Predictions for CSB rankings

[Hiishawk]

I haven't been able to get aroud to as many games an N. America as usual this season (so far) but, based on my own observations plus chats with friends in the biz- I expect that tomorrows CSB preliminary rankings (league-byleague) will look something like this:

WHL (a weak group this year but good in goal)
1. Gilbert Brule
2. Chris Durand
3. Devon Setoguchi
4. Michael Sauer
5. Nick Drazenovic
7. Brendan Mikkelson
8. Blair Jones
9. Scott Jackson
10. Dustin Kohn
11. Adam Hobson
12. Dan Mercer
13. Ray Macais
14. Paul Kucerba
15. Wacey Rabbitt
16. Mike Gauthier
17. Kendall McArdle
18. Dalyn Flatt
19. Riley Merkley
20. Rob Schlemko
21. Stuart Gimas
22. Kevin Salgert
23. Colton Yellowhorn
24. Brett Stamler
25. Tim Krauss
Close: Kris Russell, Jeff May, Kevin Reinhart, Kevin Bailey, Blair Stengler, Pete Lamoreaux, Sean Zimmerman, Troy Ofukany, R.J. Larochelle

GK:
1. Carey Price
2. Scott Bowles
3. Kevin Plante
4. Kris Westblom
5. Alex Archibald
Close: Joey Perricone, Real Cyr, David Reekie

OHL (a VERY deep group except for goalies):
1. Ryan O'Marra
2. Bobby Ryan
3. Radek Smolenak
4. Benoit Pouliot
5. Matt Lashoff
6. Marc Staal
7. Dan Ryder
8. Chris Lawrence
9. Ryan Parent
10. Michael Blunden
11. Patrick Davis
12. Jakub Kindl
13. Tom Mannino
14. Steve Downie
15. Ryan Wilson
16. Patrick McNeill
17. Dan Collins
18. Evan Brophy
19. Adam McQuaid
20. Tyler Donati
21. Tom Pyatt
22. Matt Pelech
23. Phil Oreskovic
24. Cal O'Reilly
25. James Neal
Close (*VERY close): Ryan Berard, Geoff Killing, Sean O'Connor, Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn*, Tony Rizzi, Bobby Bolt, Dev Heshmaptour*, Mike Duko, Josh Beaulieu, Brad Snetsinger, Adam Abraham*, Justin Donati, Derek Joslin*, Elgin Reid, Kevin Baker, Kyle Lamb*, Matt D'Agostini*, Cody Bass*.

Goalies:
1. Darrin Machesney
2. Todd Lalonde
3. Mike Iafrate
4. Kyle Knechtel
5. Kyle Gajewski
Close: Matthew Spezza, Wayne Savage, Jhase Sniderman,

QMJHL (the best Q group in memory)
1. Sidney Crosby
2. Alex Bourret
3. Marek Zagrapan
4. Guillaume Latendresse
5. Luc Bourdon
6. J.P. Paquet
7. Slava Trukhno
8. Gennady Churilov
9. Mathieu Aubin
10. Francois Bolduc
11. Patrick Bisallon
12. Mathieu Roy
13. Oscars Bartulis
14. Alex Picard-Hooper
15. Marc-Andre Cote
16. Marc Gragnani
17. Marc-Edouard Vlasic
18. Mathieu Labrie
19. Francis Guerette-Charland
20. Guillaume Lepine
21. Simon Bolduc
22. Andrew Andricopolous
23. Jordan Clendenning
24. Eric Begin
25. Michael Korenko
Close: Maxime Lacroix, Eric Pare, Kris Letang, Joakim Jensen, Cal Fergus, Chad Denny, Marc-Andre Cliche, Nicolas Blanchard.

Goalies:
1. Alex Vincent
2. J.P. Levasseur
3. Pier-Oliver Pelletier
4. Ryan Mior
5. Jeremy Duschesne
Close: Guillaume Blouin

Click to read more...

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Is Mathew Spezza related to Jason?

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

Look for Latendresse to get a free pass and stay at #2 in the Q. CSB loves size, so I think they'll give him the benefit of the doubt this ranking given he is just coming back from injury.

Good job though.

