NHL Draft Blog Ranks the Top 10 Left Wingers in the Draft

Over at the NHL Draft Blog, they ranked the top 10 left wingers available for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and 5 of the 10 were from the OHL.

Gabriel Landeskog led the way as the top Left Winger.

"Landeskog's game is developed for up and down the wing, disciplined and doing the little things right," MacDonald said. "He'll fit in nicely because he does his job, and I think that's the difference between Gabriel and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Hopkins will be more prolific down the road while Landeskog will be more steady, tough, the grind-it-out type, at the next level."

The other four OHL'ers joining Landeskog are: Brandon Saad, Matt Puempel, Alexander Khokhlachev and Lucas Lessio.

For the full story click here

OHL Playoffs - Day 22

Niagara 7 Oshawa 3 - Niagara wins series 4-1 (Prediction: Niagara in 7 games)

Okay so it didn't last 7 games but as much as Niagara deserved to win in 5 games, Oshawa was to blame just as much for being undisciplined and taking foolish and needless penalties. That aside, we are going to see the Eastern Conference Championship pretty  much everyone expected when Niagara opens up on the road in Mississauga and the two battle it out for the Bobby Orr Trophy. And what a series that will be. But more on that later.

Last night marked the seventh time in 9 playoff games that Niagara has been out shot in a game and their record in those 7 games: 7-0. It really speaks to how well Mark Visentin has played in these playoffs.

It didn't take Niagara long to get the ball rolling when just 40 seconds into the game Dougie Hamilton and Steven Shipley set up Darren Archibald for his 9th goal of the playoffs. Then at 3:22, Archibald was at it again when Jesse Graham and Shipley set him up for his league leading 10th goal with this one coming on the power play to make it 2-0.

Nicklas Jensen and Calvin de Haan would set up Josh Graves for his first to get Oshawa on the board and pull within one at the 8:58 mark. But just 1:35 later Shipley would notch his first of the playoffs to restore the two goal lead when Dougie Hamilton and Andrew Agozzino set him up to make it 3-1 in favor of Niagara.

Ryan Strome would extend the lead to three goals when he scored his 6th of the playoffs from Jason Wilson and Milan Doudera at 14:46 of the first period. At 17:02 and on the power play, Archibald and Wilson would set up David Pacan with his second of the playoffs to go up 5-1. Oshawa would respond with a powerplay goal of their own at 17:48 when de Haan and Boone Jenner set up Christian Thomas for his 9th goal. And that, finally is how the first period would end, with Niagara up 5-2.

Jenner would score his 7th of the post season at 15:05 of the third period to cut the margin to two. The lone assist went to Alain Berger. That would be the lone goal of the period and the score remained 5-3 in favor of Niagara.

Things were looking good for Oshawa as they were beginning to get in on Visentin and create some chances. Almost half way through the period Niagara's Ryan Strome took a double minor for spearing that would put Oshawa on a 4 minute powerplay and a chance to tie the game.

Any attempt at a comeback was just about killed Jensen and Valentine took consecutive slashing penalties 36 seconds apart not only negating their powerplay, but putting them a man down. Agozzino scored his 6th on that powerplay at 11:45 of the third with the assists going to Alex Friesen and Dougie Hamilton, his third of the game. Hamilton now has two 3 point games, three 2 point games and two 1 point games (and only 2 pointless games) in the playoffs.

Pacan would close out the scoring with his 2nd of the game and 3rd of the playoffs from Friesen and Agozzino at 15:08 to make it 7-3.

With 4:29 remaining in regulation, the frustration got to Oshawa's Lucas Lessio when he went after one of the Ice Dogs in the corner and simply lost his cool. Lessio received a double minor for roughing, a 10 minute misconduct and a game misconduct. Lessio will almost certainly face a suspension to begin next season for his actions.

We will preview the Mississauga vs Niagara series once the Western Conference Final is determined. Owen Sound is awaiting the winner of the Saginaw vs Windsor series which is tied at 2 games apiece. Game 5 of that series goes tonight in Saginaw with game 6 back in Windsor on Sunday.

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OHL Playoffs - Day 20

Mississauga 4 Sudbury 3 OT - Mississauga wins series 4-0 (Prediction: Mississauga in 5)

The red hot Mississauga St. Mikes Majors are on one heck of a run that is an 18 game win streak. It started back at the end of the regular season when they won their remaining 10 games. That was followed up by a 4 game sweep of the Belleville Bulls and now a 4 game sweep of the Wolves.

