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

Owen Sound 10 Windsor 4

Owen Sound wins series 4-1

Prediction: Owen Sound in 7

Owen Sound captured the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as the Western Conference Champions with a 10-4 shellacking of the Windsor Spitfires. 

Owen Sound will now face the Mississauga St Mikes Majors for the OHL Championship and the J Ross Robertson Cup. And because Mississauga is the host city of the Memorial Cup, both teams automatically move onto the Memorial Cup.

Things started out well for Windsor when Alex Khokhlachev score his ninth of the playoffs just 2:12 into the contest. But Matt Petgrave would tie it with his first of 3 on the night and first of the playoffs at 5:31. Brady Vail would restore the Windsor lead with his second at 9:38 before Joey Hishon would tie it at 12:27 with just his fourth of the playoffs. The teams would end the period all even at two apiece.

Petgrave would then score the only two goals of the second period. The first came at 14:41 and the second, on the power play at 19:44 to complete the hat trick and send Owen Sound to the locker room with a 4-2 lead.

Owen Sound took over in the third. Mike Halmo scored his second of the playoffs at 4:32. And as Windsor tried to open things up to get back in it, Owen Sound dominated the scoreboard. Garrett Wilson would make it 6-2 at 5:48. Andrew Fritsch assisted on the goal, his first game since round one against the London Knights.

Vail would score his second of the night for Windsor at 6:02 to make it 6-3 but at 7:11 Andrew Shaw would score back to back with his seventh and eighth of the playoffs. His second came at 11:03 on the power play.

Halmo would score his second of the night on the power play at 15:31 and Jarrod Maidens would add another power play marker at 16:22, his third of the playoffs to make it 10-3.

Vail would score his third of the game for Windsor short handed to close out the scoring.

Scott Stajcer faced 35 shots for Owen Sound while Jack Campbell faced 38 for Windsor. Jordan Binnington dressed as back up for Stajcer.

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Owen Sound 3 Windsor 2

Owen Sound Leads Series 3-1

The Owen Sound Attack are just one win away from winning the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as Western Conference Champs and a chance to play Mississauga or Niagara for the J. Ross Robertson Cup. Mississauga currently leads that series 3-1 with game 5 tonight in Mississauga. If the Majors go on to win that series and the Attack can finish of the Spitfires, Owen Sound will head to the Memorial Cup win or lose in a final against Mississauga as the Majors are the host city and their spot is guaranteed. Should the Majors win the OHL final, then their opposition in the final is automatically in the Memorial Cup.

But wait, don't count out the Spitfires just yet. Last year they were down to the Kitchener Rangers 3-0 and came back to win the series. And when many figured they couldn't win the Memorial Cup, they did just that, winning their second consecutive. You just cannot count this Spitfires team as down and out until they've lost that fourth game.

They have a true stud in goal in Jack Campbell, who last night faced 44 Owen Sound shots in the loss. A timely goal here or there or a lucky bounce and it could have been a different result.

Robby Mignardi got it started for Owen Sound on the power play at 6:36 of the opening period with his ninth of the playoffs from Joey Hishon and Garrett Wilson. Windsor would tie it with a power play goal of their own at 15:59 when Tom Kuhnhackl scored his tenth from Jake Carrick and Taylor Carnevale.

The period would end tied at one. Windsor would go 1/2 on the power play while Owen Sound was 1/1.

Wilson would score his eighth just 2:52 into the second from Hishon and Roman Berdnikov to give Owen Sound the lead once again. Owen Sound would increase their lead to 3-1 at 10:24 when Berdnikov scored his sixth from Hishon and Jesse Blacker.

The Attack out shot the Spits 19-9 in the period and if not for Campbell, this game could have been over. Windsor had the only power play of the period and were unable to convert.

The game's final three minutes had everyone on the edge of their seats. With Windsor on the power play, the Spits pulled goaltender Jack Campbell to skate 6 on 4. At 17:23 Kuhnhackl scored his second of the game from Carrick and Alex Khokhlachev to pull Windsor within one.

At 18:40 of the period, Owen Sound's Andrew Shaw took a two minute minor for goaltender interference. Windsor called a time out and with Campbell on the bench skated 6 on 4 again. But this time, Attack goaltender Scott Stajcer, who faced 30 shots, was able to hold the fort.