 

[Hiishawk]

Is Mathew Spezza related to Jason?

Yup. Younger brother.

 

[Avery4Byng*]

WHL rankings I would throw Yellowhorn (despite his size) up in top 10 forsure.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

Big guys at the top...small guys at the bottom. Like every CSB ranking.

 

[X-SHARKIE]

Radek Smolenak?


I'm a huge huge fan of the two Wolves Staal, and Pouliot, tell me more about this Smolenak?

 

[Hiishawk]

Big guys at the top...small guys at the bottom. Like every CSB ranking.

Well, it is a CSB prediction after all. Also, NHL drafts tend to follow this formula. No matter how much one admires, say, Kris Russel's play this year, his future as an NHLer is negligible at best.

But note how many small FWs are on the list. Also- very few big DF of note this year, except for Bolduc all are average (for D's) or smallish.. I have Heshmaptour outside the OHL top 25.

 

[MHJS]

Radek Smolenak?


I'm a huge huge fan of the two Wolves Staal, and Pouliot, tell me more about this Smolenak?

Well, I've seen him play about 10 times this year and I've been very impressed. Completely shocked me with his play. He has a solid shot, above average stickhandling, and desire to play. He's around a PPG for the Frontenacs this year. They finally got one right in the import draft...

 

[BuppY]

Pouliot should be a little higher

 

[Eb0la11]

Thats it. Im taking Matthew Spezza in my keeper draft lol. Is he any good? I mean I love Jason, prob my fave player as a Flames fan

 

[Hiishawk]

Smolenak- this guy has taken BIG steps this year, one of the few cases where a Euro has been better in N. America than in Europe. His improvement rate is a BIG factor in my high ranking (by the way, some folks in the biz are saying that he is flying too far under the radar right now).
He looks like a man among boys right now- particularly in the fact that he rarely goes down. He fights through checks, drags defenders around and has an amazing ability to find, control and make a play with the puck in a scrum. He's not a fast or flashy skater but boy does he have leg strength. He also posseses a fast, accurate shot- which he gets away VERY quickly.

Pouliot has been gathering more checkers recently and, as a result, he hasn't been as effective recently as he was during the first 15 games. We'll see how well he adjusts to the attention. Still, his hockey sense and puck skills have NHL written all over. Combine him with Smolenak and you have a Joe Thornton.

 

[MS]

I haven't been able to get aroud to as many games an N. America as usual this season (so far) but, based on my own observations plus chats with friends in the biz- I expect that tomorrows CSB preliminary rankings (league-byleague) will look something like this:

Nice ... does CSB list 86 guys who were passed over last year - ie Lascek, Lavallee, Hotham, Barnes? I was under the impression they did.

I have lists on my comp for each league so I'll give mine as well. Not much actual scouting in these lists - mostly based on feedback, impressions, and stats - as I haven't seen most of the Eastern guys play, but interesting to compare with yours anyway. Goalies aren't separated.

WHL
1) Gilbert Brule C 5'11 180 Vancouver
2) Chris Durand C 6'2 180 Seattle
3) Carey Price G 6'2 175 Tri-City
4) Devin Setoguchi W 5'11 180 Saskatoon
5) Brendan Mikkelson D 6'2 180 Portland
6) Blair Jones C 6'2 195 Red Deer
7) Michael Sauer D 6'2 200 Portland
8) Dalyn Flatt D 6'3 210 Saskatoon
9) Scott Jackson D 6'4 200 Seattle
10)Mike Gauthier D 6'4 190 Prince Albert
11)Kyle Bailey C 6'2 185 Portland
12)Paul Kurceba D 6'2 180 Red Deer
13)Dustin Kohn D 6'1 180 Calgary
14)Kendal McArdle W 5'11 195 Moose Jaw
15)Michal Gulasi D 6'1 195 Lethbridge
16)Nick Drazenovic C 6'0 170 Prince George
17)Adam Hobson C 6'0 195 Spokane
18)Ray Macias D 6'2 185 Kamloops
19)Shane Gimas D 6'1 208 Tri-City
20)Wacey Rabbit W 5'10 160 Saskatoon
21)Dan Mercer D 6'3 190 Moose Jaw
22)Riley Merkley W 6'3 175 Calgary
23)Tim Kraus C 6'0 185 Vancouver
24)Derek Reinhart D 6'3 190 Regina
25)Joe Barnes C 6'3 205 Saskatoon

