Tuesday, November 17, 2009

NHL Central Scouting Releases the OHL Preliminary Ranking for 2010


This morning NHL Central Scouting has released it's preliminary rankings for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Below you can find the OHL's list (full link can be found here).

Skaters:

1. Tyler Seguin - Plymouth Whalers
2. Taylor Hall - Windsor Spitfires
3. Cam Fowler - Windsor Spitfires
4. Erik Gudbranson - Kingston Frontenacs
5. Alexander Burmistrov - Barrie Colts
6. John McFarland - Sudbury Wolves
7. Ryan Martindale - Ottawa 67's
8. Austin Watson - Windsor Spitfires
9. Ivan Telegin - Saginaw Spirit
10. Andrew Yogan - Erie Otters
11. Justin Shugg - Windsor Spitfires
12. Brock Beukeboom - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
13. Ryan Spooner - Peterborough Petes
14. Tyler Toffoli - Ottawa 67's
15. Jeff Skinner - Kitchener Rangers
16. Stephen Silas - Belleville Bulls
17. Freddie Hamilton - Niagara IceDogs
18. Cameron Wind - Brampton Battalion
19. Steve Shipley - Owen Sound Attack
20. Dalton Smith - Ottawa 67's
21. Brandon Archibald - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
22. Josh Shalla - Saginaw Spirit
23. Sam Carrick - Brampton Battalion
24. Austin Levi - Plymouth Whalers
25. Christian Thomas - Oshawa Generals

Goalies:
1. Mark Visentin - Niagara IceDogs
2. Phil Grubauer - Belleville Bulls
3. Michael Houser - London Knights
4. J.P. Anderson - Mississauga Majors
5. Bryce O'Hagan - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
6. Scott Wedgewood - Plymouth Whalers
7. Kevin Bailie - Oshawa Generals

Thoughts:
  • Keep in mind this is a Preliminary list. Last year, 7 players on this very list didn't even end up getting drafted and were much lower down (or absent) on the Central Scouting Final List.
  • Happy to see some under the radar guys get on there. In particular Battalion defenseman Cameron Wind is someone I've been impressed with every time I've seen him. Ditto for Ottawa's Dalton Smith.
  • Obviously the biggest absence is Owen Sound's Joey Hishon. Any other scouting agency I've seen still has Hishon as a first round pick (Redline, ISS, NACS). Very odd that they leave him off completely. While Hishon has had a poor start to the season (and is injured currently), I don't think that warrants him being left off the list completely. He must have left one sour taste in their mouths this year.
  • After that, I'd say the three biggest absentees are Devante Smith-Pelly of Mississauga, Ryan O'Connor of Saginaw and Geoffrey Schemitsch of Owen Sound. I'm actually very surprised that these guys aren't on here. Not to sound overly critical of the list, but I'm not sure what more Smith-Pelly could have done. Leading one of the OHL's best teams (and nationally ranked teams) in scoring, while providing an all around game. If anything, I actually expected him to be ranked HIGHER than many currently have him based on his good start and offensive progression this year. His absence is a real head scratcher for me. Schemitsch was a guy I was rooting for. Currently 2nd in rookie scoring in the OHL, just outside the top 10 among defenseman scoring, I figured he'd have a place. But as an OHL rookie, perhaps he hasn't had enough exposure to Central Scouting as of now. And O'Connor, well Hockey Canada obviously likes him (recently naming him to the Subway Series), but perhaps it's a size issue for Central Scouting.
  • The goalies, while perhaps differently ranked than I'd have them, are not a surprise considering the performance of those goalies this season. While I do think Anderson and O'Hagan might still be the best "pro" prospects, in terms of this years performance, Visentin, Grubauer and Houser deserve to be up top.
  • Lastly, I think it's a pretty solid list. Obviously I disagree with some of the order and some of the aforementioned absences, but this is a tough year to rank the OHL. So many quality players available (the best crop since 2003).
What do you think?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If this list means that the people that make up this list think that Seguin should be drafted ahead of Tayor Hall then I have quicklyy lost respect for the list makers
And this from an unbiased London Knights fan

On the Pond said...

I'm surprised Hall got bumped down, too. Seguin has been fantastic, but Hall is more proven as a player. Maybe this is a bit of a challenge to the two, to see how they handle it; how Seguin deals with the added pressure and how Hall deals with not being the golden boy. Also, as another Knights fan, WOOOOO for Houser!