And now, they will be playing for the Bobby Orr Trophy, awarded to the Eastern Conference Playoff Champions. All they have to do is await the winner of the Oshawa - Niagara series. The conference finals begin next week.

What is truly amazing is how they won this game. Alain Valiquette had to be amazing in goal again for the Wolves, and that he was, stopping all 15 shots he faced in the first period. His opponent at the other end, JP Anderson had to face but 3 shots. But the teams would head to the dressing room tied at zero.

In the second period it was the Wolves who opened the scoring with Eric O'Dell scoring his 7th of the playoffs at 7:38 with the assist going to Marcus Foligno. At 16:43 Sudbury upped the score when Foligno scoring from O'Dell and Josh McFadden. That's how the second would end with the Wolves out shooting the Majors 9-6.

Frank Corrado gave Sudbury a 3-0 lead at 8:41 of the third period. And with less than 10 minutes left in regulation, you figure it was game over right? Wrong!

At the 10:47 mark of the period Rob Flick scored to pull the Majors within two. Assists on Flick's goal went to Chris DeSousa and Maxim Kitsyn. Casey Cizikas would then pull Mississauga to within one goal when he scored at 14:45.

Sudbury would go down two men late in the period but the Majors were unable to capitalize on the 5 on 3. But with less than 2 minutes remaining and on another poer play, Marc Cantin and Cizikas would set up Devante Smith-Pelly with 1:51 remaining to even the score at 3 apiece. That's how regulation would end with the Majors out shooting the Wolves 18-8 in the third.

In overtime Riley Brace threw the puck at the net and it bounced off of Valiquette and right to Derek Schoenmakers who banged in for the overtime. Those were 2 of only 4 shots in the overtime. The Wolves had all 4.

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Owen Sound 4 Plymouth 1 - Owen Sound wins series 4-0 (Prediction: Plymouth in 6)

Well, I've never worried about eating crow and being totally wrong, and in this case was I ever wrong. I really expected Plymouth to put up a bigger fight, especially after how they Handled  Kitchener. But give Owen Sound credit. They deserved to win this in 4 games.

Owen Sound now awaits the winner of the Windsor Saginaw series for a chance to win the Eastern Conference Championship and the Wayne gretzky Trophy.

Owen Sound opened the scoring when my hometown boy Brendan Childerly scored his third of the playoffs 9:40 into the opening period. Liam Heelis  and Jarrod Maidens drew the assists on the goal. Cameron Brace made it 2-0 when he notched his first of the post season with the assists going to Andrew Shaw and Mike Halmo.

The period would end with the Attack out shooting the Whalers 17-14.

It was a back and forth second perios until Roman Berdnikov scored very late in the period. There were just 23 seconds left when Garrett Wilson and Jay Gilbert set him up for his thrid goal. Shots in the period were 14-13 in favor of the Whalers.

Jesse Blacker opened the scoring very quickly into the thirs when at the 53 second mark he scored an unassisted power play marker, his fourth of the playoffs to put the Attack up 4-0.

All that remained to be determined late in the game was whether Scott Stajcer, the games first star, would get the shutout. But with just 1:05 remaining in regulation James Livingston would spoil that when he notched his 4th goal. Robbie Czarnick would draw the only assist.

Stajcer would make 36 saves in the game. Not bad for a guy who missed most of the regular season and saw 2 games in relief only in the series against London.

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Niagara 6 Oshawa 1 - Niagara leads series 3-1

Not to take anything away from the Ice Dogs as they deserved this victory from the opening puck drop, but the Generals shot themselves in the foot in this one. The Generals took 7 of the first 8 penalites of the contest with 3 of the 7 going to Andy Andreoff, who had a total of 4 minor penalties in the game.

Jason Wilson would open the scoring at 5:52 when he notched his third goal. Simon Gronvaldt and Freddie Hamilton, who finished with 4 on the night, would add the assists. At 9:28 Wilson would get his second of the game on the powerplay to put Niagara up 2-0. David Pacan and Steven Shipley would get the assists on Wilson's fourth of the playoffs.

Dougie Hamilton would score his second of the playoffs on the powerplay to up the score to 3-0. Freddie Hamilton and Ryan Strome would assist on the goal. Christian Thomas would get Oshawa on the board with his 8th goal set up by Luca Lessio and Tony DeHart. But that's as close as they would come.

Darren Archibald notched his 8th as well when he scored unassisted at 4:47 of the third period to make it 4-1. Strome then scored his fifth from Wilson and Freddie Hamilton and Dougie Hamilton closed out the scoring with another powerplay goal at 18:40 from Strome and Freddie Hamilton.

