Nathan Dunkley – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2019 NHL DRAFT GUIDE: Final Rankings – Top 217 Plus 100 Honourable Mention

Iain Morrell — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 17:52:23 +0000

MCKEEN'S RELEASES FINAL 2019 NHL DRAFT RANKINGS

KOSICE, SLOVAKIA - MAY 13: USA's Jack Hughes #6 and Finland's Kaapo Kakko #24 shake hands following a 3-2 overtime win for team USA during preliminary round action of the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship at Steel Arena on May 13, 2019 in Kosice, Slovakia. (Photo by Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

American center Jack Hughes or Finnish Winger Kaapo Kakko?

That is the decision facing the New Jersey Devils who won the draft lottery for the second time in the past three seasons and hold the top pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Hughes (5-foot-10, 170 pounds) led the USA Hockey National Team Development Program under-18 team in scoring while setting the NTDP career record for assists (154) and points (228) in two seasons (110 games) with the program.

He earned the highest Overall Future Projection (OFP) score of 64.50, as per the 20/80 grading system developed by McKeen's Director of Scouting Ryan Wagman.

Skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ, physicality - these are the attributes measured for skaters using the 20/80 grading system to arrive at an Overall Future Projection (OFP) score.

Six areas are assessed for goalies: athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling.

BROADWAY KAAPO

Kakko (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) earned the next highest OFP score at 64.00.

The Turku, Finland native will go to the New York Rangers with the second pick, their highest draft position since taking Brad Park in 1966 before expansion (1967-68).

Kakko led Finland with six goals while winning gold at the 2019 World Championships at just 18 years, 102 days old to become the youngest player in IIHF history to win gold at the Under-18, Under-20, and WM (World Men) levels, supplanting Connor McDavid of Canada (19 years, 130 days) from the record books.

The Chicago Blackhawks have the number three pick with the top defenseman Bowen Byram of the Vancouver Giants next on the McKeen's OFP scale (63.40).

Seven players in total received OFP scores of at least 60.00 this season, up from five in 2018 - and just two in 2017 when the Devils selected Nino Hischier first overall.

The next five spots in the rankings are all centers - Kirby Dach of Saskatoon (63.20 OFP), Dylan Cozens of Lethbridge (61.40), the NTDP duo of Trevor Zegras (61.25) and Alex Turcotte (60.00), and Peyton Krebs of Kootenay (59.65).

ALL AMERICAN

Spencer Knight. Photo courtesy of the USNTDP.

Spencer Knight of the NTDP is the top-rated goaltender available (55.75 OFP) at No. 32 in the McKeen's rankings.

Knight will likely go in the opening round of what will be a record haul for the U.S. National Team Development Program as upwards of eight players could be taken in the top 31 selections.

As for past records, the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) had four players taken in the opening round of the 1979 NHL Draft - as did the Toronto Marlboros (OHA) in 1972 and the Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA) in 1969.

Along with Hughes (1st), Zegras (6th), and Turcotte (7th), wingers Matthew Boldy and Cole Caufield are ranked at No. 12 and 13 on the McKeen's list, with defenseman Cam York at No. 17 and center John Beecher at 30th.

Caufield (5-foot-7, 165 pounds) scored 14 goals at the U18 World Junior Championship, tying Alex Ovechkin's single-tournament goals record. However, the United States lost in a shootout to Russia in the semi-finals.

There are also four others in the program ranked in the 32 to 62 range (second round) - all defensemen - Marshall Warren (35th), Alex Vlasic (54th), Henry Thrun (58th) and Drew Helleson (62nd).

In total, 16 players from the NTDP are ranked among the top 100.

SWEDE GOLD - SWEET SEIDER

ORNSKOLDSVIK, SWEDEN - APRIL 23: Swedens Philip Broberg #4 makes a pass during preliminary round action against Russia at the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship at Fjallraven Center on April 23, 2019 in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. (Photo by Steve Kingsman/HHOF-IIHF Images)

Sweden won a first-ever gold medal at the U18 World Juniors.

Four blueliners on that Swedish team are first-round candidates led by Philip Broberg of AIK, named 'Top Defenceman' at the U18 tournament, and Victor Soderstrom of Brynas, ranked No. 9 and 10 respectively on McKeen's.

U18 captain Tobias Bjornfot of Djurgardens is ranked 19th and Albert Johansson of Farjestads is 26th.

Following Dominik Bokk's selection in 2018 (25th to St. Louis), Germany will produce another first-round pick this year in Adler Mannheim defenseman Moritz Seider.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound, right-shot blueliner displayed impressive skills and maturity for his age while appearing at the 2019 World Championships (5-2-0-2).

Seider earned an OFP score of 57.50 and is ranked No. 15.

He will become the highest-selected German-born player at the NHL Draft since the Edmonton Oilers took Leon Draisaitl third overall in 2014.

Here are our final 2019 NHL Draft Rankings. They are a culmination of a season’s worth of prospect analysis and coverage on mckeenshockey.com and the tremendous work put in rinks and looking at screens and numbers from our committed team. Enjoy!

RANK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	HT/WT	DOB	Nation
1	Jack Hughes	C	NTDP (USA)	5-10/170	14-May-01	USA
2	Kaapo Kakko	RW	TPS Turku (Fin)	6-2/195	13-Feb-01	Finland
3	Bowen Byram	D	Vancouver (WHL)	6-0/195	13-Jun-01	Canada
4	Kirby Dach	C	Saskatoon (WHL)	6-3/200	21-Jan-01	Canada
5	Dylan Cozens	C	Lethbridge (WHL)	6-3/185	9-Feb-01	Canada
6	Trevor Zegras	C	NTDP (USA)	6-0/170	20-Mar-01	USA
7	Alex Turcotte	C	NTDP (USA)	5-11/185	26-Feb-01	USA
8	Peyton Krebs	C	Kootenay (WHL)	5-11/180	26-Jan-01	Canada
9	Philip Broberg	D	AIK (Swe 2)	6-3/200	25-Jun-01	Sweden
10	Victor Soderstrom	D	Brynas (Swe)	5-11/180	26-Feb-01	Sweden
11	Vasili Podkolzin	RW	SKA-1946 St. Pete. (Rus Jr)	6-1/190	24-Jun-01	Russia
12	Matthew Boldy	LW	NTDP (USA)	6-1/190	5-Apr-01	USA
13	Cole Caufield	RW	NTDP (USA)	5-7/165	2-Jan-01	USA
14	Raphael Lavoie	RW	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-4/195	25-Sep-00	Canada
15	Moritz Seider	D	Adler Mannheim (DEL)	6-3/185	6-Apr-01	Germany
16	Simon Holmstrom	RW	HV 71 (Swe Jr)	6-1/185	24-May-01	Sweden
17	Cam York	D	NTDP (USA)	5-11/175	5-Jan-01	USA
18	Alex Newhook	C	Victoria (BCHL)	5-10/195	28-Jan-01	Canada
19	Tobias Bjornfot	D	Djurgardens (Swe Jr)	6-0/200	6-Apr-01	Sweden
20	Philip Tomasino	C	Niagara (OHL)	5-11/180	28-Jul-01	Canada
21	Arthur Kaliyev	RW	Hamilton (OHL)	6-2/190	26-Jun-01	USA
22	Ryan Suzuki	C	Barrie (OHL)	6-0/180	28-May-01	Canada
23	Samuel Poulin	LW	Sherbrooke (QMJHL)	6-1/205	25-Feb-01	Canada
24	Thomas Harley	D	Mississauga (OHL)	6-3/190	19-Aug-01	Canada
25	Ryan Johnson	D	Sioux Falls (USHL)	6-0/175	24-Jul-01	USA
26	Albert Johansson	D	Farjestads (Swe Jr)	5-11/165	4-Jan-01	Sweden
27	Robert Mastrosimone	LW	Chicago (USHL)	5-10/160	24-Jan-01	USA
28	Connor McMichael	C	London (OHL)	5-11/175	15-Jan-01	Canada
29	Matthew Robertson	D	Edmonton (WHL)	6-3/200	9-Mar-01	Canada
30	John Beecher	C	NTDP (USA)	6-3/210	5-Apr-01	USA
31	Pavel Dorofeyev	LW	Magnitogorsk (KHL)	6-1/170	26-Oct-00	Russia
32	Spencer Knight	G	NTDP (USA)	6-3/195	19-Apr-01	USA
33	Bobby Brink	RW	Sioux City (USHL)	5-10/165	8-Jul-01	USA
34	Brett Leason	RW	Prince Albert (WHL)	6-4/200	30-Apr-99	Canada
35	Marshall Warren	D	NTDP (USA)	5-11/170	20-Apr-01	USA
36	Egor Afanasyev	RW	Muskegon (USHL)	6-3/205	23-Jan-01	Russia
37	Ville Heinola	D	Lukko Rauma (Fin)	5-11/180	3-Feb-01	Finland
38	Nolan Foote	LW	Kelowna (WHL)	6-3/190	29-Nov-00	Canada
39	Samuel Fagemo	RW	Frolunda (Swe)	6-0/195	14-Mar-00	Sweden
40	Nick Robertson	LW	Peterborough (OHL)	5-9/160	11-Sep-01	USA
41	Nils Hoglander	RW	Rogle (Swe)	5-9/185	20-Dec-00	Sweden
42	Jamieson Rees	C	Sarnia (OHL)	5-10/175	26-Feb-01	Canada
43	Jakob Pelletier	LW	Moncton (QMJHL)	5-9/165	7-Mar-01	Canada
44	Antti Tuomisto	D	Assat Pori (Fin Jr)	6-4/190	20-Jan-01	Finland
45	Lassi Thomson	D	Kelowna (WHL)	5-11/190	24-Sep-00	Finland
46	Michal Teply	LW	Bili Tygri Liberec (Cze)	6-3/185	27-May-01	Czech
47	Brayden Tracey	LW	Moose Jaw (WHL)	6-0/175	28-May-01	Canada
48	Arseni Gritsyuk	RW	Omskie Yastreby (Rus Jr)	5-10/170	15-Mar-01	Russia
49	Yegor Chinakhov	RW	Omskie Yastreby (Rus Jr)	6-0/175	1-Feb-01	Russia
50	Mattias Norlinder	D	MoDo (Swe Jr)	5-11/180	12-Apr-00	Sweden
51	Karl Henriksson	C	Frolunda (Swe Jr)	5-9/165	5-Feb-01	Sweden
52	Vladislav Kolyachonok	D	Flint (OHL)	6-1/185	26-May-01	Belarus
53	Nikola Pasic	RW	Linkopings (Swe Jr)	5-10/185	16-Oct-00	Sweden
54	Alex Vlasic	D	NTDP (USA)	6-6/200	5-Jun-01	USA
55	Pyotr Kochetkov	G	HK Ryazan (Rus 2)	6-1/175	25-Jun-99	Russia
56	Albin Grewe	RW	Djurgardens (Swe Jr)	5-11/190	22-Mar-01	Sweden
57	Trevor Janicke	C	Central Illinois (USHL)	5-10/195	25-Dec-00	USA
58	Henry Thrun	D	NTDP (USA)	6-2/190	12-Mar-01	USA
59	Yegor Spiridonov	C	Stalnye Lisy Mag. (Rus Jr)	6-2/195	22-Jan-01	Russia
60	Patrik Puistola	LW	Tappara (Fin Jr)	6-0/175	11-Jan-01	Finland
61	Ilya Nikolayev	C	Loko Yaroslavl (Rus Jr)	6-0/190	26-Jun-01	Russia
62	Drew Helleson	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/195	26-Mar-01	USA
63	Graeme Clarke	RW	Ottawa (OHL)	5-11/175	24-Apr-01	Canada
64	Ronnie Attard	D	Tri-City (USHL)	6-3/210	20-Mar-99	USA
65	Mads Sogaard	G	Medicine Hat (WHL)	6-7/195	13-Dec-00	Denmark
66	Oleg Zaitsev	C	Red Deer (WHL)	6-1/185	7-Jan-01	Russia
67	Isaiah Saville	G	Tri-City (USHL)	6-1/190	21-Sep-00	USA
68	Kaedan Korczak	D	Kelowna (WHL)	6-3/190	29-Jan-01	Canada
69	Adam Najman	C	Benatky nad Jizerou (Cze 2)	5-11/175	23-Jan-01	Czech
70	Mikko Kokkonen	D	Jukurit (Fin)	5-11/200	18-Jan-01	Finland
71	Michael Vukojevic	D	Kitchener (OHL)	6-3/210	8-Jun-01	Canada
72	Patrick Moynihan	RW	NTDP (USA)	5-11/185	23-Jan-01	USA
73	Michael Gildon	LW	NTDP (USA)	6-1/195	21-Jun-01	USA
74	Judd Caulfield	RW	NTDP (USA)	6-3/205	19-Mar-01	USA
75	Vladislav Firstov	LW	Waterloo (USHL)	6-1/180	19-Jun-01	USA
76	Hugo Alnefelt	G	HV 71 (Swe Jr)	6-3/195	4-Jun-01	Sweden
77	Gianni Fairbrother	D	Everett (WHL)	6-0/195	30-Sep-00	Canada
78	Jackson Lacombe	D	Shattuck-St. Mary's (USHS-MN)	6-1/170	9-Jan-01	USA
79	Ethan Keppen	LW	Flint (OHL)	6-2/210	20-Mar-01	Canada
80	Anttoni Honka	D	JyP Jyvaskyla (Fin)	5-10/180	5-Oct-00	Finland
81	Roman Bychkov	D	Loko Yaroslavl (Rus Jr)	5-11/160	10-Feb-01	Russia
82	Ryder Donovan	C	Duluth East (USHS-MN)	6-3/185	4-Oct-00	USA
83	Nathan Legare	RW	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)	6-0/205	11-Jan-01	Canada
84	Billy Constantinou	D	Kingston (OHL)	6-0/185	25-Mar-01	Canada
85	Vojtech Strondala	C	Slavia Trebic (Cze 2)	5-7/155	17-Dec-00	Czech
86	Case McCarthy	D	NTDP (USA)	6-1/195	9-Jan-01	USA
87	Simon Lundmark	D	Linkopings (Swe)	6-2/200	8-Oct-00	Sweden
88	Zac Jones	D	Tri-City (USHL)	5-10/175	18-Oct-00	USA
89	Erik Portillo	G	Frolunda (Swe Jr)	6-6/210	3-Sep-00	Sweden
90	Daniil Misyul	D	Loko Yaroslavl (Rus Jr)	6-3/180	20-Oct-00	Russia
91	Daniil Gutik	LW	Loko Yaroslavl (Rus Jr)	6-3/180	31-Aug-01	Russia
92	Hunter Jones	G	Peterborough (OHL)	6-4/195	21-Sep-00	Canada
93	Michael Koster	D	Chaska (USHS-MN)	5-9/175	13-Apr-01	USA
94	Aliaksei Protas	C	Prince Albert (WHL)	6-5/205	6-Jan-01	Belarus
95	Blake Murray	C	Sudbury (OHL)	6-2/190	5-Jul-01	Canada
96	Cole MacKay	RW	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	5-10/190	13-Jun-01	Canada
97	Trent Miner	G	Vancouver (WHL)	6-0/185	5-Jan-01	Canada
98	Semyon Chistyakov	D	Tolpar Ufa (Rus Jr)	5-10/170	7-Aug-01	Russia
99	Leevi Aaltonen	RW	KalPa (Fin Jr)	5-9/175	24-Jan-01	Finland
100	Antti Saarela	C	Lukko Rauma (Fin)	5-11/185	27-Jun-01	Finland
101	John Farinacci	C	Dexter (USHS-MA)	5-11/185	14-Feb-01	USA
102	Marcus Kallionkieli	LW	Sioux City (USHL)	6-2/195	20-Mar-01	Finland
103	Andre Lee	LW	Sioux Falls (USHL)	6-4/200	26-Jul-00	Sweden
104	Kirill Slepets	RW	Loko Yaroslavl (Rus Jr)	5-10/165	6-Apr-99	Russia
105	Shane Pinto	C	Tri-City (USHL)	6-2/190	12-Nov-00	USA
106	Jordan Spence	D	Moncton (QMJHL)	5-10/165	24-Feb-01	Canada
107	Keean Washkurak	C	Mississauga (OHL)	5-10/185	16-Aug-01	Canada
108	Owen Lindmark	C	NTDP (USA)	6-0/195	17-May-01	USA
109	Matej Blumel	RW	Waterloo (USHL)	5-11/200	31-May-00	Czech
110	Jack Malone	RW	Youngstown (USHL)	6-1/190	13-Oct-00	USA
111	Jayden Struble	D	St. Sebastian's (USHS-MA)	6-0/195	8-Sep-01	USA
112	Artemi Knyazev	D	Chicoutimi (QMJHL)	5-11/180	4-Jan-01	Russia
113	Maxim Cajkovic	RW	Saint John (QMJHL)	5-11/185	3-Jan-01	Slovakia
114	Matvey Guskov	C	London (OHL)	6-1/180	30-Jan-01	Russia
115	Nikita Okhotyuk	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-1/195	4-Dec-00	Russia
116	Valeri Orekhov	D	Barys Astana (KHL)	6-1/190	17-Jul-99	Kazakhstan
117	Zdenek Sedlak	RW	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	6-2/205	23-Mar-00	Czech
118	Alexander Yakovenko	D	Muskegon (USHL)	5-11/175	22-Feb-98	Russia
119	Yannick Bruschweiler	C	GC Kusnacht Lions (Sui 2)	5-10/175	29-Aug-99	Switzerland
120	Ilya Mironov	D	Loko Yaroslavl (Rus Jr)	6-3/200	15-Mar-01	Russia
121	Albert Lyckasen	D	Linkopings (Swe Jr)	5-10/180	29-Jul-01	Sweden
122	Keegan Stevenson	C	Guelph (OHL)	6-1/185	31-Dec-00	Canada
123	Ilya Konovalov	G	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)	6-0/195	13-Jul-98	Russia
124	Cole Schwindt	RW	Mississauga (OHL)	6-2/185	25-Apr-01	Canada
125	Domenick Fensore	D	NTDP (USA)	5-7/155	7-Sep-01	USA
126	William Francis	D	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	6-5/210	16-Nov-00	USA
127	Simon Gnyp	D	Kolner (Ger Jr)	5-11/180	10-Sep-01	Germany
128	Tuukka Tieksola	RW	Karpat Oulu (Fin Jr)	5-10/150	22-Jun-01	Finland
129	Ethan Phillips	C	Sioux Falls (USHL)	5-9/150	7-May-01	Canada
130	Linus Pettersson	RW	MoDo (Swe)	5-7/145	11-Apr-00	Sweden
131	Matias Maccelli	LW	Dubuque (USHL)	5-11/170	14-Oct-00	Finland
132	Anthony Romano	C	Sioux Falls (USHL)	5-11/185	7-Oct-00	Canada
133	Nikita Alexandrov	C	Charlottetown (QMJHL)	6-0/180	16-Sep-00	Germany
134	Arturs Silovs	G	HS Riga (Lat)	6-4/205	22-Mar-01	Latvia
135	August Hedlund	G	AIK (Swe Jr)	6-4/185	7-Jan-00	Sweden
136	Nicholas Porco	LW	Saginaw (OHL)	6-0/175	12-Mar-01	Canada
137	Joe Carroll	C	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	6-2/200	1-Feb-01	Canada
138	Alex Beaucage	RW	Rouyn Noranda (QMJHL)	6-1/195	25-Jul-01	Canada
139	Luke Toporowski	C	Spokane (WHL)	5-11/180	12-Apr-01	USA
140	Sasha Mutala	RW	Tri-City (WHL)	6-0/200	6-May-01	Canada
141	Harrison Blaisdell	C	Chilliwack (BCHL)	5-11/180	18-Mar-01	Canada
142	Valentin Nussbaumer	C	Shawinigan (QMJHL)	5-11/165	25-Sep-00	Switzerland
143	Dustin Wolf	G	Everett (WHL)	6-0/155	16-Apr-01	USA
144	Ondrej Psenicka	RW	Sparta Praha (Cze Jr)	6-5/195	7-Jan-01	Czech
145	Juuso Parssinen	C	TPS Turku (Fin Jr)	6-2/205	1-Feb-01	Finland
146	Mitchell Brewer	D	Oshawa (OHL)	6-0/205	20-Mar-01	Canada
147	Lukas Parik	G	Liberec (Cze Jr)	6-4/185	15-Mar-01	Czech
148	Grant Silianoff	RW	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	5-11/170	4-Jan-01	USA
149	Josh Nodler	C	Fargo (USHL)	5-11/195	27-Apr-01	USA
150	Bryce Brodzinski	RW	Blaine (USHS-MN)	6-0/195	9-Aug-00	USA
151	Colten Ellis	G	Rimouski (QMJHL)	6-1/190	5-Oct-00	Canada
152	Rhett Pitlick	LW	Chaska (USHS-MN)	5-9/160	7-Feb-01	USA
153	Dillon Hamaliuk	LW	Seattle (WHL)	6-3/190	30-Oct-00	Canada
154	Aleksei Sergeev	C	Quebec (QMJHL)	5-9/185	22-May-00	Russia
155	Jack York	D	Barrie (OHL)	6-0/190	17-Sep-00	Canada
156	Jacob LeGuerrier	D	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	6-1/200	22-Nov-00	Canada
157	Zach Uens	D	Wellington (OJHL)	6-1/180	13-May-01	Canada
158	Josh Williams	RW	Edmonton (WHL)	6-1/195	8-Mar-01	Canada
159	Elmer Soderblom	RW	Frolunda (Swe Jr)	6-6/220	5-Jul-01	Sweden
160	Kyle Topping	C	Kelowna (WHL)	5-11/185	18-Nov-99	Canada
161	Albin Sundsvik	C	Skelleftea (Swe Jr)	6-1/185	27-Apr-01	Sweden
162	Cameron Rowe	G	NTDP (USA)	6-2/200	1-Jun-01	USA
163	Filip Lindberg	G	Massachusetts (HE)	6-0/180	31-Jan-99	Finland
164	Liam Svensson	C	Frolunda (Swe Jr 18)	6-3/195	2-Feb-01	Sweden
165	Xavier Simoneau	C	Drummondville (QMJHL)	5-6/170	19-May-01	Canada
166	Pavel Gogolev	RW	Guelph (OHL)	6-0/175	19-Feb-00	Russia
167	Danil Antropov	LW	Oshawa (OHL)	6-1/185	20-Dec-00	Canada
168	Daniel D'Amico	LW	Windsor (OHL)	5-9/185	26-Jan-01	Canada
169	Vladimir Alistrov	LW	Edmonton (WHL)	6-2/175	12-Feb-01	Belarus
170	Reece Newkirk	C	Portland (WHL)	5-11/175	20-Feb-01	Canada
171	Sergei Alkhimov	LW	Regina (WHL)	6-0/210	3-Jul-01	Russia
172	Adam Beckman	LW	Spokane (WHL)	6-1/170	10-May-01	Canada
173	Alexander Campbell	LW	Victoria (BCHL)	5-10/150	27-Feb-01	Canada
174	Taylor Gauthier	G	Prince George (WHL)	6-1/195	15-Feb-01	Canada
175	Max Crozier	D	Sioux Falls (USHL)	6-1/195	19-Apr-00	Canada
176	Santeri Hatakka	D	Jokerit (Fin Jr)	6-0/175	15-Jan-01	Finland
177	Kalle Loponen	D	Hermes (Fin 2)	5-10/185	13-Mar-01	Finland
178	Eric Ciccolini	RW	Toronto Jr Canadiens (OJHL)	5-11/160	14-Jan-01	Canada
179	Aku Raty	RW	Karpat Oulu (Fin Jr)	5-11/170	5-Jul-01	Finland
180	Arvid Costmar	C	Linkopings (Swe Jr)	5-11/180	7-Jul-01	Sweden
181	Matt Brown	LW	Des Moines (USHL)	5-9/180	9-Aug-99	USA
182	Sven Leuenberger	C	Zug (Sui)	5-10/185	18-Feb-99	Switzerland
183	Jasper Patrikainen	G	Pelicans (Fin)	6-0/175	1-Jul-00	Finland
184	Jack Williams	G	Springfield (NAHL)	6-3/175	21-Jun-01	USA
185	Mikhail Abramov	C	Victoriaville (QMJHL)	5-10/160	26-Mar-01	Russia
186	Ben Brinkman	D	Minnesota (B1G)	6-0/215	4-Oct-00	USA
187	Chris Giroday	D	Green Bay (USHL)	6-1/175	13-Dec-00	Canada
188	Petr Cajka	C	Erie (OHL)	6-0/170	11-Dec-00	Czech
189	Mark Kastelic	C	Calgary (WHL)	6-3/215	11-Mar-99	USA
190	Kevin Wall	RW	Chilliwack (BCHL)	6-0/190	1-Feb-00	USA
191	Lucas Edmonds	RW	Karlskrona (Swe Jr)	5-11/175	27-Jan-01	Sweden
192	Carter Gylander	G	Sherwood Park (AJHL)	6-5/175	5-Jun-01	Canada
193	Ethan de Jong	RW	Quinnipiac (ECAC)	5-10/170	12-Jul-99	Canada
194	Wiljami Myllyla	RW	HIFK Helsinki (Fin Jr)	6-0/170	9-Apr-01	Finland
195	Yaroslav Likhachyov	RW	Gatineau (QMJHL)	5-10/170	2-Sep-01	Russia
196	Layton Ahac	D	Prince George (BCHL)	6-2/195	22-Feb-01	Canada
197	Alfred Barklund	D	Orebro (Swe Jr)	6-2/200	21-Oct-00	Sweden
198	Radek Muzik	LW	Lulea (Swe Jr)	6-3/180	25-Mar-01	Sweden
199	Marcus Pedersen	RW	Linkopings (Swe Jr)	6-2/165	25-May-01	Sweden
200	Filip Koffer	RW	Pardubice (Cze Jr)	5-11/175	4-Mar-01	Czech
201	Henri Nikkanen	C	Jukurit (Fin Jr)	6-3/200	28-Apr-01	Finland
202	Marc Del Gaizo	D	Massachusetts (HE)	5-9/190	11-Oct-99	USA
203	Tag Bertuzzi	LW	Hamilton (OHL)	6-0/200	18-Feb-01	Canada
204	Martin Hugo Has	D	Tappara (Fin Jr)	6-4/190	2-Feb-01	Czech
205	Jet Greaves	G	Barrie (OHL)	5-11/165	30-Mar-01	Canada
206	Mason Millman	D	Saginaw (OHL)	6-1/175	18-Jul-01	Canada
207	Janis Jerome Moser	D	Biel-Bienne (Sui)	6-0/160	6-Jun-00	Switzerland
208	Nick Abruzzese	C	Chicago (USHL)	5-9/160	4-Jun-99	USA
209	Logan Barlage	C	Lethbridge (WHL)	6-4/200	7-Jan-01	Canada
210	Carter Berger	D	Victoria (BCHL)	6-0/200	17-Sep-99	Canada
211	Nando Eggenberger	LW	Oshawa (OHL)	6-2/205	7-Oct-99	Switzerland
212	Tyce Thompson	RW	Providence (HE)	6-1/180	12-Jul-99	USA
213	Nolan Maier	G	Saskatoon (WHL)	6-0/175	10-Jan-01	Canada
214	Massimo Rizzo	C	Penticton (BCHL)	5-10/180	13-Jun-01	Canada
215	Matthew Steinburg	C	St. Andrew's (CHS-O)	6-1/185	7-Oct-00	Canada
216	Jake Lee	D	Seattle (WHL)	6-1/215	13-Jul-01	Canada
217	Luke Bast	D	Brooks (AJHL)	5-9/170	20-Nov-00	Canada

