In my estimation Phil Myers and Morgan Frost are the two best performers in camp so far. Not a big surprise there.
Goalies
Sam Ersson – 6-2, 180 – He has good, smooth movements. He was battling the two shooters in drills. He covers the puck up quickly and his glove hand is fast, and he knocks down pucks with it too. (Pictured above reviewing his session)
Ivan Fedotov – 6-7, 205 – His post to post speed wasn’t great at the start of camp but with some instruction, I’ve seen some improvement. His glove is pretty good. He’s taller and strong since the Flyers have drafted him in 2015. He is a long-term project.
Defense
Philippe Myers – 6-5, 209 – D – His skating is the best I’ve ever seen for him. Speed, agility, it’s all there. His passing is superb. Hard and crisp. His shot seems to have more zip and that may be because of his increased muscle. He did lay a few good checks in the corner to let the others know he’s there.
David Bernhardt – 6-3, 191 – D – He only averaged 14 minutes in the SHL last season. Calgary recently signed his teammate, Marcus Hogstrom to a contract and he’s after those minutes. He’s stronger than he was in last camp and his stick to puck defense works. His skating is better but can still improve.
Forwards
Isaac Ratcliffe – 6-5, 205 – LW – Forget about where he was selected. I had him ranked 17th for a reason. He’s a first-round talent and time will prove that out. When players were skating circles, he did it with relative ease. For a bigger player that still impresses me. In the three-puck drill he did very well with that. He was laughing a lot and kept players lose. He’s improving at an accelerated rate.
Gavin Hain – 5-11 – 194 – C – He has a low center of gravity that he uses to his advantage. He has an easy, quick release wrist shot. There’s something here for sure. I’ve seen him perform in the All-American Prospects game and he looks stronger on his skates since that time.
Jay O’Brien – 5-11, 176 – C – His speed is good but one of his great assets is how strong he is with the puck. In drill, he was hard to knock off the puck when being pushed. Considering he’s just 18, that’s very impressive.
Here’s my other development camp coverage:
