One To Watch: Carolina Hurricanes

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It's just a personal opinion but I wonder about the Hurricanes, specifically in regard to drafting and player development. Sure they have their hits but it feels to me, and I could be wrong, that they have more than their fair share of misses too. And again, I think drafting and player development are two completely and separate issues but if one lacks, the other will rarely yield positive results.  

The selection of Jeff Skinner deserves a lot of praise but having stepped right into the NHL from Kitchener, the 'Canes can't take credit for developing him to being NHL ready. It's a similar picture with Justin Faulk who appeared in all of 50 AHL games. 

Whereas guys like Zac Dalpe, Riley Nash, Zach Boychuk and Drayson Bowmen were that have, so far, failed to reach expectations placed on them. 

2012 Choice: Keegan Lowe - The Edmonton Oil King blueliner took a massive step forward in his development in 2012-13. The years prior he was often partnered with Mark Pysyk and it provided Lowe with a safety net to take risks which often got him in trouble, but not the team thanks to his partner. My question going in to last year was how Lowe would survive without Pysyk covering for him. The results were impressive and somewhat surprising. Lowe elevated his play dramatically, arguably becoming the teams most reliable blueliner. He took on the mantle of leader despite not wearing the 'C' and his production jumped from 3 goals to 15, his points from 23 to 31. 

My 2013-14 pick as One To Watch for Carolina comes after the jump.

2 Players Confirm College Intentions

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This weekend two high profile players went on the record confirming that their planned path to the NHL still runs through the NCAA. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but in light of the "Summer of the CHL" and the recent comments from one very influential WHL General Manager, it's news certainly worth mentioning.

Saturday Morning Special - July 9th

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What a fantastic way to start your day - not only did we have terrific guests today but we had major breaking news occur during our broadcast and our listener auction produced almost $3000 for charity!

Congratulations and a huge "Thank You!" to the Owner(s) of O2's Taphouse & Grill who coughed up the high bid on the day, a cool $2800. For that they picked up the trip to Jasper, the Moosehead prize pack and the autographed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Red Deer Rebels jersey.

If you were one of the many who were in on the fierce bidding war, don't worry; We're doing it again on Tuesday and next Saturday with a signed Mark Pysyk Edmonton Oil Kings jersey followed by a Buffalo Sabres sweater autographed by local product Tyler Ennis!

Game Day Edition: It's Playoff Time

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This morning Guy and I recapped every CHL and NCAA playoff game, went in depth with 3 different CHL series and a bracket of the NCAA tournament and discussed concussions and why one NHL rookie has the most impressive stats in the Calder trophy race. Click here to go inside the world of prospects hockey.

Saturday Morning Special - Oct 16

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This weekend we talked to a new Oilers prospect who has been off to a slow start in the WHL this year... until last night. We headed south of the border to meet another potential 2011 NHL Draft 1st rounder, we talked about the NCAA action from Friday and we also went East to Kitchener to find out how the Rangers are getting it done this year after some hefty personnel losses. And of course Saturday means another visit from the other media mogul named Millard.

Bad news for Kitchener and Portland?

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Both the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes are making fans of the Kitchener Rangers and Portland Winter Hawks sweat today with news that they've inked their 2010 first round picks to entry level deals.

Carolina put Jeff Skinner's name on a deal and the Islanders followed suit by signing Nino Niederreiter to a 3 year deal.

Skin To Win?

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You can be sure the Oilers brass are still keeping their eye on possible first overall pick Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires. Hall outscored his draft competition Tyler Seguin by 6 points in the Windsor/Plymouth series, but now he's on the opposite end of the spectrum as the Spitfires are down 2-0 to Kitchener. Rangers forward Jeff Skinner who netted 50 this year, has 4 goals in 2 games - Hall has one.

Moore From the Pipeline - Part 3

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The Pipeline Show is excited to bring you a series of guest player blogs by some of the top players eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. For a complete recap of the blogs so far, click on '2009 Guest Blogs' under 'Labels' down the right-hand side of your screen. To date we have heard from John Moore, defenceman with the Chicago Steel in the USHL, and Ethan Werek of the Kingston Frontenacs. We have a few other players lined up who have yet to contribute.

Here now is the latest entry from defenceman John Moore

John Moore Headed to the OHL?

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Last year the London Knights lured defenceman John Carlson out of his NCAA commitment and north to the Canadian Hockey League. In similar style, Ethan Werek of the Kingston Frontenacs opted to stay in Canada rather than join Boston University where he was initially headed. Not long ago Trevor Lewis skipped the NCAA for Owen Sound.

This year it looks like John Moore of the Chicago Steel is the player mostly likely to join their club.

I had a conversation yesterday with someone out of the OHL that suggested to me that he wouldn't be surprised at all to see Moore get chosen in Saturday's OHL Priority Draft. Moore, 18, signed a written letter of intent with Colorado College last November but his name has come up a few times in conversations I've had with people who wonder if he'll actually head north to play next year.

