Top Prospects Game

Photo by Brad Watson

Tomorrow is a big day for 40 players from the Western, Ontario, and Quebec leagues, as they will get a chance to show scouts what they can do as they prepare for the 2014 NHL Draft.  The players are divided into two teams of 20, with one side representing Team Cherry and the other representing Team Orr.  For Team Cherry, the team will be led by Kootenay Ice captain Sam Reinhart, who is the youngest of three Reinhart (Max and Griffin) brothers and the son of ex-NHLer Paul Reinhart.  He won't be the only player on Team Cherry to have had a father play in the NHL, as Sherbrooke's Daniel Audette (son of Donald Audette) and Kitchener's Ryan MacInnis (son of ex-Flame and Blue Al MacInnis) will also be on the squad.  Portland will be represented by Chase De Leo this year.

As for Team Orr, they will be captained by Barrie's Aaron Ekblad, the top defensive prospect in this year's Draft.  Players to watch include Prince Albert's Leon Draisaitl, Calgary's Jake Virtanen, and Swift Current's Julius Honka.

The Top Prospects game will take place in Calgary, AB tomorrow and it promises to be a great game and an opportunity for the players to make their case for the first overall selection in June.

Winterhawks Weekly: Importing Players

The title of today's piece is somewhat misleading, as this is about more than just the Winterhawks.  Before I get to the happenings of the CHL Import Draft, however, let's get to the news of the Winterhawks.

First, the trade: the Winterhawks have acquired Shane McColgan from Saskatoon in exchange for a couple of draft picks.  With 66 points in 69 games last season, McColgan will be one overager on next year's squad, as Joey Baker will pursue educational opportunities next season and Ty Rattie and Tyler Wotherspoon are expected to turn pro (teams are allowed three overaged players).  As for the other roster move, that happened in the Import Draft, as the Winterhawks picked 60th and took defenseman Anton Cederholm.  Since teams are only allowed two import players, that meant Kiril Vorobev was cut loose, as Oliver Bjorkstrand is expected to return.

Speaking of the Import Draft, there were a few NHL players that were taken in the Import Draft, which will allow teams to see what they're getting.  Andre Burakovsky headlines this group, as he will be watched by the Washington Capitals as he tries to add to an Erie Otters team that doesn't have much beyond Connor McDavid and Oscar Dansk.  Other players drafted by NHL teams to be taken in the Import Draft were Matej Paulovic (Dallas prospect by Peterborough), Jacob de la Rose (Montreal prospect by Windsor), Dmitry Sinitsyn (Dallas/Regina), Viktor Crus Rydberg (NY Islanders/Plymouth), Fabrice Herzog (Toronto/Quebec), Cederholm (Vancouver/Portland), and Artturi Lehkonen (Montreal/Kootenay).  This year's Import Draft also marks the last year a European goaltender can be taken, as the Draft will be limited to skaters starting next season.  Daniel Gibl will be the last European goaltender selected, as he was taken 47th overall by Barrie.

Playoffs Update: All the Junior Leagues

I thought about doing a Winterhawks Weekly in this space today, but since the championships are closer to being determined, today will be about the updates for all the junior league championships going on this week.  First, the USHL, where the Dubuque Fighting Saints beat the Youngstown Phantoms in the Eastern Conference Final to advance to the Clark Cup Final.  They await the winner of the Sioux Falls Stampede/Fargo Force matchup, as that series is going to be decided next game.  The QMJHL sees the Halifax Mooseheads still without a loss in the playoff season, as they are currently up 2-0 over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar while the OHL finals has the Barrie Colts and London Knights tied 1-1, with game three tonight in Barrie.  The WHL finals sees the Portland Winterhawks tied with the Edmonton Oil Kings 1-1 as the series shifts to Edmonton for game three tomorrow.

Memorial Cup Spots on the Line

I will get to the Portland-Edmonton series on Friday, when I make my predictions.  However, there are two other spots on the line for the Memorial Cup tournament, and those will be taken by the champions in the OHL and the QMJHL.

OHL Championship (J. Ross Robertson Trophy)

(1) London Knights vs. (2) Barrie Colts

The Knights had little trouble getting to this point, sweeping Saginaw in the opening round, disposing of Kitchener in the following round, and beating Plymouth on the way to defending their championship.  The best team on offense and the third-ranked team on defense (only Owen Sound and Belleville posted better numbers), the Knights have some players, as Max Domi, Seth Griffin, and Chris Tierney lead the way up front while Olli Maatta and Scott Harrington lead a stout blue line.  Anthony Stolarz has shined in his first season with the Knights.  The Knights are coached by Dale Hunter, who briefly led the Washington Capitals to a playoff berth last year.

The Colts led the Eastern Conference in goals scored while being tied for fourth in the league in goals against.  Sweeps against Kingston and Oshawa were followed by a hard fought seven game series win against Belleville, and the Colts are lead by Mark Schiefele, Zach Hall,  and Mathias Niederberger.  Dale Hawerchuk is the head coach of the Colts.

QMJHL Championship (President Cup)

(1) Halifax Mooseheads vs. (2) Baie-Comeau Drakkar

The Mooseheads are the only team in all three leagues to not have lost a playoff game so far.  Sweeps against Saint John, Gatineau, and Rouyn-Noranda have led the Mooseheads to an almost certain spot in the Memorial Cup.  It's no secret that the Mooseheads are led by potential first overall picks in Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon, as a whopping 347 goals in the regular season (13 more than the Winterhawks) will attest.  But don't sleep on the defense, as they led the league in that category, too, and Zachary Fucale, another 2013 NHL Draft prospect, is a major reason for that.  Dominique Ducharme is the head coach of the Mooseheads.

The Drakkar were tied for second in offense and were second in defense, and had a slightly harder time getting to this point.  Sherbrooke and Victoriaville were victims of sweeps before the Drakkar were taken to six games by Blainville-Boisbriand in the semifinals.  Zach O'Brien led the team in points while Philipe Cadorette helped backstop the team to victory.  Eric Veilleux is the head coach.

Rematch!

With the Edmonton Oil Kings finally putting away the Calgary Hitmen last night, that sets up a rematch of last year's WHL finals...only this time, the Winterhawks have home ice advantage.  The Oil Kings won that match-up 4-3 and represented the WHL in the Memorial Cup.  This year, the Winterhawks hope to change that, and with a high-scoring offense, this is the best of the three finals happening that will determine Memorial Cup spots.  The other match-ups are the London Knights vs. Barrie Colts in the OHL, and the Halifax Mooseheads vs. Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the QMJHL, and Halifax is the only team to not have a loss in this year's playoffs.  Predictions will come Friday, as tomorrow will be a recap of the WHL awards that will be handed out tonight.