Drafted 21st Overall by the Calgary Flames
Today we bring you a draft prospect who is getting a ton of buzz across the internet, and seems to be a favorite of various scouting services, Mark Jankowski. Now here at Last Word, we aren’t going to B.S. you. The reality is that Jankowski played hockey in the Quebec Prep League High School Circuit for Stantstead College. This is an undercovered league. As a result, we have personally seen no tapes of full game footage of this player, and are not ranking him. However because we strive to bring you the reader full draft coverage, we are going to quote what other sources have said about him and direct you to more quality pieces on Jankowski. In this way you can trust that we will always bring you the straight goods (as we see them) on any prospect we cover, but will also strive to not leave our readers completely out of the loop when it comes to high ranking NHL Prospects. For this reason Jankowski is the first of our honourable mentions (not ranked by us, but by who is getting top 2 round draft buzz that we’ve noticed, and how much buzz we’ve noticed).
Mark comes from excellent bloodlines. He is the nephew of Ryan Jankowski, a current scout for the Montreal Canadiens, and the former head scout for the New York Islanders. His grandfather was Lou Jankowski who enjoyed an 18 year pro career including NHL stops in Detroit and Chicago. His great uncle is Hockey Hall of Famer Red Kelly.
It is unclear where Jankowski will play next season. He is committed to Providence to play NCAA hockey. He also has a year of eligibility remaining at Stanstead College. He was drafted by the Dubuque Saints of the USHL, and the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.
Centre
Born September 13 1994 — St. Catherines, Ontario
Height 6.02 — Weight 170 — Shoots Left
Craig Button of TSN.CA has ranked Jankowski 14th on his final draft ranking released June 11th. He’s had the following quotes about Jankowski.
““He reminds me of John LeClair. I talked to people in the OHL and they liked his skill set, but he was 5-8. Since then, he’s gone through a growth spurt where he’s gained 6 or 7 inches in 18 months, and I think he’s still growing.”
He’s also said, “Mark Jankowski is superbly skilled with great size & potential.”
Fred Poulin of the Hockey Writers (rank 42nd) had this to say:
“A smooth skater with a great on-ice vision, Jankowski is a very creative player that can score goals and distribute the puck to his line-mates. The skilled pivot is very patient with the puck and his high hockey sense helps him create offense for his team-mates. ”
Kirk Luedeke of the New England Hockey Jounal said
“The book on Jankowski is that he’s a point-producing machine for little Stanstead College, a Quebec boarding school, thanks to his high-end hockey sense and rapidly developing skill set. A rangy skater with a long, smooth stride and sublime on-ice vision, Jankowski turned heads in March at the Spring Beantown Classic showcase in Marlboro, Mass.”
An Anonymous NHL Scout interviewed by The Hockey News (rank #37), in its draft preview has this to say:
“He looks like Joe Nieuwendyk did. He’s got it all, its just that you haven’t seen him tested.”
McKeen’s Draft Guide (rank #37) says,
“An exceptional player in the offensive zone, he has great instincts and anticipates plays well in advance…. More a finesse player he has the rare ability to slow down the pace of the game and routinely find the open man with a pass.”
Future Considerations (rank #44) says
“A smooth skating, athletic two-way centre. He has outstanding speed, quick agility and a fluid overall stride.”
It seems that the consensus is that Mark Jankowski will be drafted anywhere from the Late First Round to Second Round. This prospect certainly looks intriguing, and as such we give him an honourable mention, as it is near impossible to rank him on the list of Best Players Available.
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