Top 5 Tuesdays: CIS Freshmen Classes

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I know a lot of people don't pay much attention to University hockey in Canada but it's really to bad. I know plenty of NHL teams that regard the CIS as an untapped source for free agents that is only getting better and better every year. As more and more CHL players are choosing CIS instead of the ECHL or Europe, the quality of play is on the rise. The crop of players not longer eligible for Major Junior that is headed to CIS programs this season is another prime example of late bloomers who will continue to attract the attention of the NHL during the Student-Athlete phase of their hockey careers.

A few months ago the San Jose Sharks signed forward Kevin Henderson away from UNB. Joel Ward of Nashville played 4 years of CIS hockey for PEI and has since gone on to AHL success and is now a regular player for the Preds.

There aren't tons of NHL players with CIS backgrounds but there are some out there and the numbers are growing. Here now are the top 5 incoming freshmen classes in CIS hockey for 2009-10.

5. St.FX

The X-Men announced their group back on July 22nd and it includes a few WHL grads including goalie Joey Perricone (pictured) who spent 5 years with the Moose Jaw Warriors. The California native will now head to the East coast for his X-Men uniform.

Also headed to St. FX from the WHL is Swift Current defenceman Spencer McAvoy. The Edmonton product is a good two-way blueliner who chipped in 39 assists and 44 points for the Broncos last season. At 6'3 he's got good size and I always thought he skated well and played with poise on the back end. I liked him as a potential pro camp invite and that may still happen, but if not, then the X-Men get a pretty good rearguard.

St. FX has 4 other Major Junior players coming in: Brennan Wray (Red Deer), Nick Pageau (Belleville), Josh Day (Brampton) and a pair of QMJHL alum in Ryan Sparling (Saint John) and Murdoch MacLellan (Cape Breton).

4. Manitoba

The Canada West Conference as largely been a two-team battle for the last couple of decades but slowly the likes of UBC, Calgary and Manitoba are closing the gap. The incoming Bisons are led by Ian Duval, a Winnipeg product. Duval began his WHL career with Regina before being dealt to Calgary. From there he bounced from the Hitmen to Swift Current and finally to Kelowna, all withing the last season. Duval was a point per game player this year and was an often overlooked part of Kelowna's WHL championship offence.

Another Winnipeg kid who returns home to play CIS is Brandon Lockerby of the Edmonton Oil Kings. The converted forward put together a 35 point campaign playing on the backend for the Oil Kings and should add some offence and speed to the Bisons no matter where they decide to play him in their line up.

3. Alberta

Alberta has been the cream of the crop in Canada West for many years now but they no longer appear to be the program that is attracting the top players out of the WHL. That's not to say who they have secured are bad players, quite the contrary really, but the Golden Bears incoming class doesn't compare to those of the past.

Netminder Travis Yonkman is the headliner and slated to be the starter now that Aaron Sorochan is no longer in the picture. I've heard that the New York Rangers have invite Yonkman to their camp though so his future isn't quite set just yet.

Also join the Bears are five local boys including Sean Ringrose (Medicine Hat), Michael MacAngus (Regina/P.A.), Ian Barteaux (Kootenay), Colin Joe (Saskatoon) and Reade Wolansky (Sacred Heart - NCAA). Ringrose scored 28 goals and had 59 points with the Tigers while Barteaux managed 39 points for Kootenay.

2. Saskatchewan

Almost always seen as the number one challenger to Alberta's CW crown, the Huskies are going to have a pretty darn good team the next few years thanks to the group they have coming in.

10 players are joining the Huskies this year including 8 with a WHL background. Among them are Brendan Dowd, a co-captain and co-leading scorer with the Edmonton Oil Kings last year. Dowd is a Saskatoon kid so he's going back home after his 29-goal season in Edmonton.

Brennan Bosch (pictured) had three consecutive 20-goal years with Medicine Hat and reached the 70-point plateau in 2007-08.

The Calgary Hitmen turned Kyle Bortis into a offensive machine after they acquired him from Swift Current. Bortis had 72 points in 2007-08 and 84 last year with the Hitmen. He scored 37 times two seasons ago so he knows how to find the back of the net.

