Year end notes

It's the last day of 2012 and that means the WHL trade deadline is less than two weeks away. In past year we've already seen some major deals made by this point after the Christmas trade freeze lifts. None so far this year but there will certainly be some action in the next 11 days.

To that end, today I have updated the rosters and statistical roster breakdowns here on the blog as the trade deadline approaches, in case you want to see where your team stacks up now against others in the league in average height, weight, age, etc.

And sometime in the next day or two, I'll post a little look at what draft picks each team has remaining in the 2013 and 2014 bantam drafts, so fans will have a little idea of what each team has to play with when it comes to dealing draft picks.

And now, wrapping up some loose ends here.....a lot of this stuff you probably knew already, but....

Two players retired from the WHL this past week, 19 year old goaltender Liam Liston of the Vancouver Giants and overage defenceman Alex Theriau of the Regina Pats.

Theriau's decision is injury-related as he aggravated an existing hip injury and plans to take the rest of the year off to rest it in hopes of playing CIS hockey next season. The Pats had four overagers and would have had to trade or release one in the next 11 days anyway, so Theriau's retirement saves them any work there.

Liston is a bit of a surprise and a disappointing end to a once-promising career. He broke into the league in 2010-11 by winning the Brandon #1 goaltending job as a 17 year old rookie, but lost the spot to Corbin Boes in early in 11-12, was traded to Lethbridge and his career went on the decline over the last 15 months, culminating in his decision last week. The .836 save percentage this year wasn't providing the kind of goaltending the Giants undoubtedly hoped for from a 19 year old....not when the Giants had a 16 year old backup with a .901 number behind the same defence.

Another player gone from the WHL this week is sophomore 19 year old import defenceman Albin Blomqvist, who has shut his season down and returned to Sweden for the rest of the year to recover from a concussion. Blomqvist is unlikely to return as an overage import in 2013-14 so we've probably seen the last of him in the WHL after a season and a half.

In another departure, Brandon defenceman Rene Hunter did not return to the Wheat Kings after the Christmas break. Hunter missed time earlier this year as well for person reasons and it appears his decision to stay home is related to that.

Brandon did get an unexpected bonus though as the Calgary Flames assigned 20 year old forward Michael Ferland back to the Wheat Kings on December 28th. Ferland scored 47 goals for the Wheaties last year as a 19 year old so this is a huge, huge addition for them - and an opportunity to perhaps flip Ferland to a contender for a pretty haul of picks and prospects. Ferland is probably one of the top combinations of skill and toughness in the WHL this year and so many teams would probably like to get their hands on him for a playoff run.

And last but definitely not least, two players have requested trades and did not return to their teams from the Christmas break as a result: 18 year old forward Jayden Hart of Medicine Hat and, most significantly, 17 year old forward Alex Forsberg of Prince George. Forsberg was the #1 overall pick in the 2010 WHL bantam draft so his decision to leave the Cougars is a blow to that team. It's also worth noting that during the summer Forsberg's older brother Jesse - the Cougars' team captain at the time - requested a trade from the Cougars as well and was subsequently traded to Seattle.

Is this just one family being unhappy with the Cougars, or a symptom of bigger problems in the organization?

Look for Prince George to trade Forsberg by the deadline, I would think - the return for him would be significant enough that they probably don't want to wait until next year to resolve the problem. As for Hart, he's a little bit less of a hot-ticket item and while I think he'll be moved by the deadline as well, it wouldn't be as much of a surprise to see the Tigers not find a deal to their liking and decide to see what the summer will bring there.

Macs midget tournament rosters

The Macs AAA midget hockey tournament people today released their list of teams that will be playing in this year's tournament, which runs (as always) from December 26 to New Year's Day in Calgary. This is one of the biggest and most famous AAA midget tournaments in the world and is always a highlight of the midget hockey season.

