Nobody was quite sure what to expect out of the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds this season. A year ago, the team struggled through a dismal 42 point season, which put the illustrious OHL team at the bottom of the league’s cellar. Following an off-season of change, and the progression of several core players, the Greyhounds have reinvented themselves this year, and are already closing in on last year’s point totals only 27 games into the 2009/2010 Regular Season.

Currently sitting in fifth place in the OHL’s Western Conference with a 14-11-1-1 record, the Greyhounds were actually one of the bigger stories in junior hockey early this season as they exploded out of the gates with seven consecutive wins. After battling through some small losing streaks, the team has rebounded well in the last couple of weeks, and are currently riding a four game win streak, including most recently, a 3-2 overtime win on the road in Sudbury last Tuesday.

Looking at the Greyhounds roster, it’s clear to see that a lot of their success is being catalyzed from their star goaltender, Robin Lehner (1991). The 18 year old Swede was a 2^nd round pick of the Ottawa Senators in last summer’s NHL Entry Draft, and was picked up by the Greyhounds with the 9^th pick in this past summer’s CHL Import Draft. Lehner has been one of the top goaltenders in the OHL this season, and has the sixth best GAA and third best SV% in the OHL thus far. Lehner has terrific size at 6’4”, 224lbs, and takes up a lot of net when he’s in his butterfly. He’s a bit unorthodox, but when he’s hot, he can be extremely hard to score on. His rebound control will need some work, but he moves very well laterally for a big goalie, and has terrific recovery, which are all good signs for a young goalie.

Robin Lehner (Guelph Mercury)

Greyhounds backup Bryce O’Hagan (1991L) will also be getting a lot of attention this season, as it is expected that he will hear his name called at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He’s a big goalie with a lot of raw ability, but his mental game hasn’t quite come around yet. O’Hagan will likely be a mid to late round pick based off his potential, but his game needs a lot of refinement over the next few seasons.

The other forte of the team is on the backend. Overage captain Jake Muzzin (1989) has been a force on the blue-line this season after being unsigned by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s taken some major steps forward offensively, and is a controlling force at both ends of the ice. Muzzin currently leads the team in scoring with 6 goals and 27 points in 24 games. Fellow overager Michael Quesnele (1989) has also been a very reliable defenseman for the team, using his vision and puck moving skills to help run the team’s powerplay. Quesnele has been a major factor offensively as well, currently sitting third in team scoring with 6 goals and 23 points in 27 games.

Draft eligibles Blake Beukeboom (1992) and Brandon Archibald (1992) will garner a lot of attention from NHL scouts this season, and rightfully so. Beukeboom (25GP 2-10-12 +5), the son of former NHL defenseman Jeff Beukeboom, has taken some major steps forward this season. He’s a smooth skating defenseman who makes smart decisions at both ends of the ice, keeping things simple. He isn’t overly physical, but he’s strong positionally. He also has some untapped offensive potential that could develop later on. He’s likely projecting as a late second rounder or early third round pick at this point, and should be a lock for the top four rounds at this rate. Archibald (27GP 0-12-12 -6) is more of a shut-down defenseman who logs a lot of ice-time against the other team’s top offensive unit. He skates very well for his size and is very effective with his long reach and ability to compete hard in the corners. Lacking natural offensive instincts, Archibald’s ceiling will be somewhat limited, but he should be selected around the third or fourth round.

Brock Beukeboom (The Hockey News)

Up front, the Greyhounds have been an offense by committee team with several players making contributions offensively. Vern Cooper (1990) is the team’s top scoring forward (27GP 10-15-25 E), with Soo native Brett Thompson (1991) right behind him (27GP 14-7-21 +1). St. Louis prospect James Livingston (1990) (22GP 10-8-18 +8) has been more consistent in his fourth season in the league, which should help him get a professional contract next year. Despite having a lot of raw ability, Livingston’s offensive production has never come around to where many felt he should be. He does have a lot of power forward qualities that should help him play any type of role at the next level, however. Meanwhile, LA Kings prospect Jordan Nolan (1989) has been a force since returning from suspension (10GP 5-7-12 -5). While the numbers are impressive, it should be noted that Nolan is an overager, and these numbers are expected from him. His skating will likely hold him back at the next level, but he should get a shot with Manchester next year.

Finally, the player that everyone wants to hear about is the first pick from the 2009 OHL Priority Selection, Daniel Catenacci (1993).  The 16 year old forward has had a bit of a rough transition to the OHL, as his numbers are probably below a lot of people’s expectations at this point (27GP 3-8-11 -6). Catenacci is a very good skater and has a lot of lower body strength for only being 5’10”, 180lbs. He competes very hard and doesn’t back down in the corners and actually is willing to lay the body when he has the opportunity. Offensively, he has a lot of raw skill, but it hasn’t quite translated to the OHL level, and it might not to the extent that some people expect. He’s definitely more of a playmaker, but he lacks the natural creativity of high end players which limits what he can do. Next season will go a long way towards indicating where Catenacci might go in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, but at this point he could be anywhere from the late first to the middle rounds.

