Tuesday, January 12, 2010

NHL On The Fly Monday Night: Midseason Rankings Edition

The 30-minute special of NHL Network's On The Fly which focused on the 2010 NHL Draft and the Central Scouting Service's midseason rankings was worth watching last night.

CSS Chief E.J. McGuire didn't have a lot of time to talk about the prospects, and the obvious focus was on the Dukes of Windsor: Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler, who could become the first teammates to go 1-2 in draft history come June in L.A.

The highlight films of the featured players like Hall, Fowler, Tyler Seguin, Mikael Granlund, Vladimir Tarasenko, John McFarland, etc. was a nice primer for the kinds of things these kids are capable of, but any hardcore draft fan was left wanting more.

There was a live interview with Hall and Fowler together in Windsor, and I plan on lining the two of them up myself soon. They came off extremely well, and I've heard the same kinds of things from several scouts about them: they are quality people and teammates, to say nothing of their talent and upside.

Pierre McGuire was also on to provide his analysis and commentary, and he's firmly behind Hall as the top pick for this draft.

All in all- this is great programming for the NHL Network. It doesn't always have to be all NHL all the time. These kids are the league's future, and we're going to see more focus and coverage of the draft as the season progresses and we get closer to June.

Speaking of coverage, next week, the CHL Top Prospects Game will be on the Network live from Windsor. That's a must-watch for anyone reading this blog who has access to NHL Network. If you want to catch a quick glimpse of the who's who of this draft class playing against one another in what is essentially a fast-paced All-Star Game, then this is just what the doctor ordered. It used to be that I would get VHS tapes of the game from my friends in Canada every year and would have to wait 1-2 weeks before I could watch it. Being able to catch it live is so much better!

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