One To Watch: Dallas Stars

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The new-look Stars have a couple of rookies on their roster who the club can expect a decent amount of production from this year. Both Alex Chiasson and Valeri Nichushkin made the opening night roster and although the Russian has yet to hit the score sheet, the former Boston University Terrier has two goals in as many games. 

Nichushkin is the first Dallas 1st round pick to step right onto the roster since 1983 when Brian Lawton went from high school in Rhode Island to the Minnesota North Stars the next year. Pretty amazing when you think about it. 

2012 Choice: Reilly Smith - The Ohio RedHawk split the shortened year between the NHL and AHL because of the lockout. He got into 37 games with Dallas and managed a modest 9 points as a rookie. This past summer he was packaged with Loui Eriksson, Matt Fraser and Joe Morrow and sent to Boston in the deal that landed Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley and prospect Ryan Button. 

My selection as One To Watch for Dallas in 2013-14 comes up after the jump.

Meaningless Game? Hitmen pound in message to Wheat Kings

Well that was interesting. Calgary skated away with dominating 5-1 win to wrap up the round robin portion of the Mastercard Memorial Cup and set the tone for Friday's semi-final rematch.

The Hitmen didn't dominate the whole game, but just about. I thought Brandon came hard in the first, but the difference was Martin Jones who battled for rebounds and after getting beat just 29 second after Calgary had opened the scoring, didn't give the Wheat Kings a sniff. He made cross crease, reaction and 2nd and 3rd saves the whole first period. Then when Brandon was hoping to build momentum in the 3rd for the semi final, Jones snuffed them out on back to back 5 on 3 power plays and a 5 minute major.

At the other end, Jacob De Serres struggled along with Brandon's blueline. To many times De Serres gave up a rebound and couldn't corral it before Calgary put it behind him. It didn't help that his mates stood around to much and gave Calgary chance after chance to beat him.

Once again Jimmy Bubnick was terrific for the Hitmen, scoring once and setting up 3 others on route to a +4 night.

Brandon's Scott Glennie didn't play much after the first period and wasn't on the bench for the 3rd. One Wheat King player with tongue firmly planted in cheek, said Glennie had a cut lip. Kelly McCrimmon didn't offer much about his status in the post game and some media members were wondering out loud if there even was an injury. Glennie hasn't been great during the tournament, but I can't see Brandon benching a top ten pick during the biggest time in franchise history.

As for Calgary, Captain Ian Schultz is someone to keep an eye on for Friday night. Schultz blocked a shot on a late Brandon power play, and it was a rocket, as in possibly bone breaking. I asked head coach Mike Williamson after his news conference and he told me Schultz is ok...but who knows.

This one did have some rough moments, like when Rigby Burgart cross checked Shayne Wiebe after the Brandon agitator stuck out his knee and left Calgary sniper Kris Foucoult limping off the ice. Burgart was given 5 and a game. There also 2 fights, in which Cody Beach of Calgary was beaten up twice. First by Travis Hamonic and later courtesy of Michael Ferlund, who had his pick of opponents when Ben Wilson also opted to drop his mitts. That's pretty much the only thing Brandon can take into Friday night from this one.

Or maybe it was planned...yah...play so bad Calgary is lulled into a fall sense of security. That one will be floated by the same people who think Kelly McCrimmon started Andrew Hayes last Friday against Windsor because he thought they were going to lose anyway.

One thing is for sure, Brandon has to bounce back on Friday, like they did against Moncton in their 2nd game, and they have to get their lack of success against Calgary out of their collective heads. The Hitmen, don't have to change a thing.

One final note, this tournament is the reason Matt Calvert came back to Brandon this year, instead of signing with Columbus and playing in the AHL. Friday night has been on his mind for months, and he told me after most of the media had left, 'you don't come back to lose, and failure is not an option.' Brandon fans are hoping Calvert has 2 more games as a Wheat King.

Stars Prospect Snap Shot

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The Stars haven’t drafted a super star since taking Jarome Iginla 11th overall in 1995, and while he never helped them directly, Iginla did net them current G.M. Joe Nieuwendyk as a player who played a large role in Dallas winning the 1999 Stanley Cup. The franchise – going back to Minnesota – still has a first overall pick in the line up with Mike Modano, and guys like Brenden Morrow, James Neal and Jamie Benn are making the stars scouting staff look good.

