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.

Kuhnhackl Gets 20 Games

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The Ontario Hockey League continued it's trend of laying down the law today when it suspended Niagra Ice Dogs forward Tom Kuhnhackl 20 games for his hit on Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ryan Murphy.



I'm not sure anyone can argue it's too long...but is it too short?

Huberdeau, Murphy Out: Hockey Canada Has To Be Concerned

On Saturday we spoke to Kitchener Rangers colour man Mike Farwell briefly about the hit Rangers defenceman Ryan Murphy took courtesy of Niagra's Tom Khunackl.

Back to Junior: Strome, Saad & Murphy

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3 OHL skaters were returned to their junior teams in the past couple of days allowing fans, players and coaches alike in Niagara, Kitchener and Saginaw exhale.

Head To Head: Beaulieu Vs. Murphy

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The NHL draft is fast approaching and we’ve put together some head to head match ups featuring 20 different prospects. We’ve consulted 10 scouts from 10 different organizations to get their opinions in 5 different categories and ultimately, who they would take if they had the final say.

Enjoy these and tune into The Pipeline Show on Saturday June 25th from 10-Noon MST for a complete, in-depth recap of round one and coverage of day 2.

For now here’s H2H: Nathan Beaulieu Vs. Ryan Murphy

Tuesday Night In the Prospect World

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Tonight we had a 5 pack of guests and were heavily focused on the 2011 NHL draft as we will be from now until late June. We also spoke to the first ever head coach of Penn State's Division I hockey team and discussed how a head coach with a winning percentage of .414 gets promoted to the General Manager position.

Canada's U18 team gives us peak into 2012

Canada released it's U18 roster that will try and win gold at the World Championship later this month. The club got together in Toronto today this and leave for Germany Thursday with 7 players who aren't eligible until the 2012 draft.

The full roster can be found here.

Hockey Canada Head Scout Kevin Prendergast told us on Saturday that there could be as many as four 2012 blueliners on the team and he lived up to his prediction. Morgan Rielly (as reported on this blog Tuesday) of Moose Jaw, Slater Koekkoek of Peterborough, Cody Ceci of Ottawa and Ryan Murray of Everett are the 4 youngsters that will patrol the blueline.

Malcolm Subban who minded the twine for Belleville this year is the likely starter, and he is also a 2012 draft eligible goaltender. Up front Charles Simard-Hudon of Chicoutimi is the lone 16 year old forward.

There are 14 OHL, 2 QMJHL and 6 WHL players, which might surprise some with a WHL head coach, but with this team it's all about availability as so many teams are still involved in CHL playoffs.

I would expect Ryan Murray, who played and captained this team last year as an underaged player to wear the C again. Ryan Murphy and Mark McNeill are good choices in my opinion as assistant captains.

Canada will be trying to improve on last year's 7th place finish.

Frozen Four Coaches Show and Inside the CHL

Tonight we previewed the NCAA Hockey Championship taking place in Minnesota this weekend. That's where Guy is now, and we also went inside the CHL with our Insider Sam Cosentino.

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.

Eastern Canada meet RNH

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Ryan Nugent-Hopkins didn't get a chance on the world stage in Buffalo, but took advantage of a national audience tonight in the CHL/NHL Home Hardware Top Prospects game.

Top 5 Tuesdays: Surprises on 2011 Ranking

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It's the first release of the year from NHL Central Scouting and as such, the 3 CHL leagues are ranked separately as is the NCAA, USHL and European countries. Most scouts have limited viewings for players outside of their immediate areas so we often see a lot of movement from this listing to the Mid-terms.

Tonight on TPS we'll speak with E.J. McGuire, who admittedly has not seen the WHL yet, about the Central Scouting rankings.

Until then, here are 5 things that jumped out to Dean and I this morning...

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.