Weekend OHL roundup: Rakell making noise in Plymouth

If you say the word "Swede" in the context of the OHL, then hardcore hockey fans will immediately think of Kitchener power forward Gabriel Landeskog.

However, Rickard Rakell is quietly making a name for himself with the rival Plymouth Whalers.

In five games, Rakell has three goals and five points, which is a nice start considering that the native of Sollentuna, Sweden is in just his first season of North American major junior. Rakell is yet one more member of a highly prolific group of imports that is bringing a lot of skill and excitement to the OHL this season.

The Whalers need Rakell's production, too. They are without the services of Tyler Seguin, who is still with the Bruins and that's likely where he'll stay. They got a nice boost in the OHL's first week with the prolific scoring of Alex Aleardi (two hat tricks) the Plymouth native acquired from Belleville who tore it up with seven goals. Although small (and a '92 birthdate passed over last season), Aleardi has speed to burn and is making a name for himself as a player worth taking a flier on in 2011.

But Rakell is also turning heads with his high skill level and opportunistic play. His skating stride isn't all that smooth, but he generates a lot of power with it and so while it may not be pretty, he's able to be anywhere on the ice. He plays a North American-style game already with a willingness to give and take hits to make the play, and he works hard along the walls and down low on the cycle. A tenacious forechecker, he's one of those guys who attracts notice when you watch him because he's active with his stick and creates space for his linemates.

The Whalers are off to a tough start with a 1-3-0-1 record, but you have to think that if Matt Mahalak can get it going a lot better, the team can put the puck in the net. It's keeping it out that's been an issue thus far, with 11 goals allowed over the weekend in losses to Saginaw and Sudbury. Mahalak has really struggled in his first two appearances with Plymouth, allowing nine goals and posting a putrid .719 save percentage. A lot of it has to do with defensive breakdowns and the like, but I don't care what level you're playing at, stopping barely 70% of the shots you face isn't going to get it done. He gave up four goals on 10 shots to the Wolves Saturday night. While I haven't seen all the goals he's given up, I have heard that he's been shaky and appears to lack confidence right now. Until he can shore it up, the Whalers will go with Devils prospect Scott Wedgewood.

The Whalers aren't as poor as their early record indicates, and with a player like Rakell and playmaker Garrett Meurs (four assists in five contests) and even Stefan Noesen (two goals, four points) on the club, you can bet that they will continue to be a widely-viewed team by NHL scouts going forward. Mike Vellucci will get them going, and when he does, they'll make that Western Division race an interesting one.

Weekend QMJHL roundup: Couturier paces Drummondville to 1st place

Last year, Sean Couturier led the QMJHL in scoring, but in the early going this season, he's doing something far more important: the candidate for the No. 1 overall selection has pumped in seven goals and 12 points to lead his Drummondville Voltigeurs club to a tie for 1st place in the QMJHL standings with the Quebec Remparts.

The son of NHL journeyman Sylvain Couturier became the first 17-year-old to lead the 'Q' in scoring since Sidney Crosby did it in 2005 with the Rimouski Oceanic. Like Crosby, Couturier appears to be on the path to eclipse his father's standing in hockey (Sidney's father, Troy was a goalie in the Quebec league and late draft pick of Montreal ion 1984, the same year they took some guy of out of Granby named Patrick Roy)

The Hockey News had a nice feature on Couturier by Neil Hodge in their September 13 issue (the one with Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf on the cover), with the assertion that Couturier is the best French-Canadian prospect to come out of Quebec since Vincent Lecavalier, which is lofty praise for the 6-4, 191-pounder who was born in Phoenix of all places while his dad was a minor leaguer in the L.A. Kings' system with the Roadrunners.

Although a dual-citizen, Couturier is a Canadian through-and-through, but has lived all over in places including Germany and was also a member of the storied Notre Dame Hounds midget AAA program in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, where his teammates included 2010 first-rounder Brandon Gormley.

Moncton Wildcats head coach Danny Flynn went out to Notre Dame to scout both Gormley and Couturier when his team possessed the top selection in the QMJHL Midget Draft. Although Flynn opted for the defenseman, he told me last June that there was little doubt in his mind that Couturier was a player the moment he saw him.

"He's so big and skilled," Flynn said as we segued away from Gormley for a few minutes to discuss Couturier. "Sean was a player who jumped out immediately as a player who could control the game with his size, vision and hockey sense. He had the ability to make his presence known every time he was out there."

