Take it away, Tony!

Had the opportunity to cover First Assist Charity Classic game last night for local media outlet in Cornwall.

• Daniel Alfredsson - Looked like Alfie, slick plays and surprising effort for a charity game. The game wore on him very quickly however and he was eventually kind of floating around out there. His skills and skating are there but the heart? I dunno. Signed autographs every minute he was on the bench.
• Marc Methot - Looked very strong, better than expected skating and even a few spurts of playmaking. Wasn’t afraid to wrestle with Neil along the boards. I think he’ll fit in nicely with Ottawa D. Said he’s had several options open to him about going overseas but was “hesitant to jump ship.” but stressed, ”Not that there’s anything wrong with the guys who went over when the lockout started.”
• Guillaume Latendresse - Far and away the best player out there. Skated very well, made some very nice plays and was the game’s first star. Showed great hands by tipping in an awesome little mid-air saucer pass from Columbus' Derick Brassard. Can’t believe he’s billed as more of a finisher because he definitely made some impressive, creative plays.
• Chris Neil - Like an Ox. Was jumped by local peewee team during the first seven-minute intermission which several Sens players joined.
• Peter Regin - Looked strong, skated well and looked like he missed the game. Even though checking is a rarity in charity, he seemed overly cautious about anyone going near his shoulder.
• Zack Smith - Very aggressive around the net, again, charity game notwithstanding. Also skated very well and displayed his solid wrister on a few occasions. Back skated his butt off and looked bigger in pre-game media scrum.
• Neil and Alfie skated on a line with Travis Moen, which was ironic given it was Moen’s line that shut down Heatley-Spezza-Alfie line in their Cup showdown. They also looked fairly comfortable playing together.
• Shean Donovan scored a hat trick and didn’t look like he’d lost a step at all. Several people were talking about how good it’d be to see him come back.
• Jesse Winchester, native of nearby Long Sault, also looked pretty good out there. Think he took second star.
• Mathieu Dandenault was out there too and didn’t seem to have lost a step despite not having played for over two years. He hammed it up for the crowd from player introductions to the last minute. Whipped a slap shot at young goaltender Jordan Piccolino of the local Junior A Colts, intentionally missed of course but gave him a point and stare down that would make Carkner cry.

All and all, a good game for a good cause.