One Nifty Bull

PK Subban
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Country: Canada
Position: Defense
League: OHL
Team: Belleville Bulls
Height: 6'0''
Weight: 200
Shoots: Right
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Strengths: Subban is a phenomenal puckmover, rusher, and shooting threat from the backend with undeniable hands and skating ability. He is a confident player with the puck on his stick and is able to make highly skilled plays. He can be unstoppable at times on the powerplay with a heavy wrister and slap shot. Stunningly, as well as Subban can shoot the puck, he can dish it just as well with quick thinking, surveillance, and ability to hit open teammates most point men cannot. We do see signs of a physical edge as Subban is willing to aid teammates in need and engage opponents.

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Weaknesses: Although his name is PK, ironically one of his alleged areas needing improvement is his defensive acumen. DraftBuzz thinks concerns over this part of his game, while not terrifically strong, are overblown and not enough to drag down his value as a prospect. We see a marginal difference between PK Subban and player like Bobby Sanguinetti - a 21st overall draft selection in 2006 who also had plenty of offensive gifts but shortcomings defensively. He can become too risky at times leaving his own zone and navigating the neutral zone, relying on his skill rather than choosing safe plays.

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2006-2007 Regular Season Stats

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68 games 15 goals 41 assists 56 points +13 89 PIM
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2007 Playoff Stats

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15 games 5 goals 8 assists 13 points +11 26 PIM
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Draft Day Status/Projection: PK Subban is not talked about much but has intriguing upside as an offensive defenseman in the NHL. He can really be a breathtaking player showcasing speed, agility, hands, and sharp shooting. He appears to be a very coachable player, and should be able to ramp up his defensive efforts within the next few years. DraftBuzz sees him as a top 40 talent, and thinks a team could gamble on him as early as late first round or as late as late third round.

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(photo courtesy of www.ontariohockeyleague.com)

Strong Offensive Rep

Michal Repik
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Country: Czech Republic
Position: Right Wing
League: WHL
Team: Vancouver Giants
Height: 5'10''
Weight: 180
Shoots: Right
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Scouting Report: The Czech import suffered a bit of overexposure as he had an ordinary regular season compared to expectations after having a great rookie year last season .. came alive in the playoffs and Memorial Cup posting more than a point per game and often looked dominant on shifts .. a great skater who has that extra separation gear to blow by defenders .. uses his speed and low center of gravity to throw effective checks .. does not get phased when the game gets physical .. a pk threat with his speed .. a smooth winger who finds ways to get around guys with slick moves, banks, and redirections .. not a powerful player by any means, but can muster up the strength to shield the puck and work his way to the net from time to time .. plays with Rabbit and Lucic and is a nice compliment to a hulking power forward type and a puck possessing dangler .. has good hands but is a bit of a stiff stickhandler .. overzealous at times and loses the puck in situations where he makes poor decisions .. announced on the breakaway as he always uses the pump fake to his backhand .. supports his defenders well but not a standout defensive presence .. his shots are unexpectedly weak for an offensive minded forward, but can confuse goaltenders and leave weird rebounds/bounces .. battles inconsistency and has games where he does not stick out .. Repik is a nice package of skating and skill and turning his playing level up a notch in the playoffs will definately work in his favor on draft day.

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2006-2007 Regular Season Stats

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56 games 24 goals 31 assists 55 points +20 56 PIM
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2007 Playoff Stats (Including Memorial Cup)

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27 games 14 goals 19 assists 33 points +14 28 PIM
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Draft Day Status/Projection: Oddly enough, we think what you see is what you get with Repik. His skating, hands, and skill all look to be present and on the table. Naturally, he will also add strength and maturity like every other prospect. The only question we care about is will he be able to play his game at a higher level? DraftBuzz is not convinced that Repik will beat the odds and translate his skills to the NHL, and conservatively ranks him in the 30-45 range. He will most likely be drafted in the 25-40 range for his late surge in the playoffs and solid overall skill level.

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(photo courtesy of www.whl.ca)

Fast Attacking Tiger

Billy Sweatt
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Country: USA
Position: Left Wing
League: WCHA
Team: Colorado College
Height: 6'0''
Weight: 180
Shoots: Left
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Scouting Report: Colorado College's Illinois burner is one of the fastest players in the draft .. has short, choppy strides where he gains a lot of ice and catches guys quickly .. a deadly straight line skater who can outrace many opponents .. possesses okay agility and tends to hop at times to get going .. not the most fluid stickhandler, but makes his mark with his puck protection .. likes to go wide on defenders, hang the puck on the right side using his body as a shield, and then drives to the net with great success .. a heads up player in all three zones and is an aware conscience .. great on the backcheck with persistence and speed/power ratio to quietly body guys off the puck .. became more electric on the rush as the season wore on and displayed some neat end to end dances .... forechecks hard and does not mind going through guys to get to the puck .. a smart checker who knows when to press and hit and when to lay off and focus on his offensive efforts .. a good passer who chooses safe plays for the most part .. can go quite a long time without taking a shot and being noticeable offensively .. needs to gain more lower body strength and mass .. Sweatt is a forward whose skating will only sharpen and impress as he moves up the ladder, but will his offensive talents stagnate in development?

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2006-2007 Regular Season Stats

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30 games 9 goals 17 assists 26 points 18 PIM
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2007 WJC - Team USA

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7 games 1 goals 1 assists 2 points -1 0 PIM
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Draft Day Status/Projection: Even though there are legitimate concerns about his offensive capability, Sweatt shows all the parts of being a complete player. He's heads up defensively, is a magnificent skater, and has nice size and grit. Making the USA WJC U20 team and playing well shows his ability to perform at a high level at a pretty young age. Since the draft is all about projection, he is one of our projection picks who we think will come around and make it. As a result, DraftBuzz had him 10th in the last ranking. However, he is definately a candidate to slip a little bit and end up in the 16-24 range with the top 15 teams possibly looking to go in other directions than the American speedster.

