Teammates staying together at Top Prospects Game

Nathan MacKinnon and Seth Jones will know a few of their teammates quite well when they take the ice for their respective teams at the 2013 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

The annual best-on-best game between the top Canadian Hockey League players eligible for the 2013 NHL Draft will be held Jan. 16, 2013, at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

MacKinnon, who will captain Team Cherry, will have with him two teammates from the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League: left wing Jonathan Drouin and goaltender Zachary Fucale. MacKinnon and Drouin are the top two ranked skaters in NHL Central Scouting's preliminary ranking of draft-eligible players in the QMJHL, and Fucale is the top-rated goalie.

Joining them on Team Cherry will be three other highly regarded QMJHL forwards: Frederik Gauthier of the Rimouski Oceanic, Anthony Mantha of the Val-d'Or Foreurs and Valentin Zykov of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Zykov is No. 3 on Central Scouting's list, Gauthier is No. 4 and Mantha is No. 6.

Another set of teammates also will be skating for Team Cherry: Brandon Wheat Kings defensemen Ryan Pulock and Eric Roy. Both are in the top nine in Central Scouting's preliminary ranking of Western Hockey League skaters.

Filling out the defense for Team Cherry will be Rimouski's Samuel Morin, Joshua Morrissey of the Prince Albert Raiders, Mirco Mueller of the Everett Silvertips and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds' Darnell Nurse.

Other forwards on the team are the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles' William Carrier, Jason Dickinson of the Guelph Storm, Stephen Harper of the Erie Otters, the Plymouth Whalers' Ryan Hartman, Ryan Kujawinski of the Kingston Frontenacs and Zach Nastasiuk of the Owen Sound Attack.

The Edmonton Oil Kings' Tristan Jarry will join Fucale in goal for Team Cherry.

Jones, who will captain Team Orr, will have a pair of his Portland Winterhawks teammates with him: center Nicolas Petan and right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand. Jones is the top-rated skater in Central Scouting's WHL rankings, Bjorkstrand is No. 11 and Petan is No. 15.

London Knights teammates Max Domi and Bo Horvat will skate for Team Orr. The pair is Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, on Central Scouting's ranking of OHL skaters.

Three members of the Quebec Remparts also will play for Team Cherry: forwards Anthony Duclair, Adam Erne and Nick Sorensen.

Other Team Orr forwards are Justin Bailey of the Kitchener Rangers, Curtis Lazar of the Edmonton Kings, the Ottawa 67s' Sean Monahan, Kerby Rychel of the Windsor Spitfires and the Medicine Hat Tigers' Hunter Shinkaruk.

Eric Comrie of the Tri-City Americans and Spencer Martin of the Mississauga Steelheads will be in goal for Team Orr. Comrie is Central Scouting's top-rated WHL goalie, and Martin holds the No. 1 spot among OHL goaltenders.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

HOME HARDWARE CHL/NHL TOP PROSPECTS GAME ROSTERS

TEAM CHERRY

GOALIES: Zachary Fucale, Halifax, QMJHL; Tristan Jarry, Edmonton, WHL

DEFENSEMEN: Samuel Morin, Rimouski, QMJHL; Joshua Morrissey, Prince Albert, WHL; Mirco Mueller, Everett, WHL; Darnell Nurse, Sault Ste. Marie, OHL; Ryan Pulock, Brandon, WHL; Eric Roy, Brandon, WHL

FORWARDS: William Carrier, Cape Breton, QMJHL; Jason Dickinson, Guelph, OHL; Jonathan Drouin, Halifax, QMJHL; Frederik Gauthier, Rimouski, QMJHL; Stephen Harper, Erie, OHL; Ryan Hartman, Plymouth, OHL; Ryan Kujawinski, Kingston, OHL; Nathan MacKinnon, Halifax, QMJHL; Anthony Mantha, Val-d'Or, QMJHL; Zach Nastasiuk, Owen Sound, OHL; Valentin Zykov, Baie-Comeau, QMJHL

TEAM ORR

GOALIES: Eric Comrie, Tri-City, WHL; Spencer Martin, Mississauga, OHL

DEFENSEMEN: Chris Bigras, Owen Sound, OHL; Madison Bowey, Kelowna, WHL; Seth Jones, Portland, WHL; Jan Kostalek, Rimouski, QMJHL; Shea Theodore, Seattle, WHL; Nikita Zadorov, London, OHL

FORWARDS: Justin Bailey, Kitchener, OHL; Oliver Bjorkstrand, Portland, WHL; Max Domi, London, OHL; Anthony Duclair, Quebec, QMJHL; Adam Erne, Quebec, QMJHL; Bo Horvat, London, OHL; Curtis Lazar, Edmonton, WHL; Sean Monahan, Ottawa, OHL; Nicolas Petan, Portland, WHL; Kerby Rychel, Windsor, OHL; Hunter Shinkaruk, Medicine Hat, WHL; Nick Sorensen, Quebec, QMJHL