Brycen Martin – McKeen's Hockey

CHL Top Prospects Game notebook: Forwards

Grant McCagg — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 12:00:03 +0000

Here are some of the key plays and memorable highlights from the 2014 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

We first reviewed the game and concentrated on the play of just the 12 defencemen participating - and then went back over the contest a third time - with an eye on only the forwards.

Notes are listed below by period - and by the amount of time left in the period.

Here is a list of the defensemen and forwards by team - as they are noted below by only their last names:

DEFENCE

Team Cherry (Red): Anthony DeAngelo Haydn Fleury, Aaron Irving, Roland McKeown, Jacob Middleton, Alexis Vanier

Team Orr (White): Aaron Ekblad, Aaron Haydon, Julius Honka, Brycen Martin, Alex Peters, Ben Thomas,

FORWARDS

Team Cherry (Red): Daniel Audette, Ivan Barbashev, Conner Bleackley, Michael Dal Colle, Robby Fabbri, Nikolay Goldobin, Chase De Leo, Ryan MacInnis, Matt Mistele, Sam Reinhart, Nick Ritchie, Nikita Scherbak

Team Orr (White): Clark Bishop, Blake Clarke, Eric Cornel, Leon Draisaitl, Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Ho-Sang, Brendan Lemieux, Jared McCann, Brendan Perlini, Brayden Point, Jake Virtanen, Spencer Watson

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1ST PERIOD

16:20 - Lemieux out for a stroll in the park, picks up nobody.. Reinhart gets it alone in front and almost tucks it in. Lemieux carries puck out to neutral zone, gets caught by Barbashev on backcheck.

15:40 - Bad pass by Perlini back to no one at the point, could have been dangerous the other way. Not sure about his vision sometimes.

15:00 - Subtle little play by Fabbri - gets puck along the boards and encounters Virtanen.. as he turns to the boards to make it look like he's going to turn the other way with the puck, he shovels it back to the d-man as he's parallel with the boards...the puck goes right along the boards and Virtanen misses it.

9:17 - Audette tips shot off post, Honka gets it behind net with Audette following. Honka makes a great little fake with the puck that delays Audette just long enough while his teammate gets free and shovels it ahead to Cornel, who decides to try a move to the middle at his blueline instead of either chipping it or taking it along the boards...bad turnover.

9:00 - Ehlers with the rush, then the toe-drag move to the slot and backhand.. puck comes back the other way and Reinhart drives to the net past Haydon, a good example of how Reinhart's speed can be deceptive.

8:30 - Tremendous pressure by the Reinhart line, the puck squirts loose to Draisaitl, who decides to head to the boards with the puck and wipes out without being touched, Dal Colle comes along and outmuscles both Leon and Thomas to get the puck to Barbashev, who was all over on the shift. Had good chemistry with Reinhart in this game. Draisaitl was clearly outmatched when he went head-to-head versus Reinhart, but to be fair he didn't have linemates that were as good.

4:45 - Dal Colle with the first of his many ill-advised cross-ice errant passes on the night, intercepted by Ehlers who knocks it up and then bats it to himself and goes on his famous rush where he pretended to be going around the d-man when he was in fact passing it to Cornel. If he doesn't flub the return pass and puts it in that goal is on every highlight reel all week. Ehlers a little lax on the defensive side a couple of times in this game, but he's a penalty killer in Halifax. His speed is a factor in any circumstance if he uses it. He was guilty of doing a little too much 'thinking' instead of 'doing' at times in this game, but he should have been on the top line, not the fourth. Ehlers falls down a lot, which is surprising for such a great skater. Mind you on some occasions he falls down on purpose to get at a loose puck...he can get up quickly a la Crosby.

4:30 - The pass by Ehlers to Cornel was special, not sure I've seen one quite like it before.

1:35 - The Virtanen brain cramp to let Scherbak get a break, to his credit he skated back to check him. Nice play by Audette to get puck in corner and center it to De Leo in slot.