100 HONOURABLE MENTION IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	HT/WT	DOB	Nation
HM	Nathan Allensen	D	Barrie (OHL)	5-11/180	3-May-01	Canada
HM	Ethan Anders	G	Red Deer (WHL)	6-1/175	26-Sep-00	Canada
HM	Nicklas Andrews	D	Des Moines (USHL)	5-10/185	6-Jul-01	USA
HM	Tyler Angle	C	Windsor (OHL)	5-9/165	30-Sep-00	Canada
HM	Marcel Barinka	C	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-0/165	3-Jan-01	Czech
HM	Roman Basran	G	Kelowna (WHL)	6-1/195	26-Jul-01	Canada
HM	Luke Bignell	C	Barrie (OHL)	6-0/170	3-Nov-00	Canada
HM	Mathieu Bizier	C	Gatineau (QMJHL)	6-1/185	13-May-01	Canada
HM	Oscar Bjerselius	C	Djurgardens (Swe Jr)	5-11/185	18-Feb-01	Sweden
HM	Kaden Bohlsen	C	Fargo (USHL)	6-3/190	10-Jan-01	USA
HM	Samuel Bolduc	D	Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)	6-3/210	9-Dec-00	Canada
HM	Jakob Bondesson	D	Rogle (Swe Jr)	6-1/185	22-May-00	Sweden
HM	Cole Brady	G	Janesville (NAHL)	6-5/165	12-Feb-01	Canada
HM	Alex Brannstam	D	Djurgardens (Swe Jr)	5-11/170	3-Jun-01	Sweden
HM	Lynden Breen	C	Central Illinois (USHL)	5-9/165	31-May-01	USA
HM	Jonas Brondberg	D	Vaxjo Lakers (Swe Jr)	6-4/190	26-Jan-01	Sweden
HM	Jeremie Bucheler	D	Victoria (BCHL)	6-4/200	31-Mar-00	Canada
HM	Brett Budgell	LW	Charlottetown (QMJHL)	5-11/190	1-Jun-01	Canada
HM	Luka Burzan	RW	Brandon (WHL)	6-0/190	7-Jan-00	Canada
HM	Felix Carenfelt	LW	Djurgardens (Swe Jr)	5-10/185	13-Feb-00	Sweden
HM	Luke Cavallin	G	Flint (OHL)	6-1/190	29-Apr-01	Canada
HM	Filip Cederqvist	LW	Vaxjo Lakers (Swe)	6-1/185	23-Aug-00	Sweden
HM	Cole Coskey	RW	Saginaw (OHL)	6-0/190	1-Jun-99	USA
HM	Braden Doyle	D	Lawrence Academy (USHS-MA)	5-11/170	24-Aug-01	USA
HM	Justin Ducharme	LW	Chicoutimi (QMJHL)	5-10/180	22-Feb-00	Canada
HM	Nathan Dunkley	C	London (OHL)	5-11/195	3-May-00	Canada
HM	Pontus Englund	D	Timra (Swe Jr)	6-3/205	15-Jul-00	Sweden
HM	Lucas Feuk	LW	Sodertalje (Swe Jr)	6-0/185	19-Feb-01	Sweden
HM	Parker Ford	C	Sioux City (USHL)	5-8/170	20-Jul-00	USA
HM	Ethan Frisch	D	Fargo (USHL)	5-11/190	29-Oct-00	USA
HM	Maxim Golod	LW	Erie (OHL)	5-11/175	18-Aug-00	Canada
HM	Jacob Gronhagen	C	HV 71 (Swe Jr)	6-6/215	18-Jan-01	Sweden
HM	Maxence Guenette	D	Val d'Or (QMJHL)	6-1/180	28-Apr-01	Canada
HM	Hugo Gustafsson	C	Sodertalje (Swe 2)	5-10/160	23-Feb-00	Sweden
HM	Mack Guzda	G	Owen Sound (OHL)	6-4/215	11-Jan-01	USA
HM	Aidan Harper	G	Skipjacks HC 18U (USPHL)	6-2/170	28-May-01	USA
HM	Ludvig Hedstrom	D	Djurgardens (Swe Jr)	5-11/175	14-Apr-01	Sweden
HM	Konsta Hirvonen	LW	HIFK Helsinki (Fin Jr)	5-11/165	1-Nov-00	Finland
HM	Eric Hjorth	D	Linkopings (Swe Jr 18)	6-3/190	8-Jan-01	Sweden
HM	Samuel Hlavaj	G	Lincoln (USHL)	6-4/185	29-May-01	Slovakia
HM	Krystof Hrabik	C	Tri-City (WHL)	6-4/220	24-Sep-99	Czech
HM	Rickard Hugg	C	Kitchener (OHL)	5-11/190	18-Jan-99	Sweden
HM	Aaron Huglen	RW	Roseau (USHS-MN)	5-11/165	6-Mar-01	USA
HM	Aarne Intonen	C	TPS Turku (Fin Jr)	5-11/180	17-Jul-01	Finland
HM	Michal Ivan	D	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-1/185	18-Nov-99	Slovakia
HM	Dylan Jackson	RW	Dubuque (USHL)	5-9/175	6-Sep-01	Canada
HM	Ty Jackson	C	Dubuque (USHL)	5-7/150	6-Sep-01	Canada
HM	Taro Jentzsch	C	Sherbrooke (QMJHL)	6-1/155	11-Jun-00	Germany
HM	Samuel Johannesson	D	Rogle (Swe Jr)	5-11/175	27-Dec-00	Sweden
HM	Wilson Johansson	RW	Farjestads (Swe Jr)	5-11/175	11-Oct-00	Sweden
HM	Brooklyn Kalmikov	C	Cape Breton (QMJHL)	6-0/165	21-Apr-01	Canada
HM	David Karlstrom	C	AIK (Swe Jr)	6-1/185	12-Mar-01	Sweden
HM	Mans Kramer	D	Frolunda (Swe Jr)	6-2/180	6-Mar-01	Sweden
HM	Jami Krannila	C	Sioux Falls (USHL)	5-10/160	3-Oct-00	Finland
HM	Grayson Ladd	D	Windsor (OHL)	6-1/175	1-Mar-01	Canada
HM	Martin Lang	LW	Kamloops (WHL)	5-11/170	15-Sep-01	Czech
HM	Oscar Lawner	LW	Farjestads (Swe Jr)	5-11/185	13-Feb-01	Sweden
HM	Jonathan Lemieux	G	Val d'Or (QMJHL)	6-0/185	8-Jun-01	Canada
HM	Hugo Leufvenius	LW	Sarnia (OHL)	6-3/230	26-Mar-99	Sweden
HM	Ethan Leyh	LW	Langley (BCHL)	6-0/190	7-Sep-01	Canada
HM	Josh Lopina	C	Lincoln (USHL)	6-1/175	16-Feb-01	USA
HM	Emil Malysjev	D	Saskatoon (WHL)	6-3/190	1-May-01	Sweden
HM	Matias Mantykivi	C	SaiPa (Fin Jr)	5-11/160	21-Jun-01	Finland
HM	Jeremy McKenna	RW	Moncton (QMJHL)	5-10/175	20-Apr-99	Canada
HM	Billy Moskal	C	London (OHL)	6-0/185	22-Mar-00	Canada
HM	Derek Mullahy	G	Dexter (USHS-MA)	6-0/180	20-Mar-01	USA
HM	Kim Nousiainen	D	KalPa (Fin Jr)	5-9/170	14-Nov-00	Finland
HM	Zachary Okabe	RW	Grande Prairie (AJHL)	5-8/165	4-Jan-01	Canada
HM	Oliver Okuliar	LW	Sherbrooke (QMJHL)	6-1/190	24-May-00	Slovakia
HM	Quinn Olson	LW	Okotoks (AJHL)	5-10/170	9-May-01	Canada
HM	Xavier Parent	LW	Halifax (QMJHL)	5-8/170	23-Mar-01	Canada
HM	Tommy Pasanen	D	Sioux City (USHL)	6-3/220	30-Jul-01	Germany
HM	Thomas Pelletier	D	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-2/195	23-Aug-01	Canada
HM	Andrew Perrott	D	Owen Sound (OHL)	5-11/205	24-Aug-01	USA
HM	Kari Piiroinen	G	Windsor (OHL)	6-0/175	1-Jul-01	Finland
HM	Lukas Pilo	D	Orebro (Swe Jr)	6-1/185	7-Sep-99	Sweden
HM	Garrett Pinoniemi	C	Holy Family Catholic (USHS-MN)	5-11/150	15-Jun-01	USA
HM	Mason Primeau	C	North Bay (OHL)	6-5/205	28-Jul-01	Canada
HM	Kirby Proctor	D	Des Moines (USHL)	6-3/190	19-Apr-01	Canada
HM	Liam Ross	D	Sudbury (OHL)	6-2/195	13-May-01	Canada
HM	Henrik Rybinski	RW	Seattle (WHL)	6-0/175	26-Jun-01	Canada
HM	Nikita Sedov	D	Regina (WHL)	6-1/185	5-May-01	Russia
HM	Egor Serdyuk	RW	Victoriaville (QMJHL)	5-10/160	3-Jun-01	Russia
HM	Nikita Shashkov	LW	Sibir Novosibirsk (KHL)	5-11/180	26-Mar-99	Russia
HM	Ryan Siedem	D	Central Illinois (USHL)	6-2/190	25-Feb-01	USA
HM	Samuel Sjolund	D	AIK (Swe Jr)	6-1/175	19-May-01	Sweden
HM	Hunter Skinner	D	Muskegon (USHL)	6-2/175	29-Apr-01	USA
HM	Dominik Sojka	C	Banska Bystrica (Svk Jr)	6-5/210	16-Feb-01	Slovakia
HM	Kyen Sopa	RW	Niagara (OHL)	5-9/185	30-Sep-00	Switzerland
HM	Tyler Spott	D	Green Bay (USHL)	5-10/170	17-Jun-00	Canada
HM	Matthew Struthers	C	North Bay (OHL)	6-2/210	26-Dec-99	Canada
HM	Roope Taponen	G	HIFK Helsinki (Fin Jr)	6-0/165	14-Mar-01	Finland
HM	Jacob Tortora	LW	Barrie (OHL)	5-6/165	25-Jul-99	USA
HM	Bobby Trivigno	LW	Massachusetts (HE)	5-8/155	19-Jan-99	USA
HM	Eric Uba	RW	Flint (OHL)	6-0/195	17-Dec-00	Canada
HM	Max Wahlgren	RW	MoDo (Swe)	6-1/185	9-May-01	Sweden
HM	Carl Wang	D	Sodertalje (Swe Jr)	6-2/195	28-Mar-01	Sweden
HM	Matteus Ward	G	Linkopings (Swe Jr)	6-0/170	7-Mar-01	Sweden
HM	Lukas Wernblom	C	MoDo (Swe 2)	5-9/170	22-Jul-00	Sweden
HM	Jonathan Yantsis	RW	Kitchener (OHL)	6-2/210	28-Apr-99	Canada