Mark Visentin was spectacular in goal when he had to be for Niagara stopping 30 of 31 shots.

With the game out of reach it got chippy with hits from behind, hits to the head and fighting majors given out. Oshawa even took a run at Visentin late in the contest - maybe a message for the next game - which goes Friday back in the Cozy confines in St Catherines.

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OHL Playoffs - Day 14

Niagara 2 Oshawa 1 - Niagara leads series 1-0

 Niagara took game one against Oshawa in front of a sold out house at home at the Gatorade Garden City Complex last night.

Mark Visentin, who earlier this week signed an entry level contract with the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, stopped 37 of 38 shots, none bigger than a third period breakaway on Oshawa's Christian Thomas to preserve the victory. Oshawa's Peter Di Salvo was equally as impressive stopping 33 of 35 shots for the Genereals. 

None other than one of our favorites, Ryan Strome, scored at 14:49 of the first on a breakaway and made one of his highlight reel moves to beat Di Salvo. Freddie Hamilton and Jason Wilson picked up the assists on the play on Strome's second of the playoffs.

Another of our favorites, Nicklas Jensen, scored at the 10:09 to tie things up 1-1. It was Jensen's 5th of the playoffs with Lucas Lessio and Daniel Maggio drawing the assists.

Jason Wilson scored his second goal of the playoffs to give Niagara lead once again at 2-1. It was a power play marker set up by Darren Archibald and Steven Shipley.

That's how this one would end.

Game 2 goes Saturday night in Oshawa.

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Owen Sound 4 Plymouth 3 OT - Owen Sound leads series 1-0

Is there a goaltending controversy in Owen Sound? Jordan Binnington, who carried the Attack for the bulk of the regular season was a healthy scratch again. And, well read on.

Michael Zador started for the Attack.  Scott Wedgewood tended goal for the Whalers.
 Jesse Blacker gave the Attack the 1-0 lead at 8:19 of period one.  Joey Hishon assisted.
  James Livingston evened it up less than 2 minutes later on the powerplay as he was the first to a loose puck in front of  Zador and tie the game 1-1 at 10:00.  Tyler Brown and Beau Schmitz drew the assists on Livingston's third of the playoffs.

The Whalers took advantage of another powerplay marker 2:36 into the second period when Beau Schmitz banged in the puck for his second of the playoffs. Robbie Czarnick and Brown assisted on the play.

Stefan Noesen made it 3-1 for Plymouth at 9:43 of the second. It was Noesen's fifth of the playoffs. Brown with his third assist of the night and Schmitz with his second to go along with his goal had the helpers.

A minute later, a nice passing play pulled the Attack within one. Daniel Sweep dished off to Robby Mignardi cross ice who then fired it to Liam Heelis cutting in the front of the Plymouth net and backhanded it passed Wedgewood at 10:44 for his third of the playoffs. That's the way the period would end.

So back to the original question: Is there a goaltending controversy or an injury?

 Scott Stajcer started the third period for the Attack and Zador was not on the bench for the remainder of the period. 

 Garrett Wilson tied the game at 3 at 11:09 of the period. It was Wilson's 4th of the playoffs and was set up by Brenden Childerley.

ANd that's how regulation would end with Attack outshooting the Whalers 44-30.

It was beginning to look like this game would go to a 2nd overtime  but at 14:45 we saw almost a replay of Blacker's first goal, this time from the other side of the rink and yes by Jesse Blacker himself who ended it with his second of the game set up by Wilson and Matt Stanisz.

Game 2 goes Saturday in Plymouth.

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Playoff Preview - Round 2 - Eastern Conference

Here's a preview of the Eastern Conference matchups in round 2 of the playoffs.

Mississauga (1) vs Sudbury (7) - Mississauga won season series 5-1

And they did so almost convincingly outscoring the Wolves 41-21 in those 6 games.

In Round 1 Mississauga swept the 8th seed Belleville Bulls while the Wolves surprised the hockey world and swept the 2nd seed Ottawa 67's.

Your draft eligible players to watch for Sudbury. Vs Mississauga, this is what they did:

Josh Leivo 1G 2A
Frank Corrado 0G 2A
Charlie Dodero 0G 0A
Justin Sefton 0G 0A

For Mississauga

Stuart Percy 1G 4A

For Bruins fans wanting to follow Marc Cantin, he had 1 goal and 4 assists in those 6 games against Sudbury.

