2012 NHL Draft Scouting Report: Nick Ebert
Nick Ebert / Windsor Spitfires / Defence / 6’0″ / 205 / May 11th, 1994
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Ebert has had a bit of a fall from grace this year. Heading into the season Ebert was projected to be a top 10 selection by yours truly, based on his individual skill sets. When I first saw him down in Waterloo of the USHL, he was a player who stood out as one of the top players in the age group, and was an early candidate to be one of the top players drafted in the 2012 NHL Draft. His first year in Windsor he continued to display the upside that we saw in him, putting up some significant offensive totals for a rookie defenceman. At the start of the season, he seemed to be really struggling with his conditioning, and he did not improve on many of his abilities. For the first six months of his season he really struggled with his positional play, as well as his decision-making. He may have been trying to do to much, but also was not in good enough shape to achieve the results that he needed to. In the second half of the season he looked more like the Ebert of old, but the questions have been raised, and he needs to really understand what he struggles with and make it his goal over the next few years to fix them. If he does, then he could get back on track.
2012 NHL Draft Scouting Report: Scott Kosmachuk
Scott Kosmachuk / Right Wing / 5’11″ / 185 / Guelph Storm / Jan. 24th, 1994
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Kosmachuk is another graduate of the famous Toronto Marlboros of the Greater Toronto Hockey League. Drafted in the Ontario Hockey League by Guelph in 2010, he has shown a good progression thus far in his OHL career. In his first season he played a depth role on a team that had a deep group of forwards, and simply adjusted to the pace of play. He showed a good complete level, but didn’t really have an opportunity to show what he is capable of. This year, he has taken a more active role with the Storm, and has thrived. He is one of the offensive leaders on the Storm, and has really made a name for himself in the eyes of Scouts. He was invited to play with Team Canada at the World U18 Hockey Championships.
2012 NHL Draft Scouting Report: Adam Pelech
Adam Pelech / Erie Otters / Defence / 6’2″ / 210 / Aug. 16th, 1994
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Adam Pelech has had an interesting past few years. When I originally saw him playing his minor midget year with the Toronto Marlboros, he was a player that displayed some strong NHL level potential, but was more of a raw prospect. In his first year in Erie, he displayed some strong growth in his first year in the Ontario Hockey League. He took that year and had a strong Ivan Hlinka tournament, and was quickly being viewed as a potential top 20 selection for this years NHL Draft. This season things did not go as smoothly for Pelech, as he struggled with a wrist injury that took away half of his season right off the bat. When he returned, the Otters struggled with defensive depth, and Pelech was put in a position to be more of an offensive defenceman for the Otters, a role that really does not suit his skill set. He tried to do to much at times, which really effected his development and created some questions among the scouting community. I did not see him play live, reports are that he rebounded to have a pretty solid world under 18 championships, which should help his draft stock.
2012 NHL Draft Scouting Report: Matia Marcantuoni
Matia Marcantuoni / Centre / 6’0″ / 194 / Kitchener Rangers / Feb. 22nd, 1994
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From an early age, Matia Marcantuoni was labeled as the best Ontario prospect of his age group. He had everything that you looked for in a top end offensive talent. The skating skills, the shot and the hands where all above anyone else in his age group. He was drafted by the Kitchener Rangers, and was expected to be a high-end selection for the 2012 NHL Draft. Ever since being drafted into the Ontario Hockey League, he has struggled with his health. His inability to stay healthy has been a big question mark for two years now, and is a major reason to his fall
2012 NHL Draft Scouting Report: Jarrod Maidens
Jarrod Maidens / Owen Sound Attack / Centre / 6’1′ / 178 / Mar 4th, 1994
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Maidens is one of the most interesting players available for the 2012 NHL Draft. He has a high skill set mixed with physical attributes that any NHL team would love to have. The issues surrounding him are fairly well known, which is what makes his story so interesting. Early this season, Maidens showed the reasons why so many had him as a top 30 prospect for the NHL Draft. He showed good offensive growth and was developing nicely. However, in mid November he suffered an undisclosed injury, and has not played since. The questions are, how has this injury hurt his long-term development? How quickly will he get back to where he was? Can he be the same player he was pre-injury? When will a team take a chance on him? If he was healthy all season then I have no doubt he would be a late first round selection, however at this point, everything is up in the air.