McKeen’s 2018 NHL Draft Ranking – April 2018 – Top 125

Ryan Wagman — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 14:25:48 +0000

With the CHL leagues now into the second round of their respective playoffs, the NCAA season completed (congrats to new champions Minnesota-Duluth!), European leagues beginning to wrap up and the USHL with only one more weekend remaining in their regular season, it is time for the penultimate McKeens Hockey Draft List. This list once again runs 125 players deep, with a few more names tacked on at the end to keep in mind.

Our final list will run deeper – and be more definitive – but know that the names you see below are the fruit of the combined labor of the full McKeens scouting team. Covering all of the leagues touched on in the first paragraph above, we have watched them all and players in most cases were also cross-checked by multiple team members.

While the size of our list has not changed from the previous iteration, much else is different. Yes, Rasmus Dahlin still heads the ranking (hint: barring a career-threatening tragedy in the next 10 weeks, he will lead our final list as well), but the next player who maintains the same position as last time is Joel Farabee, still sitting in 12^th. Alexander Alexeyev, at 29^th, is the only other player in the top 31 who is ranked the same today as he was in February.

Andrei Svechnikovof the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Looking at the top ten, the changes begin in the two/three slots, as we saw fit to bump Russian import Andrei Svechnikov past Czech import Filip Zadina. The latter has been strong all season long, but the two keys for us were a) he plateaued to an extent in the dying days of the regular season while Svechnikov has taken his production to a new level down the stretch. On a point per game measure, Svechnikov’s 1.64 points per game outshine Zadina’s 1.44, and the latter’s extra ten games played cannot explain away the discrepancy. The first round of the playoffs have seen this trend continue. Zadina has been very good. Svechnikov has been stellar. b) Svechnikov is four months younger than Zadina. In the grand scheme of things, that is not much. In a draft class, that is a full third of the way from one year of eligibility to the next. There is just that much greater likelihood that Svechnikov has more development potential. This factor is not destiny, but cannot be overlooked.

ANN ARBOR, MI - MARCH 03: Michigan Wolverines defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) passes the puck during the Michigan Wolverines game versus the Wisconsin Badgers in the BIG10 Hockey Tournament on March 3, 2018. (Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire)

Quinn Hughes and Adam Boqvist, both undersized (by traditional standards, if not by modern ones) and very mobile defenders have almost switched places. Hughes, whose game grew by leaps and bounds since playing a supporting role for the US Bronze winning WJC entry ended his season in the Frozen Four. He was the youngest player in the NCAA this year and tied for 16^th among all defensemen in scoring. Only one of the blueliners with more points is within even one year of his age. Through the second half of the year, he was consistently the best player on the ice whenever he stepped over the boards. He leaps from 9^th last time, to 4^th now. Boqvist, who dropped from 5^th to 8^th, is still an electrifying skater whose speed brings an extra dimension to his game. He is still highly coveted, but there is at least a hint of a red flag due to his dearth of production at the senior level in Sweden. He scored nearly one point per game in the SuperElit league, but has only one assist in 18 regular and post-season SHL games. The skill set is obvious, but his struggles against men highlight the greater gap between what he is and what he should become.

The one change to the previous top ten sees Spokane defender Ty Smith fall from 10 to 16. His offensive production in the WHL has been fantastic all the way through the Chiefs’ first round playoff exit. There have been some questions about his play off the puck, which were highlighted by a rough showing earlier in the year at the CHL Top Prospects Game. He should have another chance to boost his stock in the coming weeks as part of Canada’s entry to the World Under 18 Championships.

Joe Veleno (#90), player of Drummondville Voltigeurs, season 2017-18 of the QMJHL. Drummondville, Que., Dec. 30, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Ghyslain Bergeron

Taking Smith’s place in the top ten is former Exceptional Status player Joe Veleno. Huge things were expected of Veleno this year, not only due to his unique entry point into the QMJHL, but a three goal showing for Saint John at last year’s Memorial Cup certainly whetted the appetite for a huge draft season. Unfortunately, his previous team, the Saint John Sea Dogs were gutted by graduation and trades, and Veleno started off slowly, amid reports that he was taking the team’s struggles too much on his own shoulders. He scored only six goals in his 31 games in the Maritimes. A mid-season trade to Drummondville has allowed him to take off in a more competitive atmosphere, finishing the year with 48 points in 33 games for the Voltigeurs. He is also having another strong post-season, helping his team into the second round. In short, Smith has seen questions added about his projection, while Veleno has answered more of his, helping him jump up from 11^th to 9^th.

Without laboring over each change in the list, let us meditate briefly on the four subtractions (and four additions) to the top 31. Dropping into our second round are Jett Woo, B-O Groulx, Jack McBain, and Martin Kaut. Like Ty Smith above, none of these players necessarily did anything to harm their own standing, but were simply surpassed by some players who managed to end on a strong note. For each of the four, it can legitimately be said that there are open questions about their offensive upsides. Woo, Groulx, and Kaut may lack top half of the roster upside, while McBain did not score as much as his talent would suggest he should have in the OJHL. Like Smith, he is expected to play for Canada at the WU18 and his performance with CHLers should speak volumes about his draft standing.

Rasmus Sandin of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Replacing those four are a trio of small defensemen who have finished strong in Rasmus Sandin, Nils Lundkvist, and Calen Addison, and one ultra-talented German forward developing in Sweden in Dominik Bokk. These four players all carry a dynamic element to their games that the four players falling to the second round do not look to have.

The next six weeks, including the completion of the North American junior playoffs as well as the WU18 competition will see several more reputations made and others tarnished, as happens every year. We try to see the whole picture, and promise not to inordinately elevate the ranking of any player simply for getting hot at the right time. Our final list will reflect not just good or bad production at the right time, but the skill sets of the best draft-eligible talent in the hockey world, leavened by their ability and success rates of those skills in actualizing as performance.

We welcome your feedback on this list and look forward to seeing our draft list through to its completion in Dallas in late June.

To link to a player page, use the tags at the bottom of the page, or from our McKeen's Draft Ranking found here It is also downloadable to an excel file.

