Kelowna Rockets' defenseman Luke Schenn is a top-ranked player who has helped his team go undefeated so far this season in the WHL. |
Led by two potential blue-chip defensemen, Tyler Myers and Luke Schenn, the Rockets have remained undefeated in regulation over their past 11 games, gaining ground on every team in the league save the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who have run their undefeated streak to 13-0-0-1.
Myers and Schenn each were top-five ranked prospects in NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings of WHL skaters. The lists include the top 25 skaters and top seven goaltenders from each CHL-member league, as well as the top players in each of the top hockey-playing countries in Europe.
Myers came in at No. 2 on the list behind Everett Silvertips forward Kyle Beach. Regina Pats defenseman Colten Teubert was No. 3, while Schenn and Medicine Hat forward Tyler Ennis, respectively, rounded out the top five. Myers and Schenn each are considered top prospects for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Schenn, who skated for Team Canada at this summer’s Russia/Canada Super Series, is an offensive defenseman with a mean streak, as evidenced by his 29-point, 139-penalty minute sophomore season a year ago. This season, he already has three goals and 12 points to go along with 49 penalty minutes in just 22 games, and the 6-foot-3, 209-pound Schenn has been looking more mature and more comfortable in each game this season.
Myers, on the other hand, is a tower of physicality, one who looks big even next to Schenn. Listed at 6-6 on his WHL roster and 6-7 by NHL Central Scouting, the 200-pound Myers obviously has a lot of filling out to do -- and woe to the rest of the WHL when he does. Myers recorded 78 penalty minutes a season ago, but already has 33 in only 19 games this season.
Rounding out the Kelowna lineup are forwards Brandon McMillian, himself a member of the top Draft-eligible prospects in the WHL; Colin Long, a 19-year-old forward who has 10 goals and 31 points in 24 games and who could be selected in 2008; and Cody Almond, a fifth-round selection of the Minnesota Wild in 2007.
Riding their streak, the Rockets now trail only last season’s Memorial Cup champion, the Vancouver Giants, in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference. They currently sit seven points behind the Giants, though they do have two games in hand.
Around the WHL -- Kyle Beach, the top-ranked prospect for the WHL in the CSS rankings, is showing the scouts they made the right decision putting him at the top of the list. A physical force who has soft hands to boot -- evidenced by his Mike Legg-esque lacrosse-style goal earlier this season -- has been climbing the WHL scoring charts since the beginning of the year and now sits second in the league scoring race with 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points in only 25 games. In addition, Beach currently is riding a four game goal-scoring streak (he has six), and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. What makes Beach such an interesting prospect, however, is his approach to the game. The young forward already boasts 95 penalty minutes this season, a total unmatched by any other skater in the WHL’s top 100 scorers. Scouts worry about his temperament and discipline, but it’s hard not to love a guy who is just as dangerous with his gloves on as he is with them off. … Boston Pizza Player of the Week honors this week went to Drayson Bowman of the Spokane Chiefs. Bowman scored six goals and added two assists as his Chiefs swept the week of games, going 3-0. … The Lethbridge Hurricanes, the only team in the league hotter than the Kelowna Rockets, have not lost in regulation since a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Regina Pats on Oct. 17. During the stretch, the Hurricanes have outscored opponents 58-26 and have an impressive 7-0-0-1 record in one-goal games. … Riding the hot streak of Beach, the Everett Silvertips have put together a 3-0-0-1 record over their past four games. This week, they dropped a close shootout decision to the Chilliwack Bruins (Beach had a goal in the loss), then defeated the Kelowna Rockets in a shootout, the Vancouver Giants by a 2-1 score, and ended the week on Sunday getting revenge against the Bruins (Beach had two goals in the win).
Ontario Hockey League
Look out John Tavares.
Although he hasn’t had a problem holding off the rest of the league, Tavares is facing a little pressure from within his own dressing room. Tavares, who scored 72 goals last season in only 68 games, establishing a new record for 16 year olds (previously held by Wayne Gretzky), has 23 in 23 games this season.
But it hasn’t been enough.
Linemate Brett MacLean, a second-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2007, is doing his best to pressure Tavares for the goal-scoring crown, with 26 goals in only 19 games (MacLean missed the first four games of the season due to a suspension stemming back to last spring’s playoffs).
And he’s been getting better as the season progresses. MacLean is riding an astounding nine-game goal and point streak, to the tune of in almost-unheard-of 19 goals and seven assists for 26 points during that stretch. The last goaltender to hold MacLean off the score sheet was Sault Ste. Marie netminder Kyle Gajewski on Oct. 28. The Generals eventually won the game, though, 3-2.
MacLean now sits first in OHL goal scoring, but is tied with Kitchener Rangers forward Justin Azevedo for second in points, seven points behind Tavares.
During MacLean’s goal streak, Oshawa has amassed a 5-3-0-1 record.
