Niagara Ice Dogs Player Updates.

With a 3 goal and 1 assist performance last night Ryan Strome tied Ryan Murphy and Gregg McKegg for the OHL scoring lead with 6 goals, 10 assists and a +4 in 8 games. The smooth skating fast forward is solid in his own end and offensively makes things happen for his teammates while constantly putting himself in the right place at the right time for his own chances. His hockey IQ is a lot higher than i prevously thought it was. He will definitely get a lot of long hard looks as a first rounder by NHL scouts.

There is no doubt defenseman Dougie Hamilton will be a first round pick come June in Minnesota, but there's a couple of issues that Hamilton needs to work on that i think were drop offs from last season. His passing hasn't improved. He looks at times like he has lost confidence in his passing missing his targets too many times, and there were times last night, especially on the PP, where you could see he was hesitating and when he did, he was a little off the mark. Not to worry. He has enough talent to overcome, he just needs his confidence back when passing.

As for center Mitchell Theoret, i can't believe how hard he works each and every shift. You'd be hard pressed to find a harder worker on the ice. I think he's worked on his skating from last season and he really has become a very good skater. He never gives up on a play, fights for each and every puck battle, is solid defensively and has put up some offensive numbers with 2 goals and 2 assists and a +4 in 8 games.