Chad Heffernan:

OHL Draft Ranking: 57th Overall

Selected: 3rd Round, 56th Overall

2012 Club Team: Peterborough Petes

Heffernan is a big bodied forward who shows good potential. He is a prototypical ‘North to South’ forward who is at his best engaging physically down low and along the boards. He is strong at creating turnovers in the offensive zone. He shows good finishing skills around the net, and is one of the better pure goal scorers of the age group. He shows good vision with the puck in the offensive zone, but can struggle at times with making intelligent decisions with the puck quickly. He is a good skater for a player of his size, but has room to grow with his acceleration and first few strides. Consistency was an issue all year with him. Some games he looked like a potential top 40 selection, while other times he looked like a player who was struggling. If he works out the consistency issues, he could be a 3rd or 4th round steal in a few years. He projects out as a strong, physical top 6 forward who can contribute offensively. Expect him to play a year in Jr A before moving to the next level.

OHL Draft Ranking: 60th Overall

Selected: 4th Round, 64th Overall

2012 Club Team: Vaughan Kings

Addessi is a skilled forward who shows strong potential. He is a huge wildcard based on the fact that he has missed so much time this year. He shows a nice mix of size and mobility, with a high ceiling. He shows good mobility and agility, with above average agility and footwork. He shows a willingness to play a strong, aggressive game, and plays well down low and along the boards. He shows good vision with the puck, and shows good long-term projectable vision, but needs to work on his decision making with the puck. He has a high complete level, and always seems to bring a high level of energy to the ice whenever he touches the ice. He has missed the second half of the season with an injury, so his health will be something to look at, and could be a big factor in where he is selected. He projects out as a strong top 6 forward with leadership and intangibles. At one point he was considered a top 20 selection, however his injury and health doubts saw his  status. He could be a nice little steal for the Sting if he regains his pre-injury form.

Joe Manchurek

OHL Draft Ranking: 59th Overall

Selected: 4th Round, 79th Overall

2012 Club Team: Sun County Panthers

Manchurek is one of, if not the most competitive players in the 96 age group. He brings a high work ethic, and is always willing to do whatever it takes to win. His best asset is his strong, accurate shot that is effective from the slot. He has a very nice, quick release and does not need a lot of time or space to get it off. He displays strong vision with the puck in the offensive zone, and makes intelligent decisions with the puck. He seems to bring a lot of leadership to the ice, and is always telling players were to be on the ice, or encouraging them after a bad play. He has some room to grow with his vision of the ice at a higher speed. He also has some room to grow with both his first few steps as well as his lateral movement, as he has some heavy feet. He projects out as top 9 forward with good leadership qualities, but ill probably need a year in a lower level before he  can be a full time OHL player.

Francesco Vilardi:

OHL Draft Ranking: 57th Overall

Selected: 3rd Round, 56th Overall

2012 Club Team: Greater Kingston Jr Frontenacs

Vilardi is a offensive minded forward who shows strong vision with the puck. He is a dynamic player in the offensive zone, showing strong finishing ability around the net. His natural instincts seem to indicate more of a shoot first player, but he does have some good play making ability and vision in the offensive zone. He is an excellent skater who shows explosive first few steps and very strong acceleration. He has some room to grow with his positional play in his own zone, improving his coverage and playing tighter man to man. He chases the puck a bit in all three zones, and need to improve his three zone positional play. He can also struggle in traffic; he does not play as well when he is consistently under duress. Would like to see him play with more of a chip on his shoulder and engage more often below the red line. He projects out as a top 6 forward, but one who may need some time in Tier II during the year.

Jonathan Duchesne:

OHL Draft Ranking: 56th Overall

Selected: 2nd Round, 37th Overall

2012 Club Team: Vaughan Kings (GTHL)

Duchesne is a defenceman who shows good strength and potential. He is aggressive down low and along the boards, battling for pucks. He is effective at pinning opposition forwards out of the play, as well as using his body to leverage players
off of the puck. He is a good overall skater, who moves well for a defenceman of his size, but has some room to grow with
his first few strides, as well as his transitional footwork. He shows some good offensive potential, as he shows flashes
of skill. He struggles with his decision making with the puck in all three zones, as he can routinely fail at making the
right decision. He makes some glaring turnovers in both the neutral and offensive zones this season. He has all the
projectable tools that you look for, but he doesn’t look like he has gotten much better then the player that we saw last
season with the minor midget Marlboros, which makes you wonder if he will be much better in two to three years. Will be a
player who was a top 40 pick based on his future potential, not necessarily based on what he has done this season. At best
he is a big, physical defenseman who has the ability to shut down opposition forwards, but the question is, will he hit
that potential. Expect him to play a depth role with the 67′s this year, and learn what it takes to be a defenceman at the
OHL level

Santino Centorame:

OHL Draft Ranking: 55th Overall

Selected: 4th Round, 83rd Overall

2012 Club Team: Mississauga Rebels

Centorame is a player who has really impressed in the second half of the season, and become the Rebels most reliable two-way defenceman. He is a smart defenceman who is at his best skating the puck up the ice, making an assessment and moving the puck with confidence. He sees the ice well and makes smart decisions in all three zones. He runs the power play well, walks the line and creates passing lanes in the offensive zone. He is an effective skater who has good mobility and first few steps. In the past he struggled with his defensive zone coverage, but he is improving that as the season moves forward. Another big question is his body size and overall strength. He is willing to engage, but how strong will he get? How will he be able to contain OHL level forwards down low. He may have a lower projection level then some of his peers at the age group, but he is a darkhorse candidate who progressed well this season. He projects out as a top 4 defenceman at the OHL level. He has the potential to be a depth defenceman at the OHL level this season, however he may be better served by playing at year in Jr B and playing up during the U17 and U20 tournaments.