Game 5 of the series now shifts back to Owen Sound on Wednesday. It's do or die time for Windsor now. Can history repeat itself?

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Owen Sound 6 Windsor 4

Owen Sound leads series 2-1

It was a game that went back and forth for two periods before Owen Sound took control and took a 2-1 lead in the best of seven conference final.

The Attack would get on the board first when Andrew Shaw scored his sixth of the playoffs with the assist going to Mike Halmo. However, Windsor would tie it up with a short handed goal at 9:44. Craig Duininck would get his first from Saverio Posa and Taylor Carnevale.

Owen Sound would regain the lead when Halmo scored his first from Shaw and Geoffrey Schemitsch. The period would end with the Attack up 2-1 and having outshot the Spits 9-6.

Jeff Brown would tie it at two when he scored his fifth at 1:14 of the middle frame. Ryan Ellis and Posa would assist. Owen Sound would retake the lead once again at 3:25 when Liam Heelis scored his fifth of the playoffs from Jesse Blacker.

But just 1:21 later, Zack MacQueen would score his first from Zach Kassian and Adrian Robertson on the powerplay to even it up once again. The period would once again end in a tie and Owen Sound outshooting Windsor 15-8.

Windsor would take their first lead 4:17 into the third when Alex Khokhlachev scored his eighth from Tom Kuhnhackl and Posa. That lead would hold up until 15:27 when Garrett Wilson scored his sixth from Joey Hishon and Matt Stanisz on the powerplay.

Owen Sound would take the lead once again, and again on the powerplay, with the exact same trio providing the same official scoring on the play.

Robby Mignardi would seal it with an empty netter with 18 seconds remaining from Blacker and Wilson. It was Mignardi's 8th of the playoffs.

Game 4 goes back in Windsor on Monday.

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Owen Sound 8 - Windsor 1

Owen Sound Leads Series 1-0

A tired Spitfires team was set to appear at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Center in Owen Sound last night fresh off a 6 game series victory over the Saginaw Spirit and about to play their third game in four  nights. Waiting for them, the Owen Sound Attack who are coming off of a 6 day rest.

Windsor would come out hard, fast and energized while Owen Sound looked to be finding their legs and their rhythm. The two teams started exchanging chances until finally, at 14:17 of the opening period, Jarrod Maidens beat Jack Campbell to out Owen Sound up 1-0. It was Maidens' second of the playoffs with the assists going to Robby Mignardi and Jay Gilbert.

Stratford native Joey Hishon would put the Attack up 2-0 with a short handed goal with just 19 seconds left in the period assisted by Garrett Wilson. It was just Hishon's second goal of the playoffs. The period would at at that with the teams both having 10 shots on goal. Both teams were 0-1 on the powerplay in the frame with Windsor allowing a shorthanded goal.

Windsor would open the second period scoring with a powerplay goal at 6:39 from Adrian Robertson, his third, with the assists going to Alex Khokhlachev and Tom Khunhackl. Just 22 seconds later Andrew Shaw would restore the 2 goal lead with his fourth goal from Cameron Brace. Hishon would then notch his second of the game on the powerplay with Wilson getting his second assist and Matt Stanisz getting the other.

Wilson would then get a powerplay goal of his own, his fifth, from Stanisz and Mignardi to put Owen Sound up 5-1 at 14:47. Only 1:12 later Owen Sound's other Stratford Native Brendan Childerley would make it 6-1 with his fourth with the assists going to Maidens and Gilbert. Shaw would close out the second period scoring with his second of the game to make it 6-1. He was set up by Matt Petgrave and Geofrey Schemitsch.

Windsor outshot Owen Sound 19 - 15 in the period.

Much to everyone's surprise, Jack Campbell came out to start the third period. But there would be only one goal in the period. the final tally came on the powerplay at 10:59 by Roman Bernikov, his fifth. Schemitsch and Shaw would draw the assists.

With just under two minutes remaining, Zach McQueen landed on top of Scott Stajcer in the Attack goal. Stajcer wasn't injured on the play, but as he has done many times in the past Coach Mark Reeds pulled his star goaltender in favor of Jordan Binnington to protect him.

This was by far not Windsors best game, and other then the opening few minutes they looked tired. Expect a different Spitfires team on Thursday back in Windsor.