Couturier played for Drummondville in '08-09, a member of that team's championship season although he played a relatively minor role with just nine goals and 31 points in 58 games. Even then, you could see that he was on the verge of being something special. One of his teammates that year was current Bruins prospect and undrafted free agent, Yannick Riendeau. I spoke to Rienedau about Couturier briefly in Boston last month during the rookie portion of training camp.

"He's a great player," Riendeau said of Couturier. "He was very young, but he worked hard and you could see that he was getting better all the time."

His style compares favorably to other NHL big men like Joe Thornton and Jordan Staal.

Whether Couturier can do enough to be the top selection come June remains to be seen. His speed/mobility is one aspect of his game that scouts feel is an issue. Here's what Red Line Report had to say about him in their September issue, which headlined Couturier over 15 other QMJHL prospects: "Apart from his skating, which still needs a little improvement, the rest of his game is franchise-player calibre."

Thus far, Couturier is showing off his high-end puck skills and superior offensive instincts with the West Division-leading Voltigeurs who have bolted to a 7-1-1 start.

"Any discussion of the Quebec league is going to start with Couturier," one NHL scout for a Western Conference team told B2011DW recently. "The skating isn't a huge problem-- it's something he can fix with some time and training. But everything else-- the things you can't teach a player like size and how to see a developing play and then make the play-- he's so very good at that. Right now, he's done exactly what we were expecting, so he's going to be in that top bracket (for the draft) all year, I suspect."

The Bruins don't appear to be in the market for Couturier's services even if Toronto has another finish like they had last season, however. Should the Bruins find themselves in position to take a player in the top-two selections, it's hard to imagine that they wouldn't be trying to land a top defenseman. Of course, the best way to build a team is to accrue assets, so if Couturier is truly seen as a potential franchise cornerstone, the B's will do what they need to in order to ensure that they land the best possible talent. They can always try and trade for a defenseman later.

It's early October and the thought of Couturier ending up with the Bruins certainly seems like it would be a pipe dream, but then again, most folks believed the same thing about Tyler Seguin a year ago.

Here's a QMJHL profile on him:

USHL notes: Ambroz held scoreless in Omaha win

Seth Ambroz is the prohibitive favorite to be the top player out of the USHL to be taken in the 2011 draft, but the big, skilled power forward from New Prague, Minnesota was held off the scoresheet in his team's 3-2 win over the expansion Dubuque Fighting Saints.

Justin Crandall (a '92 from Lakeville, Minnesota) had two of Omaha's goals (he scored on both of his shots), and Dubuque defenseman Joakim Ryan is a player of interest. The son of a Swedish tennis pro, but born in the USA and a native of the Garden State, Joakim was snubbed by the U.S. NTDP, so Team Sweden grabbed him. He had an assist in the loss. He's a pretty slick two-way defenseman who is a product of the N.J. High School and N.J. Jr. Devils AAA program, but I like him as a prospect. He's worth keeping tabs on as a mid-rounder in the draft.

But the real story of the game was Latvian forward Zemgus Girgensons, who figured in both of his teams goals: tallying a goal and assisting on John Gaudreau's score. I saw him when he was with the Green Mountain Glades of the EJHL last year and he's a beast- big (6-1), fast and skilled. The plan is for him to play in Iowa this year, accelerate and be at the University of Vermont next year. As a '94 birthdate, he's not eligible until 2012, but put this kid on your watch list now, because you'll be hearing his name quite a bit over the next 18 months.

Gaudreau is very skilled, but tiny. Like Cedar Rapids forward Cason Hohmann, he really played well at the Ivan Hlinka for Team USA (and like Ryan is from Jersey) but when you're about 5-6 and less than 150 pounds, it's a real tough sell to get drafted.

You won't see Ambroz held scoreless much this season with his size, talent and experience/superior physical maturity, so take a snapshot of this and save it. I'm sure we'll be talking a lot about his scoring exploits a lot this year.

Friday night QMJHL roundup: Huberdeau keeps rolling

The Saint John Sea Dogs traveled to Halifax Friday night and Gerard Gallant's club came away with a 4-2 win.

Jonathan Huberdeau continued his excellent offensive start with one of the goals, raising his point totals to 11 on the year in seven games (six goals). The tall, lanky centerman has a loping stride and nice reach and touch with the puck. He's a stringbean, so getting stronger will be a key to success for him at the next level, but in the early going at least, he's lived up to pre-draft expectations.

One of the great things about the internet age is all of the great video that's out there on players now, and the QMJHL website has a nice profile on him. You can watch it here.

