Pre-draft MFFL Podcast

MFFL Podcast Episode 5 - Week 12

 

Episode 5

It's week 12 and Caley and Tim are talking playoffs with only 2 weeks of the regular season left. We have a conversation about many different scenarios and get another edition of TC's Bridge Watch!

MFFL Podcast - Episode 4

 

Episode 4

The MFFL trade deadline is in the books. Two games separate first from worst heading into week 7 of the NFL regular season. Caley and Tim sit down to review the leagues 3 deadline deals, preview week 7's crucial match ups, give their picks, power rankings and debut a new segment. BRIDGE WATCH! Who's on bridge watch?

MFFL Podcast - Episode 3

 

Episode 3

Owner of the Flyin Catfish, Brenton Moxsom, joins Caley and Tim to breakdown week 2 and preview week 3. We also debut the Catfish 'hour', in which Brenton waxes poetic about some of his favorite MFFL owners! As always, we have our weekly Patrick Peterson update! Our weekly 5 best plays are unveiled (someone went 5-0 last week!), as well our picks for the week and a new owner is atop the league power rankings!

MFFL Podcast Episode 2

 

Episode 2

Caley and Tim get together and review week one and all the craziness that took place to start the season. They then unveil the league's first power rankings of the season, give their top fantasy performers for week 2 and of course preview week two's match ups and give their predictions for the winners and losers of this weeks fantasy match ups. They also discuss Patrick Peterson's week 1 fantasy breakout which saw him blow the doors of the NFL for zero catches, for zero yards and zero touchdowns with 2 tackles!

2013 MFFL Regular Season Podcast #1 - PART 2

It's Part 2 of Episode 1. The conclusion to the Kitchen Podcast. To much is covered to summarize here. Colin Kamernack is discussed at length though and as well all remember Brenton elevates to number 1 in the league power rankings with his Iron "fists" Tim gives his previews for the week one MFFL match ups as well!

R-Kelly.

2013 MFFL Regular Season Podcast #1

In Part 1 of the first regular season podcast Tim fly's solo and gives his run down of how he feels the draft went back in August and the Kitchen podcast recording from that night is unveiled. We also debut our brand new podcast intro for the 2013 regular season. 

"Extra Ketchup, that only costs 10 cents now-a-days!"

MFFL 5-round Mock Draft Podcast

Wednesday, August 14th - 2013

Caley and Tim sit down and do a 5-round mock draft for the upcoming MFFL. With the draft less then 2 weeks away, the guys take a stab at how picks may play out when the Catfish go on the clock on Saturday the 24th of August. Full draft results and team by team breakdowns will be posted on the league facebook page for discussion. 

#10days

2013 NHL Mock Draft Final Edition

The NHL's 2013 draft is upon us. Draft geeks and hockey fans alike will gather on Sunday afternoon to watch the future stars, grinders, plugs and faceoff specialists achieve their dreams. I posted my first mock draft of the season back in May, which only encompassed the lottery selections. This final mock draft will be a complete 1st round. I've tweaked, prodded, and manipulated this list to the point where I believe I am officially out thinking myself in some ways. I spent a lot of time forming opinions on most of these players in this mock, outside of the Europeans which I have seen very little of outside of game highlights and scouting reports. I feel as though my grasp of the other 23 players is as good as it will get for someone who has seen a few of them play many times, and the other half or so just a handful. So after attempting to build a potential crutch for when I turn out to be completely wrong on 90% of these selections, I will say that mocking is about taking  a stand, and sticking your neck out for what you believe to be the case.Competitive educated guessing I like to call it. With that said, here is my final mock of the year in which I will not have Hunter Shinkaruk going 21st overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs like Sportsnets Sam Consentino did in his 2013 NHL mock draft. Good grief. Oh, and I flirted with the idea of including trades in this mock and getting very fancy, faced with the possibility of a monstrosity of endless trade possibilities I decided to forego that in favour of a more linear approach to trying to predict what is going on in the mind of 24 different NHL GM's. (Chicago, Boston, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh, St.Louis and Minnesota are all without 1st round picks)

If you have a google account be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts below, share, tweet or use as a digital paper weight at your leisure! Thanks for reading and most of all, enjoy the draft!

