Wednesday, October 30^th, 2013

Happy Devils Night folks! Speaking of the Devils, it’s crazy to think that the New Jersey Devils will not have a first round selection at the 2014 NHL Draft (due to the Kovalchuk saga). As the standings are right now, the Devils would be drafting 6^th overall…ouch. Hoping that Stefan Matteau (the player they selected 29^th overall in 2012 instead of forfeiting the first that year) turns out to be a superstar. Unfair pressure will be placed on Matteau but that shadow will follow him around for a long time.

*

The Annual Subway Super Series is scheduled to kick off in mid-November and the CHL Leagues have started releasing their rosters.

On Tuesday, QMJHL announced their roster for the series:

Goaltenders: Sebastien Auger (SNB), Zach Fucale (HAL, Canadiens)

Defensemen: Alexis Vanier (BAC), Dillon Fournier (ROU, Blackhawks), Ryan Graves (CHA, NY Rangers), MacKenzie Weegar (HAL, Panthers), Justin Hachè (CAP, Coyotes), Samuel Morin (RIM, Flyers), Daniel Walcott (BLB)

Forwards: Anthony Mantha (VDO, Red Wings), Charles Hudon (CHI, Canadiens), Marc-Olivier Roy (BLB, Oilers), Anthony Duclair (QUE, NY Rangers), Anthony Deluca (RIM), Félix Girard (BAC, Predators), Frédérik Gauthier (RIM, Maple Leafs), Laurent Dauphin (CHI, Coyotes), Jonathan Drouin (HAL, Lightning)
William Carrier (CAP, Blues), Jeremy Gregoire (BAC, Canadiens), Daniel Audette (SHE, 2014 Eligible), Christopher Clapperton (BLB, Panthers), Émile Poirier (GAT, Flames)

And….earlier today, the OHL announced their rosters (some players will only suit up for one of the games):

Goaltenders: Matt Murray (SSM, Penguins), Daniel Altshuller (OSH, Hurricanes), Jake Paterson (SAG, Red Wings)

Defensemen: Chris Bigras (OS, Avalanche), Josh Brown (OSH, Panthers), Trevor Carrick (MISS, Hurricanes), Aaron Ekblad (BAR, 2014 Eligible), Matt Finn (GUE, Maple Leafs), Darnell Nurse (SSM, Oilers), Adam Pelech (ERIE, NY Islanders), Slater Koekkoek (WSR, Lightning)

Forwards: Josh Anderson (LDN, Blue Jackets), Nick Baptiste (SBY, Sabres), Sam Bennett (KGN, 2014 Eligible), Connor Brown (ERIE, Maple Leafs), Matthew Campagna (SBY), Michael Dal Colle (OSH, 2014 Eligible), Max Domi (LDN, Coyotes), Brendan Gaunce (BELV, Canucks), Bo Horvat (LDN, Canucks), Scott Kosmachuk (GUE, Jets), Scott Laughton (OSH, Flyers), Connor McDavid (ERIE, 2015 Eligible), Brock McGinn (GUE, Hurricanes), Zach Nastasiuk (OS, Red Wings), Ryan Rupert (LDN, Maple Leafs), Kerby Rychel (WSR, Blue Jackets), Chris Tierney (LDN, Sharks), Carter Verhaeghe (NIA, Maple Leafs)

{source}
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p><a href=”https://twitter.com/search?q=%23OHL&src=hash”>#OHL</a> loves their London <a href=”https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Knights&src=hash”>#Knights</a> 5 named to Subway <a href=”https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SuperSeries&src=hash”>#SuperSeries</a>: Horvat, Domi, Tierney, Anderson & Ryan Rupert. Most of any team</p>— Brendan Ross (@RossyYoungblood) <a href=”https://twitter.com/RossyYoungblood/statuses/395556766970544128″>October 30, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
{/source}

*

Carolina Hurricanes’ 2^nd round selection in 2012, Brock McGinn, was named OHL Player of the Week after scoring five goals and eight points in three games last week with the Guelph Storm. Brock is the younger brother of Jamie McGinn (Avalanche) and Tye McGinn (Flyers).

Noteworthy, Nikolay Goldobin notched two goals and eight points in his trio of weekly games with the Sarnia Sting. Goldobin is a potential first round selection for the upcoming 2014 NHL Draft and an absolute wizard with the puck.

Speaking of Hurricanes’ prospects in the OHL, Sergey Tolchinsky of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds was held pointless in back-to-back games for the first time this season. Tolchinsky, an incredible breakout player this season (dating back to his outstanding summer auditions at Canes camp), has been lights out posting 26 points in his first 14 games placing him 7th in OHL scoring.

*

Bookmark Dominic Tiano’s writers page over at OHLWriters.com if you are a fan of the Ontario Hockey League. Each week, Tiano lists his Three Stars of the Week for OHL Draft Eligibles as well as updates the running statistics of NHL Draft eligible players from the OHL.

Sarnia Sting defenseman Anthony DeAngelo is off to a blazing start leading not only the draft eligible defensemen in scoring but all defensemen with 21 points in 14 games. Is closest draft counterpart is the Barrie Colts Aaron Ekblad with 13 points. That puts DeAngelo on pace for a 102 point season. To put that into perspective, Jordan Subban led draft eligible defenseman in scoring last season with 51 points. In 2011-2012 it was Cody Ceci with 60 points. The only defenseman to break the 100 point mark in the new millennium, draft eligible or otherwise, was Ryan Ellis when he posted 101 points.

