There was more from O’Reilly this week offensively as well. Apologies for the quality of this video, but you can only work with what you get.

That is a very nice display of great hand-eye coordination.

Here is a really nice quick pass play to set up a teammate for a goal.

O’Reilly seems to be telling everyone that his comfort level is playing centre. This week we will see if the London Knights coaching staff agrees and continues to roll him out at centre. If that happens, let’s see what O’Reilly teaches us about that decision.

William Nicholl

William Nicholl is going to get a weekly feature of his own if his play continues. This week he had two goals in two games. This helped him maintain his point-per-game average with 25 points in 25 games. More importantly for me this week, he had five shots in those two games. That is substantially above his season average of just 1.7 shots per game. The more Nicholl shoots, the more he will generate offence for himself and his linemates. This week he displayed a wonderful 200-foot game that led to a great goal.

I cannot express how high quality this play is by Nicholl. He essentially was a third or fourth line player last year and is only 18.5 years old. This is such mature hockey.

Nicholl also showed the part of his game I believe will take him a long way professionally: his skating. Watch this goal. Nothing but crossovers to separate himself from the defenders in the first two steps.

That ability to separate will help him greatly as a professional. Also, a quick shout out to the pass reception on his backhand in flight. Nicholl just continues to impress and this draft pick has paid dividends already.

Connor Clattenburg

Clattenburg has certainly improved his performance over his draft year. However, the struggle for him has been injuries. While he is good size at 6’2″ and 205 pounds, he plays a very rugged game and it has led to some injuries this year that have interrupted his season.

When Clattenburg plays though, he makes an impact. This week he played in both of Flint Firebirds games and scored twice. For those that know me, they know I love shot totals and this week, Clattenburg had seven shots in those two games. This is far above his two-shots-per-game average. That is encouraging, but even more encouraging was how Clattenburg scored. He had a goal that most people would expect. He used his body and went to the net to make a very nice deflection.

However, he also scored a very pretty goal that illustrated skill in his game that is developing. First, watch Clattenburg’s skating. He is a very good skater for a big man. This will serve him well professionally. Secondly, watch this finish. This is a high-quality play from Clattenburg.

At the Penticton prospects tourney in September, the puck died a lot on Clattenburg’s stick. It will be critical for Clattenburg to be able to create plays for himself and his linemates if he wants to succeed professionally. This goal gives is a little hint there may be some puck skills that are just developing.

News And Notes

Shane Lachance is really starting to gain momentum. He is up to 17 points in 14 games which is good for the team lead and tied for 9th in NCAA hockey. This week he went 2-2-4 in two games and added nine shots on goal. More importantly, Lachance’s skating continues to get better. At this pace, I would be very surprised if Lachance didn’t get a contract offer from Edmonton.

Maxim Beryozkin finally returned to the score sheet this week. After going six games without a point which was preceded by him registering points in twelve games, Beryozkin had a hat trick in his last game. He still has the team lead in scoring at 9-14-23 in 32 games, but his pace has fallen off from earlier in the season. The last half of the season will be critical because his contract is up at the end of this season.

Paul Fischer got a chance to go up against Shane Lachance and Matt Copponi in Ireland on Saturday. He had a tough third period and ended up minus three. He did have six shots on net which was a very good sign. Fischer has played solidly this season. He has not been as dynamic offensively as I had hoped however he still has a points per game total of .56 which is above last season. Fischer’s skating should allow him to be more involved. I personally think this part of his development will be critical for him to have professional success. Perhaps his six shot total in the game against Boston will encourage him to get more involved. He has the tools to do it.

That’s it for this week folks. Next week we will be back with a more comprehensive post as many players are getting to the end of their first half of the season. Have a great week.