The 2016 Rookie Tournament hosted by London will kick off September 16^th until the 18^th. It showcases four teams playing a round-robin. The four teams include Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Toronto prospects. There will be two games each day. The schedule is posted below.

 

Friday, September 16, 2016

3:35pm – GAME 1 – Pittsburgh vs Montreal

7:00pm – GAME 2 – Ottawa vs Toronto

Saturday, September 17, 2016

3:35pm – GAME 3 – Pittsburgh vs Ottawa

7:00pm – GAME 4 – Toronto vs Montreal

Sunday, September 18, 2016

1:00pm – GAME 5 – Montreal vs Ottawa

4:35pm – GAME 6 – Toronto vs Pittsburgh

 

Rookie Showcase By the Numbers

Total players on all rosters who were NHL draft picks: 60

Number of players drafted in 2016 playing in London: 11

Team with the most drafted players on their Rookie Tournament roster: Toronto, 21

Highest drafted player playing in the Tournament: Mitch Marner – TOR, 4th Overall – 2015

 

Team Breakdowns:

 

Montreal Canadiens

Forwards	Drafted		Defense	Drafted		Goaltenders	Drafted
Jeremiah Addison	2015, 207th Overall		Simon Bourque	2015, 177th Overall		Zachary Fucale	2013, 36th Overall
Daniel Audette	2014, 147th Overall		Arvid Henrikson	2016, 187th Overall		Charlie Lindgren	Undrafted
William Bitten	2016, 70th Overall		Ryan Johnston	Undrafted		Michael McNiven	Undrafted
Matthew Bradley	2015, 131st Overall		Noah Juulsen	2015, 26th Overall
Scott Eansor	Undrafted		Brett Lernout	2014, 73rd Overall
Markus Eisenschmid	Undrafted		Victor Mete	2016, 100th Overall
Giovanni Fiore	Undrafted		Thomas Parisi	Undrafted
Jeremy Gregoire	2013, 176th Overall		Mikhail Sergachev	2016, 9th Overall
Artturi Lehkonen	2013, 55th Overall		Michael Zipp	Undrafted
Michael McCarron	2013, 25th Overall
Hayden McCool	Undrafted
Petrus Palmu	Undrafted
Michael Pezzetta	2016, 160th Overall
Martin Reway*	Undrafted
Nikita Scherbak	2014, 26th Overall

 

Overview:

Martin Reway could miss the entire season with a heart issue, he was named to the propsect roster back in August, but will not be attending it this year. The Canadiens have brought most of their 2016 draft choices (four in total) to this tournament to get a feel for the bigger and better competition. Canadiens have brought a team of 27 to compete in the three games they play.

Highest Drafted Player: Mikhail Sergachev, 9th Overall, 2016

Player To Watch: Artturi Lehkonen more than doubled his point total last year from his previous year. His Frolunda coach doesn't expect him to return to Europe to play another season. Which means he will likely be on the Canadiens to start the season if he has a good prospect tournament and training camp. Watch for him to make waves in a Canadiens jersey this weekend.

Under the Radar: Victor Mete was selected 100th Overall in this past draft (2016). He fell to the fourth round due to lack of size. Mete had an excellent rookie season with Memorial Cup champs, London Knights and will look to improve his game and become a top pairing in London this coming year.

 

 

Ottawa Senators

Forwards	Drafted		Defense	Drafted		Goaltenders	Drafted
Filip Ahl	2015, 109th Overall		Chris Carlisle	Undrafted		Chris Driedger	2012, 76th Overall
Logan Brown	2016, 11th Overall;		Thomas Chabot	2015, 18th Overall		Matt O'Connor	Undrafted
Filip Chlapik	2015, 48th Overall		Cody Donaghey	Undrafted
Vincent Dunn	2013, 138th Overall		Andreas Englund	2014, 40th Overall
Anthony DiFruscia	Undrafted		Macoy Erkamps	Undrafted
Gabriel Gagne	2015, 36th Overall		Ben Harpur	2013, 108th Overall
Ryan Graham	Undrafted		Maxime Lajoie	Undrafted
Stephen Harper	Undrafted		Brady Reagan	Undrafted
Nick Paul	2013 (DAL), 101st Overall
Francis Perron	2014, 190th Overall
Jack Rodewald	Undrafted
Ryan Rupert	2012 (TOR), 157th Overall
Blake Tatchell	Undrafted

Overview:

The Senators have 12 players drafted and 11 undrafted players on their Showcase squad. They are bringing the fewest guys to the Showcase than any other team. Thomas Chabot was sat down at the end of Ottawa's prospect camp earlier this summer and told he was average at best, assistant GM Randy Lee was hoping for more intensity and thought Chabot was going to be a whole lot better than he was. We will have to wait and see if the message was heard loud and clear.

Highest Drafted Player: Logan Brown, 11th Overall, 2016

Player To Watch: Brown will be very excited to get to work and try to make the Senators this season, he is likely headed back to junior to play in the Memorial Cup, the Windsor Spitfire will be hosting this year's Memorial Cup. That added experience will do wonders for Brown's experience. In Windsor he will be the number one center logging a ton of ice time.