OHL

1) Bobby Ryan W 6'1 224 Owen Sound
2) Ryan O'Marra C 6'2 190 Erie
3) Benoit Pouliot W 6'2 180 Sudbury
4) Marc Staal D 6'3 185 Sudbury
5) Radek Smolenak W 6'3 190 Kingston
6) Ryan Parent D 6'2 180 Guelph
7) Evan Brophey C 6'2 190 Belleville
8) Chris Lawrence C 6'4 180 S-S Marie
9) Daniel Ryder C 5'11 185 Peterborough
10)Matt Lashoff D 6'2 198 Kitchener
11)Jakub Kindl D 6'3 183 Kitchener
12)Ryan Berard D 6'2 190 Belleville
13)Ryan Wilson D 6'1 205 Toronto
14)Patrick Davis W 6'2 191 Kitchener
15)Michael Blunden W 6'2 205 Erie
16)Phil Oreskovic D 6'3 210 Brampton
17)Adam McQuaid D 6'4 190 Sudbury
18)Tom Mannino W 5'11 192 Windsor
19)Patrick McNeill D 5'11 196 Saginaw
20)Dan Collins W 6'1 195 Plymouth
21)Devereaux Heshmatpour D 6'6 238 Kitchener
22)Steve Downie C 5'10 190 Windsor
23)Tony Rizzi W 6'2 175 Kingston
24)Matt D'Agostini W 6'0 175 Guelph
25)Cal O'Reilly C 5'10 175 Windsor
26)James Neal W 6'3 180 Plymouth
27)Andrew Hotham D 6'2 185 Barrie
28)Tyler Donati W 5'10 175 Oshawa
29)Tom Pyatt C 5'11 180 Saginaw
30)Derek Joslin D 6'1 175 Ottawa

QMJHL

1) Sidney Crosby C 5'10 180 Rimouski
2) Alex Bourret W 5'11 214 Lewiston
3) Guillaume Latendresse W 6'2 220 Drummondville
4) Marek Zagrapan W 6'1 185 Chicoutimi
5) Alexandre Vincent G 6'4 195 Chicoutimi
6) Luc Bourdon D 6'2 185 Val d'Or
7) J-P Levasseur G 6'0 190 Rouyn-Noranda
8) Mathieu Aubin C 6'2 181 Lewiston
9) Slava Trukhno W 6-1 196 PEI
10)Francois Bolduc D 6'5 229 Rimouski
11)J-P Paquette D 6'2 205 Shawinigan
12)Francis Charland W 6'1 185 Victoriaville
13)Ryan Mior G 6'1 180 PEI
14)Stanislav Lascek W 6'0 191 Chicoutimi
15)Jordan Lavallee W 6'2 218 Quebec
16)Mathieu Roy W 6'0 196 Acadie-Bathurst
17)Alexandre Hooper W 5'10 170 Baie-Comeau
18)Gennady Churilov W 6'1 176 Quebec
19)Guillaume Lepine D 6'3 208 Chicoutimi
20)Eric Begin D 6'1 200 Shawinigan
21)Oscars Bartulis D 6-1 180 Moncton
22)Mathieu Labrie D 6'1 197 Acadie-Bathurst
23)Andrew Andricopoulous D 6'0 180 Quebec
24)Marc-Andre Cote C 6'0 190 Acadie-Bathurst
25)Jordan Clendenning W 5'11 190 Acadie-Bathurst

 

[Hiishawk]

MS- Interesting to see Gulasi on your list. He's an 85, not an 87 as the WHL site states. You probably knew this but wondering what you like about him that puts him this high vis-a-vis the 87's.

 

[MS]

MS- Interesting to see Gulasi on your list. He's an 85, not an 87 as the WHL site states. You probably knew this but wondering what you like about him that puts him this high vis-a-vis the 87's.