Daniel Catenacci (North Bay Nugget)

The Greyhounds also have a pair of other 16 year old forwards who have seen quite a bit of ice-time this season. Most notably, Nick Cousins (1993), the 21^st overall pick in last summer’s OHL Priority Selection, has been one of the more effective 1993 forwards in the OHL this season (27GP 5-9-14 -4). While his skating needs some work, he’s a very crafty offensive player and is a threat to create a good scoring chance when he’s on the ice. While his skating and small size (5’9”, 155lbs) could hamper the perceptions that NHL scouts have of him, he has all the makings of being a terrific junior scorer when he matures over the next couple of years. Lastly, Trevor Morbeck (1993L) (21GP 2-2-4 -2) has bounced in and out of the lineup, but doesn’t look out of place on the ice. He has good size (6’1”, 180lbs) and isn’t afraid to drive the net. He’ll be given a greater role with the team next season, and it will be interesting to see how he takes the increased ice-time as a sophomore.

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While the CHL Import Draft is always considered to be a bit of a crap shoot, there is no denying that the 2008 edition of the draft was particularily unique. With only two of the top five selections suiting up in the CHL last season, the draft was full of notables lining the draft list sporatically. One of the reasons that this tends to happen is due to the nature of the import draft. Many teams target specific players and work out deals with them before hand, so that where they pick becomes less of a factor as they will still be able to get their guy.

With the 2009 CHL Import Draft recently completed on June 30th, early indications already show that there is going to be a significantly different trend with this draft. At this point it appears that each of the first five selections in the draft will be making their CHL debuts with their respective CHL clubs for the 2009/2010 season, while several other high profile players have also committed to play in the CHL only a month after the draft. Today we’ll look at some of the players who could be impact players in the league as early as this season.

1st OVR – F Stanislav Galiev

Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)

After some initial concerns that Galiev would remain with the Indiana Ice of the USHL where he played last season, the Sea Dogs recently announced that they had come to terms with their top pick. Galiev, rated 13th in TSR’s Preliminary 2010 Rankings, is a dynamic offensive talent that should instantly be able to step onto the top line in Saint John. A big season from Galiev could vault the Moscow native into the Top 10 of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, and there will no shortage of scouts following his progress this season.

2nd OVR – F Nino Niederreiter

Portland Winterhawks (WHL)

Niederreiter is a player who has been pretty highly regarded by a lot of scouts and early indications show that he would likely slide into the Top 30 for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at this point. Niederreiter had a solid season with the Davos U20 team, and was a pretty strong contributor at the recent U18′s averaging a point per game as an underager. Either way, Niederreiter will be a very nice addition to an up and coming Portland squad.

3rd OVR – F Gabriel Landeskog

Plymouth Whalers: Traded to Kitchener (OHL)

Landeskog’s story has been one of the most interesting cases to follow since the Import Draft. After Plymouth traded up to select the 16 year old Swede, Landeksog recently had his rights traded to the Kitchener Rangers in a fairly major transaction that saw several high picks going to the Whalers in return. Landeskog is a late 1992 birthday which means that he will not be eligible until the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, but there are already high hopes that this physical two way forward could be a Top 5 pick in 2011.

7th OVR – F Kirill Kabanov

Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)

Arguably the most talented player in the draft, Kabanov’s case is a curious one as there continues to be rumblings back on forth as to where the highly touted Russian will spend his 2009/2010 season. After playing with Spartak last season, Kabanov has reached an agreement to move to KHL powerhouse Salavat. However there continue to be signs that Kabanov is actually intent on heading overseas to suit up for the Wildcats. It appears that things might become more clear after the conclusion of the Ivan Hlinka U18 tournament, but it will a very interesting storyline to follow.

9th OVR – G Robin Lehner

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)

Lehner is the first NHL drafted player on the list after being selected 46th overall by the Ottawa Senators in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. Lehner is a big goalie who put up respectable numbers with Frolunda last season and will now spend time on a very young Greyhounds club. Since he will likely see a lot of quality shots this season, it will be very important for him to show some mental toughness and prove that he is able to battle through some adversity that he will almost assuredly face.

12th OVR – F Alexander Burmistrov

Barrie Colts (OHL)

Burmistrov is the most recent player to announce that he will be coming over to play in the CHL next season after agreeing to terms with the Barrie Colts. A late 91 birthdate, the undersized forward will be eligible for the 2010 NHL Draft and there is reason to believe that he could work his way into the first round.  Burmistrov is extremely talented and will get a great chance to succeed with a team that should be one of the better teams in the OHL this year. While he may not be more talented then guys like Vladimir Tarasenko and Evgeni Kuznetsov, the combination of a strong season and already being in North America could give Burmistrov the upper hand on his fellow countrymen in the draft.

14th OVR – F Toni Rajala

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

One of the most highly touted internet phenomenoms in recent memory, Toni Rajala went from being perceived as a Top 5 pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft to plummeting all the way to the fourth round where the Edmonton Oilers were happy to pick him up with the 101st pick in the draft. Rajala will come to Brandon fresh off a very impressive U18 performance where he racked up 19 points in a mere 6 games. This season will definitely be an interesting for Rajala as he joins up with a very talented Brandon team that is set to host the Memorial Cup in 2010. Playing in a very physical league should challenge Rajala’s durability and it will be interesting to see how the talented forward progresses during the season.

Suffice to say, it is certainly going to be interesting to see how the new dose of European flavour takes shape in the CHL this year. Many are often quick to jump to the conclusion that the CHL will automatically ruin European players, and while that trend did have some support as early as a few years ago, recent indications show that many European players have thrived in the CHL since the NHL lockout season, where the CHL also adapted the same rule changes. Nevertheless, with so many draft eligible players making appearances in the league this season, it will be an interesting year following the plight of many of these young players.