'Big Benn' Puts Kelowna in Final

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The Kelowna Rockets have advanced to Sunday's Memorial Cup Final after a 5-point performance from forward Jamie Benn.

Kudos to Sportsnet voice Peter Loubardias for the title of this blog entry but it sure is fitting - 4 goals and an assist for Dallas Stars prospect Jamie Benn were more than Drummondville could handle on Monday night. It's incredible to think that Benn was a 5th round draft pick considering the growth in his development over the last two years since joining the Rockets in the WHL.

Kelowna also received a 2-goal performance from Cody Almond which means the Rockets scored six times but only had two goal scorers... that's something you don't see everyday.

Benn got things going in the first period when he broke up a play in the neutral zone, went in alone and tucked the puck beneath Drummondville goalie Marco Cousineau (ANH) just before his own momentum knocked the net off its moorings. The goal was a double whammy for the Voltigeurs who had carried most of the play to that point but more so because they were on the power play.

For the next several minutes the Rockets took over the game as the goal seemed to deflate Drummondville. However, the deadliest of the Voltigeurs got going after being held off the score sheet again st Windsor on Saturday. Yannick Riendeau scored at 14:27 with a harmless looking shot from a ridiculously bad angle catching Kelowna goalie Mark Guggenberger by surprise.

Riendeau, recently signed by Boston, picked up an assist on a late goal by Marc-Olivier Vachon and the Q-league champs carried a 2-1 lead into the second period.

Almond scored his first of the game to tie the game but the Voltigeurs answered back right away and re-established their lead. Benn went back to work and scored with just over a minute left in the period which set up a great third period with both teams knotted up at 3 goals apiece. It was one of the prettiest goals on the tournament so far with Tyler Myers (BUF) starting a tic-tac-toe play as he feathered a pass to the front of the net for Colin Long (PHX) who chose not to shoot as expected but passed to Benn who snapped it in from a sharp angle.

Drummondville took the lead again for the third and final time as Vachon netted his second of the night, it was Riendeau's 4th point of the contest and 33 in his last 15 games.

Kelowna would reply on the power play with Benn picking up the hat trick. Two minutes later Benn would score a rather weak goal that put Kelowna ahead to stay. The red-hot Rocket eluded a pair of defenders then sent a hope and a prayer towards Cousineau who somehow let it slip under his left pad and into the net.

Drummondville put up a good fight at the end but even with the extra pressure Cody Almond was able to snipe another goal through a defenceman and Cousineau's legs making the final score 6-4.

Benn nearly equaled a Memorial Cup record of 5-goals in a single game when he fired the puck from his own end in the dying second only to see it clank off the iron of Drummondville's empty net.

The players of the game were pretty obvious tonight; Benn's 5 points and Riendeau's goal and three helpers in the loss showed that each team's best players were on their game. Kelowna defenceman Tyson Barrie continued his strong tournament with a 3-assist game and captain Colin Long also had 3 assists on the night.

Neither goalie was tremendously impressive to me as both allowed an absolute stinker of a goal. In the end, Kelowna outshot Drummondville 23-22, much closer than it appeared in my opinion. The Voltigeurs were better than Rimouski was on opening night, it would have been hard to have been worse, but I also didn't think Kelowna played as well either. (Outside of Benn who was obviously Jame Bond - could do nothing wrong.)

Kelowna's win vaults them directly into the Memorial Cup title game on Sunday even though they'll still play 0-2 Windsor tomorrow night.

Drummondville and Rimouski now sit a 1-1 with a head-to-head match on Wednesday.

Top 5 Overagers for 2008

Every year good players fall through the cracks and don't get drafted. Too small, didn't play enough during their draft year, not seen enough by NHL scouts, late bloomer; there are lots of reasons it happens but every year it does and then the next draft some of those guys get scooped up as overagers.

Here are some of the top guys that fit the category this year and I'm sure we missed a couple good ones so feel free to add their names in the comments section! And YES... i realize my top 5 list has 6 names on it.