MacInnis made three decent plays in the first 14 minutes, winning a couple of board battles and checking the puck away. On another occasion an opponent just waltzed around him in the open ice. Agility and first steps are in need of some refinement. I run a little hot and cold on him, mostly cold. Sometimes he looks lost, other times he anticipates the play well. Looks like he needs plenty of teaching, something you don't always expect in an ex-pro's son.....De Leo has a hard shot - had a couple of good scoring opportunities during the game.

2ND PERIOD

19:20 - Dal Colle gets his pocket picked by Draisaitl, who showed some hustle for once in this game, but Draisaitl, loses it back to DC.

18:14 - Ho Sang finds McCann in the sweet spot in the slot.. threaded the needle on the pass between two defenders.. disguised the pass. Nice play by McCann to get to the best spot. Ho Sang and McCann had several nice plays together.. would have liked to see those two with Ehlers.

16:26 - Audette to Scherbak at own blueline. Scherbak decides to try and deflect it off skate to a linemate who misses it. Instead of stopping dead and checking Watson, does a huge lazy loop where he goes outside of his own zone and comes back in covering no one.

15:10 - Dal Colle coughs up puck when McCann comes back to hit him. Great play by Ho Sang to draw opponents to him in the middle of the slot, and then having the vision to spot Perlini for an open shot in a prime scoring spot.

15:00 - The Thomas rush....he had time to wind up so it wasn't as impressive as it first looked I don't think. Check out his right arm swinging up wildly coming up to the opponent's blueline.. he almost wiped out unimpeded.

14:50 - Superb defensive play by Bishop or McKeown springs Ritchie on a break...breaks up the pass with solid defensive awareness.

11:20 - Draisaitl gets the puck at Red blueline, does a complete circle against three checkers until Ekblad is open on the boards.

10:10 - McCann sees the d-man move up on the puck, he circles in behind to make sure the puck carrier has backup as there was danger lurking.

8:00 - Mistele passes when he should have shot.. then tried to skate back hard, which was amusing to watch - looked like he was running, kinda like Fred Flintstone when he's about to take off, feet moving a foot above the ground and Fred not going anywhere. Then when he got back, he turned around in a defensive stance. Honka came coasting in from the red line with the puck, met Mistele, shifted a little to the left and quaintly coasted past him along the boards...Honka never took one stride the whole time. Needless to say agility is not Mistele's forte.

7:15 - White power play. Ehlers in his office on the right half wall, little backhand saucer pass to Ekblad for a good chance. Does it with Drouin all of the time.

5:36 - Point does several sharp give and go's moving up the ice. the pass by Bishop back to Point inside red blueline was excellent. Scherbak is not hard to beat, do not like his defensive play. Point set up Virtanen in front, Bishop nice lateral move to pounce on rebound.

2:40 - Thomas gets pass in his skates, nice play to kick it to his stick and then waltz around Reinhart. Perlini good eye-hand coordination batting down pass 20 inches off ice.

2:25 - Ho-Sang goal. Dal Colle was the goat but Point made the play, nice move to the slot from the wall and good low shot on net that Ho-Sang batted in.

2:20 - Audette makes skilled backhand tip pass to De Leo for great chance, vision-playmaking are his strong points.

0:15 - Draisaitl showed his puck possession skills. Had a few moments in the game and could have had a goal or two with some luck, but skating and lack of intensity were issues.

3RD PERIOD

17:05 - Leon coasts on backcheck on penalty kill, not one stride from center ice to the slot - he takes one stride and he stops Fabbri feed to Scherbak for a good chance.

16:01 - Good pass by McKeown to spring Goldobin, who feeds Mistele who finally shoots. Rebound to Goldy who scores on wraparound. Ho-Sang coasting on the backcheck again.

14:30 - Audette gets walked around easily by Virtanen. Not much presence defensively.

14:08 - Nice pass from McCann to Ho-Sang.

12:15 - Point gets puck in corner, waits for Rhino to make his move, then a little deke to gain free space, gets it to the d-man for a shot.

Goldobin penalty shot - Clarke with a poor play along the boards trying to check Dal Colle, but very half heartedly - should have skated back instead as Ehlers was out of the play behind the net.

11:00 - Ritchie decides to get physical, causes havoc and turnovers because of it. He's like the forward version of Douglas Murray when he hits.

