Rookie Watch: Toronto Maple Leafs

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Each day until September 15th TPS will take a look at one team from the East and one club from the West and spotlight a few rookies to watch for this season. This afternoon we explore the potential first year guys for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Saturday Morning Special - July 30th

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We officially wrapped up Season 6 this morning without a lot of fanfare or celebration, we just had a kick ass show instead. I was flying solo today with Deano off to Calgary for a friend's wedding so I had to call in some heavy hitters to carry the load for me. We covered the U18 and U20 Canada camps with a scout and a participant, we touched on the CHL/NCAA border war and then welcomed a pair of players into the studio for the second half of the show.

TPS Saturday - In Studio Guests

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This Saturday Dean is on vacation so I've recruited a couple of guys to come in studio in his place. I'll be joined by a pair of Edmonton-area players who are still around this summer before they head back to their teams. Both are players who chose the NCAA path as the right one for them, one is still in school while the other is now a second year pro.

Falcons Getting More Help

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With the college signings of Jeff Petry, Matt Beca and Eddie DelGrosso plus the tryouts given to defender Tony DeHart (Oshawa Generals) and forward Jesse Gimblett (Alberta Golden Bears), the Springfield Falcons look a lot different then they did a couple of weeks ago. That appearance will continue to change as more help is on the way including someone to play between the pipes.

As more CHL teams drop by the wayside in their playoffs and NCAA players weigh their options, the list of possible recruits grows.

NCAA/CHL Free Agent Goalie Wishlist

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Following my wishlist of forwards and blueliners, here are the goalies that interest me enough that I hope to see get consideration for an invite to summer camp here in Edmonton. Some of these guys are still eligible to get drafted at the end of June but all of them have been passed over at least once already.

Dean and I were talking a while back about save percentage and trying to compare it to goal scoring. What number would be equal in value to a team as say a 50-goal scorer? There were only 5 goalies in the NHL this year with a save percentage of .920 or greater. There was only one 50-goal scorer but there were eight who had 40 or more. So just for arguments sake... can we make a case for saying a goalie with a .920 save percentage is relatively as valuable as a 45-goal scorer?

Maybe, maybe not. Worth talking about.

Ben Scrivens - Cornell University Big Red
Born Sep 11, 1986 Spruce Grove, ALTA
Height 6.02 Weight 180 Shoots L

The jury is very much mixed on exactly how good Scrivens is; is he a product of an uber-defensive system of a team that plays in a relatively weak conference or is he as good as his numbers suggest? And really, that's the point of the invite. I spoke with a scout a couple months back and asked him that exact question and his answer was

"Without a doubt, he's a product of... maybe I'm wrong but I don't think so. He has made improvements in his game since last year, especially in his movement in the crease."

Scrivens posted the .931 save percentage in 36 games, 4th highest in the entire NCAA. This after a .930 in 2007-08 and a .911 in 2006-07. His 1.81 goals against average was another career best and ranked 3rd best in the NCAA. At 6'2 and 180 lbs his size is an asset and the fact that he's a local kid might have some intangible positive spin possibilities as well. He's headed back for his senior year so will be a UFA this time next season.

Zane Kalemba - Princeton Tigers
Born Dec 19, 1985 Saddle Brook, NJ
Height 5.11 Weight 185 Shoots L

The New Jersey product has bounced around in his amateur career with stops in Tri-City and Green Bay of the USHL followed by a year in the SJHL's Flin Flon Bombers. He's had two strong years at Princeton under head coach Guy Gadowsky. Kalemba's 1.82 GAA was right behind Scrivens but his .932 sv% was a hair better. Like Scrivens, Kalemba's team is also located in the ECAC Conference where there is a distinct difference between the strong and weak hockey programs.

I have only seen Kalemba play once and it was on TV so not the best way to get a scouting read. At 5'11 and 185 lbs he doesn't have the natural size advantage that are becoming the norm in the NHL but he appears to be athletic enough, like Dustin Tokarski, that he should be given an extra look.