I'm told that his name is being circulated in OHL circles as someone to consider for the draft, this wasn't the case in previous years but this is the last spring he is eligible to be selected. I am also told that 4 teams have made serious contact with Moore - the ususal suspects being London, Windsor as well as Kitchener with a surprise team kicking tires who I believe to be the Barrie Colts.

When Moore was a guest on The Pipeline Show last February, he admitted that his future wasn't set and that he'd be weighing all of his options. I recently contacted Moore, one of our guest bloggers this season, but all he would confirm for me at this point is that there has been contact with a few OHL teams and that he is still considering every option available to him. He did tell me that he would likely not be making any firm decision until after the NHL draft in June when he could get the input from the NHL team that ends up picking him up.

You can expect Moore to make a return appearance on TPS this summer when whatever choice he makes has been confirmed. At that time we'll be able to discuss the decision making process, all of the things he had to consider, the pros and the cons of both the NCAA and OHL route in regards to his playing career and to his education. Until then we can only speculate.

What will be interesting to see is who does draft him tomorrow. Kitchener, one of the teams in the hunt, picks third but with Moore decidedly on the fence it would be a big risk to take him that early. Barrie, the team I believe to have expressed an interest most recently, picks 8th. London is in the 19th spot while Windsor closes out the draft order in the 20th position.

Why should only the same three or fours teams be the ones getting the top Euros and the top NCAA defectors. If it's really a level playing field, a no one really believes it is, shouldn't Sault Ste. Marie or Sudbury have just as much success landing these types of players?

Somebody told me yesterday that the Erie Otters have interviewed a number of highly ranked players only to have been told "if you draft me, I'm going to the NCAA". Erie picks 10th overall but might have to take a player not ranked in the first two rounds just to ensure they get someone who will actually report to them. That is complete crap and it makes the league look stupid.

If I'm a team like Peterborough in the 6th overall slot... I seriously consider drafting Moore. That way, if one of those other teams are that interested in Moore than Peterborough can get fair value for him even though there may be little to no chance the player would consider suiting up for Chris Pronger's old team. Moore was Chicago's captain this year and also played in the USHL All-Star game. He's considered a top 20 pick in this June NHL Draft too so he's obviously a player who would be worth a ton to any team he'd be willing to play for.

Would a team really draft Moore simply to stick it to London, Windsor or Kitchener? I don't know but part of me would love to see it happen.

For Moore, I'm sure he's going to get a great education package from the OHL or from the NCAA so the school part isn't really an issue.

What must be the biggest factor is where he thinks he'll develop the best as a hockey player. 35-40 games in college with more time to train off the ice or 68 regular season games plus the playoffs in the OHL. Things like being able to partake in NHL training camps and end the year in the AHL are other pluses to the CHL route whereas college players don't have either of those options.

Moore will definitely be drafted on Saturday but who takes him and whether he picks the OHL over Colorado College and the NCAA won't be known for some time. From now until that time, and even beyond then, you'll be able to read a series of blog entries written by the player himself - the next installment of Moore From the Pipeline is expected on Monday.

SATURDAY EDIT: Moore was taken by Kitchener with their first pick in the second round (23rd overall).

(Photos courtesy: OHL and USHL)

Tavares tops 200 as the Knights edge the Rangers in O.T.

Just finished watching the London Knights/Kitchener Rangers tilt on Rogers Sportsnet with TPS favorites Peter Loubardias and Sam Cosentino calling the game and it was a beauty.

John Tavares won it for London in overtime with his 200th career goal and 43rd this season, it was a power play goal. I haven't watched many Windsor games, and I know they have supreme talent and a massive lead in the standings, but I'm wondering out loud if they'll be able to beat the Knights in the playoffs, especially if London gets a wack of power play time. Sure London has struggled somewhat lately with just 4 wins in their past 10 but I mean when you can throw out Tavares, Nazim Kadri, Michael Del Zotto, John Carlson,(pictured) Phillip McCrae or Justin Taylor on the power play it's deadly. They have 367 points between them, and 54 goals with the man advantage, heck the super 6 have 17 shorthanded goals this year. Carlson has a cannon of a shot, can sneak down low and dish the puck, making him the perfect pp quarterback. The League's 2nd leading rookie scorer and Washington Capitals prospect will join us Tuesday on TPS, click here to find out who else will be on the show.

Having said all that, the guy I might have been the most impressed with was Kitchener's Jeff Skinner. A guy who will be a high end pick in the 2010 draft is 4th on team scoring with 41 points in 51 games, including 22 goals. He's also plus 5 on a team 5 games below 500. Skinner is 10th in rookie scoring as a 16 year old and showed a never quit attitude during the game, especially on the game tying goal in which he fired 2 shots on net before wrapping it around to send it to overtime. Skinner also added an assist, a penalty minute and was plus 1 in the loss.