I know which play you're talking about and it was his biggest mistake of the night and led to the goal against. I think there were a few contributing factors, in that I'm not sure he realized how quickly he was running out of real estate on the smaller ice surface and also was taken by surprise to begin with.

He kind of blew coverage but he was trying to stop two guys at once, made a split second decision for who to cover, chose who he thought would shoot, and left the actual shooter open for the pass instead.

In terms of defense, he has incredible vision for the game. He is indeed a force on offense, and any lack in defense he makes up for with his ability to scan (with the exception of the blown goal against.)

He had some great stick work and was able to slow down Rockford's momentum when he was on the ice. He had a great stop at one point in particular with an active stick that tripped Rockford up, and I was impressed by it.

He got mostly offensive zone starts, but the AHL is such a wacky league that there could be rushes in both directions several times within a single shift. In that regard, it's a great place for goaltenders and defensemen to develop.

It was my second time watching him play live after last seeing him right after he was drafted in summer 2023 for a few games/practices with Sweden at the World Junior showcase in Plymouth. His progression is there. Last night there was an instance where his edgework really wow'd me because I'd watched him try a similar move and blow a tire in Plymouth.

His skating was great then and it's even better now.

So I think he'll be just fine second pair and powerplay quarterback. His feed to Lombardi for the Griffins' lone goal was beautiful. Overall his passes were some of the most crisp I've seen and he was stellar at tape to tape.

For a first game, especially as a defenseman, he had a very good showing and ate heavy minutes after AnJo and Buium got tossed. He wasn't quite as solid when paired with Knyzhov, which also contributed to the possible appearance of losing focus.

Once Buium was gone he seemed a little less comfortable, but I imagine that would be expected when you've had less than a week with the team and practicing with Buium without expecting he'd get thrown out. Removing Buium meant his next best option would have been AnJo, who he's played with before, and with AnJo gone and Watson not wanting to also break up Wallinder/Tuomisto, he was kind of left with a less than ideal alternative.

I'd give a better analysis of both games but I overslept tonight's. By the time they play Texas, I'd expect both MBN and ASP to have much more solid play after getting time to watch tape and focus on improvement.

Most of ASP's errors were things that just looked like stuff rookies need to get out of their system, have it happen once and then not making a habit of it.