10:35 - Fabbri with smart tip pass to Barbashev who does an inside-out move on Thomas, and drives to the net only to hit the post. Barbashev hard hit on Thomas.

9:00 - Virtanen rush - he and Scherbak were on even footing, Scherbak didn't even come close to touching him, not sure about Scherbak's straight-ahead speed, quicker east to west than north south.

8:45 - Nice pass by De Leo to Bleackley in slot, Bleackley's hands looked poor on that play. Looks like his upside is third liner with average skating.

Sportsnet nominated Fabbri as the hardest working player - can't say I disagree - was very diligent on the forecheck on the penalty kill in particular, threw a few hits, competed. Tied for OHL lead in GWG with 8, and that's with missing ten games. During those ten games Guelph lost five of them....in their 36 games with Fabbri Guelph has lost three times. Has a better work ethic than Ho-Sang, and is much better defensively. I thought it was a good move to pair H-S with McCann. Ho-Sang is more effective with a smart two-way center backing him up.

4:08 - Point gets puck from Ritchie, makes a smart pass to Bishop when he goes to his backhand and shovels it laterally to make sure it's not intercepted. Bishop got it to Virtanen, and he smokes it off the post. Virtanen can really blast the puck.

McKeen's Hockey 2014 Draft Rankings

CHL Top Prospects Game notebook: Defence

Grant McCagg — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 15:08:01 +0000

Here are some of the key plays and memorable highlights from the 2014 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

We first reviewed the game and concentrated on the play of just the 12 defencemen participating - and then went back over the contest a third time - with an eye on only the forwards.

Notes are listed below by period - and by the amount of time left in the period.

Here is a list of the defensemen and forwards by team - as they are noted below by only their last names:

DEFENCE

Team Cherry (Red): Anthony DeAngelo Haydn Fleury, Aaron Irving, Roland McKeown, Jacob Middleton, Alexis Vanier

Team Orr (White): Aaron Ekblad, Aaron Haydon, Julius Honka, Brycen Martin, Alex Peters, Ben Thomas

FORWARDS

Team Orr (White): Clark Bishop, Blake Clarke, Eric Cornel, Leon Draisaitl, Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Ho-Sang, Brendan Lemieux, Jared McCann, Brendan Perlini, Brayden Point, Jake Virtanen, Spencer Watson

--------------

1ST PERIOD

19:00 - Martin's fist shift, caught flat footed, Red gets good scoring chance, Bleackley robbed by Mason McDonald.

10:40 - DeAngelo and McKeown paired together. DeAngelo leaves player to the side of net, then puck ends up behind the net..both d-men go back there but have no chance of getting puck.

8:50 - Thomas caught pinching again. Hayden and Thomas overwhelmed by Reinhart line at 8:20...been out too long at that point. Hayden made poor decision on who to take at one point, but he had three choices as Thomas was running around taking no one.

Hayden a limited puck mover, got beat to the outside a few times, pivots need work, mind you he was paired with Thomas, who was caught up ice nearly every shift. Martin skated backwards about ten feet in this period, as he was always behind the play. Does not anticipate when to back up very well at times. Honka and McKeown turn over the puck in their own zone too often. Honka gets a lot of his passes intercepted at the blueline.

2ND PERIOD

18:00 - Two minutes in on the chance by McCann - check out the defensive play by DeAngelo and Vanier. Vanier's pivot is horrid... DeAngelo reads the play much too late and then doesn't pressure McCann at all.

17:20 - Check out the play by McKeown. Why does he just blindly dump the puck away the second he gets it..doesn't look anywhere, has lots of time, and just throws it away.

13:15 - Honka passes it to Perlini...what was Perlini doing there...was he not aware of the d-man being there..skated right into Irving, who made a good read to pinch in there and cause the turnover. Perlini looked scared to get hit there...was soft on that play...he makes a play like that in the NHL, he's riding the pine for awhile.

11:50. Strong penalty-killing shift by Fabbri. Excellent forechecking and strong battle on that play. Martin on the other hand was putrid. Not sure why they started a PP with Martin and Peters, but anyway..

