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Twelve Post-Game Grant’s Slants 1 The Canadiens are off to one of their best starts in recent times.  Their .778 win percentage is the best in the Canadian Division, and a +15 goal differential and 4.3 goals per game tops in the league.  Do not adjust your computer screen – so far this season the […]

Twelve Post-Game Grant’s Slants 1 Ten Habs with five or more points on the season so far.  Obviously, the pace isn’t likely to continue, but based on an 82-game schedule that would be ten Habs with 56-plus points by season’s end. The Habs have NEVER had ten players score 56 points in a season.  Not […]

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What Kravtsov is achieving in the KHL playoffs is pretty remarkable. Two more assists today and looking great. Six goals and five assists in nine games. He leads all KHL goal scorers and is in top five in points….no draft eligible 18-year-old has ever achieved that. On top of that, he is doing it with […]

Scouts have been giving Liam Foudy a certain benefit of the doubt this season as he has not been given an offensive role, so he’s had very little opportunity to show his offensive upside. They pointed to Alex Formenton as an example, a forward who played on London’s fourth line for much of last season […]

Everett Center Riley Sutter has been on a terrific tear recently, scoring seven goals and three assists in his last three games, including four goals and an assist in an 11-0 pasting of the Vancouver Giants.

Dmitri Zavgorodny and the Rimouski Oceanic visited Hull for their one and only game of the season on Sunday, affording me an up-close look to see if the highly touted Russian was all he was touted to be. He wasn’t.

Mississauga rookie defenceman Merrick Rippon looks like he’s finally starting to adjust to the step up in competition from the CCHL to OHL. After starting the season with just two assists in his first 14 games, Recrutes spoke to an OHL-based NHL scout about Rippon’s start to the season. “In fairness to the kid, let […]

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It look like Rimouski Oceanic winger Dmitry Zavgorodniy is not going to slow down any time soon. The talented 5-9 Russian led the Ivan Hlinka in scoring, netting five goals and five assists in five games, and his predilection for fives continued last night as he scored…you guessed it…five goals in a 9-2 Rimouski victory […]

There is a strong debate right now among Habs fans about whether Jonathan Drouin or Alex Galchenyuk should be the club’s number-one center.   Recrutes put up its second poll on the subject in the past three weeks, and the overwhelming majority are still banking on the Habs starting the season with Galchenyuk centering the […]

Ryan Poehling wasn’t the only Habs prospect who has impressed at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, MI. Victor Mete has been one of the more solid blueliners for Canada at the event and Joni Ikonen has been solid in a second-line center role for Finland in three contests. One western conference scout has […]

I watched Eeli Tolvanen play last night versus the Waterloo Black Hawks in Game 3 of the USHL semi-finals in a match Sioux City won 3-0. Tolvanen went pointless, and apart from one nice dangle in close that almost resulted in a goal he didn’t create much in the way of offensive chances.   Tolvanen […]

As the season has gone on several things have stood out in regards to Swedish defence prospect Timothy Liljegren. There is no question that he is a natural, smooth skater, and that first and foremost is why scouts were so high on him going into the season. He also has good puck skills, and is […]

Given that there is a huge divergence of opinion on Jarret Tyszka…ranging from scouts that like him in the first round to some who would be hesitant to pick him in the mid rounds – I decided to have an in-depth video look at him. I focused on the first game of Seattle’s WHL semi-final […]

Over the past decade at numerous times I have had draft followers mention that such-and-such would or wouldn’t be a good fit as a draft selection because they shoot left or right. I have never in the past ten years factored the way a player shoots into my draft evaluations or mock draft scenarios. To […]

Tri-Cities season is over and it was mostly disappointing for draft-eligible prospects. Kyle Olson got his first and only point tonight on a goal, Rasmussen missed the playoffs with a broken scaphoid bone, Juuso Valimaki had just one one assist and struggled defensively at times. After a 90-point regular season..once the checking got tighter Morgan […]

It appears that Michael Rasmussen has become the whipping boy this season for the advanced stats aficionados as I have gotten plenty of feedback on how having him top five or even top seven is much too high. I have received several tweets suggesting rather strongly that his goals stats are inflated because he got […]

Urho Vaakanainen played a regular shift today in a big SM-Liiga playoff game for JYP with the series tied 2-2.  The coaches had no issues playing him regularly in such an important contest, and he didn’t disappoint..almost ending the game in overtime when he pinched in and took a shot on goal from ten feet […]