Here’s who else Dallas scouts are counting on in the future.

Glennie's WJC Camp Ends

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Another player has seen his WJC dream fall short although this time it wasn't a decision made by Hockey Canada.

According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, Brandon Wheat Kings forward Scott Glennie suffered a concussion last night in the final red/white game ending his hopes of playing for Canada at the WJC.

Oilers News, Notes & Thoughts

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Maybe it's the calm before the storm. There hasn't been much news since the organization announced Pat Quinn and Tom Renney as the next era of bench bosses for the Oilers. Fan expectation is running rampant as Oilerville ponders the fate of impending UFA goalie Dwayne Roloson, what will happen at the draft, who will and won't be signed to new contracts for next season and a subset of the market is interested in knowing more about prospects camp in July.

Goalies

Plenty of other folks in the main stream media and the blog world have tackled the Roloson situation and I really don't have anything much new to add to that conversation. My understanding is that while Roloson may have once been asking for a 2-year deal it's possible he's upped his request to 3-years (though he'd "settle" for 2). As others have reported already, it's my belief that the Oilers will not entertain ideas of more than one season for the rapidly aging Roloson.

I get the impression that Edmonton is at the crossroads where they definitely want to know what they have in Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers and that if he plays well early on, he could find himself playing much more than most believe right now. In other words, Roloson's role (or that of another veteran goalie) might be more as a safety net for JDD in case he struggles as opposed to the other way around.

Not to suggest that Deslauriers is going to be handed the starters's job out of camp, that would be ludicrous at this point, but I won't be surprised if early on he receives more starts than most are currently expecting.

Cleaning out the Farmhouse

Several contracts will be coming off the books at the end of June as the Oilers want to distance themselves from the 50-contract limit and many of those cuts will come on the farm. The Springfield Falcons had a horrendous season and the focus from above will be to replace many fringe players with more talented and effective newcomers.

While the team won't make any special announcements for who won't be resigned it's common sense to expect a few prospects not to have their contracts renewed. I don't expect to see Mathieu Roy brought back again. Wingers Stephane Goulet (pictured) and David Rohlfs have probably played their last game as part of the organization as well. I believe that tough guy Hans Benson will not be returning to Springfield and rearguard Sebastien Bisaillon will be looking for a new team as well. The writing was on the wall for goalie Glenn Fisher when he was lent to Las Vegas in the ECHL.

It will be interesting to see what will happen with Edmonton product Tyler Spurgeon. A heart and soul type player, injuries slowed his development and with new managment looking to cut where possible I won't be surprised if Spurgeon is not re-signed. I'd feel bad for Tyler but I honestly don't see him with the Oilers come July.

The two prospects I think Edmonton would like to keep in the mix are Colin McDonald and defenceman Bryan Young. McDonald enjoyed a nice turnaround after the coaching change in Springfield last year and with Rob Daum at the helm I think the belief exists that they can still get the former 2nd round pick to take his game to another level.

As for Young, I know the scouting staff has always believed in the stay at home defenceman and his own-zone first attitude is a positive on a team laden with more offensive minded blueliners. Young might be asked to accept a minor league contract which would keep him in the AHL but out of the NHL. It's a tactic Edmonton has unsuccessfully tried in each of the last two years, first with Freddie Pettersson who promptly bolted for the Swedish Elite League followed by Troy Bodie who also declined, was then signed by Anaheim and actually made his NHL debut with the Ducks last season.

And then there is the case of Josef Hrabal who was injured for much of 2008-09 and then returned to Europe before the end of the season. Very recently Peter Adler via David Staples from the Edmonton Journal had a piece on the Czech defenceman where he spoke about his desire to impress the Oilers at main camp in September. Call it a gut feeling, but I don't think he'll get the chance... I think his stay in the organization has reached an end; he's been lost in the pack and will end up being quietly bought out.

Possible New Falcons

Clearly Kevin Prendergast and the Oilers have to find better AHL veterans if the Falcons are going to have any kind of success. I'm told the team has some players in mind who have a proven track record in the AHL that they are pursuing. I believe the Oilers would like to sign 3, possibly 4 players for Springfield who would play key roles both up front and on the back end.

