1. JASON SPEZZA C, No Team – Awaiting a trade from the IceDogs, it will be interesting to see how Spezza fares in a different environment. What can I say about this much talked about prospect without sounding redundant? Probably nothing.
Has size and a superstar quality skill-set, vision, and hockey sense which makes him an offensive scoring machine, especially on the power-play. Does not have superstar quality speed or acceleration. Has a good, accurate shot with a quick release on the wrister, not so quick on the slapper.
2. STEPHEN WEISS C, Plymouth – A great skater who can carry the puck to openings and sees the ice well. Elusive. Has great anticipation. Can run a power-play from the half-boards, and his speed on the penalty-kill enables him to forecheck aggressively and get back into his zone in plenty of time. Will play defence deep in his own zone. Not quite prototypical size but he will go to the boards to battle for the puck when he has to, can keep his feet when being hit, but is at his best picking up the puck as the third man in. Justin Williams is in the NHL and Tomas Kurka has missed all but two games, otherwise Weiss might have even bigger numbers.
3. MARK POPOVIC D, Toronto St. Michaels
4. TIM GLEASON D, Windsor
A defenceman that can play well at both ends of the rink is a desirable commodity, and these two are the cream of the crop.
Popovic is a natural when it comes to the offensive aspects of the game. He can carry the puck end-to-end and has a big shot from the point that he can release effortlessly. In his first OHL season, his defensive zone work left a lot to be desired. Last year he showed glimpses of getting that aspect of his game together. This year he has been more solid with errors less frequent. He has a great work ethic and will continue to improve.
Gleason is a better version of Barrett Jackman. He is a gifted skater that plays solid and physical in his own zone with a mean streak to boot. The offensive aspects of his game required growth, and he’s getting it done, averaging a point-per-game. He doesn’t have prototypical NHL-size so he won’t be as physically imposing as he is at the junior level.
Right now Gleason is playing a bit better than Popovic, but Mark’s size and natural instincts for the offensive game give him slightly better upside, although that viewpoint could change by the end of the year.
5. CHRIS THORBURN C, North Bay – The total package. Size, speed, skill, toughness. At times it looks like Thorburn is playing the game at a higher tempo than his team. He’ll fly through the neutral zone without the puck looking for a pass, but will then have to stop at the blueline and wait for his teammates to catch up. Or he’ll get to the net in a few quick strides but then have to stand there as his ‘mates fail to deliver him the puck. If there is another younger player that could get a look from the National Team for the year-end WJC, Thorburn could be that player. He can play the game at NHL pace.
6. COLT KING LW, Guelph – Not only has this power-forward emerged to score at better than a point-per-game pace, he has also shown hard checks, soft hands, and good hockey sense to boot. Scored a hat-trick versus Mississauga with three carbon-copy goals : standing in front of the net and deflecting the puck in mid-air. He skates well for a big man, can handle the puck, can cycle, and fight off checks. He does a lot of little things that suggest a good feel for the game. He’ll go behind the net on defence, but knows when to forsake the big hit and instead concentrate on not letting the puck get through. He knows when to head for the slot to pick up an opposing attacker. He maneuvers smartly into open passing lanes in the offensive zone. Substantial upside.
7. JAY HARRISON D, Brampton – A tough, mobile, stay-at-home d-man with a mean streak and good size who keeps forwards to the outside on the rush and clears enemy bodies from the crease. Has a good first-pass for the transition game, but will not be a high-scoring blue-liner at the NHL level.
8. AARON LOBB RW, London – A player with size, skating ability, and good puck skills, Lobb is a player whose parts are greater than their sum. But that is changing. He played a bit tentatively at the beginning of the year, but is beginning to assert himself. He’s throwing thunderous body-checks, dropping the gloves, and beginning to put up the numbers. If anything, he’s gotten such a surge of confidence that he’s over-handling the puck. Like King, he has substantial upside.
9. JAY MCCLEMENT C, Brampton – Defence, speed, and the transition game are McClement’s strengths. He will trouble-shoot in the defensive zone and go where needed to win possession of the puck. He then has the speed to catch up to the rush on transition. Offensively he is functional rather than talented, playing a supporting role rather than headlining scoring opportunities. Seven of his 10 goals thus far have come on the power-play. Projects to be a high-end 3rd-line center at the NHL level that you put out against the other team’s #1 line, and who can play on a scoring line in a pinch.
10. BRENDAN BELL D, Ottawa – Bell has dropped a few notches from the pre-season rankings, in part because of the emergence of others. He has a high skill-level, but needs to assert it more consistently. He has good long-term potential, but as is the case with Ottawa prospects (see Nick Boynton and many others) Bell’s offensive flair may be harnessed to some degree under Brian Kilrea.