Kieran Millan - Boston University
Born Aug 31, 1989 Edmonton, ALTA
Height 6.00 Weight 190 Shoots L

Near the top of my list would be the freshman sensation of the NCAA Champion B.U. Terriers. We've had Millan on the show before and he struck us as a mature and realistic young man. His play on the ice this past year, his first at the NCAA level, was obviously terrific as he helped the Terriers capture the national title. Coach Jack Parker told us during our Memorial Cup Coach's Show about how key a player he was on and off of the ice.

Millan's numbers are solid and considering the fact that Hockey East was arguably the best of the 6 NCAA conferences last year, the stats should mean even more. Millan posted a 1.93 GAA in 35 games and had a .925 save percentage to go with it. He held the opposition to 1 or fewer goals in 15 of those games including a shutout over UMass-Lowell in the Hockey East title game.

His AJHL days with Spruce Grove were less impressive but after working with ORSports later in the year he turned his game around and hasn't looked back since.

Aaron Sorochan - Alberta Golden Bears
Born Apr 17, 1984 Edmonton, ALTA
Height 6.00 Weight 180 Shoots L

Back in March I mentioned a bunch of Golden Bears past and present that I'd like the Oilers to look at next year, especially if former UofA coach Rob Daum is back at the helm of the Springfield Falcons and goalie Aaron Sorochan was obviously one of them. (I neglected to mention Ben Kilgour and Ian MacDonald again for the forwards wishlist but they'd still be on it).

Robin Brownlee typed up a nice outline of Sorochan recently for Oilers Nation so rather than me re-hashing what he said there or what we've written in the past about him here, suffice to say that I think he's deserving of another look.

One NHL scout told me after one of the Golden Bears' National Title wins that it was going to be an off-season priority for him to get his NHL team to invite both Sorochan and Ben Thomson to their next camp. Unfortunately that scout was not retained by that NHL club. Regardless, the interest from NHL teams has been there in the past and should be even more now that Sorochan in done his CIS career.

Torrie Jung - Edmonton Oil Kings
Born Jan 21, 1989 Nanaimo, BC
Height 6.01 Weight 170 Shoots L

At the moment Jung's NHL rights are held by the Tampa Bay Lightning but if they don't sign him by June 1st, he'll go back into the draft. If that happens, I will be very surprised if another team doesn't take him but... if that also happens then he will become a UFA and therefore up for grabs.

Jung had the 7th best GAA and the 5th best SV% on a team that finished just well enough to make the playoffs (thanks to him) and still bad enough to have a top-10 pick in the Bantam Draft. Jung was the biggest reason for the turn around the Oil Kings had this year and if that club actually gets him back for an overage year... well just making the playoffs won't be enough.

He's a quick and agile goalie but is pretty good positionally as well. His personality is terrific and his attitude is first class. He'd be a great addition to any organization and if he can duplicate last year's success as a 20-year-old then he'll definitely be worth signing.

Nicola Riopel - Moncton Wildcats
Born Feb 20, 1989 St-Pie-de-Bagot, PQ
Height 6.00 Weight 167 Shoots L

I honestly know nothing about Riopel except that his numbers this year were very strong, he's undrafted and yet he was the QMJHL's nominee for CHL Player of the Year. He backstopped Moncton to the third best record in the regular season but individually he was on top of the league for both GAA (2.01) and SV% (.931).

He's of average if not slight below average size but in a league that often sees ridiculous scores, giving up just a pair is pretty respectable. The next best GAA in the league was 2.37 so there was quite a bit of separation for him from the field.

He also represented the QMJHL in the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge in 2007-08, was an all-star in 2009 and picked up several Player-of-the-Week awards over his 3-year Q career in with the Wildcats.

(Photo credits: USCHO.com, QMJHL, WHL, Edmonton Oil Kings, University of Alberta)

Wednesday Reset: JFJ Recalled

It was a pretty interesting show last night with Junior, NCAA, and the AHL covered with our guest list.


