I attended the Sarnia-Saginaw OHL game tonight to see some top prospects in action and I asked earlier for some names that people wanted some thoughts on. Well, I am back from the game and my observations are below.

Sarnia won 4-3 in OT in a come-from-behind fashion.
Overall, the game was not as exciting as others I have watched. Only 1 PP for each team in this game.

I will pass on my thoughts on a few players during the game.

SAGINAW SPIRIT

Brandon Saad - 2011 NHL Draft Eligible

I can definitely see why Saad is currently ranked 9th by the ISS- this kid is the real deal. Easily the best player on the Saginaw Spirit team tonight. I had never watched any video footage of him so my first impression was "Saad is a large boy". He stands at 6'2" (looks larger) and 211 lbs and uses his size pretty good at the OHL level. He could definitely stand to be a little more aggressive but for a big man, he skates really really well. There were several times that he blew right past Sarnia's dmen and you could really tell that they were having a difficult time controlling the gap against Saad. Brandon really protects the puck well and his line seemed to create a scoring chance each shift they took. I think Saad could stand to shoot the puck a little more and use that size to come out with the puck. He was very good defensively as well.

Stats: Saad scored the opening goal for the Saginaw spirit on a Beauty pass from Ivan Telegin.

YEAR TO DATE: 23 GP - 17G - 11A - 28PTS

Final Thought on Saad - Best Player on the Ice tonight. I would compare him to a Rick Nash type of player/skater at this point in his career. He will be a TOP 10 Pick.

Ivan Telegin - Drafted 110th by Atlanta in 2010 (4th Rd)

I bought tickets to tonights game because I wanted to see this Atlanta draft pick play (4th Rd, 110th overall in 2010). Boy was I disappointed. He made a beautiful pass out front to Saad who scored but then I don't think I seen him play another shift the entire game. I really hope that he was benched or left the game with an injury because I seriously could not find him on the ice. I wish I could check his TOI but he was MIA. He is a big big big russian and in the warm ups (haha it's all I can really base anything on), I was amazed at how much bigger he was than the rest of his teammates. Good skater but I guess I will have to catch another game to scout his skills. From what I hear, if he can learn to use his size he should be able to play in the NHL in the Top 9 but he has a ways to go with learning the NA game.

Stats: Telegin assisted on the opening goal by Saad.

YEAR TO DATE: 23GP - 6G - 16A - 22PTS

Final Thoughts on Telegin: Disappointed I wasn't able to see/locate more of him


SARNIA STING

Alex Galchenyuk -
2012

I have watched 5 Sting games this season and I walked away from tonight's game thinking, "Alex plays the game like a true North American". Galchenyuk had a very strong game and was probably Sarnia's most effective player tonight. He plays such a smart game and really has a north american approach to the game, which makes sense because he has been playing in NA for a while now (US Tier 1 Midget hockey). Alex is strong on the puck, has great vision, and is not afraid to go into the dirty areas to score. In fact, Galchenyuk's best quality right now is that he innitiates contact and isn't afraid to play physical. The more physical he plays, the more noticeable he is . He was all over the ice tonight. If anyone ever gets the chance to watch sarnia play then you will appreciate when Head Coach Dave Macqueen puts Galchenyuk, Yakupov and Kerbasian together. There are a lot of quality scoring chances when these three players play together. Unfortunately, Macqueen usually only plays them together on the PP and during times when the team needs a jump start.

Stats: Galchenyuk scored the powerplay game winning OT goal.
23 GP- 10G-15A - 25 PTS

Final Thoughts on Galchenyuk - A Coaches' Dream Player: Strong at both ends, owns a dynamic quality and Plays the Game to Win.


Brett Ritchie - 2011 Draft Eligible

Ritchie was a top pick of Sarnia's (12th overall) in the 2009 OHL Priority Draft. I had the pleasure of teaching Ritchie in a local highschools' fitness class (along with Penguins' draft pick Joe Rogalski, Brandon Francisco and JC Champagna). Ritchie is a large player (6'3", 190lbs) and played for Team Canada's U17 team last year. I have always cheered for Ritchie but I usually find myself walking away from the rink wanting more from him. He has the size that all hockey players dream of and he is usually guilty of not utilizing that enough. In saying that, Ritchie played his best game that I have seen of him. He was banging guys around, skating well and looked poised with the puck all game. Ritchie was in TSN's Top 30 2011 NHL draft eligible players (ranked 28th) back in October. He has had a very disappointing season so far and his draft stock has took a hit as a result but if he keeps up this solid play then he will surely turn some heads as he has the skills to be a very good player.

Stats: Ritchie scored a hell of a goal tonight on Sarnia's second goal as he sniped top shelf.
22GP - 7G - 4A - 11PTS

Final Thoughts on Ritchie: Brett Ritchie has NHL size, Good hands and a true NHL shot. I really hope he continues to play well and use his size more.