Although Slovak winger Tomas Jurco didn't come away with any points, that Sea Dogs team is just loaded with draft-eligible talent. If you're in any position to catch Saint John this season, my recommendation is to make the effort. You'll be rewarded come June when about five of the roster players could find themselves coming off the board in the first three rounds. I don't care who you are, that's a heck of a deep group, with Huberdeau and Jurco leading them well up front.

Friday night WHL roundup: Sluggish starts for Jacobs, Scarlett will drop them in rankings

Every year, there are players who come into their draft-eligible seasons with high expectations and for whatever reason, aren't able to live up to them.

Now, I know its early, but for all the accolades that players like Ryan Murphy, Gabriel Landeskog and Sean Couturier are drawing for their on-the-level production and play, two WHLers are off to tough starts and are going to need to kick it into gear or else see their preseason draft rankings take a hit.

Swift Current offensive defenseman Reece Scarlett has no points in four games. Now, in fairness to Scarlett, he posted just one goal and 10 points in 65 games last season for the Broncos, so it isn't like he was a slam-dunk to be a major point producer this year. But, he was seen as having a legitimate potential to be a two-way force on the blue line in some circles, and if his mediocre showing in Slovakia was one red flag, then his inability to be much of a threat offensively in the early going is another. This is a classic multi-tools player with the size, skating and puck skills to be more than he's shown thus far, so if he can't start getting some points, you'll see him start to take a fall down the rankings. Red Line Report already dropped him from 15th in August to 24th in September. Ny guess is that he'll be out of the first round in October or close to it at the rate he's going.

Now, the good news is, that a player like Scarlett could become a pretty good value pick in June, so keep an eye on him. He isn't a stiff by any means, but sometimes guys get too much credit for what they show at age 16-17, and the idea is that they'll take that next step at 17-18. When it doesn't happen, the fall can be precipitous, but it doesn't mean the end of the line.

Seattle Thunderbirds center Colin Jacobs, a native of Texas, has just one goal in four games. So much more was expected of him thus far, and so the lack of production is a bit troubling. Again, you don't want to hit the panic button so early in the season, but as is the case with Scarlett, scouts are simply expecting to see more offense from a player of Jacobs' size and talents.

The point of this post is not to be an alarmist, or to try and kick players when they are down. Obviously, these two are going to have their ups and downs over the course of the long season. But, this blog becomes lame city if all it does is post about the good and positive accomplishments of draft eligibles. Based on what I saw and read about Scarlett and Jacobs, I expected more. And, I bet if you talked to them, they'd say the same thing.

It will be interesting to see how they progress in 2010-11, and where they end up on draft day.

Friday night OHL roundup: Murphy, Landeskog put on a show in Kitchener

By now, you've probably heard about the insane individual efforts that defenseman Ryan Murphy and forward Gabriel Landeskog put up against the Erie Otters (and yes, B's fans that is old B's coach and Needham's finest Robbie Ftorek behind the Erie bench if you're watching the highlights) in the Kitchener Rangers' 7-3 win Friday night. These two are showing just why they are going to be top-10, possibly even top-five selections in the 2011 NHL Draft.

You can see the highlights here.

Murphy had a goal and four assists-- he currently leads the OHL in scoring (3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points in 3 games). Oh, and he was a plus-five on the night, so maybe that defense of his isn't as bad as originally thought, eh? If he keeps up this torrid pace, then he's going to be right in there with Adam Larsson all season long in terms of who the top defensemen are in 2011 draft discussions. Vancouver's David Musil belongs in those talks, too, but he's not generating the production Murphy is right now. Larsson is playing against men, so he's in a different category altogether.

His first assist-- the slap/pass to Andrew Crescenzi is a thing of beauty. That's a purely offensive move from the point, and should have Bruins fans licking their chops if the team can somehow be in position to take him (and yes, I know it's only October). Murphy is demonstrating that his being left off of Team Canada's Ivan Hlinka team was a total joke with his play in the first few games of the OHL season. His point blast shows the unreal power he generate on his shot-- can you imagine what he might be able to do if he were about three inches taller? Brian Rolston once told me (when he was still with the Bruins) that you can practice your slap shot all you want-- at some point, there is a genetics element involved and that some players are simply going to be predisposed to getting more ooomph and torque on the shot than others. Murphy appears to be one of those naturals.

