OHL Feature: Slow Starters
TSR Features | 30 Sep 2009Every new season of junior hockey brings a new group of prospects to the forefront of the NHL’s scouting community. Players can evolve from relative obscurity to primetime prospects in a matter of months, and conversely other players can see their draft stocks crash quickly. On that note, we’ll take a look at some of the players around the OHL who came into the new regular season with high expectations but have struggled out of the gate so far this season.
Tyler Toffoli
6'0" | 181lbs | April 24th, 1992 | Shoots: Right
Toffoli came into the OHL last season as a player with the potential to make an impact right away, and he certainly lived up to the billing. After a dominating Minor Midget year with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, Toffoli quickly established himself as one of top scoring threats on the 67’s and quickly gained league wide notoriety for his strong two way play. After putting together a very solid 17 goal, 46 point regular season, Toffoli elevated his play to another level in the playoffs where he was one of Ottawa’s best players in their seven game loss to the Niagara Ice Dogs. With 2 goals and 8 points along with a +3 rating, Toffoli looked like he was on the verge of a breakout this season.
However that has not been the case thus far, as Toffoli has yet to hit the score-sheet and currently sports an unsightly -3 plus/minus rating. Pegged as a consensus Top 15 NHL pick coming into the season, it’s hard to tell what’s been plaguing Toffoli right now. The 17 year old Scarborough native is a good skater who sees the ice well and has a good offensive skill set. Perhaps the loss of players like Logan Couture and Corey Cowick could be hurting Toffoli as he is now more of a focus to opposing hockey clubs, but it’s clear that he’s been uncomfortable through his first four games. Either way, Toffoli will continue to see a lot of ice-time with a young Ottawa team, and if he can get out of this early season funk, he could be poised for an offensive breakout.
Steven Shipley
6'2" | 204lbs | April 22nd, 1992 | Shoots: Left
The former 3rd overall pick in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection is another highly touted player that has had a bit of a struggle so far this season. Coming into this season, it was hopeful that Shipley would be able to improve his skating to the point where it was no longer a liability for him. While he does have a great combination of physical size and talent, his foot speed has been a problem and was the primary reason for why he was cut from Canada’s Under 18 team this summer.
Shipley was solid in his rookie season with the Attack, picking up 16 goals and 39 points in 63 games, but his progression this season has been limited. With 4 assists through 5 games, the numbers aren’t bad, but his skating is still a major concern at this point. The Ilderton native will be able to get by at this level based on his sheer talent level, but after being pegged as a Top 60 pick for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, if he can’t show signs of improvement this season and his numbers don’t come around, he might be a player that slips through the second round.
Joey Hishon
5'10" | 190lbs | Oct 20th, 1991 | Shoots: Left
A late 1991 birthday, Hishon has been a player that has really flown under the radar playing in Owen Sound the past two seasons. After a very productive 47 point rookie season, Hishon really broke out last year with 37 goals and 81 points for the Attack, good enough for 12th in OHL Scoring. Being undersized, it was unsure where Hishon would slot into the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but he was still generally regarded as being a mid to late first round pick if he could take another step forward and show that he is an elite forward in the OHL.
Thus far, that hasn’t been the case. Like Shipley, Hishon has also had a poor start to the 2009/2010 Season with 1 goal and 4 points through the first 5 games along with a dreadful -4 plus/minus rating. While it is clear to see that Hishon has a full arsenal of offensive flare and has the ability to make plays that very few others can make, it might not be enough. The combination of being undersized and his tendency not to use his teammates will certainly be a major concern for NHL Scouts. If Hishon learns to make better use of his line-mates, not only will the numbers come, but it will also alleviate a lot of problems with his game, which is something he’ll need to do in order to solidify a spot in Round 1.
Besides having slow starts in common, the one thing that these three players also have in common is that they all have a lot of talent, and even more potential. Like every prospect, these players all have their strength’s and flaws to their game, and facing some early season adversity will go a long way towards finding out if they can overcome it and show improvement to their games. For that reason alone, it will be very interesting to see how they respond to a slow start as the season continues to progress.
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Tags: 2010 nhl draft, 2010 nhl draft prospects, Joey Hishon, Steven Shipley, Tyler Toffoli
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