NHL Combine video: Xavier Ouellet enjoys chance to make draft case

NHL and scouting opinions are split on Montreal Junior defenseman Xavier Ouellet, but given his excellent ability to pass and move the puck, he could be a solid third-round pick with a chance to move into the second round.

The Montreal native got off to the hottest start among defensemen in the QMJHL at the beginning of the 2010-11 season, but tailed off as did his stock in some circles over concerns with his average size and questionable skating ability.

Red Line Report ranked him just 112th in the 2011 Draft Guide, saying that while 5-6 NHL clubs are projecting him for late second-round selection, RLR sees him as a fourth-rounder over said issues.

"Possesses good hands but isn't overly mobile for a barely adequate-sized defender," reads RLR's scouting profile on the left-shooting defender they compare style-wise to Danny Syvret.

This is one of those clear-cut cases where RLR knows that a player is going to be drafted significantly higher from where the independent service has him, but given the publication's own standards of evaluation, he isn't a major prospect.

Here's the video B2011DW shot on Ouellet at the NHL Scouting Combine last week.