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Preview - Western Conference Championship

Owen Sound Attack Vs Windsor Spitfires

Both teams took a different route on getting to the conference finals. Owen Sound finished first in the regular season in the Conference with 97 points. In the opening round of the playoffs, they dispatched the London Knights in 6 games and then bounced the Plymouth Whalers in 4 games.

Windsor finished the regular season 13 points behind the Attack and finished fourth in the conference. Windsor took care of Erie in the first round but needed 7 games before bouncing Saginaw in 6 games last night.

Owen Sound will come in Tuesday on 6 days rest. Windsor's opening game will be their third in four nights. But you can never count out the two time defending Memorial Cup Champs.

Owen Sound won the regular season series 3-0-1 with one of their victories coming in overtime. In fact, each team won a game apiece in overtime at home.

Owen Sound won their two home games 4-3 on November 13 and by the same score on January 23 in overtime. Owen Sound won the first game in Windsor 6-4 on February 10. Windsor's only victory came at home March 10 in overtime by a score of 4-3. Is there a trend happening?

As for the draft eligible players, Alex Khokhlachev is the guy to be watching on Windsor. He has 7 goals and 8 assists in 13 playoff games. In the 4 regular season games vs Owen Sound he had 3 goals and 5 assists.

For Owen Sound there is goaltender Jordan Binnington and LW Andrew Fritsch. But neither has played since round 1 against London and it is doubtful we will see either against Windsor.

So its prediction time and I am sitting at 8 for 12. I am going to stick to the 4-3 trend and take:

Owen Sound in 7 games

OHL Playoffs - Day 24

Windsor 5 Saginaw 0 - Windsor wins series 4-2 (Prediction: Saginaw in 6)

Decisive. That's the only way to describe this victory by the Spitfires. Jack Campbell stopped 25 shots for his second shutout of the series while Windsor fired 38 pucks at Mavric Parks.

Alex Khokhlachev opened the scoring with his 7th of the playoffs on the powerplay at the 7:19 mark with the assists going to Tom Kuhnhackl and Adrian Robertson. Zack Kassian would score his first of three alson on the powerplay at 19:17 of the period to put Windsor up 2-0. Stephen Johnston and Taylor Carnevale would notch the assists.

Kassian would then score his second of the game from Kenny Ryan at 8:58 of the second to go up 3-0. Sevario Posa would set up Jeff Brown for his 4th at 14:39 to close out the second period with Windsor up 4-0.

Zack Kassian would score the only goal of the third, his third of the game and fifth of the playoffs unassisted to make the final 5-0 at 6:31 of the period.

The Spitfires now go on to meet the Owen Sound Attack in the Western Conference Finals begining on Tuesday.

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OHL Playoffs - Day 21

Windsor 6 Saginaw 2 - Series tied 2-2

Windsor dominated just about every aspect of game 4 and needed to do just that to even up the series at 2 games apiece and guarantee at least one more game in Windsor. But before that can happen someone has to win game 5 in Saginaw on Saturday and that team will return to Windsor on Sunday with a 3-2 series lead and a chance to move on and face the Mississauga St Mikes Majors in the Western Conference Finals.

It took just 4:40 of play for, who else but Ryan Ellis to convert on the powerplay to put Windsor up 1-0. Nick Ebert and Stephen Johnston assisted on what was Ellis' 5th of the post season. Alex Khokhlachev would add to the lead with his 6th when he was set up by Tom Kuhnhackl and Adrian Robertson at 8:30 of the first period.

Jeff Brown would make it 3-0 at the 12:37 mark when he notched his 3rd goal of the playoffs with Taylor Carnevale and Kerby Rychel drawing the assists. Kenny Ryan would close out the scoring in the first at 16:33. The assists went to Zack Kassian and Johnston, his second of the game.

Windsor fired 13 shots at Saginaw goaltender Mavric Parks while the Spirit directed 11 at Jack Campbell.

Saginaw got on the board with a powerplay goal of their on at the 3:40 mark when Jordan Szwarz and Ivan Telegin set up Josh Shalla for his 8th goal. Jake Carrick would restore the Spitfires 4 goal lead, again on the powerplay with his 6th goal with the assists going to Ellis and Robertson. That's the way the period would end with Saginaw outshooting Windsor 12-11.

John McFarland would score his 5th at 10:11 of the third to bring Saginaw back within 3 off of a setup from Mathew Sisca and Ben Chiarot. But just 21 seconds later, Carrick would score his second of the game to close out the scoring with assists going to Khokhlachev and Robertson with his third.