11:00 First White goal - DeAngelo on the penalty-kill with Middleton - recipe for disaster. DeAngelo was lost - left Lemieux alone to sit on the goalie.

Red came back 8 seconds later. Not really anyone on White's fault other than Cornel by the look of things...doesn't help that we miss the first three seconds as the camera is still on Lemieux. Nice play by Barbashev along the boards, nice pass by Reinhart, great pass reception and fantastic shot by Dal Colle. That play right there tells you he's a top five guy..pro-style winger with a sniper's shot.

9:55 - Vanier's lead pass to Scherbak was bad...he should have been sprung on a breakaway..Thomas should have been back more covering Scherbak. Poor play by Scherbak not to at least touch it and negate an icing.

8:10 - Chance for Team Red - Honka does not see Mistele coming in on the wing...he had half the ice to himself when he got the pass from Goldobin. Mistele should have either shot or went to the net..small d-man, small goalie..instead he stays outside and passes it back through two opposing d-men to nobody. Goldobin with the old Ribiero deke, fake going outside and sidestep to the inside, it's Goldobin's bread and butter and he usually gets away with it - Martin bit and looked pretty bad on it, but most d-men do the first couple of times they play Goldobin.

6:50 - Clarke scores on the power play. Decent shot, but Nedeljkovic should have come out of his net to cut off the angle. Fleury let Clarke walk in a bit...both he and MacInnis skated to the same spot, leaving Clarke alone. MacInnis looked a little lost on the penalty kill, didn't really know what to do. Good puck movement by Ekblad on the power play.

6:30 - Thomas decides to skate from his side to mid boards in his own zone, and then stands there for a couple of seconds only to be then hopelessly out of the play. Barbashev goes to front of net, Hayden doesn't stand between net and Barb, he stands beside him to the side of the net while his defence partner stands on the same side along the boards. You know where this is going. Barbashev gets the puck, simply pivots towards the net where Hayden can't check him, and dishes the puck to a wide open Reinhart, who is stopped while Ho Sang admires the play.

5:18 - DeAngelo lost in his own end..doesn't take Virtanen, or Bishop afterwards. Good chance.

4:10 - Honka makes a nice play to evade Goldobin, but then passes the puck to Fabbri at the line. Nice intercept and play by Fabbri, but the right play by Honka was along the boards to Ehlers, who chips it out.

3:35 - Vanier gets puck at blueline. Mistele has 40 feet of wide open space to the net, he doesn't see him, wrists a soft shot on net.

3:00 - Thomas burned with moves by Dal Colle a few times in this period. I think perhaps Thomas tried too hard to do things as it was in Calgary, but he ran around more than blueliner in the second period. Dal Colle hits the post with a great chance, Cornel for the second time in period caught sleeping defensively, didn't get between the pass and Dal Colle. Barbashev with the good pass from down low again. Thomas too late to do anything about it as he was running around...Dal Colle's shot was a ten in this game, another rocket.

2:20 - Ho Sang tip goal .. and again DeAngelo doesn't take anyone, deflects it to Ho Sang, who was left alone to tip it. Not totally DeAngelo's fault, a flukey one. Point with a decent play to break into the middle and get a shot on net after intercepting a horrible pass by Dal Colle in the neutral zone. Middleton wasn't great on the play, but not really at fault. Middleton actually played okay in the first two periods. No huge gaffes, worked hard and had decent positioning. Even challenged Lemieux but Claude Jr. wanted no part of him.

3RD PERIOD

17:30 - Middleton made a nice play to kick the puck to his stick and then do a loop inside the white blueline to lose checker, then made decent move around Haydon to drive to net, but was in too close.

16:05 - Good hit by Peters on Fabbri, played the man, not the puck.

14:40 - Strong play by Fleury to steal puck in White zone and get it to front of the net.

12:55 - Haydon with puck behind the net. Loses it trying to go in front of the net as he forgets about it, and then coughs it up. Not exactly soft hands there. Turnover caused by Fabbri again on penalty kill.

11:35 - Martin lets Goldobin get in behind him, ends up causing a penalty shot. His defence partner Thomas backed up keeping an eye on the invisible man, should have sensed Martin was in trouble and tried to head off Goldobin as well. Once again Martin didn't skate backwards an inch. Can he skate backwards?

