OHLers set for Top Prospects Game Spotlight
By Jason Menard / www.hockeysfuture.com
The Ontario Hockey League can make a strong argument that it’s the top developmental league in the world. Not only has the top-overall pick for four of the past five years come from the OHL, but this year nearly half of the Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game participants come from the CHL league.
15 OHL players will make the trip to Kelowna including Tanner Pearson, a member of Canada’s World Junior Hockey club, who will lead Team Orr and is making the most of this season despite being passed over in June’s NHL draft. Pearson is currently second in the OHL with 73 points in 40 games,
He’s the assistant captain of a squad that includes Andreas Athanasiou of the top ranked London Knights, an offensively gifted forward. His Knights’ teammate Olli Maatta, a defensive-minded blueliner, was originally named to the roster but the first overall pick in the 2011 CHL Import Draft unfortunately had to withdraw due to illness.
For Maatta, being invited to play in games like the Top Prospects Game justifies his decision to come to North America. “There’s a big difference between the quality of junior hockey in Finland and the level of hockey played here,” Maatta explained when he was first named to the roster. “The best players in the world in my age group are here.”
Maatta is not the only highly rated OHL prospect that will miss out on the Top Prospects experience. Sadly, the CHL’s top-ranked netminder, Malcolm Subban, will not make an appearance this year either. It’s been a frustrating season for Subban as injuries have significantly hampered his season and have kept him out of this event.
The numerous injuries have provided opportunity for other players to step up and seize the opportunity including new Erie Otter Dane Fox who was a late addition and will join Team Cherry.
Team Orr also includes Kitchener forward Radek Faksa, centre Scott Kosmachuck and defenceman Matt Finn of the Guelph Storm, blueliner Gianluca Curcuruto from Sault Ste. Marie, and Adam Pelech, a blueliner from Erie, the first Otters’ blueliner since 2002 — but he’s the fourth Pelech to enjoy a tour of duty in the OHL, including brothers Matt and Michael.
There will be plenty of scouts and NHL player personnel staff on hand, but Curcuruto said it’s a matter of focusing on what’s on the ice — not who is in the stands.
“I just try to play my game out there,” Curcuruto explained earlier when asked about dealing with the pressure of scouts and high-profile games. “You can only control what you do out there and I try not to get too nervous. There’s always people watching in the stands.”
In addition to Fox, Team Cherry features Belleville Bulls’ Brendan Gaunce as an assistant captain, and speedy winger Gemel Smith of the Owen Sound Attack.
Joining these players on Team Cherry will be Scott Laughton of the Oshawa Generals, the Plymouth Whalers’ Tom Wilson, Belleville’s Daniil Zharkov, and Nick Ebert of the Windsor Spitfires. The Soo’s Matt Murray gets a chance to shine between the pipes, after ceding his starting role after the arrival of Jack Campbell.
The Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Skills Competition takes place Tuesday night with the Game set for Wednesday night at 10:00 pm Eastern and can be seen live on Sportsnet.