Viktor Tikhonov - Severstal Cherepovets (Russia)

He was passed over in both 2006 and 2007 and a big part of the reason why is the lack of a transfer agreement with Russia. But with an outstanding performance at the 2008 WJC in the Czech Republic, the 6' Russian forward could be a priority target for some teams this time around. Like 1st round priority. He had several interviews at the NHL combine and one scout I talked to couldn't say enough good things about him including his total shock at Tikhonov's grasp on English (He's fluent with no accent). Tikhnov actually grew up in California when his dad worked for the San Jose Sharks and in fact the 20-year-old only got his Russian passport in the last few years telling the NHL scout that he's spent a lot more time in North America than he has in Russia. He played for Severstal Cherepovets this past season and had 12 points in 43 games.

Vitaly Karamnov - Everett Silvertips (WHL)

Last year there were scouting agencies that had Karamnov listed as a potential first rounder but teams stayed away because the player had expressed no desire to play in North America. Imagine the shock and dismay of those NHL teams when just two months later Karamnov turned up in the WHL playing for the Everett Silvertips! The Moscow native had 25 points in his rookie year with the 'Tips playing in a 2-way role. He was invited to training camp by the Edmonton Oilers last fall, one of the teams who had initially toyed with the idea of drafting him. Will he get picked up this year now that his intent on playing on this side of the pond is without question?

Juha Metsola - Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

Last year Central Scouting had the Finnish netminder listed as the 4th best goalie in Europe and yet no team took a chance on him. Why? He's listed at 5'10 and 165 lbs, that's why. However, this past season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes should give teams reason to reconsider his ability to play. He 1.98 GAA and .916 SV% in 23 regular season games, was named CHL Goalie of the Week twice this past season (March 3rd and April 15th). In the playoffs he got the nod from coach Mike Dyck and carried the load for the Hurricanes. His post season numbers were solid again including 3 shutouts in 18 games.

Ben Wright - Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

Originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 4th round (113th overall) in2006 but was surprisignly not signed to a contract and so re-enters the draft pool this year. Wright was named captain of the Hurricanes at the start of the year and represented his club well this past season. He had 10 points in 19 playoff games after a 38 point regular season where he boasted a plus-15 rating. He's 6'2 and a hair under 200 lbs, plays a solid 2-way game and could be compared to a guy like Steve Staios, a leader that can round out a defensive corps with dependable play in his own end and chip in some points as a bonus.

Mike Murphy - Belleville Bulls (OHL)

The OHL Goalie of the Year was a major factor why the Bulls fared as well as they did this year in getting to the Memorial Cup. Passed over in previous years because he'd never played more than 18 games in a OHL season until this year where he was stellar in 44 outings. His 2.24 GAA and .929 SV% were the best in the regular season. Head coach George Burnett told me that he had no qualms about Murphy's potential as a pro and the 5'11 keeper should be poised for a huge year in 2008-09 with the Bulls.

Colin Long - Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

Last but not least, this California product had a massive year for the Rockets finishing the year as one of only two players to break the 100-point plateau in the WHL (Nashville's Mark Santorelli won the scoring race with 101 points). Long isn't big at 5'11 and 175 lbs and of his 100 points only 31 were goals; some I have spoken to suggested to me that linemate Jamie Benn's transfer from the BCHL was the key to Long's success. However, to me that just goes to show that with a talented linemate Long has proven that he can raise his game and play that complementory game very well. Certainly worth being drafted in my opinion, the question is "how high"? Colin was recently invited to try out for Team USA in Lake Placid where they are going to build their 2009 WJC squad.

Tonight on the show we're airing the Nikita Filatov interview, you won't want to miss that one, plus we're also recapping our mock draft picks 1-25 and announcing our final 5 of round 1. If you miss it, I'll be psoting both of our lists on the blog in the next day or two.