OHL talent draws attention ahead of NHL Draft
Thursday June 25, 2015
By Josh Sweetland/CHL
By this point, Erie Otters captain Connor McDavid no longer needs an introduction. The likely choice by the Edmonton Oilers with their first overall pick in Friday’s 2015 NHL Draft has wowed fans and scouts alike all season, earning Most Outstanding Player honours in the OHL with 120 points in 47 regular season games while winning a gold medal with the Canadian National Junior Team in December.
While the OHL has been McDavid’s development destination since the young age of 15, there are a number of other emerging talents coming out of the 20-team circuit that find themselves atop the NHL Central Scouting Service’s Pre-Draft Rankings. OHL players compose five of the top eight spots on the list, with Otters teammate Dylan Strome, Kingston Frontenacs power forward Lawson Crouse, shifty London Knights playmaker Mitch Marner and mature centreman Pavel Zacha drawing considerable interest from NHL clubs. Additionally, goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood of the Barrie Colts has been ranked as the top draft eligible North American goaltender.
The OHL had 41 players selected in the 2014 NHL Draft and appears to be poised for another strong showing in Sunrise, Florida this weekend.
With so much high end talent likely to go in the opening selections of Friday evening’s first round, Director of NHL Central Scouting Dan Marr says teams stepping to the podium following the first two picks (Arizona, Toronto, Carolina) will have some tough choices to make between talented OHL players, particularly with regard to Strome and Marner.
“The team selecting there has a choice of a potential top-line center [Strome] or highly skilled forward [Marner],” Marr told Mike Morreale of NHL.com. “You’ve got choices to what’s going to fit into the philosophy you have of an NHL player. If you want to argue who is going to be the best down the road, they are both going to be good in their roles based on their talent because they are different type forwards.”
In addition to Strome and Marner, the OHL boasts a pair of bigger, stronger forwards in Canadian World Junior gold medalist Lawson Crouse and Czech centreman Pavel Zacha. Both players stand in at over 6’3″ and weigh in excess of 210Ib.
Crouse, who hit a homerun out of Marlins Stadium in Miami during batting practice on Wednesday, comes highly recommended by NHL Central Scouting after he scored 29 goals, 22 assists and 51 points in 56 games with Kingston this season.
“I think you’d have to be nuts not to take Crouse [near the top of the first round],” Central Scouting’s Chris Edwards told Morreale. “To get a guy this size … I haven’t seen a guy who physically dominates opponents like this since Eric Lindros. He can drop the shoulder and take the puck to the net. I realize there are other skilled guys in this draft class and guys who have over 100 points, but Crouse was close to being a point-a-game guy.”
As for Zacha, the big Sarnia Sting centreman who was the first overall pick in the 2014 CHL Import Draft drew similar praise from Edwards.
“He’s got high-end skill and is an excellent competitor,” Edwards said. “He plays an excellent two-way game. He’s physical and solid on his skates and can separate guys from the puck.”
Other OHL forwards garnering attention include 2015 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game MVP Travis Konecny of the Ottawa 67’s and speedy Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds winger Zachary Senyshyn.
On the blueline, talented puck movers in Niagara’s Vince Dunn, Erie’s Travis Dermott and Oshawa’s Mitchell Vande Sompel are part of the discussion going into Friday night’s first round.
As mentioned, the OHL features North America’s top ranked goaltender in Mackenzie Blackwood of the Barrie Colts. The Thunder Bay, ON, native posted strong results in the 2015 NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo earlier this month. The 6’4″, 215Ib goaltender finished second in the standing long jump and third in the hand grip strength testing excersises while also placing third in the vertical jump.
Blackwood, who is a late 1996 birthdate, represented the OHL in the 2014 SUBWAY Super Series and finished the season with 33 wins, a 3.09 goals against-average and .906 save percentage.
“He’s one of those goalies you could see four or five years down the road as a starter in the NHL,” NHL Central Scouting lead goaltending evaluator Al Jensen told Morreale. “He’s got those tools that separate him from the others. I like his power.”