Windsor would out shoot Saginaw 9-8 and 33-31 overall.

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OHL Playoffs - Day 17

Mississauga 3 Sudbury 2 - Mississauga leads series 2-0

Although the scoreboard doesn't show it, this game was the definition of offensive domination by the Majors.

The first period was scoreless with Mississauga holding an 18 -10 shot advantage. As usual, JP Anderson was defending the goal for Mississauga while Alain Valiquette was on guard for Sudbury. The only penalty of the period went to Maxim Kitsyn of the Majors with just 37 seconds remaining in the period, so it would carry over into the second.

It took all of 23 seconds for the power play to connect when Eric O'Dell and Michael Sgarbossa set up Marcus Foligno for his first of the playoffs. Mike Lomas and Josh McFadden then set up O'Dell for a goal of his own, his 5th of the post season and a short handed marker at 15:42. Mississauga would get that back just 1:17 later as Justin Shugg scored unassisted to cut the Wolves lead to 2-1. It was Shugg's 3rd of the playoffs.

The Majors controlled the teritorial advantage outshooting the Wolves 21-8 in the 2nd frame.

In the third period, the Majors would fire 24 shots at Valiquette while the Wolves managed just on Anderson.

Stuart Percy would score his first of the playoffs on the powerplay at 9:44 to tie the game at 2. Michael D'Orazio and Rob Flick would draw the assists.

Then with 5:02 remaining in regulation, Mika Partanen would give the Majors a 3-2 lead knotching his second of the post season. Kitsyn and Jordan Mayer would draw the assists.

Game 3 is set to go Tuesday back in Mississauga

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Saginaw 5 Windosr 4 OT - Series tied 1-1

It didn't take long for Windsor to get on the board as Ryan Ellis and Kenny Ryan set up Stephan Johston for his 6th goal of the playoffs only 1:13 into the contest. The quick flying Spitfires would make it 2-0 before the game was 5 minutes old. Tom Khunhackl would notch his 6th at 4:32 with assists going to Craig Duininck and goaltender Jack Campbell.

Saginaw would get that one back just 1:16 later as John McFarland scored his 4th of the playoffs set up by Mathew Sisca. Ben Chariot would tie it with his first when he was set up by McFarland and Vincent Trocheck. The period would end tied at 2 with Saginaw outshooting Windsor 13-11.

Windsor would restore their 2 goal lead before the second period was 8 minutes old. Khunhackl would score his second of the game, 7th of the playoffs at 4:57. Alex Khokhlachev and Ellis would get the assists. At 7:25 Jake Carrick would score his 5th goal with the assists going to Khokhlachev and Saverio Posa to make it 4-2.

Garret Ross would cut the lead to 4-3 when he scored his first at 12:51 of the second. The assists went to Jordan Szwarz and Josh Shalla.

The period ended with Windsor outshooting Saginaw 15-5.

Brandon Saad would tie it 9:28 into the third when he scored his second of the playoffs. Chiarot and Ivan Telegin would get the assists.

And that's how regulation would end with Saginaw outshooting Windsor 12-6 in the frame and 34-33 overall.

Overtime would last just 2:13 as Shalla would notch his 6 of the post season with assists going to Szwarzand Ross. Saginaw outshot Windsor 4-1 in the extra session.

Game 3 is back in Saginaw on Tuesday

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Playoff Preview - Round 2 - Western Conference

Seeing that I was only 5-8 in the first round, I should avoid making predictions. But why stop now? But first, a look at the two series.

Owen Sound (1) Plymouth (6) - Plymouth won series 1-0-1

Plymouth is coming off of a hard fought 7 game series against the favored Rangers While Owen Sound had a 6 game series win against London. The Whalers will once again be the underdogs in this one, but dont take them lightly.

Here's what their draft eligibles did against each other in the season series.

Stefan Noesen - pointless
Alex Aleardi - 0G 2A
Garrett Meurs - pointless
Rickard Rakell - 0G 1A

Andrew Fritsch - 1G 0A
Cameron Brace - 0G 0A

Prediction: Plymouth in 6 games

Saginaw (2) Windsor (4) - Saginaw won season series 4-1-1

Windsor is coming off of a 7 game seasaw battle with Erie while Saginaw is coming off of a 6 game set with Guelph.

Here's a look at what the draft eligible players did against each other.