Many players from this year's tournament will be in the WHL next year (to see last year's Macs lineup and count the current WHLers listed, here's the link). If you're interested in following the tournament (either live or on their website, www.macstournament.ab.ca), here is the list of WHL prospects who will be playing in this year's tournament:

Alaska Jr. Aces:
Lane Bauer, F-96 - Edmonton (listed player)

Battlefords Stars:
Spencer Bast, F-97 - Kamloops (listed player)
Ashton Clark, F-96 - Seattle (listed player)
Jaiden Focht, D-96 - Kamloops (listed player)

Calgary Buffaloes:
Brad Forrest, D-97 - Medicine Hat (2012 8th rd bantam pick)
Adin Hill, G-96 - Portland (listed player)
Nick Merkley, F-97 - Kelowna (2012 1st rd bantam pick)
Alex Mowbray, F-96 - Medicine Hat (2011 4th rd bantam pick)
Braylon Shmyr, F-97 - Brandon (2012 1st rd bantam pick)
Matthew Sozanski, D-96 - Spokane (listed player)
Jack Thomas, D-96 - Kootenay (2011 12th rd bantam pick)
Earl Webb, F-96 - Red Deer (2011 7th rd bantam pick)
Landon Welykholowa, F-96 - Prince Albert (2011 3rd rd bantam pick)
Keelan Williams, G-96 - Medicine Hat (listed player)

Calgary Flames:
Hudson Elynuik, F-97 - Kootenay (2012 3rd rd bantam pick)
Riley Morris, G-97 - Medicine Hat (2012 7th rd bantam pick)
Kurtis Rutledge, D-97 - Tri-City (2012 8th rd bantam pick)

Calgary Northstars:
Mathew Alfaro, F-96 - Kootenay (listed player)
Eric Krienke, F-96 - Kamloops (2011 9th rd bantam pick)
Derek Mazil, G-96 - Edmonton (2011 4th rd bantam pick)
Kyler Nachtigall, F-96 - Kamloops (2011 8th rd bantam pick)
Austin Strand, D-97 - Red Deer (2012 3rd rd bantam pick)
Dominic Thom, D-96 - Brandon (2011 9th rd bantam pick)
Austin Wagner, F-97 - Regina (2012 5th rd bantam pick)
Jordan Xavier, F-97 - Medicine Hat (2012 5th rd bantam pick)

Calgary Royals:
Corey Dambrauskas, D-96 - Spokane (2011 4th rd bantam pick)
Kelton Driedger, F-97 - Portland (listed player)
Ryan Ferguson, G-95 - Lethbridge (2010 4th rd bantam pick)
Matthew Gelinas, F-95 - Tri-City (listed player)
Maxime Lajoie, D-97 - Swift Current (2012 5th rd bantam pick)
Reid Nemeth, F-96 - Lethbridge (2011 9th rd bantam pick)
Greydon Robinson, D-96 - Lethbridge (listed player)

Cariboo Cougars:
Liam Blackburn, F-96 - Victoria (listed player)
Braiden Epp, F-96 - Vancouver (listed player)
Brad Morrison, F-97 - Prince George (2012 1st rd bantam pick)
Stephen Penner, D-95 - Prince Albert (listed player)
Tre Potskin, F-95 - Everett (listed player)

Edmonton SSAC:
Jake Debrusk, F-96 - Swift Current (2011 7th rd bantam pick)
Erik Donald, D-96 - Regina (2011 6th rd bantam pick)
Giorgio Estephan, F-97 - Lethbridge (2012 1st rd bantam pick)
 * Jordan Papirny, G-96 - Brandon (2011 1st rd bantam pick)
Evan Polei, F-96 - Saskatoon (2011 11th rd bantam pick)
Riley Simpson, F-96 - Edmonton (2011 6th rd bantam pick)
Ben Sowa, D-96 - Prince George (2011 6th rd bantam pick)

* Papirny will not play at the Macs as he will be with Team Pacific at the World U-17 Challenge

Greater Vancouver Canadians:
Austin Adamson, F-96 - Saskatoon (listed player)
Nathan Alalouf, G-96 - Saskatoon (listed player)
Taz Burman, G-97 - Red Deer (2012 2nd rd bantam pick)
Shaun Dosanjh, D-96 - Vancouver (2011 3rd rd bantam pick)
Glenn Gawdin, F-97 - Swift Current (2012 1st rd bantam pick)
Adam Musil, F-97 - Red Deer (2012 1st rd bantam pick)
Ty Schultz, D-97 - Medicine Hat (2012 1st rd bantam pick)
Mitchell Walter, F-96 - Edmonton (2011 2nd rd bantam pick)
Phoenix Worth, D-96 - Lethbridge (2011 10th rd bantam pick)

