Milwaukee Scouting Report courtesy of A.S.S.

Our frenemies over at Admirals Short Shifts were kind enough to put together this great scouting report of their team that should have all of you Aeros fans prepared to take the ice and dominate the Ads by the end of it.

Here we go:

Overall

Coach Lambert preaches to his players to “trust the system.” Basically, that means a heavy reliance on forechecking and playing below the circles. All three scoring lines can cycle the puck very well. The defensemen joined the rush a lot in the regular season (particularly Robert Dietrich), but they have reverted back to a more stay-at-home style in the playoffs… with great success. The Admirals get in trouble when:

• Their defenders get lazy and out of position
• The forwards get lazy and commit Stick Infractions (Hooking, Slashing, etc)
• The top-level talent tries to do too much alone (We’re looking at you, Mike Santorelli!)

In net, MacIntyre has to control his rebounds. He was not good at that in Game One against Rockford, and a better team would have made Milwaukee pay. The defense isn’t always consistent at zone elimination, so there will be scoring chances off rebounds in the slot. He also showed a tendency in the regular season to allow some soft goals.

Lines

Thuresson - Spaling - Maki
While the other lines have NHL-talent, this is the line that Coach Lambert will usually elect to start, and will usually be matched against the other team’s top offensive line. When Maki is playing well, he can be the most effective player on the ice. He’s still learning to be a power forward, but he is excellent on the forecheck. Spaling needs to work on his defensive zone face-offs…but he is a complete player (surprising for a rookie center).

Hornqvist - O'Reilly – Jessiman
This line can generate offense. O’Reilly is one of the most electric playmakers in the league. He sees the ice better than anyone I’ve watched at the AHL level this season. In fact, that’s his biggest downside: he looks to pass first, second, and third. We almost had T-Shirts made up that read “Shoot the puck, Cal!” He has a good shot, but doesn’t use it. O’Reilly is the complete opposite of Hornqvist. He doesn’t have a good shot – but he uses it… a LOT. Aside from an 8-game goal scoring streak late in the season, Hornqvist had one of the lowest shooting percentages on the team (Defensemen included). Built more for speed, a physical game can help to take this line out of the mix.

Jones - Santorelli – Ortmeyer
This line can be deadly (See Game 4 against Rockford: 4 goals and 6 assists); or this line can disappear (See Games 1-3 against Rockford: 0 points). The key to stopping this line is stopping Jones. Ortmeyer is an offensive afterthought, and if you can limit Jones’ space and keep him away from the net – Santorelli will try to do it all himself. While he is extremely skilled, that’s what gets him into trouble. This line is big, and won’t shy away from contact (unlike the O’Reilly line). What makes Milwaukee so dangerous is that the two top lines are rarely “off” on the same night.

Grant - Eizenman - Wilson
A prototypical checking line, Grant and Wilson play an agitated style of hockey. They will usually get about half the shifts as the top scoring lines. Any offensive production from this line is a bonus. Kelsey Wilson was fourth on the team with 15 goals in the regular season – but most of those came when he was skating on Mike Santorelli’s line. Wilson will sometimes flip-flop with Jessiman on O’Reilly’s line, as they are basically the same player. Triston Grant is a huge fan favorite and one tuff player – mostly because he plays hard every shift.

Defense

Franson-Matheson Yonkman-Ramholt Dietrich-Ford

I can’t really offer a scouting report on the defensemen, because I don’t know who these guys are. The defenders that we had in the regular season were all flawed individuals that had lapses in defensive judgement. This group of players, however, was nearly perfect in the first round. Robert Dietrich is short and German. Nolan Yonkman is the Captain. Scot Ford is the tuff guy. Cody Franson is the slick offensive defenseman. Mark Matheson is the positional sound guy. Tim Ramholt is… um… a mid-season acquisition playing by default?

PP Unit #1

Hornvist-Santorelli-Jessiman-O’Reilly-Franson
Keep this unit off the ice. When Jessiman does his job and screens the goalie, this unit is deadly.

PP Unit #2
Maki-Spaling-Jones-Dietrich-Matheson
This unit changes a little bit depending on trends. Kelsey Wilson will see some time here; Thuresson will play if some folks are struggling. There is definitely a step down between the top PP unit and this one, although Maki and Jones can be very effective below the circles.

PKers

Cal O’Reilly, Ryan Maki, Nick Spaling and Jed Ortmeyer are the main penalty killing forwards… and they are excellent. Maki and O’Reilly are especially active on the forecheck, and are always a threat to create shorthanded scoring chances. Andreas Thuresson provides some solid support after the top four.

Scott Ford and Nolan Yonkman are the main PK defenders. Ford is very good, and both of them are adept at clearing the zone. You can get Milwaukee into trouble if you can get Cody Franson and Tim Ramholt on the ice in these situations.