Alex Khokhlachev - 2G 4A

Vincent Trocheck - 2 G 7A
Brandon Saad - 0G 2A

Prediction: Saginaw in 6 games

The next great Russian could be picked in June

Vladislav Namestnikov, London Knights (OHL): What he lacks in size (5-11 1/2, 170), he compensates for in straight-ahead speed. At the World Under-17 Challenge, he produced 8 goals and 10 points in five games. He'd represent his country at the World Under-18 Championships, too, notching 7 points in seven games. Namestnikov would continue his rapid ascent up the Russian ladder playing against men in Russia's 2nd division with Khimik Voskresensk, scoring 11 goals and 17 points in 26 games in 2009-10.

"Vlad plays a high-energy, two-way game," Edwards told NHL.com. "He's very aggressive on the forecheck and backcheck and has the ability to beat defenders outside and cut back to the net. He has an excellent wrist shot that he can release with accuracy on the rush."

Alexander Khokhlachev, Windsor Spitfires (OHL): Khokhlachev is the most physical of the five Russians. He offers good hockey sense, a solid positional attack and some leadership to boot.

"He'll take a hit to make a  play and he's not at all afraid," Edwards said. "I've seen him get hit hard a few times and he just bounces right back into the play. His energy level is always there, and he's always working hard. Down the stretch for Windsor, he's played well. He's a skilled forward."
Check out the full story on nhl.com

OHL Playoffs - Day 13

Windsor 5 Erie 4 - Windsor wins series 4-3 (Prediction: Erie in 7 games)

Derek Holden scored at 1:46 into the game when fired a shot to beat Windsor goalie Jack Campbell.

By the time the first period was over, Windsor had taken 2-1 on goals by Alex Khokhlachev and Tom Kuhnhackl.

At 5:59 of the seond Greg McKegg tied up at 2 for the Otters before Ryan Ellis would restore the Spitfires lead on the power play with 7:30 remaining in the second. Taylor Carnevale would give the Spits a two goal cushion before closing out the period.

The Otters then started yet another comeback as McKegg scored his second of the game 1:05 seconds into the period. Tyler Hostetter would tie the game at the 8:23.

Kuhnhackl would score his second of the game with 2:48 remaining in regulation and it would stand as the winner as the Otters had used up all of their comebacks.

Windsor now goes on to face Saginaw in round 2.

Phil Varone lead the way for the Otters with 3 goals and 10 assists in the 7 games. For Windsor, Tom Kuhnhackl had 5 goals and 6 assists.

For the draft eligible Alex Khokhlachev, he compiled 4-5-9 totals in the 7 games.

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Draft Eligible Goal Scoring Leaders

OHL Draft eligible goal scoring leaders

Gabriel Landeskog - 36
Matt Puempel - 34
Alex Khokhlachev - 34
Stefan Noesen - 34
Ryan Strome - 33

Draft Eliible Points Leaders

The OHL points leaders of draft eligible players

Ryan Strome - 106
Shane Prince - 88
Ryan Murphy - 79
Stefan Noesen - 77
Alex Khokhlachev - 76

Windsor Spitfires and London Knights player updates

I was in Windsor last night for what was an exciting game between these to rivals. Coach Dale Hunter tried juggling lines up for the Knights who are having trouble scoring goals early this season putting Jared Knight, Vladislav Namestnikov and Seth Griffith on a line.

Goaltender Michael Houser, coming off of a shut out Friday night was great in net despite allowing 4 goals. Houser is very good with his lateral movement, his rebound control, is quick getting back up on his feet, directs shots very well out of danger, is excellent at picking up shots through traffic. If there is one thing he needs to work on its handling the puck. Although he was overlooked in the draft last year, he will garner a lot of attention in 2011.

London's Seth Griffith had a good weekend with 4 assists and a plus 4 in two games. Last night in Windsor he showed his grittiness, excellent passing ability, his quickness at getting into the forecheck and a very good defensive game. In six games, Griffith has yet to score his first goal of the season, but now has 6 assists in 6 games.

Russian import Vladislav Namestnikov is quietly finding his game. The smooth skating center man had a learning process playing in North America for the first time but seems to be finding his game. He leads the Knights now with 3 goals and 5 assists and is a plus 4. He shows a willingness to back check and shows a dedication to the defensive game. He is an excellent play maker who finds open men and seams. He is willing to go to the dirty areas and take the puck to the net. One thing he needs to work on is to use his shot more often.

