Top Prospects get the chance to face-off
By Aaron Bell
When the NHL Central Scouting mid-term rankings for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft came out earlier this week, the Canadian Hockey League trio of Gabriel Landeskog of the Kitchener Rangers, Sean Couturier of the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels were at the top of the list.
Those three forwards have been discussed at great length as the top end talent of this year’s draft class. But who is the best?
Right now, Central Scouting gives that honour to Landeskog but all three players are looking forward to the Home Hardware CHL-NHL Top Prospects Game next week to show off their skills against the others.
Landeskog, Couturier and Nugent-Hopkins highlight rosters of 40 players that will compete in the event this year on January 18 and 19 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
NHL Central Scouting Director E.J. McGuire is anxious to see all of these top end players together on the same stage next week.
“I would say at this point, with the number of viewings our scouts have had, as many as eight players could be taken first,” McGuire told NHL.com. “The depth goes right through this draft. A cynic or somebody who’s characterizing this as a non-Sidney Crosby draft year only needs to know that whoever emerges in April at No. 5 on our list (Central Scouting’s final rankings), and in St. Paul as the No. 5 pick, could eventually be a better NHL player than No. 1. “
Rangers’ GM/coach Steve Spott said that Landeskog’s leadership qualities may be what separates him from the rest of this year’s draft class.
“For me he’s in the Mike Richards territory with leadership and I fully believe he’ll be a captain in the NHL one day,” Spott told The Hockey News last month.
Landeskog has 25 goals and 45 points in 32 games this season.
“On the ice, he’s a powerful weapon every time he’s out there,” Spott said. “He can score goals he can defend, he’s a 200-foot player, a complete player. At the same time, he’s our leader and deserving of being our captain.”
Couturier is the top scorer among the three with 53 points in 33 games this season and earned some extra grades for earning a spot on Team Canada and didn’t look out of place in the tournament despite being the only Canadian player that hadn’t been drafted yet.
“His projected dominance from last year’s under-age performance has not rocketed up to expectations for some scouts,” McGuire said. “Don’t forget now, we’re talking about the No. 2 guy overall. We probably expected Couturier to put on more weight and we’re attributing it – although none of us have our MD degree – to maybe an after-effect of the mononucleosis he dealt with in August and maybe fatigue in playing a ton of hockey in a short period of time.”
Nugent-Hopkins has 10 goals and 50 points in 39 games with the Rebels this season.
“He sees the ice very well and his ability to find teammates is beyond that of the first two players we ranked,” McGuire said. “That’s not demeaning the top two players among the thousands we watch, but Nugent-Hopkins has good speed and can make great decisions. He’s just not as tall as a lot of people might want him to be.”
Landeskog’s teammate Ryan Murphy was rated 10th in the mid-term rankings but the smooth skating blueliner is also grabbing attention as an even earlier pick in June.
“Any of those top-10 guys, including Murphy, could be juxtaposed pretty darn easily,” McGuire told the Canadian Press this week. “This is not a year like a Crosby year, or even a Tavares vs. Hedman year or a Tyler vs. Taylor year like last year.
“This is a pretty even pack. And it’s spread around.”
The Home Hardware CHL-NHL Top Prospects Game will also be shown across Canada on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS on Wednesday January 19 (7:00 p.m. Eastern).