Official 2012-2013 CHL Prospects Thread

[Champ Kind]

Also, I had Biggs' height and weight listed as 6'2'' 205lbs in the opening post, but I've read a number of articles claiming he's now 6'3'' 224lbs.

That is a big body, no doubt about it.  He should fill out a bit more, too.

I think the new fighting rules will affect someone like Biggs.  Not sure if it will be detrimental, though.  I was concerned that coming, from US hockey programs, Biggs would spend an inordinate amount of his CHL time focusing on fighting.  Now, I'd like to see this side of his game remain / become strong, but hopefully this also prompts him to focus on his skill development and, especially, scoring.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Also, I had Biggs' height and weight listed as 6'2'' 205lbs in the opening post, but I've read a number of articles claiming he's now 6'3'' 224lbs.

I think he should probably be playing in the AHL, but that's me. As above, he could use the time to work on his skills, but I guess someone is going to have to talk to him about a plan. I can see the penalty minutes racking up for this kid.

 

[Champ Kind]

Also, I had Biggs' height and weight listed as 6'2'' 205lbs in the opening post, but I've read a number of articles claiming he's now 6'3'' 224lbs.

I think he should probably be playing in the AHL, but that's me. As above, he could use the time to work on his skills, but I guess someone is going to have to talk to him about a plan. I can see the penalty minutes racking up for this kid.

There's something to be said for playing at a level and, while perhaps not dominating, exceling.  CHL might be the better option this year, just to get a really good year under his belt before hitting the ice with the big boys.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

There's something to be said for playing at a level and, while perhaps not dominating, exceling.  CHL might be the better option this year, just to get a really good year under his belt before hitting the ice with the big boys.

He may be the biggest boy there, whenever he gets there.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

The OHL and WHL seasons began yesterday, but most teams got their first taste of action on Friday. A few notes on the Leafs that stuck out:

-Rielly picked up a powerplay assist in Moose Jaw's 4-3 victory over Swift Current
-Finn had 3 assists in Guelph's 4-3 win over Saginaw. Sparks was in net for the victory and made 23 saves
-Brown assisted on both of Erie's goals as they fell 8-2 to London, Rupert picked up his first fighting major in the game
-Broll had 2 assists in a 6-5 win over Plymouth

A pretty productive Friday night for the Leafs prospects. Anything noteworthy happens tomorrow I'll make mention of it, otherwise expect an update early next week.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Also, I had Biggs' height and weight listed as 6'2'' 205lbs in the opening post, but I've read a number of articles claiming he's now 6'3'' 224lbs.

I think he should probably be playing in the AHL, but that's me. As above, he could use the time to work on his skills, but I guess someone is going to have to talk to him about a plan. I can see the penalty minutes racking up for this kid.

There's no doubt that he's physically ready for the AHL, but his offensive skills likely aren't where they need to be right now. And considering the depth that the Marlies have right now, especially with the lockout, he wouldn't have been given the chance to develop those in the AHL like he will with Oshawa.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Also, here's a video of Biggs' fight from Thursday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdwKGYV-cmc

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

There's no doubt that he's physically ready for the AHL, but his offensive skills likely aren't where they need to be right now. And considering the depth that the Marlies have right now, especially with the lockout, he wouldn't have been given the chance to develop those in the AHL like he will with Oshawa.

Yeah, there's no doubt that he can use the work on his other skills, but man, he could do some damage in the O' this season, physically. Let's just hope that he works as much as possible on his offensive skills.

 

[Corn Flake]

Also, here's a video of Biggs' fight from Thursday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdwKGYV-cmc

Seymor nails the lineseman in that fight. surprised that went unpunished.. or did it?

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I managed to make it to the Wolves vs Generals game on Friday night.
Biggs picked up a point on the 1st Oshawa goal but was fairly invisible for most of the game.

 

[Britishbulldog]

Leafs have Ryan Rupert listed at 5'8", London has him listed at 5'9".  The guy he fought was 6'7".

 

[maplesyrup]

That hit he delivered was pretty impressive. He's quite the little wrecking ball.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Video of the Rupert fight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSy4KAc_t88

Certainly held his own considering the size difference.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

http://blog.mapleleafs.com/prospects-wrap-up/

The first weekend in the CHL ended and we take a look at how the Leafs prospects performed.

Mississauga captain Stuart Percy recorded one goal over the weekend as the Steelheads split their first two games of the season. Percy scored in Sunday?s 3-2 win over Barrie as he was also a +2.

Tyler Biggs played his first two OHL games for the Oshawa Generals and the rugged forward dropped the gloves in his first game. He picked up his first OHL point (assist) in Friday?s 4-2 loss to Sudbury.

It was a good weekend for fellow 2011 draft pick David Broll who recorded three points (one goal, two assists) as Sault Ste. Marie split the opening two games of the season.

The best performer for Leafs prospects was Ryan Rupert who had one goal, four assists with a +3 rating plus one fight. Rupert?s four helpers all came in the Knights 8-2 win over the Guelph Storm on Sunday.