Defenseman Scott Harrington is a force in the defensive zone. He is excellent in front of his net, battles hard in the corners and on the boards and comes away with the puck most of the time. He makes good outlet passes. he doesn't carry it as much as he probably could. Offensively, he has a good shot from the point, accurate and gets it through. Doesn't always look for the bomb from the point and sometimes looks for a good low wrist shot for a deflection. He still needs to learn when to pinch since he doesn't have great speed to recover.

Windsor's Alex Khokhlachev is everything we were told he would be. A superb skater who plays both sides of the puck extremely well. He drives the net hard, is usually the first player in on the forecheck and he battles hard along the boards. He has a tremendous passing ability and an excellent shot. With 1 goal last night, he now has 6 goals and 5 assists in 8 games.

Defenseman Steven Trojanovic is a work horse in the defensive zone. He doesn't give opponents much room. He plays a physical game and is capable of standing players up. Strong in front of the net, he clears the puck effectively. his offensive game will come with experience but don't expect him to be a force offensively.

Fellow defenseman Craig Duininck is in a similar situation. It is often said in hockey that if you don't notice a player, he is going about his business quietly. And that was the case with Duininck last night. Like Trojanovic, he is strong in his own zone but not as physical. He also has offensive potential that will come with more experience.

As for the rest of the Spits, I will have more on them when i do their profiles.

Alex Khokhlachev

After watching Alex play for the second time last night, i had to do an update on him even though the Spitfires lost 5-1 to the Soo greyhounds.

Everything we heard about Alex prior to coming over from Russia is true. He is an intense hockey player who eats up lots of minutes. On three different occasions, he was on the ice for the complete 2 minutes of the power play and played well.

His adjustment to North America seems to be going very well and he doesn't seem to be your typical Russian player. He's usually the first guy in on the forecheck, and the first guy back to backcheck. He plays a very solid defensive game.

He is also not afraid of the corners or to battle along the wall. He goes to the front of the net and will take the punishment to stay there. He is unbelievably stong on the cycle game. He makes unbelievable tape to tape passes, often without looking. When he's back in the defensive zone, he's like another defenseman out there and makes a very good stretch pass. Last night i counted 29 pass attempts by Alex and he only missed his target once. He looks like a faster David Krejci out there.

His skating is good, he has decent and deceptive speed and glides to open areas or to move into position to make a play. He is a little unorthadox in his skating, being low to the ice. It's not a knock on him, it's just that it's noticeable.

At this point in the very young season, if he has one knock against him I would say that he doesn't play selfish enough. He's been playing with a pass first mentality and he has a good enough shot with a tremendous release to shoot more than he does. He put his teammates in a position to score, but they just couldn't capitalize.

Ryan Ellis will help Alex Khokhlachev

Ryan Ellis has been returned to the Windsor Spitfires. And could Cam Fowler be next? That's a huge boost to a Windsor team looking to threepeat. But even more, it will be a huge boost for Alex Khokhlachev to climb up the draft rankings.

The Russian star has all the ability but when you add one, and maybe two puck moving defensemen into the mix. the potential offense could be a huge boost for Alex and his rankings.

For all the help Ryan Spooner will give Matt Puempel, or Jared Knight will give Seth Griffith or Vladimir Namestnikov, there won't be a greater impact on an OHL player than the one Ryan Ellis brings. And if Fowler follows, things for Windsor will look bright. Especially for Khokhlachev.

3 Stars for week ending Sept 26, 2010

Also new this year is my 3 star selection from the previous week in the OHL. Once again, we are only looking at 2011 draft eligible players.

1^st – Alex Aleardi – Plymouth Whalers.  Aleardi exploded offensively with 7 goals and 1 assist in three games which includes 2 hat tricks. If you go back to Aleardi’s last pre-season game, he has 12 goals in 4 games. He leads the league in both goals and points in the young season.

2^nd -  Alex Khokhlachev – Windsor Spitfires.  Khokhlachev is living up to early expectations.  In 3 games the rookie Russian star has 3 goals and 3 assists in 3 games in leading the Spitfires.

3^rd – Gabriel Landeskog – Kitchener Rangers. Landeskog had a hat trick in his first game and had 3 goals and an assist in 2 games. He played solid in all 3 zones and played in every situation and was almost always the best player on the ice every shift.