Before I get to that, the Oilers announced today that forward J.F. Jacques has been recalled from his conditioning stint with Springfield. JFJ had back surgery in the off season and in 8 games with the Falcons had 6 points, 1 power play goal, was even with 13 penalty minutes. He'll join the team in Dallas, but likely won't play tonight.

As for last night, Guy and I started out the program by discussing why the Falcons were Flunking, although they did pull out a big win last night, more on that in a bit. We then moved onto the play of Theo Peckham and Ladislav Smid, 2 Oilers D-men who are picking up some slack with Lubomir Visnovsky and Denis Grebeshkov out right now. We spoke about some troubling stuff with Montreal right now, sending a player to the AHL, leaving another at home and what might fix Carey Price's problems right now. Here's a hint, he helped Mathieu Garon quite a bit in the past. Lot's of other topics discussed in the opening segment including Guy's Flaming Hot/Not and my fantasy prospect pick up of the week.

After that, we moved south to Cornell University where we spoke with Spruce Grove product Ben Scrivens. The pipeman told The Pipeline Show what it's been like playing for the Big Red, with Riley Nash and being up for the Hobey Baker Award.

From Cornell, we took a trip to London courtesy of D-man John Carlson. The big, physical blueliner is a Knight after backing away from UMASS this off season. He told us why, and just how sick London's power play is right now. At first I thought Carlson was a Sheldon Souray type player, but the more I watch the Washington Capitals 2008 first round pick, the more I think he's a Dion Phaneuf kind of guy, in that he's fairly mobile and likes to sneak down low on the power play. The Caps might have a steal getting Carlson 27th overall.

Bad Ass Trivia brought us more YoungBlood fans, as Gus took home the T-shirt, while Cole couldn't close the deal on the Mustang gear.

We dove back into the OHL with our 2009 Draft Prospect Performer of the Week. Ethan Werek of the Kingston Frontenacs was our guest. Werek who represented Canada in last year's World Junior A Challenge told us why he chose Kingston over Boston University, after committing to the Terriers. We also spoke to Werek about the upcoming draft and playing for Doug Gilmour. Has anyone asked Killer for his autograph and do they call him Coach Killer?

Finally we welcomed back to TPS Oilers 2005 2nd round pick Taylor Chorney, who was fresh off a 6-3 win over Portland. Choreny scored in the contest and the Falcons actually outshot a team in getting Rob Daum his first win behind the bench. Chorney's goal gives him 4 on the season, a year that fans have focused on his bloated minus number. The former Fighting Sioux rearguard talked openly about why he is a -20 right now and how tough the adjustment has been going from college to the AHL. Chorney told us about trying to be patient when it comes to call ups and who he's played with this year.

All in all it was an interesting show, and as Guy likes to say, if you missed it live, click the archive at thepipelineshow.com.

Top 5 Tuesdays: NCAA Goalies You Don't Know

It might be because they are as yet undrafted by a NHL team or perhaps they don't play for a NCAA program that gets a lot of recognition but there are a bunch of terrific goalies up for grabs playing south of the border. The NCAA hockey circuit doesn't get much attention here in Canada even though a large percentage of the players come from this country. Consider this a personal interest list - they might not be the "best" 5 goalies in the NCAA but these are the ones that are making me check in on them every weekend out of personal curiosity.

5. Andrew Volkening - Air Force

My man-crush on Andrew Volkening began last spring as I tuned into the ridiculously entertaining game between Air Force and Miami in the opening round of the National Tournament. The RedHawks went on to win that one in overtime but the fact that the upstart Eagles nearly bounced a true contender like Miami was remarkable and it was largely due to the stellar play of their netminder. Listening to the game online it sounded like Volkening was 'in the zone' but you be the judge:



Unfortunately the future for Volkening (and the rest of the Air Force squad) won't likely include hockey. I spoke with a pair of NHL scouts just a couple of days ago and asked about guys like Volkening and his teammate Jacques Lamoureux who has been near the top of NCAA scoring all year. The guys I talked to said there is no point scouting them because for them to get their release from the Air Force they have to prove how their playing pro hockey would better serve the military than their wearing the uniform in the field. It's only happened twice and never for a hockey player (David "The Admiral" Robinson left the Navy to play NBA and a football player did the same - someone else can remind me who).