No, I didn't know it actually, or at least I forgot because I knew watching him last year that he was 04 eligible. Putting together a list at the start of the year I took the WHL site at face value, and hockeydb has him as an 87 as well. Actually, we're both wrong as Lethbridge has him listed as an 86 on their site ... at least I'm not off by two years. Ugh.

No, he shouldn't be anywhere near that high if he's an 86, although I do like his skating and physical game.

 

[Vinland]

My guess is that you don't see much WHL

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

My guess is that you don't see much WHL

Here's mine:

1)Gilbert Brule 5'11 180
2)Chris Durand 6'1 180
3)Devin Setoguchi 6'0 185
4)Carey Price 6'4 215
5)Nick Drazenovic 6'1 175
6)Brendan Mikkelson 6'2 175
7)Blair Jones 6'2 190
8)Michael Sauer 6'2 195
9)Mike Gauthier 6'4 190
10)Kendal Mccardel 5'11 180
11)Dustin Kohn 6'1 180
12)Ray Macias 6'2 185
13)Scott Jackson 6'4 195
14)Adam Hobson 6'0 185
15)Wacey Rabbit 5'9 170
16)Paul Kurceba 6'2 180
17)Dalynn Flatt 6'3 210
18)Riley Merkley 6'3 175
19)Kyle Bailey 6'2 185
20)Joe Barnes 6'3 205
21)Tim Kraus 6'0 185
22)Jeff May 6'1 185
23)Shane Gimas 6'2 185
24)Troy Ofukany 5'11 180
25)Dan Mercer 6'3 200

 

[nomorekids]

jordan lavallee has been overlooked the past couple of years, but i plan on penning a letter to nashville begging them to take him, as they're fond of overage picks anyway. could be a good gamble.

 

[FREE DENTAL CARE]

LaVallee is a GOOD bet. When you look at his OVERALL stats, they're not many better in the "Q". He didn't play in offensive situations at all last year and still doesn't play more than 10-15 min/game this year in mpst games. However, he's top 10 in goals, total points, =/-, power play goals, short-handed goals, shots, and hits. Plays tough with 56 penalty minutes and 5 fighting majors. Great team leader as well. He is in need of some positive attention playing in the league "shadow" of Crosby and team shadow of Hennessy

 

[dubfan]

Here's mine:

1)Gilbert Brule 5'11 180
2)Chris Durand 6'1 180
3)Devin Setoguchi 6'0 185
4)Carey Price 6'4 215
5)Nick Drazenovic 6'1 175
6)Brendan Mikkelson 6'2 175
7)Blair Jones 6'2 190
8)Michael Sauer 6'2 195
9)Mike Gauthier 6'4 190
10)Kendal Mccardel 5'11 180
11)Dustin Kohn 6'1 180
12)Ray Macias 6'2 185
13)Scott Jackson 6'4 195
14)Adam Hobson 6'0 185
15)Wacey Rabbit 5'9 170
16)Paul Kurceba 6'2 180
17)Dalynn Flatt 6'3 210
18)Riley Merkley 6'3 175
19)Kyle Bailey 6'2 185
20)Joe Barnes 6'3 205
21)Tim Kraus 6'0 185
22)Jeff May 6'1 185
23)Shane Gimas 6'2 185
24)Troy Ofukany 5'11 180
25)Dan Mercer 6'3 200

i have been very impressed with tim kraus of vancouver as well as kendal mcardle of moose jaw. i have been dissapointed in adam hobson of spokane and brendan mikkelson of portland.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Well, it is a CSB prediction after all. Also, NHL drafts tend to follow this formula. No matter how much one admires, say, Kris Russel's play this year, his future as an NHLer is negligible at best.

But note how many small FWs are on the list. Also- very few big DF of note this year, except for Bolduc all are average (for D's) or smallish.. I have Heshmaptour outside the OHL top 25.

Wondering why you don't have Ouellet on your list from Cape Breton. He has been CB's most consistant rookie. I think he has close to 20 points in only his first QMJHL season on a team run by a moron.

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

i have been very impressed with tim kraus of vancouver as well as kendal mcardle of moose jaw. i have been dissapointed in adam hobson of spokane and brendan mikkelson of portland.

Hobson has been really disapointing, but Mikkelson? From all reports (and from what I've seen of him) he's been impressive.