“Samoskevich does not let his smaller frame get in the way of his compete level. Did a nice job tonight battling for loose pucks and working hard in corners to regain puck possessions. Not afraid to go to the front of the net. Keeps active skates moving to find openings in the defense. Very good skater. Shows another level when needed. Added strength will be huge for him with next level speed. Quick release. Shows some snap in his stick. Did a nice job of skating one way and shooting the other. Sneaky with the puck on his stick. Nice playmaker tonight. Quick with his decisions with the puck on his stick. Takes pressure and brings defenders to him to open up teammates. Plays at top speed with the puck on his stick and does not need to slow down to make plays. Does a nice job looking to make the next play and not just skate with the puck. Has a nose for the defensive zone. Works hard on his positioning to keep his defender off the net. Active stick tying up opposition. Quick decisions with the puck on the power play. Does not hold the puck. Could use some work on draws. Played a good all-around game tonight.” – Ray Napientek

“Lambos didn’t do himself any favours after his Finnish stint kind of fizzled to a slow burn towards the end of his tenure, but he made strides towards renewed faith in his WHL season debut. He’s an undisputed No. 1 defender, all situations player for the Ice who has all the tools to do most jobs efficiently but has somewhat plateaued physically and taken no specific steps forward as far as skill goes. He’s not an elite level skater when it comes to speed or quickness but he really doesn’t struggle technically. He’s got good use of his in and outside edges to carve or pivot under pressure and great stride recovery and extension which allows him some room in a race if he has positional advantages. As far as tools goes, a lot of what he is able to accomplish is due to awareness. He’s capable of playing a very controlled and proficient game by parlaying possessions into one touch passes or by showing the patience to make what he deems as the best option. He can get a bit mundane at times for a player with his skillset and lull games to submission at times and then hit the other end of the spectrum and try to spring a two zone pass for a transition scoring attempt. While not overly dynamic, his habits limit giveaways as he’s strong on the puck and very cognizant of pressure and creates uncertainty with his ability to set up dekes by moving hands and feet independently and analyzing the ice.” – Justin Froese

“Chayka has been up and down in the viewings I’ve had of him up to this point, but this game — one of his last before his season ended— was definitely a high point. At his best, he is an incredibly rangy defensive defenseman with a real knack for breaking up opposing plays. He is agile and athletic with long, smooth skating strides, and when you combine it with his size and his reach it gives him an excellent range of territory when he’s out on the ice. Not only is he great at stepping up to close gaps and take away space, he is also very aggressive and calculated about when he does it, applying pressure at the right times without making himself vulnerable. He’s a hard defender to get the puck through or around, showing a lot of proficiency for breaking up opposing possession by stealing pucks or winning it through stick battles. Has the quickness and puckhandling abilities necessary to escape pressure by himself in his own zone, though he doesn’t have the hands or the attacker mentality to be a true puck rusher. He’s much happier to pass the puck up to one of his forwards while he hangs back, wasting some potential that he has to do more in this area. Displays good instincts from the offensive blue line in and gets a lot of power behind his shots, though they’re a little wild and he could be more assertive about making that a key part of his game.” – Derek Neumeier

“Robertsson is a very well-rounded player who does well in all three zones and has no glaring flaws in his game. The main facet of his game is his high motor. Robertsson has a very quick first step and is very mobile, especially in the offensive zone where he would create opportunities for his teammates by running routes to move defenders out of position and create screens in front of the net. This enabled him to get to open ice or get his teammates more time with the puck. He is very good off the rush and does a great job of gaining the zone due to his mobility, edge strength and awareness. Robertsson attacks open ice and uses his speed/body movement with the puck to get defenders to move their feet. He can turn on a dime which enables him to consistently gain zone possession on less aggressive defenses who give him space around the blue line and the top of the circle. Robertsson is a very poised puck carrier, and he is not afraid to backtrack into the neutral/defensive zone if the other team is well positioned defensively and there is no opening. Robertsson is also a very strong forechecker. He goes to the dirty areas of the ice and due to his acceleration, is typically first on the puck. Off-puck awareness is another strength. He is constantly keeping his head up and looking around the ice before touching the puck. When he has the puck, Robertsson showed strong vision and playmaking skills. Due to his awareness Robertson excelled at winning puck possession along the boards and quickly one-touching passes to open teammates in the slot or high danger scoring areas. Overall, Robertsson is a very safe pick in this year’s draft, and he projects to be in the NHL at some point in his career. He can play a top-6 role due to his playmaking ability, IQ/awareness, strong shot, and edge strength. He can also play in a bottom-6 role and be an effective penalty killer due to his high-motor and gritty forechecking.” – Sebastian Death

“This was my first chance to see Zellweger and I came away incredibly impressed. His dynamic skating posture immediately stood out as one of his best traits, allowing him to be mobile, and explosive in all four directions. His knees and hips stay bent, while he maintains a great upright upper body, loading himself like a spring and then exploding onto pucks when the opportunity arises. He has smooth, yet incredibly quick strides that allow him to get a high rate of touches on the ice to propel him forward and often be first on pucks. This skating also allowed him to get better body positioning on pucks and often separate larger opponents from pucks that smaller, slower defenders would struggle to do. In addition to his impressive skating ability, Zellweger proved to be an adept puck distributor. Again his mobility and speed allow him to find and create space with ease and his upright body posture allows him to survey the ice to find the best passing options. His passes are direct and effective and he often can smartly create space by dragging opponents across the ice laterally with him and dropping passes back into the newly open ice. Zellweger proved to be a good puck distributor for Canada’s power play creating a ton of offensive chances through his ability to be dynamic on the blue line, evade pressure and create lateral passing lanes. If this tournament is any indication of Zellweger’s overall ability he appears to be a good offensive defender and could be a middle pairing defender while contributing to a team’s power play at the NHL level.” – Dylan Galloway