Under the Radar: Francis Perron had a very good year leading the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to the finals of the Memorial Cup, lossing in overtime to the London Knights. Perron has flown under the radar due to the QMJHL factor. Not a lot of people get a chance to watch games, the only National spotlight he had was during the Memorial Cup. Perron won the Guy Lafleur Trophy (QMJHL MVP), scoring 33 points in 18 playoff games.

 

 

Pittsburgh Penguins

Forwards	Drafted		Defense	Drafted		Goaltenders	Drafted
Josh Archibald	2011, 174th Overall		Lukas Bengtsson	Undrafted		Tristan Jarry	2013, 44th Overall
Teddy Blueger	2012, 52nd Overall		Brandon Crawley	Undrafted		Sean Maguire	2012, 113th Overall
Milos Bubela	Undrafted		Dawson Davidson	Undrafted
Jean-Sebastien Dea	Undrafted		Connor Hail	2016, 77th Overall
Thomas Di Pauli	2012 (WSH), 100th Overall		Ethan Prow	Undrafted
Reid Gardiner	Undrafted		Ryan Segalla	2013, 119th Overall
Jake Guentzel	2013, 77th Overall		Gabriel Sylvestere	Undrafted
Cameron Hebig	Undrafted		Michael Webster	Undrafted
Christian Hilbrich	Undrafted
James McEwan	Undrafted
Gage Quinney	Undrafted
Dominik Simon	2015, 137th Overall
Oskar Sundqvist	2012, 81st Overall
C.J. Yakimowicz	2014 (STL, 172nd Overall

Overview:

The Penguins went undefeated in the 2015 Rookie Showcase and will look to defend their undefeated streak. Their best drafted player is goaltender Tristan Jarry, the Penguins have mortgaged their future pushing for the Stanley Cup. Luckily they have a ring to show for it, now is the time to restock the prospect cupboard. Guentzel, Simon and Sundqvist are all trying to make a case to get a longer look when training camp opens up in a few weeks.

Highest Drafted Player: Tristan Jarry, 44th Overall, 2013

Player To Watch: Jake Guentzel finished his collegiate career and joined the Baby Pens immediately for the playoff run. Guentzel finished with six points in 11 games (.55 pts/gp) . In the playoffs he tallied 14 points in 10 games (1.4). Guentzel will try to improve his stock this Showcase and gain momentum heading into Penguins training camp.

Under the Radar: Sundqvist was pencilled in as a fourth-line centre in the offseason last year. Oskar ended up being hampered with a thigh injury that kept him out of training camp. Sundqvist's first North American season started in the AHL, recording 17 points in 45 games. He was a call-up for the Penguins throughout the year and dressed in 18 games, he only had four points to show for it. The resigning of Matt Cullen could hurt his chances, it will depend on how the Penguins structure their centremen this coming year.

 

Toronto Maple Leafs

Forwards	Drafted		Defense	Drafted		Goaltenders	Drafted
Jeremy Bracco	2015, 61st Overall		Nikolas Brouillard	Undrafted		Antoine Bibeau	2013, 44th Overall
Adams Brooks	2016, 92nd Overall		Travis Dermott	2015, 34th Overall		Kasimir Kaskisuo	Undrafted
Tony Cameranesi	2011, 130th Overall		Stephen Desrocher	2015, 155th Overall
Martina Dzierkals	2015, 68th Overall		Justin Holl	2010 (CHI), 54th Overall
Tye Felhaber	Undrafted		Jon Jutzi	Undrafted
Frederik Gauthier	2013, 21st Overall		Nicolas Mattinen	2016, 179th Overall
Cason Hohmann	Undrafted		Keaton Middleton	2016, 101st Overall
Andreas Johnson	2013, 202nd Overall		Andrew Nielsen	2015, 65th Overall
Nikita Korostelev	2015, 185th Overall		Ty Stanton	Undrafted
Tobias Lindberg	2013 (OTT), 102nd Overall		Rinat Valiev	2014, 68th Overall
Mason Marchment	Undrafted
Mitch Marner	2015, 4th Overall
Trevor Moore	Undrafted
J.J. Piccinich	2014, 103rd Overall
Colin Smith	2012 (COL), 192nd Overall
Dmytro Timashov	2015, 125th Overall
Jack Walker	2016, 152nd Overall
Chase Witala	Undrafted
Tyler Wong	Undrafted

Overview:

The Maple Leafs will need two busses to ship all the prospects they sent to London this year. 31 players will get the chance to suit up in three of the games this weekend. The Leafs brought almost as many drafted players as the Penguins brought on their entire roster. We may not get very many looks at all of their prospects, but it will be interesting to watch the guys who made ames for themselves with the Marlies last year.

Highest Drafted Player: Mitch Marner, 4th Overall, 2015

Player To Watch: Marner will have all the attention this weekend. Could it be his last time playing in the Budweiser Gardens? The big question of the offseason is what the Leafs are planning to do with Marner come October 12th? I have a feeling he is going to play his way onto the roster, but it will all depend on how he plays in this Tournament, as well as, training camp. Mike Babcock has his name in pencil on the depth chart, but won't be afraid to send him back for one more year of junior.

Under the Radar: Tobias Lindberg will get the chance to put on the new Maple Leafs jersey and play against his former prospect counterparts this weekend. Lindberg will likely be with the Marlies again this year, just too many higher talented prospects in the depth chart for him this year. Next year he could impress out of training camp.

 

For more information on the Rookie Tournament, head over to their website.