And let's talk about Landeskog. This kid, whom I was told plays an "angry" style that would seem to any observer that he was born in places like Moose Jaw or Yellowgrass or Timmins as opposed to his native Sweden, also proved in the highlights that he can score from anywhere and do pretty much whatever he wants in aspect of the game. Want to see a finesse scorer? He can do it. Want a guy who will bull his way to the net? He can do that, too. Want a guy who will drop the gloves and splatter his opponent's snot from ear-to-ear? Yup-- Landeskog's got that skill in the bag, too.

His first goal was on a shot from the outside after he gained the zone and cut to the middle of the high slot, wiring a bullet top to the glove side. His second (and fifth on the season) was a dynamic backhander that looked just too easy as it knocked the water bottle in the air. Simply put, he turned a lot of heads last season with Kitchener. Now, with a year in the OHL under his belt, Landeskog is emerging as a true force as an NHL prospect. As tough as it is for preseason top-10 picks to raise their stock, that's precisely what this kid is doing.

Here are some comments on Landeskog from a sharp observer who attended the game and emailed me these comments:

"(There is) So much to love about Landeskog. Kid does absolutely nothing wrong. Plays all 3 forward spots, in all situations. Has really proven to be a leader. The one thing I noticed especially last night that after every shift he comes to the bench and asks the coaches what he could have done differently. "

He saved some love for Murphy, too (and to his credit, has been on Murphy's bandwagon since early last season):

"(Murphy)Now leads the league in scoring with 3 goals 6 assists in 3 games and is a plus 10. And he has been in on 50% of the Rangers offence so far this season. And still no goals against while he's been on the ice. (doesnt get enough credit defensively IMO). Hard to imagine the kid has improved from last year. And his shot....most accurate shot from the point since Ray Bourque."

That's some high praise indeed, but from the looks of things, not too far off the mark. Murphy, like Ryan Ellis and of course, Bourque before them, is proving that you don't have to be a gigantor to possess a fearsome cannon from the point.

Not to be outdone was another Ranger who looks like he's going to be first-rounder in June: German forward Tobias Rieder (2 assists, giving him 7 points in 3 games thus far on 2g, 5 helpers) who got it done with some very heady plays on offense. Kitchener coach Steve Spott has a ton of firepower and the amazing thing is that his team is doing all of this without the services of Jeff Skinner, who is still with Carolina. They may not get Skinner back from the Hurricanes, but if they do, watch out. Check out '91 small forward Michael Catenacci's backhander (with assists to both Murphy and Landeskog)... that's just sick speed and puckhandling.

Rieder is an interesting story-- he's German but worships and idolizes Bobby Orr. He's one of those guys who would be a great storyline if he ended up in Boston and you have to give credit to a kid who understands just what Orr did for the sport of hockey.

Erie didn't have a lot of good news, but David Broll did have a very nice assist on Erie's first goal. Broll is one of those big, physical guys with some offensive upside, but his skating is an issue right now.

The OHL, once again, is looking like the producer of another bumper crop of future NHL talent. Murphy came into the season with a lot of questions to answer, but he's blowing the doors off the skeptics. Just watching those highlights should make anyone a believer. There is a lot of hockey to be played, but if the Bruins end up with this kid somehow in June, then they'll have a premium skill player at the defense for sure, and will have some scary organizational depth.

Dillon Donnelly: A guy you should know

The son of former hard-nosed NHL defenseman Gord Donnelly, Dillon isn't going to be a high pick in June, but with his size and toughness (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, apparently), the younger Donnelly is one of those lower-pairing defenders you win with.

He's got good size (6-1, 188)and physical attributes to make him a potential crease-clearer when he fills out, but one thing he also has going for him is a September 7, 1993 birthdate, making him one of the youngest players in the class. That means that he's only starting to come into his development, and with what is seen by some scouts as some pretty adept puckhandling skills, he could evolve into a better prospect than he's being projected as right now. On the downside, he doesn't seem to have an abundance of vision and natural instincts and is susceptible to an aggressive forecheck.

The Shawinigan Cataracte blue liner isn't flashy or spectacular, but Red Line Report has him as their 11th-ranked prospect in the QMJHL in their September issue, and if he has a strong year, I think you'll see him emerge as a solid mid-round option at the draft.

The drawback of picking a player like Donnelly is that they often take a longer timeline to develop and contribute. In the old days, it wasn't that big a deal, but with earlier free agent dates, teams are spending less time and emphasis drafting the meat-and-potatoes types because they feel that they can acquire older, more experienced "NHL-ready" prospects who were drafted and developed by other teams.

Will Donnelly prove to have enough upside to be a top-100 pick? It will be interesting to see what kind of year he has and where he ends up in St. Paul.