TOP 100 PROSPECTS

THE SECOND IN Germany’s trio of draft stars, Peterka looked very effective at the world juniors while playing on a line with Tim Stutzle and Lukas Reichel. Needless to say, that tournament inspired a lot of interest from NHL execs. “I made a special trip, and all three looked really good,” said one scout. “He didn’t shy away from anything and had a lot of good chances. He looks like a real opportunistic guy who has the skill set to go along with it.” Playing in the DEL on a team laden with former AHL standouts, Peterka spent the whole season at the top level. He needs to work on his play away from the puck, but his stock rose as the season went on thanks to his shot and willingness to drive the net. “Every time I’ve seen him, he’s been with Stutzle, and this guy is right there with him, but it’s not about flash,” said another scout. “This guy is powerful and speedy, he hunts pucks and he works. He’s a guy who can be a real core piece to a team and play in the middle of the lineup. If you need him to move up with skill players, he can, and if you need him killing penalties and using energy, he can do that, too.” ALL YOU NEED to know about O’Rourke was stitched on his jersey in November: the 17-year-old earned the captaincy in the Soo once it was clear Barrett Hayton wasn’t returning from Arizona. The Hounds had older players, but the team entrusted O’Rourke with the ‘C.’ A bit of a throwback defenseman, O’Rourke is not fun to play against. “He has an edge to his game,” said one scout. “He showed he can put points up, and he has a real good plus-minus, which is surprising because he’s not a big point-getter. “It tells you that when he’s on the ice, positive things are happening. He competes and is hard in his own zone, but he has enough skill with his feet to get the puck up ice and out of trouble.” O’Rourke was impressive at the CHL-Russia series as one of the youngest members of Team OHL. The question now becomes one of projection. “I like him,” said another scout. “A little more skating and quickness would help. I like the puck-moving and hockey sense. Is he the new-age transition D-man? I’m not sure. Does he have enough offense? For him, he’s still a work in progress.” COMING TO NORTH America to play major junior after the WJC was one of the best decisions Mysak could have made. Not only did he get into a good development program with the Hamilton Bulldogs as a mature player, he meshed with OHL scoring star Arthur Kaliyev. “I thought he did a lot of Kaliyev’s dirty work,” said one scout. Mysak is not an explosive skater, but once he gets his feet moving he’s capable of creating separation. He can beat defenders by going wide and has a dangerous shot. Mysak is seen as more of a scorer than playmaker, but some scouts noted that his assist total would have been much higher if teammates had been able to capitalize on his passes. Mysak came to North America because he wasn’t getting enough ice time with Litvinov in the Czech League and was concerned it would hurt his draft standing. In the OHL he stood out, but on a weak Czech team at the WJC, he did not. “In the first game against Russia, he scored a great goal right off the bat,” said another scout. “I don’t know if he did another positive thing in the tournament.” ANY TEAM CONSIDERING taking Lapierre will be looking as closely and diligently at medical reports as they do the scouting reports. All things being equal, Lapierre is an undisputed first-round talent, possibly the draft’s best twoway player. But three documented concussions in an eight-month period, the last of which came in November and knocked him out for the rest of the season, is a concern. “We know Hendrix is a very good player, a very good prospect,” said one scout. “What we don’t know is what is the impact of this concussion on his future?” Another scout opined that a team with multiple picks in the top two rounds might be willing to take a chance on him, regardless of the uncertainty. “Until we get all the information from the doctors just what this is all about, nobody will feel comfortable drafting him,” said the scout. “Once that comes out, it might be terrible and a team might still say, ‘He’s too good, and we’ll take a chance.’ ” Lapierre was one of Canada’s best players at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer and is a QMJHL star who does everything well.

THE BREAKOUT STAR of the CHL Top Prospects Game, Foerster served notice that he was a goal-scorer to be feared in the OHL. The MVP of Team White with two goals and three points, Foerster was unstoppable. “He gets the puck in the scoring area or 20 feet out and he’s going to score,” said one scout. “But he’s not a guy who goes and gets pucks, and there’s not many guys like that left in the NHL. He’s elite as a scorer, so that gives him a chance. In Barrie, he plays a half-court game because they need scoring.” A challenge for Foerster came after the OHL trade deadline, since the Colts were sellers. Offensive drivers Ryan Suzuki and Matej Pekar were among the traded, and talent hawks wanted to see how Foerster reacted. The answer: 17 points in his final 15 games. “I love the way he plays,” said another scout. “His skating has to be better, but he scores. Everybody whacked on Ryan O’Reilly’s skating, too. I saw him fight one game where a guy ran a teammate and he chased him down. I don’t expect that, but it’s a character thing, he didn’t back down.” TRYING HARD TO not sound stereotypical, one scout described Amirov this way: “He’s what you go to Russia for.” That is to say he’s highly skilled and very smooth with terrific offensive instincts. “He’s just a really strong, assertive winger,” said another scout. “You get a good center with him who can make plays and he’s going to open up space around the net. If I’m a center who’s smart and good, I want to play with Rodion Amirov.” As good as he is, Amirov was not chosen for the Russian world-junior team for a couple of reasons. First, the Russians tend to go with older players, and Amirov was just 18. He’s a good bet for Russia’s team in 2021. Another scout opined that it’s because he’s still too much of a perimeter player. “He’s not a guy who drives the line by himself,” said the scout. “He needs a good playmaker. He’s got skill and talent, but he’s not a (Artemi) Panarin or (Nikita) Kucherov. They drive the line as a winger. He’s not that guy.” Amirov was not productive in the KHL this season, but he scored more than a point per game in the country’s junior league. THE SON OF super-agent Pat Brisson has committed to the University of Michigan, where he can spend a couple of years getting stronger and faster. One scout said Brisson is on his short list of players whose stock rose most dramatically this year. “Every time I’ve watched him play, it was, ‘Whoa, look how much more he’s doing,’ ” said the scout. After three years at Shattuck St. Mary’s, Brisson played this season with USHL Chicago, a topnotch program that has become something of a prospect factory in recent years. He excelled at the junior level, finishing second in scoring on a Steel team that was in first place and riding a 13-game winning streak when the season was cancelled. Not surprisingly, Brisson’s calling card is his offense, but he’s also developed an edge to his game. “He’s not afraid to go carve out space for himself by crossing the line a little bit,” said another scout. “He’s not a one-trick pony. He can make plays, he can play around the net, he can play on the run, he can shoot the puck on onetimers, he can score off the rush, he can score off the cycle.” THOUGH THE FRONTENACS selected Chromiak second overall in the CHL import draft, the youngster didn’t make a commitment to the team right away. Instead, he spent the first half of the season back home, playing against men in Slovakia’s top league. But after getting snubbed by the Slovakian WJC team (despite leading the Hlinka Gretzky team in scoring last summer), Chromiak decided to make the leap and join Kingston. The results were very good. “What a great fit for Kingston,” said one scout. “They needed that shot in the arm. Too bad he wasn’t there from the start. He’s a smart, offensive player. From the offensive blueline on down, he is money. His skating is better than some give him credit for, his small-area game is outstanding, he has good core strength. There’s lots to like.” Kingston is rebuilding around exceptional-status phenom Shane Wright, and once Chromiak arrived, the Frontenacs had a player who could hang with the dynamic pivot. “Chromiak makes plays at speed,” said another scout. “He helped Wright and Wright helped him. He made a good adjustment.”