Disclaimer: I have used a highly volatile combination of opinions, bias, intelligent thought, team need, best player available, impressions, fact and speculation in the creation of this mock draft. If you disagree with much of what you see here, chances are, you're a hockey fan. 

1. Colorado Avalanche - Nathan MacKinnon

Center - Halifax Mooseheads

2. Florida Panthers - Jonathan Drouin

Left Wing - Halifax Mooseheads

3. Tampa Bay Lightning - Seth Jones

Defenseman - Portland Winterhawks

4. Nashville Predators - Alexsander Barkov

Center - Tappara (SM-I)

5. Carolina Hurricanes - Samuel Morin

Defenseman - Rimouski Oceanic

6. Calgary Flames - Sean Monahan

Center - Ottawa 67's

7. Edmonton Oilers - Darnell Nurse Defenseman - Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds

8. Buffalo Sabres - Valeri Nichuskin

Left Wing - Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)

9. New Jersey Devils - Hunter Shinkaruk

Center - Medicine Hat Tigers

10. Dallas Stars - Elias Lindholm

Center - Byrnas (SEL)

11. Philadelphia Flyers - Zachary Fucale

Goaltender - Halifax Mooseheads

12. Seattle Supersonic (Phoenix) - Bo Horvat

Center - London Knights

13. Winnipeg Jets - Anthony Mantha

Left Wing - Val'dor Foreurs

14. Columbus Blue Jackets - Rasmus Ristolainen

Defenseman - TPS Turku

15. New York Islanders - Nikita Zadorov

Defenseman - London Knights

16. Buffalo Sabres - Valentin Zykov

Right Wing - Baie Comeau Drakkar

17. Ottawa Senators - Max Domi
Center/Left Wing - London Knights

18. Detroit Redwings -  Curtis Lazar

Center - Edmonton Oil Kings

19. Columbus Blue Jackets - Kerby Rychel

Left Wing - Windsor Spitfires

20. San Jose Sharks - Ryan Pulock

Defenseman - Brandon Wheatkings

21. Toronto Maple Leafs - JT Compher

Left Wing - USNTDP

22. Calgary Flames - Robert Hagg

Defenseman - Modo (SEL)

23. Washington Capitals - Alexander Wennberg

Center - Djurgardens

24. Vancouver Canucks - Adam Erne

Left Wing - Quebec Remparts

25. Montreal Canadiens - Frederick Gauthier

Center - Rimouski Oceanic

26. Anaheim Ducks - Mirco Mueller

Defenseman - Everett Silvertips

27. Columbus Blue Jackets - Justin Bailey

Center - Kitchener Rangers

28. Calgary Flames - Tristian Jarry

Goaltender - Edmonton Oil Kings

29. Dallas Stars - Ryan Hartman

Right Wing - Plymouth Whalers

30. Chicago Blackhawks - Josh Morrissey

Defenseman - Prince Albert Raiders

Maritimes Fantasy Football League Podcast - Episode 2

Saturday June 22nd, 2013

Co-Comissioner Ryan Moxsom joins Caley and Tim in studio to talk breakout rookies and AGM issues. We also talk Mox's history in the league and discuss items such as Aaron Hernandez, the creation of a Jedi Trade council and play a little who'd you rather! The guys also debate Le'Veon Bell vs Montee "don't call him Mont'a" Ball. We also give our opinions on the leagues always prevalent QB keeper debate, Mox makes his case for the decrease from 6 points to 5, Caley is on the side of 4 points per QB TD, and as usual Tim wants no holds barred 100 points per TD or 1 point per TD if it means removing the restrictions on keeper positions. 

"RJ3"

Why the Boston Bruins are just better then everyone else.