11:00 - Haydon gets rubbed out by Ritchie trying to carry the puck, turns it over, gets it back, passes it back to other d-man Peters, who is surrounded by Red guys, coughs it up... Ritchie gets a good chance.

10:40 - Martin caught up ice again..he's the first forechecker at center ice for some reason but once again misses the puck, leaving Thomas and Draisaitl the coaster to defend Barbashev..wasn't pretty. Barbashev made an inside-out move on Thomas, who bit, and he powered around him and hit the post while Leon coasted along a little too late as usual.

9:50 - Goldobin and Reinhart at it again. Reinhart beats Peters (who falls), then between Point's legs and back over to Goldobin..who does his move to the middle and barely gets around a sweepchecking Ekblad. Meanwhile Bishop is coming back and covering the lane from Goldy to Reinhart, and then checks Goldobin in front of the net. Solid play by Bishop...wish they were all as smart as him. Bishop's skating is what's going to hurt him more than anything, he's certainly got good defensive awareness though.

9:00 - Virtanen with a burst around Irving, who was at the end of a shift. Fleury, who was fresh, watched Virtanen come in 1-on-4, beat Irving and come in on the goalie while Fleury watched..at the end he put his stick in front of Virtanen's shot, but too late.

Vanier-McKeown pairing wasn't seeing a lot of ice time in the third. Can't say I blame the coaches - that's not a good pairing..Vanier not quick enough to cover for McKeown brain cramps.

7:00 - Ekblad decides to go for a foray alone red zone on the PP, DeAngelo was trying to check him.. looked like a mouse trying to check a moose, just bounced off of him when he got near.

6:43 - Even the good ones can screw up.. Reinhart with an awful turnover inside his blueline that left Watson alone to walk right in. Reinhart tried to slide a slow backhand pass over to DeAngelo...who should not have been trying to exit the zone at that time. His partner was down in the corner.. he should have remained deep in his own zone as the proper outlet for Reinhart.

6:35 - Speaking of good ones.. Ekblad's turn to screw up.. loses the puck to Goldobin trying to rush in neutral zone.. Goldobin beats Peters.. to the outside!! Peters takes a hooking penalty.

6:15 - Goldy and Sam go to work on the power play.. and the Thomas-Martin combo. Martin was lost after losing Honka, who missed the third after taking a stick to the chops. Lousy job by Martin tying up Reinhart, who scored easily. Not much pressure from Thomas on Goldy either.

5:26 - Martin takes time going into corner, then gets muscled off the puck easily by MacInnis.

5:15 - Vanier hits Lemieux in White zone...has to skate back to catch play.. not pretty. Lemieux gets great scoring chance as Virtanen goes around a covering Audette and gets it to him.. Vanier can't catch Lemieux, who is no speedster.

5:05 - Ekblad mishandles puck at blueline, Scherbak pounces on puck and gets a breakaway, hits post. Thomas didn't come close to catching him, not as fast and took wrong angle. He coughs up the puck 30 seconds later as well, and then fails to pressure De Leo who has loads of time to make pass in the slot. By this time, Thomas was lacking confidence.

4:00 - Haydon loses puck in own end trying to carry it again. Ritchie with a big shift, two big hits including Peters, but at the end of his shift....brutal speed...he's out of shape. Ho Sang whizzes by, draws the d-man over and then slides it to McCann going the other way...excellent shot by McCann. DeAngelo is the one who follows Ho Sang to nowhere.

2:15 - Point comes in on Irving and DeAngelo, tries an inside move on Irving, hits Irving's skate, bounces back to Point who gets around Irving. Where's DeAngelo? Irving kept Point to the inside, all DeAngelo had to do was cover an inside move, instead he goes in front of Irving and misses Point altogether, leaving Point with a breakaway. Stopped by Nedeljkovic, who pokechecked him.

- Fleury makes some rushes with and without the puck in the third with his team down. Like that he wanted to make a difference.

