Adam Erne got a first-hand look at the ups and downs of being a prospect in his draft year last season.
The Quebec Remparts forward had a front-row seat watching Mikhail Grigorenko’s journey through his 2012 NHL Draft season to the Buffalo Sabres at 12th overall this June in Pittsburgh.
At 16th overall in Future Considerations’ preliminary ranking for the 2013 NHL Draft, it’s Erne’s time to apply what he’s learnt.
If history is any indication, the New Haven, CT product is a quick study. At just 15, Erne cracked the roster of the USHL’s Indiana Ice. In a league typically dominated by players two and three years his elder, Erne managed to find the back of the net ten times and added eight assists in 48 games.
After being selected 22nd overall by the Halifax Mooseheads in the 2011 QMJHL Entry Draft, Erne was dealt to the Remparts and again put the league on notice. The six-foot-one, 205-pound winger notched 28 goals and 55 points in 64 games.
“Erne’s a player who improved all year long, becoming one of Quebec’s best forwards in the second round of the playoffs against Halifax,” Future Considerations scout Matt Lafortune said. “He creates offensive by driving to the net and going to the ‘dirty areas’. Continued development of his offensive creativity will only elevate his draft stock, and make him a more dangerous player.”
But despite some impressive totals, it isn’t necessarily his offensive game that impresses the most.
“Erne is a player with an incredible work ethic,” Lafortune added. “He consistently brings a high compete level shift-in shift-out. He’ll outmuscle older, bigger players, and it’s rare for him not to come out of the corner with the puck.”
And with that grit mixed in with some offensive flair, Erne has scouts clamoring to get their first-hand look at one of the next big things from the QMJHL.