RANK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	HT/WT	DOB	GP-G-A-PTS
1	Rasmus Dahlin	D	Frolunda (Swe)	6-2/185	13-Apr-00	41-7-13-20
2	Andrei Svechnikov	RW	Barrie (OHL)	6-2/185	26-Mar-00	44-40-32-72
3	Filip Zadina	RW	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-0/195	27-Nov-99	57-44-38-82
4	Quinn Hughes	D	Michigan (B1G)	5-10/175	14-Oct-99	37-5-24-29
5	Brady Tkachuk	LW	Boston University (HE)	6-3/195	16-Sep-99	40-8-23-31
6	Evan Bouchard	D	London (OHL)	6-2/195	20-Oct-99	67-25-62-87
7	Oliver Wahlstrom	RW	NTDP (USHL)	6-1/205	13-Jun-00	54-40-43-83
8	Adam Boqvist	D	Brynas (Swe Jr)	5-11/170	15-Aug-00	25-14-10-24
9	Joe Veleno	C	SNB-Dru (QMJHL)	6-1/195	13-Jan-00	64-22-57-79
10	Noah Dobson	D	Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)	6-3/180	7-Jan-00	67-17-52-69
11	Isac Lundestrom	C	Lulea (Swe)	6-0/185	6-Nov-99	42-6-9-15
12	Joel Farabee	LW	NTDP (USHL)	5-11/165	25-Feb-00	54-27-37-64
13	Barrett Hayton	C	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	6-1/190	9-Jun-00	63-21-39-60
14	Jesperi Kotkaniemi	C	Assat Pori (Fin)	6-1/190	6-Jul-00	57-10-19-29
15	Bode Wilde	D	NTDP (USHL)	6-2/195	24-Jan-00	53-11-25-36
16	Ty Smith	D	Spokane (WHL)	5-10/180	24-Mar-00	69-14-59-73
17	K'Andre Miller	D	NTDP (USHL)	6-3/205	21-Jan-00	50-7-17-24
18	Akil Thomas	C	Niagara (OHL)	5-11/170	2-Jan-00	68-22-59-81
19	Jared McIsaac	D	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-1/195	27-Mar-00	65-9-38-47
20	Grigori Denisenko	LW	Loko Yaroslavl (MHL)	5-11/175	24-Jun-00	31-9-13-22
21	Serron Noel	RW	Oshawa (OHL)	6-5/200	8-Aug-00	62-28-25-53
22	Rasmus Kupari	C	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	6-1/185	15-Mar-00	39-6-8-14
23	Ryan McLeod	C	Mississauga (OHL)	6-2/200	21-Sep-99	68-26-44-70
24	Ryan Merkley	D	Guelph (OHL)	5-11/170	14-Aug-00	63-13-54-67
25	Mattias Samuelsson	D	NTDP (USHL)	6-3/215	14-Mar-00	50-9-19-28
26	Rasmus Sandin	D	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	5-11/185	7-Mar-00	51-12-33-45
27	Nils Lundkvist	D	Lulea (Swe)	5-11/180	27-Jul-00	28-2-3-5
28	Alexander Alexeyev	D	Red Deer (WHL)	6-3/200	15-Nov-99	45-7-30-37
29	Calen Addison	D	Lethbridge (WHL)	5-10/180	11-Apr-00	68-11-54-65
30	Jacob Olofsson	C	Timra (Swe 2)	6-2/190	8-Feb-00	43-10-11-21
31	Dominik Bokk	LW	Vaxjo Lakers (Swe Jr)	6-1/180	3-Feb-00	35-14-27-41
32	Vitali Kravtsov	RW	Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)	6-2/170	23-Dec-99	35-4-3-7
33	Martin Kaut	RW	Dynamo Pardubice (Cze)	6-1/175	2-Oct-99	38-9-7-16
34	Jett Woo	D	Moose Jaw (WHL)	6-0/205	27-Jul-00	44-9-16-25
35	Benoit-Olivier Groulx	C	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-1/195	6-Feb-00	68-28-27-55
36	Jesse Ylonen	RW	Espoo United (Fin 2)	6-0/165	3-Oct-99	48-14-13-27
37	Nicolas Beaudin	D	Drummondville (QMJHL)	5-11/175	7-Oct-99	68-12-57-69
38	Adam Ginning	D	Linkopings (Swe)	6-3/195	13-Jan-00	28-1-1-2
39	Jack McBain	C	Tor. Jr Canadiens (OJHL)	6-3/195	6-Jan-00	48-21-37-58
40	Jonny Tychonick	D	Penticton (BCHL)	6-0/175	3-Mar-00	48-9-38-47
41	Ty Emberson	D	NTDP (USHL)	6-0/195	24-May-00	53-4-18-22
42	Ty Dellandrea	C	Flint (OHL)	6-0/190	21-Jul-00	67-27-32-59
43	Allan McShane	C	Oshawa (OHL)	5-11/190	14-Feb-00	67-20-45-65
44	Blake McLaughlin	LW	Chicago (USHL)	6-0/165	14-Feb-00	52-23-28-51
45	Gabriel Fortier	C	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)	5-10/170	6-Feb-00	66-26-33-59
46	Kevin Bahl	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-6/230	27-Jun-00	58-1-17-18
47	Sampo Ranta	LW	Sioux City (USHL)	6-1/195	31-May-00	53-23-14-37
48	Filip Hallander	C	Timra (Swe 2)	6-1/185	29-Jun-00	40-9-11-20
49	Jay O'Brien	C	Thayer Acad. (USHS-MA)	5-10/185	4-Nov-99	30-43-37-80
50	David Gustafsson	C	HV 71 (Swe)	6-2/195	11-Apr-00	45-6-6-12
51	Liam Foudy	C	London (OHL)	6-0/185	4-Feb-00	65-24-16-40
52	Filip Johansson	D	Leksands (Swe Jr)	6-1/175	23-Mar-00	29-4-5-9
53	Niklas Nordgren	RW	HIFK (Fin Jr)	5-9/170	4-May-00	18-8-18-26
54	Aidan Dudas	C	Owen Sound (OHL)	5-8/170	15-Jun-00	68-31-34-65
55	Jacob Bernard-Docker	D	Okotoks (AJHL)	6-0/180	30-Jun-00	49-20-21-41
56	Xavier Bernard	D	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-2/210	6-Jan-00	66-11-24-35
57	Martin Fehervary	D	Oskarshamn (Swe 2)	6-1/190	6-Oct-99	42-1-6-7
58	Jonatan Berggren	RW	Skelleftea (Swe Jr)	5-10/185	6-Jul-00	38-18-39-57
59	Alexis Gravel	G	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-2/225	21-Mar-00	20-11(3.38).890
60	Cole Fonstad	C	Prince Albert (WHL)	5-10/160	24-Apr-00	72-21-52-73
61	Xavier Bouchard	D	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)	6-3/190	28-Feb-00	65-3-18-21
62	Cam Hillis	C	Guelph (OHL)	5-10/170	24-Jun-00	60-20-39-59
63	Marcus Westfalt	C	Brynas (Swe)	6-3/205	12-Mar-00	31-1-3-4
64	Pavel Gogolev	RW	Peterborough (OHL)	6-0/175	19-Feb-00	66-30-17-47
65	Alexander Khovanov	C	Moncton (QMJHL)	5-11/195	12-Apr-00	29-9-19-28
66	Scott Perunovich	D	Minn-Duluth (NCHC)	5-10/170	18-Aug-98	42-11-25-36
67	Giovanni Vallati	D	Kitchener (OHL)	6-1/180	21-Feb-00	65-3-23-26
68	Olivier Rodrigue	G	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-0/160	6-Jul-00	31-16(2.54).903
69	Oskar Back	C	Farjestads (Swe Jr)	6-2/195	12-Mar-00	38-10-22-32
70	Riley Sutter	RW	Everett (WHL)	6-3/205	25-Oct-99	68-25-28-53
71	Stanislav Demin	D	Wenatchee (BCHL)	6-1/190	4-Apr-00	57-9-36-45
72	Lenni Killinen	RW	Blues (Fin Jr)	6-2/180	15-Jun-00	38-13-28-41
73	Tyler Weiss	LW	NTDP (USHL)	5-10/160	3-Jan-00	50-10-17-27
74	Ruslan Iskhakov	C	Krasnaya Armiya (MHL)	5-8/155	22-Jul-00	33-6-24-30
75	Kody Clark	RW	Ottawa (OHL)	6-1/180	13-Oct-99	56-18-21-39
76	Patrick Giles	RW	NTDP (USHL)	6-4/205	3-Jan-00	54-10-9-19
77	Anderson MacDonald	LW	Moncton (QMJHL)	6-2/205	16-May-00	58-27-18-45
78	Jake Wise	C	NTDP (USHL)	5-10/190	28-Feb-00	30-9-27-36
79	Jakub Lauko	C	Pirati Chomutov (Cze)	6-0/175	28-Mar-00	42-3-6-9
80	Adam Samuelsson	D	NTDP (USHL)	6-6/240	21-Jun-00	54-4-20-24
81	Philipp Kurashev	C	Quebec (QMJHL)	6-0/190	12-Oct-99	59-19-41-60
82	Sean Durzi	D	Owen Sound (OHL)	6-0/195	21-Oct-98	40-15-34-49
83	Kirill Marchenko	RW	Mamonty Yugry (MHL)	6-3/190	21-Jul-00	31-8-8-16
84	Jakub Skarek	G	Dukla Jihlava (Cze)	6-3/200	10-Nov-99	21GP(2.41).913
85	Milos Roman	C	Vancouver (WHL)	6-0/190	6-Nov-99	39-10-22-32
86	Blade Jenkins	LW	Saginaw (OHL)	6-1/195	11-Aug-00	68-20-24-44
87	Danila Galenyuk	D	St. Petersburg (MHL)	6-1/200	10-Feb-00	20-1-5-6
88	Kyle Topping	C	Kelowna (WHL)	5-11/185	18-Nov-99	66-22-43-65
89	Tyler Madden	C	CIL-TC (USHL)	5-10/155	9-Nov-99	50-15-19-34
90	Jack Drury	C	Waterloo (USHL)	5-11/180	3-Feb-00	54-23-40-63
91	Alec Regula	D	London (OHL)	6-3/200	6-Aug-00	67-7-18-25
92	Ivan Morozov	C	Mamonty Yugry (MHL)	6-1/180	5-May-00	30-11-12-23
93	Jachym Kondelik	C	Muskegon (USHL)	6-6/225	21-Dec-99	43-16-16-32
94	Riley Damiani	C	Kitchener (OHL)	5-9/165	20-Mar-00	64-19-18-37
95	Samuel Fagemo	RW	Frolunda (Swe Jr)	5-11/195	14-Mar-00	37-19-11-30
96	Jack St. Ivany	D	Sioux Falls (USHL)	6-2/200	22-Jul-99	51-6-30-36
97	David Lilja	C	Karlskoga (Swe 2)	5-11/175	23-Jan-00	37-3-5-8
98	Curtis Douglas	C	Bar-Wsr (OHL)	6-8/235	6-Mar-00	66-22-24-46
99	Luka Burzan	C	MJ-Bdn (WHL)	6-0/185	7-Jan-00	72-15-25-40
100	Linus Karlsson	C	Karlskrona (Swe Jr)	6-1/180	16-Nov-99	42-27-25-52
101	Kristian Reichel	C	Red Deer (WHL)	6-1/170	11-Jun-98	63-34-23-57
102	Toni Utunen	D	LeKi (Fin 2)	5-11/175	27-Apr-00	28-2-10-12
103	Dmitri Zavgorodny	LW	Rimouski (QMJHL)	5-9/175	11-Aug-00	62-26-21-47
104	Samuel Bucek	LW	Chicago (USHL)	6-1/215	19-Dec-98	47-19-23-42
105	Nathan Dunkley	C	Kgn-Ldn (OHL)	5-11/195	3-May-00	60-21-36-57
106	Carter Robertson	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-2/180	15-Jan-00	57-5-13-18
107	Albin Eriksson	RW	Skelleftea (Swe Jr)	6-4/205	20-Jul-00	38-22-18-40
108	Ryan O'Reilly	RW	Madison (USHL)	6-2/200	21-Mar-00	42-20-12-32
109	Nando Eggenberger	LW	Davos (Sui)	6-2/185	7-Oct-99	36-3-2-5
110	Tyler Tucker	D	Barrie (OHL)	6-1/205	1-Mar-00	59-3-20-23
111	Axel Andersson	D	Djurgardens (Swe Jr)	6-0/180	10-Feb-00	42-6-25-31
112	Alexey Polodyan	LW	St. Petersburg (MHL)	5-11/165	30-Jul-98	21-5-6-11
113	Jack Perbix	RW	Elk River (USHS-MN)	6-1/175	13-Sep-00	25-19-42-61
114	Nico Gross	D	Oshawa (OHL)	6-1/185	26-Jan-00	58-4-10-14
115	Declan Chisholm	D	Peterborough (OHL)	6-1/185	12-Jan-00	47-3-17-20
116	Ivan Prosvetov	G	Youngstown (USHL)	6-4/175	5-Mar-99	18-9(2.87).913
117	Kevin Mandolese	G	Cape Breton (QMJHL)	6-3/180	22-Aug-00	15-13(3.46).884
118	Vladislav Kotkov	RW	Chicoutimi (QMJHL)	6-4/205	8-Jan-00	61-21-28-49
119	Jonathan Gruden	C	NTDP (USHL)	5-11/175	4-May-00	53-25-26-51
120	Anthony Del Gaizo	C	Muskegon (USHL)	5-11/195	31-Jan-98	58-39-32-71
121	Justus Annunen	G	Karpat Oulu (Fin Jr)	6-4/215	11-Mar-00	26GP(2.31).907
122	Olof Lindbom	G	Djurgardens (Swe Jr)	6-2/185	23-Jul-00	20GP(3.10).897
123	Matthew Struthers	C	OS-NB (OHL)	6-2/210	26-Dec-99	62-23-22-45
124	Alex Steeves	C	Dubuque (USHL)	5-11/185	10-Dec-99	53-18-36-54
125	Ben Copeland	C	Waterloo (USHL)	5-10/180	27-Apr-99	58-17-42-59

OTHER DRAFT CANDIDATES
Jett Alexander	G	North York (OJHL)	6-4/190	8-Nov-99
Yaroslav Alexeyev	LW	Sherbrooke (QMJHL)	5-9/160	17-Jan-99
Justin Almeida	C	Moose Jaw (WHL)	5-9/160	6-Feb-99
Seth Barton	D	Trail (BCHL)	6-2/175	18-Aug-99
Justin Bergeron	D	Rouyn Noranda (QMJHL)	6-0/180	14-Sep-00
Erik Betzold	RW	Koln (Ger)	5-11/165	18-Jan-00
Brandon Biro	RW	Penn State (B1G)	5-11/165	11-Mar-98
Mikhail Bitsadze	C	Dynamo Moscow (Rus)	5-11/170	18-Nov-99
Shawn Boudrias	RW	Gatineau (QMJHL)	6-4/195	14-Sep-99
Jakob Brahaney	D	Kingston (OHL)	6-1/185	26-Mar-99
Justin Brazeau	RW	North Bay (OHL)	6-5/220	2-Feb-98
Dennis Busby	D	Flint (OHL)	5-10/190	6-Jan-00
Michael Callahan	D	Central Illinois (USHL)	6-2/195	23-Sep-99
Ryan Chyzowski	LW	Medicine Hat (WHL)	6-0/190	14-May-00
Powell Connor	D	Chilliwack (BCHL)	6-1/175	4-May-00
Connor Corcoran	D	Windsor (OHL)	6-1/185	7-Aug-00
Paul Cotter	C	Lincoln (USHL)	6-0/190	16-Nov-99
Angus Crookshank	LW	Langley (BCHL)	5-11/185	2-Oct-99
Max Crozier	D	Nanaimo (BCHL)	6-1/185	19-Apr-00
Ethan de Jong	RW	Prince George (BCHL)	5-10/170	12-Jul-99
Jack DeBoer	C	NTDP (USA)	6-2/190	17-Aug-00
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev	C	Peterborough (OHL)	5-10/160	15-Sep-00
Lukas Dostal	G	Kometa Brno (Cze)	6-1/165	22-Jun-00
Grigori Dronov	D	Magnitogorsk (Rus)	6-2/205	10-Jan-98
Justin Ducharme	LW	Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)	5-11/180	22-Feb-00
Daniel Dvorak	G	Hradec Kralove (Cze)	6-3/160	9-Jan-00
Jesper Eliasson	G	Troja/Ljungby (Swe)	6-3/200	21-Mar-00
Caleb Everett	D	Saginaw (OHL)	6-1/185	20-Jan-00
Christian Felton	D	Kimball Union (USHS-NH)	6-0/190	4-Feb-00
Trey Fix-Wolansky	RW	Edmonton (WHL)	5-8/185	26-May-99
Eric Florchuk	C	Saskatoon (WHL)	6-1/175	10-Jan-00
Carson Focht	C	Calgary (WHL)	6-0/180	4-Feb-00
Adam Gajarsky	RW	Kometa Brno (Cze)	5-10/175	4-Mar-00
Jeremi Gerber	RW	Bern (Sui)	6-1/185	1-Mar-00
Damien Giroux	C	Saginaw (OHL)	5-10/175	3-Mar-00
Jack Gorniak	LW	West Salem High (USHS-WI)	5-11/180	15-Sep-99
Matthew Grouchy	RW	Quebec (QMJHL)	6-1/190	19-Nov-99
Glenn Gustafsson	C	Orebro (Swe)	5-10/200	4-Sep-98
Curtis Hall	C	Youngstown (USHL)	6-2/195	26-Apr-00
Kevin Hancock	LW	Owen Sound (OHL)	5-11/185	2-Mar-98
Jordan Harris	D	Kimball Union (USHS-NH)	5-11/180	7-Jul-00
Reece Harsch	D	Seattle (WHL)	6-3/195	7-Jan-99
Brady Hinz	C	Peterborough (OHL)	5-9/150	3-May-00
Mitchell Hoelscher	C	Ottawa (OHL)	5-11/160	27-Jan-00
Mac Hollowell	D	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	5-9/170	26-Sep-98
Krystof Hrabik	C	Bili Tygri Liberec (Cze)	6-4/210	24-Sep-99
David Hrenak	G	St. Cloud State (NCHC)	6-2/190	5-May-98
Riley Hughes	RW	St. Sebastian's (USHS-MA)	6-1/175	27-Jun-00
Jere Huhtamaa	G	Blues (Fin)	6-2/190	10-Apr-00
Logan Hutsko	RW	Boston College (HE)	5-10/175	11-Feb-99
Jacob Ingham	G	Mississauga (OHL)	6-3/185	10-Jun-00
Jere Innala	LW	HPK (Fin)	5-9/175	17-Mar-98
Michal Ivan	D	Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)	6-1/185	18-Nov-99
Georgi Ivanov	C	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Rus)	6-0/190	25-Sep-98
Jan Jenik	RW	Benatky nad Jizerou (Cze)	6-1/165	15-Sep-00
Jack Jensen	C	Eden Prairie (USHS-MN)	6-0/195	31-Aug-00
Joey Keane	D	Barrie (OHL)	6-0/185	2-Jul-99
Brett Kemp	C	Edmonton (WHL)	6-0/165	23-Mar-00
Michael Kesselring	D	New Hampton School (USHS-NH)	6-4/185	13-Jan-00
Juuso Ketola	D	Assat Pori (Fin)	5-11/210	18-Mar-00
Patrick Khodorenko	C	Michigan State (B1G)	6-0/205	13-Oct-98
Liam Kirk	C	Sheffield (EIHL)	6-2/160	3-Jan-00
Semyon Kizimov	RW	Lada Togliatti (Rus)	6-0/175	19-Jan-00
Jordan Kooy	G	London (OHL)	6-2/185	30-Apr-00
Ivan Kosorenkov	RW	Victoriaville (QMJHL)	5-10/185	22-Jan-98
Demetrios Koumontzis	LW	Edina (USHS-MN)	5-10/185	24-Mar-00
Nikolai Kovalenko	RW	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Rus)	5-10/175	17-Oct-99
Filip Kral	D	Spokane (WHL)	6-1/170	20-Oct-99
Renars Krastenbergs	LW	Oshawa (OHL)	5-11/185	16-Dec-98
Cole Krygier	D	Lincoln (USHL)	6-3/195	5-May-00
Daniel Kurovsky	LW	Vitkovice (Cze)	6-4/215	4-Mar-98
Michal Kvasnica	RW	Frydek-Mistek (Cze)	6-1/190	7-Apr-00
Owen Lalonde	D	Guelph (OHL)	6-0/180	1-Feb-00
Jackson Leppard	LW	Prince George (WHL)	6-1/200	18-Jan-00
David Levin	C	Sudbury (OHL)	5-10/180	16-Sep-99
Mitchell Lewandowski	RW	Michigan State (B1G)	5-9/175	17-Apr-98
Adam Liska	C	Kitchener (OHL)	5-11/185	14-Oct-99
John Ludvig	D	Portland (WHL)	6-0/185	2-Aug-00
Brady Lyle	D	Owen Sound (OHL)	6-1/205	6-Jun-99
Guillaume Maillard	C	Geneve-Servette (Sui)	6-0/200	11-Oct-98
James Malm	C	Vancouver (WHL)	5-9/180	25-Jun-99
Anton Malyshev	D	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Rus)	6-0/180	27-Feb-00
Riley McCourt	D	Flint (OHL)	5-11/170	26-Jun-00
Aidan McDonough	LW	Thayer Academy (USHS-MA)	6-1/175	6-Nov-99
Nolan McElhaney	D	Cushing Academy (USHS-MA)	6-3/175	22-Apr-99
Jeremy McKenna	RW	Moncton (QMJHL)	5-10/175	20-Apr-99
Albert Michnac	LW	Mississauga (OHL)	6-0/180	18-Oct-98
Amir Miftakhov	G	Irbis Kazan (Rus)	6-0/160	26-Apr-00
Artyom Minulin	D	Swift Current (WHL)	6-2/200	1-Oct-98
Travis Mitchell	D	Muskegon (USHL)	6-2/195	25-Nov-99
Billy Moskal	C	London (OHL)	6-0/185	22-Mar-00
Nolan Moyle	RW	Green Bay (USHL)	6-1/185	13-Apr-99
Arttu Nevasaari	RW	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	5-11/180	23-Jan-00
Tristen Nielsen	C	Calgary (WHL)	5-9/180	23-Feb-00
Kirill Nizhnikov	RW	Sudbury (OHL)	6-2/190	29-Mar-00
Linus Nyman	RW	Kingston (OHL)	5-9/160	11-Jul-99
Andrei Pavlenko	RW	Edmonton (WHL)	6-1/175	4-Apr-00
Radovan Pavlik	RW	Hradec Kralove (Cze)	5-9/175	18-Feb-98
Ryan Peckford	LW	Moose Jaw (WHL)	6-0/190	4-Mar-99
Matej Pekar	C	Muskegon (USHL)	6-0/170	10-Feb-00
Ville Petman	C	Lukko Rauma (Fin)	5-10/180	18-Jan-00
Mathias Emilio Pettersen	C	Muskegon (USHL)	5-10/170	3-Apr-00
Jacob Pivonka	C	NTDP (USA)	5-11/200	28-Feb-00
Karel Plasek	RW	Kometa Brno (Cze)	5-10/155	28-Jul-00
Dylan Plouffe	D	Vancouver (WHL)	6-0/195	27-Apr-99
Martin Pospisil	C	Sioux City (USHL)	6-2/180	19-Nov-99
Josh Prokop	C	Vernon (BCHL)	5-10/175	30-Jan-00
Cole Purboo	RW	Windsor (OHL)	6-3/205	18-Jun-99
Vincent Purpura	G	Omaha (USHL)	6-3/195	29-Oct-98
Jacob Ragnarsson	D	Almtuna (Swe)	5-11/170	23-Sep-99
Jack Randl	LW	Omaha (USHL)	5-11/180	7-May-00
Connor Roberts	C	Flint (OHL)	6-4/210	22-Feb-00
Alexander Romanov	D	Krasnaya Armiya Moskva (Rus)	5-11/185	6-Jan-00
Nikita Rtishchev	RW	CSKA Moscow (Rus)	6-1/195	23-May-00
Merrick Rippon	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-0/190	27-Apr-00
Radim Salda	D	Saint John (QMJHL)	6-0/185	18-Feb-99
Santeri Salmela	D	KOOKOO (Fin)	6-1/195	10-Jun-00
Akira Schmid	G	Langnau (Sui)	6-4/165	12-May-00
Phillip Schultz	C	Rodovre (Den)	6-0/195	24-Jul-00
Zdenek Sedlak	RW	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	6-2/205	23-Mar-00
Peetro Seppala	D	KOOKOO (Fin)	6-1/175	17-Aug-00
Bulat Shafigullin	LW	Reaktor Nizhnekamsk (Rus)	6-1/165	29-Dec-99
Yegor Sharangovich	C	Dinamo Minsk (Rus)	6-2/195	6-Jun-98
Alexander Shepelev	D	Chelyabinsk (Rus)	6-2/185	17-Mar-98
Marsel Sholokhov	RW	Chelyabinsk (Rus)	5-10/170	12-Jan-98
Graham Slaggert	C	NTDP (USA)	5-11/185	6-Apr-99
Egor Sokolov	LW	Cape Breton (QMJHL)	6-3/225	7-Jun-00
Zach Solow	RW	Northeastern (HE)	5-9/185	6-Nov-98
Riley Stotts	C	Calgary (WHL)	6-0/175	5-Jan-00
Vladislav Syomin	D	SKA-Neva St. Petersburg (Rus)	6-3/215	17-Feb-98
Matt Thiessen	G	Steinbach (MJHL)	6-2/190	9-Jun-00
Michael Vorlicky	D	Edina (USHS-MN)	6-1/165	17-Jul-00
Pavel Vorobey	D	Kunlun Red Star (Rus)	6-3/195	10-Sep-97
Lukas Wernblom	C	MoDo (Swe)	5-9/170	22-Jul-00
Chase Wouters	C	Saskatoon (WHL)	5-11/180	8-Feb-00
Wyatte Wylie	D	Everett (WHL)	6-0/190	2-Nov-99
Vladislav Yeryomenko	D	Calgary (WHL)	6-0/185	23-Apr-99
Libor Zabransky	D	Kelowna (WHL)	6-1/190	26-May-00
Egor Zamula	D	Calgary (WHL)	6-3/170	30-Mar-00
Danila Zhuravlyov	D	Irbis Kazan (Rus)	6-0/165	8-Apr-00

