Belleville Bulls and Barrie Colts player updates

After attending the Bulls/Colts game last night, i thought i would update the over dozen draft eligible players involved in the game.

Tyson Teichmann - Belleville - although he had some shaky moments in the game Tyson Teichmann still showed why he will be one of the top goaltenders selected in the NHL entry draft. He has excellent lateral movement, picks up the puck through bodies, very good rebound control, excellent positioning and is very quick at dropping to his knees and back on his skates to go along with amazing reflexes. Teichmann will just need to find consistency in his game.

Steven Strong - Belleville - the smooth skating defenceman has very good speed. Steven Strong can play in all situations. A very good power play quarterback, he can move the puck up ice almost at ease. He is an excellent passer who sees the ice very well. Although he worked on adding strength to his lower body, he still needs to get stronger on his feet. He gets knocked off his feet to often. He will need to learn when to pinch and when not to pinch. The good thing is defence can be taught and he already possesses offensive ability, so things are looking very good for Strong.

Austen Brassard - Belleville - a big power forward, Austen Brassard is one of the hardest working players on the ice. He skates well, makes good passes and has a deceptive shot, although I'd like to see him shoot more. He cycles the puck very well and comes back on the backcheck hard. He doesn't have good speed and could work on that.

Michael Curtis - Belleville - a linemate of Austen Brassard, Michael Curtis is a speedy hardworker with offensive potential. Along with Brassard, he cycles the puck very well. Also a strong backchecker, he is often the first forward back in his own zone. He has a very good shot and despite his size, is not afraid to go into the corners or along the walls or to the front of the net.

Mark Scheifele - Barrie - a big forward who can play center or wing, Mark Scheifele is an excellent playmaker who is always making perfect passes. But he has a good shot and his pass first mentality takes that away from his game. He's a very good skater technically with average speed. He could work on that.

Dylan Smoskowitz - Barrie - we all saw last night why Dylan Smoskowitz was said to have potential. The speedy forward got a hat trick, He plays with a lot of heart and tenacity, always willing to pay the price to get the job done. He'll go straight to the net, go full speed into the corners, whatever it takes to get the puck. He has excellent playmaking abilities as well. He's definitely proven he can take his game to another level.

McKenzie Braid - Barrie - I haven't even profiled Braid yet, but I'll include him here anyway. The big defenseman sees time 5 on 5 and on the penalty kill. He is strong defensively. He is very good at standing players up and taking the man and allowing his partner to take the puck. He gets his stick into the lanes very well to take away passing options.  Once he adds some bulk, I'm certain he will take his physicality to another level. You can see the compete level and the passion every time he's on the ice.

Zach Hall - Barrie - didn't play because of a broken wrist

Five Sophmores to Watch in 2010-11

Aaron Bell gives us 5 prospects to watch over on the OHL Network for the upcoming season.

Tyson Teichmann, Belleville Bulls Teichmann become just the fourth goalie in the past decade to be selected in the first round of the OHL Priority Selection when the Bulls tabbed him with the 18th pick in 2009. He struggled at times as a rookie playing in his hometown and learning the game at the OHL level. But he also enjoyed had some bright spots and came into his own as Ontario's goalie at the Under-17's at Christmas. He emerged from Canada's summer Under-18 camp as their number one netminder and backed the team to the gold medal by posting a shutout in the championship game against the U.S.A.

For the complete story visit http://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/five-sophomores-to-watch-in-2010-11

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.

Matt Mahalak

Matt Mahalak _ Plymouth Whalers
6'2" - 185 LBS

Could Mahalak follow Jack Campbell and Vault the U.S. into the status of great goaltender developers like Finland and Quebec? There is nothing to indicate that Mahalak won't be fighting it out with Tyson Teichmann as the number one goalie in the OHL (draft eligible). In fact, everything points to it being a very tight race.

"Matt is the top goaltender of his draft class," He’s played well at every level and we expect that to continue next season in Plymouth. Matt is an extremely gifted student who will already be in college next season at just 17 years old. He received a lot of offers from Division 1 programs, but we're pleased that he decided the OHL could provide him the best level of competition while continuing his education.” said Whalers GM Mike Vellucci in a press release after signing Mahalak.

I'll admit that anything i know of Mahalak is what I've learned from someone else or reading, having not seen him personally. But i look forward to seeing him this season when i can, as everyone tells me "He's the real deal."

I thought I'd share a link to a video i found on him. Enjoy ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWWcocR7qiQ

My pre-season top 5 goaltenders

Tyson Teichmann –Belleville Bulls

Jordan Binnington - Owen Sound Attack

Jacob Riley – Brampton Battalion

Shayne Campbell – Sarnia Sting

Andrew D’Agostini – Peterborough Petes

Tyson Teichmann

Tyson Teichmann, Belleville Bulls

Teichmann appeared in 30 games for the Bulls posting a 4.29 GAA and .875 SV% after being selected in the first round by the Bulls from the Quinte Red Devils Minor Midget team. He was also the first goalie selected in the priority draft. He was the top rated goaltender in the draft and has the potential of being an elite goaltender when it counts as shown by his In 31 games with the Red Devils last season. He posted a 1.64 goals against average and six shutouts while leading Quinte to an OMHA Championship. Teichmann is a very slender 6’ and will need to add some bulk for next season.