A couple of possible candidates include a former Edmonton Road Runner named Martin St. Pierre. Well known for using a stick that was about 7 feet long, the 5'9 center played 18 games with the Road Runners during the NHL lockout after an impressive 4-year OHL career in Guelph. St. Pierre has spent the last 4 seasons with Chicago and Boston playing mostly in the AHL but managing to appear in 35 NHL games along the way. He's quick, talented and exactly what the Falcons need to jump start a miserable power play. He's also someone who could fill in with the big club in a pinch if necessary. Getting him might mean a contract that pays pretty well on the AHL side but is probably worth the effort for the results he's shown in the league.

How about someone like Chris Minard who has scored almost 100 goals over his last 175 AHL contests? He was a big part of Wilkes-Barre's offence last year and even suited up with the Pittsburgh Penguins for 20 games. The veteran has 7 years of pro experience under his belt and appears to still be getting better - he could be exactly what the doctor order for the Falcons.

Darren Haydar has been a force in the AHL over the last few seasons. He led the league in scoring by a country mile with 122 points in 2006-07 with Chicago and had 80 points last year with Grand Rapids. Like St. Pierre, Haydar is small but at the AHL level he is a scoring machine.

Downsized Prospect Camp

The annual summer get together between the organization and it's younger properties has been pushed back to July this year. This will enable the team to include the players that they will draft on June 26th. I wonder if it's also so time and money isn't spent on players who are about to leave the organization like the list above. If the camp was held in May or June like in that last few years, that would have been the case and there is no fiscal sense in throwing money out the window.

The list of camp participants will be limited to current prospect in the CHL excluding recently signed Milan Kytnar who is involved in a camp overseas. There are three such players: Jordan Eberle, Philip Cornet and Alex Plante. Also on hand will be the 5 NCAA prospect Edmonton currently has: Riley Nash, Jeff Petry, Matt Glasser, Robby Dee and Chris Vande Velde. The Oilers currently posses 8 draft picks and should that not change, all 8 will be invited to the camp. The two goalies will be Andrew Perugini and Bryan Pitton otherwise the only other pro players who will attend will be Jamie Bates and Jordan Bendfeld, the latter after missing most of the 2008-09 season due to injury.

Normally the Oilers will invite a half dozen or so players to camp to have a closer look but this year that number has been axed to just 3. The lone collegian is former Camrose Kodiak Jesse Todd who just finished his freshman season at Merrimack.

The other two players are both CHLers. Jesse Dudas was injured at Oiler camp last fall and was promised another shot - this is the Oilers holding true to their word. In the same vein, Oil Kings forward Jeff Lee joined the Falcons late in their season when they were desperate for healthy bodies. In exchange, the Oilers assured Lee's agent of a camp invite had he not signed with anyone else by then.

The prospect camp is set for the week beginning July 5th in Sherwood Park.

Speaking of Riley Nash, sources indicate to me that he will indeed return to Cornell for at least his junior year with the Big Red.

"With the 10th Overall Selection..."

It's interesting how much seems to have changed over the last month or so when it comes to players and their stock for the draft. Although there appears to be pretty much a consensus inside the top 8 or 9, the order those top players will actually be chosen seems very much up for debate.

I've heard from NHL people who believe Brandon forward Brayden Schenn will be chosen anywhere from 3rd overall by Colorado to a couple spots later to one of any number of teams including Toronto who might move up. The L.A. Kings might be happy to trade back with the Leafs because according to one source, they apparently like Nazem Kadri but not enough to take him in the #5 spot. The Phoenix Coyotes have been playing host to Russian defenceman Dmitry Kulikov fueling speculation that the Drummondville import might go higher than so far predicted. Swede Oliver Ekman-Larsson is loved by many in mock drafts and can be found well inside the top 10 on many of them but outside by just as many others. One insider predicted that if the Leafs fail to move up to grab either Tavares or Schenn that they may go off the board a bit and choose Peterborough power forward Zack Kassian - much earlier than anyone is thinking right now.