OHL Playoff Preview: Greyhounds pacing the pack

Brock Otten — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 20:51:07 +0000

The 2018 Ontario Hockey League playoffs kick off this week after the regular season wrapped up this past weekend. Heading into the playoffs, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are the clear favorites to come out of the OHL and represent the league at the Memorial Cup in Regina. They have spent the vast majority of the season as the top ranked team in the CHL, one of only two teams to chart the entire season (along with Blainville-Boisbriand of the QMJHL). But competition is always fierce and there are no sure bets in the OHL. Let us now take a look at each first round match-up.

Eastern Conference

#1 - Hamilton Bulldogs vs. #8 - Ottawa 67’s

Season Series: Hamilton leads 5-0

Will Bitten of the Hamilton Bulldogs. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Analysis: The Conference Champion Bulldogs face off against the 67’s after the Steelheads won on the final Sunday, securing the number 7 seed. Hamilton has been the cream of the crop of the Eastern Conference for the vast majority of the season. They have been extremely active in trades this year to give them the best chance of coming out of the East. The Bulldogs added Robert Thomas (St. Louis), Riley Stillman (Florida), Nic Caamano (Dallas), Ryan Moore, and Nic Mattinen (Toronto) to an already stacked lineup, giving Ottawa an extremely daunting challenge in round one. This team rolls three powerhouse offensive lines with Matthew Strome (Philadelphia), Will Bitten (Montreal), Mackenzie Entwistle (Arizona), Marian Studenic (New Jersey), and Brandon Saigeon being other top options. Forward Arthur Kaliyev (2019) is another name to watch. He is the first 16 year old to score 30 goals in the OHL since Alex Galchenyuk and he is a potential lottery pick next year as a power winger. In net, the Bulldogs boast one of the OHL’s most improved players this year in Kaden Fulcher (Detroit).

Kevin Bahl of the Ottawa 67's. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Ottawa, on the other hand, is a very young team. In a few years’ time, they could be Memorial Cup contenders. They could have five players drafted in the first three rounds this year (Kody Clark, Mitchell Hoelscher, Merrick Rippon, Kevin Bahl, and Carter Robertson). Offensively, they are paced by Sasha Chmelevski (San Jose), Travis Barron (Colorado), Austen Keating (2018) and Tye Felhaber. Chmelevski was a much hyped prospect who fell hard at last year’s draft (all the way to the 6th), but he has returned much stronger this season. His play away from the puck has greatly improved and it has taken his game to another level. But for all their talent offensively, the 67’s have had a very difficult time keeping the puck out of their own net this year. Overager Olivier Tremblay has not provided the stability that the team had hoped for when they brought him in early this year.

This one has all the makings of a quick series. This Ottawa team, as talented as they are young, is not yet ready for this type of challenge. The Bulldogs are one of the deepest teams in the OHL and their offensive firepower is likely to overwhelm an inexperienced defense and inconsistent netminder. One particular thing worth watching is the 67’s struggling penalty kill going up against one of the league’s best powerplay units from Hamilton. This has to be troubling for Ottawa because they also happen to be one of the league’s most undisciplined teams. And while Ottawa does have some great young offensive talent, the Bulldogs have one of the oldest defensive units in the league and are likely to limit the offensive chances of the 67’s. I look for Robert Thomas to have a big series here (and a big playoff performance overall). His points per game has taken a big dip since joining the Bulldogs, but I think he explodes this postseason.

Prediction: This Hamilton team is just too experienced and too talented for the 67’s. They have the advantage in nearly every area and should dominate. If Ottawa was getting better goaltending, I would say that they might be able to steal a game or two, but I do not even see that happening. Hamilton in 4.

#2 - Barrie Colts vs. #7 - Mississauga Steelheads

Season Series: Mississauga leads 4-2

Michael McLeod of the Mississauga Steelheads. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Analysis: If I was a betting man, I would bet that this is the match-up that Barrie wanted to avoid in the opening round. In fact, it was probably the match-up every team wanted to avoid in the first round. Mississauga has underachieved all season long, but they have shown some signs of finally coming to life the last month or so. Offensive talent is not to be questioned. Their first two lines include names like Michael McLeod (New Jersey), Ryan McLeod (2018), Owen Tippett (Florida), Trent Fox, Albert Michnac (2018), and Mathieu Foget. This group of six matches up well against any top six in the Eastern Conference and it helps to explain why the Steelheads are the third highest scoring team in the Conference. And this excludes their leading scorer, defenseman Nic Hague (Vegas), who was the first OHL defender to score 30+ since Allan Rourke. But keeping the puck out has been a challenge at times. Swedish import and defensive stalwart Jacob Moverare (Los Angeles) has been injured and that has really challenged their younger defensive players to play more minutes than they are ready for. Furthermore, young netminder Jacob Ingham (2018) has had an awful sophomore season that has seen him essentially lose the starting job to Emanuel Vella.

Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

This is potentially trouble because Barrie is the highest scoring team in the Conference and the 3rd highest scoring in the OHL. Their first line of Andrei Svechnikov (2018), Aaron Luchuk (Ottawa), and Dmitry Sokolov (Minnesota) has been absolutely shredding teams of late. The supporting offensive cast includes guys like Ryan Suzuki (2019), Jason Willms (2018), and Zach Magwood who work extremely hard in all three zones and bring energy that exhausts the opposition so that the first line can go to work. The Colts do not have any stars on the blueline, but they are a tight knit unit who work well with Barrie’s forwards to play a terrific team defense. In net, overager Leo Lazerev starts and while he does not necessarily win any games outright for the Colts, he is a mostly reliable presence. It should be noted that he has yet to win an OHL playoff series in his career and probably goes into this match-up with just as many question marks as Mississauga’s tenders.

There is no question that this is not your average #2 versus #7 seed match-up. This is especially true when you consider the fact that Mississauga largely dominated the season series, winning all three games in the new year by a combined score of 18-10. For whatever reason, the speed of Mississauga’s forwards gives the defense of Barrie a tough time and Lazerev has an .840 save percentage against the Fish this season. This is complicated even more by the fact that Andrei Svechnikov has been suspended for the first four games of the series for a head check. But I admit, I have a tough time picking Mississauga to win this series. I do not trust their defense to be able to handle Barrie’s depth up front. And if these games go to an offensive shootout like they did in the regular season, I think Barrie ends up coming out on top this time. Mississauga’s Mathieu Foget has also been suspended for the first four games of the series and his loss might actually be felt more because of Mississauga’s lack of depth. His acquisition really triggered the turnaround for the team. Barrie also needs to stay out of the box. In the regular season, they gave Mississauga almost double the amount of powerplays that they received and it cost them dearly with the Steelheads clicking at over 30% with the man advantage. If they can stay out of the box, and Lazerev can make a few saves, I still like Barrie to come out on top.

Prediction: The result of this series would not surprise me either way, even with the difference in seeding. But depth is critical in the playoffs and Barrie has the advantage there. I am excited to see how the Svechnikov/Luchuk/Sokolov unit handles the pressure of the playoffs. Svechnikov, in particular, can really cement himself as the #2 prospect available in the draft with a strong postseason performance once he returns from suspension (as long as Barrie does not get swept). Barrie in 7.

#3 - Kingston Frontenacs vs. #6 - North Bay Battalion

Season Series: Kingston leads 3-1

Gabriel Vilardi of the Kingston Frontenacs. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Analysis: This is an intriguing match-up because of how differently these two teams approached the OHL season. Kingston brought in Gabe Vilardi (Los Angeles), Max Jones (Anaheim), Cliff Pu (Buffalo), Sean Day (New York Rangers), and Mitchell Byrne at the deadline to bolster an already solid line-up and make them contenders to come out of the East. While they failed to secure a division banner, the results post deadline have been mostly extremely positive. A healthy and re-invigorated Vilardi has provided the biggest boost, as his 1.87 points per game in Kingston is second to only Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis) in the OHL. His strength, on and off the puck, makes him a dominant force in all three zones and the type of player who works to tire and grind out opposing defenses.

Justin Brazeau of the North Bay Battalion. Photo by Terry Wilson /OHL Images,

The North Bay Battalion were sellers at the deadline this year, shipping out veterans Cam Dineen (Arizona), and Brett McKenzie (Vancouver). Those moves only worked to light a fire under the Battalion roster and the team actually improved their record in the New Year thanks to the play of new acquisitions Matthew Struthers (2018), and Jake Henderson, as well as veterans Justin Brazeau (2018), and Adam Thilander (2018). Brazeau, in particular, is a player to watch. The 6-5” winger finished just inside the Top 20 of league scoring and was named as the East’s most underrated player in the recent coaches poll that was released.

If we are measuring up these two teams, we need to give the edge to Kingston in nearly every area. The Fronts lead the season series 3-1, winning the three most recent games (February on). The biggest advantage Kingston has is in net with Jeremy Helvig (Carolina) manning the crease. The overager and veteran netminder has 19 OHL playoff games under his belt and is unquestionably one of the league’s top netminders. Meanwhile, the Battalion will rely on either Christian Propp (2018) or Julian Sime, who have a combined zero OHL playoff appearances. Kingston also has a heavy advantage on special teams, with their powerplay and penalty killing units operating at a higher level. With Robertson and Vilardi operating down low on the powerplay, North Bay is going to need to stay out of the box to have any chance in this series. One wild card to keep an eye on is the health of Max Jones. Jones has been out since the end of January after undergoing surgery on a broken finger. It is likely he returns at some point in these playoffs and he can be a major x-factor.

Prediction: Ultimately, Kingston’s experience and leadership should carry them to a relatively easy victory in this match-up. Gabe Vilardi and Sean Day won a Memorial Cup together last year. Mitchell Byrne won an OHL Championship last year. And Cliff Pu and Max Jones won an OHL Title and Memorial Cup in 2016. Kingston in 5.

#4 - Niagara IceDogs vs. #5 - Oshawa Generals

Season Series: Tied at 1 game apiece

Akil Thomas of the Niagara IceDogs. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Analysis: Two teams that do not see a ton of each other match-up in round one. Niagara and Oshawa also happen to be two of the hotter teams in the OHL heading into the playoffs. The IceDogs are a team that rely on speed and energy to play an up tempo and offensively oriented style of game. They get after it on the forecheck and have a powerplay that has been much improved since the acquisition of overager Sam Miletic (Pittsburgh) from London. On top of Miletic, Niagara has a trio of offensive weapons that they rely on in Kirill Maksimov (Edmonton), Akil Thomas (2018), and Ben Jones (Vegas).

Jack Studnicka of the Oshawa Generals. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Oshawa, on the other hand, prefers to slow things down and grind it out in the offensive end. Their fearless leader is Jack Studnicka (Boston), an excellent two-way center who makes an impact in so many different ways. A pair of first time draft eligible forwards support Studnicka; Serron Noel (2018), and Allan McShane (2018). Defenseman Matt Brassard (Vancouver) is also critical to their offensive success. He was one of the highest scoring defenders in the league in the second half and finished the year 7th in defensive scoring.

If we are truly comparing these two teams, it is difficult to determine who has a clear advantage. In goal, the nod should be given to Oshawa and their starter Kyle Keyser (Boston). Keyser has been a stable presence in net this year, definitely more so than Stephen Dhillon who has struggled for Niagara this year, or the inexperienced Colton Incze. Up front, I give the slight edge to Niagara because of their explosiveness and depth. On defense, the two teams boast slightly inexperienced units who are mobile, but can be mistake prone. Ultimately, I see two things possibly tipping the favor in Niagara’s direction. The first is special teams play. As mentioned, Niagara’s powerplay has been performing at a high level lately and Oshawa has one of the league’s worst penalty killing units. The second is home ice advantage, which Niagara owns after finishing the regular season on a 7 game winning streak.

Prediction: With home ice advantage, better special teams play, and a slightly more explosive offense, I like Niagara to win this series. Their goaltending concerns me slightly, but between Dhillon or Incze, they should be able to make enough big saves to at least get the IceDogs into the second round. But this one will be close. Niagara in 7.

Western Conference

#1 - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. #8 - Saginaw Spirit

Season Series: SSM leads 7-1

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. Photo by Terry Wilson

Analysis: The juggernaut Greyhounds kick off their Memorial Cup push against the Saginaw Spirit, whose five game losing streak to end the season forced them down the standings and into this first round match-up. Sault Ste. Marie has nine NHL draft picks on their roster and two more potential first rounders for 2018. Up front, Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay), Taylor Raddysh (Tampa Bay), Jack Kopacka (Anaheim), Tim Gettinger (New York Rangers), Barrett Hayton (2018), and the underrated Hayden Verbeek pace the attack. But the real star is OHL 2nd leading scorer Morgan Frost (Philadelphia), one of the breakout stars of this season. On the backend, the Hounds are equally strong, led by Conor Timmins (Colorado), and Rasmus Sandin (2018). Neither seem to make a mistake with the puck and both are just as good in their own end as they are offensively. In net, Matthew Villalta (Los Angeles) has been a steady presence who makes the saves when he needs to.

Evan Cormier of the Saginaw Spirit. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Saginaw’s strength actually starts in net where overager Evan Cormier (New Jersey) keeps the Spirit in a lot of games that they do not deserve to be in. This is important because the Spirit struggle to score goals. They were only one of three teams in the OHL to not score 200 goals on the season and the other two finished dead last in their conferences (Flint and Sudbury). Furthermore, their powerplay was a league worst 14.7%. There is definitely some offensive talent on this team, but the team’s best days are ahead of them as guys like Blade Jenkins (2018), Nicholas Porco (2019), Ryan Stepien (2020), Aidan Prueter (2020), and Damien Giroux (2018) gain experience. In fact, the team’s only NHL drafted forward, Brady Gilmour (Detroit) finished 9th in team scoring.

In all honesty, this series should not be close and is not likely to be close. The Spirit have a talented young roster, but they are not currently an equal to the Greyhounds. Sault Ste. Marie has the advantage in nearly every area except maybe goaltending. Even then, Evan Cormier can only do so much. Heck, we might see the Greyhounds score more shorthanded goals than the Spirit score powerplay goals in the series.