McKeen's Hockey 2014 Draft Rankings

Top Prospects Game Review: Team Orr Defence

Grant McCagg — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 17:45:05 +0000

Captain Aaron Ekblad weathered a rough start and a shaky finish to play a primary role in leading Team Orr to a 4-3 win at the 2014 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Fresh off a four-goal, five-point effort against the Kingston Frontenacs, the Belle River, Ontario native contributed a pair of power-play assists and was able to showcase many facets of his all-around game.

Ekblad struggled early but was steadied by some reliable work from partner Alex Peters of the Plymouth Whalers, and rebounded with a standout effort in the second.

Peters, a native of Blyth, Ontario and the younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Justin Peters, certainly raised his draft stock as well - after recently returning from a 17-game absence due to a leg injury.

Finnish import Julius Honka kept the second pairing for Team Orr afloat for two periods until sustaining an injury. Paired with Swift Current Broncos teammate Brycen Martin, the gifted Honka displayed his elite talents but also some worrisome issues that temper the package.

However, Martin couldn't seem to do anything right and earned a failing grade - as did Aaron Haydon of the Niagara IceDogs, who also laboured through an error-filled night.

Team Orr (WHITE) - Defence

Aaron Ekblad, D, Barrie Colts (OHL) - Game Grade: 8.5

Ekblad had a few minor hiccups at game's start and game's end, ran around a bit when Reinhart and company were pressuring, but usually when he took a chance it was a smart decision. Played an all-around game, and showed capabilities on both the power play and penalty kill. Moved the puck well at both ends, see the ice well, plays an intelligent game. His skating is no longer a negative, he moves okay for his size. Very poised and confident. Good vision and smarts, not a ruffian, but competitive. Draft Ranking: Top 3.

Julius Honka, D, Swift Current Broncos (WHL) - Game Grade: 7.5

Honka missed most of the third with an injury, but up until then was the glue that held the second pairing together with Martin. Showed poise and patience with the puck, and a smooth, natural skating stride. His one rush where he didn't take a full stride from center ice down around the net and back out to the blueline, all the while evading Reinhart and Fleury, was testament to his leg power and balance. He turned over the puck a couple of times trying to clear the zone and lost some puck battles, he will need to continue working on his defensive coverage, and gain more muscle. Draft Ranking: 10-15

Alex Peters, D, Plymouth Whalers (OHL) - Game Grade: 7.5

Peters was a stalwart defender the first 2 1/2 periods, but looked like he may have ran out of gas somewhat at the end when red pressed for the equalizer. Never hurts being paired with Ekblad, and they were unquestionably the most effective pairing on Team Orr. He skates well, decent quickness and agility, and reads the play adeptly. Don't be expecting a puck-carrying point producer, but he handled the puck adequately and made a decent outlet pass the majority of the time. He wasn't overly physical, threw one decent hit, but was the recipient of an even bigger one by Nick Ritchie. Looks to have shutdown potential, will need to add some muscle and use his size more assertively. Draft Ranking: 30-50

Ben Thomas, D, Calgary Hitmen (WHL) - Game Grade: 6.5

Thomas tried a little too hard to make an impression in front of his home crowd in Calgary at times, and lacked the top-end speed to recover from his aggression. A smooth skater and satisfactory puck mover, Thomas will have to keep working on his speed, positioning, and puck skills. Brought no special dimension to his game, but when he played smartly he was effective for Team Orr. Draft Ranking: 30-50

Aaron Haydon, D, Niagara IceDogs (OHL) - Game Grade: 5.0

Haydon showed up to play, working hard, throwing hits and fighting Middleton at the end of the first period, but the skill level overwhelmed him throughout the contest. One thing you don't want to see is Haydon with the puck trying to outrace a Reinhart in his own end while holding the puck, because it will invariably turn out bad. Initiated several costly turnovers in his own end through poor choices, clunky puck skills and a lack of quickness. Has to keep it simple with safe plays...no attempts to rush the puck, no dangling, no brave pinches. Draft Ranking: 50-80

Brycen Martin, D, Swift Current Broncos (WHL) - Game Grade: 4.0

Martin struggled more than any other defenceman to handle the speed and skill. He was caught pinching and flat-footed several times, leaving his team down a man on a dangerous rush. Lacked confidence as the game went on, hesitating and making the wrong decisions. Needs to work on his pivots and backwards skating, spends too much time chasing the play. Has to gain some weight and strength. Draft Ranking: 50-80