Basically, the names I keep getting suggested to me as the cream of the crop are (not in any specific order): John Tavares, Victor Hedman, Matt Duchene, Evander Kane, Brayden Schenn, Jared Cowen, Magnus Paarjarvi-Svensson and Dmitry Kulikov.

If you're one of the teams picking 9th-12th, the next handful of players to be considered the 'Best Player Available' may include London Knights forward Nazem Kadri and a trio of defencemen consisting of Swedes Oliver Ekman-Larsson and David Rundblad as well as John Moore of the USHL's Chicago Steel.

Kadri broke his jaw early in the season which probably eliminated him from WJC roster contention. After John Tavares joined the Knights, Kadri seemed to make it his personal mission to up his game and not play second fiddle. Scouts I've talked to have suggested that during the OHL series between London and Windsor, Kadri actually outplayed Tavares and won more than a few scouts over in the process.

He didn't get selected for the Swedish entry at the WJC in Ottawa and at the midseason point he was ranked well outside the first round by ISS, however, Oliver Ekman-Larsson's (pictured) stock has been skyrocketing as June 26th gets closer. He's a terrific skater and has solid offensive ability but some I've chatted up have questioned his mental toughness and wonder if he'll last in the NHL.

David Rundblad is ranked 10th overall by The Hockey News but that's higher than everywhere else that I've seen. He's been described to me as a really steady 2-way blueliner who played "in the SEL on one of the best teams and never looked out of place at all". He's a bit bigger and heavier than Ekman-Larsson and isn't getting near as much pre-draft hype but no one has mentioned the same concerns about Rundblad's mental toughness either.

There's a reason why we asked John Moore to do some blogging with us - he's a smart, humble, respectful kid who won us over when we had him on the show. That's the same sort of feeling scouts got when talking to him at the combine or at other times in the season. Not only is he a first class person but his skating is considered world class and the NHL team that takes him knows he's got two solid options of where to play next year - Colorado College or Kitchener. "We've only seen the tip of the ice berg with this kid, because he has no idea how good he actually is."

A wild card to keep in mind could be Brandon forward Scott Glennie who, despite a lackluster combine interview, possesses a few things the Oilers traditionally hold dear; speed, size and hands. Some have suggested that he benefited greatly from playing with Brayden Schenn and Matt Calvert all year but while both were tied up with Hockey Canada, Glennie showed he was able to do it himself.

For the Oilers, a five-name list doesn't really narrow it down all that much but what I do know for certain is that Edmonton's scouting staff will meet again all next week beginning on Tuesday night and I'm sure they'll be debating right up until Friday afternoon.

If I am reading the tea leaves correctly, I doubt that offensive but small players like Golden Gopher Jordan Schroeder and Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfire are in the mix for Edmonton, at least not with the 10th overall pick.

Like I said, things have changed a lot over the last month. On Tuesday Dean and I will be unveiling our revised mock draft and you'll notice several alterations from a month ago when we started the process in its daily form.

(Photos Courtesy: Edmonton Journal, Brandon Wheat Kings,Springfield Falcons, Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Oil Kings, QMJHL, ECHL)

A Top Ten Pick, At Least

So the Oilers finish 21st in the league, leaving them picking atleast 10th barring Tuesday's draft lottery, which for some reason is on TV.

The Oilers can move up to as high as 6th overall and here are some players that might be available in the 6-10 spots where they could be drafting this June in Montreal.

Jacob Josefson is a centre who plays in Sweden. He's 6.0 - 187 pounds and is a well rounded player, which is probably code for good but not great offensively. He did have 5 points at the 5 nations in February, but none were goals. Josefson is pretty fast and is playing for his country at the U-18's right now. So far he has a goal and 3 assists in 2 games. Josefson is ranked 10 by ISS.

Dmitri Kulikov is a Russian defenceman who plays for Drummondville of the QMJHL. Kulikov's club has cruised to the Q league semi-final after back to back sweeps and now take on Memorial Cup hosts Rimouski. So far the 6.0 190 pound left shooting rearguard leads all blueliners in playoff scoring with 2 goals and 12 assists in 8 games. This after a 61 point regular season effort in just 54 games. He missed time this season while playing for Russia at the World Juniors where he notched 4 assists, and was plus 4 in 7 games. Kulikov is a potential power play qb who loves eying up forwards with their head down in the neutral zone. He's ranked 9th by ISS.