If it was a good weekend for Rupert, it was a tough start to the season for Matt Finn and Garret Sparks who play for the Storm. Finn has a goal and two assists with a -3 rating after two games. In the first game of the season, Finn had three assists but that was followed up by a -4 in the loss to the Knights.

Sparks had an especially rough game against the Knights as he allowed eight goals on 40 shots. He is 1-1-0 on the season with a 5.47 GAA and a .833 SV%. He was coming off a strong opening game making 23 saves in a 4-3 win over Saginaw.

Connor Brown was the Leafs sixth round pick in the 2012 Draft. Prior to the start of the season, Brown was named the captain of the Otters who lost both games to start the season. The Etobicoke native had two assists and a -2 rating to start 2012-13.

The final Leafs prospect in the OHL to look at is forward Josh Leivo. The Leafs third round pick in 2011, Leivo is coming off a 32 goal season with the Sudbury Wolves. In the first two games of this season, he had a goal and an assist as the Wolves won both games.

The lone prospect playing in the WHL is 2012 first round pick Morgan Rielly. The smooth skating blueliner was named an alternate captain prior to the season had two points in two games for the Warriors who were 1-1 on the weekend.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

First update of the season:

Morgan Rielly                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Last Game 0 2 2 E 0 Year-to-date  4 1 3 4 E 5 -Received a fighting major in his second game of the season. Video and details can be found here

Matt Finn                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Last Game 0 0 0 +2 2 Year-to-date  4 1 3 4 -1 6 -Tied for the team lead in points with 4.

Stuart Percy                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Last Game 0 0 0 E 0 Year-to-date 4 2 0 2 +1 2 -Scored a shootout goal in a 3-2 victory over Windsor. Video here (Stuart is the first shooter in the video)

Tyler Biggs                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Last Game 2 1 3 +4 0 Year-to-date 5 4 2 6 +6 7 -A couple of articles this week about Biggs from the Star and the Sun

Josh Leivo                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Last Game 0 1 1 -1 0 Year-to-date 5 1 2 3 E 2

David Broll                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Last Game 0 2 2 +1 0 Year-to-date 5 2 4 6 +4 6

Connor Brown                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Last Game 1 0 1 -4 0 Year-to-date 5 3 2 5 -4 2 -Potentially entered the OHL history books in a rather interesting way, details can be found here

Ryan Rupert                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Last Game 0 0 0 E 12 Year-to-date 4 0 5 5 +3 17 -Received a 5-min penalty for a hit to the head and 5 for fighting on this play

Garret Sparks                                 Record      GA      SA%      SO      Last Game W 1.00 .978 Year-to-date 2-2 3.74 .895 0 -Made 44 saves in a 4-1 win against London, avenging an 8-2 loss against the Knights the prior week

 

[maplesyrup]

Sweet! Thanks.

 

[Bender]

Looks like all of our prospects are playing half decent so far!

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I've seen Leivo in one game. He appeared to be out of it effort wise, though he was much the same to start the year last year. He'll turn it on and put up quite a few points once he gets rolling.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Rielly scored his teams lone goal in a 4-1 loss to the Regina Pats on Wednesday. A user over at mapleleafhotstove.com who watched the game was kind enough to write up a little report on Rielly's performance: http://mapleleafshotstove.com/2012/10/04/a-morgan-rielly-live-viewing/

Here's a couple of things he noticed:

- His passes are hard and accurate, and can come unexpectedly. There was one play where he put a long pass between two Pats and sent a teammate into the offensive zone on a short breakaway. The player did not end up scoring, however.

- Leading up to his powerplay goal, Rielly made it blatantly evident that he wanted the puck. He tapped his stick on the ice until his teammate passed to him, then skated inward and fired a wrister from the top of the circle, beating the Pats? goaltender. The calling for the puck is a sign of a high level of confidence, something that should aid him in his development.

You can find both the pass (1:12) and the goal (1:42) in the highlights from the game. Rielly is #4 in the white:

http://www.mjwarriors.com/video/index/id/d368848e78981711509ec185ce01d3f2

 

[Bender]

Rielly scored his teams lone goal in a 4-1 loss to the Regina Pats on Wednesday. A user over at mapleleafhotstove.com who watched the game was kind enough to write up a little report on Rielly's performance: http://mapleleafshotstove.com/2012/10/04/a-morgan-rielly-live-viewing/

Here's a couple of things he noticed:

- His passes are hard and accurate, and can come unexpectedly. There was one play where he put a long pass between two Pats and sent a teammate into the offensive zone on a short breakaway. The player did not end up scoring, however.

- Leading up to his powerplay goal, Rielly made it blatantly evident that he wanted the puck. He tapped his stick on the ice until his teammate passed to him, then skated inward and fired a wrister from the top of the circle, beating the Pats? goaltender. The calling for the puck is a sign of a high level of confidence, something that should aid him in his development.

You can find both the pass (1:12) and the goal (1:42) in the highlights from the game. Rielly is #4 in the white:

http://www.mjwarriors.com/video/index/id/d368848e78981711509ec185ce01d3f2

Any other observations on Rielly?