Leduc Oil Kings:
Joey Desrosiers, G-96 - Lethbridge (listed player)
Matt Fonteyne, F-97 - Everett (2012 3rd rd bantam pick)
Liam Gregor, F-96 - Brandon (2011 10th rd bantam pick)
Braden Jakubowski, F-96 - Kootenay (2011 10th rd bantam pick)
Nolan Kruizenga, G-96 - Seattle (2011 7th rd bantam pick)
Curtis Miske, F-97 - Spokane (2012 2nd rd bantam pick)
Macklin Pichonsky, D-95 - Saskatoon (listed player)
Jaden Sveinson, F-96 - Moose Jaw (2011 6th rd bantam pick)
Dallas Valentine, D-96 - Moose Jaw (listed player)

Lethbridge Pronghorns:
Brendon Benson, F-96 - Victoria (2011 7th rd bantam pick)
Landon Gross, F-96 - Vancouver (listed player)
Jonathan Hogue, G-96 - Lethbridge (2011 8th rd bantam pick)
Larime Kostelansky, F-97 - Kamloops (2012 10th rd bantam pick)

Lloydminster Bobcats:
Tyler Busch, F-96 - Prince George (2011 8th rd bantam pick)
James Hilsendager, D-97 - Regina (2012 9th rd bantam pick)
Connor James, D-96 - Everett (listed player)
Andrew Koep, F-97 - Edmonton (2012 2nd rd bantam pick)
Bobby McMann, F-96 - Prince Albert (listed player)
Cole Nicholson, D-95 - Portland (listed player)

Moose Jaw Generals:
Dakota Boutin, F-97 - Brandon (2012 3rd rd bantam pick)
Rykr Cole, F-97 - Regina (2012 3rd rd bantam pick)
Shane Collins, D-97 - Prince George (2012 3rd rd bantam pick)
Ben Duppereault, F-96 - Moose Jaw (2011 8th rd bantam pick)
 * Rhett Gardner, F-96 - Spokane (2011 2nd rd bantam pick)
Regan Nagy, F-97 - Victoria (2012 2nd rd bantam pick)
Grant Naherniak, G-96 - Red Deer (2011 5th rd bantam pick)
Donavon Neuls, F-97 - Seattle (2012 8th rd bantam pick)
Ben Verrall, D-96 - Prince Albert (listed player)

* Gardner will not play at the Macs as he will be with Team Western at the World U-17 Challenge

Okanagan (Kelowna) Rockets:
Josh Blanchard, F-96 - Everett (listed player)
Liam Finlay, F-97 - Regina (listed player)
Joe Gatenby, D-97 - Kelowna (2012 2nd rd bantam pick)
Justin Marreck, F-96 - Tri-City (listed player)
Michael McEachern, D-96 - Saskatoon (listed player)
Brett Mennear, F-96 - Portland (listed player)
Graham Millar, F-96 - Saskatoon (listed player)
Jesse Mills, D-97 - Edmonton (2012 4th rd bantam pick)

Prince Albert Mintos:
Tanner Burgardt, G-95 - Regina (2010 6th rd bantam pick)
Ryan Duret, F-96 - Calgary (2011 6th rd bantam pick)
Jordan Harris, D-96 - Prince George (2011 1st rd bantam pick)
Lochlan Morrison, D-97 - Calgary (2012 7th rd bantam pick)
Adam Osczeski, F-95 - Prince Albert (listed player)
Zac Paziuk, F-97 - Kootenay (2012 10th rd bantam pick)
Bryton Sayers, D-96 - Lethbridge (2011 3rd rd bantam pick)
Kody White, F-97 - Lethbridge (2012 11th rd bantam pick)
Lance Yaremchuk, F-96 - Prince Albert (2011 6th rd bantam pick)
Cody Young, F-96 - Saskatoon (2011 12th rd bantam pick)

Red Deer Optimist Chiefs:
Gabe Bast, D-96 - Medicine Hat (listed player)
Colton Bobyk, D-96 - Spokane (2011 10th rd bantam pick)
Kaleb Denham, D-96 - Red Deer (trade with Tri-Cities)
Logan Hermus, D-96 - Moose Jaw (2011 4th rd bantam pick)
Jayden Sittler, G-96 - Kootenay (listed player)
Jordan Steenbergen, D-96 - Kootenay (2011 3rd rd bantam pick)
Chase Thudium, F-96 - Red Deer (2011 8th rd bantam pick)
Matt Zentner, G-95 - Prince Albert (2010 10th rd bantam pick)

