Kingston Frontenacs GameDay March 25, 2018

KINGSTON vs NORTH BAY
PREVIEW
by Jordan Jackson, Kingston Frontenacs
DEFENSE
Kingston has a quality group of d-men that both
add to the offence and help shut down opposing
teams. Sean Day is one of the better skating and
puck moving defensemen in the OHL. His 42
assists were good for third on the team. Jakob
Brahaney became a big part of the Kingston
offence this season taking over the “QB” role on
the second power play unit. Eemeli Rasanen has
a cannon shot from the point, but also the size
and strength to control the front of the net in his
defensive zone. Jacob Paquette is the steady
defensive force that every team needs. He is great
at covering a point when Day or Brahaney decide
to join the rush. Throw in the experience of Liam
Murray and Mitchell Byrne and the Frontenacs are
effective on all three pairings.
From a scoring perspective, the North Bay Battalion
rely on Adam Thilander and his 42 points from the
blue line. Jesse Saban can chip in offensively as
well with his 24 points, but his strength comes in
his 241 regular season games of OHL experience.
The rock on the blue line for the Battalion is Riley
Bruce. The overage defenseman provides stability
on a defensive core that had three rookies. Bruce
has played in 41 playoff games over his OHL
career which is by far the most by any player on the
North Bay roster. At 6’7” and 200 lbs. he makes
getting to the front of the Battalion net difficult for
the opposition. Bruce will be trusted to play big
minutes and attempt to shut down the high scoring
Kingston forwards in order for North Bay to see
success in this series.
OFFICIAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM, VOLUME 45, 2018
OFFENSE
The Frontenacs have an embarrassment of riches
up front. Jason Robertson is one of the best natural
goal scorers in the league and led the team in
points. Linus Nyman and Cliff Pu complete the trio
of players that surpassed 80 points this season.
Gabe Vilardi has incredible vision and hands, and
if he had played a full season he would have gone
over the 100-point mark at his current pace. Brett
Neumann has unbelievable speed and is great
at creating plays off the rush. Tyler Burnie, Ryan
Cranford and Ted Nichol are all underrated players
that make Kingston one of the deepest teams in
the Eastern Conference. The top three lines for the
Frontenacs can all produce and don’t allow the
defense to take any shifts off.
The North Bay attack is spearheaded by Justin
Brazeau and Luke Burghardt. They are the only
two players on the roster that eclipsed 70 points.
Brazeau is especially lethal on the power play
scoring 16 goals with the man advantage. Matthew
Struthers contributed 45 points, but the rest of the
offence is done by committee. The Battalion have
7 forwards that sit between 31 and 23 points in
the regular season. North Bay is a team that will
typically rely on size up front to win puck battles
and grind out goals, but in a series against Kingston
that will be tough. The Frontenacs can match the
Battalion’s size in most cases. - KF
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