Jan 3rd 2014 NHL Team Rankings

Teams moving up 3 or more places include Philadelphia, Dallas and Tampa Bay. Teams dropping 3 or more spots include Colorado, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, and New York Islanders. Philly and Dallas have both turned their seasons around and are now serious playoff contenders.

 

2013-14 NHL Power Rankings by Team - January 2014    (Last Week)            ( % Playoffs)

Dandy Dozen: 47%-86% chance of playing 2014 Stanley Cup games

1.    (1.) Chicago (76)

2. (3) St. Louis (71)

3. (5) Anaheim (63)

4. (6) Pittsburgh (86)

5. (2) San Jose (63)

6. (7) Boston (56)

7. (8) Los Angeles (47)

8. (11) Tampa Bay (52)

9. (4) Colorado (52)

10. (12) Vancouver (47)

11. (10) Phoenix (47)

12. (14) Montreal (48)

Contenders: 32% to 46% chance of being in Stanley Cup playoff games

 

13. (19) Dallas  (43)

14. (15) Toronto (45)

15. (9) Detroit (43)

16. (16) Washington (46)

17. (23) Philadelphia (43)

18. (13) Minnesota (41)

19. (18) Winnipeg (33)

20. (22) New Jersey (41)

21. (20) New York Rangers (41)

22. (17) Nashville (32)

23. (21) Ottawa (41)

24. (24) Carolina (38)

25. (27) Columbus (37)

 

Lottery Picks: Below 30% chance of making NHL playoffs

26. (28.) Florida (29)

27. (26) Calgary (23)

28. (25) New York Islanders  (26)

29. (30.) Buffalo (21)
30. (29) Edmonton (19)

Gleason adds toughness and depth to Leafs D

With the Toronto Maple Leafs acquiring Tim Gleason for little-used offensive D-man John-Michael Liles (plus rights to NCAA prospect Dennis Robertson, 2011 6th rounder), here's how they shape up on the back end:

Phaneuf - Gunnarsson
Franson - Gardiner
Ranger- Reilly

Gleason - Fraser

Phaneuf, Franson, gardiner and Reilly all have offensive skills, and now that they are skating and moving the puck as the coaches desire, Liles became the odd man out. Gleason joins Gunarsson, Ranger and Fraser among defencemen expected to carry the stay-at-home role. 

If Tim Gleason is able to crack the Bud's lineup, it would likely mean Ranger sits, though his play has been steady even solid since his return from the pressbox. If the top six are all healthy at the deadline, Fraser could potentially be available in the trade market, though Carlyle would surely enjoy the luxury of taking eight NHL defenders into the playoffs.

TJ Brennan (14 goals and 17 assists in 31 games this season) of the Toronto Marlies is the Leafs top defender in the AHL. Junior prospects Connor Brown, Frederik Gauthier and Matt Finn are all having stellar seasons.

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)

NOV 2013 OHL HOT 40 Future Hockey Pros

Top 2013-14 Ontario Hockey League Players

This list of Ontario Hockey league players is a ranking of top 2013-2014 OHL performers most likely to make a career out of playing hockey. Our ratings are biased towards forwards, as many defensemen mature in their early 20s, and junior hockey is a tough environment for goaltenders. In light of this, many OHL defenders and goalies not mentioned here may go on to stellar NHL careers.

1. Connor McDavid, Erie (2015)
2. Aaron Ekblad, Barrie (2014)
3. Michael Dal Colle, Oshawa (2014)
4. Darnell Nurse, Sault Ste. Marie (2013, Edmonton)
5. Sean Day, Mississauga (2016)
6. Travis Konecny, Ottawa (2015)
7. Connor Brown, Erie (2012, Toronto)
8. Anthony DeAngelo, Sarnia (2014)
9. Mitchell Marner, London (2015)
10. Matt Murray, Sault Ste. Marie (2012, Pittsburgh)

11. Brock McGinn, Guelph (2012, Carolina)

12. Carter Verhaeghe, Niagara (2013, Toronto)

13. Dane Fox, Erie (Undrafted free agent)

14. Sergey Tolchinsky, Sault Ste. Marie (2013 Free Agent signing, Carolina)

15. Slater Koekkek, Windsor (2012, Tampa Bay)

16. Bo Horvat, London (2013, Vancouver)

17. Kirby Rychel, Windsor (2013, Columbus)

18. Dylan Strome, Erie (2015)

19. Stefan Leblanc, Sudbury (2014)

20. Scott Laughton, Oshawa (2012, Philadelphia)

21. Trevor Carrick, Mississauga (2012, Carolina)

22. Brendan Perlini, Niagara (2014)

23. Matt Finn, Guelph (2012, Toronto)

24. Nick Maygar, Kitchener (2014)

25. Nick Ritchie, Peterborough (2014)

26. Scott Kosmachuk, Guelph (2012, Winnipeg)

27. Jason Dickinson, Guelph (2013, Dallas)

28. Jared McCann, Sault Ste Marie (2014)

29. Sam Bennet, Kingston (2014)

30. Nikolay Goldobin, Sarnia (2014)

31. Nicholas Baptiste, Sudbury (2013, Buffalo)

32. Anthony Stolarz, London (2012, Philadelphia)

33. Henri Ikonen, Kingston (2013, Tampa Bay)

34. Roland Mckeown, Kingston (2014)

35. Ryan MacInnis, Kitchener (2014)

36. Mathew Campagna, Sudbury (2014)

37. Nathan Pancel, Sudbury (2014)

38. Vladisla Kodola, Sarnia (2015)

39. Francesco Vilardi, Plymouth (2014)

40. Cristiano DiGiacinto, Windsor

OHL Hot Future Pros Honourable Mentions:

Nelson Armstrong, Peterborough

Jordan Subban, Belleville

Brandon Devlin, Peterborough

Nick Ebert, Windsor

Blake Siebenaler, Niagara

Andrew Mangiapane, Barrie

Mitchell Stephens, Saginaw

Chris Bigras, Owen Sound

Spencer Watson, Kingston

Mackenzie Blackwood, Barrie

Devin Williams, Erie

Daniel Altshuller, Oshawa

Oscar Dansk, Erie
Justin Nichols, Guelph
Daniel Altshuller, Oshawa