Saskatoon Blazers:
Carter Amson, F-96 - Lethbridge (2011 2nd rd bantam pick)
Brad Bigsby, D-97 - Edmonton (2012 10th rd bantam pick)
Robert Cameron, D-95 - Edmonton (2010 6th rd bantam pick)
Connor Hobbs, D-97 - Prince Albert (2012 4th rd bantam pick)
Tyler Kreklewich, F-97 - Seattle (2012 9th rd bantam pick)
Chase Patterson, D-97 - Edmonton (2012 5th rd bantam pick)
Lane Pederson, F-97 - Seattle (2012 5th rd bantam pick)
Dustin Perrillat, D-97 - Moose Jaw (2012 4th rd bantam pick)
Evan Weninger, G-96 - Kelowna (listed player)

Saskatoon Contacts:
Terrell Draude, F-97 - Calgary (2012 2nd rd bantam pick)
Evan Fiala, D-97 - Spokane (2012 1st rd bantam pick)
Brock Hamm, G-97 - Medicine Hat (listed player)
Cameron Hebig, F-97 - Saskatoon (2012 3rd rd bantam pick)
Ross Hnidy, D-96 - Saskatoon (2011 6th rd bantam pick)
Vukie Mpofu, D-96 - Red Deer (2011 4th rd bantam pick)
Tate Olson, D-97 - Prince George (2012 2nd rd bantam pick)
 * Kolten Olynek, F-96 - Lethbridge (2011 2nd rd bantam pick)
 * Rylan Parenteau, G-96 - Prince Albert (2011 3rd rd bantam pick)
Jesse Shynkaruk, F-96 - Kamloops (2011 7th rd bantam pick)
Wyatt Sloboshan, F-97 - Swift Current (2012 3rd rd bantam pick)
Rod Southam, F-96 - Tri-City (listed player)
Brayden Uhrich, F-97 - Medicine Hat (2012 11th rd bantam pick)

* Olynek and Parenteau will not play at the Macs as they will both be with Team Western at the World U-17 Challenge

St. Albert Raiders:
Tyler Dea, D-95 - Prince Albert (2010 6th rd bantam pick)
Matteo Gennaro, F-97 - Prince Albert (2012 2nd rd bantam pick)
Zach Gonek, D-96 - Swift Current (2011 1st rd bantam pick)
Patrick Gora, G-96 - Regina (2011 9th rd bantam pick)
Nikolas Koberstein, D-96 - Regina (2011 7th rd bantam pick)
Jake Kohlhauser, D-96 - Vancouver (2011 2nd rd bantam pick)
Paul Lovsin, F-96 - Spokane (listed player)
Tyler Mrkonjic, F-96 - Tri-City (2011 4th rd bantam pick)

Tisdale Trojans:
Nik Amundrud, G-97 - Everett (2012 3rd rd bantam pick)
Brandon Arnold, F-97 - Swift Current (2012 7th rd bantam pick)
Tristan Elder, F-97 - Brandon (2012 6th rd bantam pick)
Bryce Fiske, D-97 - Tri-City (2012 10th rd bantam pick)
Matt Foster, D-95 - Calgary (listed player)
Drew Litwin, F-97 - Regina (2012 11th rd bantam pick)
Brennan Riddle, D-97 - Calgary (2012 1st rd bantam pick)
Jordan Ross, F-96 - Seattle (2011 9th rd bantam pick)

UFA (Strathmore) Bisons:
Mackenzie Bauer, F-96 - Brandon (2011 8th rd bantam pick)
Markson Bechtold, F-96 - Spokane (2011 3rd rd bantam pick)
Colby Chartier, F-96 - Lethbridge (2011 8th rd bantam pick)
Jake Dube, D-96 - Kootenay (2011 5th rd bantam pick)
Matthew Forchuk, F-96 - Tri-City (2011 11th rd bantam pick)
Mason McCarty, F-97 - Red Deer (2012 4th rd bantam pick)
Mark Nerland, D-96 - Victoria (listed player)
Brady Reagan, D-97 - Regina (2012 2nd rd bantam pick)

