The CHL has announced the official rosters for Team Red & Team White at the CHL Top Prospects game in Moncton, N.B.
With the CHL Top Prospects game on the horizon, the CHL has officially released it's two rosters for Team Red & Team White.
Here are the rosters, and a breakdown of OHL duos/trios that we could see in the game:
On Team Red there are eight OHL players; Cole Beaudoin (BAR), Ethan Procyszyn (NB), Marek Vanacker (BFD), Ben Danford (OSH), Sam Dickinson (LDN), Zayne Parekh (SAG), & Ryerson Leenders (MIS).
The Power Forwards
Coincidentally, all three OHL forwards on this roster are big, strong players who can play with an edge when they want to. Beaudoin is a 6-foot-2 centre with high-end vision and uses his strength to maintain control and gain an edge.
Procyszyn is also a 6-foot-2 winger who's very strong on the puck, along the boards, and possesses high-end off-puck awareness.
Vanacker is the most exciting offensively out of the three, he works hard around the net, has slick hands down low, and makes a lot of plays below the goal line. But Vanacker is not afraid to play with an edge either.
For the Top Prospects Game, I can see these three being on three separate lines given their strength, abilities around the net, and being difficult to play against. These types of players have become a rarity in eighteen-year-old CHL prospects.
Pairing Up the Two Best Defencemen in the Draft
Two of the top defencemen in the entire draft are on Team Red — Sam Dickinson & Zayne Parekh. Seeing these two on a pair together could be electric. Dickinson's poise, smarts, and positioning could balance out Parekh's creativity and offensive-riskiness quite well.
Not only would this be exciting for fans, it could be helpful for scouts in the audience as well. Dickinson and Parekh both project as top pair defenders, but they serve different roles and need certain player-types to balance them out.
Dickinson needs a speedy puck carrier on the other side of the ice to balance out his more calculated and patient game. This is the opposite for Parekh, who needs someone who can lock down the defensive zone when necessary.
Team White is cluttered with OHLers. The eleven are: Gabriel Frasca (KGN), Liam Greentree (WSR), Jett Luchanko (GUE), Luke Misa (MIS), Sam O'Reilly (LDN), Beckett Sennecke (OSH), Kieron Walton (SBY), Lukas Fischer (SAR), Luca Marrelli (OSH), Henry Mews (OTT), Carter George (OS).
The Line of Speed
Luke Misa, Jett Luchanko, and Liam Greentree are three players who can create a lot of offence, but more importantly they create with loads of speed. This would be a fun line combination to see at the Top Prospects Game, which brings lots of speed and high energy.
Misa and Luchanko are smaller players with high motors and the ability to consistently beat opponents with their speed and shiftiness. With Greentree, he is quick, but it is his ability to change pace and quick decision making that makes his game dangerous.
Seeing these three on a line together would not only be exciting, but it would be a great test for their opponents to defend against high speed — which all players will face at the NHL level.
The CHL Top Prospects Game is on Wednesday, January 24th at 7:00pm EST.