Nazem Kadri is hoping to play in a second straight Memorial Cup this year after helping Kitchener put on a great show as hosts last year. Kadri was part of the Steve Mason trade that sent this year's NHL rookie of the year hopeful to the Rangers from London. The odd part of the deal was that Kadri stayed in Kitchener until the start of this year and played in the tournament last year. Now he's the Knights second leading playoff scorer with 14 points in 9 games as London gets set to face Windsor in the OHL's semi-final. Kadri was hurt at Canada's World Junior camp and thus didn't make the squad, but he's had a terrific season with 25 goals and 76 points in just 55 games. He's only a shade over 5.11 and tips the Toledos at 180 pounds and while his skating won't wow you he is able to pull away from defenders with an extra gear when he has to. Kadri also isn't afraid to drive to the net. ISS has him slotted at 8.

Jared Cowen at one point was a consensus top 5 pick, with some people slotting him in at #3, but the old saying "out of sight, out of mind" rings true with the Spokane Chief defenceman. Cowen suffered a season ending knee injury in January and since then has fallen in the rankings. Luckily scouts saw him quite a bit last year as Spokane won the Memorial Cup. The skinny on Cowen is anything but. He's over 6.04 and weighs in at 220, and is the prototypical shut down D-man.

Evander Kane, nicknamed after Evander Holyfield is also the real deal. His grandfather was a big boxing fan and scouts are liking what they see from this World Junior champ. Kane who skates with Vancouver of the WHL was originally cut from Canada's squad, but joined the team after Dana Tyrell was injured in pre tournament action. He played a nice enery role for Canada. With the Giants he's Mr. Offence with 47 goals and 95 points in just 60 games, the second best totals of any draft eligible player in the CHL behind only London's John Tavares. Kane is tough, smart and has terrific hands. He's right now ranked 6th by ISS.

Here a two other guys that the Oilers could be looking at, one would have to slip a little, the other the Oilers might be taking earlier than he's ranked or trading down for.

Brayden Schenn is 5th by ISS. He plays for Brandon and can score, hit and and play defence. Jordan Schroeder is 11th by ISS. He plays for Minnesota and has a wicked shot, but is a little on the small side. There are some questions about Schroeder's competitiveness as he put up big points against weaker teams in the WJC while he was less visible in the big games for team U.S.A.

If the Oilers want to trade down even later, guys like Scott Glennie, Zach Kassian and Carter Ashton are big forwards with some pretty nice skill that might fit the bill. And here's a second round pick for you to watch for. Tomas Vincour. The Edmonton Oil King has a lot of what the Oilers are either looking for or has worked for them in the past:

1. He's from the Czech Republic.
2. Has nice size-6.02, 200 pounds.
3. He's a LW with a good shot.
4. He doesn't shy away from tough areas.
5. They will never get a more honest scouting report, as the Oilers own the OK kids.

One final note, I've been reading here or there that Kevin Prendergast should take the fall for the Oilers struggles. I don't understand why some regular media members and some bloggers think this. I can't speak for the Oilers but I do think KP and his staff have done a nice job. Guy might have more on this soon, so I don't want to steal his thunder, but I will point out the following players that Prendergast has been responsible for.

-Sam Gagner-drafted 6th overall 2007
-Andrew Cogliano-drafted 25th overall 2005
-Tom Gilbert-acquired for Tomi Salo
-Denis Grebeshkov-acquired for Marc-Andre Bergeron

Time will only tell whether Taylor Chorney(2nd), Jeff Petry (2nd) or Theo Peckham (3rd) will pan out, but in the last 4 years Prendergast and his staff have done a pretty nice job, with players like Jordan Eberle and Phillipe Cornet enjoying good junior seasons this year.

Wednesday Re-Set

Last night on The Pipeline Show...

We began the program with a bang. Matt Gilroy is a 24-year-old senior with the Boston University Terriers and is being followed by NHL scouts who want to get his under contract next month much the same way Fabian Brunnstrom was pursued this time last year.

