Top NHL draft prospects on display after Christmas

Kyle Woodlief, special to USA TODAY | USATODAY

It's almost Christmas, so that can mean only one thing: We're about to be treated to the best two weeks of hockey we'll see all year. And while that's true even in a normal year, the point is driven home even more clearly in this season without the NHL.

Every Dec. 26, Red Line Report looks forward to traveling not only to the world junior championships but also our favorite tournament of the season, the world under-17 challenge.

The under-17 tournament, hosted this year by Drummondville and Victoriaville, Quebec, is one of the last remaining major events on the scouting calendar where politics play very little role. So it's a chance to truly see the best players of their age group from four European countries, the United States and five regions across Canada.

Then, of course, there's the world juniors. And even with the endless NHL lockout continuing, this year looks especially promising for viewing top draft-eligibles. A quick glance at our list and each nation's evaluation camp rosters reveals that most of Red Line's top-rated prospects could be on hand in Ufa, Russia.

Sure things among the top guys are Finnish studs Aleksander Barkov and Rasmus Ristolainen, while scorer Artturi Lehkonen might land a top six role. American aces Seth Jones and Ryan Hartman, both of whom have been mainstays on U.S. national teams the last two years, are extremely likely candidates. And Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon earned spots on Team Canada's roster, though Sean Monahan and Hunter Shinkaruk were among the cuts after Canada's selection camp.

The incredibly deep defending champions from Sweden could make room for Elias Lindholm on the front lines, and the Russian contingent should include swift forward Valeri Nichushkin and monster rearguard Nikita Zadorov.

Meanwhile, Dominik Kahun (Sudbury) will be a key for the German attack, while Martin Reway (Gatineau) and Roberts Lipsbergs (Seattle) will have to perform miracles if the Slovaks and Latvians, respectively, are to put up much offense.

So sit back and enjoy these hockey gifts. They might be the only presents the sport gives us this year.

No.

Player

Pos.

Ht.,wt.

Shoots

Dateof birth

Team

1.

Seth Jones

D

6-3, 208

Right

Oct. 3, 1994

Portland

2.

Jonathan Drouin

LW

5-11,185

Left

March 27, 1995

Halifax

3.

Nathan MacKinnon

C

6-0,192

Right

Sept.1, 1995

Halifax

4.

Aleksander Barkov

C

6-2, 207

Left

Sept. 2, 1995

Tappara

5.

Sean Monahan

C

6-2,193

Left

Oct.12, 1994

Ottawa

6.

Elias Lindholm

C

6-0,181

Right

Dec. 2, 1994

Brynas

7.

Ryan Pulock

D

6-1, 211

Right

Oct.6, 1994

Brandon

8.

Rasmus Ristolainen

D

6-3,196

Right

Oct. 27, 1994

TPS Turku

9.

Hunter Shinkaruk

LW

5-11,181

Left

Oct.13, 1994

Medicine Hat

10.

Josh Morrissey

D

6-0, 182

Left

March 28, 1995

Prince Albert



RISING

Hunter Shinkaruk: The guy is a scoring machine. Any time he has the puck inside the blue line, it's a scoring chance. Comes through in big moments.

Laurent Dauphin: Keeps picking up steam week after week. His confidence - and his game - are growing by leaps and bounds.

Morgan Klimchuk: Used to be just a scorer, but now he's rounded out his game nicely and is competing much harder and with more consistency away from the puck.

Vincent Dunn: Every time we go in to see Anthony Mantha play, we come out wondering who this Dunn kid is. Now we know.

Greg Chase: Quickly becoming a Red Line favorite out west. Shows up every night, is an effortless skater and is starting to bury his chances.

FALLING

Rinat Valiev: Has loads of offensive talent but was lacking in discipline and made an example of by the coaches. Has new lease on life with last week's coaching change. Let's see if he can turn his season around.

Matt Needham: Strictly an offensive forward who's not producing on the scoresheet. Was expected to center Kamloops' second line but has been passed on the depth chart.

News and notes from around the scouting community

-Last season when scouts entered rinks all over the Western Hockey League, it was never to watch a goalie. While Red Line loved Saskatoon's Andrei Makarov, the scouting community obviously disagreed because he was passed over a second time in the 2012 draft (though he has since been signed as a free agent by Buffalo). We've already expressed our feelings on Makarov's snub ad nauseum, so we won't go down that road again.

Suffice it to say, NHL scouts did a lot of very loud grumbling while spending a season watching WHL draft-eligible netminders being pulled in the first period.

This season, however, is like night and day compared to last year. Top prospect Eric Comrie is leading a growing list of emerging netminders out west. Comrie has been carrying the Tri-City Americans on his back nearly every game, and his heroic efforts have him in the top echelon of available netminders this year, and knocking on the door of the first round.

Next up is Edmonton's Tristan Jarry, who is backing up Oil Kings' No. 1 goalie, Laurent Brossoit, one of the Canadian Hockey League's best netminders. But Jarry has been stellar in his limited 11 outings, with a 1.62 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.

Others quickly emerging on the scene are Jackson Whistle in Kelowna (who seems to have added an inch or two every time we watch him), Austin Lotz in Everett and Brendan Burke in Portland.

Then there's Red Line sleeper Mack Shields in Calgary. Shields is in a similar situation to Jarry, stuck playing behind Chris Driedger, the only WHL netminder selected in last June's NHL draft.

Shields is very raw but has a big frame with quick pads and is great at cutting down the angles. Has been very solid in limited game action and would be pushing for more ice time if Driedger hadn't been so strong all season.

-Connor Hurley has played for three different teams before returning to Edina to start the Minnesota high school season and has yet to lose his luster or look out of place. His stints with Team Southwest, the U.S. National Team Development Program under-18 squad and Muskegon in the U.S. Hockey League showed he can change gears, make smart decisions at a higher tempo and take his game to another level.

Hurley is also the youngest player eligible for this year's NHL draft, barely squeaking in under the wire by a few hours as a Sept.15 birthdate. He's already showing signs that he intends to dominate the high school ranks, and is slated to return to Muskegon once the high school season concludes. He recently committed to Notre Dame, where he'll still be 17 when the school year starts next Fall, so there's plenty of time for physical development of his lean, raw-boned frame.

In a year where nearly all of the top Minnesota high schoolers abandoned the state to play in the USHL, Hurley easily represents the cream of a watered-down crop, and will likely be the only prospect selected in the top 50 from the Minny high school ranks.

-Red Line's chief scout just returned from all the New England prep school pre-Christmas tournaments, and it's safe to say the prep school ranks are an unmitigated disaster this year.

The good news for Hotchkiss' Tyler Hill is that he will be spending his Christmas break playing for the Chicago Steel. It will be absolutely imperative for NHL scouts to see him play in the USHL the next few weeks because it's impossible to evaluate Hill at Hotchkiss, one of the worst teams playing on any level this year. While Hill's size, vision and puck skills are obvious, it's very difficult for him to generate scoring chances when the Hotchkiss defense corps can't clear the puck out of its own end for roughly 80% of any game.

Hill was very good in last month's brief two-game stint with the Steel, recording a Gordie Howe hat trick - a goal, an assist and a fight - along the way. His draft rankings will have to be based on evaluations of his 12 to 14 games in the USHL this season (he reportedly will join the Steel again next spring after his prep school season ends), not on his time with Hotchkiss.