I have great respect for my NHL scouting contacts and consider them to be among the very best talent evaluators on the planet. There are occasions when I disagree with one of their opinions, however, even when I’m only seeing a player on video, and one such instance this season concerns Seattle defenceman Jarret Tyszka. […]

The two teenaged forwards on Brynas have really moved up the pecking order in the SHL playoffs.  Jesper Boqvist is really wheeling today…it looks like he’s gotten even quicker since he played for Timra…a very fast pace and he’s keeping up no problem. Working hard on the forecheck and getting back defensively no problem. He’s […]

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With Hischier’s recent drop in production one wondered if perhaps he was hitting a wall..then I looked at the video from his March 15 game versus PEI…and the Nico we’ve all come to love was in full display.  We saw in the first two shifts why he’s ranked number one on our list…terrific speed, skill. […]

Isaac Ratcliffe has looked better again the last 3-4 games after a lull. Like him when he’s moving his feet and competing…certainly has some puck skills for a big guy…good hands.

  Watched Valimaki again…he is not very agile without the puck..but with it..he makes those shifts that throw his opponent off…I guess it’s his pivots without the puck more than anything that are the concern…but he can move laterally okay when he has the black biscuit… it’s when he’s defending that he gets caught flat-footed […]

I watched Bowers versus Tolvanen tonight…clear edge to Bowers. Tolvanen started the game with three cross ice pass turnovers in his own zone…which never endeared him to scouts. Far too much standing around…while Bowers was the opposite…as always he was working and moving his feet. creating chances with his effort and speed. You could have […]

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Watched Glass last night…beast mode again. He could have three points every night…he may get 150 next year Skating looked okay..and really responsible at both ends. He has to be in the top three mix…keeps doing this in the playoffs and who knows..a fellow socuts’ point point is very valid in 8 guys being in […]

Liam Hawel is Guelph’s first-line center now..quite a jump from fourth line winger in Soo…you like to see improvement and this year he’s the CHL poster boy…really starting to look like Arnprior is going to finally develop an NHL player for the first time since Danny Fridgen. He gets stronger and he’s going to be […]

Jason Robertson’s shot/release aren’t far off of Owen Tippet’s…. deadly from 25 feet out..about the 25th he’s scored there.  Puck skills and ability to protect it are good too..and his vision and passing.  How much better is his skating than Jonah Gadjovich…30 spots…50 spots? Guess that’s what needs to be figured out, some parallels though.. Gadjovich […]

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First time seeing Peterborough in months…Gallant has really improved, playing a ton in all situations, decent on the pk…18 pts in last 16 games  Decent size, skates okay…has some jam.  He’s really good on faceoffs.  Looks like a top 80 pick at least.

A better game from Kristian Vesalainen last night, but neither Finn forward (Eeli Tolvanen) has looked like a top-ten guy so far.  They are not going to the scoring areas, nor have they been dangerous. After Hischier, the best DE forward has been Lias Andersson.

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If Honka was a top 15 pick what does that make Makar?  His skating and puck skills are a treat to watch.  I loved him at last year’s tournament too…arguably better than Fabbro and Cholowski were. He went to the wrong junior camp – should have been at the WJC.

I haven’t seen much offence from Filip Westerlund yet but taking care of his own end with smarts and skating. Will need to show some offensive skills to go top three rounds at his size I guess..but impressive that he’s on top pairing on a SHL team with two losses in Frolunda..and doesn’t look out of […]

NHL teams might want to keep an eye on Frolunda dman Henrik Tommenes…third in SHL scoring with 25 points in 27 games.  A 6-1 defenceman who skates well. and competing okay defensively.  Vancouver gave up on him pretty quickly.

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I know Heponiemi is just 5-10 150 pounds.but man…he’s a dandy little player. Anywhere after 50 IMO that kid might end up being a great pick. One of the top skaters in the draft, especially in terms of edge work…he competes and is not afraid either. He makes a great behind the net pass back […]

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I like Liam Hawel’s upside..hope he gets traded…should be a third line center. Update January – Got my wish with his move to Guelph but he hasn’t taken advantage of the opportunity as of yet. Perhaps he’s a little out of shape given his lack of ice time in the Soo..will have to get in […]