In this game, the Battalion was led by their veteran forwards, namely Philip Lane (PHX 2nd/10), who scored 2 goals, and Sam Carrick (TOR 5th/10), who provided a goal and a helper in the winning cause.

There will be high expectations for the third year forward to boost his offensive production this year.

Carrick, was arguably the best player on the ice tonight for either squad.  He was a consistent offensive force, and did not appear to lose anymore than 2-3 faceoffs all night.  He has become a fan favourite in Brampton for his tenacity as a forechecker and for his constant motor.  Sam was extremely assertive in the offensive zone, and looking very comfortable in his first season without both Hodgson and Duchene to take the checking pressure off of him.

2011 prospect Barclay Goodrow displayed his tremendous size and toughness at times during this game.  He has a very quick shot release, but will need to improve his puck skills and control to maintain his current projections as a high pick in next summer’s draft.  He certainly was not a dominant force by any stretch tonight, and will need to provide a more consistent effort night in, night out.

As for 2012 prospects go, Marcus McIvor, has already established himself as a top 4 defender on the Battalion.  He has very good offensive awareness, but will need to work on his strength as he was repeatedly knocked off the puck by the bigger forwards on the Petes’ squad. Jacob Riley, a goaltender eligible for 2011, had a solid game between the pipes.  While not tested a great deal, he showed very solid positioning by repeatedly getting his body in front of the puck.  His rebound control is something that he will need to work on, as a better offensive opponent would likely have put another 2-3 goals in tonight off his juicy rebounds tonight.  He handles his stick well and reads the play very well which sets himself up nicely for handling deflections and cross-ice passes.

There is no doubting the quality of the NHL prospects on the Peterborough side of the ice; mainly their big 3 of Matt Puempel (top 2011 prospect), Ryan Spooner (BOS 2nd/10) and Austin Watson (NSH 1st/10).  While Spooner was the most impressive of the 3 big guns tonight, Puempel certainly displayed his tremendous skill set and nose for the goal during this game. His conditioning appeared to be off, which is somewhat understandable at this early stage of the season, as his effort wavered shift-to-shift.  When able, he got himself to scoring areas in front of the net almost at will, and delivered an NHL calibre no look pass to Spooner which resulted in the latter’s 2nd goal of the night.  It was moments like this that showed his potential, even if they were far and few between.  There were less of these, and more examples of shifts where he appeared to be too passive and making mistakes that a potential Top 10 pick should not be making.

Puempel was rated #7 in TSR's Preliminary Rankings for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

For example, a breakaway chance where he was in alone from the blueline resulted in Puempel missing the net completely with a disappointing effort.  To elevate his draft stock, Matt will have to raise his compete level and help carry this struggling Petes’ squad, one that appears to be lacking any secondary talent beyond this top-tier group of forwards.  Spooner was a horse all game long, winning faceoffs and scoring the only 2 goals his team was able to register.  Austin Watson showed his tremendous 2-way play and his pro calibre size that should enable him to be a quality forward for the Nashville Predators in the upcoming years.

One of the brightspots for the Petes on this night, was the play of top 2012 prospect, Slater Koekkoek.  This guy is an imposing figure on defense, and has already established himself as a minutes eater for his club.  He appears incredibly calm and composed in any situation he is placed in, and showed himself to be well on his way to being a top pick in his draft class.  I could not help but compare his abilities to that of Chris Pronger, as he has the ability to join the rush and make the quick first pass out of his zone.

He is tremendously mobile for a man of his size, and plays equally well at both ends of the ice.  While he likely will not have Pronger’s exact size, he looks capable of  providing one lucky NHL club with one of the most important pieces to building a strong team – that being, a 2-way defender with tremendous size and great skating abilities.   At 6’2″ and 185, he will certainly have a more finished NHL body by the time his name is called at the draft podium, which I anticipate to be quite early in those proceedings.

The 2011 Draftees in the OHL almost have half of their rookie campaign’s under their belts, leaving everyone curious as to how things will eventually shake out for this crop. With over a year and a half until the 2011 Draft, there will still be a lot of movement in the rankings but we’ll take a look at how the picture is looking right now. TSR has ranked the Top 15 skaters available for the 2011 Draft from the OHL thus far, as well as the Top 3 Goalies, which follows the skaters. As always, we’d love to hear some feedback either through a comment or an email!

Skaters

Goaltenders