If you have taken a moment and decided to read this article I assume you are a fan of hockey, I would assume a little higher on the fan scale then just casual as well. If this is the case and you consider yourself an educated hockey fan (even an educated Chicago Blackhawk fan), chances are if my digital penmanship do the facts of this article justice, you will likely find yourself agreeing with my conclusions. Lets give it a try.

First of all, allow me to disclose my bias by stating that I cannot stand the Boston Bruins, utterly despise is a soft gentle way in which I would verbally illustrate my feelings towards them. I despise Tim Chiarelli, I despise Claude Julien, I despise Zdeno Chara (not Chair-ah), Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic, heck even that bumbling, raging nonsensical homer of a play by play guy at NESN, Jack Edwards. "GET UP!" All of my hateful biases aside, here is why the Boston Bruins are just better then everyone else.

Organizational depth. As a hockey purest, they are my definition of a hockey team, from the very top, 8 foot 20 Zdeno Chara, to very bottom 3 foot 2 Brad Marchand, and everything and everyone in-between. As the narrative went before the conference finals series versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, they do not have the best players in the world (Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin). There is not anyone on the Bruin roster that can match up with those two skill for skill. But where the Boston Bruins beat many of their opponents is when they match up the guys on the bottom half of the roster, versus their counter parts on the opposing teams 3rd and 4th lines, or bottom pair defenseman. Here is how those lines have looked recently.

Daniel Paille - Chris Kelly - Tyler Seguin

Kaspers Daugavins - Rich Peverly - Shawn Thorton

Torey Krug - Adam McQuaid

(Gregory Campbell lost to injury)

Kind of looks like a stale heal of bread on paper right? I would agree until you put them on the ice in the Stanley Cup playoffs. There is not a single team in the league that can match up their bottom 8 or 9 players on their rosters versus these guys and come out on top. This is what is giving Boston a huge leg up during the playoffs. But this is only going to win you hockey games in May and June if your top 9 roster players are able to hang with, and not lose match ups versus the opposing top 9. Sounds to obvious right? Well here is my theory. I believe Claude Julian is mastering his own 21st century version of the rope-a-dope. A boxing tactic made famous by the great Muhammad Ali in his fight versus George Foreman at the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. Ali's strategy, and that of the rope-a-dope, is to allow your opponent to "punch himself out", wear out, in other words. Ali took a defensive posture for the first 90% of that fight versus Foreman, betting that he could do a better job of defending against Foreman's attack, rather then standing and trading offensively with the punishing blows of George Foreman. (the Penguins and Blackhawks). The rope-a-dope in my theory is the top 9 players on the Boston Bruin roster. Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, Zdeno Chara and the rest of the gang. Can they absorb the best punches from the offensive superstars of the NHL? Crosby, Malkin, Iginla and Neal will tell you they can, and Kane, Toews, Hossa and Sharp are searching deep within themselves today asking the same question. These top end Bruin players have one objective every game, and that's not to let those superstars beat them, it is safe to say that it's been a glowing success through these 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, as it was well documented, the Penguins managed an unfathomable 2 goals in the 4 game sweep versus Boston, and Chicago has 5 goals through the first 3 here against Boston. Where have those 5 goals come from? Not the elite offensive talent of the Blackhawks, here are the Cut and Dry numbers through 3 games.

Patrick Kane - 0G, 1A - 1 Point

Jonathan Toews - 0G, 0A - 0 Points

Marian Hossa - 0G, 1A - 1 Point (in 2 games)

Patrick Sharp - 1G, 0A - 1 Point

Only 1 goal from your top 4 offensive weapons in the first half of a Stanley Cup finals is rarely going to get the job done, and it's a credit to the defensive rope-a-dope of the star Bruin players.We are sneaking up on the final round of this fight and if and when the Bruins claim their 3rd win, putting them 60 minutes away from their 2nd Stanley Cup in 3 years, I believe the fury of punches they will figuratively and literally throw the way of the Blackhawks will be just to much for what looks like a tired team that has punch itself out through the first 3 rounds of the playoffs, and the first 3 games of this series. 

