Morgan Reilly on Leafs versus Sean Day on Steelheads

A 19 year old in the NHL is a rough equivalent to a 15-year old in the OHL, so it has been interesting to watch the relative progress of Morgan Reilly and Sean Day.

Sean has 2 goals and 8 assists and is -26 with Mississauga Steelheads (Team +/- is -51 GF/GA), while Morgan has 1 goal and 10 assists in 31 games with the Leafs, and is a -6 on a team with a -6 GF/GA. As a Reilly comparison, note Seth Jones (Popeye's son) of Nashville also has 11 points, and is -14 in 38 games. Jones has played more minutes but also been on the ice against tough competitors.

 Look for both Reilly and Day to lengthen their stride in 2014.

Leafs News: Kadri to wing, Raymond to sign extension

Bozak set to return, Holland surging in faceoff circle

Based upon his last 5 games, Nazem Kadri may have to get used to taking some shifts on the wing. Here are his numbers:

DEC 27 '13 BUF @ TOR - 37.50%

DEC 23 '13 TOR @ NYR - 29.41%

DEC 21 '13 DET @ TOR - 28.57%

DEC 19 '13 PHX @ TOR - 20.00%

DEC 17 '13 FLA @ TOR - 36.84%


Now, here are the recent numbers for Peter Holland, a center drafted the same year as Naz (Holland went 15th overall in 2009, Kadri went 7th):

DEC 27 '13 BUF @ TOR - 72.73

DEC 23 '13 TOR @ NYR - 70.00%

DEC 21 '13 DET @ TOR - 58.33%

DEC 19 '13 PHX @ TOR  - 30.77%

DEC 17 '13 FLA @ TOR - 45.45%


Nazem is -1 with 1 point over that stretch, while Peter is +1 with 3 points. It is a small sample but may be indicative of personal momentum. With Dave Bolland out until late January, Kadri may have a wee bit of breathing room now, but if he can't get fiercer in the circle, he'll be playing on the wing for the Toronto Maple Leafs come playoffs time.

NOTE: Though all the focus has been on Phaneuf's extension (Update Jan 1: 7 years for $49 mil). Look for Mason Raymond to sign a 3-year, $9 million deal ($2.5, 3.0, 3.5 mil) before the middle of January.

2015 nhl draft prospect rankings

Here are some contenders for my upcoming rankings of top prospects for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft:

Connor McDavid, Erie

Travis Konecny, Ottawa
Mathew Barzal, Seattle
Mitchell Marner, London

Jack Eichel, USA Juniors
Rasmus Andersson, Malmo


Dylan Strome, Erie
Maxim Tretiak, KAM
Jordan Greenway, USA Juniors / U17



More names to watch include:

Aleksi Saarela, Mikko Rantanen, Ryan Pilon, Noah Hanifin, Dante Salituro, Zach Werenski, Nathan Noel, Nicolas Roy, Felix Sandstrom


Keep an eye on:

Paul Bittner, LW
Kyle Connor, C
Matt Spencer, D
Jeremie Roy, D
Adam Musil, C
Glenn Gawdin, C,
Robin Kovacs, LW
Oliver Kylington, D
Mitchell Stephens, C 
Tyler Soy, C
Pavel Zacha
Yevgeni Svechnikov
Nikita Korostelev, RW
Gustav Franzen, C
Daniel Sprong, RW
Jansen Harkins, C


Which 2015-eligible players are having a great season and are not listed above? Please post your comments and suggestions below, thanks kindly.

December 2013 National Hockey League Top Teams Rankings

DEC 3rd 2013 NHL Team Rankings

Teams moving up 3 or more places include Chicago, St. Louis, Boston, Los Angeles Washington, Winnipeg, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Teams dropping 3 or more spots include Colorado, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Phoenix and New York Islanders.

2013-14 NHL Rankings by Team - October    (Last Week)            ( % Playoffs)

Dandy Dozen: 48%- 78% chance of playing 2014 Stanley Cup games

1. (4.) Chicago (73)
2. (2.) San Jose (70)
3. (6.) St Louis (68)
4. (1.) Colorado (63)
5. (5.) Anaheim (62)
6. (3.) Pittsburgh (78)
7. (11.) Boston (48)
8. (13.) Los Angeles (45)
9. (10.) Detroit (50)
10. (7.) Phoenix (50)
11. (8.) Tampa Bay (48)
12. (12.) Vancouver (48)

Contenders: 32% to 45% chance of being in Stanley Cup playoff games

13. (15) Minnesota (45)
14. (14) Montreal (43)
15. (11) Toronto (41)
16. (19) Washington (45)
17. (16) Nashville (38)
18. (21) Winnipeg (36)
19. (18) Dallas (38)
20. (24) New York Rangers (38)
21. (20) Ottawa (32)
22. (26) New Jersey (36)
23. (27) Philadelphia (36)
24. (22) Carolina (32)

Lottery Picks: Below 40% chance of making NHL playoffs
25. (17.) New York Islanders (28)
26. (23.) Calgary (27)
27. (25.) Columbus (30)
28. (28.) Florida (23)
29. (29) Edmonton (23)
30. (30.) Buffalo (17)