Johnny not on the Spot

Mckeen's Director of Scouting David Burstyn looks at some young Sudbury Wolves including John McFarland who is eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, as well as 1993-born prospects Justin Sefton and Frankie Corrado.

John McFarland (2010), W, C, Sudbury

The Wolves have been desperately underachieving and the play of McFarland in the month of November has not helped .. the 6-foot, 200-pound winger registered a mere goal in nine games and had no assists .. his regressed play is a primary reason why the Wolves find themselves in the basement of the Central division .. McFarland has had a revolving door of linemates and has yet to find chemistry with any, although he did have the best success with O'Dell .. starting to show a little more attention to detail without the puck, he comes back and tries to eliminate his man from the play with a body check but his overall position once he makes a hit is troublesome .. works in spurts throughout the game .. his biggest setback is his lack of hockey sense, as he simply does not know where to go in the offensive zone and does everything based on instinct not sense .. consistently makes poor decisions in terms of positioning, as he stays in front of the net while being heavily covered only to give up his right side on the cycle .. needs to get back to basic, as he wants to do too much and simply is eliminating himself from the play .. his skating and power game is elite but he is not playing with a healthy dose of confidence right now and it is reflective in his play .. not dropping the shoulder when charging the net, as he is easily being stripped off the puck .. showing aggression to compensate for lack of an offensive game but it is simply not his style of game to engage in fights .. McFarland has been at ends with coach Foligno, as the two have yet to work in unison with one another .. McFarland needs to pick up his game before his draft stock drops.

Justin Sefton (2011), D, Sudbury

Recently named to the Team Ontario U17 squad, as he should provide a calming and stabilizing force on the backend in terms of defensive responsibility .. will likely be partnered with Ryan Murphy, as he will take care of the backend duties .. a staunch defender whose position and physical assertion make him useful on the backend .. he is already seeing crunch time play to protect leads and is active on the PK .. he is an accomplished skater with good first-step quickness .. does not get knocked off the puck .. a play in the corner usually results in one of two things: him being too physical that he is on the wrong side of a penalty call or his man is face down on the ice as he comes up with the puck .. his puck skills are improving .. he has yet to exhibit his shot though and does not see much if any PP time .. Sefton plays a game similar to a young Adam Foote, as he is already physically destroying the competition and it will be even scarier when he develops more physically and hits the weights, as he is so naturally strong already.

Frankie Corrado (2011), D, Sudbury

Corrado will be an essential rebuilding block to the backend of the Wolves .. he already provides elements of both offence and defensive awareness in his game .. thrown into the cauldron, he has done an admirable job of keeping up with the pace of the league .. his puck decisions are improving with each passing game, as his confidence continues to grow .. outstanding mobility in all directions which helps him defend .. is not being physically manhandled due to his composure in the defensive zone, however he could stand to be a tad more aggressive in his reads and in his physical game .. Corrado has a nice skill set and is starting to show signs of his creativity with the puck .. his offensive involvement is becoming more present, however he has yet to get on the score sheet.