Gilroy's story is extremely interesting including chapters that could be called "Why I Turned Down the NHL", "No scholarship, no problem!" and "Tribute to Lost Brother". Last night Gilroy talked about it all but we still had time to talk about the NCAA national Tournament and winning the Hockey East title too.

From there we couldn't connect with Dave Starman so Dean and I decided to go through our respective NCAA Hockey National Tournament brackets. We'll post them here before the tournament starts on Friday just so we have documented proof of our prognosticating prowess.

It was then time for another monthly installment of the ISS Draft Countdown where head scout Mike Oke joins us to discuss the newest release from Internation Scouting Services. Last night we discussed teamless Kyle Palmieri, The World U18s, Cape Breton netminder Olivier Roy, Zach Kassian (pictured) of the Peterborough Petes and Brandon forward Scott Glennie.

We also chatted with Edmonton Oil Kings GM Bob Green. We talked about the team's plight in their series against the mighty Calgary Hitmen, got updates on some key injuries and discussed the stellar play of netminder Torrie Jung and if there was optimism he may return as a 20-year-old. Green also gave us some insight into the WHL's Bantam draft which will be held in Edmonton for the next several years.

Finally we ran some exclusive interviews with a handful of Hitmen including 50-goal scorer Joel Broda, defencemen Paul Postma and Alex Plante as well as 100-point man Brett Sonne.

If you missed it live, you can click the archive... HERE!

Injury Buffalo hits WHL

The term 'injury bug' just doesn't seem big enough to describe how significant the losses two WHL teams are going to have to overcome as a pair of key NHL draft eligible prospects will be out long term.

The Spokane Chiefs lost defenceman Jared Cowen with a serious knee injury during their game last Friday against the Chilliwack Bruins. The big 6'5 blueliner has been a stud for the Chiefs and his absence will be huge in the post season in a conference that includes Kelowna, Tri-City and the #2 ranked CHL team in the country, the Vancouver Giants.

UPDATE ON COWEN: Rod Petersen has the news that Cowen is out for the rest of the year and will undergo extensive surgery. read here for more.

Joining Cowen on the sidelines will be Brandon Wheat Kings forward Scott Glennie who broke his elbow on the weekend while playing the Calgary Hitmen. Play-by-play voice of the Wheaties Bruce Luebke has more on that story here. That's an awfully tough, um... break, for the Wheat Kings who will need all of their top forwards for the postseason when they eventually have to face the likes of Saskatoon or the Hitmen again.

One key player who should soon be back in action is Oil Kings forward Tomas Vincour who has basically been out of the line up in Edmonton since leaving for the World Junior Championship in Ottawa before Christmas. Vincour returned from the tournament a bit banged up, played sparingly in 3 January games and has been out with a left shoulder injury since the 11th.

Having spoken with Vincour recently, it appears he should be back in as early as a week as he hopes to return in time to play in Kootenay against the Ice, a team Edmonton is trying to catch for one of the final playoff spots. The Oil Kings will need every offensive weapon they can muster if they hope to claw their way into at least 8th place. With 15 games left on the schedule, they'll only see Rexall Place 5 more times this season.

2009 Draft Performers of the Week - Feb 1/09

Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW) / International Scouting Services (ISS) 2009 Draft Prospect Performers of the Week presented by the Pipeline Show & Hockey Now ending Sunday, February 1, 2009.

Each week, International Scouting Services (ISS), Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW), Hockey Now, and The Pipeline Show recognize the Top Draft Eligible player from each of the WHL, OHL, QMJHL, & USHL leagues for the upcoming 2009 NHL Entry Draft based on their play over the course of the week. Players are nominated and the selected by graduates of the SMWW Hockey GM & Scouting with each of the winners receiving a gift acknowledging their selection.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE – Garrett Wilson, Owen Sound Attack

Garrett Wilson is the OHL’s nominee as draft performer of the week after scoring 4 goals and adding 2 assists in 3 games for the Attack. Wilson has 13 goals and 25 points in 35 games on the season, his first full campaign after spending a portion of the 07-08 season with the Windsor Spitfires. Wilson is known as a hard worker who is willing to battle in front of the opposition’s net.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE – Scott Glennie, Brandon Wheat Kings

Scott Glennie wins the award as WHL draft performer of the week after scoring 2 goals and 5 points in 4 games for Brandon. Glennie currently leads the Wheat Kings and sits sixth in league scoring with 27 goals and 39 assists for 66 points while posting a healthy plus-22 rating. Glennie, a native of Winnipeg, MB is known as a finesse player who has great on ice vision.