So as I stated in the preface of this article, there are few teams I enjoy watching suffer more then the Boston Bruins, their fans (some) are insufferable, maybe more so then their players but I'll take a small piece of pride away from writing this article knowing that it is something the likes of Jack Edwards could never do if we were watching my Montreal Canadians steam roll their way towards another Stanley Cup victory. Looks like I will find myself picketing another Brad Marchand Stanley Cup parade this summer in Halifax, I'll be there, rotten tomatoes in hand. Float like a butterfly, sting like a B. 

Maritimes Fantasy Football League Podcast - Episode 1

MFFL Podcast - Episode 1

Tim Stephenson, Andrew Caley

Friday June 7th, 2013

Description: On the podcast today, Caley and Tim talk the 2013 MFFL draft. Caley breaks down who he feels has the best and worst keepers going into this year, and Tim dicusses the 3 best and worst players that were kept for the 2013 season. The guys also discuss their top 5 position big boards for draft eligible players and well as a new segment. "New faces in new places". Players discussed include Reggie Bush, Carson Palmer, Danny Amendola and Wes Welker to name a few. Other players discussed at length include Cam Newton and Percy Harvin. Tim professes his new love for the Miami Dolphins and Caley disagrees with his notion that they will be a wild card team.

Terrell Suggs, "EWW".

2013 NHL mock draft

There is little I enjoy more than speculating about potential picks in the annual NHL entry draft. This 2013 draft class is one that I view as being a cut above many draft classes over the last decade. In terms of depth, and high end skill, I believe that there are more top quality players to be found through out the 1st round then in a normal year.

As a CHL season ticket holder of the Halifax Mooseheads, and general fan of Canadian Junior Hockey there will no doubt be a North American bias to this mock draft, so know that going into this. I had requested some European game tape from Jarmo Kekäläinen, but he tells me he lost it during a luggage change in Tampere Finland where he met with Aleksander Barkov's parents on a recent scouting trip. I'm not buying it. Jarmo is definitely a "Watcher" from Fox hit show Fringe. He has the secrets to the universe (How to strike gold with NHL draft picks) and he's not sharing.

Before further slandering the good name of Mr.Kekäläinen with my outrageous conspiracy theories, lets take a look at my mock draft for the first 14 lottery selections of this years NHL entry draft.

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1st Overall - Colorado Avalanche
Nathan MacKinnon :Center :Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

This selection is going to be a point of contention among hockey fans for the next 2 months. MacKinnon vs Jones. The consensus since the beginning of the 2012/2013 CHL season has shifted from MacKinnon to Jones as the 1st overall pick in this years draft. I contested all year that until we knew who held the 1st pick, we couldn't really answer who the pick will be. Scouts merely rank players according to who they feel the top North America and European skates are. This is a very challenging task when talking about a 6'4 smooth skating, mobile, offensive and shut-down defenseman and a 6'0, 190lb center who is an elite skater with a rare combination of play making and goal scoring ability. It is unusual that junior forward prospects warrant the descriptions of sniper, power forward and play maker. MacKinnon has an extremely balanced set of skills, he does everything well, and many things at an exceptional level. He will likely find himself centring Colorados 3rd line to start the year in 2013.

photo credit: David Chan

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2nd Overall - Florida Panthers
Seth Jones :Defenseman :Portland Winterhawks (WHL)

I have made my feelings about Seth Jones know in an article written in January of this year, Seth Jones Article. The kid is as close to can't miss as you can get when drafting junior hockey players. Why not have him going number 1 in this draft then? History. I'm a big believer understanding our history, in this case, the history of the NHL draft. The numbers do not lie when digging deeper into defenseman that have gone first overall in the NHL draft in the past. Since 1970 ten defensman have been selected first overall in the draft, I would considering one of them worthy of that 1st overall selection, Dennis Potvin (1973). The most recent defenseman taken 1st overall, and the only once in recent memory, since 1996, was Erik Johnson is 2006. This 1 case in the last 17 years has turned out to be the wrong choice, we saw Johnson followed by Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews, Nicklas Backstrom and Phil Kessel. You make the call. All this said, I think Jones will be the best defenseman from this class, and a perennial all-star. Poor Florida, right?

