Moving along in the Top 10 Prospects Series with Adam French and myself, we come to the Western Conference Champs. A bust in Patrick White, coupled with little draft picks last year, and the dealing of Michael Grabner really voided this system. But there's still enough depth to produce some NHL players in the group.
1.
Cody Hodgson, Center
Manitoba Moose, AHL
10th Overall, 2008, 21 years old
6’0, 190 lbs
Hodgson is the type of player who creates from his head. A skilled forward, this former Brampton Battalion sees the game at a high level and responds well. He’s creative with the puck and can dish the puck with the best of them. At his best, Hodgson attacks the game and goes to the dirty areas. While injuries have become a problem, his skating is the biggest concern going forward.
Upside: 2nd Line Center
NHL Comparable? Tomas Plekanec
2.
Niklas Jensen, Right/Left Wing
Oshawa Generals, OHL
29th Overall, 2011, 18 years old
6’3, 190 lbs
Another skilled forward, Jensen has a frame to fill out that looks like a pro frame. However, he doesn’t use it as much as fans would like. A solid skater who flashes agility in spades, Jensen can push through coverage with solid manoeuvring. He also flashes a display of soft hands. However, his biggest asset on the offensive side of the game is a quick release of a shot with some power behind it. Jensen will need to learn to put forth his best effort more often than he’s shown, but he does hustle and is an adept penalty killer.
Upside: 2nd Line Scoring Forward
NHL Comparable? Rick Nash
3.
Jordan Schroeder, Center
Manitoba Moose, AHL
22nd Overall, 2009, 20 years old
5’8, 175 lbs
Schroeder is the guy you can’t miss when you see him. A speedy forward with creativity to boot, Schroeder seems to be all over the ice. He’s an explosive skater who finds holes and exploits them with quick feet. He controls the puck like a wizard and has high level vision and creativity when he has it. However he’s shown an inability to play when a game gets physical, as he lacks any real strength.
Upside: 2nd Line Center
NHL Comparable? Paul Kariya
4.
Eddie Lack, Goalie
Manitoba Moose, AHL
Undrafted Free Agent, 23 years old
6’4, 196 lbs
Lack came onto the board with a fantastic season in the American League this year. A big goalie who moves at a decent rate in net, Lack is a positionally sound goaltender who rarely coughs up bad rebounds. He plays square to the shooter, and seems calm under fire.
Upside: NHL Starter
NHL Comparable? Pekka Rinne
5.
Anton Rodin, Right Wing
Brynas, SEL
53rd Overall, 2009, 20 years old
6’0, 175 lbs
Skating, skating and more skating; that’s the calling card for Rodin. Displaying a top speed and agility to manoeuvre the ice with ease, Rodin does his best work with space. He also dashes quick hands and puck control, with some solid vision to go with it. He’s a playmaker from the outside. He tends to shy away from the dirty areas and play a real perimeter game though.
Upside: 2nd Line Playmaking Winger
NHL Comparable? Daniel Alfredsson-lite
6.
Yann Sauve, Defenseman,
Manitoba Moose, AHL,
41st overall, 2008, 21 years old,
6’3, 212.
Sauve is a quick defender with excellent agility and very good backwards transitions and speed especially for a player of his size. Sauve is a solid passer and has a good eye for breakout passes and has decent puck handling skills. Though he is big his shot is still very weak and he has yet to really learn how to lean into it. His physical has picked up since his junior days and he has shown more of a penchant to throw his weight around in the AHL, he needs to keep that up to be effective. He’s prone to giveaways when under a lot of pressure and that needs work.
Upside: 4-6 Defensive Defenseman
NHL Comparable: Francois Beauchemin
7.
Kevin Connauton, Defenseman,
Manitoba Moose, AHL,
83rd overall, 2009, 21 years old,
6’1, 195.
Connauton is a very mobile defender that can really jet around the rink with his long quick strides. Connauton is solid at carrying the puck and is very calm when entering the zone and making short passes. He has a rocket of a shot that he uses as often as he can, especially for one timers on the PP. His problems start in his decision making he can make bad pinches and poor passes if he tries to stretch them too far. Despite his size he is not physical and that has hampered his effectiveness in the corners.
Upside: 5-6 PP Specialist
NHL Comparable: Joe Corvo
8.
Bill Sweatt, Left Wing,
Manitoba Moose, AHL,
38th overall, 2007, 22 years old,
6’0, 190.
An extremely fast skater Sweatt has amazing top-end speed and elite acceleration levels. He forechecks well and is very good at covering his man and shadowing players, this along with his speed make him very effective on the PK. He has decent hands and ok vision but he really doesn’t have much offensive creativity, most of his goals and points come through hard work and speed. He’s not a physical guy and can get pushed around in the offensive zone when trying to cycle.
Upside: 3rd Line Two-Way Forward
NHL Comparable: Frans Nielsen
9.
Pathrik Westerholm, Center,
Malmo, U-20 SuperElit,
180th overall, 2011, 19 years old,
6’0, 185.
The better of the twins who rocked the SuperElit last season Westerholm is a quick skater with average top-end speed but very quick acceleration. He has solid hands and a strong release but gets most of his points off the cycle with his excellent vision. His passing skills are very good though like a certain other set of twins his playmaking is not a strong without his brother Ponthus. He is very good on the PP and creates movement very well. His weakness is that he is a guy who is very weak and gets knocked off the puck and rarely will throw a hit. He is fairly boom or bust but has some good potential, this is a very smart but raw guy.
Upside: 2nd/3rd Line Playmaker
NHL Comparable: Henrik Sedin if he was a 3rd liner
10.
Joseph LaBate, Center,
Holy Angels, USHS,
101st overall, 2011, 18 years old,
6’4, 181.
LaBate is an average skating hard hitting two-way center that plays with an edge not usually seen in the High School system and who really takes care of details in his own end. He has a very hard slap shot and generates most of his offence that way, especially one timers from the slot. He does not have good hands and really has trouble deeking players. He will need to work on his acceleration as he does not get up to speed quickly.
Upside: 3rd Line Two-Way Center
NHL Comparable: Paul Gaustad
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