Glennie was a guest on The Pipeline Show in late December. You can hear that interview here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE – Mike Hoffman, Drummondville Voltigeurs

Mike Hoffman wins back to back awards after scoring 3 goals in 2 games this week for the Voltigeurs. Hoffman currently is third in team and sixth in league scoring with 37 goals and 72 points in 45 games this season. Hoffman, a native of Kitchener, ON is a smaller player who relies on his sound skill set to be an impact performer.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE – David Gerths, Lincoln Stars

David Gerths wins his second award as the USHL’s draft performer of the week after posting 4 assists in 2 wins for Lincoln. Gerths, a forward from Ankeny, IA has 28 points and a plus- 8 rating in 33 games on the season and is known as a playmaker.

CSB Mid-Term Rankings (NA - skaters)

There is lots of movement on the list of skaters in North America but there is no surprise at the top where John Tavares is ranked #1. Seen here as he joined the London Knights last week, Tavares had a terrific WJC that answered a lot of questions scouts had.

Matt Duchene is now #2 on the list which is a bit of a eyebrow-raiser for me. Despite not playing in the WJC he moves ahead of Jared Cowan (falls to #7) and is still above Evander Kane (#3) who has more points and did play for Canada in the WJC. Jordan Schroeder comes in at #4.

The top ranked defenceman in North America isn't Cowan or Ryan Ellis or even Russian Dmitri Kulikov... it's someone named Simon Despres! Despres plays for the Saint John Sea Dogs in the QMJHL and I know zippo about him but will get educated tomorrow night on The Pipeline Show as we are slated to welcome beat writer Nathan White to the program.

Speaking of Ellis, he's rated the 15th best skater in N.A. and that's behind Chicago Steel blueliner John Moore (8th).

A couple high school kids make a big impact on the list coming in at #14 and #16. Chris Kreider is a 6'2 forward and Zach Budish is an even bigger winger weighing in at 6.2" and 229 lbs.


The Brandon Wheat Kings are well represented at the top of the list with Brayden Schenn #5 and Scott Glennie #12. Glennie (pictured) is someone I think would be of interest to the Edmonton Oilers who I expect to be on the hunt for a scoring forward with above average size.

A few other guys fitting that category are Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Carter Ashton #10 (6'4, 210 lbs.), Zack Kassian #24 from Peterborough (6'2.5, 212 lbs.) and further down is Kamloops Blazers forward Jimmy Bubnick (6'1.5, 190 lbs.).

The top rated forward available in the USHL is Louis Leblanc, a Quebec-born product who plays for the Omaha Lancers this year and is committed to Harvard in the NCAA. He'll also join us tomorrow night on The Pipeline Show after recetnly being named a 2009 Draft Prospect Performer of the Week.

Some other local notables: Edmonton Oil Kings forward Tomas Vincour obviously didn't have a WJC that impressed the scouts as he's tumbled from 1st round consideration all the way down to #79 on the list... Edmonton products rate well with Dylan Olsen of the Camrose Kodiaks coming in at #23 and Levko Koper from Spokane at #44... The top ranked Oil Kings property is actually Philip Samuelsson of the Chicago Steel. The big blueliner is ranked #59 but has yet to officially committ to a NCAA program so a future with the Oil Kings (who drafted him back in 2007) is still possible...

Canada Camp Almost Perfect

Hockey Canada revealed the 38-name list of players who will be trying out for the 2009 World Junior squad that seeks the nation's 5th consecutive gold medal. You can find the official release here.

Dean and I discussed the list earlier today, each of us seeing a couple of areas where players we would have invited were not and also a couple of interesting additions that caught us a bit by surprise.

