Two months away from the 2012 NHL Draft, and we're slowly creeping up on the end of the CHL Season, as all three leagues have their Final match ups set. Beyond, the CHL Finals, Memorial Cup and the Draft Combine, there isn't a hole lot to go off for the next eight weeks, so most scouting agencies and NHL Teams should be putting together some rough "Final Rankings".
For the record, the CHL Finals stack up like this:
Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
London Knights
vs.
Niagara Ice Dogs
Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks
vs.
Edmonton Oil Kings
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Rimouski Oceanic
vs.
Saint John Sea Dogs
That gives you all more time to catch some top end 2012 draft prospects like Olli Maatta, Griffin Reinhart, Henrik Samuelsson, Jesse Graham and Derrick Pouliot.
Onto news/thoughts/whatever the heck you guys want to call it.
- As reported first by myself on Saturday,
Miles Koules has de-committed from the University of North Dakota, and will sign with the Medicine Hat Tigers, where his dad, Oren Koules
(former Tampa Bay Lightning Owner, Producer of Two and a Half Men, Producer of Saw), played when he was younger. This will give Miles a chance to play with the likes of Hunter Shinkaruk and really try to progress his development into an NHL'er over the next two years.
- The more I watch of
Teuvo Teräväinen, the more I realize he's going to make me look absolutely stupid for my lower ranking of the Finn. He really does remind scouts of Claude Giroux when you watch him. The only question is whether his game translates with his diminutive frame. If it does, and he can stay away from a perimeter game, he's going to make all kinds of people look like morons at the draft table.
-
Ryan Hartman has also de-committed from Miami (Ohio) in 2013-2014, and will head to Plymouth of the OHL next year, rather than Dubuque of the USHL for a season before his NCAA commitment kicked in.
-
Seth Jones (2013 eligible - and potential first overall pick) headed to Portland... for the weekend. Portland received the ability to talk to Jones, and could potentially trade for his rights should Jones give them 'a-ok' that he wants to play there next season, rather than heading to the NCAA for his first year. A source told me last week that Jones will "100 per cent" go to Portland. Watch for that to happen.
- According to Steve Spott on a local radio station, Kitchener forward,
Radek Faksa, who will likely be a Top 10 pick in this year's draft, was playing through the playoffs with quite a few ailments, which could be a large reason for his diminished numbers. Along with the concussion he suffered right before the post season, he had a banged up wrist, was sick, and had another injury Spott did not specify. The Hockey News did a great video on the Czech forward,
here. It really shows how physical of a force Faksa can be.
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