Prediction: I want to say that Evan Cormier can do enough to steal a game for the Spirit in this series, but I cannot even see the Spirit winning a game. The Greyhounds are just too strong. SSM in 4.

#2 - Kitchener Rangers vs. #7 - Guelph Storm

Season Series: Kitchener leads 5-3

Logan Brown of the Kitchener Rangers. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Analysis: This is an interesting first round match-up between two teams that did not end the regular season the way they wanted to. Kitchener, a strong team all season, struggled down the stretch, although managed to hang on to their Division crown. Meanwhile, the Guelph Storm were one of the league’s worst teams in the last few months that saw them lose their grip on the #6 spot in the West. Kitchener loaded up at the deadline by bringing in Logan Brown (Ottawa), Givani Smith (Detroit), Mario Culina, and Austin McEneny. I think it would be fair to say that Kitchener is still waiting to see the best out of three of those four, with Culina playing well so far as a starter. It has been the guys around all season like Adam Mascherin (Florida), Kole Sherwood (Columbus), Joseph Gareffa, Logan Stanley (Winnipeg), and Riley Damiani (2018) that have been driving the team’s success. Moving into the playoffs, it will be about whether the newer faces can finally find chemistry or not. The health of defensive stalwart Connor Hall (Pittsburgh) could also impact the series.

Ryan Merkley of the Guelph Storm. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Guelph, as mentioned, has also struggled down the stretch, especially when it comes to preventing goals. Goaltender Anthony Popovich (2018) appeared to tire of late after seeing a huge jump in workload this season. The defensive group, led by Ryan Merkley (2018), and Dmitri Samorukov (Edmonton) also struggled, to the point where Merkley was a healthy scratch at times down the stretch. The Storm do have a hard working forward group who is capable of icing multiple scoring lines. The offensive leaders are unquestionably Isaac Ratcliffe (Philadelphia) and Cam Hillis (2018), who along with Alexei Toropchenko (St. Louis) form a quality first line.

Looking at this series a little more under the microscope, it is probably closer than people are making it out to be. The special teams match-up pretty well. Neither team has a dominant goaltender that one would qualify as a game-changer (no offense meant to Culina or Popovich). Both teams struggled down the stretch with team chemistry issues. The tipping point for me is experience. The Rangers have the clear advantage there, especially on the defensive end. Guys like Logan Stanley and Austin McEneny, who won a Memorial Cup together with Windsor last year, should really help to stabilize things, even without Connor Hall. I also look for longtime Rangers like Mascherin or Connor Bunnaman (Philadelphia) to really step up offensively to get this team over the first round hump.

Prediction: As mentioned, I feel like Kitchener’s experience advantage will help them come out on top in this series. I also feel that they have a much better team defense approach that likely plays out better for success in the playoffs. Guelph has talent, but they play a very high risk game that, without a ton of playoff experience, could be their undoing. It will be close, but Kitchener in 6.

#3 - Sarnia Sting vs. #6 - Windsor Spitfires

Season Series: Sarnia leads 5-1

Michael DiPietro of the Windsor Spitfires. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Analysis: No offense meant to the rest of the Windsor Spitfires, but this match-up is about two things. The Sarnia offense (2nd best in the OHL) versus the goaltending of Michael DiPietro (Vancouver). The dynamic DiPietro is one of the few goaltenders in the OHL who is capable of stealing a series victory for his team. The Spitfires rebuilt, dealing off the majority of their veterans held over from their Memorial Cup victory last year, but decided to hang on to their star netminder for this reason. They battle hard in the offensive end behind the likes of Curtis Douglas (2018), Cole Purboo (2018), Cody Morgan (2019), Luke Boka, and Matthew MacDougall (2018). And they play smart in their own end thanks to Connor Corcoran (2018), Nathan Staios (2019), Grayson Ladd (2019), and Zach Shankar. But this team has zero NHL drafted players outside of DiPietro and are incredibly inexperienced.

Jordan Kyrou of the Sarnia Sting. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

The Sting, conversely, were one of the biggest buyers throughout this OHL season, bringing in talented veterans like Cam Dineen (Arizona), Jonathan Ang (Florida), and Michael Pezzetta (Montreal). The lifeblood of the team is Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis), the league’s leader in points per game this year and possibly the best offensive player in the OHL. He is currently zero for three in first round appearances and is likely to do everything in his power to finally reach the second round (and beyond). You could likely argue that overager Justin Fazio is the team’s second most important player in the series, especially considering that he has to match-up against DiPietro. The margin for error is slim.

One of Sarnia’s biggest strengths is on the powerplay where Kyrou, Adam Ruzicka (Calgary), and Drake Rymsha (Los Angeles) have a combined 34 powerplay goals this year. Problem is, Windsor takes among the least amount of penalties in the OHL so as long as Windsor can continue to stay out of the box, Sarnia is going to need to beat DiPietro 5 on 5. The question I have is, how will Windsor manage to score goals, at least enough goals to win this 7 game series? It will not be with the man advantage either (likely) as the Sting have the league’s top penalty killing unit. I am slightly worried about Sarnia’s inexperienced defense though, but that concern is more directed towards round two or three (if the Sting advance that far). Sarnia will need big guys like Ruzicka, Pezzetta, Jordan Ernst, and Hugo Leufvenius (2018) to crowd DiPietro’s space as much as possible and really make him uncomfortable. Shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. Windsor fans can tell you, sometimes the best way to beat Michael DiPietro is through sheer luck and bad bounces.

Prediction: As much as I want to predict a Windsor victory, I do not see it in the cards. DiPietro will steal a few games and he will make Sarnia sweat. But the offensive firepower of Sarnia, combined with the inexperience of Windsor’s defense is likely to give the Sting too many scoring chances for the Spitfires’ star netminder to handle. Sarnia in 6.

#4 - Owen Sound Attack vs. #5 - London Knights

Season Series: London leads 4-2

Evan Bouchard of the London Knights. Photo by Terry Wilson/OHL Images.

Analysis: As is usually the case, the 4/5 matchup in the Western Conference looks to be the closest match-up of the first round, and subsequently the most difficult to prognosticate. London traded off the vast majority of their big guns to retool to fight another day. Instead, the team played inspired hockey down the stretch led by a host of younger players eager to make their mark. When talking about London, we have to start with defenseman Evan Bouchard (2018), the lifeblood of the Knights. His 87 points are the highest by a blueliner since Ryan Ellis hit the 100 point mark in 2011. The speedy Alex Formenton (Ottawa) is also playing the best hockey of his OHL career thus far with 12 goals in 14 games to close out the regular season. And you cannot talk about London without mentioning how good the “kid” line of Liam Foudy (2018), Billy Moskal (2018), and Nathan Dunkley (2018) has been since the trade deadline. This trio was challenged to step up their games with increased ice time and they all responded accordingly.

Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Owen Sound, on the other hand, was expected to be one of the top teams in the OHL this year but struggled to keep their star players healthy all year and subsequently struggled to perform consistently. That is, until the last few months when they have been, arguably, the OHL’s best. This team is scary good when healthy and they are now finally healthy. They roll three outstanding scoring lines, including a top unit of Jonah Gadjovich (Vancouver), Kevin Hancock (2018), and Nick Suzuki (Vegas) that has been one of the OHL’s best over the last two seasons. They also have one of the OHL’s top offensive blueliners in Sean Durzi (2018), who if he did not get injured, likely could have challenged Bouchard for the defenceman scoring title. It is in net where Owen Sound has struggled this season as Olivier Lafreniere and Mack Guzda (2019) have battled to find consistency. No question, Owen Sound has to have their offense rolling to win because they are not going to win many 2-1 games.

So who has the advantage going into this match-up? Experience wise, the nod has to be given to Owen Sound...and by a wide margin. The Attack are returning the vast majority of a roster that lost in the Conference finals last season. The Knights are an extremely well coached team, but they are relying on a lot of rookies and sophomores in key roles and that can often prove to be a recipe for disaster in the postseason. The deciding factor in this series probably comes down to the goaltending. So long as Owen Sound can get at least adequate goaltending from one of Lafreniere or Guzda, they should win this series. But if their goaltending struggles and team is forced to constantly play catch-up, the series tips in London’s favor, a team with nothing to lose.

Prediction: I have to give the nod to Owen Sound here because now that they are fully healthy, they look like a tough team to stop. This is especially true for a team as inexperienced as London; even if they are extremely talented. The Attack can get the saves they need to win this one, even if London pushes them and makes them sweat. Owen Sound in 6

OHL Finals Prediction

When the field is finally narrowed down to two teams who battle it out for OHL supremacy, I expect those two teams to be the Kingston Frontenacs and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

From the East I like Kingston for a couple reasons. The first is experience. As I already alluded to, they have a lot of players on that roster who have already won a Memorial Cup or OHL Championship (or both). That type of leadership goes a long way in the playoffs. The second is special teams play. The great Scotty Bowman always said combined special teams play was a great indicator of postseason success. Well the Fronts have the best powerplay in the league and the second best penalty kill. The third is goaltending. Jeremy Helvig is a veteran netminder who is about as consistent as they come. I have a ton of confidence in his ability to make saves when he needs to.

From the West, I like the Soo Greyhounds as they have looked about as dominant as anyone in the OHL has over the last few years. Their 116 points is the most since Barrie put up 116 in 2010. This team has it all. Special teams success. Good goaltending. Speed. Physicality. But most of all...depth. Drew Bannister’s players rarely seem to take a shift off and they rarely make mistakes with the puck. That composure at both ends of the ice makes them the favorite.

For the OHL Title, I am taking the Soo Greyhounds to win their first J. Ross Robertson Cup since they won back to back championships in the early 90ś.

OHL: Nathan Dunkley (2018 NHL Draft Eligible)

Scott Crawford — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 12:08:10 +0000

Scott Crawford provides a detailed scouting report on Nathan Dunkley, a prospect he describes as "One of the more intriguing players entering the NHL draft this year." Dunkley is currently projected to land somewhere in the middle rounds of the draft (3rd or 4th round). Find out why Crawford finds his game so interesting below.

Nathan Dunkley of the Kingston Frontenacs, recently traded to the London Knights. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Nathan Dunkley	2018 Draft Eligible
Position: C, Shoots L	H/W: 5'11", 195 lbs.
Stats to date (GP-G-A-PTS-PIMS)	Kingston Frontenacs/London Knights, OHL (46-17-27-44-30)

Skating: An above average skater, but barely. Dunkley is one of the slower forwards on the ice when it is known in the scouting community that he can take off. His first two strides were excellent in minor midget, but he has not taken that talent to the OHL. In the defensive zone, he is a completely different player skating around his own end looking to challenge for the loose puck. He is the first forward back on defense but is caught floating once his team retrieves the puck. He has decent turns around the net, but he lacks speed when he has the puck and he is skating one on one into the offensive zone. Grade: 50

Shot: His shot is most dangerous shot when he is standing in front of the net either putting a wrist shot past the opposing goaltender or collecting the secondary chances. When he was playing with the Kingston Frontenacs he was very reliant on Jason Robertson setting up plays for him to shoot. He is good with the slap shot if it is set up for him, but he cannot launch a good slap shot by himself. Right now, for the London Knights he is becoming a steady player in front of the net for and helping the Knights who were lacking a presence in front of the net. Grade: 50

Skills: Comparable skills with Ty Dellandrea, but Dunkley is not as quick with the puck as Dellandrea. Instead he plays a slower style of play that draws defenders to him and he relies on his stick work more than his skating to get around players and create his own space. His lack of speed hurts his puck handling when he is entering the zone. He will choose to do a dump and chase sequence to help him move the puck into the offensive zone. His puck handling skills are safer than Dellandrea’s in the defensive zone. He shows more patience and works the puck around his net to regroup and start a new play. He still lacks the offensive stick handling chops to be creative and contribute more in the offensive zone when he has the puck. Grade: 50

Smarts: Another smart player that Dale Hunter needed in his lineup. Dunkley demonstrates the right understanding of how to play away from the puck. He may be a slow skater with the puck, but he understands the importance of playing defense in his own end and in the neutral zone. He is a reliable back checker and is usually the first forward back to support his defensemen. Away from the puck on the offensive end he puts so much trust in his teammates to drive the offense because he knows he can get open better than he can driving to the net with the puck. The strategy is working as he now is contributing offense for the London Knights on a consistent basis. He can play both as a presence in front of the net and screen the goaltender or he can move into the high slot area and be open for a shot on net. His maturity as a role player is evident and he seems to be a coachable player and his teammates like him. The drawback to his away game on offense is if his teammates struggle to get him the puck he will float around in the offensive zone in confusing fashion. Grade: 55

Physicality: Not a big player in height, but acts likes one in front of the net. He is an excellent body in front of the net and knows how to push his body weight around near the crease. He is tough in the offensive zone and he uses that toughness to battle for loose pucks in dirty areas behind his opponent’s net. Lacks the intensity in open ice 50/50 battles and lets smaller players push him around in the neutral zone. Grade: 55

Summary: One of the more intriguing players entering the NHL draft this year, Nathan Dunkley is strong in some areas, but lacking in others. He is a decent skater, but either lacks the speed in his skating or chooses to play a slower style that is questionable once he graduates to the pros. A consistent scorer this year thanks in large part to his smart play in front of the net and his ability to get open in front of the net. An extremely smart player at both ends, especially in the defensive zone, but he needs to improve his stick handling work. When he is moving at a slow pace he can protect the puck, but once the speed of the game changes he struggles and depends on his teammates to bail him out. Physically he needs to be consistent because he can be intense in some moments in the offensive zone and when he backchecks, but completely disappears when he is challenging in the defensive zone and the neutral zone.

Overall Future Projection (OFP): 51.75

2018 NHL Draft – McKeen’s Mid Season Rankings – Top 100 plus Honourable Mentions

Ryan Wagman — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 16:00:33 +0000

One of the first lessons I learned when I began scouting a number of years ago was that draft eligible prospects generally start to make their marks after Christmas of their draft year.

Around two months ago (Dec. 8), we released a snapshot of the 2018 draft class, walking through the 62 strongest prospects at the time. Since then, all of the 62 have had plenty of chances to make their marks. In addition to the weeks and weeks of regular season action they all had, some were also afforded the showcase of appearing in the World Junior Championships, while others fought to be included in the CHL and USHL Top Prospect Games or the World Junior A Challenge.

Some of the WJC combatants were already considered to be at or around the top of the draft class, including each of the top four of our Mid-Season ranking. Others found themselves in the spotlight by virtue of holding nationalities that do not have the depth of talent in their age 19 class as we found with the Gold Medal winners from Canada, from which the entire roster consisted of previously drafted players.

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JANUARY 4: Sweden's Axel Fjallby Jonsson #22 and Isac Lundestrom #20 have words during semifinal round action against the U.S. at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. (Photo by Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

While an appearance at the WJC will only go so far for most of the prospects of Denmark, Switzerland, or Belarus, for players like the Czech Republic’s Martin Kaut (#31) and Kristian Reichel (#83), Slovakia’s Milos Roman (#57), Sweden’s Isac Lundestrom (#14), and others, players who came into the tournament with some expectations and managed to exceed them, they were able to ensure that they will be front of mind for scouting staffs through the end of the season. In fact, three of those players have seen their respective places in our rankings rise between December and now. The fourth, Milos Roman, did not fall all that much, and that can be explained largely with an injury that has limited him to a single game played since the tournament ended.

Speaking of movement in the lists, we can report that each member of the previous version of this list, which went 62 deep, is still in the mid-season top 100. Only four of those 62, Nando Eggenberger (#76), Olivier Rodrigue (#78), Marcus Westfalt (#86), and Adam Samuelsson (#95) are now lower than 75. Even though Eggenberger had a poor WJC and Rodrigue failed to impress in the CHL’s Top Prospect game, the midseason marquee event of Canadian Junior hockey, the current rankings of those four is more a reflection of other players making bigger moves than they have. All still profile as draftable prospects of note. If anything, they still have more to prove before late June in Dallas.

Evan Bouchard of the London Knights. Photo by Terry Wilson/OHL Images.

One of the two biggest jumps in the past two months belong to the aforementioned Kaut, who was fantastic at the WJC, showing a wide range of skills, plus hockey IQ and even a bit of a physical game to boot. He jumped up from 55 in December to 31 now and some in our scouting team felt that we may still be underrating him. Climbing only 21 spots, but more impressive as he started off at a higher level in December than Kaut is now, is London blueliner Evan Bouchard (#7). At the time, there were some concerns about his foot speed. Not only has he put those concerns to rest with steady displays of solid top end velocity, showing his ability to defend against rushes from some of the players long considered to be among the quickest in the OHL, but between his plus shot, advanced hockey brain and quarterbacking style, it is no real surprise that he is currently seven points clear as the highest scoring blueliner in the OHL.

The highest ranked newcomer to the list is Swedish defenseman Nils Lundkvist (#40), who had a scouting report from our own Jimmy Hamrin posted just last week. Although undersized, Lundkvist is mobile, moves the puck ably and has exceptional hockey IQ. Others debuting in the top 50 include Jakub Lauko (#44) a teammate of Kaut’s from the Czech WJC squad, Stanislav Demin (#45) a blueliner from the BCHL who impressed in the WJAC, and Niklas Nordgren (#49) an undersized, yet silky skilled winger who has been tearing up the Finnish junior ranks.