Vancouver Northwest Giants:
Brandon Delgrosso, F-96 - Moose Jaw (2011 9th rd bantam pick)
Bo Didur, G-97 - Medicine Hat (listed player)
Jansen Harkins, F-97 - Prince George (2012 1st rd bantam pick)
Domenic Masellis, D-97 - Swift Current (2012 3rd rd bantam pick)

Winnipeg Wild:
Jordan Bochinski, F-96 - Brandon (listed player)
Evan Johnson, G-96 - Calgary (listed player)
Jackson Keane, F-97 - Swift Current (2012 4th rd bantam pick)
Ryan Pruden, F-96 - Saskatoon (2011 13th rd bantam pick)
Mark Taraschuk, D-97 - Brandon (2012 6th rd bantam pick)

Every team in the WHL has at least 3 players in this year's tournament and some have as many as 12, which is a pretty substantial portion of the 15 & 16 year old players on some teams' protected lists. If you have a 50 player list, 25 of those are currently your WHL roster, and if 12 of the remaining 25 are playing in this tournament....it's worth watching.

9 of the 22 first round picks in the 2012 WHL bantam draft are playing, as well as 9 of the 2nd rounders and 10 of the third rounders. From the 2011 bantam draft, there's 2 first rounders, 2 second rounders, and 5 third rounders, which is a fair number considering that a lot of 1st-2nd-3rd round picks from 2011 are in the WHL as 16 year olds right now.

Warriors & Blazers deal

Another blockbuster trade this morning, as Kamloops strengthens their blueline with a deal with Moose Jaw.

The Warriors send 19 year old defenceman Joel Edmundson and a 2015 4th round bantam pick to the Blazers, and in return they get 18 year old defenceman Tyler Bell, 15 year old forward prospect Jayden Halbgewachs (who was Kamloops' 1st round pick, 19th overall, in the 2012 bantam draft) and Kamloops' 2015 first round bantam pick.

So, Kamloops gives up an 18 year old defenceman plus two first round bantam picks in exchange for Edmundson and a 4th round pick. Very, very high price indeed, similar to the prices paid for David Musil and Nathan Burns earlier this season.

If you are a team like Portland (.839), Spokane (.741), Calgary (.732), Prince Albert (.677), Kelowna (.655) - all teams leading their divisions and/or surging up the standings lately, and who have not yet swung high-priced deals to strengthen their teams like Edmonton (Musil), Saskatoon (Burns) and now Kamloops (Edmundson) have, then I guess you have a lot to think about in the next five weeks to the trade deadline, about what your chances of making a long playoff run are and whether you're prepared to pay these kind of prices to bolster those chances.

And we can't forget Saskatoon, who are improving after a slow start but are still below .500. As Memorial Cup hosts, there is a tremendous amount of pressure for them to have a team which can contend with the OHL, QMJHL, WHL champs at that tournament, which means they need their team to measure up to the top WHL clubs like Kamloops, Edmonton, Portland, Calgary, etc. They're the one team that more or less "has" to make some deals, even at these prices.

Clearly, the trade deadline is not going to be fit for the squeamish this year.

One last note about today's deal - I found it interesting that the first round pick that was traded was not the 2013 pick or the 2014 pick (both of which Kamloops has to offer), but the 2015 pick. Why would Moose Jaw be content to wait two and a half years to use that pick, and probably five years to see any significant impact on the ice from whatever player they select with it?

The most likely answer IMO would be that Moose Jaw is prepared to wait for Kamloops to enter the "down" portion of the junior hockey cycle, so that the first round pick may end up being in the upper part of the round. Kamloops is currently a very strong team and should have a number of players back again next year too so they might not bottom out right away in 2013-14. Wait one more year after that and hope Kamloops struggles?

Another possibility is that Moose Jaw may think they can be Memorial Cup contenders in 2014-15 and can use that extra pick as trade bait to bolster their own team for a Cup run that year.

Trades and retirement

Three bits of WHL news this afternoon:

 - Saskatoon traded 17 year old defenceman Brett Lernout to Swift Current for a 2013 4th round bantam pick

 - Prince Albert traded 18 year old defenceman Shayne Gwinner (who had been sent home a while ago to await a trade) to Saskatoon for a 2014 5th round bantam pick

 - 19 year old Seattle forward Tyler Alos has retired due to injury

The first two trades both involve the Blades and basically amount to them getting one year older at one "D" spot and swapping a 5th round pick for a 4th round pick in the process. You have to think Gwinner is feeling like he hit the jackpot right now - from unwanted and sent home by Prince Albert to landing with the Memorial Cup hosts.

