player but it was hard to see that in this game due to his lack of shifts. Lockhart is a quick stepped skater and is good on his edges which helped him switch directions when the play switched directions. With a smaller stature he’s able to sneak up behind his opponent and steal the puck away from them and gain possession. He has really good compete and gets into battles along the boards to free the puck out to his line mates. Lockhart’s passing in this game was often accurate and was tape to tape. Throughout the second period, Lockhart wasn’t out very much. When he was, he was usually able to keep game pace but I noticed that unlike in the first period, he rarely got into the play and often saw him staying out and open for a potential pass. Towards the end of the game his puck possession skills were not great. Once he got the puck in possession he either passed it almost immediately or it was taken away from him.” – Olivia McArter

“Katelevsky was a standout in this game against Chelyabinsk. Although he didn’t make an impact on the scoresheet, he was able to display a high-level two-way game that many players his age might not be able to. His understanding of defensive positioning and an ability to know when to cover for his teammates in the offensive zone was on display all game. When his defense joined the attack offensively Katelevsky was always there to cover their position and allow them to attack freely. He was always supporting teammates in 50-50 battles and providing an easy outlet for them whenever they needed to move the puck. He was a force in the faceoff circle all game long, helping his team maintain puck possession whenever he was on the ice. Late in the game with a one-goal lead Katelevsky put on an excellent display of defensive IQ and situational awareness. Chelyabinsk pulled their goalie, and an ongoing puck battle was happening in Irbis Kazan’s corner. Katelevsky was shadowing a player in the slot but rather than focusing all his attention on the player he kept his head on a swivel and examined the entire defensive zone, he knew where both the puck and his assignment were at all times and never let his opponent get open for a possible shot attempt.” – Austin Broad