

St. Croix is an interesting player and one that I get varying degrees of praise for when I poll the scouting community. Everyone seems to agree that his vision and puck control are terrific, few who have watched him would be able to disagree. However, many wonder if St. Croix will be one of those guys who is a star at the junior level but fails to make the NHL. See Peter Sarno for example.
"I don't know what he is at the next level," one scout explained to me during Wednesday night's game between Edmonton and Saskatoon. "He's not strong enough to be a checker and I don't know if he's fast or big enough to be a top-6 guy. So what is he?"
There is no question that he's going to get drafted but there seems to be a wide discrepancy on what round that might happen in. Personally I think he's a mid-2nd rounder, 45th overall give or take a few spots. Yet again, some I've spoken with like him more than that while others have said they'd be more comfortable waiting for him until the 3rd round.
NHL Central Scouting has him currently ranked 36th in North America.
Teammate Travis Ewanyk is a much easier read for scouts - he's being projected as a character, 2-way checker that will play a physical game and contribute points. The St. Albert product is 70th for Central Scouting but I get the sense that he's a "safer pick" than St. Croix who is viewed as more boom/bust.
"The Wrucking Ball"

There's a better chance he won't get drafted but ends up getting calls from NHL clubs with an invite to their summer camp. Sometimes that ends up being better than getting drafted, just ask J.P Anderson.
When he scores, the in-rink announcer credits the goal to "The Wrucking Ball, Dylan Wruck". I asked him if he likes the moniker: "It could be worse," he said, "I've heard it before, when I was younger they used to call me that too so... it's OK I guess."
The Lowe-down
Keegan Lowe has seen his stock ride the roller coaster this year. Back in the summer there were people who looked to him as a 2nd-3rd round guy, I think due in large part to his final month in Edmonton last year (truly terrific) and his participation with Team USA at the Ivan Hlinka tournament.

Lowe looks much more confident these days. He's scored twice in January, his only two goals of the year, and he made a 70ft pass last weekend that was hard and on the tape. He's been physical but hasn't, in my opinion, been as undisciplined lately as I have seen him earlier this season.
He's ranked 151st by Central Scouting which would put him somewhere around the 6th round. I won't be surprised if he gets taken before that, especially if his play continues on the same curve it's been on for the last two months.
- Jordan Hickmott won't get drafted but don't be surprised if he gets and invite to a NHL camp. For me, he's got CIS written all over him (and that's not a bad thing!), but one scout I spoke with said he could easily see him getting the call from a team this summer, at least to come to camp for a closer look. Hickmott has 21 goals and 46 points through 48 games this year.

- 2011 looks good for the Oil Kings but they are going to get a ton of scouting action next year. The scouts are already in awe of what Griffin Reinhart can do and there is every reason to believe, at this point, that he could be the club's first bona fide top-10 NHL draft caliber prospect. "He's a stud," one scout told me, "and I think that's an overused term but... this kid really is a stud."

- The Oil Kings are sitting in 6th in the Eastern Conference and that's exactly where they deserve to be. Their combined record against the 5 teams ahead of them (Saskatoon, Medicine Hat, Moose Jaw, Red Deer and Kootenay) is a dismal 2-15. They've been close in many of those contests, all 6 losses to Kootenay were 1-goal games in the third period. Recent losses to the Tigers featured a lengthy shootout and Wednesday was a 4-3 loss to the WHL's #1 team in Saskatoon. They are competitive but just cannot buy a win against the top clubs... and that's why they deserve to be where they are.
- They are 1-2 against Red Deer though, with 3 more games to go this season including tonight's tilt at the ENMAX Centrium. Unfortunately, the Rebels are red hot and are riding a 9-game winning streak.
(Photos: Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings, USA Hockey)
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