*

With my travels around the OHL rinks last week, I wanted to comment on a few players that I caught in action. Flyers’ 2012 1^st round selection Scott Laughton is a treat to watch. Tenascious on the puck and his ability to unleash a shot instantly with unreal velocity is second to none in the OHL. Laughton has done an admirable job returning to the OHL and making the players around him better, when (in all honesty) he belongs in the professional leagues. As the OHL season unfolds, Laughton is a player to watch as the Generals could choose to trade him to a “true contender” …but it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion, especially since the Oshawa has been one of the Eastern Conferences’ better teams.

Sean Day, our 2013 exceptional player, had a rough outing versus the Generals last Friday evening, as I watched him make several costly turnovers leading to ‘Grade A’ scoring chances. Day hasn’t found his groove yet at the OHL level as he continues to try to find a comfort level to suit his puck rushing game.  Luckily for Day, Spencer Martin (Avalanche) was there to bail him out each and every time. Martin was my favourite OHL goaltender heading into the 2013 NHL Draft and he certainly didn’t disappoint me last week earning his first career OHL Shutout (tough to do on this Steelheads squad the past few seasons). Stud in the making.

Other higer profiled trade candidates to keep tabs on are: Brendan Gaunce (Belleville/Canucks), Radek Faksa (Kitchener/Stars), Matia Marcantuoni (Kitchener/Penguins)

With many Penguins fans up and down with their long-term feelings of Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh has to be pleasantly pleased with Matt Murray (Soo Greyhounds) early in the season boasting the OHL’s top GAA (1.98) and save percentage (.934), alongside two shutouts (a share of the league lead).

*

With Sean Monahan (Flames), Olli Maatta (Penguins), Mathew Dumba (Wild), Nikita Zadorov (Sabres), Elias Lindholm (Hurricanes), among others remaining with their NHL clubs, it is going to be fascinating to see if/when these players are granted releases to compete on their respected 2014 World Junior Championship teams.  Unlike previous years, I do think that some of these players will be granted permission to go compete and it bodes well for the overall competition.

Chris Peters takes a look at some of the American options for the 2014 World Junior Roster – among them are Jon Gillies (CGY), Anthony Stolarz (PHI), Ryan Hartman (CHI), Brady Skjei (NYR), Hudson Fasching (LAK), JT Compher (BUF), Riley Barber (WSH)Tyler Motte (CHI), Ian McCoshen (FLA), Vince Hinostroza (CHI), Anthony DeAngelo (2014), Nic Kerdiles (ANA), Andrew Copp (WPG), Thatcher Demko (2014), Taylor Cammarata (NYI), Danny O’Regan (SJS) and Michael McCarron (MTL).

*

On some NHL rookies:

Morgan Rielly (TOR) hasn’t looked out of place on the Leafs blueline and I definitely think that the team made the right decision keeping him up with the big club. It was dissappointing to see Morgan Rielly his first NHL career goal versus the Oilers Tuesday night (a nice one at that) only for it to be taken away because it grazed Kadri’s jersey. His goal will come.

Tomas Hertl (SJS) is boosting a 22% shooting percentage and sits tied for 6th in NHL goals with eight on the young season. Can he keep it up? No, he wont. However, I don’t see Hertl falling too much in the statistical production. He continues to get good minutes playing alongside Thornton and he’s a player who has developed his pro-game prior to coming to the NHL. I expect him to clear end up in the 55-60 point range come season end.

Mark Arcobello (EDM) and his 10 assists are good for 4th in the NHL. I didn’t know much about Arcobello prior to this season but the undersized forward is certainly taking advantage of his time with Gagner out of the lineup. Speaking of which, Gagner is back and Arcobello was bumped off of the Hemsky-Perron line down to Ben Eager and Boyd Gordon line. You can figure out what that means…

Alex Chiasson (DAL) is scoreless in three games now after continuing his remarkable goal streak dating back to last season. I watched Chiasson versus the Canadiens last night and he was among Dallas’ most impressive players. He’s got the size and shot to become a real scoring threat at this level so I would treat him as a legit player moving forward. Opportunity is on his side as well.

Michael Bournival (MTL) is off to a hot start as a rookie too posting seven points in 10 games as he slowly creeps his way up the lineup. He’s a player with tremendous work ethic and a real nose for the net. It’s these types of young players that often find themselves earning valuable ice time after gaining the coach’s trust. He skated on a line with Plekanec and Gionta (at both even strength and on the powerplay). With the young line of Galchenyuk-Eller-Gallagher drawing the opposition’s top defensive pairings, it has provided Plekanec and his linemates (Bournival) with extra time and space. Bonus

If you haven’t browsed DobberProspects’ Organizational Rankings, be sure to check it out. The rankings are listed on the main site along the left-hand column.

Mark Jankowski (Flames) scores a beauty:

{youtube}BnfF8XBfHWo{/youtube}

Morgan Rielly talks about his game October 29th

{youtube}LyGSoJD-mcw{/youtube}

Thanks for Reading,

@RossyYoungblood