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3rd Overall - Tampa Bay Lightning
Jonathan Drouin :Left Wing :Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

After drooling over MacKinnon and Jones to start this draft, I will follow it by saying that Tampa Bay is getting who I believe is the best player in this draft at 3rd overall. Makes good sense right? I just don't believe Colorado or Florida will have the gumption to take a swing for the fences and take Drouin. Words like dynamic, and game changer likely get thrown around far to much and with to high of frequency but Jonathan Drouin is the biggest game changer available this year. His physical skills as a skater, puck handler and passer are already at an elite NHL level but even superior to those quality is the famous and mysterious, "Hockey sense". Hockey IQ, call it what you want. Drouin has this in spades. You have to be careful when doing this, but I have not personally seen a hockey player so smart since Sidney Crosby. The way Drouin changes the game for his other 4 teammates on the ice with him is awe inspiring, his ability to move with the puck, while using his lazer x-ray vision to survey the ice and then select the pass with the highest probability of success is down right scary. His 2.14 PPG average was tops in the CHL this year, and all he's done during Halifax's Q league championship run is lead the team in scoring with 29 points in 12 games as of the date this is being written. This is a jump in his PPG avg from the regular season from 2.14 to 2.42. Now he could potential play on a line with Steven Stamkos and 2013 Art Ross winner Martin St.Louis. #notfair

photo credit: David Chan

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4th Overall - Nashville Predators
Aleksander Barkov :Center :Tappara (SM-I)

Nashville is completely allergic to offense, Barkov will be the first step in the right direction to correcting this. Barkov is a big bodied center who almost registered a point per game while playing against MEN in Finland. This has lead some to rank him higher then Drouin, I'm not that high on him, but from my limited looks at him I like him more then any draft eligible forward that doesn't play for the Mooseheads. I would like Sean Monahan in this spot as well but feel that Barkov has a higher offensive ceiling which for the Predators, needs to be top priority.

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5th Overall - Carolina Hurricanes
Anthony Mantha :Right Wing :Val'dor (QMJHL)

The cupboards are bare on the wings in Hurricane country and Mantha is one of the few high end winger prospects this year that have NHL ready size and scoring ability. The QMJHL will have a banner year in terms of the numbers of players they see drafted in the NHL draft this year. If I asked you who lead this highly skilled league in scoring this year most would guess one of the Halifax stars, they'd be wrong. Anthony Mantha put up a blistering 50 goals in 67 games this year with Val'dor. His 89 point season put him 10th in Q league scoring this year for the 10th place Foreur's. Val'dor would lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs but Mantha still managed a respectable 12 points in 9 playoff games. He is the prototypical goal scoring power forward who's game should translate very well to the pro level. A responsible defensive player who I have visions of playing right wing on a Jordan Staal centred 2nd line for years to come.

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6th Overall - Calgary Flames
Sean Monahan :Center :Ottawa 67's (OHL)

I'm sure Calgary Flames fans had visions of adding a top 3 player in this draft, but after managing to play themselves out of contention for those elite picks, they land at 6th overall. I would feel bad for them if they still didn't have the opportunity to draft the future captain of their franchise, Sean Monahan. After playing 3 full seasons for the 67's before becoming draft eligable, Monahan has been able to develop all areas of his game to put him in a position to be a top 10 all around NHL draft pick this year. Touted as the best defensive forward available this year, Monahan brings the intangibles that all NHL coaches covet! The one negative, and calling it a negative is a stretch, is that more of an offensive jump was expected out of Monahan this year. After tallying 78 points in his 2nd season with Ottawa, he match that 78 points again this year. This can however be attributed to playing on the leagues last place team with very little talent surrounding him. Ottawa traded away both Tyler Graovac and Cody Ceci. The potential is there for Monahan to be the best two way forward to come out of this years draft class and Calgary is in great need of a leadership overhaul while still drafting a player who can contribute offensively on the teams top line down the road.

