Bob McKenzie named his top 30 players for the upcoming draft in a rankings special Tuesday night on TSN. Of the 30 players he named, two currently play in the QMJHL and one is slated to play in the Q next season.
Here are the players named by MacKenzie:
2. Mikhail Grigorenko, F, Quebec Remparts - Grigorenko started the season as a one-dimensional player, and Patrick Roy has turned him into a well rounded player, says MacKenzie. MacKenzie compared Grigorenko to Evgeni Malkin & Pavel Datsyuk. He called him a "200 foot player". He also said some scouts might rather Grigorenko as he's a big center. He noted that Grigorenko hasn't played well since high ankle sprain. He said that if the team with the first overall pick thinks they're close they might take him over Nail Yakupov, because of his two way play.
He also noted that most scouts said they would take Yakupov, but he has talked to some that would rather take Grigorenko. His biggest asset is that he's a big, two-way center, a hot comodity in today's NHL.
24. Martin Frk, F, Halifax. MacKenzie did not speak in depth about Frk, but he has Frk ranked in and around where most have him ranked. No real surprise there.
*25. Stefan Matteau, F, USA. Matteau is not playing in the QMJHL currently, as he is currently with USA Under-18, but he will join the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada next season, where his father is the coach. His ranking is on par with where others have him ranked as well.
jonathan@theqspot.ca
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