4. Kieran Millan - Boston University Terriers

I'm not going to lie... I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I had no idea Kieran Millan was from Edmonton until I clicked on his bio. I found it really interesting that BU, a perennial force in Hockey East, was going with a pair of freshmen this year so I've been following their progress with interest. The Terriers are currently second in the HE standings right now but oddly enough are ranked #2 in the entire NCAA.

Millan is playing about two thirds of the games for BU and has a 1.63 GAA and .928 sv% in his 14 games and was named Goalie of the Month for the conference. Those are pretty strong numbers for a guy in his rookie collegiate year. Millan joined the Terriers after spending two seasons with the Spruce Grove Saints of the AJHL, further adding to my red-face considering I really should have clued in that they were the same guy. He was an AJHL All-Star and Rookie of the Year so it's not like he was going under the radar. Well, just mine apparently... but not anymore.

3. Jordan Pearce - Notre Dame Fighting Irish

He had to bide his time while David Brown played out his eligibility but once he got his chance to shine, Jordan Pearce has grabbed the reins and run with it. The native Alaskan has picked up a ton of awards and accolades during his tenure with the Irish but somehow has not gotten the attention of the NHL - yet. I find it pretty hard to believe that a second fantastic season won't end with him signing a pro contract with someone at the conclusion of the NCAA schedule this spring.

The Irish were runners up for the National Championship last season and are currently ranked #1 in the country so he's definitely not going under the radar this year. Still, Pearce has strung together a 18-3-3 record this year with a 1.55 GAA and .936 sv% all while playing in a very competitive CCHA conference. The Irish won't be the surprising underdogs this time around but they'll still be fighting for another shot at the National title.

2. Bryan Hogan - Michigan Wolverines

One thing I've learned since I got into the hockey prospects biz is that in college, politics are huge. The pecking order for ice time begins with the seniors and trickles down to the freshmen unless we're talking about standout players. You have to expect James vanRiemsdyk or Kyle Turris to get their fair share of shifts but if you're an incoming role player... don't expect to play much.

With that in mind, the fact that sophomore Bryan Hogan is the go-to guy now at Michigan is MASSIVE considering Billy Sauer, a drafted senior (COL), has been the starter for the last 3 years. Hogan is undrafted despite a decent USHL career with Lincoln but you have to think he's going to get some attention now. He just turned 20-years-old so he's not an aged collegian with inflated numbers playing against players mostly younger than he is. His 1.83 GAA and .920 sv% are main reasons for his 13-2 record not to mention Michigan's top 10 ranking in the polls.

1. Ben Scrivens - Cornell Big Red

Topping my personal interest list is a local product who is getting recognition from those who like to project Hobey Baker contenders. Scrivens hails from Spruce Grove and played a year in the AJHL for the Calgary Canucks before heading to Cornell and the Big Red. He only got into 12 games as a freshman in 2006-07 and had a losing record but last year Scrivens (and Cornell) bounced back in a big way. Scrivens had a .603 winning percentage and a 2.02 GAA as a starter with 35 games under his belt.

This year Scrivens has taken his game to another level. He leads the NCAA with a stellar 1.17 GAA, a .956 sv%, 5 shutouts and a 13-1-1 record. His only loss came against North Dakota and it's still the only game of the year where he hasn't held the opposition to 2 or fewer goals. Some will argue that Scrivens is a product of an uber-defensive system at Cornell who plays in a ECAC Conference that doesn't get as much respect as a hockey power as the CCHA, WCHA or HE. However, it's worth noting that Scrivens has face 25 or more shots in 10 of 17 games and more than 30 in 4 of those. It's also interesting to point our that Scrivens has shutouts against Princeton, who directed 43 shots at him, and Niagara who hit him 31 times.