Prediction: Mississauga in 5 games.

Niagara (3) vs Oshawa (4) - Season Series tied 1-1

In round 1 Niagara swept Brampton in 4 games while Oshawa ousted Kingston in 5.

For the serious draft junky, this is the series to watch. It's loaded with potential first round picks.

For Niagara, here's what the draft eligible players did vs Oshawa:

Ryan Strome 1G 3A
Dougie Hamilton 1G 1A

For Oshawa:

Boone Jenner 0G 1A
Nicklas Jensen 3G 0A
Lucas Lessio 0G 1A

This series will come down to home ice advantage. Therefore,

Prediction; Niagara in 7 games

OHL Playoffs - Day 9

Oshawa 6 Kingston 2 - Oshawa wins series 4-1 (Prediction: Oshawa in 7)

Well we thought Oshawa would win this series, but not this decisively. This came down to a goaltending issue, or lack of for Kingston. We touched on that before, so we won't get into it again.

But give the Generals credit. They thoroughly dominated through 4 games and deserved this series as it turned out, no questions asked.

Tony DeHart led the way last night with 2 goals and 3 assists for the generals. Boone Jenner added 1 goal and 2 assists while Lucas Lessio tallied 1 goal and 1 assist. Peter DiSalvo stopped 37 of 39 shots for the Generals.

Here's a look at the stats for Oshawa's big 3 draft eligible players in this series. Boone Jenner had 4 goals and 4 assists and was a plus 7; Lucas Lessio had 5 goals and 2 assists and was a minus 1; Nicklas Jensen had 4 goals and 2 assists and was a plus 2.

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Erie 6 Windsor 5 OT - Windsor leads series 3-2

This game had plenty of action with goals, comebacks, overtime, you name it it had it.

Windsor was able to come back from 4-1 and 5-2 deficits to force overtime with a huge comeback in the third period where they dominated it from start to finish. If not for the goaltending heroics of Ramis Sadikov, Windsor would have won this in regulation. The Spits peppered Sadikov with 22 shots in the third period alone, 50 in the game, while only allowing 7 shots against in the third.

Entering the third, the Spits trailed 5-2. With 9 minutes gone in the period they began the comeback. Kerby Rychel scored at 9:03 of the period with assists going to Carnevale and Ellis.

Then at 16:10 Jake Carrick pulled the Spits within 1 setup by Khokhlachev and Khunhackl. Just 41 seconds later who else but Ryan Ellis would tie it with assists to Brown and Kassian.


But the party ended there when 4:03 into overtime Anthony Luciani scored his 4th goal of the game, yes the game, to give Erie the victory and send them back home trailing the series 3-2.

Game 6 goes Sunday in Erie.

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Kitchener 6 Plymouth 4 - Plymouth leads series 3-2

With Kitchener leading 2-1 we saw a penalty that most people don't know or understand. Ryan Murphy was called for a minor penalty for illegal equipment. Under OHL rules, a player that loses his helmut must go directly to the bench or be assessed a minor. Murphy hesitated for just a split second and was called for the penalty. Stefan Noesen continued his clutch goal scoring just seconds into the power play to tie the game.

The teams were tied going into the third when Robbie Czarnick scored 34 seconds into the third to put Plymouth up 3-2. Then Murphy, who had over 30 minutes of ice time and had rush after rush up the ice in front of a bevy of NHL scouts and General Managers and the penalty still fresh in his mind, made another rush up the ice.

People will call this a lucky bounce, but i've seen Murphy do this before going back to his days with the York Simcoe Express. His usual move is to fire a shot from the circle or take it around the net. But as he crossed center ice you could see him take a peek over his left shoulder. He saw Jerry D'Amigo coming up the left side and from behind. He slowed up just a bit as he crossed the blue line and put a shot off the end boards that bounced in front to D'Amigo who had a wide open net to tie the game up. Call it luck if you wish, but that is a set play by Murphy.

Michael Catenacci then scored to make it 5-3 set up by Murphy and Sol. It was Catenacci's 2nd of the game at 15:30 of the third. Game over right? Wrong. We've seen Plymouth come back before from 2 goals down and defeat the Rangers. Could it happen again?

With 32 seconds remaining and goaltender Scott Wedgewood on the bench for the extra attacker, Alex Aleardi scored to make it interesting. Was there another comeback left in the tank for Plymouth?

