Both Jerry D’Amigo and Kyle Clifford flew under the radar a bit despite coming from hockey scouting hotbeds in Ann Arbor, Mich. and Ontario. D’Amigo, a New York native who has been a member of the U.S. Under-18 team, has been overlooked a bit since he was not considered one of the flashy offensive stars of the national program. But he was consistently one of their most effective two-way performers all season, and has really worked hard in his two years with the Ann Arbor-based team rounding out the skills portion of his game. His puckhandling and finish around the net have improved vastly while he maintained his blue collar, lunch-pail work ethic.
Clifford didn’t bloom until the second half of his second season in the OHL, but he’s blossomed into a power winger who can skate, drop the gloves and pop the occasional goal. He’s a legitimate tough guy who skates quite well for a big man and has enough skill to play a regular shift. Lots of teams are laying in the weeds on this kid and somebody will get an itchy trigger finger early in the second round for fear that another club will jump up and grab him.
via Duchene, Tavares top forwards on Red Line Report’s list – USATODAY.com.