Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects. It’s that time again, major junior hockey is back and we’re here to preview the new season for you. While teams have actually played their first game in the QMJHL, things are set to start on September 19th in the WHL and on September 24th in the OHL. With that in mind we will start our division previews out east, then go west, and finally finish in Ontario this year. You can check out our previous Top Shelf Prospects articles here.
QMJHL Maritime Preview
The Contenders (in Order of how I feel they will finish)
Moncton Wildcats: The Wildcats will feature a powerful forward group led by Blues draft pick Ivan Barbashev, and the surprisingly undrafted Vladimir Tkachev on the team’s top line again. Overager Christophe Lalonde, and 18-year-old Conor Garland will also be expected to improve on last year’s numbers where they both hovered around a point per game. Newcomers Liam Murphy and Cameron Askew will be expected to fill out the top 6. Combine that with overage goaltender Alex Dubeau, who has the ability to steal games.
The Wildcats biggest question marks are on the blueline. Their defence lacks a true number one player who can play huge minutes in all situations. Jacob Sweeney, Adam Holwell and Garrett Johnston are returning players who will lead the group, but there are depth questions. With only two overage players on the roster though, I would expect the Wildcats will add a third overager to help the blue line.
Halifax Mooseheads: A lot will depend on what happens with Nikolaj Ehlers here. I think its pretty safe to say that Jonathan Drouin will not be back for another year, but they could still have Ehlers back to lead the offence. Timo Meier should also be back as the team will have a pair of imports leading the offence. Philippe Gadoury was a revelation late last season with 20 goals in 19 games and the Mooseheads will hope for that to continue.
Ryan Falkenham is back after an injury-plagued season and will be expected to provide two-way play and leadership. The Mooseheads might have the best goaltending in the division with Montreal Canadiens second rounder Zach Fucale backstopping them. However they are another team whose achilles heel is on the blue line with Brendan Duke and MacKenzie Weegar both graduated. The new defence group will be led by Matt Murphy, Austyn Hardie and Jesse Lussier; but is very young beyond those three.
Cape Breton Screaming Eagles: Cape Breton solved their biggest issue by acquiring goalie Francois Brassard this off-season. The overager should provide them with the steady play between the pipes that this young and improving team needs to take the next step. Up front they should again feature Blue Jackets draftee Julien Pelletier and Hurricanes draftee Clark Bishop, who will team with veterans Kyle Farrell and Charles-Eric Légaré to provide offence.
The real key question here is whether new import and 2015 draft eligible Evgeny Svechnikov can team with Maxim Lazarev to form a dynamic Russian duo. Again though the issue here is a young defence with only Matthew Nosella being 19 or older. Loik Leveille and Jason Bell are 2015 draft eligibles.
Players to Watch:
Clark Bishop, C, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles: Drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2014 draft, Bishop put up 14 goals and 33 points in 56 games for the Screaming Eagles last season. He is a great skater, with great top end speed and acceleration. He also has good agility and balance. Bishop is a cannonball on the forecheck who punishes opposing defenders. He is also very good on the penalty kill.
Bishop’s shot has a good release, but he needs to work on his accuracy. He is a straight ahead player who will score most of his points through hard work and going to tough areas, rather than playing a high skill game.
Mason MacDonald, G, Charlottetown Islanders: A Calgary Flames 2014 second round draft pick, he was acquired from Acadie-Bathurst at last year’s trade deadline. At 6’4″, McDonald has ideal height for a goaltender. He gets out of his net and makes the most of that size by cutting down angles and giving shooters very little to look at when they get a chance. He has a very good butterfly and gets into and out of it very quickly for a big goalie.
One thing that is noticeable is that he very rarely goes into this butterfly too early, and this is a great instinct for a goalie to have. His legs are very quick and take away the bottom of the net with ease. He also flashes an impressive glove hand. McDonald is an excellent skater and puck-tracker. He is out far challenging shooters, but able to back up quickly if players go wide to the outside. Also he tracks the puck very well, and goes post to post quickly. He should keep Charlottetown in games, and can even steal some.
Nikolaj Ehlers, RW, Halifax Mooseheads: Should he return to Halifax, he might be the best player in the QMJHL. Ehlers is a fantastic skater, whose speed is off the charts, and he has outstanding acceleration and great agility. He beats even the quickest of defenders one-on-one, and can take them wide and cut to the net. He is very solid on his skates and has a powerful stride that can fight through checks, hooks, and holds. He has good balance and is very difficult to knock off the puck and this should only improve as he adds weight.
Ehlers combines that skating skill with great hands and he can score in close when he cuts to the net. His stick handling ability is high-end and he can make moves and control the puck while at top speed. He is absolutely lethal off the rush, and if defenders back off on him to avoid being beaten by his speed, he can use the space to let go a great wrist shot which features an excellent release. His passing skill is also high level, and he has great vision and hockey sense to take advantage of that. Ehlers is willing to work in the dirty areas, and handles the puck well even in heavy traffic areas. He could contend for the QMJHL scoring title.