With Wedgewood on the bench and play in the Rangers zone, it happened again. Murphy's helmut popped off. He had no choice, v-line for the bench or take another 2 minute minor. He went for the bench. Luckily, the Rangers were able to clear the zone and Jason Akeson scored his 3rd of the game into the empty net.

Akeson's 1st goal of the game was the first goal for the OHL scoring champion since February 21. That's 39 days without a goal for Akeson ended. And just in time for the Rangers.

Just a note on Gabriel Landeskog, who had 2 assists on the night. With the Rangers down a goal he stood up at the bench and gave his team mates the rah-rah. He never let his team down and he would never let them let themselves down. The consummate leader that he is.


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OHL Playoffs - Day 6

Mississauga 4 Belleville 4 - Mississauga wins series 4-0 (prediction - Mississauga 4-0)

It was the JP Anderson show once again, recording his third consecutive shutout of the series. Remarkably, he only allowed 1 goal the entire series way back in game 1.

Maxim Kitsyn scored once and added an assist as did Devante Smith-Pelly. Justin Shugg had 2 assists on the night.

While Belleville goes home now, Mississauga awaits their next opponent. Shockingly, it could very well be the Sudbury Wolves.

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Niagara 5 Brampton 1 - Niagara lead series 3-0

Mark Visentin was rock solid in goal again as he stopped 35 of 35 shots for the Ice Dogs and leading his team to a commanding 3-0 lead in their best of seven series.

Only Zach Bell was able to beat Visentin on this night. For Niagara, Alex Friesen and Dougie Hamilton had 2 assists each while Ryan Strome had 1 and Jason Wilson had a goal and a helper.

About the only thing we know for certain is the Ice Dogs won't be facing the Majors in the next round.

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Kingston 7 Oshawa 4 - Oshawa leads series 3-1

Kingston lived to fight another day !!

Rookie goalie Nathan Perry stopped 34 of 38 shots in his first full OHL playoff game while Peter DiSalvo was pulled for Oshawa after allowing 5 goals on 28 shots.

Nicklas Jensen was held pointless for Oshawa while fellow draft eligibles Lucas Lessio and Boone Jenner had a goal each.

For Kingston, Nathan Moon (playing through injury) had 3 goals, while Ethen Werek playing in only his second game back since his suspension had 3 assists. Ryan Spooner added a goal and an assist for the winners.

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Sudbury 5 Ottawa 4 OT - Sudbury leads series 3-0.

Can we possibly have an upset in the making here?

Trailing 4-2, and looking tired and sluggish, the Wolves mounted a comeback. Defenseman Josh MacFadden scored his 2nd of the night to pull Sudbury within one goal on the power play. Then with 17:52 left in the third, Adam Sedlak of the 67's took an interference penalty to put the Wolves on the power play.

With 16 seconds left, MacFadden scored his 3rd of the night to force the game into overtime. It only took Mike Lumas 33 seconds into the extra session to complete the comeback and give Sudbury a commanding and yet unthinkable 3-0 series lead.

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Owen Sound 5 London 3 - Owen Sound leads series 2-1

Michael Houser didn't have as many shots to face as earlier in the series, but he had to make some difficult saves in stopping 30 of 34 shots. His Attack counterpart Jordan Binnington, stopped 17 of 20 for the win.

London was up 3-1 and in control of this game until captain Stephen Sanza went down with an injury and had to leave the game. Sanza had been able to limit joey Hishon to just 2 assists in the previous 2 games.

With Sanza out of the game, it opened up some room for Hishon who got the game tying goal in the 3rd before Jessie Blacker scored the eventual winner. Blacker finished with a goal and 2 assists.

Seth Griffith had a goal and an assist while Vladislav Namestnikov had 2 assists for the Knights. All 3 of London's goals came on the power play.

Special teams played a huge role in this game with 25 man power advantages on the night. London was 3-13 on the PP while Owen Sound was 2-12.

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Fabulous Friday

For the Kitchener Rangers, Ryan Murphy and Tobias Rieder led the way. Murphy had a goal and 3 assists while Reider had 2 goals. The Rangers defenseman now leads the league in scoring.

The London Knights Michael Houser wasn`t asked to make a lot of saves, but when called upon he shut the door for his first shut out of the season. Seth Griffith had 2 assists in the Knights win.

Oshawa`s Lucas Lessio contributed 2 assists for the Generals.

For Sudbury, Josh Leivo had 2 goals and an assist.

