Here are the Top Ten Players to Watch for at the World Under-18 Championships which start on Tuesday.
10.Teemu Pulkkinen Finland
He was going to challenge Mikael Grunland for being the top Finnish born player to be drafted for the 2010 Draft. He has had some injuries this past season. He will be one of the go to guys for team Finland. With Jokerit this season in the Sm-Liiga he had a goal and two assists in 12 games
9. Jon Merill USA
A few years ago, he was considered the top defenseman in the 92 age group, but his peers have passed him. He’s still a legitimate first round prospect, but he needs to show all the tools he has. With the USA NTDP, he had 5 goals and 25 assists in 47 games. If he has a good tournament, I can see his stock rising.
8. Mikael Granlund Finland
The highly skilled Finish player is still fighting off question about his size and play. At major tournaments he has been known to play invisible and his skating isn’t great. The kid knows what to do with the puck though. In the Sm-Liiga, he had 13 goals and 27 assists in 43 games.
7. Calvin Pickard Canada
Despite what NHL Central Scouting thinks, I think Jack Campbell is the number one goaltender in the 2010 Draft. Nothing against Pickard, he just hasn’t had the stage to show off his skills. He’s an athletic goaltender.
6. Adam Larsson Sweden
Sweden doesn’t have a player that will jump out at you in this year’s draft. Larsson is just 16, but has already played at the World Junior Championships and the Swedish Elite League. The next “Hedman” had four goals and 13 assists in 49 games in the SEL
5. Erik Gudbranson Canada
The top eligible defenseman in the upcoming draft. He took over Cam Fowler for that position. He’s a stay at home defenseman that can hit. He can solidify his positioning in the draft he can shutdown the powers in this tournament
5. Austin Watson USA
Watson has been rising through the rankings since he was traded to Peterborough. In ten regular season games he potted nine goals and added another 11 assists. He seems he has finally put it all together as one of the go to guys on his team. He’s one of two players that were invited outside the NTDP Program for this tournament.
4. John McFarland Canada
He once applied for exception status to the OHL to allow him to enter the league as a 15-year-old. The request was denied. This season as a 17-year-old, he didn’t put up the numbers as expected, but is still a middle to late first rounder. Although he has put up good numbers last year at this tournament
3. Evgeny Kuznetsov Russia
The top rated Russian playing in this tournament as the others are all late 1991 born players and are ineligible for this tournament. With Kirill Kabanov being kicked off the Russian Team, he will be the go to guy. In the KHL this season he had 2 goals and 7 assists.
2. Jack Campbell USA
If he plays another stellar international tournament, he could move up in the middle of the first round. With the NTDP this season, he was 16-11-1 with a 2.52 goals-against-average and a .902 save percentage. He will face Calvin Pickard and Team Canada on Friday.
1. Brett Connolly Canada
All eyes will be on Connolly, the third rated player in North America for the draft. He’s coming off an injury that only let him play in 16 games this season. Some question why he ranked third. The scouts see the potential he has with 30 goals last year.
