Fans of the Weyburn Red Wings want to see improvements in team defence.

Three members of the Weyburn hockey community ranked the Weyburn Red Wings performance in 10 categories in the Weyburn Review's first ever fan's report card.

This year's panelists are: PanCanadian Midget Beavers coach Norm Cross, hockey fan Ron Fellner and girls hockey coach Murray Benson.

The panelists rated the team's goaltending, defencemen, centremen, wingers, scoring punch, team defence, penalty killing, power play, coaching/management and also gave an overall grade. Letter grades were assigned to each category ranging from A+ to F which were later averaged to reach the final tallies.

The Red Wings received an overall grade of B based on their first-half performance. While the offensive play of the team has impressed to this point, the panel stated team defence must improve in order for the team to advance to the late rounds of the playoffs. Panelists also said the team must play a more physical game and allow the offensive defencemen play a more offensive style.

While not unanimous in their view, panelists gave the Red Wing goaltenders a B -. A lack of consistency was the reason for the grade, as far too many soft goals have been given up in the first half of the year.

The defencemen earned a slightly better grade overall, getting a B. All felt the Red Wing defenders were fairly solid, but are susceptible to the occasional lapse.

The centremen also earned a B in the first half. The panel did state there was a need for a larger centreman for the playoffs, an area where a trade may help the club.

Red Wing wingers were given a solid B+, recognizing the team's strength when playing five-on-five. There is a lot of scoring punch here, with two of the league's top 10 scorers among this group, Mike Weisgerber and Peter Hay.

The Wings' scoring punch won the highest grade given, an A-. There is a balanced scoring attack on the team this year which has helped offset any problems they have had on defence.

The fans listed team defence as the Red Wing's biggest problem in the first half. In receiving a mediocre C, the Red Wings have shown they have trouble clearing the puck from the defensive zone. The team has also shown weaknesses when covering their man in the defensive zone. The consensus is the Red Wings must improve here to have any chance of reaching the late rounds of the playoffs this year.

When the Wings kill penalties, the fans say the efforts are worth a B+ althoughore aggressive play is expected from the team in the second half. There was some dissension on whether certain players were fast enough on the forecheck, like Rhett Ballard and Greg Garner, but on the whole, the penalty-killing unit has been above average.

The panel liked what they saw on the power play so far, giving a solid A. Weyburn's power-play unit is currently the third best in the league. They have three or four scoring chances per opportunity and average one goal in every five chances. The abundance of talent from the wingers helps provide the firepower.

The Red Wing coaching staff and management received an A- for their work to date. The tandem of Ron Rumball and Dwight McMillan are judged as experienced hands who know the game. McMillan's defensive style for the playoffs is stated as a strength, so long as the players buy into the system.

The panel said if a deal can be made, a centreman should be found who has size and can play a physical style. A big, strong defenceman would also be of help the lack of aggression currently found at this position. There was some dissension whether another goaltender should be found. The majority said since the goaltending situation has improved in recent weeks, a trade may not be needed.