Nail Yakupov -
2012 Draft Eligible (some project him to go 1st Overall)

Anyone who has followed me on the forums will know my thoughts on Yakupov. You don't have to watch much of his play to know what he brings to the ice. Yakupov is simply the best OHLer I have ever seen play live. I am sure there are some who I haven't watched before but he is truly worth the price of admission. Just so that you know, I have watched Steven Stamkos (lots of games), Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Cam Fowler, Ryan Ellis, Cody Hodgson, the list goes on and on. He is a true DYNAMIC player. Yakupov was selected 2nd Overall by Sarnia in the OHL Import Draft this past summer.

Yakupov has tremendous speed, incredible hands, ridiculous creativity and true escapability. Yakupov is a treat to watch. Without watching him play, one might be concerned with his size - 5'10" and 170 lbs but he plays MUCH bigger than that. I was actually shocked when I first found out his size attributes. He plays a very aggressive game and has the ability to go coast to coast as if he was playing against pee wee aged players. Each game, you can almost gaurantee that Yakupov will get a breakaway or two. He has timed his "cherry pick" perfectly in every game I have watched. Yakupov isn't afraid to go to the dirty areas either and I would put cold hard cash on him coming out with the puck from the corners. Yakupov is a very smart player (high hockey IQ) and that allows him to make good decisions with the puck - Nail (great name) will shoot when he's suppose to and pass when he has no shot. As a result, he makes his linemates better.

A true DYNAMIC PLAYER!!!!!!!!!

Stats: Nail Yakupov assisted on Galchenyuk's GWG.
23GP - 17G - 20A - 37PTS (leads all rookies and sits tied for 3rd in OHL scoring)

Final Thoughts on Nail Yakupov: This 2012 NHL Draft Eligible player will go TOP 3 GAURANTEED and right now has to be the favourite to go 1st overall. We are talking about a true highlight reel player worth every cent of your ticket. A MUST SEE

If your fantasy league allows you to select undrafted players then Yakupov should be atop your list.

Cheers

excellent read, once again!

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XBOX 360 Gamertag: praba911

WOw, Dean. You've outdone yourself on this. Nice work. Don't get to hear enough about the "no names" where you can find the gems that come out of nowhere. Much appreciated!

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10tm Dynasty Lg - $70M CAP
G A PTS +/- PIM PPP SOG W GAA SV% SO

C: J. Carter, H Sedin, E. Staal
RW: P. Kane, Stewart
LW: Semin, Couture
D: Pietrangelo, Hamhuis, Subban, Carlson
G: Lundqvist, Price
UTIL: Plekanec, Ennis, Perron, D. Brown


Farm
D: B. Smith, Morrow
F: Brassard, Williams, Niederreiter, Little, Okposo, Whitney, Nyquist, Kesler
G: S. Mason, Ward

Prospect:
F - Z. Kassian, Spooner, Kuznetsov, Tatar, Teravainen, Stone, Connolly
D - Matt Dumba

Unreal man! Great read!!!

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Follow me for some fantasy hockey tweets @thelandshock

Thanks Dean; Great Stuff!

Missed my chance to see Sarnia against the Ottawa 67's a week ago... I blame work >_> Great read.

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UDL
16 Team H2H - Dynasty

Start 3 C/LW/RW each, 5 D, 1 Util, 2 G (IR)

G/A/P/PIM/PPP/SHP/(+/-)/SOG
W/L/GAA/SV%/SHO

C - Berglund, Little, Ott
LW - EKane, Foligno, Kulemin
RW - Kessel, Backes
D - Weber, Green, Yandle, Meszaros, Voynob, Spurgeon, Stralman, Beauch
G - Lundqvist, Rask
Farm : Markstrom, MikGranlund, Tatar, Brodin, Orlov, Merrill, Stalock, Kabanov, Moore

excellent write-up, DY...thanks a bunch.

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10 team league, multi-cat, full keeper.

Forwards: J. Toews, J. Tavares, J. Eberle, J. Neal, A. Kopitar, T. Seguin, E. Kane, M. Duchene, J. Benn, M. Ryder, D. Brown, B. Marchand

Defense: A. Pietrangelo, K. Shattenkirk, A. Goligoski, PK Subban, J. Carlson, J. Spurgeon

Goalies: M. Smith, A. Niemi

Bench: R. Clowe, B. Dubinsky, M. Calvert, P. Mueller, D. Clarkson, M. Carle, M. Niskanen, P. Wiercioch, J. Halak, A. Lindback

Thanks for the article, Youngblood.
Good read.

Great write-up Dean. Nice to have some first hand insight from the OHL. I rarely get to see any games, sometimes go up to Barrie to catch the colts but thats about it.

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ASKL - 10 Team dynasty,G/A=1,PIM=.1,+/- =.2 SOG=.05 (W=2,SO=3) Keep 12F 6D 2G 8BN + farm
F-Perry,Ryan,Giroux,Stastny,Ribeiro,Krejci,Plekanec, JvR,Bergeron,Fleischmann,Grabovski,Cammalleri
D-Letang,Chara,Edler,Boyle,Giordano,Gardiner,
G-Rinne,Crawford
Bench-Bernier,Reimer,Parenteau,Callahan,Downie,Kulemin, Meszaros,Nikitin
Farm- Namestnikov,Khoklachev,Rundblad,Despres,Jensen, L.Adam,Barberio,Galiev,Telegin,Hertl,Aberg