One of the storylines from the 2012 NHL draft was the number of players taken who had already been passed over once or twice. The trend was led by Tanner Pearson, taken by the Los Angeles Kings with the last pick of Round 1.
Pearson was snubbed twice before the Kings nabbed him. In 2010-11, the six-foot, 192-pounder scored only 15 goals and 42 points in 66 games – but in the season he finally was drafted, Pearson broke out with 37 goals and 91 points.
Passed-over players are very rarely taken in the first round of a draft and the fact it happened last season reflected on what was regarded as a thin talent pool. But this season, J.C. Lipon of the Kamloops Blazers is turning our heads. Not that we think he’ll go in Round 1, but he’s sure making a case for himself to be drafted this year after being passed over twice.
At six-foot, 181-pounds, Lipon is about the same size as Pearson and his 19 goals and 65 points last season are relatively close to Pearson’s pre-spike totals as well. And Lipon doesn’t have the benefit of playing with a top prospect as Pearson did with Mark Scheifele – the current Western League scoring leader is on a line with Canadiens third-rounder Tim Bozon and Avalanche seventh-rounder Colin Smith, though prolific WHL scorers in their own right.
It is highly unlikely Lipon rises as far as Pearson did, but if he keeps up his point totals, he’ll be worth another look.
Here are this week’s rankings, based off the weekly list distributed by the CHL.