2012 NHL Draft Scouting Report: Trevor Carrick
Trevor Carrick / Mississauga St. Michael Majors / Defence / 6’1″ / 172 / Jul. 4th, 1994
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Carrick seems to be the type of player who was born to play hockey. The third of fourth brothers, Carrick has always been a layer who impressed. Dating back to his Markham Major’s days, Carrick has always displayed a nice projectable upside. He has always looked to be a player who could have NHL level potential, but this year he has really established himself as a potential high draft pick for June. After joining the Majors this year after a year with the Stouffville Spirit of the OJHL, he was a pretty raw prospect who really had some good upside, but I was not sure about where he would fall in the NHL Draft. Once he got use to the pace of play and started to become comfortable with his surroundings and adjusted to the style of play, he started to really show growth. He projects out as a smart defensive first defenceman with some interesting offensive upside. I’m not sure how much offense he will produce at the next level, however he does show potential with the offensive size of his game.
2012 NHL Draft Scouting Report: Gemel Smith
Gemel Smith / Centre / 5’10 / 160 / Owen Sound Attack / Apr. 16th, 1994
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Smith is a player what has really come out of nowhere in the past few years. I originally saw him playing in the Greater Toronto Hockey League with the North York Rangers. I loved his skill and complete level, but he did not have a lot around him, and he was very undersized. Drafted to the Owen Sound Attack in the 6th round of the 2010 OHL Draft, he won a spot on the Attack, ahead of players drafted ahead of him. His first season he didn’t show lot of offense, but he became accustomed to the league and started to show some sings of development. Fast forward to this season; Smith was not even on the NHL Draft radar at the start of the season. But he hit a growth spurt and added some strength in the off-season, and quickly started to show off that skill that I saw with him years before. He showed good vision and improved confidence with the puck. He was able to start to dictate the play on the ice. His progression this season has been outstanding, and it will be interesting to see if his progression curve can continue to rise. He projects out as a smart top 9 forward with a high complete level.
2012 NHL Draft Scouting Report: Olli Maatta
Olli Maatta / London Knights / Defence / 6’2 / 202 / Aug. 22nd, 1994
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Maatta came into the Ontario Hockey League with a high pedigree. Drafted 1st overall in the 2011 CHL Import Draft out of Jyvaskyla, He came into London and quickly become a top 4 defenceman for the Knights. All season long he has played a strong two way game for the Knights. He is solid positionally, and showed some good intelligence. He has a strong international resume, playing as an underage player for Finland at both the U18 World Championships in 2010, and has twice skated at the U20 World Championships, both as a 16 year old and this past year, where he was limited to a single game after suffering a concussion.
2012 NHL Draft Scouting Report: Scott Laughton
Scott Laughton / Oshawa Generals / Centre / 6’0″ / 177 / May. 30th, 1994
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Laughton is a player who has really progressed over the course of three seasons. Drafted by the Oshawa Generals third overall in the 2010 OHL Draft, he was projected as a potential first line centre in the Ontario Hockey League. Two years later and he is well on his way. At the beginning of the 2011 – 2012 season he was playing more of a defensive role with the Generals, which showed his strong two way positional play, but he was not progressing offensively as I would have liked to see. After a coaching change, Laughton was teamed with Christian Thomas, and the two developed instant chemistry. Laughton really thrived with the opportunity, and showed some good offense potential. By no means do I see him as a point per game player in the NHL, however I do think he can be a good secondary scorer at the next level. Laughton also has international experience, playing for Ontario at the U17 World Challenge, as well as the U18 World Championship this past April. He projects out as an intelligent centre with good overall puck skills.
2012 NHL Draft Scouting Report: Matt Finn
Matt Finn / Guleph Storm / Defenceman / 6’0 / 195 / Feb. 24th, 1994
Write Up
Finn is one of the biggest surprises for me this season. Dating back to his years with the Toronto Marlboros of the Greater Toronto Area, most people that I talked with (myself included), felt that he would be a smart positional defenceman who had some NHL potential, but more so as a bottom pairing, defence first defeneman. Last year he showed some signs of being more then that, however I needed to see more growth in his offensive game. This season, that growth has certainly present, and he has to now be considered as a potential first round draft selection for the 2012 NHL Draft. He projects out as an intelligent two way defenceman who has some interesting offensive upside.