A total of 52 OHL players made the NHL Central Scouting Service’s Final Draft Rankings and now await their opportunity to hear their name called at the BB&T Center on Friday night when the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft gets underway on Sportsnet at 6:30pm ET.
2015 NHL Central Scouting Service Final Draft Rankings
NORTH AMERICAN SKATERS – OHL
Rank |
Name |
Team |
1 |
MCDAVID, CONNOR |
ERIE |
4 |
STROME, DYLAN |
ERIE |
5 |
CROUSE, LAWSON |
KINGSTON |
6 |
MARNER, MITCHELL |
LONDON |
8 |
ZACHA, PAVEL |
SARNIA |
14 |
KONECNY, TRAVIS |
OTTAWA |
32 |
DUNN, VINCE |
NIAGARA |
34 |
VANDE SOMPEL, MITCHELL |
OSHAWA |
38 |
SENYSHYN, ZACHARY |
SAULT STE. MARIE |
44 |
CAPOBIANCO, KYLE |
SUDBURY |
46 |
DERMOTT, TRAVIS |
ERIE |
49 |
SPEERS, BLAKE |
SAULT STE. MARIE |
50 |
KOROSTELEV, NIKITA |
SARNIA |
57 |
KNOTT, GRAHAM |
NIAGARA |
67 |
CIRELLI, ANTHONY |
OSHAWA |
68 |
SPENCER, MATTHEW |
PETERBOROUGH |
74 |
SUTER, PIUS |
GUELPH |
75 |
BOURAMMAN, GUSTAV |
SAULT STE. MARIE |
81 |
MARTENET, CHRIS |
LONDON |
85 |
MANGIAPANE, ANDREW |
BARRIE |
91 |
SCHEMITSCH, THOMAS |
OWEN SOUND |
93 |
ANDERSSON, RASMUS |
BARRIE |
96 |
LUFF, MATT |
BELLEVILLE |
99 |
LIZOTTE, CAMERON |
PETERBOROUGH |
102 |
CRAWLEY, BRANDON |
LONDON |
104 |
RADKE, ROY |
BARRIE |
109 |
SALITURO, DANTE |
OTTAWA |
112 |
STEPHENS, MITCHELL |
SAGINAW |
120 |
MCKENZIE, BRETT |
NORTH BAY |
128 |
WHITE, COLTON |
SAULT STE. MARIE |
129 |
ADDISON, JEREMIAH |
OTTAWA |
137 |
LEMCKE, JUSTIN |
BELLEVILLE |
139 |
FOX, TRENT |
BELLEVILLE |
140 |
LINDBERG, BRANDON |
SARNIA |
145 |
DESROCHER, STEPHEN |
OSHAWA |
147 |
MCCOOL, HAYDEN |
WINDSOR |
150 |
ARTEMOV, ARTEM |
SAGINAW |
167 |
SCHMALZ, MATT |
SUDBURY |
168 |
LAISHRAM, ADAM |
BELLEVILLE |
175 |
MACARTHUR, TYLER |
OWEN SOUND |
178 |
FRANZEN, GUSTAF |
KITCHENER |
185 |
DAVIES, MIKE |
KITCHENER |
194 |
SZYPULA, ETHAN |
OWEN SOUND |
201 |
MEYER, JARETT |
OWEN SOUND |
207 |
CRAWFORD, MARCUS |
SAGINAW |
210 |
BRUCE, RILEY |
NORTH BAY |
NORTH AMERICAN GOALTENDERS – OHL
Rank |
Name |
Team |
1 |
BLACKWOOD, MACKENZIE |
BARRIE |
11 |
HERBST, LIAM |
OTTAWA |
20 |
HICKS, CONNOR |
BELLEVILLE |
21 |
MCNIVEN, MICHAEL |
OWEN SOUND |
25 |
FLINN, JACK |
OWEN SOUND |
26 |
PERESSINI, LUCAS |
KINGSTON |
Written with files from Mike Morreale at NHL.com.