Crazy saves, streaks and Jevpalovs...

Life, school and an annoyingly good Butler have been occupying a ton of my time, but this will be the sixth week of consistent ramblings and the show will go on.

Nicolaj Ehlers is having a historic season, and currently has a 25 game point streak going on. 59 points in 25 games. That is pretty great, and the Jets are thanking the Canucks every night for taking Virtanen and leaving them such a special prospect. Don't get me wrong, it is way too early to predict those two players' NHL careers, but I don't think too many people would take Virtanen (who has 37 points in 29 games, but has been doing better lately) at #6 if we held a redraft tomorrow.

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Tell me who the top scoring defenseman was for last year's World Junior's. Didn't think you could.

The AHL All-Star Game, Jacob Markstrom's future and more...

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The NHL all star game was this weekend, and it features some of the best the NHL has to offer, including great performances by recent prospects Filip Forsberg and Aaron Ekblad. Despite the usual protests, I personally thought it did what it set out to do, provide some fun for the fans and the stars both while showcasing the league.

Exploiting the undrafted prospect in your pool, Top Prospect games, Anton Slepyshev and more…

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The USHL/NHL top prospects game was last Tuesday, the CHL version is coming up on Thursday, and before you know it draft season will be in full swing. NHL teams are the ones who choose which prospects will  play in the game.

Undrafted prospects are Brendan’s forte, but it is definitely worth watching the CHL game if you haven’t been paying attention. It is a good way to begin the 2015 Draft immersion process, and get a leg up on your competition.

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Olli Matta is done, but Brett Ritchie, Teemu Pulkkinen and William Nylander are just getting started.

Welcome to another ramblings. I’ll be writing these every week on Mondays, so be sure to stop on by! While you are here, make sure to check out some recent updates (click on the modified date button a couple of times to sort). Our writers are always sending in updates, with a mix of frequency and quality that is unmatched anywhere else on the web.

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Has Olli Maatta had the unluckiest year of any 20 year old prospect, ever? Mumps, tumor and shoulder surgery? Come on. Yes, that run of injuries can give you some pause in terms of value, but I think he is actually an excellent buy low right now. With nine points in 20 games this year, while seeing slightly fewer offensive zone starts and better competition and getting 16 even strength minutes and 1.5 PP minutes on a stacked team… Maatta was on pace for an excellent age-20 season.

He has played 97, 85, and 85 games respectively the last three seasons, so durability really isn’t as much of a concern as it seems. If you can snatch him from someone in contention, do it.

Statistical leaders and reports from our team-scouts.   *   In spite of life, today’s ramblings are jam-packed with useful information, not just from me but from some of the most knowledgeable team-specific prospect writers out there! The aforementioned life got in the way in a big way today. I had everything done early and [...]

Great goaltending, great games, not so great teams.

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Welcome to my second ramblings in as many days. Instead of covering a lot of things broadly, I am going to take a deeper look at the two games today as well as the Leon Draisaitl escapade. I focus mainly on drafted NHL prospects; Brendan Ross will be posting his own ramblings in the days to come with much more of an emphasis on 2015 and 2016 eligibles.

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Denmark and Switzerland played a massively, unexpectedly entertaining game filled with highlights, great plays, sloppy plays and an improbable, unprecedented win.

Updates on some World Junior Standouts and some Angusing candidates.

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I am happy to be back from a vacation that had a surprising and complete lack of access  to cable or internet. While it was nice to unplug, it couldn’t have come at a worse time! I missed the start of one of the best tournaments in all of sports. The World Juniors is arguably a better display of pure skill than any other NHL tournament; highly skilled players bearing the weight of a country, and playing before NHL coaches can extract every last ounce of wild abandon and emotion in favour of silly things like “defensively sound hockey” and “clichés that not even Toronto media can twist into controversy”.