Svechnikov, Veleno named to Top Prospects Game

Forwards Andrei Svechnikov and Joseph Veleno are two of the 40 top 2018 NHL Draft prospects from the Canadian Hockey League who will play in the 2018 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

The game will be played at Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ontario, on Jan. 25.
Players were picked for the game by the 31 NHL teams and divided into two teams by NHL Central Scouting.
"Best-on-best competition is a valuable way to evaluate talent and that's exactly what the Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game provides," NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr said. "NHL scouts and general managers will have the unique opportunity to see many of the top CHL players for the 2018 NHL Draft showcase their abilities in a competitive environment."
Svechnikov (6-foot-2, 186 pounds) has 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in 13 games for Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League. The right wing returned to the lineup Dec. 8 after missing nearly two months because of a hand injury sustained Oct. 14.
"I think if there's one player right now that could step into an NHL lineup it would be him," NHL Central Scouting's Karl Stewart said. "He's 17 years old, he's 6-2 and his stride is so powerful. When he wants to, he drops the shoulder and turns it on and he's around you. You can't stop him. … He's an NHL player right now playing in the OHL."
Veleno (6-1, 195), has 31 points (six goals, 25 assists) in 31 games for Saint John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The center was the first QMJHL player granted exceptional player status and allowed to play in the league as a 15-year-old in 2015-16.
Svechnikov and Veleno are two of 16 players named to the game that received A ratings from NHL Central Scouting on its November list of players to watch. That group also includes three players from Halifax of the QMJHL: right wing Filip Zadina, center Benoit-Olivier Groulx, and defenseman Jared McIsaac.
Other A-rated players are: forwards Barrett Hayton (Sault Ste. Marie, OHL), Ryan McLeod (Mississauga, OHL), Serron Noel (Oshawa, OHL) and Akil Thomas (Niagara, OHL); and defensemen Alexander Alexeyev (Red Deer, WHL), Evan Bouchard (London, OHL), Noah Dobson (Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL), Ryan Merkley (Guelph, OHL), Rasmus Sandin (Sault Ste. Marie, OHL), Ty Smith (Spokane, WHL) and Jett Woo (Moose Jaw, WHL).

Mississauga's Ryan McLeod
Since the game began in 1996, 14 players from it have gone on to be the No. 1 pick in the draft, including New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier, the first pick of the 2017 NHL Draft who played in the game for Halifax last season.
Team names and coaches have yet to be announced.

CHL/NHL TOP PROSPECTS GAME ROSTERS

#

TEAM 1

GOALTENDERS: Alexis Gravel, Halifax (QMJHL); Kevin Mandolese, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
DEFENSEMEN: Calen Addison, Lethbridge (WHL); Kevin Bahl, Ottawa, (OHL); Noah Dobson, Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL); Jared McIsaac, Halifax (QMJHL); Ty Smith, Spokane (WHL); Jett Woo, Moose Jaw (WHL)
FORWARDS: Luka Burzan, Moose Jaw (WHL); Cole Fonstad, Prince Albert (WHL); Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Halifax (QMJHL); Anderson MacDonald, Moncton (QMJHL); Ryan McLeod, Mississauga (OHL); Allan McShane, Oshawa (OHL); Kirill Nizhnikov, Sudbury (OHL); Serron Noel, Oshawa (OHL); Milos Roman, Vancouver (WHL); Riley Sutter, Everett (WHL); Andrei Svechnikov, Barrie (OHL); Dmitry Zavgorodniy, Rimouski (QMJHL)

TEAM 2

GOALTENDERS: Jacob Ingham, Mississauga (OHL); Olivier Rodrigue, Drummondville (QMJHL)
DEFENSEMEN: Alexander Alexeyev, Red Deer (WHL); Evan Bouchard, London (OHL); Xavier Bouchard, Baie-Comeau (QMJHL); Nico Gross, Oshawa (OHL); Ryan Merkley, Guelph (OHL); Rasmus Sandin, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
FORWARDS: Kody Clark, Ottawa (OHL); Ty Dellandrea, Flint (OHL); Eric Florchuk, Victoria (WHL); Gabriel Fortier, Baie-Comeau, (QMJHL); Barrett Hayton, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL); Cameron Hillis, Guelph (OHL); Vladislav Kotkov, Chicoutimi (QMJHL); Philipp Kurashev, Quebec (QMJHL); Egor Sokolov, Cape Breton (QMJHL); Akil Thomas, Niagara (OHL); Joseph Veleno, Saint John (QMJHL); Filip Zadina, Halifax (QMJHL)