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April 4^th

A quick look at some of the top performers in the CHL playoffs, a couple of impressive 2016 prospects, and more...

 

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The Flames called up Sam Bennett, who was in contention for the first overall pick a year ago. The North Bay Battalion held Bennett to just three assists and a minus-nine as they knocked out the Frontenacs in four games. The playoffs can make a prospect’s career but #SmallSampleSizes and Bennett did have 24 points in 11 games. Even with Calgary leaning on their young players, I think Bennett will take some time to get up to speed. Watch how he plays more than the points.

 

 Instead of playing him right away, they decided to leave Markus Granlund in and he rewarded them with the first two goal game of the 21 year old’s career. While he has five  points in his last six games, he really doesn’t have the same skillset as his brother, and he is only getting around 11 minutes a game on a surprising Flames team. There is still time for Granlund to develop, but his upside is around 55 points and he is an underdog for a long-term spot in the Flame’s top-six.

 

Updating the prospect action of the World Junior Championships with a close look on Leafs William Nylander, Predators Kevin Fiala, Canada's Connor McDavid and American Jack Eichel...

 

 

Sunday, December 28^th

 

Two days in at the 2015 World Junior Championships and we’ve already witnessed some stellar performances. Lucky for me, I have tickets to every game taking place in Toronto featuring Sweden, Russia, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Denmark and thanks to PVR, I have been able to catch the Pool A action, including Canada, US, Slovakia, Germany and the defending 2014 gold medalists – Finland.

 

As good as it would be to watch Canada and USA through the round robin, I am thankful for the teams and their talents participating in Toronto. Having the chance to watch William Nylander (Sweden/Maple Leafs, 8^th overall in 2014), Nikolaj Ehlers (Denmark/Jets, 9^th overall in 2014), Kevin Fiala (Switzerland/Predators, 11^th overall in 2014), Jakub Vrana (Czech Republic/Capitals, 13^th overall in 2014) and AHL star David Pastrnak (Czech Republic/Bruins, 25^th overall in 2014). With each of them possessing similar offensive skills featuring crafty puck skills and out-out-of-this-world creativity, all five of them have been a treat to watch. More on these players a little later.

 

Fortunately, the long list of exciting participants doesn’t end there as plenty of 1995s have proved (and will continue to prove) to be dangerous throughout this tournament. From Group B action in Toronto, here are a few drafted players (outside of the ones mentioned above) who have stood out for me … Nikolay Goldobin (Russia/Sharks), Pavel Buchnevich (Russia/Rangers), Sergey Tolchinsky (Russia/Hurricanes, signed), Vladislav Kamenev (Russia/Predators), Oliver Bjorkstrand (Denmark/Blue Jackets), Ondrej Kase (Czech Republic/Ducks), Mirco Mueller (Switzerland/Sharks), Noah Rod (Switzerland/Sharks), Jacob de la Rose (Sweden/Canadiens), Linus Soderstrom (Sweden/Islanders), Robert Hagg (Sweden/Flyers), Lucas Wallmark (Sweden/Hurricanes), Axel Holmstrom (Sweden/Red Wings), Adrian Kempe (Sweden/Sweden) and Oskar Lindblom (Sweden/Flyers).

 

  Prospect camps have started in several cities, most only [...]