The OHL season Begins Thursday

With the OHL season beginning Thursday, here's a look back at the pre-season and some of the performances.

Seth Griffith - London Knights. A year ago, I was telling anyone who would listen, that Griffith was under the radar and was going to turn heads this season. He tore it up for the Jr. B St. Mary’s Lincolns before being called up to the Knights with 15 games remaining last season. This preseason, the offence centered around Griffith on a Knights team struggling to find offence. He recorded 3 goals and 3 assists in 6 preseason games and I believe he can improve on that with the return of Jared Knight. It just solidifies him as my pick for top sleeper.

Alex Khokhlachev - Windsor Spitfires. What was considered to be a dogfight between Khokhlachev and Vladislav Namestnikov as the top Russian turned out to be the exact opposite. While Namestnikov struggled to find his game in London, Khokhlachev lit up the OHL with 4 goals and 9 assists in 6 games. He certainly found his game in North America and you have to imagine if guys like Ryan Ellis and Cam Fowler return to junior, it can only help him.

Nick Cousins - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The super fast goal scorer showed why he shouldn’t be playing in the shadows of Daniel Catenacci. He showed off his speed and why he’s been a goal scorer  everywhere he’s played netting 5 goals in 7 games. He showed he has the potential and capability of out producing Catenacci for the Soo this season.

Josh Malecki - Windsor Spitfires. Invited to camp on a tryout, and only just signed by the Spits just yesterday, Malecki showed he can compete and actually play well. He started in 4 games for the Spits with a 3-0-1 record, 2.98 GAA and .903 SV%. He obviously won’t get much playing time in Windsor with the “next great netminder” Jack Campbell in Windsor. GM Warren Rychel said that he will be splitting time between Windsor and Detroit Compuware.

Ryan Strome - Niagara Ice Dogs. Strome had a very good preseason for a youthful Ice Dogs team, recording 3 goals and 6 points in 6 games. He skating ability, speed, and offensive touch were evident along with his ability to play the defensive game. He didn’t add enough bulk in the off-season and will have to work on that, but there is no doubting all his other assets.

Alex Basso - Belleville Bulls. Often compared to P. K. Subban, Basso will be counted on to provide offence from the defence along with fellow defenseman  Steven Strong. And he did just that. In six games he scored twice and added 7 assists while quarterbacking the powerplay. Strong himself contributed 2 goals and 5 assists. Both will be integral parts of a Bull’s resurgence, and with last years rookie of the year Matt Puempel potting goals for the Bulls, especially on the powerplay, it will only help Basso’s stock increase for the 2011 draft.

Alex Aleardi - Belleville Bulls. We have to give Aleardi a mention here since he led all OHL’ers in goals in the preseason with 8 in 6 games. But 5 of them came in an outstanding performance against Oshawa where he scored all 5 of his teams goals in a 5-4 win. The small but gifted forward could be looking at an 80 point season with the Bulls.

There are just to many outstanding performances to mention them all. But what this pre-season tells us is that it will be a strong and competetive OHL season and the OHL will once again lead the way in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Will the pre-season surprises keep it up over the course of the season? Will those that dissappointed find their game and step up when it counts? Only time will tell.  So head out to an OHL arena and support these future stars and enjoy a good hockey game. You won't be dissappointed.

Alex Khokhlachev

Alex Khokhlachev - Windsor Spitfires
5'11" - 175 lbs

 Khokhlachev brings with him a lot of hype. But let's be serious, it is all deserving. He is an offensive force, an excellent skater and stick handler and makes some jaw dropping tape to tape passes while turning on a dime. It's just what the Doctor ordered for a Windsor team that will be minus a few stars from their 2 time Memorial Cup winning teams.

Watching him in a training camp scrimmage, he made things happen every time he was on the ice and the Spits will be counting heavily on his offensive prowress. On Monday he scored 3 goals and added an assist in a 6-2 exibition win over the Plymouth Whalers.

 Khokhlachev seems genuine in his words that he wants to play in North America and the NHL, but didn't deny that one day he would like to play for Spartak in the KHL but only for Spartak.

In a recent interview he was asked about his situation compared to 2010 draft pick Kirill Kabanov. Khokhlachev simply replied

"Everyone has his destiny. I don't want to talk about Kirill Kabanov, I've got my own life."