Ryan Nugent-Hysteria running wild

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It wasn’t just any old hat-trick. It was one that brought 16,839 fans at Rexall Place out of their seats and thousands more watching at home, offering hope to an Edmonton Oilers nation that has seen its team struggle far too much in the last decade.

Recent draftees push for NHL gigs

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The 2010 NHL Entry Draft graduated five players to the NHL the following season. In 2009, six players made the jump directly to the show. 2008, like 2010, saw five. The question remains how many skaters make the immediate jump from the 2011 draft class.

Will the next NHL Superstar stand up?

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Every year it seems like we hear about the next great hockey talent tearing it up in a rink somewhere around the world. Like clockwork, people start the hype machine rolling on some 13-year-old kid from B.C. or a 14-year-old mastering his craft in Michigan.

RNH nabs ‘Top Prospect’ honours

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He’s on top again. Red Deer Rebels centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was named the Jack Link’s Top Prospect of the Year, awarded to the player deemed to be the best draft eligible player in the Canadian Hockey League. Nugent-Hopkins finished the season with 31 goals and 106 points, the highest total of any CHL draft eligible player.

NHL Entry Draft lottery order set

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From Aaron Vickers: In game 1,240 of the National Hockey League schedule, the Dallas Stars were upended 5-3 by the Minnesota Wild, ending their bid for a berth in the playoffs. It also solidified the final regular season standings and, as a result, the NHL Entry Draft lottery order. For the second year in a row, the Edmonton Oilers head … Read More

Draft’s Fab-4 upgraded to Super-6

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From Dan Stewart: There comes a time in every draft season where someone inevitably steps up and pushes the top prospect(s) for draft position. After analyzing our viewings of both defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Jonathan Huberdeau this season, we see no reason why the big four should not be extended to the big six for the upcoming NHL Entry … Read More

Draft eligibles bring it at Top Prospects Game

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One of the most anticipated events on any NHL scouts schedule has to be the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game where it welcomes a who’s who of NHL GM’s, directors of player personnel and scouts all congregated in one place for one game which features a group of mostly future first and second round draft picks in a ‘non’ all-star game … Read More

The Draft Ranking Fallout

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Talk about busy. The month of January, with the World Junior Championship rapping up and the CHL Top Prospects game taking centre stage, can be a demanding time for scouting agencies and NHL teams when it comes to re-shuffle their lists and draft rankings based on their most current viewings.

Hits and Misses at the Top Prospects Game

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Typically there isn’t much interest in a 7-1 game. But with 40 of the CHL’s best draft eligibles on the ice for the Top Prospects Game, it wasn’t the score scouts were interested in. Assembled primarily as a scouting exercise, the game allows a glimpse at the top talent available for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in June.

2011 NHL Entry Draft at a glance

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With Taylor vs. Tyler discussed – ad nauseam, and finally settled; and the summer gone and the new season in full swing, we can again turn focus to the next crop of talented future NHLers as they look to impress scouts and NHL executives in countless hockey arenas around the globe.