It is time for the first ranking of the season for McKeen’s Hockey; this is our preliminary Top 32 with a few honorable mentions.
Gavin McKenna occupies the top spot after a strong start with Penn State. He’s the top scoring freshman in the NCAA, with his creativity and skill translating rather seamlessly to the college level thus far. That said, we’d be lying if we didn’t have concerns over the lack of development in his overall game, in combination with his smaller frame. Does that leave the door open for someone later this season to emerge as a first overall candidate?
The way we see it, the next grouping has a tier of four players, all who could be equally as effective as pros in comparison to McKenna. Keaton Verhoeff has had an equally strong start in the NCAA, producing offensively for North Dakota and playing big minutes on the back end. Ivar Stenberg has been producing at a clip historically similar to other Swedish stars in the SHL. Ethan Belchetz is a potential unicorn with a size and skill package that all NHL teams crave. Lastly Tynan Lawrence is an intelligent and mature two-way center who projects as an NHL captain who can play in any situation. All four are drastically different players, but who have separated themselves from the pack in a second tier close behind McKenna.
Six intriguing defenders are part of the next grouping, all positioning themselves to be in contention to be the second-best defender behind Verhoeff. Xavier Villeneuve, Chase Reid, Daxon Rudolph, and Ryan Lin are all offensive standouts with varying levels of defensive ability. While Albert Smits and Carson Carels are more two-way defenders who project as minute eaters. Smits, in particular, is quickly becoming a staff favourite at McKeen’s. The Latvian defender’s rapid progression into a Liiga (Finland) standout has him rocketing up draft boards.
Another interesting name worth discussing is Oscar Hemming, who has yet to play this season due to a contract dispute with his Finnish club. His transfer to the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL was blocked. His signing with the BCHL was voided thanks to IIHF suspension threats. He is now apparently looking at other options like the NCAA as he awaits closure involving his court case in Finland over the dispute. Hemming was outstanding as a power winger at the summer’s Hlinka/Gretzky, so it’s a real shame that his development has been halted. Hopefully he can get back on the ice soon. As of now, we felt his upside was too significant to leave off this list despite the unique circumstances.
You can expect our next list after the World Junior Championships, where we will expand our ranking to a Top 64.
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | TEAM | HT/WT | DOB | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gavin McKenna | LW | Penn State (NCAA) | 5-11/170 | 20-Dec-07 | 14 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 4 |
| 2 | Keaton Verhoeff | D | North Dakota (NCAA) | 6-4/210 | 19-Jun-08 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 3 | Ivar Stenberg | LW | Frolunda (SHL) | 5-11/185 | 30-Sep-07 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 0 |
| 4 | Ethan Belchetz | LW | Windsor (OHL) | 6-5/225 | 30-Mar-08 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 27 | 20 |
| 5 | Tynan Lawrence | C | Muskegon (USHL) | 6-0/185 | 3-Aug-08 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | Xavier Villeneuve | D | Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) | 5-11/160 | 29-Sep-07 | 21 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 25 |
| 7 | Chase Reid | D | Soo Greyhounds (OHL) | 6-2/185 | 30-Dec-07 | 24 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 20 |
| 8 | Alberts Smits | D | Jukurit (Fin-Liiga) | 6-3/205 | 2-Dec-07 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 10 |
| 9 | Mathis Preston | RW | Spokane (WHL) | 5-11/175 | 21-Jul-08 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 16 |
| 10 | Daxon Rudolph | D | Prince Albert (WHL) | 6-2/205 | 6-Mar-08 | 20 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 16 |
| 11 | Ryan Lin | D | Vancouver (WHL) | 5-11/175 | 18-Apr-08 | 21 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 14 |
| 12 | Viggo Bjorck | C | Djurgardens (SHL) | 5-9/175 | 12-Mar-08 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| 13 | Elton Hermansson | RW | MoDo Hockey (Allsvenskan) | 6-1/180 | 5-Feb-08 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 14 | Carson Carels | D | Prince George (WHL) | 6-2/195 | 23-Jun-08 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 18 |
| 15 | Ryan Roobroeck | C | Niagara (OHL) | 6-3/215 | 25-Sep-07 | 20 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 10 |
| 16 | Adam Novotny | LW | Peterborough (OHL) | 6-1/205 | 13-Nov-07 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 4 |
| 17 | Oliver Suvanto | C | Tappara (Fin-Liiga) | 6-3/210 | 3-Sep-08 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 18 | Nikita Klepov | RW | Saginaw (OHL) | 6-0/180 | 27-Jun-08 | 22 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 12 |
| 19 | Malte Gustafsson | D | HV 71 (Swe J20) | 6-4/200 | 11-Jun-08 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| 20 | Giorgos Pantelas | D | Brandon (WHL) | 6-2/215 | 24-Apr-08 | 20 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 18 |
| 21 | Brooks Rogowski | C | Oshawa (OHL) | 6-6/225 | 28-Jun-08 | 19 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 6 |
| 22 | Caleb Malhotra | C | Brantford (OHL) | 6-0/170 | 2-Jun-08 | 21 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 16 |
| 23 | William Hakansson | D | Lulea (SHL) | 6-4/205 | 8-Oct-07 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 24 | JP Hurlbert | LW | Kamloops (WHL) | 6-0/185 | 11-Apr-08 | 23 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 10 |
| 25 | Juho Piiparinen | D | Tappara (Fin-Liiga) | 6-2/200 | 10-Aug-08 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 26 | Egor Shilov | C | Victoriaville (QMJHL) | 6-1/180 | 30-Apr-08 | 21 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 12 |
| 27 | Oscar Hemming | LW | Sherwood Park (AJHL) | 6-4/195 | 13-Aug-08 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 28 | Ilia Morozov | C | Miami (NCAA) | 6-3/195 | 3-Aug-08 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 21 |
| 29 | Beckham Edwards | C | Sarnia (OHL) | 6-1/180 | 6-Jan-08 | 21 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 8 |
| 30 | Jack Hextall | C | Youngstown (USHL) | 6-0/190 | 23-Mar-08 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 8 |
| 31 | Marcus Nordmark | LW | Djurgardens (Swe J20) | 6-1/180 | 4-May-08 | 14 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 36 |
| 32 | Tomas Chrenko | C | HK Nitra (Slovakia) | 5-11/170 | 2-Nov-07 | 19 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 2 |
| HM | Adam Valentini | LW | Michigan (NCAA) | 5-11/185 | 11-Apr-08 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 14 |
| HM | Luke Schairer | D | USN U18 (USDP) | 6-3/195 | 30-Jan-08 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 39 |
| HM | Jaxon Cover | LW | London (OHL) | 6-2/175 | 13-Feb-08 | 20 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 16 |
| HM | Olivers Murnieks | C | Saint John (QMJHL) | 6-1/190 | 31-Jul-08 | 18 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
| HM | Alexander Command | C | Orebro (Swe J20) | 6-1/185 | 16-Jun-08 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 12 |
| HM | Vilho Vanhatalo | RW | Tappara (Fin-U20) | 6-4/195 | 18-Jan-08 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 6 |
| HM | Yaroslav Fedoseyev | D | Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL) | 6-1/180 | 5-Nov-07 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |