Scouting Season is back. This year, myself and Jeremy plan on bringing the best OHL coverage we can, providing you with information and data that you can’t get anywhere else.
Jeremy recently put out his first scouting post and it was loaded with very good data that he tracked. Mine is going to be a little different as I am going focus more on a wide range of players from a traditional scouting perspective. As the season goes on and I get a good feel for the players, I will start to track and follow them closer.
I saw one game this week the Peterborough Petes vs. the Ottawa 67s.
All players are first time draft eligible unless stated otherwise.
Ottawa
Travis Barron – LW
Barron has some high expectations on him this season. The third overall pick in the 2014 OHL draft had 21 points as a rookie, which put him 13th among 16 year olds in the OHL.
In this game he was rather unimpressive. He’s a big body, at 6’1″, 187, but he didn’t use that size to throw hits or even get to the front of the net. He started the game on the top line with Travis Konecny, and that line was able to get a ton of zone time and chances. However, this was almost entirely due to Konecny, who spent most of the game with puck on his stick. By the third period, Barron was dropped to the third line. He did get power play and penalty kill time, but again, didn’t do much with the opportunity. If he can spend the whole season on the top power play with Konecny, he should put up a ton of points. Barron has a ridiculous shot. He scored a one-time goal in this game that was a blur. His skating from what I saw was just average.
William Brown – D
Brown did not play much in the game. He was on third pair and did not get any time on special teams. This will be his rookie season in the OHL, so I think the coach was trying to ease him into it. Brown made a couple shaky decisions with puck, simply by rushing his passes. This could just be nerves from it being the season opener or the fact that this was just his second OHL game.
Connor Warnholtz – LW
Another rookie, Warnholtz was also eased into this game. He started on the fourth line but played well, getting an assist. He got some power play time late in the game. He’s a good skater who gets up and down the ice quickly.
Artur Tyanulin – RW, (Re-entry)
One of the big reasons that Tyanulin was passed over in last year’s NHL draft was that he left the 67s early in the season to go back to Russia. He did do quite well playing for Irbis Kazan in the MHL (Russian juniors), scoring 30 points in 29 games. Tyanulin is small, but plays a big man’s physical game. His lack of size leads him to be over physical at times. That was on full display here, as he took two questionable penalties: a hitting from behind, and a slashing penalty that could have been called spearing. Otherwise, his skill level is very high. In the third period, he found himself bumped up to Konecny’s line, and the two were great together, creating a couple really nice scoring chances.
Travis Konecny – RW, (Flyers, 17th overall 2015)
The Flyers first rounder was by the far the best player on the ice in this game. His hands, skating and shot are all elite. He does everything for 67s: top line, top PK and top PP. In this game he was gaining the zone with the puck easily and getting a ton of good scoring chances. He’s going to be great in the OHL this year, and it won’t be too long before he’s in Philly.
Peterborough
Jonathan Ang – C
I tracked Corsi for Ang in this game. He struggled, going +7/-27 for just 21%, but he spent the majority of the game up against Konecny. A big problem was when Ang’s line was in the offensive zone, they really tried for the perfect shot. There were numerous times where they were in the slot and rather than shoot they tried to make another move and lost the puck. Despite this, Ang is a very smart player. He has a high hockey IQ and this showed in his defensive play. He knows where he is supposed to be and knows when to cover up for his defensemen.
Logan DeNoble – LW
Smaller player but very physical. Works hard in the cycle and brings energy every shift. He spent some time on the PK. Not a very high skill level.
Eddie Shultz – C
Played on the fourth line and didn’t show much at 5-on-5. Scored a short-handed goal when he picked off a pass from the goalie who was out of his net playing the puck.
Adam Timleck – RW
Timleck didn’t do much in this game. Is a quick skater, not the fastest guy but elusive.
Matt Timms – D
Timms played on the top pair with Matt Spencer, as usual top pairing defender Dominik Masin was away at pro camp. Timms is an undersized defensemen, standing just 5’9″, but he makes up for it with his high hockey IQ. He seemingly made the right the decision with the puck every time. He exited the zone effectively, with great stretch passes, and showed good skating. He is very comfortable carrying the puck into the offensive zone and routinely joined the rush.
Up next for me will be Mississauga on Thursday and then Saturday will be my first CBJ Prospect Watch as Blake Siebenaler and the Ice Dogs are in town.
You can follow me on Twitter, @PaulBerthelot
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