McKeen's Hockey 2014 Draft Rankings

2014 NHL Draft: McKeen’s Top 30 Midterm Rankings (Jan-2014)

McKeen's Hockey — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:53:41 +0000

The 2014 NHL Draft remains a very close race for number one overall. None of the top contenders have separated themselves definitively and the picture is becoming increasingly competitive as Kingston’s Sam Bennett continues his rapid rise in the rankings unseating Leon Draisaitl from Prince Albert to enter the top three. Draisaitl was on a torrid eight game burst (8-8-12-20) before a difficult World Junior tournament that saw him ejected for two games.

Brendan Perlini progresses from #12 to enter the top ten at number eight while climbing to fifth in goal scoring in the OHL with 28 in 44 games (44-28-32-60), 12 of them scored since December 13^th.

Michael Dal Colle holds his fourth place ranking while slightly edging Sam Bennett in OHL scoring. He currently ranks 5^th (46-29-38-67) while Bennett is 6^th (40-26-40-66). An impressive Top Prospects game in which he scored, and could have had more, solidified his status.

Sam Reinhart holds tenaciously to the number one spot despite a growing crowd of contenders. Captaining his squad in the Top Prospects game with a commanding performance highlighted his potential versus his peers.

Here are our Mid Term Rankings:

RANK	LAST	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	HT/WT	DOB
1	1	Sam Reinhart	C	Kootenay (WHL)	6-1/185	06-Nov-95
2	2	Aaron Ekblad	D	Barrie (OHL)	6-3/215	07-Feb-96
3	5	Sam Bennett	C	Kingston (OHL)	6-0/180	20-Jun-96
4	4	Michael Dal Colle	LW	Oshawa (OHL)	6-2/180	20-Jun-96
5	3	Leon Draisaitl	C	Prince Albert (WHL)	6-2/210	27-Oct-95
6	6	Nick Ritchie	LW	Peterborough (OHL)	6-2/230	05-Dec-95
7	9	Jared McCann	C	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	6-0/180	31-May-96
8	10	Nikolaj Ehlers	LW	Halifax (QMJHL)	5-11/165	13-Feb-96
9	12	Brendan Perlini	LW	Niagara (OHL)	6-2/205	27-Apr-96
10	8	Haydn Fleury	D	Red Deer (WHL)	6-2/200	08-Jul-96
11	7	Jake Virtanen	RW	Calgary (WHL)	6-1/205	17-Aug-96
12	13	Julius Honka	D	Swift Current (WHL)	5-10/180	03-Dec-95
13	19	Ivan Barbashev	C	Moncton (QMJHL)	6-1/185	14-Dec-95
14	16	Adrian Kempe	C	MoDo (Swe)	6-1/185	13-Sep-96
15	15	Nick Schmaltz	C	Green Bay (USHL)	5-11/175	23-Feb-96
16	11	William Nylander	C	Rogle (Swe)	5-11/175	01-May-96
17	20	Dylan Larkin	C	NTDP (USA)	6-1/195	30-Jul-96
18	21	Joshua Ho-Sang	C	Windsor (OHL)	5-11/165	22-Jan-96
19	25	Sonny Milano	LW	NTDP (USA)	5-11/185	12-May-96
20	24	Anton Karlsson	LW	Frolunda (Swe)	6-1/190	03-Aug-96
21	22	Alex Tuch	RW	NTDP (USA)	6-3/215	10-May-96
22	17	David Pastrnak	RW	Sodertalje (Swe)	6-0/170	25-May-96
23	26	Jakub Vrana	RW	Linkopings (Swe)	5-11/185	28-Feb-96
24	NR	Nikolai Goldobin	RW	Sarnia (OHL)	5-11/185	07-Oct-95
25	23	Kasperi Kapanen	RW	KalPa (Fin)	6-0/180	23-Jul-96
26	14	Brycen Martin	D	Swift Current (WHL)	6-2/185	09-May-96
27	NR	Jack Glover	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/195	17-May-96
28	29	Robert Fabbri	C	Guelph (OHL)	5-10/170	22-Jan-96
29	NR	Jack Dougherty	D	NTDP (USA)	6-1/185	25-May-96
30	18	Roland McKeown	D	Kingston (OHL)	6-1/195	20-Jan-96

