The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton weighs in on the Red Wings prospects’ 6-5 loss to Toronto yesterday at the 2023 Prospect Tournament, offering praise for the play of Amadeus Lombardi, junior hockey tendencies exempted, and Cross Hanas:
Throughout the weekend, Hanas’ goal scoring stood out above everything else, but it’s worth also appreciating the directness of his game. Hanas is a direct, vertical player. Where Lombardi enjoys a labyrinthine twirl through neutral ice to set up a rush chance, Hanas plays in straight lines, perpetually working his way to the net.
In this case, even though his chance is denied, Hanas’ direct route to the goal mouth leads straight to Lombardi’s tap-in for the rebound, Lombardi having also finished the play at the net.
Again, there’s preseason written all over the play in the two sides’ willingness to trade rush chances, but habits have to form somewhere, and it’s nice to see Hanas’ directness rubbing off a bit on Lombardi to their mutual benefit.
It was far from a banner tournament for the Red Wings, but that doesn’t mean it was without bright spots. Lombardi and Hanas appear natural compliments to one another, and perhaps that chemistry will translate to the NHL level in Detroit before too long.
Continued; Hanas is establishing himself as an “under-the-radar” offensive prospect in my eyes, and Lombardi has a long way to go in terms of learning to put his Major Junior Hockey tendencies behind him, but I believe that he can simplify his game as time goes by.
