Hockey Prospects, NHL Draft, Hockey Scouting,OHL Draft

We are happy to announce the release of something new this season. In the Spring of 2012 we will be releasing Draft Year: Brendan Gaunce. Brendan, along with his family and agent, have been kind enough to allow us to follow along as the top prospect makes his way through his NHL Draft season. The journey begins this past summer and continues following Brendan all season long as June and NHL Draft day in Pittsburgh approaches. As we make our way towards June, we will occasionally post some outtakes from the book. Here is a our first preview from lead author John Matisz:

In a season with a million and one expectations, 17-year-old draft eligible forward was named an assistant captain of the Belleville Bulls prior to season puck-drop.

When asked whether he felt any additional weight on his shoulders with the official leadership role, Gaunce opened up about said role.

"Before I got the 'A,' one of my goals this year was to be a better leader. As a rookie (in 2010-11), you can kind of say stuff but you could be stepping on guys' toes because you're only 16 while some guys are 20 years old. And, if you're trying to give them advice, it's a little awkward on your end, just because you don't know how they're going to take it. It's kind of like your younger brother giving you advice - which no one likes. Overall though, I was planning on being a better leader this year. The letter on my jersey just adds some extra motivation."

The book will be available in May 2012 on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and in digital format. More details will be available as release date approaches. Check back often for more previews!

Hope was drafted out of the Detroit Honeybaked system; the same system that saw the Windsor Spitfires select Grant Webermin in the 1st round. The Sting chose to select Hope in the 3rd round of the 2010 OHL Priority Selection. Easily one of the best goaltenders available, the pick was seen by some as a little risky, due to strong pushes from NCAA recruiters, due to Brandon's ability both on the ice and in the classroom. The gamble payed off, as it took a little while but they were able to convince Hope to join the OHL's Sarnia Sting. Entering camp, Hope was facing two veteran goaltenders, however with Shayne Campbell being traded near the end of camp, Brandon was able to grab up the back-up position for the Sarnia Sting, en route to playing more minutes than any other 1994 born goaltender in the entire CHL.

Brandon first and foremost has excellent leg movement. He is able to throw the pad out at a quick rate, and above the learning curve for goaltenders his age. The balance he possesses with the movement allows him to recover strong, and allows him to reset himself quicker than the average junior goaltender. His reflexes; particularly in his glove hand are also ahead of the curve, and he has thrown it out there to steal a sure goal more than once. His angles are strong, however earlier on in the season he appeared to get a little lazy by the 3rd period, but he appears to have shaken this habit, and maintains solid positioning in general throughout the game. Not being a big net minder, it's important for Hope to come out and appear bigger to shooters, and he appears to does this with good positioning. One of the few negatives against Brandon, due to his size, is his ability to see the puck through traffic at times. This would improve with a bit of a growth spurt, but his awareness helps him out, and he follows the play very well. The mentality in the net that Hope displays is strong. He has let in his share of bad goals, which will hopefully disappear through development, but Hope was not a goaltender who's game was affected by this, he seemed to shake this fairly well and, generally you wouldn't see this happen again. He displays a positive demeanor, and is a well liked player in the dressing room. Another skill that you don't see in goaltenders very often is Hope's ability to drop the gloves, or should we say glove and blocker. At a game in Niagara, Hope threw down with Dalton McGrath. Hope actually had trouble getting his one arm loose, McGrath used this opportunity to try and get the jump on Hope a little, and it didn't turn out well. Needless to say, it's become a popular you tube video, and Hope has proven he can stand up for himself when needed. Going forward there aren't a lot of holes in Hope's game, he just needs to continue to gain experience. One thing that gave him some issues at times, was rebound control, but you really need to break down Brandon's game to pick out areas of improvement.

In order to fully benefit from his draft year he will need to excel when called upon; due to shared ice time with overage net minder Brandon Maxwell. However Jacques Beaulieu has made several adjustments to the team this year, and if Hope excels in training camp, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Hope get more than 50% of the starts. He is one, in a group of 4 goaltenders who all show great potential in the OHL with Matthew Murray (Sault Ste. Marie), Malcolm Subban (Belleville), and Jake Paterson (Saginaw). Being able to see all 4 goaltenders in multiple starts, has left me believing the 2012 goaltending crop out of the OHL looks solid. Although Subban is the highest regarded goaltender available in the OHL right now, I would be shocked if by the end of the year Brandon Hope is at the top of a lot of lists in that area.

Nail Yakupov is in a much different position than he was 12 months ago. Last year Nail Yakupov was selected 2^nd Overall in the CHL Import Draft. Expectations are high when you’re picked at that spot, but you never really know what to expect. On the first day of training camp, he unleashed the biggest one timer I’ve ever seen out of a 16 year old. At that moment I knew Yakupov was something special. Nail is arguably the best prospect available in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft for several reasons. First and foremost is his skating. He maintains a low centre of gravity, great strength in his lower body and his quick footwork allows his first few steps to be very strong, giving him exceptional acceleration.

He likes to keep moving, and is not a player who likes to stand still at any point except when setting up his shot. He can explode on the outside, but also has excellent lateral agility and can go outside/inside better than most players in the CHL. He is a threat regardless of the talent and size of the opposing defencemen. The release on his shot is powerful and accurate, none more so than his one-timer. Goaltenders simply need to hope that the puck hits him, because when he connects it’s just a blur. Although he’s clearly more of a finisher than a set up man, he has at times made some great reads on the play and set up some very nice goals. Offensively Yakupov is a devastating weapon, and several times last year he turned an out of reach game into a close battle. It will be interesting to watch what he does with a team with the talent Sarnia currently has. Unlike many Russian players, and very much like one that currently plays in Washington, in addition to his outstanding offensive skill set, Yakupov has excellent core strength, and centre of gravity which allows him to be capable on a team with several players 6’3”+ to throw the biggest hits in a game. He has gained a reputation of being able to level opposing players. Despite all these strengths, Nail needs to improve his play within his own zone. He did make steps to improve last year, but will need to continue to get better.

He will likely never be used as a specialist in defensive situations, but if he can prove he can take care of his own zone effectively while still putting up big offensive input for his team, it will go a long way in helping him in his attempt to secure the #1 Overall spot. Maybe the easiest way to compare Nail Yakupov is a smaller version of Alexander Ovechkin. Although it is extremely unlikely for Nail to reach Alexander’s 6’3” 225lb size, he plays a very similar game and has a great number of similar traits. It’s too bad the London Knights were unable to grab Mikhail Grigorenko with the 1^st Overall pick in the CHL Import Draft, because both players will be battling for that #1 spot the entire year. However we also can’t write off Nail’s teammate Alex Galchenyuk, from that race.