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(photo courtesy of www.coloradocollege.edu)

One Polarizing Giant

Spencer Machacek
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Country: Canada
Position: Right Wing
League: WHL
Team: Vancouver Giants
Height: 6'1'''
Weight: 182
Shoots: Right
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Scouting Report: The Alberta native is a big body on the right wing who had a tremendous playoff and Memorial Cup run scoring 9 goals and 20 points .. Machacek’s most admirable attribute is his unmatched determination and ability to stick with a play and ultimately prevail in getting to a loose puck, open shot, or defensive breakup .. he has this uncanny positioning and sense of where to be when his linemates press and find openings .. racks up points from finishing nice plays McArdle and Bliznak start .. at times is able to bull his way to the net and sticks there .. knows how to get to the net and just gets there however he needs to .. owns ordinary hands and has decent shooting skills .. scores a lot of ugly goals from in close .. has signature move of taking the puck from behind the net, skating to the bottom of the circle away from the net, while at the same time spinning around and throwing the puck at the goalie .. a strong body along the boards and takes care of his own end well ..is an awesome passer as he will always find his linemates and put the puck on their tape using willpower, hustle, and some vision .. for the majority of the game is just a decent skater who you wish had that extra jump, quicker acceleration, dynamic agility .. but will have a couple of shifts during the game where he displays an exceptional burst, and top end speed, leaving you to wonder where it was and where it went .. could be a result of subpar conditioning or lower body strength .. nonetheless, is not terribly affected by this and is usually always in the mix .. can impress once in a while in gearing up and carrying the puck up ice with speed and size .. is a devastating hitter at times, and other times he bounces off his checks as if he is 140 pounds and has weird disbursement of strength and power .. when he puts his mind to it can absolutely steam roll his way through defenders .. certainly limited offensively as far as measuring an individual skillset and does not stick out offensively .. Vancouver’s power forward is a great what if prospect as he certainly flashes signs of being a third line power forward but could just as well be an ECHL’er.

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2006-2007 Regular Season Stats

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63 games 21 goals 24 assists 45 points +26 32 PIM
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2007 Playoff Stats

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22 games 9 goals 11 assists 20 points +12 14 PIM
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Draft Day Status/Projection: In our estimation, Spencer Machacek is a harder working, less offensive version of Luca Caputi. Because of this, DraftBuzz rates him 45-60 and can see him being selected anywhere from early second round to late third round on draft day. The census is split on Machacek: some believe his skills are too limited to make it and some believe there is something more to him that we have not seen just yet. He is definately a prospect who needs to show some improved regular season offensive production, and developed skating skills, but his work ethic and tenacity make us believe he has a future as an NHL'er.

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(photo courtesy of www.whl.ca)

Stickhandling Maineiac

David Perron
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Country: Canada
Position: Left Wing
League: QMJHL
Team: Lewiston Maineiacs
Height: 6'0''
Weight: 180
Shoots: Right
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Scouting Report: This second year draft eligible, first year QMJHL'er came out of Quebec's woodwork after playing Junior AAA with the St. Jerome Panthers of the QJAHL last year .. patterns his game after favorite player, Alex Kovalev, and it shows as his controlled skating stride and talented stickhandling strike a resemblance .. has amazing hand eye coordination and reaction that allows him to deflect pucks that most could not .. a stickhandling wizard who is just a notch below Kane .. disregard all the cliché’s there are about offensive Q forwards, as Perron is not a soft player .. a strong hitter who does not go out of his way to be a checker, but will always finish his checks surprisingly hard and loud if its his responsibility/player to follow through on .. does not shy away from board work, albeit he routinely gets knocked off the puck easily .. not a perimeter player at all .. parks himself near the front of the net, and is a bit of a pain as he jams and hacks at the goalie for loose rebounds .. plays with Faubert and Courcelles .. comes back and helps his defenseman almost acting like a centerman at times .. plays the boards and slot in his own zone with confidence .. made a great diving play to stop a glorious offensive chance against that most players with his talent would not bother trying .. a judicious skater who does not skate hard the entire shift .. is not an explosive skater, and does not have great top end speed, but incorporates a lot of stops and starts to throw off defenders .. still, a good skater who doesn’t lose speed when the puck is on his stick, which is important for starting rushes .. a patiently smart player who employs many tricks to control the play in the offensive zone .. his most imminent flaws are his older age and inconsistency .. some games he dominates and some games he is content with blending in .. Perron is a guy who needs to learn how to be an offensive leader every night, but his offensive gifts are interesting to say the least.

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2006-2007 Regular Season Stats

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70 games 39 goals 44 assists 83 points +37 75 PIM
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2007 Playoff Stats

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21 games 13 goals 18 assists 31 points +6 22 PIM
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Draft Day Status/Projection: For all the concerns about Perron's older age, he is one of the most raw, and unproven prospects in the draft with this year being his first year in the QMJHL. He took a huge step up from playing Junior AAA to playing in a premier CHL league, and performed magnificently. Because he is still relatively unseasoned and lacking experience at the junior level, there is a great amount of intrigue as to how much better he really can get. DraftBuzz ranks him 18th and projects him to be selected 16th to 30th. He is a great one-on-one player and team's may like the fact that he is a "year" or so more physically developed than his peers.

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(photo courtesy of www.lewistonhockey.com)