Boone Jenner had two goals for Oshawa

My survey of OHL General Managers

As in the past, I conducted a survey of OHL GM's in 4 categories of their top 3 picks to go in the 2011 NHL entry draft. Again, this is just OHL players. New this preseason is the category of top import player. It probably would have been better to include that in the mid season rankings, as some of the GM's didn't feel knowledgeable enough to select more than 1 or 2.

The survey covered 60% of the GM's so it should be a pretty accurate picture of the league. In 2 instances, the survey was done with an assistant GM or head scout, one because he is a new GM and felt he didn't know the players as well yet. 

Each GM was asked to select a first, second and third pick in 4 categories. Those categories are, Top Goaltender, Top Import Player, Top Forward and Top Defenseman. The players are then scored based on those votes with the best possible score being 60 (12 first place votes).

Only 4 players received at least one vote from each GM. They are Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Puempel and goaltenders Tyson Teichmann and Matt Mahalak. Every player that received at least 1 vote is listed. So, without further delay, here are the results:

Top Goaltender

Tyson Teichmann (48)

Matt Mahalak (40)

Jordan Billington (11)

Tadeas Galansky (7)

Mike Morrison (1)

Jacob Riley (1)

It's pretty similar to my rankings which i did at the end of last season. Mahalak was an exception because he didn't play in the OHL last season, therefore wasn't eligible for my rankings. Tadeas Galansky was also picked in the top imports (below) therefore his numbers maybe a little skewed by that.

Top Import

Gabriel Landeskog (41)

Niklas Jensen (27)

Alex Khokhlachev (11)

Tadeas Galansky (7)

Vladislav Namestnikov (6)

Mika Partanen (2)

No surprise here as Landeskog has a year under his belt in the OHL. The fact that the rest are rookies, and some GM's stayed away from selecting 3 imports because they didn't know them well enough hurt some player. But i expect Landeskog to stay near the top of this category all season. It also indicates that Niklas Jensen is the real deal and comes as advertised. And with Khokhlachev and Namestnikov in the picture, this could become a tight year long battle.

Top Forward

Matt Puempel (42)

Brandon Saad (31)

Lucas Lessio (13)

Boone Jenner (8)

Daniel Catenacci (7)

Garrett Meurs (5)

Again no surprise here, but i thought the race would be a little tighter with rookie of the year Matt Puempel still holding down top spot. Similar to my rankings, but again, Saad and Lessio were not on my list having not played in the OHL last season. I must admit though, it would have been an interesting race between Puempel and Landeskog had i not included a top import category.

Top Defenseman

Scott Harrington (38)

Dougie Hamilton (30)

Ryan Murphy (28)

Stuart Percy (6)

I must admit the result here is very surprising to me with super d-man Ryan Murphy coming in third. I like Scott Harrington a lot, but was shocked that he came in first. It's also the tightest race of any of the categories, with only 4 defensemen league wide receiving any votes. Also surprising was the fact that neither Murphy or Hamilton received at least 1 vote from every GM. Also, in my opinion, there was a homer vote here (no comment on who) which, otherwise, would have made this a virtual 3 way tie. This will be the race to watch all season, and may not be decided until the draft floor in Minnesota in June 2011.

Lucas Lessio

Lucas Lessio - Oshawa Generals
6'1" - 185 LBS

Lessio was the 7th overall pick of the Niagara Ice Dogs in 2009. After months of speculation that he was going to attend the University of Michigan, the Ice Dogs pulled the trigger on a trade with the Generals. The saga finally ended when Lessio signed with the Generals prior to this summer.

The Generals paid a hefty price for his services. The Generals surrendered a second round pick in 2010 and a conditional pick 2011 -- which with Lessio's signing turns into second rounders in both 2012 and 2013 and if he plays beyond this coming season additional third and fourth round picks.

The offensive weapon recorded 30 goals and 72 points in only 41 games playing for St. Mike's of the Central Canadian Hockey League.

He's got good size and great speed. He has very good soft hands as evidenced by this Rick Nash type goal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMt9G0pFpCc.

Lessio possesses leadership qualities and works hard to improve himself. This summer, he hired a personal trainor to work on his lower body strength. He drives to the net hard and protects the puck well. He likes to go into the corners and fight for pucks. He's not afraid to take a hit, nor does he shy away from dishing one out everytime he has the chance.

Some say Lessio has flown a little under the radar. But consider this. His services were fought for for months with the University of Michigan offering a full scholarship, the Ice Dogs trying to desperately sign him and the Generals giving up a lot of future in order for a chance to sign him.

Lessio will make a strong push to become a top 15, maybe even top 10 pick.