11. CORY STILLMAN C, Kingston – The one noticeable thing missing from Stillman’s repertoire is a second gear. He’s a decent skater but has no acceleration. His wrist shot is high-caliber, he has scored one or two Messier-type goals from the off-wing off the wrong foot. Unlike say McClement, his goals are being scored at even-strength (10 out of 11 thus far) and he may see a significant boost in his numbers when he inherits 1st-unit PP time from Zigomanis. He has good size, decent puck skills, works hard at both ends of the rink, and plays a clean game along the boards where he’ll take the body without racking up a lot of penalty minutes.
12. LUKAS KRAJICEK D, Peterborough – As is the case with other Euros such as Platil and Bakrlik from Barrie, a better evaluation of Krajicek will be possible once he has had more time to adjust to the North American game. He has unquestionable skill and is a pleasure to watch skating laterally with the puck, but he will have to iron out his decision-making and show more physicalness in the defensive zone before moving up in the rankings.
13. ADAM MUNRO G, Erie – If there is to be OHL representation between the pipes at this year’s Prospects Game, it will be provided by Munro. He relies on fundamentals rather than athleticism, cutting down angles and covering the net as much as possible so that the puck hits him. He is quick getting back to his feet after going down. He does a good job of directing rebounds away from the net when the shooters aim at the corners, but he must improve his rebound control for pucks shot right at him. He is an adequate puck-handler.
14. MATT GRENNIER C, Brampton – No, this isn’t Aaron Van Leusen wearing a different jersey number, but another Battalion prospect with major league wheels. Grennier projects as a checking-line center who’s speed can be utilized for penalty-killing and a deep forecheck to create turnovers. If his offensive game grows, that would be a bonus, but unexpected.
15. DREW FATA D, Toronto St. Michaels – Fata is getting his feet wet as an OHL rookie, and after a flying start that saw him average a point-per-game over the first seven games, has leveled off offensively. Still, he has size, is a good skater, can rush with the puck, and plays with an edge in his own end of the rink.
16. NATHAN TENNANT D, Kingston – Among a group of less than prototypical-sized offensive defencemen that include the likes of Wideman, Colaiacovo, and Jarrett, Tennant can skate, an asset that he uses for rushing the puck, keeping forwards to the outside, and pressuring the puck on the penalty-kill, has a booming slapshot from the point which he can get off regularly which lends itself well to a power-play, and has some semblance of physical play in the defensive zone. He will have to add bulk to his 6-foot frame.
17. RYAN RAMSAY C, Peterborough – Among a group of under-sized centers that include Roy, Himelfarb, and Wellwood, Ramsay plays with the Doug Gilmour-type of edge necessary if one is to overcome the size issues of playing in the NHL, and not get the Brandon Reid treatment from NHL scouts. He shows no hesitancy in going to the front of the net where he shows good hands in close quarters, or going to the boards against two defenders to contest the puck. He skates well and hustles at both ends of the rink.
18. JUSTIN MCCUTCHEON RW, Kingston – The Frontenacs 1st-round selection of the 2000 OHL Draft, McCutcheon is a heart-and-soul type of player, the kind you want to go to war with. To epitomize his play, he scored the year’s best goal earlier this season at St. Mike’s Arena. On a failed pinch by his defenceman, he hustled back to the defensive zone to try and turn a 2-on-1 into a 2-on-2. He didn’t quite get there, but he knocked the rebound to the corner. He emerged from the scrum along the boards with the puck, shook off a hit, beat a defenceman along the boards at his own blue-line, kept going, threw a nice cross-ice pass which sprung the left-winger for a breakaway, headed for the net and cashed in the rebound. Canadian hockey at it’s best in a 15-second vignette, I’m surprised that it hasn’t reached “Coachs Corner” yet. Heck, the Fronts’ even wear Bruins colours. Later in that third period he pancaked DeLeeuw with a hit. Earlier in the game he mixed it up with Farquarson and Bootland. I guess nobody told him that those were the three biggest guys on the Majors. Or he didn’t care. Every dressing room needs a guy like this, he could pan out to something between Jeff Odgers-Mike Keane.
19. CRAIG KENNEDY RW, Windsor – Kennedy could grow into a quiet, efficient player who does nothing spectacularly but rather plays a sound fundamental game in all three zones. He could play a bit more physically, but there aren’t a lot of weaknesses to his game. He can be a good complement to either a scoring or checking line. He merits a close look as the season progresses.
20. ERIC HIMELFARB C, Sarnia – My early season darkhorse, Himelfarb has emerged as a productive scorer at better than a point-per-game clip. Has above-average skills and skating ability. Like Ramsay, he’s going to have to demonstrate an ability to play with an edge on a game-in, game-out basis to overcome size concerns.