Around the OHL -- Though he was off to a relatively slow start, with only two goals and two assists for four points in his first six games, it only was a matter of time before Steven Stamkos found his game. After those first six games, Stamkos has been held off of the score sheet only three times, and has amassed 20 goals and 37 points in just 18 games, good for a 2.06 point-per-game clip. He especially has been dangerous in his last five games, with at least two points in each of the five, scoring seven goals and adding five assists for 12 points. Earlier in the week, Stamkos was rewarded for his early play with the top prospect honors in the OHL CSS preliminary rankings for 2008. … The West Division of the Western Conference is perhaps the hottest division in the entire CHL at the moment. Four of its five teams boast at least a two-game winning streak, and not one of the clubs sits below .500. The Saginaw Spirit currently sit at 9-9 for 21 points in 21 games, while the Sarnia Sting (28), Plymouth Whalers (28), Windsor Spitfires (34) and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (34) all boast winning percentages of at least .600 or better. … Tomi Karhunen, goaltender for the Sarnia Sting, won all three of his starts during the past week, defeating the Peterborough Petes, Kingston Frontenacs and Ottawa 67’s, all on the road. Karhunen, a native of Joensuu, Finland and the seventh-ranked goaltender in the preliminary OHL rankings from CSS, has been beaten only once in his past nine starts, and boasts an 8-1 record with a 2.44 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and two shutouts over those nine games.
United States Hockey League
The 500-win club finally has another member.
Sioux City Musketeers coach Dave Siciliano, with a 6-5 shootout win over the Lincoln Stars on Friday, Nov. 16, emerged victorious for the 500th time in his career behind a USHL bench. The only other coach to accomplish this feat in the history of the league was another former Sioux City coach, Bob Ferguson.
Omaha Lancers coach Mike Hastings is third on the list, and undoubtedly Siciliano and Ferguson won’t have much time to await the third member of the club. Hastings, whose team has rushed to a 12-3 record in 15 games this season, won both of his games on the weekend and now sits with 498 career wins.
Siciliano and Hastings both are within striking distance of Ferguson, the USHL’s all-time leader with 517 wins.
Around the USHL -- The Indiana Ice and Sioux City Musketeers are enjoying their home cooking this season, as each team is undefeated on home ice. The Musketeers have won all six of their home dates while the Ice have won eight straight at home. … Ice forward John Kemp scored once and added six assists over the weekend, as he and his teammates ran their season-high winning streak to seven games. Kemp has a point in each of the seven games, with two goals and thirteen assists, and trails only teammate Paul Carey for the overall USHL scoring lead. Carey also had a big weekend for the Ice, scoring four goals and adding an assist for five points in three games. … Omaha Lancers goaltender Drew Palmisano earned two victories over the past week, both at Chicago and both coming in impressive fashion. Palmisano stopped 34 of 35 shots on Friday night to earn the victory in a shootout, and followed with 35 saves on 37 shots to earn a 3-2 victory the next evening. On the week, Palmisano went 2-0 with a 1.50 GAA and a .958 save percentage, to increase his league-leading totals to a 1.78 GAA and .938 save percentage in his 10 starts. On the year, he is 8-2 with one shutout.
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
In NHL Central Scouting’s rankings of all QMJHL Draft-eligible players, Quebec Remparts forward Mikhail Stefanovich stands above the rest.
Stefanovich, a 6-foot-2, 203-pound forward from Belarus, was taken with the 54th overall selection in the 2007 CHL import draft. He has 13 goals and 28 points through 26 games thus far in his rookie season in the QMJHL. He trails only fellow import skater Tomas Knotek in the league rookie scoring. Knotek was listed as the 22nd skater available in the QMJHL by CSS in its preliminary rankings.
Knotek has 11 goals and 32 points in 26 games for the Halifax Mooseheads this season, four more thank Stefanovich.
Around the QMJHL --TELUS Offensive Player of the Week, Saint John Sea Dogs forward Alexander Picard-Hooper, scored once and added nine assists in three road games over the past week, and played a part in all but five of his team’s goals. Since joining the Sea Dogs from Baie-Comeau in September, the over-age forward has recorded 26 points in the 22 games. … Jakub Voracek, the seventh overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2007 Entry Draft, found the back of the net five times over the past week, almost doubling his goal total from the rest of the season. He added three assists to his league-leading total of 32, and now sits second in overall league scoring with 11 goals and 43 points in only 20 games. He trails Gatineau forward and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Claude Giroux by only one point, despite having played in four fewer games. … Defensive Player of the Week honors went to Halifax Mooseheads defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk. Bodnarchuk scored once and added five assists while skating to a plus-3 rating. … On the backs of hot streaks by Voracek and Bodnarchuk, Halifax has won its last eight games, is undefeated in its past 10, and sits atop the league standings with 42 points in 26 games. The Mooseheads have scored a league-best 121 goals.