It appears as though the WHL may have a new top prospect.
The Canadian Hockey League’s Top Prospects Game occurred last Wednesday in Edmonton, Alberta, and Kelowna Rockets defenseman Luke Schenn emerged as possibly the best WHL player among those eligible for this year’s NHL draft.
The consensus for much of the season has been that Everett right wing Kyle Beach is the top draft prospect from the WHL this season. Beach, last year’s WHL Rookie of the Year and the Tips’ top offensive player during the first half of the season, was the top-ranked WHL player (fourth overall) in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s mid-term rankings.
However, Schenn’s stock has been rising. He was a key member of Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the World Junior Hockey Championships, then was arguably the most impressive player at the Top Prospects Game, scoring a goal in Team White’s 8-4 victory over Team Red.
In the most recent McKeen’s Hockey rankings for this year’s draft, Schenn moved up to second overall, with Beach clocking in at No. 7, second among WHLers.
“I thought he was the best player on the ice, at least the best defensive player,” Rockets general manager Bruce Hamilton, who attended the Top Prospects Game, told the Kelowna Capital News. “He set the tone for the game early with a couple of good hits and just played within his limitations. I think the scouts saw more of what they knew already about Luke.”
Said Schenn: “You know everyone is watching the game and all the guys that are there want to compete and show what they can do. It was good to be part of that.”
Oddly enough, Schenn and Beach were schoolmates for a year. When Schenn was a 16-year-old rookie in 2005-06 and Beach, a Kelowna native, was a 15-year-old prospect, they attended the same high school in Kelowna.
Around the WHL: Spokane and Tri-City became the first teams to book spots in the playoffs. Both teams have at least 42 more points than Prince George, the ninth-place team in the Western Conference, and the Cougars have just 21 games remaining. … Portland’s Colin Reddin finally made his WHL debut. The 17-year-old forward finally received his release from USA Hockey thanks to what team president Jack Donovan described as an “unprecedented” fee paid by the Winter Hawks. … The Vancouver Giants, having found success plumbing the British Columbia Hockey League for forward help this season (Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Garry Nunn), gave tryouts to another pair of BCHL forwards, Adam Basford and Travis Gorman. … Prince Albert prodigal son Cole Penner will rejoin the Raiders. The explosive 16-year-old forward, Prince Albert’s first-round pick in the 2006 bantam draft, left the team in training camp. However, after churning through one Junior A team and two midget teams, he’s expected to rejoin the Raiders next week. … WHL referees Trevor Hrycuik and Graham Skilliter had a harrowing experience in Prince George when, before the Cougars’ game Thursday against Everett, they were in a restaurant when a fatal shooting took place in the parking lot.
League leaders: Points — Colin Long (Kelowna) 79; goals — Colton Yellow Horn (Tri-City) 35; assists — Long 56; penalty minutes — Scott Gabriel (Portland) 177; wins — Tyson Sexsmith (Vancouver), Chet Pickard (Tri-City) 30; goals against average — Sexsmith 1.97; save percentage — Jacob DeSerres (Seattle) .923.
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