When I mentioned above that draft eligible prospects begin to make their marks after Christmas, that does not mean to suggest that we feel this present snapshot will be an accurate representation of how things ultimately shake out in June. There are some players who start the year hot and then slowly peter out. We may think we are viewing a rough mid-season patch and for some, they will never recover. Eggenberger is one. Xavier Bouchard (#62), who looked like a strong second tier draft prospect from the QMJHL two months ago, has contributed only two points since the calendar flipped to 2018. He is not an offensive blueliner, but more is expected.

Liam Foudy of the London Knights. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Other players started off very slowly and have been hot of late, getting themselves some mid-season recognition. One such player we debated at length was Liam Foudy (#82). When we released our December rankings, he had played 27 games and had put up a mere five points. Since then, in 23 games, he has 19 points, a period highlit by a strong showing at the CHL Top Prospect Game. In his case, it seems that London’s decision to sell off a large number of their regular top six forward options has given Foudy the chance to play in an offensive role and he has thus far flourished, to the extent that he was just named the OHL Player of the Week on the morning of this writing. He is a great skater and if he can keep this level of offensive production up for a few more weeks, showing that his recent play has not just been a flash in the pan, he will likely rocket up the list.

As we continue to scout the junior aged prospects of the world, this draft list will change again and again. In addition to extending our list to 100 as we pass the mid-season point for all leagues, we have also included a group of 25 others who had some fans about the McKeens scouting squad. As the intensity of the season rises with many teams and players jockeying for a post-season berth, some of the 125 players listed here will see their respective stocks go up and others will go down. Players who we may have skipped over in November and January will force us to pay attention in March and April. From now until draft weekend, we will continue to post scouting reports of the players you need to know about for the 2018 draft. We welcome your questions and comments and hope you enjoy the ride with us.

To link to a player page, use the tags at the bottom of the page, or from our McKeen's Draft Ranking found here It is also downloadable to an excel file.

RANK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	HT/WT	DOB
1	Rasmus Dahlin	D	Frolunda (Swe)	6-2/185	13-Apr-00
2	Filip Zadina	RW	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-0/200	27-Nov-99
3	Andrei Svechnikov	RW	Barrie (OHL)	6-2/185	26-Mar-00
4	Brady Tkachuk	LW	Boston University (HE)	6-3/195	16-Sep-99
5	Adam Boqvist	D	Brynas (Swe Jr)	5-11/170	15-Aug-00
6	Oliver Wahlstrom	RW	NTDP (USA)	6-1/205	13-Jun-00
7	Evan Bouchard	D	London (OHL)	6-2/195	20-Oct-99
8	Noah Dobson	D	Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)	6-3/180	7-Jan-00
9	Quinn Hughes	D	Michigan (B1G)	5-10/175	14-Oct-99
10	Ty Smith	D	Spokane (WHL)	5-10/180	24-Mar-00
11	Joe Veleno	C	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-1/195	13-Jan-00
12	Joel Farabee	LW	NTDP (USA)	5-11/165	25-Feb-00
13	Bode Wilde	D	NTDP (USA)	6-2/195	24-Jan-00
14	Isac Lundestrom	C	Lulea (Swe)	6-0/185	6-Nov-99
15	Grigori Denisenko	LW	Loko Yaroslavl (Rus Jr)	5-11/165	24-Jun-00
16	K'Andre Miller	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/205	21-Jan-00
17	Barrett Hayton	C	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	6-1/190	9-Jun-00
18	Jared McIsaac	D	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-1/195	27-Mar-00
19	Akil Thomas	RW	Niagara (OHL)	5-11/170	2-Jan-00
20	Ryan McLeod	C	Mississauga (OHL)	6-2/200	21-Sep-99
21	Jesperi Kotkaniemi	C	Assat Pori (Fin)	6-1/190	6-Jul-00
22	Serron Noel	RW	Oshawa (OHL)	6-5/200	8-Aug-00
23	Rasmus Kupari	C	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	6-1/185	15-Mar-00
24	Jacob Olofsson	C	Timra (Swe 2)	6-2/190	8-Feb-00
25	Ryan Merkley	D	Guelph (OHL)	5-11/170	14-Aug-00
26	Jett Woo	D	Moose Jaw (WHL)	6-0/205	27-Jul-00
27	Benoit-Olivier Groulx	C	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-1/195	6-Feb-00
28	Alexander Alexeyev	D	Red Deer (WHL)	6-3/200	15-Nov-99
29	Mattias Samuelsson	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/215	14-Mar-00
30	Jack McBain	C	Toronto Jr Canadiens (OJHL)	6-3/195	6-Jan-00
31	Martin Kaut	RW	Pardubice (Cze)	6-1/175	2-Oct-99
32	Calen Addison	D	Lethbridge (WHL)	5-10/180	11-Apr-00
33	Jonny Tychonick	D	Penticton (BCHL)	5-11/175	3-Mar-00
34	Jesse Ylonen	RW	Espoo United (Fin 2)	6-0/165	3-Oct-99
35	Dominik Bokk	LW	Vaxjo Lakers (Swe Jr)	6-1/180	3-Feb-00
36	Blake McLaughlin	LW	Chicago (USHL)	6-0/165	14-Feb-00
37	Kevin Bahl	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-6/230	27-Jun-00
38	Vitali Kravtsov	RW	Traktor Chelyabinsk (Rus)	6-2/170	23-Dec-99
39	Ty Dellandrea	C	Flint (OHL)	6-0/190	21-Jul-00
40	Nils Lundkvist	D	Lulea (Swe)	5-11/180	27-Jul-00
41	Rasmus Sandin	D	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	5-11/190	7-Mar-00
42	Adam Ginning	D	Linkopings (Swe)	6-3/195	13-Jan-00
43	Allan McShane	C	Oshawa (OHL)	5-11/190	14-Feb-00
44	Jakub Lauko	C	Chomutov (Cze)	6-0/175	28-Mar-00
45	Stanislav Demin	D	Wenatchee (BCHL)	6-1/190	4-Apr-00
46	Filip Hallander	C	Timra (Swe 2)	6-1/185	29-Jun-00
47	Xavier Bernard	D	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-2/210	6-Jan-00
48	Ty Emberson	D	NTDP (USA)	6-0/195	24-May-00
49	Niklas Nordgren	RW	HIFK Helsinki (Fin Jr)	5-9/170	4-May-00
50	Sampo Ranta	LW	Sioux City (USHL)	6-1/195	31-May-00
51	Jay O'Brien	C	Thayer Academy (USHS-MA)	5-10/185	4-Nov-99
52	Jonatan Berggren	C	Skelleftea (Swe Jr)	5-10/185	6-Jul-00
53	Kody Clark	RW	Ottawa (OHL)	6-1/180	13-Oct-99
54	David Gustafsson	C	HV 71 (Swe)	6-1/195	11-Apr-00
55	Nicolas Beaudin	D	Drummondville (QMJHL)	5-11/175	7-Oct-99
56	Cam Hillis	C	Guelph (OHL)	5-10/170	24-Jun-00
57	Milos Roman	C	Vancouver (WHL)	6-0/190	6-Nov-99
58	Gabriel Fortier	C	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)	5-10/190	6-Feb-00
59	Riley Sutter	C	Everett (WHL)	6-3/205	25-Oct-99
60	Martin Fehervary	D	Oskarshamn (Swe 2)	6-1/190	6-Oct-99
61	Philipp Kurashev	C	Quebec (QMJHL)	6-0/190	12-Oct-99
62	Xavier Bouchard	D	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)	6-3/190	28-Feb-00
63	Giovanni Vallati	D	Kitchener (OHL)	6-1/185	21-Feb-00
64	Alexander Khovanov	C	Moncton (QMJHL)	5-11/190	12-Apr-00
65	Blade Jenkins	LW	Saginaw (OHL)	6-1/195	11-Aug-00
66	Filip Johansson	D	Leksands (Swe 2)	6-1/185	23-Mar-00
67	Alec Regula	D	London (OHL)	6-3/200	6-Aug-00
68	Jakub Skarek	G	Dukla Jihlava (Cze)	6-3/200	10-Nov-99
69	Nico Gross	D	Oshawa (OHL)	6-1/185	26-Jan-00
70	Anderson MacDonald	LW	Moncton (QMJHL)	6-2/205	16-May-00
71	Kyle Topping	C	Kelowna (WHL)	5-11/185	18-Nov-99
72	Oskar Back	C	Farjestads (Swe Jr)	6-2/200	12-Mar-00
73	Nathan Dunkley	C	London (OHL)	5-11/195	3-May-00
74	Patrick Giles	RW	NTDP (USA)	6-4/205	3-Jan-00
75	Jake Wise	C	NTDP (USA)	5-10/190	28-Feb-00
76	Nando Eggenberger	LW	Davos (Sui)	6-2/185	7-Oct-99
77	Alexis Gravel	G	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-2/225	21-Mar-00
78	Olivier Rodrigue	G	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-0/160	6-Jul-00
79	Tyler Madden	C	Central Illinois (USHL)	5-10/155	9-Nov-99
80	Lenni Killinen	LW	Blues (Fin Jr)	6-2/185	15-Jun-00
81	Filip Kral	D	Spokane (WHL)	6-0/170	20-Oct-99
82	Liam Foudy	C	London (OHL)	6-1/185	4-Feb-00
83	Kristian Reichel	C	Red Deer (WHL)	6-1/170	11-Jun-98
84	Danila Galenyuk	D	Mamonty Yurgy (Rus Jr)	6-1/200	10-Feb-00
85	Aidan Dudas	C	Owen Sound (OHL)	5-8/170	15-Jun-00
86	Marcus Westfalt	C	Brynas (Swe)	6-3/205	12-Mar-00
87	Jachym Kondelik	C	Muskegon (USHL)	6-6/225	21-Dec-99
88	Jacob Bernard-Docker	D	Okotoks (AJHL)	6-0/180	30-Jun-00
89	Carter Robertson	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-2/180	15-Jan-00
90	Kevin Mandolese	G	Cape Breton (QMJHL)	6-3/180	22-Aug-00
91	Ryan O'Reilly (2000)	RW	Madison (USHL)	6-1/205	21-Mar-00
92	Merrick Rippon	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-0/190	27-Apr-00
93	David Lilja	C	Karlskoga (Swe 2)	5-11/175	23-Jan-00
94	Alex Steeves	C	Dubuque (USHL)	6-0/185	10-Dec-99
95	Adam Samuelsson	D	NTDP (USA)	6-6/240	21-Jun-00
96	Linus Karlsson	C	Karlskrona (Swe Jr)	6-1/180	16-Nov-99
97	Jack Drury	C	Waterloo (USHL)	5-11/180	3-Feb-00
98	Albin Eriksson	LW	Skelleftea (Swe Jr)	6-4/205	20-Jul-00
99	Sean Durzi	D	Owen Sound (OHL)	6-0/195	21-Oct-98
100	Jacob Ingham	G	Mississauga (OHL)	6-3/185	10-Jun-00
HM	Curtis Hall	C	Youngstown (USHL)	6-2/195	26-Apr-00
HM	Toni Utunen	D	LeKi (Fin 2)	5-11/175	27-Apr-00
HM	Riley Damiani	C	Kitchener (OHL)	5-10/165	20-Mar-00
HM	Cole Fonstad	C	Prince Albert (WHL)	5-10/160	24-Apr-00
HM	Pavel Gogolev	RW	Peterborough (OHL)	6-0/175	19-Feb-00
HM	Jan Jenik	RW	Benatky nad Jizerou (Cze 2)	6-1/165	15-Sep-00
HM	Daniel Kurovsky	LW	Vitkovice (Cze)	6-4/200	4-Mar-98
HM	Luka Burzan	C	Brandon (WHL)	6-0/185	7-Jan-00
HM	Eric Florchuk	C	Saskatoon (WHL)	6-1/175	10-Jan-00
HM	David Levin	C	Sudbury (OHL)	5-10/180	16-Sep-99
HM	Chase Wouters	C	Saskatoon (WHL)	5-11/180	8-Feb-00
HM	Justus Annunen	G	Karpat Oulu (Fin Jr)	6-4/215	11-Mar-00
HM	Seth Barton	D	Trail (BCHL)	6-2/175	18-Aug-99
HM	Declan Chisholm	D	Peterborough (OHL)	6-1/185	12-Jan-00
HM	Paul Cotter	C	Lincoln (USHL)	6-0/190	16-Nov-99
HM	Caleb Everett	D	Saginaw (OHL)	6-2/185	20-Jan-00
HM	Johnny Gruden	C	NTDP (USA)	5-11/175	4-May-00
HM	Jordan Harris	D	Kimball Union (USHS-NH)	5-11/175	7-Jul-00
HM	Michael Kesselring	D	New Hampton School (USHS-NH)	6-4/185	13-Jan-00
HM	Juuso Ketola	D	Assat Pori (Fin Jr)	5-11/210	18-Mar-00
HM	Jackson Leppard	LW	Prince George (WHL)	6-1/200	18-Jan-00
HM	Scott Perunovich	D	Minn-Duluth (NCHC)	5-10/170	18-Aug-98
HM	Ivan Prosvetov	G	Youngstown (USHL)	6-4/175	5-Mar-99
HM	Tyler Weiss	LW	NTDP (USA)	5-10/160	3-Jan-00
HM	Dmitri Zavgorodny	LW	Rimouski (QMJHL)	5-9/175	11-Aug-00

2018 NHL Draft – McKeen’s Mid-Season Rankings

Ryan Wagman — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 15:53:52 +0000

One of the first lessons I learned when I began scouting a number of years ago was that draft eligible prospects generally start to make their marks after Christmas of their draft year.

Evan Bouchard of the London Knights. Photo by Terry Wilson/OHL Images.

Liam Foudy of the London Knights. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Here is our mid-season top 31 ranking for the 2018 NHL Draft. For subscribers the full list of 100 plus honourable mentions can be found here - Top 100 2018 NHL Draft - Mid Season. If you are interested in a subscription, you can learn more here - $9.99 for three months access, plus any downloads we release. We publish a 2018 NHL Draft Guide on June 1st, 2018 and our 24th anniversary of the McKeen's Hockey Pool Yearbook on September 1st, 2018.

RK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	HT/WT	DOB	GP-G-A-PTS
1	Rasmus Dahlin	D	Frolunda (Swe)	6-2/185	13-Apr-00	35-6-11-17
2	Filip Zadina	RW	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-0/200	27-Nov-99	44-35-28-63
3	Andrei Svechnikov	RW	Barrie (OHL)	6-2/185	26-Mar-00	32-30-18-48
4	Brady Tkachuk	LW	Boston University (HE)	6-3/195	16-Sep-99	29-7-16-23
5	Adam Boqvist	D	Brynas (Swe Jr)	5-11/170	15-Aug-00	23-14-7-21
6	Oliver Wahlstrom	RW	NTDP (USA)	6-1/205	13-Jun-00	38-31-22-53
7	Evan Bouchard	D	London (OHL)	6-2/195	20-Oct-99	52-18-48-66
8	Noah Dobson	D	Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)	6-3/180	7-Jan-00	53-13-42-55
9	Quinn Hughes	D	Michigan (B1G)	5-10/175	14-Oct-99	27-3-15-18
10	Ty Smith	D	Spokane (WHL)	5-10/180	24-Mar-00	53-9-47-56
11	Joe Veleno	C	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-1/195	13-Jan-00	49-14-48-62
12	Joel Farabee	LW	NTDP (USA)	5-11/165	25-Feb-00	38-19-25-44
13	Bode Wilde	D	NTDP (USA)	6-2/195	24-Jan-00	38-7-17-24
14	Isac Lundestrom	C	Lulea (Swe)	6-0/185	6-Nov-99	35-6-9-15
15	Grigori Denisenko	LW	Loko Yaroslavl (Rus Jr)	5-11/165	24-Jun-00	23-4-10-14
16	K'Andre Miller	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/205	21-Jan-00	38-6-12-18
17	Barrett Hayton	C	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	6-1/190	9-Jun-00	52-18-31-49
18	Jared McIsaac	D	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-1/195	27-Mar-00	53-7-30-37
19	Akil Thomas	RW	Niagara (OHL)	5-11/170	2-Jan-00	53-15-47-62
20	Ryan McLeod	C	Mississauga (OHL)	6-2/200	21-Sep-99	52-18-36-54
21	Jesperi Kotkaniemi	C	Assat Pori (Fin)	6-1/190	6-Jul-00	52-8-17-25
22	Serron Noel	RW	Oshawa (OHL)	6-5/200	8-Aug-00	48-21-19-40
23	Rasmus Kupari	C	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	6-1/185	15-Mar-00	31-5-5-10
24	Jacob Olofsson	C	Timra (Swe 2)	6-2/190	8-Feb-00	38-9-11-20
25	Ryan Merkley	D	Guelph (OHL)	5-11/170	14-Aug-00	50-12-44-56
26	Jett Woo	D	Moose Jaw (WHL)	6-0/205	27-Jul-00	30-8-15-23
27	Benoit-Olivier Groulx	C	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-1/195	6-Feb-00	55-21-20-41
28	Alexander Alexeyev	D	Red Deer (WHL)	6-3/200	15-Nov-99	37-6-25-31
29	Mattias Samuelsson	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/215	14-Mar-00	34-6-13-19
30	Jack McBain	C	Toronto Jr Canadiens (OJHL)	6-3/195	6-Jan-00	44-19-33-52
31	Martin Kaut	RW	Pardubice (Cze)	6-1/175	2-Oct-99	35-5-6-11

State of the CHL: The Ontario Hockey League

Brock Otten — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 16:07:48 +0000

Frontrunners Load Up at the Trade Deadline

Showdown in the East Division

This year’s OHL trade deadline was exceptionally busy with over 40 players and 70 draft picks moved. OHL fans have become accustomed to the proverbial arms race with many teams in the Western Conference loading up at the deadline each year. So it was remarkably refreshing to see two Eastern Conference teams step up and be among the league’s top buyers. And it just so happens that both of these teams, Hamilton and Kingston, play in the East Division.