Zach Fucale, G, Halifax Mooseheads: Fucale was picked in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. He enters the season just 29 wins short of the all-time QMJHL record and will look to break it this season. Fucale is an athletic, butterfly style goaltender with decent size at 6’01. He is very quick in the net, especially with his legs as he does an excellent job taking away the bottom of the net. Fucale has an excellent glove hand, and flashes the leather regularly to take away the top half of the net.
His rebound control is remarkable for a junior goaltender. This is usually an area that many young goalies need to work on, but Fucale is already approaching the status of a master. He directs pucks into the corners or smothers them, taking away second chance opportunities. Fucale’s lateral movement in the crease is superb. He is able to get from post to post very quickly and square himself up to the puck. He covers a lot of ground, but is economical in his movements, rarely going too far or getting himself out of position.
Overall, his technique is extremely refined for a 19-year-old, and this will help him to be one of the QMJHL’s top goalies. Not only does he stop shots, he also is the rare goaltender who can have a positive effect on his team’s possession game with his rebound control and also his ability to play the puck.
Ivan Barbashev, C, Moncton Wildcats: A second round pick of the St. Louis Blues, most had predicted that Barbashev would be taken in the first round of the NHL Draft. He is a pure sniper, he has a great arsenal of shots with a terrific wrister, slapshot, snapshot, backhand and one-timer. These shots also feature an excellent release which can fool goalkeepers and the puck will be in the back of the net before he knows it. Barbashev also has good stickhandling skills, and the creativity and vision to make passes which surprise opponents and set up teammates for easy goals.
When he doesn’t have the puck, he does a good job in finding open areas, and easy passing lanes for a teammate to get him the puck. He reads the play well and has a high hockey IQ. He plays a strong two-way game, though he does need to work on his face-off skills, as he transitioned from wing to centre last season.
Vladimir Tkachev, LW, Moncton Wildcats: The highly touted Russian missed most of last season with visa problem, but managed to put up 10 goals and 30 points in just 20 games. He added 7 goals and 9 points in just 6 playoff games. Tkachev is an undersized but highly skilled forward. He is a great stickhandler who has great skating including a strong change of pace, and great agility. If he can add some muscle to his frame we could see him taking the next step and being an offensive producer in the NHL. He does need some work defensively though. Already has great chemistry with Barbashev and the two will terrorize the QMJHL defences this year.
Olivier Leblanc, D, Saint John Sea Dogs: Another Blue Jackets draft pick, Leblanc is an undersized defenceman who put up 7 goals and 33 points for a rebuilding Sea Dogs team last season. He should be the Sea Dogs leader as they continue what is a long rebuild after dominating the QMJHL and wining back to back titles just a couple of years ago. Leblanc is a very strong skater who loves to join the rush, or even lead it with strong puck handling and passing skills. Also has a very good shot from the point. He needs to add muscle to be better in the defensive zone, but should have room to do so on his frame.
2015 Draft Eligible Players to Watch
Guillaume Brisebois, D, Acadie-Bathurst Titan: The fifth overall pick in the 2013 QMJHL draft, Brisebois was part of Team Canada’s dominant gold medal winning squad at the Ivan Hlinka tournament. He played a top-four role for the Titan as a 16-year-old last season, and showed that he was very good with the puck on his stick. Makes smart passes on the breakout and can quarterback the play from the blue line.
Brisebois has a good shot, and the mobility to slide sideways to open up passing and shooting lanes. He understands the importance of keeping his shot low and on net for screens, tips and rebounds. Needs to get physically stronger in order to clear the front of the net and win battles in the corners, but has a good frame that he can add muscle to. He is flying under the radar but could be taken in the top two rounds of the 2015 NHL Draft.
Evgeny Svechnikov, LW/C, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles: Cape Breton had to wait a year before bringing over the second round pick in the 2013 CHL import draft. Svechnikov is a late-96 birthday who had an excellent tournament for Russia at this spring’s under 18s. He was also part of Russia’s 2013 Silver medal winning U17 squad, and the silver medal winning team at the 2013 World Junior “A” Championships. Svechnikov has good size at 6’3″ and an outstanding wrist shot and release. He is a strong skater, who loves to drive the net and can finish in close when he gets there. He also has excellent passing ability. Svechnikov is a seen as a gamebreaker and could be a top 10 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Daniel Sprong, RW, Charlottetown Islanders: Sprong is likely to be the highest drafted Dutch born player ever. He moved to Canada in 2005 to face stronger competition than what was available in the Netherlands. Sprong’s 30 goals was the most by any 1997 born player in the CHL this season. He’s got great speed off the wing, and a bullet wrister with a deadly release. Is dangerous every time he touches the puck, and loves to shoot. Has some great stick handling ability and can be a good passer as well. He must get stronger and be better at taking a hit. He is already good positionally. Sprong could be a top-10 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Jakub Zboril, D, Saint John Sea Dogs: The 5th overall pick in this year’s CHL import draft, the Czech defenceman joins the Sea Dogs looking to get more exposure ahead of the 2015 NHL draft. He was part of silver medal winning squads at last springs’s U18 World Championship, and the summer’s Ivan Hlinka tournament. This potential first round pick has a cannon of a shot, excellent passing skills, great size, good skating ability, and is always willing to play a physical game. He looks like he could be the total package.
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