I liked the bit of offense that Ari Popovskiy was able to provide, he found a way to get some shooting opportunities and did a good job getting the puck to goal. His movement at the top of the blue line was really sound, his edge work was good and he was able to quickly swivel and open up his passing lanes for himself. He was smart in his decision making, regrouped instead of forcing plays, and waited patiently to find the right openings in the defense. On the defensive side of the puck Popovskiy showed a bit of a physical edge that was required out of the Team Purple blue line. He was strong in puck battles and was able to leverage himself in the corners to emerge with possession.

One of the most lethal offensive presences from the blueline from the event, Ari Popovskiy did a phenomenal job at quarterbacking the Florida Alliance’s powerplay, along with getting involved in transition as a trailing man high in the zone or carrying the puck himself. He’s a very explosive skater in all directions, making him tough to contain while walking the line, he can escape pressure, handle the puck around obstacles, pull in defenders, and shoot off passes elsewhere to give teammates looks from strong scoring areas on the ice. It seemed as if at any moment in any game he could build speed off-puck through the neutral zone, catch a pass with speed, and dart across the offensive blueline for a quick rush chance. The athleticism he offered made him a dynamic threat with the puck as a whole. A nice shot accompanying his offensive game, made him an even greater threat from the line, picking the right time-and-place to fire pucks on goal, his wrister was heavy and hard, and often found its way on the net unimpeded.

The first half of this game was all offense and Ari Popovskiy was able to help provide some of that with his point play. He moved well with his skating, doing a good job opening up shooting lanes and getting pucks to the net to create rebound opportunities out front. He continued to use his mobility well to access a variety of passing lanes and get the puck down low to his forwards, not forcing plays but taking what the opposition gave him. Defensively he played with a physical edge and good strength, he wasn’t easy to get by and did well to hold up play.

Ari played a simple defensive game, pressuring attacks to the outside and putting his body in front of the puck. On an extended play in his own end he was able to shut down his quadrant, closing up passing lanes out of the corner and blocking multiple shots, forcing the opposition to adjust their play. He routinely forces attackers to make predictable passes to move the puck up the boards which makes it easier for his team to find defensive breakouts. He has a strong foundation in his abilities to defend in his own zone.

In an important game for this Florida squad, I liked the push back that Popovskiy showed after his team went down 2-0. He was aggressive in pushing play up the ice by trying to feed forwards cutting through the middle for stretch passes or reading the timing of opponents passes in the neutral zone to jump in front and intercept. I thought he distributed the puck well on the power play to allow some of their dangerous players to get some quality looks and had a monster shift in the second period where he was a part of two back-to-back grade-A rush opportunities, one that was a nice give-and-go play with Daley that was denied by the HoneyBaked netminder.

Ari Popovskiy had a strong opening game to the USA Hockey Nationals, utilizing some excellent speed and skating ability, his presence was felt as he bolted up ice, whether with-or-without the puck, in offensive transitions for the Florida Alliance he was involved somewhat frequently. His best chance of the game came as a result of catching a pass with speed just outside the offensive blueline, taking it between the two defenders in front of him, and drawing a penalty as he converged in on a partial break. It was instances like that where at any given moment, he could activate with speed, bring that extra level of pressure and pace to the attack, and threaten offensively. He had also rung a shot off the post on the powerplay during this one, and had a few other decent shooting opportunities, showing off a nice release with some good thought behind it in regards to when to use it.