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7th Overall - Edmonton Oilers
- Nikita Zadorov :Defenseman :London Knights (OHL)

I've taken to a nic-name I thought of for London Knight defenseman Nikita Zadorov, Nik Nasty. After getting my first live look at Zadorov in the CHL top prospect practices and eventually the game, I was fairly convinced that we were looking at the best defenseman who wasn't keeping up with the Joneses. Zadorov has been steadily moving on up the draft board inside my head however. I don't see there being a better choice for Craig MacTavish to make at this spot in the draft. Nik Nasty is everything that the Edmonton Oilers have not been over the past 4-5 years. He is big (huge), he is mean, and he surprisingly has a fair bit of offensive flare to his game which by reputation is predominately defensive. On a stacked London Knights team, he managed to tie for the +/- lead with Max Domi, an impressive +33. A higher rating then both 1st and 2nd round NHL draft picks, Olli Maatta and Scott Harrington. Zadorov has shutdown potential written all over his game. The hits that I saw him lay in the neutral zone during the CHL top prospects game vs the best and fastest CHL players in the country answered any mobility questions I had about him, for 6'5 230 lbs, the kid can move, and when he closed on skaters along the boards, they paid the price.

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8th Overall - Buffalo Sabres
Darnell Nurse :Defenseman :Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds (OHL)

Another young defensman I had the pleasure of watching at the prospects game this year. Darnell Nurse. He beautifully fits the new "mold" of NHL defenseman. He is an excellent skater, who loves to jump in the rush and contribute offensively when appropriate yet still possess tremendous defensive awareness and edge to his game. The offensive upside is definitely there, and it is propelled by how well Nurse skates and handles the puck. Buffalo has been cleaned out after this year, and defense is becoming a glaring need. In spite of his high skill level, I do believe it would be wise to let Darnell develop at an appropriate pace, Buffalo is not going to be good for a few years, and Nurse will be ready to make the jump and contribute to their resurgence at that time.

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9th Overall - New Jersey Devils
- Valeri Nichushkin :Right Wing :Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)

This is one of the toughest players and spots for me in this draft. There is the always present "Russian Factor" when evaluating players coming from the KHL to the NHL. Nichuskin just signed with the Moscow Dynamo of the KHL which all but ensures that he's two full seasons away from making his début in the NHL. The other factor with drafting these young Russian stars is, what kind of support system does the team have in place in terms of current Russian born pros who can insulate and mentor the young prospect. I believe there is merit to this. With Kovalchuk, Volchenkov, Zubrus and Ponikarovsky all on the roster it could be the ideal situation to landing Nichuskin in the garden state as soon as possible.

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10th Overall - Dallas Stars
Elias Lindholm :Center :Byrnas (SEL)

By all accounts, Lindholm would be the one player many would consider the top defensive forward in this years draft, not Sean Monahan as I have said. As I mentioned in my opening, my ability to form an opinion on many of these European skaters was derailed by that swindling trickster Jarmo Kekäläinen, that may be the cause for having Lindholm falling to the stars here at 10, rather then in the top 6 where you will find him in most 2013 NHL mock drafts. With regards to Dallas, I can't see them being to disappointed with this. They are a team that is teetering on that description of a rebuilding team. Was pleased to see Joe Nieuwendyk fired however, trading Michael Ryder AND a 3rd round pick for Eric Cole and his contract should get you fired. This is a great step towards building top quality depth down the middle in Dallas. Jamie Benn, Elias Lindholm, Vern Fiddler and Cody Eaken could be very formidable in the coming years.