McKeens Hockey releases its preliminary 2014 NHL Draft list

McKeen's Staff — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 14:09:03 +0000

Fresh off the heels of an exciting 2013 NHL Draft, McKeens Hockey releases its first look at the top names for the 2014 NHL Draft in our preliminary list. This will change and come into focus as the season gets underway in September and our first official ranking will follow once we have had a chance to do more scouting.

Unlike the 2013 draft, where the focus was on Seth Jones and Nathan MacKinnon, there are a 5 or 6 names to consider for the 1st overall ranking. Players like William Nylander and Jakub Vrana will make the push from overseas, while the CHL will have a significant impact as well, with players like Sam Reinhart, Aaron Ekbald and Leon Draisaitl also in the mix for the first overall slot. The OHL has the potential to be one of the heaviest scouted areas in 2014, with 10 players in McKeens players in the initial rankings, which puts them tops among all development leagues.

The 2014 NHL Draft scouting season starts early for scouts, with the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Tournament and U20 camps starting up in Lake Placid next week, scouts are already preparing to get early looks at the top names available.

RANK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	HT/WT	DOB
1	William Nylander Altelius	C	Sodertalje (Swe)	5-10/170	01-May-96
2	Sam Reinhart	C	Kootenay (WHL)	6-0/185	06-Nov-95
3	Nick Ritchie	LW	Peterborough (OHL)	6-1/210	05-Dec-95
4	Leon Draisaitl	C	Prince Albert (WHL)	6-1/195	27-Oct-95
5	Roland McKeown	D	Kingston (OHL)	6-1/185	20-Jan-96
6	Ryan MacInnis	C	NTDP (USA)	6-3/170	14-Feb-96
7	Aaron Ekblad	D	Barrie (OHL)	6-3/210	07-Feb-96
8	Jakub Vrana	RW	Linkopings (Swe)	6-0/180	28-Feb-96
9	Haydn Fleury	D	Red Deer (WHL)	6-3/205	08-Jul-96
10	Anton Karlsson	LW	Frolunda (Swe)	6-1/190	03-Aug-96
11	Jared McCann	C	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	6-0/175	31-May-96
12	Michael Dal Colle	LW	Oshawa (OHL)	6-2/175	20-Jun-96
13	Brycen Martin	D	Swift Current (WHL)	6-1/180	09-May-96
14	Nick Schmaltz	C	Green Bay (USHL)	5-11/170	23-Feb-96
15	Jake Virtanen	LW	Calgary (WHL)	6-0/190	17-Aug-96
16	Alexis Pepin	C	PEI (QMJHL)	6-2/195	24-Apr-96
17	Sam Bennett	C	Kingston (OHL)	6-0/170	20-Jun-96
18	Jack Glover	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/185	17-May-96
19	Joshua Jacobs	D	Indiana (USHL)	6-2/195	15-Feb-96
20	Blake Clarke	LW	Brampton (OHL)	6-1/190	24-Jan-96
21	Kaapo Kahkonen	G	Blues (Fin)	6-1/195	16-Aug-96
22	Sonny Milano	C	NTDP (USA)	5-10/170	12-May-96
23	Adrian Kempe	C	MoDo (Swe)	6-1/170	13-Sep-96
24	Alex Tuch	C	NTDP (USA)	6-3/225	10-May-96
25	Mason McDonald	G	Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)	6-3/175	23-Apr-96
26	Jacob Middleton	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-3/195	02-Jan-96
27	Oskar Lindblom	RW	Brynas (Swe)	6-0/185	15-Aug-96
28	Kasperi Kapanen	LW	KalPa (Fin)	5-10/165	23-Jul-96
29	Joshua Ho-Sang	C	Windsor (OHL)	5-11/160	22-Jan-96
30	Matt Schmalz	LW	Sudbury (OHL)	6-5/190	21-Mar-96