By the OilKnight 10/14/19

Welcome to our weekly update on CHL prospects. Here are the leading scorers among all 3 leagues for the 2020 draft eligibles & 16 yr old CHL rookies.

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OHL

4 weeks into the season and Quinton Byfield continues to lead all OHL draft eligibles in goals & points. It appears safe to say, no one is going to catch him in the points race unless something unforeseen happens. Tyson Foerster however, is only 1 goal behind Byfield for draft eligibles with 7 goals so far on the season. 

Cole Perfetti is now 2nd in the OHL in points but still seems to be struggling offensively though he did score his first goal non-empty net goal over the weekend. He’s still getting points but the explosive plays are not there and he seems he’s been fighting the puck hard for awhile. 

If you haven’t heard of Jack Thompson yet, then take notice. Thompson, has 6 goals and 12 points already as a defenceman – tops in the CHL for 2020 draft eligibles. He has great offensive instincts and is a real threat pinching in from the point. He has good size, speed & a big shot. He also makes a lot of good decisions at all ends of the ice. He’s not Jamie Drysdale in terms of overall skill-set but is a real nice player with sneaky upside. Playing on the same team as Byfield won’t hurt his offensive numbers either. 

In Windsor, Jean-Luc Foudy has begun to get hot offensively but Will Cuylle continues to struggle. The power forward with the big shot, Cuylle only has 16 shots on goal in 9 games. 

Jaromir Pytlik and Marco Rossi are two potential Top 15 picks in this year’s draft who don’t get a lot of hype like some of the others in their class. Both are starting to heat up. Rossi is just coming off a 5 game suspension. 

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Francesco Pinelli and Mason McTavish continue to impress as 16 yr olds. Pinelli, leads all 16 yr old rookies in shots on goal with 25, with McTavish is sitting at 23. Pinelli also has 3 PPG’s already as he continues to get plenty of quality playing time with top linemates. Chase Stillman, who is now up to 5 goals & 8 points also continues to impress.

📰 SPOTLIGHT: Francesco Pinelli (@CePinelli71)

“I wouldn’t be having this good start if it wasn’t for my teammates encouraging me to do the best I can."

🔗 https://t.co/p67HfABE6w#RTown #OHL #Kitchener pic.twitter.com/ukIPYd2Pe8

— Kitchener Rangers (@OHLRangers) October 15, 2019

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QMJHL

Not a lot has changed in a week. Alexis Lafreniere continues to rack up the points (25 points in 10 games) while Dawson Mercer continues to score and is tied for the league lead in goals for 2020 draft eligibles with 8. 

Mavrik Bourque has really picked up his offensive output after starting the season slow. He’s got 8 points in his last 6 games. Meanwhile, Hendrix Lapierre still only has 1 goal (on 26 shots) while Theo Rochette is still out with Mono but is reportedly nearing a return.

A lot has been made of Jeremie Poirier’s strong offensive output so far (10 points in 10 games), but keep in mind that two other 17 yr old defencemen on his team in William Villeneuve & Charlie Desroches, both have 10 points as well. Saint John as a team really struggles defensively, and those 3 are an alarming -30 combined already.

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James Malatesta has more goals than Alexis Lafreniere and Dawson Mercer in one less game played. That’s the kind of start he’s off to (9 goals in 9 games). 

Isaac Belliveau continues to rack up the points especially on the Powerplay where he already has 6 in 10 games. Of course, playing with Alexis Lafreniere certainly has its benefits. 

Everyone is still chasing Zachary L’Heureux who leads all 16 yr old rookies with 14 points in 10 games. He also started his QMJHL career with a 10 game point streak having registered a point in every game this season…..so far. 

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WHL

Connor Zary continues to lead the WHL draft eligibles with 14 points now in only 9 games. As mentioned previously, he is one of the oldest prospects for this year’s NHL draft.

3 members of Team Canada’s squad at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup have really started to get it going offensively. Jake Neighbours, Seth Jarvis & Kaiden Guhle all had good weeks as they climb the leaderboard. Guhle in particular is currently riding a 4 game point streak in which he has 2 goals, 7 points in those 4 games. There’s a lot to like about his game. He’s big, mobile, and strong defensively. The question coming into this year was how high of an offensive ceiling he had. The recent offensive surge is certainly helping his case that he is a solid all round defenceman and a 1st round talent.

Meanwhile, Seth Jarvis along with fellow draft eligible and linemate Simon Knak, have really started to click in Portland. The two have combined for 4 goals and 6 assists in the last 3 games.

Justin Sourdif has cooled after a hot start. He has 2 goals & 2 assists in the last 6 games.

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For the 4th straight week, Ryder Korczak leads in points for 2021 draft eligibles with 12 points in 9 games. However, Cole Sillinger is closing the gap after another solid performance last week where he scored 3 goals & 4 points in 3 games.

Carson Lambos is now 3rd in points with 7 in 9 games and continues to impress with his terrific skating and puck moving ability.

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We will be providing you updates every week so be sure to check back every Monday for updated stats and highlights!