You’ve got to hand it to these Pioneers. In part 4 of Magness Mayhem’s exclusive Denver player survey, which returns for a second year, we examine who has the slickest mitts on the roster.

This season, 23 of the 27 players, or 85 percent, on the roster responded to the 2018-19 survey. The survey includes 25 questions, broken down into various categories. Players were given multiple choices and promised anonymity for their answers. Questions pertaining to skaters only had skaters listed, same for goalie-related questions.

I hope you enjoy this fun exercise that picks the Pioneers’ brains to help shed light on which teammates they view as the strongest in various categories.

MORE SURVEY RESULTS

Part 1 (Questions 1-4) deals with skating

Part 2 (Questions 5-7) deals with strength, checking and toughness

Part 3 (Questions 8-10) reveals the shooting stars

Part 5 (Questions 15-17) looks at the eyes

Part 6 (Questions 18-22) gets defensive

Part 7 (Questions 23-25) hard work and leadership

Question 11: Which Pioneers player is the best stickhandler?

• Brett Stapley – 6 votes (26 percent)
• Liam Finlay, Ryan Orgel – 4 votes (17 percent)
• Emilio Pettersen – 3 votes (11 percent)
• Cole Guttman – 2 votes
• Michael Corson, Michael Davies, Jaakko Heikkinen, Tyler Ward – 1 vote

Analysis: Two sets of linemates appear near the top of this list – Stapley and Finlay, and Pettersen and Guttman. All but Finlay are freshmen. Orgel is one of two defensemen on this list.

Question 12: Who is the Pioneers’ best passer in traffic?

• Brett Stapley – 12 votes (52 percent)
• Ian Mitchell – 5 votes (22 percent)
• Jake Durflinger, Griffin Mendel – 2 votes
• Cole Guttman, Emilio Pettersen – 1 vote

Analysis: Pettersen (10) and Stapley (9) lead the Pioneers in assists so it’s a bit surprising Pettersen isn’t higher up this list. Both seem unfazed by pressure when they have the puck on their stick. Regardless of which zone he’s in, Mitchell always seems to find the open man. Stapley, a Montreal Canadiens draft pick last June, garnered the highest percentage of votes in any category up to this point.

Question 13: Which Pioneer makes the best breakout passes?

• Ian Mitchell – 19 votes (83 percent)
• Michael Davies – 3 votes (13 percent)
• Jared Resseguie -1 vote

Analysis: This is one of the reasons Mitchell was a high second-round draft pick by the Chicago Blackhawks two drafts ago. He excels at moving the puck from his zone, and as we saw in the previous question, he’s good at it regardless of what’s thrown at him. Davies is also very strong at this but he uses his feet more to find open lanes before advancing the biscuit.

Question 14: Which Pioneers goaltender has the best glove hand?

• Devin Cooley – 14 votes (53 percent)
• Filip Larsson – 7 votes (30 percent)
• Michael Corson – 4 votes (17 percent)

Analysis: That this is considered a strong suit of all three goalies is interesting, and it makes me wonder if this is one of the primary attributes on the recruiting checklist. Cooley also was regarded as having the best lateral movement among the three.

NEXT: Vision, hockey sense and face-offs

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