                   

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11th Overall - Philadelphia Flyers
- Zach Fucale :Goaltender :Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

The time has come Philadelphia, no more side tracks to far off galaxies, or scrapping by with a rotation of back up quality goalies, it's time to lock that position up for the future. Zach Fucale is the consensus top goalie in this years draft, and my amateur eye for goalie talent can verify this by roughly 50 games which I have seen Zach play in. Without coming out and directly making this comparison I see a lot of similarities in style between Fucale, and Montreal Canadiens goalie, Carey Price. Composure, lateral movement and positioning in the net are Fucales strong suits. I would categorize him as a tactician who is extremely scrutinous in his preparation. He rose to prominence as an NHL draft prospect last year when he took the reigns in the Mooseheads net due to an injury to starter, Anthony Terenzio on October 22nd, and did not look back, starting 29 or 33 games which took the team to the end of January, and from that point he started all games for the Mooseheads including a playoff run which eventually ended in the 3rd round of the playoffs, as a 16 year old. He followed that up with a 45-5-2-1 regular season this year, and has since gone 12-0 in the playoffs with a GAA of 2.02 and a save % of .903 Bottom line here is that Zach Fucale is very good, and the Flyers haven't been able to consistently say that about one of their goalies in a very long time.

photo credit: David Chan

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12th Overall - Phoenix Coyotes
Hunter Shinkaruk :Center :Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)

This pick screams Jeff Skinner to me. Similar offensive players who are on the small size who many believe will need time to adjust to the pro game. Stature doubting aside, Shinkaruk just puts pucks in the net. After an eye opening 49 goal season with the Medicine Hat Tigers last year, Shinkaruk posted a respectable 37 goals this year. Phoenix lacks this type of high end skill player and I feel goal scoring will be scarce in the desert of the next couple seasons so Shinkaruk makes a ton of sense to me.

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13th Overall - Winnipeg Jets
Curtis Lazar :Center :Edmonton Oilkings (WHL)

Lazar is another kid that made an impression on me during top prospects weekend. His compete level appears to be through the roof. When went as far to drop the gloves with Sault Ste Marie Greyhound defenseman Darnell Nurse and hold his own despite giving up close to half a foot to Nurse. Lazar is going to score more goals then he sets up and will go to the dirty areas of the ice needed to create those scoring opportunities. I believe he and Mark Scheifele are going to be great center pieces for the Winnipeg franchise as they build towards playoff contention.

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14th Columbus Blue Jackets
Frederick Gauthier :Center :Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)

I'm sure Jarmo will take Rasmus Ristolainen, the Finnish defenseman who plays with TPS of the SM-Liiga here, but for once, I have the power, and he does not! I like Frederick Gauthier as the first of 3 Columbus Blue jacket picks in this years draft. Gauthier got off to a blazing hot start to his rookie campaign as a 17 year old with the Oceanic this season, registering 20 points in his first 17 games. He finished the year ice cold however, scoring 9 points in his final 20 games. All told, he put up a solid 60 point season which given his tremendous athletic ability and raw upside as a prospect is very appealing. He also just put in a great effort in the U18 gold medal game versus the Americans in Sochi Russia scoring the winning goal which resulted in a 3-2 Canada victory. At 6'4 and 200 lbs NHL teams are going to be drooling over the potential that Gauthier has to be large skilled NHL center. He can however play the wing which is becoming more popular a move when integrating young forwards into NHL line ups, (see Alex Galchenyuk). Gauthier will be back in Rimouski next year however, likely taking his game to another level as a 19 year old in only his 2nd junior season. His blend of size and speed will be to much for many QMJHL defenses in the 2013/2014 season.

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Well there it is. As the NHL playoffs progress, and teams are slotted in behind the top 14 lottery teams, I will be adding them to complete the entire first round, maybe shifting a guy up or down a few spots as the draft picture begins to become a bit more clear. For now, I am pleased with this top 14! What I really want to know however, is does Jarmo Kekäläinen agree? and does he want to offer me a job holding a clip board for the Columbus Blue Jackets scouting department after they take Gauthier this June and decide to come back to the QMJHL talent well in future years.