Andrei Pedan

It was hard to figure out how the first round pick in last summer's KHL Draft was going to adjust to playing in North America this season.

The big bruising and powerful defenseman had shown all the tools to be successful at both ends of the ice before hitting the smaller ice surfaces.

Pedan showed his physicality and ability to play a strong defensive game throughout the season. But somehow, his offensive ability, or those that we thought he had, went MIA throughout the year. He's not particularly a strong skater, but is good enough to help him play a solid defensive game. Paden doesn't have the above average hockey sense to be an offensive force. Witness his 2 goals and 10 assists in 51 regular season games for the Guelph Storm.

Hold the presses !

Then came the OHL playoffs. And while his defensive game didn't suffer, Pedan became a force at the other end of the rink as well. In just 6 games, Pedan put up 8 assists, almost matching his regular season output.

So what does this all mean? Prior to the season you could find Pedan ranked anywhere from a late second to a seventh round pick. His regular season put some doubts as to whether he could provide the offense that was original thought. So did he lay that all to rest in the playoffs?

We can't see how one round in the playoffs has made scouts think twice, but you have to wonder if some may be intrigued by what he brings to the defensive game and that, at least for one round, showed an ability to chip in on the offense.

It is our belief that someone may just take a chance at Pedan as early as the third round.

OHL Playoffs - Day 5

Kitchener 3 Plymouth 1 - Plymouth leads series 2-1

Kitchener came out in this game trying to physically intimidate Plymouth from top to bottom. So much so that even Ryan Murphy took a roughing penalty. And it worked.

They also needed a strong performance from Brandon Maxwell in goal and got just that when he stopped 35 of 36 shots, none more important than on a penalty shot with the Rangers up 2-1. Scott Wedgewood was equally impressive in the loss stopping 45 of 47 shots.

Ryan Murphy and Tobias Rieder set up Jerry D'Amigo for the opening goal before Alex Aleardi scored unnassisted to tie it. Murphy then scored unnassisted to open the third period on the power play and Gabriel Landeskog closed it out with an empty netter, also unnassisted.

Garrett Meurs and Stefan Noesen went pointless for Plymouth.

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Windsor 6 Erie 2 - Windsor leads series 2-1

No double overtime in this game as Windsor dominated on the scoreboard when they took the lead late in the second and scored three times early in the third with 3 goals in 1:02.

Ryan Ellis, Stephan Johnston and Jake Carrick all had a goal and an assist while Zack Kassian and Zack MacQueen added a pair of assists.

Ramis Sadikov stopped 28 of 33 shots for Erie while Jack Campbell stopped 30 of 32.

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Guelph 7 Saginaw 3 - Guelph leads series 2-1

Brandon Foote was again solid in goal for Guelph stopping 37 of 40 shots. Draft eligible Tadeas Galansky came on in relief and allowed 2 goals on 16 shots after Mavric Parks allowed 5 goals on 19 shots.

Both Brandon Saad and Vincent Trocheck got a point for Saginaw, both assists. For Guelph, Taylor Beck had 2 goals and Michael Latta 2 goals and an assist.

Andrey Pedan added 2 more assists giving him 0 goals and 5 assists in the 3 games to date. The big Russian defenseman had 2 goals and 10 assists in 51 regular season games for Guelph.

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Sudbury 5 Ottawa 3 - Sudbury leads series 2-0

Shane Prince returned to the lineup for Ottawa but it wasn't enough as the 67's offense could only muster 18 shots on Wolves goalie Alain Valiquette. Tyler Toffoli scored once ad added an assist in a losing cause.

Sudbury however, fired 53 shots at 67's goalie Petr Mrazek. Andrey Kuchin had 2 goals and an assist to lead the way. Charlie Dodero had a goal while Frank Corrado added an assist. Justin Sefton was held off the score sheet.

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Andrei Pedan

Andrei Pedan - Guelph Storm
6'4 - 190 LBS

Pedan was a first round pick, 18th overall, in this years KHL Entry Draft. But like some of his other Russian brethren this year, Pedan has no interest in joining Dynamo Moscow for the upcoming season and chose the Guelph Storm of the OHL.

He's not your prototypical Russian defensemen. While he has ability at both ends of the ice, he likes to use his huge frame in a physical game, not something we are use to seeing from Russian defensemen. He is also more than willing to drop the gloves when need be, and he's hard to beat with his long reach.

The 32nd pick in the OHL Import Draft has the ability to be an early 2nd rounder, or maybe even a late 1st rounder in Minnesota in June, but he has yet to show what he can do against better competition, so he could just as easily drop. If he can show early on in the season that he can compete with the best players in his age group, and he sticks to playing to his strengths, he will be a fun player to watch this upcoming season in Guelph.

Unlike some Europeans who come over alone and try to make the adjustment without family in a new country, Pedan is not coming alone. Pedan's father, is sending his own mother to come stay with him. In an interview with the Guelph Tribune, Pedan was asked what he likes best about his grandmother coming to live with him.

“Her potatoes and turkey (dish),” he said with a smile. “It is my favourite.”