Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Green Bay Gamblers 2007-08 Preview

Today, I will be looking at the potential returners for the Gamblers. Green Bay is coming off a disappointing season, and that could be enough to put head coach Mark Mazzoleni on the hot seat.

Key Departures:
Sergio Somma-51 points.
Derrick LaPoint-49 points.
Adam Avramenko-Team's #1 goaltender.
Steve Silva-Led team in points with 59.
Mike Sislo-20 goal scorer.

Goalies (1):
Nicholas Graves (1988) - Graves beat out Max Strang for the backup role on this year's team. Played in a limited amount of games, but showed some promise.

Goalie Evaluation:
Graves didn't do too bad in his rookie season, but if the Gamblers want to compete next season, they will need someone who can step up and lead this team.

Defense (4):
John Kearns (1987) - Kearns had left Army to come back to the USHL. He should be the leader of the Gambler defense.
Tyler Jundt (1988) - Good size. Could have a solid season.
Ryan Little (1988) - Will be 3rd year vet. Another leader on the blue line for Green Bay.
Baylor Dieter (1988) - Big kid that plays his position well.

Defense Evaluation:
Green Bay returns a solid core of defense for next season. Little and Kearns will have to lead them and Dieter will be a force to be reckoned with. Jundt is the wildcard here. He could help lead the defense, or he could just be another guy back there for the Gamblers.

Forwards (8):
Ryan Santana (1988) - Santana had a slow rookie season, but should post respectable numbers next season.
C.J. Lee (1989) - Lee was added mid-season and by the end of the year he was scoring regularly. Should be an offensive leader.
Andy Dittus (1987) - Not very many points for a forward.
Anthony Hayes (1989) - Very young. Was given ample ice time to develop.
Derek Kohles (1988) - Bothered by injuries most of the season. Hard to gauge.
Garrett Grimstad (1988) - Recorded 0 points in 10 games, but was an offensive force in HS.
Taylor McReynolds (1987) - Crowd favorite. Enforcer and an excellent penalty killer.
Nick Tabisz (1987) - Third year vet, should be an offensive leader.

Forward Evaluation:
The Gambler offense looks like it may lack a potent scoring threat. Tabisz recorded the most goals of the potential returners with 11. He will be heavily relied on. Green Bay will also need some leadership from McReynolds. He had the making to be an excellent captain. If Santana, Dittus, Hayes, and Grimstad and produce, their offense won't be in as bad of shape.

Futures Evaluation:
Green Bay also boasts some excellent 90 born prospects from their futures list. Leading that list is Minnesota recruit, Jacob Youso. Youso should wear the red and gold next fall and could be an early candidate for ROY. Green Bay also has legitimate prospects in Max Cook and Garret Beckwith.


Overall Grade: C-

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Youso won't be playing a full season at Green Bay so he won't be rookie of the year. He is planning on playing before and after his high school season but he will be playing for International Falls during the high school season.

Anonymous said...

Green Bay has some potential prospects that are undrafted that could make an immediate impact if they decide to tender them before anyone else, time will tell.

Anonymous said...

Green Bay will continue to falter until major coaching changes are made.

Anonymous said...

USHL doesn't use the tender system so GB will have a problem doing that.

Jamie said...

Maz is already on the hot seat. Most of the fans dont like him and wished he get fired but if they didn't do it by now there not going too. Well hopefully he can do something next year otherwise its going to be another long season.

Anonymous said...

shea is a rookie coming in from belle tire midgets takes a lot of penalties not discipline but has potential...max cook has good height but needs to put weight on see's the ice well...hayes will be back for another year could be leading scorer on the team next season if he keeps his self out of the sin bin...gb needs to make a major coaching change

Anonymous said...

Kearns was in the Army, not the Air Force.