If any Aces fans were angry when gritty forward and Bensonhurst-Native Jerry Cardinale was put on waivers, those emotions quickly subsided when they saw what his replacement, Tony Resendes, could do when given an opportunity.
Through his first five games as a Brooklyn Ace, the speedy forward has seven points, giving the team a legitimate offensive threat on every single line and proving there’s a place for him in pro hockey.
Compiling quotes from his old junior coach, in addition to sharing the thoughts of Aces coach Chris Firriolo and those of my own, AcesOverBrooklyn.com attempts to shed some more light on the youngster’s game.
“He is the absolute, ultimate competitor. He plays tough, like a 6-foot guy. He wins the one-on-one battles. He is the purest, faster skater in the league. He can do it all. He plays defense on the penalty kill. He went through some growing pains his first year here. It was the first time he was coached, the first time he had to handle discipline. He grew up a lot the first year. He had to learn how to play defense; it’s not just about scoring goals, the typical things when we get a high school kid.”
Northern Cyclones head coach Bill Flanagan, HockeyJournal.com, Nov. 2007.
“Tony was dominant at both ends of the ice for us this year. Not only did he provide great offensive production, he was our best penalty killer. He gave our team the opportunity to win every night with his speed and tremendous determination. He had a tremendous impact on the great year we had.”
Northern Cyclones head coach Bill Flanagan, AtlanticHockey.org, April. 2007.
“He’s got a lot of speed. He plays with a lot of spunk as well. He came from juniors with a reputation of doing a lot of things on his own and being an individual. I don’t mean that in a negative way either, but here, however, he’s done nothing but buy into our system. Once he gets a little more comfortable here, I think you’re going to see him develop into a fine hockey player as well.”
Brooklyn Aces head coach Chris Firriolo. December 2008.
My thoughts: The guy has the speed and hands to be very succesful at higher levels. At 5′6 and 165 pounds, his size isn’t going to scare anyone, but very similar to Jesse Felten, Resendes is a lot stronger than he looks and is completely willing to go into the corners at full speed, to either help his teammates or to create offense. Because of that, I believe he is an intriguing player to watch and is one that should be able to contribute a point a game on offense the rest of the season.
Photo by the Northern Cyclones.
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on Dec 9th, 2008 at 5:53 am
With all due respect to Recendes.
Maybe Cardinale should have been given an opportunity to play instead of sitting on the bench, he would have shown what he could do.
He has played HV 4 games = 4 pts.
on Dec 9th, 2008 at 8:44 am
tony is a player who has excelled at every level he has played at givin the opportunity this young man is going to turn a lot of heads and make believers out of all his critics