Class of 2012 on TPS Part 2

Continuing the recap of The Pipeline Show's year-long coverage of the 2012 NHL Draft, below are the interviews that took place on the show during the months of October and November. 

If you missed Part 1 which was a recap of 2012 interviews from August/September, click here. 

The month of October began with another defenceman in our draft spotlight. Unlike his brother Erik Gudbranson, Alex Gudbranson is not considered a high-end player for this June but we talked to him early in the season to get a sense of where he felt he was at in his development.  Listen here. 


Future Considerations is a terrific publication headed up by my old Hockey's Future colleague Aaron Vickers. Aaron joined us early in October after his site had a facelift and a new ranking came out, both of which were topics for discussion. 

Photo: QMJHL

A 1st round talent in a 3rd round frame, Charles Hudon is a wonderful player to watch in Chicoutimi. The undersized forward was a guest back on October 4th where we discussed his season to that point, the Ivan Hlinka tournament and more.  


Injuries were a common theme for the Class of 2012 but no one was hit harder than Sarnia Sting forward Alex Galchenyuk. The forward joined us a few times this year but his first appearance was this one in early October.


Speaking of injuries, Peterborough Petes rearguard Slater Koekkoek was also slowed by one but that came after this appearance on The Pipeline Show. 


US-NTDP power forward Stefan Matteau checked in on October 18th and we discussed many things including where he'd play next year and internationally as well. 

The first time we had a chance to speak with high caliber pest Brendan Leipsic was in October when the Portland Winterhawks came to town and he stole the show. This interview was bonus audio available only in our media archive.   

Photo: Brighter Image Studios

Moose Jaw defenceman Morgan Rielly was a TPS guest a couple of times this year but in October we were able to have an entire conversation that didn't include questions about his knee because he hadn't injured it yet. Listen here.

Mathew Dumba was captain for Canada at the Ivan Hlinka and had a tremendous amount of hype around him for much of the season. We spoke with the hard hitting Red Deer Rebels blueliner for the first time on October 25th.  


Everett Silvertips captain Ryan Murray went down with a knee injury in October. We spoke with then General Manager Doug Soetaert about his marquee player, the thought about trading him, and more.

The Edmonton Oil Kings made news in October when they recruited Minnesota high school defenceman Cody Corbett. We spoke with the 2012 eligible import about making the transition from high school to the WHL.

Photo: Dubuque Fighting Saints

A report in last October suggested that Latvian Zemgus Girgensons was going to the WHL in 2012-13 stirred the pot. We spoke with the Dubuque Fighting Saints star forward about his choice between Vermont and Kelowna and also about the draft.

The ongoing ISS Draft Countdown segment began on November 5th and featured head scout Ross MacLean providing his early season thoughts on Nail Yakupov, Alex Galchenyuk, Martin Frk, Peter Quenneville and goalie Chris Driedger.

We previewed the World Junior A Challenge from an American perspective with the help of USHL beat writer Ryan S. Clarke. He talked to us about the USHL based entry and a number of the draft eligible players on the team headed to the international tournament.

Canada West head coach Kent Lewis looked at his roster before the World Junior A Challenge too. 

Fargo Force defenceman Brian Cooper was our guest on November 15th fresh off his performance at the WJAC in British Columbia.

Photo: Sheri Lamb / PA Herald

Mike Winther had time to chat before a game against the Edmonton Oil Kings in November. The Prince Albert Raiders forward played well in his stops in Edmonton this year.

The November 19th edition of the ISS Draft Countdown features Ross MacLean reporting on Mikhail Grigorenko, Oscar Dansk, Brian Cooper, Devin Shore and Gianluca Curcuruto. 

One of the most well spoken player interviews of the entire season on TPS, Belleville Bulls forward Brendan Gaunce joined us on November 22nd. This interview led to a one-off blog entry by the player a couple of weeks later.

Jon Keen, the voice of the Kamloops Blazers, discussed the impressive play of the team he calls including the play of netminder Cole Cheveldave and import Tim Bozon.

Saskatoon Blades defenceman Dalton Thrower made a name for himself at the CHL Top Prospects Game in January. We spoke with him a couple of months earlier. 

London Knights assistant GM Misha Donskov gave us a rundown of his team which includes some guys who will hear their name called out in a few weeks like Olli Maatta and Andreas Athanasiou.  

We closed out the month of November by speaking with Indiana Ice goalie Jon Gillies. The big netminder walked us through his thought process on the NCAA/CHL route and more. Hear that conversation here.