Matt Mancina:

OHL Draft Ranking: 54th Overall

Selected: 3rd Round, 49th Overall

2012 Club Team: Sun County Panthers (ALLIANCE)

Mancina is among a small group of elite goaltenders in this age group. His best assets are both his positional play, as well as his ability to focus and block out external distractions. He is always square to shooters, playing an extremely strong positional game. He limits his movements and is very economical in what he does. He anticipates well, and shows a strong ability to react to the play and read the ice. He is extremely well focused, and does not allow bad goals, time, or a crowd effect his ability to stop a puck. He struggled at times with his consistency levels. He would have small periods of the season that he really looked to be fighting the puck, which is something that needs to be developed. He is also extremely robotic in the net, and you wonder how well he will be able to adapt his game if his technique fails him. He was rated as one of the best goaltenders available in the draft. He is headed to Jr B this year and will probably act as Guelph’s third goaltender, and be moved up to the main roster starting in 2013, assuming he plays as expected next year.

David Miller:

OHL Draft Ranking: 52nd Overall

Selected: 6th Round, 107th Overall

2012 Club Team: Mississauga Rebels (GTHL)

Miller is an intelligent forward who really improved his game as the season moved forward. His vision with the puck in the offensive zone is impressive, and he shows strong creativity and skill. He is at his best drawing opposition defenders in, then using an open passing lane to feed the puck to a teammate. He is a strong skater who shows above average acceleration and mobility, and displays strong outside speed. He has one of the best sticks in the age group, using it to knock down passes, cause turnovers and create offense for the Rebels. He is very elusive and strong at beating opposition defenceman one on one. He will have his challenges moving forward, his size and strength need to be worked on, and his ability to win battles for the puck at the next level will be an area of concern. He stepped up his game in the GTHL playoffs with Robert Fabbri out; he has taken more of an offensive role with the team, and thrived. He did not have the best OHL Cup, but was said to be playing hurt. His complete level is also quite impressive. I had him as a top 3 round player, and was surprised to see him fall as far as he did. There where obvious concerns about his body size, but the skill and complete level is there. I expect him to play a year or two in the OJHL/Prep School, and see where his development takes him. If he hits the ceiling that I think he has, he has the potential to be this year’s Gemel Smith.

Image courtesy of Flickr

Medric Mercier: Defenceman / Rights: Sault Ste Marie Greyhonuds / 6’0″ 172 / 10/17/96

OHL Draft Ranking: 51st Overall

Selected: 7th Round, 138th Overall

2012 Club Team: Ottawa Jr 67′s (OMHA)

Mercer is a smart, defence first defenceman who displays strong mobility. He is effective at skating the puck up the ice and gaining the offensive blueline. He works well on the powerplay, working the line and making confident decisions with the puck. He has a strong shot that is effective from the blue line. He is very good positionally in his own zone, showing good positional play, and playing well angling forwards off, away from the high percentage areas. He is aggressive down low and along the boards, and shows an ability to pin players out of the play or to out muscle him for the puck He does struggle with his consistency with the puck, and needs to work on his outlet passes, specifically at a higher speed. I love his projectable upside as a smart, defensive first defenceman with some strong, long term upside. He projects out as an intelligent two way defenceman who could easily sneak into the top 4 of any team. I was shocked to see him fall to the 7th round, and personally think that he will surprise alot of people once he hits Greyhounds training camp. Expect him to play either in Midget in the OEMHL or with Hawkesbury of the CCHL with the (I’d bet the latter), and then earn a spot on the Greyhound’s blueline in 2013-2014.

Image courtest InTheORadio

Graeme Brown: Defence / Windsor Spitfires / 6’0″ 175 / 5-16-96

OHL Draft Ranking: 50th Overall

Selected: 3rd Round, 45th Overall

2012 Club Team: Greater Kingston Jr Frontenac’s (OMHA)

Brown is an intelligent defenceman who plays smart at both ends of the ice. He has shown strong improvement in his positional play, and is strong on one-on-one’s. He is effective at engaging forwards away from the high percentage areas of the ice, and skating them out of ice. He makes strong decisions with the puck, but doesn’t push things too much offensively when its not there. He is just as happy to dump the puck then to make a risky play. He reads the ice well, but still has some room to grow with his overall vision of the ice. He is solid positionally in his own zone, and is strong in puck battles and battles for positioning in front of the net. He has one of the hardest shots from the point on the powerplay. Some areas to improve include his overall core strength, as well as his puck skills. I’m not sure how much of an offensive difference maker he will be at the next level, and needs to work on making skilled plays at a higher speed, as well as making crisp, tape to tape stretch passes. He projects out as a solid two way defenceman who plays a smart defensive game at the next level. He will head to Windsor to fight for a roster spot on the Spitfires defence, however my expectations are that he will play most of next season in Jr B, while being called up during U17′s and U20 tournaments.