One note about the Blades pick situation - in the 2014 draft they have now traded their 1st (Nathan Burns deal), 3rd (Adam Kambeitz deal), 5th (Gwinner), and 7th (Logan Harland) round picks, leaving them with only 2nd, 4th, and 6th round picks in the first 7 rounds of that draft. No doubt they will want to recoup some of those picks at some point, perhaps next year when they'll have an abundance of overagers to deal off around the league.

For the 2013 draft, the Blades still have their own 1st, 2nd, and 5th through 10th round picks, plus two 4th rounders they have acquired, Vancouver's and now Swift Current's. So except for the missing 3rd rounder (partially offset by having an extra 4th rounder), they still have a full slate of picks in the 2013 draft yet to use if they plan to make any trades in the next five weeks.

Canadian roster named

Hockey Canada named the 37 players invited to the World Junior try out camp this morning. You can find the full roster here.

Of the 37 invitees, there are 11 WHLers plus one WHL alumnus. Those 12 players make up 1 of 4 goaltenders invited, 5 of 12 defencemen, and 6 of 21 forwards.

In net, only four goalies invited means three of them are going to make the team, there's only going to be one cut. Three of the invitees here are 19 and one 18 year old so if the team wants to be forward-looking then I would expect Jake Paterson (the 18 year old) to make the team for sure since he can play again next year. Even if he's only the third goalie this year, he can soak up the experience. If you put Paterson on the team, plus most people seem to think Malcolm Subban is a lock for the team as well, then that means that the WHL's one goalie in camp, the Edmonton Oil Kings' Laurent Brossoit, is in a battle with OHL Owen Sound goalie Jordan Binnington for the remaining spot.

On defence, once you assure spots to the two returning defencemen (the OHL's Dougie Hamilton and Scott Harrington), there are 10 players - including the five WHLers - competing for 5 spots. Of the WHL guys, Morgan Rielly should be considered a shoo-in for a spot; there may not be a better defenceman in the CHL this year than Rielly. He and Hamilton would look pretty good on the top pair and QB'ing the powerplay.

Wotherspoon and Reinhart bring more of a defence-first approach to the team and while I'm not an expert on the OHL or QMJHL players invited, their point totals would seem to indicate that many of them are not in that category. Returnee Harrington is going to be one of Canada's shutdown defence pair (as he was last year) and Wotherspoon and Reinhart could be contenders to join him on that pair.

Dumba is a versatile player who can play a lot of roles - I can see him as the 7th defenceman who can jump up and play forward in the event of injury problems up front, for example. Dumba has been troubled with undisciplined play sometimes in the past (though he seems to have cleaned that up a bit this year) which cannot surface in World Junior games, so the coaching staff will have to be confident that he can keep it clean if he's going to make the team.

Pouliot I think might be a good 2nd pair guy, an all-around guy who can work on the 2nd PP unit and be responsible in his own end as well. I get the feeling though that there's a lot of competition in this camp amongst guys who are like that, so he might have his work cut out for him to get on the team.

Up front....the only WHL guy I'm totally confident about is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and he's the WHL alumnus in the group, not even an active WHL player right now. He is a no-brainer as the #1 center and go-to offensive guy on Canada; I believe he'll be the first player at the tournament in a long long time who has a full season in the NHL under his belt and his .85 PPG in the NHL last year at age 18 indicates he SHOULD dominate this tournament offensively.

Mark McNeill and Colton Sissons should be very good bets for the WHL guys up front, they will fit in very nicely on the 3rd/4th lines, facing opponents' top lines and killing penalties, providing energy, etc. There's competition for those jobs but apart from Boone Jenner there are no returning players slotted to the 3rd/4th lines so there's probably six jobs open (counting the 13th forward) so their chances are very good IMO.

The other WHL forwards - Lipon, Rattie, and Shinkaruk - I see as predominantly offensive guys, they don't really have the size or temperament to be bang-and-crash style players and so I think they need to be in the top six forwards to be on the team. And there's a lot of competition there - besides Nugent-Hopkins, there are returnees Huberdeau, Scheifele and Strome claiming spots in the top six, which means there's two spots available and probably 6-10 players in the running for them. I like Rattie's chances best of the three of them but would not be surprised at all to see none of them make it.