San Antonio Rampage 1st Quarter Report Card

 Time for your Runnin With the Herd 1st Quarter Grades. These grades are through Friday night's 4-2 win over Lake Erie (19 games). Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section or on Twitter. Let's not beat around the bush any longer. To the grades!!

Goalies:

#1 Dov Grumet-Morris  2-4-0-2   2.57   .921
B      Started off as the easiest A on the team, but has come back to earth a bit in the last couple weeks. Still, a solid effort and isn’t really getting a lot of help lately.

#30 Jacob Markstrom  4-6-0-1   3.00   .902
C+    Opposite of DGM. Struggled early but has been much better of late. Still needs to work on focus and rebound control. But his size and quickness are hard to match.


Defense:
 
#2 Michael Caruso   12GP  1-3-4   +6   4 PIM
B+    Outstanding in his own end. Plays aggressive and physical while limiting penalties. Uses size well. Puck handling is iffy. Would like to see a more aggressive offensive approach.

#3 Alex Petrovic   16GP   2-4-6   E   12PIM
C+     Alex, being a rookie, got a bit of a break. He’s been good on the PP and offensively. But, he’s struggled quite a bit defensively. I’ll chalk it up to a learning experience and expect him to get better as the season progresses.

#5 Tyson Strachan   19GP   1-7-8   +1   18PIM
B     I initially had Strachan graded lower, but I think he’s playing well. I would like to see him with a more conservative partner (Yonkman/Caruso). When paired with Robak or Petro, it’s like playing with fire.

#6 Jason DeSantis  17GP   0-6-6   -5   14PIM
D   This one was hard. On one hand, he’s pretty much what I expected, weak defensively and an effective facilitator on the PP. On the other hand, his offensive game has not been good. He needs to be more decisive with the puck and trust his game.

#7 John Lee   8GP   0-0-0   -4   2PIM
Inc.   Not enough info. That said, not sure I like what I see. He looks way out of his league. I would prefer a more experienced 7th d-man. (O’Hanley)

#25 Colby Robak   19GP   2-6-7   -3   16PIM
C+      If you read my twitter, this grade might surprise you. He hasn’t been good defensively for a couple weeks now. But he was good early, and his offense is still effective. He MUST work on staying out of the box. Still great with the stick in his own end, but is getting burnt by bad decisions quite a bit lately.


#43 Nolan Yonkman   19GP   0-1-1   -7   20PIM
C-    This was another difficult grade. Playing better than his numbers would indicate. Yonkman may be a victim of playing alongside Robak during his recent slump. He’s still strong defensively. Another player that needs to be more disciplined.


Forwards:

#12 Jared Gomes   16GP   4-2-6   -E   6PIM
B     Gomes is a decent enough player for his role. Plays hard and has good speed. I have no issue with his game other than he shouldn’t be on any line doesn’t have a “4th” in front of it.

#14 Jean-Francois Jacques   15GP   5-2-7   +1   32PIM
B      Missed some time with a foot injury and his absence hurt the team. Isn’t graceful or fluid by any means, but he plays in front of the net and scores the ugly goals. Something this team desperately needs. Also works hard defensively.

#15 Eric Selleck   19GP   2-3-5   +1   79PIM
B+   On more than one occasion, Selleck was the best forward in a Rampage sweater. He goes 100% every single shift and has just enough speed and skill to make opposing teams respect him offensively. If everyone on the team had his heart, this team would be a bear to play against. But…

#16 Andre Deveaux   15GP   4-3-7   -6   22PIM
D    …there’s Deveaux. Looks disinterested and gets pushed around way too much for a player of his size. He’s still an effective PP player but otherwise, a huge disappointment. Which leads me to…

#17 Casey Wellman   14GP   2-6-8   -9   8PIM
D     During training camp, I was worried Wellman would become a thorn in my side. I wasn’t wrong. He’s a player with a ton of skill that has currently decided that defense isn’t his thing. He plays way too much along the sideboards and needs to start shooting the puck. A lot of this team’s offense relies on Wellman being Wellman. And if he’s going to cheat on defense, he needs to make up for it on offense.

#18 John McFarland   12GP   0-3-3   -4   4PIM
C-      Another rookie graded on a curve. Showed two or three games where the skill was evident. The other 9-10 games, he was unimpressive. Has speed and size for this league. He needs to refine his game, which he can now do in the ECHL.

#24 Quinton Howden   18GP   4-5-9   -3   6PIM
C+    Another rookie who gets a break. He’s still adjusting to the pro game and he’s another candidate to bust out in the second half of the season. Skill is obvious. He just needs to apply it.

#26 Jon Rheault   19GP   6-10-16   +2   4PIM
A    Rheault has been one of the few bright spots of this early season debacle. Shows good awareness on the ice, plays a terrific 2-way game and is getting on the scoresheet with regularity. Great acquisition in an offseason of questionable moves for the Panthers.

#27 Greg Rallo   19GP   5-4-9   -6  12PIM
C-   Had to rewrite this one. Recent events moved him up from a D. Still need more defense from Greg and hopefully his recent scoring surge will continue.

#28 James Wright   19GP   3-6-9   -2   8PIM
C-     Hasn’t been good. Hasn’t been terrible. Still a nice asset to have on the PK, but needs to stand out more even strength.

#32 Scott Timmins   19GP   2-2-4   -3   16PIM
B-      Still the best PK’er on the team. I would like to see a bit more offense out of him, but he’s great on PK and a decent faceoff guy. He does have a great shot that he can keep low to the ice. Would like to see more of it.

#36 Drew Shore   19GP   5-10-15   E   10PIM
A     Best player on the team night in and night out. Plays hard every single shift and is starting to capitalize on it. Has a underrated shot and terrific vision. Good forechecker. Once this kid gets comfortable playing against pros every night, look out.

#39 Justin Vaive   16GP   0-2-2   -1   12PIM
C     Vaive is your typical 4th liner in a normal AHL season. Plays with an edge and has great size. Takes way too many silly penalties though. Might be overmatched in this year’s lockout version of the AHL.

Coaches:
B     They are doing the absolute best job they can do with what they have been given. The Special Teams is inconsistent, but both have been very good at times. Bottom line, this team is built for the AHL when there is no NHL lockout. They just don't have the talent to compete, night in and night out. The recent benching of Wellman, Deveaux, and DeSantis took giant marbles and it seems to have worked...for now.

Front Office:
C-     The brought in Deveaux and DeSantis who haven't been good. They traded for Wellman, which looking back, was a bad move. But, they also brought in Rheault and Jacques, who have been huge additions. I might be too kind in this grade for some, but I thought the Wellman move was a good idea. It just didn't work. I don't grade down for effort. 

I look forward to revisiting these grades at the halfway mark and again at the end of the season, especially for the rookies. Again, feel free to leave any feedback. I love defending my position, especially regarding Rampage hockey.

Until next time, LETS GO RAMPAGE!