Kaden Fulcher of the Hamilton Bulldogs. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Hamilton has been the cream of the crop in the Eastern Conference for the majority of this season. Thanks to some great goaltending from Detroit prospect Kaden Fulcher, a deep defensive unit, and balanced scoring, the Bulldogs have held the lead atop the Conference for several weeks and have held a place in the CHL Top 10 for seven weeks running.

It was also the Bulldogs who struck early on, capitalizing on a hot start, by bringing in forwards Nic Caamano (Dallas) and Ryan Moore from Flint in a blockbuster deal. These two helped Hamilton increase their division lead over Kingston to double digits as we approached the deadline. But it didn’t stop Hamilton from continuing to build by adding defenders Riley Stillman (Florida) and Nic Mattinen (Toronto), in addition to London’s Robert Thomas (St. Louis). The Thomas add, in particular, is huge. The gold medalist from the most recent World Junior Hockey Championships is a dynamic offensive player who also happens to be terrific in all three zones and can play in all situations. He gives the Bulldogs one of the top centerman in the entire OHL.

However, do not tell the Frontenacs that the division is locked up already. With overager and Hurricanes prospect Jeremy Helvig in his last OHL season, Kingston decided to go all in and make a run for an OHL Championship. They owe it to their dedicated fan base, having lost in the Conference Semi-finals the last two years. In fact, Kingston has never made a trip to the OHL Finals and hope to re-write that part of history this year.

Gabriel Vilardi of the Kingston Frontenacs. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Kingston brought in star forwards Gabe Vilardi (Los Angeles), Max Jones (Anaheim), and Cliff Pu (Buffalo) to insulate offensive dynamo Jason Robertson (Dallas). They also added former exceptional status grantee Sean Day (NY Ramgers) to an already large, and menacing blueline. The addition of Vilardi was a risky one, considering he had yet to play this year due to back surgery. But the early results have been fantastic as the Kings’ first rounder is showing little rust and has 14 points in 9 games.

As this article is being written, Hamilton’s lead over Kingston in the division remains double digits with just over 20 games left to play. The two teams will meet only one more time this regular season, on Friday, February 23rd in Kingston. Even if the division may be a tall order for the Frontenacs, they look poised to overcome Barrie or Niagara (who are battling for the Central Division) to take that coveted 3rd spot in the Conference heading into the playoffs. That would mean, pending no upsets, we could see a Hamilton/Kingston Eastern Conference final and that would be one heck of a series.

Catching Up to SSM in the West

Meanwhile, the Western Conference also saw a few teams loading up, in this case to try and catch the Soo Greyhounds atop the standings. While the regular season crown may be a far-fetched goal, Sarnia and Kitchener each brought in a host of talented players in order to push Sault Ste. Marie come playoff time.

Jordan Kyrou of the Sarnia Sting. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Sarnia has been one of the league’s most surprising teams this season. Thanks to superstar Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis), who was leading the league in scoring before leading Canada in scoring at the World Junior Championships, and OA goaltender Justin Fazio, the Sting have been pushing the Greyhounds all season long. It was becoming apparent (especially with Kyrou and Adam Ruzicka [Calgary] away at the WJC’s) that their depth just was not at the same level as the Soo’s. So before their hot start fizzled away, the team went out and brought in Jonathan Ang (Florida), Michael Pezzetta (Montreal), and Cam Dineen (Arizona). This gives them two terrific scoring lines, and the puck moving defender and PP Quarterback that they sorely lacked.

Kitchener, on the other hand, has had a firm grasp on the Midwest Division all season, thanks to the disappointing starts of London and Owen Sound and the rebuild of the Erie Otters. This was despite not having a ton of confidence in their goaltending. It has been the worst kept secret in the league that the Rangers were out to improve their goaltending at this year’s deadline. Fans were shocked when it was not Michael Dipietro (Vancouver), Dylan Wells (Edmonton), or another star netminder brought in, but overager Mario Culina, who had actually spent time with Ryerson University (of USports) earlier this year after he failed to catch on with an OHL team this offseason. Yet the early results have silenced critics and arm-chair scouts. Culina remains perfect with the Rangers and even sported a shutout streak of over 150 minutes recently.

The Rangers also brought in hulking center Logan Brown (Ottawa), veteran defender Austin McEneny, and power forward Givani Smith (Detroit) to ensure that they hold off all on-comers in the division.

The question is, even with the moves Kitchener and Sarnia have made to shore up any weaknesses, are they in the same league (metaphorically of course) as the Greyhounds?

Greyhounds The Team to Beat

That, of course, brings us to the Greyhounds, the top ranked team in the entire CHL, and owners of a 23 game win streak earlier this season. You would be hard pressed to find a single person who believes that any other team in the OHL is the frontrunner for this year’s OHL Championship, even with the bevy of deals made by other competitors.

Rasmus Sandin of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

The Greyhounds boast the league’s current leading scorer in Morgan Frost (Philadelphia). They have the league’s second leading goal scorer in Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay). They have two of the highest scoring defenders in the league (points per game) in Conor Timmins (Colorado) and Rasmus Sandin (2018). They have the current goals against average leader in Matthew Villalta (Los Angeles) manning the pipes. They have the league’s second best powerplay at over 25%. They also have a remarkable 17 shorthanded goals so far (the Saginaw Spirit have 25 powerplay goals this year as a comparison). Get the drift yet? This is one heck of a dominant team.

Yet, the Hounds were not content to stand pat at this year’s trade deadline. They acquired veterans Taylor Raddysh (Tampa Bay) and Jordan Sambrook (Detroit) from the Erie Otters, who have a combined 89 games of playoff experience. This includes winning an OHL Championship last season. Raddysh showcased terrific chemistry with Boris Katchouk at this year’s World Juniors and will make an already stacked powerplay that much stronger.

The OHL playoffs will begin the week of March 19th and it will be then, and only then, when we will find out if a team can usurp the Greyhounds; if all those moves and all the young assets jettisoned out were worth it. But one thing is certain, the favorite to represent the OHL in Regina at this year’s Memorial Cup is still Sault Ste. Marie.

Don’t Sleep on

Steelheads look to Repeat on Last Year’s miracle second half

Last year, the Mississauga Steelheads were the near unanimous selection to take the OHL’s Eastern Conference in preseason polls. Yet at midseason, they found themselves near the bottom of the Conference. Miraculously, they exploded in the second half, played up to their capability, took the Central Division, and ultimately the Eastern Conference title come playoff time.

Michael McLeod of the Mississauga Steelheads. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

This year, the Steelheads were picked by many to repeat as Eastern Conference champs and Division winners. Yet again, they had a disappointing start to the year and find themselves near the bottom of their division. Many expected them to sell off a few key assets (like Michael McLeod [New Jersey] or Nic Hague [Vegas]) and rebuild. Instead they stayed the course, made a few minor acquisitions (like Mathieu Foget, Reagan O’Grady, and Cole Carter), and are suddenly blazing up the standings again. Since the Foget deal, the Steelheads are 6-2, with victories against Sault Ste. Marie (ending the latter’s 23 game win streak), Kitchener, Kingston, and division leaders Barrie.

Do they have another remarkable comeback in them? I would say that it is unlikely. Last year, the Central Division was atrocious with Mississauga as the only team above .500. This year, the Barrie Colts and Niagara IceDogs are playing excellent hockey and made some key acquisitions themselves. The better question is, do any of these Eastern Conference contenders want to see the Steelheads in the opening round(s) of the playoff? A very likely scenario could be a first round match-up between Kingston and Mississauga, or a second round match-up with Hamilton. And if the Steelheads continue to close out the regular season on a high note, we may not even be able to consider them as underdogs.

Owen Sound Attack Better than standings show

Another team that has underwhelmed this year is the Owen Sound Attack. They were able to return, fully intact, one of the league’s most dangerous lines from last year; Nick Suzuki (Vegas)-Jonah Gadjovich (Vancouver)-Kevin Hancock. And even though they were losing their captain, Santino Centorame, and their starting goaltender, Michael McNiven (Montreal), the expectation was that they had the depth to counteract those losses.

But it’s been a frustrating year for the Attack and its fans. Injuries have been an issue, especially with Hancock and Gadjovich both missing significant time. And finding a replacement for McNiven has been near impossible. They picked up Zach Bowman from Sudbury this offseason, but he left the team at midseason for personal reasons. Then they recently acquired Olivier Lafreniere from Ottawa, but he has since injured his groin and is out long term. So the reigns have been given to 17 year old rookie Mack Guzda.

However, the Attack are finally healthy again with Hancock returning to the lineup recently. They went out and got Brett McKenzie (Vancouver) from North Bay to improve their second line. Import (and Flyers pick) Maksim Sushko is playing terrific hockey since returning from the World Juniors. And Aidan Dudas (2018) and Sean Durzi are in the middle breakout seasons as stars in the OHL. The team looks to be turning a corner and certainly has the talent and experience to do damage in the playoffs, even if they draw one of the big three (Sault Ste. Marie, Kitchener, or Sarnia) in the first round. Like Mississauga, this is a potentially dangerous team come playoff time; and one capable of pulling off an upset.

Re-Tooling to Fight Another Day

London and Windsor start the cycle

Having already discussed many of the contenders loading up at this year’s deadline, one had to ask, “where are all these players coming from?” The answer this year is rare, as perennial contenders the London Knights and Windsor Spitfires sold off assets. The Knights traded Robert Thomas, Max Jones, Cliff Pu, and Sam Miletic (Pittsburgh), while the Spitfires traded Logan Brown, Gabe Vilardi, Sean Day, and Austin McEneny. While it has not been uncommon for these two to sell off assets, it has been rare for it to occur in the same year. We have to go back to the 2001-02 season (16 years ago) to see neither London nor Windsor with home ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. With the Knights and Spitfires currently sitting 4th and 6th (respectively) right now, that is an entirely possible outcome.

Even then, this is not a normal sell-off. We’re looking at two firmly established playoff teams with a chance of finishing in the top four of the Conference, selling off assets. The question is...why? And the answer is the reason why London and Windsor have remained such competitive forces in the OHL over the last 15 years (they combine for five of the last six OHL Memorial Cup victories). Spitfires GM Warren Rychel gave an interview recently where he was asked about the concept of re-tooling. His response was that it made no sense to be in limbo. You either need to be competitive for first, and if you won’t be, then you might as well finish lower in the standings and get assets that can help you finish first again in the near future. This is the credo that the Knights and Spitfires have lived by and it is the reason why they have been able to win so many championships in recent years.

Curtis Douglas of the Windsor Spitfires. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

This year is a perfect example. London and Windsor trade off their best veteran players and pick up three outstanding young players (each), in addition to a boatload of high end draft picks. These young players (like Nathan Dunkley [2018] or Curtis Douglas [2018]) are already good players and they slide into the line-up and contribute. Both London and Windsor now have three recent first round picks (among the top 2001 born players in the province) in their lineups, allowing them to grow together and improve under the tutelage of excellent coaching staffs. With a boatload of draft picks, they also are not afraid to take a chance on the top American players available in hopes that they eventually commit to the Ontario Hockey League. And you better believe that with high selections at this year’s Import Draft, both of these franchises will be selecting high end talents.

That is what separates the Knights and Spitfires from many of the other franchises in the OHL. They hate mediocrity. They aspire for a Championship. And if they do not feel that they can achieve that, they cut and run and bring in as many future assets as they can, even if it means an early playoff exit. It also might mean trading off players who still have potential service time, like Robert Thomas or Gabe Vilardi. If these two return to the OHL next year, they will be among the better players in the league. However, it is also possible that they make their respective NHL rosters and then London and Windsor would have received nothing for them (like the Guelph Storm, who are still feeling the effects of not getting anything for Robby Fabbri a few years ago after he left early for St. Louis).

Other OHL teams become obsessed with merely making the playoffs in hopes that anything can happen. But the way teams load up (call it the NBA super team effect), it’s a pipe dream for most. Would you not rather bring in three quality young players and maybe lose in the first round, than keep your veterans, get swept in the second round and then lose them for nothing when they graduate?

The Race for Quinton Byfield

Erie, Sudbury, & Flint battle for the highly touted youngster

As many teams hunt for a conference crown, division title, and playoff spot, an equally important battle is occurring at the bottom of the OHL standings; the race for the Jack Ferguson recipient. And this year, the crown jewel appears to be quite a special player. His name is Quinton Byfield and he’s a 6-3”, 200lbs center who seems destined to become the league’s next true superstar. Many consider him to be one of the better talents to come out of the province in recent years.

The race for Byfield is occurring between three teams, all of whom have different storylines. Those three teams are the Erie Otters, Sudbury Wolves, and Flint Firebirds.

Erie is rebuilding after four straight years of excellence on the backs of the likes of Connor McDavid, Dylan Strome, and Alex DeBrincat. This includes an OHL Championship last year. A player like Byfield would accelerate the rebuild nicely and spoil the Otters’ fanbase yet again with another potential generational talent.

Sudbury, on the other hand, is stuck in what seems to be a perennial rebuild. They’ve drafted first, second, and seventh the last three years and once again find themselves at the bottom. With new ownership, and new management in place, things are finally starting to look up for this once storied franchise. A dominant power center like Byfield would be just what the doctor ordered to get this team back near the top of the standings, perhaps even as early as next year.

Lastly, Flint is still looking to escape the shadow of the controversy that dominated their inaugural season. 2016/17 saw them take a significant step forward but this year has been a step in the wrong direction and suddenly the team is rebuilding again (after trading away top talent like Nic Caamano, Ryan Moore, and Nic Mattinen). But this is a very talented young team that is bound to explode either next year or the year after. Forgive me if you have heard this before, but Quinton Byfield is the star this franchise needs in order to climb out of mediocrity.

A Broken System

OHL Teams Will Soon Trade for the Unborn

As previously mentioned, over 70 draft picks changed hands this trade deadline. Due to crazy circumstances, over half of those picks are from beyond the year 2020. This includes the movement of draft picks from the year 2026, 2027, and 2028. Yes, that is correct. A 5 year old was traded this January.

For those that find this absurd, you would be correct. In the Western Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, teams cannot move draft picks that far in advance. And unlike the OHL, teams are also permitted to move their first round draft picks. Let us examine some major moves in all three leagues this trade deadline to compare the effect this has. Kale Clague moved for two quality young players, two first round picks, and a 2nd round pick. Drake Batherson went for three solid young players and a first round pick. Robert Thomas went for a top young player, four 2nd rounders and two 3rd rounders. Because of the high prices and inability to move first rounders, teams like Hamilton and Kingston are almost completely devoid of 2nd round picks for the foreseeable future. Hamilton has two 2nd rounders this year, but then does not own one until 2026 after that. Kingston does not have a 2nd round pick until 2026.

The prices being paid for these players who are essentially rentals, has also spiraled out of control. Let us examine some past deadline deals in the OHL for perspective.

In 2012, the London Knights and Niagara IceDogs battled for an OHL Championship. The Knights brought in rugged two-way star Austin Watson from Peterborough at the deadline at the cost of a moderate young player, two 2nd round picks, and a 4th. Meanwhile, Niagara brought in power forward Brett Ritchie at the cost of three 2nd round picks.

In 2000, perhaps the largest trade in OHL history up until that point occurred and that was the trade of Jason Spezza from Mississauga to Windsor. In return, Mississauga got four players (none could be considered among Windsor’s top young players, save maybe Ryan Courtney), a 2nd round pick and a 6th round pick.

Needless to say, things are changing and these trades are getting out of hand. We’re seeing upwards of six quality draft picks in addition to a team’s top young player changing hands in exchange for one player.

Just what the OHL can do to rectify this remains to be seen, if they wish to rectify it. Would allowing teams the option of trading first rounders lower the cost? What about putting a restriction on how far in advance draft picks can be moved? Regardless, it no longer makes sense for the OHL to differ from the WHL and QMJHL in accordance with transaction limitations. This broken system needs to be fixed. How soon before we get a draft pick trading hands where said future draft pick is not even born yet?