The four goalies invited are the same four who were involved in the summer sessions - Dustin Tokarski, Chet Pickard, Jake Allen and Tyson Sexsmith. Hard to say that any of the four don't deserve the recognition to be invited but my first thought was that Mike Murphy probably deserved to be there too. You can only invite four but Murphy has the best stats in the entire OHL with a .944 save percentage and as of this minute, with a 1.98 GAA he's one of only three starting goalies in the CHL with a sub-2.00 GAA (Interesting to note that the other two also didn't get an invite).

Murphy would have been on my invite list, probably at the expense of Tyson Sexsmith, but right now Tokarski and Pickard are my two goalies so in the end it doesn;t change the final roster for me.

On the blueline it was Millard that pointed out right away that 2009 eligible Jared Cowen, a consensus top-4 pick, is not on the list. Ryan Ellis is thanks to a blazing hot offensive start to the season, but the top North American defensive defenceman in the draft didn't even garner an invite to camp. Cowen's Spokane teammate Jared Spurgeon got a nod but at 5'8 he's not a defensive force and with just 12 points it's not like Spurgeon is racking up the numbers. I would have taken Cowen (pictured) ahead of Spurgeon but I assume that with Keith Aulie, Tyler Myers, Colten Teubert and Patrik Wiercioch all filling the rough-and-tough job description, Hockey Canada felt they had it covered. Cowen is only 17 so you know his time will come very soon.

I am a fan of the choice to invite Denver Pioneers rearguard Patrick Wiercioch who has 13 points in 13 NCAA games this year. He was drafted by Ottawa in the 2nd round last June but I get the impression that everyone is very much pleasantly surprised at how far he's developed in a very short time. It will be interesting to see how he matches up at the short camp - a darkhorse for now but an interesting one to watch for.

Up front the first name both Dean and I looked for we couldn't find and both of us just snickered a bit that once again, Kyle Beach doesn't rate an invite from Hockey Canada. I guess the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge isn't as big of a deal as most thought because clearly his game winning marker in game 6 didn't help his cause and more than his 22 points in 22 WHL games this year.

The Pipeline Show officially gives Hockey Canada two thumbs down for not inviting Beach to the tryout camp (not that you have to put him on the final roster, but just an invite). Had Dean been writing this blog entry, it may have not have been thumbs that were used to signify our opinion. Suffice to say, Millard's going to rant about this one on Tuesday's show!

Dean, a well known Brandon Wheat Kings supporter, said he found it a bit interesting that both Matt Calvert and Brayden Schenn were invited yet Scott Glennie was not despite having outperformed his two teammates for most of the year. Glennie leads the Wheaties with 32 points, a slight lead over Schenn.

All eyes on Angelo Esposito who is back for yet another kick at the can; is this finally the year he makes the team? It's his last chance but Dean and I differ on our prediction here - Millard votes 'Yay' but I can't see who he beats out so it's a 'Nay' for me.

Patrice Cormier gets a ticket to camp yet might not even be the best player on his team - Oiler prospect Philippe Cornet leads Rimouski in scoring by a fair margin while Cormier is in third.

Obviously being here in Edmonton The Pipeline Show is pleased to see both Jordan Eberle (pictured) and Riley Nash on the list. Back on November 23rd Jim Matheson wrote in the Edmonton Journal:

"Word is Oilers first-round draft Jordan Eberle, even if he has 18 goals with the Regina Pats, will need two strong games in the Western Hockey League vs. Russia Selects series this week to ensure an invite to the national junior camp. Riley Nash, who has played almost no games at Cornell University, will be scouted against U of North Dakota shortly. If he doesn't light it up, he probably won't get an invite."

Eberle did shine against the Russians and Nash also played well against North Dakota. I tend to think both can be solid additions in different roles - Eberle as a scoring winger and Nash as a 3rd line center who could play more of a defensive role than he is asked to at Cornell.

The name that jumped out at me from the list that did make it was Stefan Della Rovere, a winger with the Barrie Colts with stats that don't blow you away but appears to be in the mold of a Jordan Tootoo (Dean's suggestion) as someone the team has invited to play a specific checking role.

Camp gets underway on December 11th and concludes on the 15th. Join us on December 9th and the 16th for our pre and post-camp coverage.

(photos courtesy: Spokane Chiefs, the WHL, Regina Pats, the NHL, TSN, CP)