I don't think Scrivens will get drafted this summer but that's only because I expect some NHL team out there that needs a goalie in their system will step up in April and sign him. I haven't talked to anyone in Cornell about it so this is just speculation on my part but I could see Scrivens (now 22-years-old) leaving Cornell at the end of the year and not returning for his senior season.

School Wrap Sunday

Here is what the USCHO.com/CBS Sports poll sat at heading into the weekend's games.

1 Notre Dame
2 Boston University
3 Minnesota
4 Northeastern
5 Denver
6 Miami
7 Princeton
8 Cornell
9 Boston College
10 Colorado College
10 Michigan
12 Vermont
13 New Hampshire
14 Air Force
15 Dartmouth
16 Ohio State
17 Wisconsin
18 Nebraska-Omaha
19 Alaska
20 Minnesota-Duluth

One key series featured #9 Boston College taking on #12 Vermont where the Catamounts came away with 3 of 4 possible points against their Hockey East rivals. They two teams skated to a 3-3 tie on Friday but Vermont came back from a two goal deficit to win 4-2.

Also in Hockey East, the #2 ranked Terriers of Boston University extended their unbeaten streak to 8 games with a 4-1 win over Maine. The Terriers will take on Providence on Tuesday night. BU has rattled off 5 consecutive wins including a big one on the road a week ago against the Denver Pioneers.

Unfortunatly for BU fans their hot streak won't push them to the #1 ranking because the Fighting Irish continue to play fantastic hockey. #1 ranked Notre Dame welcomed #19 Alaska (Fairbanks) to town and promptly shut them out in back-to-back games by 2-0 and 3-0 scores. Irish netminder Jordan Pearce stopped a combined 38 shots from the Nanooks.

In a series that was available for viewing in Canada, Michigan trounced the Miami Redhawks 5-1 on Saturday. Their Friday night tilt was postponed until Sunday due to "structural damage" at Yost but it didn't get any better for Miami as they were blanked 4-0.

The Wolverines story as of late is how sophomore Bryan Hogan has usurped senior Billy Sauer of the starting job for the Maize and Blue. Hogan is 13-1 this year with a .925 sv%, 1.75 GAA and now 3 shutouts. The undrafted Hogan just turned 20-years-old over the Christmas holidays.

In the biggest "upset" of the weekend, unranked North Dakota spanked the Golden Gophers of Minnesota by 6-3 and 6-1 scores. The fighting Sioux have been underachieving for much of the year but as we've seen from them over the last few years, they play much better in the second half of the schedule and seem to be repeating that again this season. Two reasons why UND is rolling is the improved production of freshmen Jason Gregoire and Brad Eidsness. Gregoire was a USHL standout and is enjoying a 4-game streak where he has 6 points. Eidsness has been victorious in 8 of his last 10 starts allowing more than 3 goals only once in that span. Expect the Sioux to get back into the top 20 when the new rankings come out on Tuesday.

The Wisconsin Badgers completed their season sweep of the Alaska-Anchorange Sea Wolves. Denver's 2-game sweep of Michigan Tech should be enough to bump them ahead of the Gophers in the ranking.

Another team who should be inching up the rankings is Cornell who swept Niagara in a non-conference series. The Big Red are getting stellar goaltending from Ben Scrivens, the 22-year-old who hails from Spruce Grove. He's also undrafted but has to be getting consideration with the way he's compiling impressive win, one after another. Some will argue that he's not seeing tough competition and there is some truth to that but consider this: he's allowed more than 2 goals only once this season yet has faced 25 or more shots nine times including a pair of +40 shot games early on.

Another reason that Cornell should move up is because of Princeton's shocking home losses to Union (3-2) and R.P.I. (5-1). The Tigers have dropped 3 of 4 in 2009 after going 14-2 from the start of the year to the Dec 30th. They are still in top spot in the ECAC standings but Cornell has 4 games in hand on the Tigers.