Andrew Bailey scored 30, 28 and 28 goal campaigns during his final three seasons in Kootenay. The 5'9 forward's point totals are actually quite impressive as he rattled of 79, 87, 83 point years. The Hazlet Saskatchewan native might be one to watch in the green, black and white for the next few years.

Goalie David Reekie arrive from his 38-game stint in the USHL with the Lincoln Stars. Reekie began in the WHL but went south where he compiled a 23-10-4 record and posted a .935 sv% with a 2.01 GAA.

Another key ingredient being added to the Saskatchewan mix is Kyle Ross who is transferring from Regina where he led the Cougars in scoring in each of the last two seasons. It's a nice pick up for the Huskies and a blow to their rivals to the South.

1. New Brunswick

The V-Reds top my list based on quality over quantity. Saskatchewan might have more talent coming in but I think I like UNB's group just a hair more. The official list so far is only 3 names long but they were all captains of the WHL team last season and two also led their club in scoring.

Taylor Procyshen (pictured) finished 16th overall in the league with 81 points, 36 of which were lamplighters. The captain of the Tri-City Americans is an Edmonton product who was on the want list of the Golden Bears so you know this one has to sting for Alberta. Procyshen scored 30 goals or more in each of his last three seasons so the kid clealy has a nose for the net.

Edmonton Oil King Jeff Lee will head East if he can't find a pro contract with his name on it. The Calgary born Lee only played a year and a half in the WHL after leaving the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks. Lee played a couple games for the Springfield Falcons in the AHL late last year after a breakout season with the Oil Kings. His 40 assists were a team high and his 62 points earned him a share of the scoring title with Brenden Dowd.

The third official recruit for the V-Reds is defencemen Ben Wright of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The former draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets might still get looks from the NHL but will be a huge player for UNB if he does play CIS. Wright was the leader for the 'Canes the last couple of seasons and is considered a pretty solid defensive defenceman.

Rumors are that UNB isn't done and that should he not get a pro contract, Ben Shutron will also end up in a V-Reds uniform. The former 4th round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks played in the last two Memorial Cups with finalist Kitchener in 2008 and CHL champion Windsor in 2009. That would be another great addition to their line up if in fact that comes to fruition.

Falcons Add Oil King Captain

The Springfield Falcons have signed Edmonton Oil Kings co-captain Jeff Lee to an amateur try out contract the team announced today.

Lee, who joined the Oil Kings midway though the 2007-08 season after leaving the NCAA's Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks, had a career year posting 22 goals and 62 points.

The Calgary product is considered a hot commodity for CIS schools looking to bolster their line ups for next year and Lee told me yesterday that unless he had AHL options, CIS would be his route next year. With a good showing in Springfield, his AHL chances could become a reality.

Lee is a 6'2, 209 lb power forward.

Also headed to the AHL for the rest of the year is forward Brent Raedeke who will join the Grand Rapids Griffins. Raedeke was signed by the Detroit Red Wings last fall after attending their summer camp and main camp in September as a free agent invite.

The watch is on for goaltender Torrie Jung who will wait to hear from Tampa Bay as to whether they'll send him to Norfolk (AHL) or more importantly, offer a contract. If not, Jung returns to the draft where he most certainly will get re-drafted.

Eberle Assist In First Game & Oil Kings Reflect On Season

Just watching the Springfield Falcons take on the Worcester Sharks right now on the NHL network. There aren't a ton of reasons to want to watch the struggling Falcons right now, but Jordan Eberle is one. So far so good for the 2008 first rounder of the Oilers as he helped set up Ryan Potulny in the first period. It was Potulny's 31st goal and Eberle's first pro point. Currently it's 1-1 after 1. Eberle took a pass from Ryan Stone in the slot, put it towards the net where Potulny finished at the side of the cage.

Guy and I were down at Rexall place today as the Oil Kings met with the media one final time. I was working for Global Guy was there for TPS and the TEAM 1260. Here are some of my thoughts and here is the link to hear all the one-on-ones from the morning.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Mark Pysyk in 2 years and even next season. The guy played more than 20 minutes a game as a 16 year old, steadied the blue line and ran the power play. Very similar to Dion Phaneuf at that age with Red Deer.

