Future Considerations’ WHL scout Zenon Herasymiuk gives his thoughts on who from the 2014 NHL Draft class left him impressed, who disappointed and who his sleeper is on draft day.

To go even deeper into the draft class, pick up Future Considerations’ 2014 NHL Draft Guide, containing our ranking of the top-210 prospects, full profiles on 210 draft eligibles, a two-round mock draft, a glimpse at the 2015 NHL Draft and much, much more! Click HERE to find out more!

Who Impressed?

Throughout any hockey season, there always seems to be a player or two that grabs your attention early in the season and excites you every time he steps on the ice. For me that player was Conner Bleackley.

Starting off the season as a relatively unknown commodity playing for the Red Deer Rebels, Bleackley quickly established himself as a legitimate two-way forward. His confidence and desire to win seemed to continually grow with every game. He was rewarded for his efforts by getting a spot on Team WHL for the Canada/Russia Super Series along with a spot in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Oh yeah, he was also named the Rebels captain in November at just 17 years old.

I saw Bleackley for the first time this season during the opening weekend against the Kootenay Ice. What immediately drew me to Bleackley’s game was his ability to win battles along the wall. He was prying pucks loose and smashing bodies with enough tenacity and desperation that I almost forgot about Sam Reinhart on that night. It is these elements of his game that has me really believing in Bleackley’s game moving to the next level.

He succeeds in a cycle game at both ends of the ice and has the smarts and skill to be a productive scorer and reliable all-situations player. Does he need to get a little bit faster and more explosive? Sure he does. But I am not ready to bet against a character, do it all forward like Bleackley.

He is the kind of forward I think every team needs to win and will be a successful pro for many years to come.

Who Disappointed?

For me, this is always the hardest section of these articles to complete. On one hand you have to remember that we are talking about 17 and 18 year old hockey players who still have many playing years ahead of them, but on another hand there is always a few kids who just fail to live up to the expectations we had coming into the year.

One guy that may have been the victim of exceedingly high expectations was Kamloops Blazers forward Collin Shirley.

Coming into the year with Kootenay, I really thought he could be one of the top sleepers in the draft class. He finished his 16 year old season with some minutes in the top-six and showed a good mixture of size, skill, and on-ice awareness. He started the season on the second line and was flat out of the gate. He was shipped to the Blazers a couple weeks later and he never really asserted himself as a draftable prospect in my eyes.

All that being said, I still think Shirley has a bright future ahead of him in the WHL. He is a pretty good skater and has a good work ethic that will help him earn minutes on a rebuilding squad out of Kamloops.

Who Surprised?

The best surprise for me this year was Kelowna Rockets power forward Justin Kirkland.

He is a WHL rookie that made a seamless transition from the midget game up to Major Junior. I caught a Rockets game in December around Christmas and immediately thought, “This kid is going to be a player.”

Not two minutes later, he had a completely dominant shift in which he rang a bullet of a wrist shot off the post. After that, I had a pretty good chuckle and since then I have had no doubt about Kirkland’s potential.

What most impressed me about Kirkland’s game was his skill level. He has really silky hands for a big guy and really improved in the use of his body in protecting the puck. He is hard player to check because he has so much range and can really make you pay if you over pursue in the offensive zone. His skating is solid and he goes to all the greasy areas when he has to.

Playing in a fourth line role for much of the season Kirkland was overlooked by many. Sure, he didn’t get the prime time scoring opportunities with some of the more talented players on the team, but in the long run it may have been a good experience as he had to scratch and claw just to stay in the lineup while developing a good work ethic and more versatility in his game just to get any minutes he could. By season’s end he was on the team’s first power play and also killing penalties.

It is this growth that has me excited for Kirkland and all the opportunities that will arise in the coming seasons.

To go even deeper into the draft class, pick up Future Considerations’ 2014 NHL Draft Guide, containing our ranking of the top-210 prospects, full profiles on 210 draft eligibles, a two-round mock draft, a glimpse at the 2015 NHL Draft and much, much more! Click HERE to find out more!