Contrary to popular belief, the Kings did win a playoff game. They beat PA to get into the post season. That, combined with their 4 game lesson from the Hitmen should make the club better prepared for next season.

Remember Brenden Dowd, Jeff Lee and Brandon Lockerby next year if the Kings have a good playoff run. They are this year's 3 - 20 year olds that ended their WHL careers Wednesday night, but helped build a winning tradition in Edmonton this year.

Speaking of 20 year olds, the Kings are hoping they have one in net next season. Torrie Jung told me he expects any contract talks with Tampa to begin after the NHL season. The best case scenario for Edmonton is that Jung signs with the bolts and they return him for his overage season with Edmonton. If the Lightning don't sign him, why not the Oilers. They can keep a watch on him and after next year, Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk should be ready to mind the twine with the big club and Jung could slide into the AHL spot.

A number of guys took advantage of increased playing time because of the many injuries suffered by the Kings this year. Kieren Friesen, Tyler Hlookoff, Michael Burns, Henrik Tervonen and even midget call up Travis Ewanyk from St. Albert gained valuable experience.

Rocky Thompson's contract is up after this year, and Steve Pleau is in the option year of his, expect them both to be back behind the bench when the season starts next year.

What to expect next year? Michael St. Croix will be looked to for offence, even though he'll only be 16. His midget team won the Manitoba AAA League playoffs this year, with St. Croix putting up 20 points in 8 games. Watch for him at the Telus Cup this year. Fellow Oil Kings draft pick Devin Ballness had 34 penalty minutes in 10 games with the Eastman Selects during the same post season run. Watch for St. Croix at the Canadian Midget championship starting April 20th in Selkirk, Manitoba. TSN will air the final game on April 26th at 5 PM mountain time.

Wednesday Re-Set

Thanks to the weather in Edmonton yesterday, it might have been the smallest crowd at an Oil Kings game I've seen since thier re-birth. It was announced at 3382 but if there were more than 1000 people there I'd be surprised.

Small crowd for the Oil kings but it was definitely the biggest crowd The Pipeline Show has ever had as Dean and I were on location for the first time in our 4 season run.

Hitting the air from the bowels of Rexall Place enabled us to get some postgame interviews so we took advantage of that bu grabbing injured forward Tomas Vincour. We spoke with the Czech forward about his current season, the upcoming NHL draft and also the 2009 World Junior Championship for which he's likely to play a key role on his national team.

Forward Jeff Lee had the Gordie Howe hat-trick last night and was named first star. We spoke with him about the Oil Kings season, the playoff hunt, his transition from the NCAA to the WHL and a lot more.

Head coach Steve Pleau also stopped by and we had a pretty good discussion about his team and their growth from last year, some key players and where he sees the club in a couple of eyars from now.

From there we changed gears and dove into our World Junior coverage as December is largely WJC Month on TPS.

We wanted to take a closer look at the American entry so called up one of our key NCAA contributors, Jim Connolly from USCHO.com and he gave us the rundown on Team USA. We spoke about the omissions of guys like John Carlson, Nick Petrecki and Colin Long but also on the list of players who did make the cut.

Jim also spoke at length about Air Force and the bum rap they've gotten in the National Polls this season. Conference realignment also came up.

Of course we played Bad Ass Trivia as well.

Finally it was an extended 2-part interview with one of our favorite guests. Peter Loubardias from Rogers Sportsnet helped us dissect Team Canada's 38-player tryout roster starting with those who didn't get an invite; Kyle Beach, Jared Cowan, Mike Murphy and Logan Couture. We ended the program with WJC podium predictions from Dean, Peter and myself.

All of those interviews are available via podcast/RSS feed so if you missed it live, click our archive.

In the next day or so Dean and I will post our 22-man Canadian rosters.

One other item... TPS told you back on November 7th that J.F. Jacques was about "6 weeks away". Yesterday, Dean updated everyone again with the news that Jacques was skating on the weekend and that the Oilers are looking expecting he'll be ready to go in January. "He's looking good" an Oiler source told Dean yesterday.