OHL: Jim Dan-dy

Plymouth Whalers' wingers Dan Collins and James Neal are establishing themselves as darkhorses for the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Also read on for scouting on Vaclav Meidl and John Mitchell.

Dan Collins, RW (2005)

Strong kid gets his way in traffic .. strong legs and tough to knock down .. good top-end speed; respectable overall skater, but first-step quickness could be improved and he got beat to loose pucks a few times .. a hard-working, effective forechecker .. plugs, bangs and hangs around the net looking for rebounds and incoming feeds .. aggressive and in-your-face in traffic; knocks guys off their feet in pursuit of the puck .. not extremely big, but well built and conditioned .. unloads a hard wrister, but missed the net up high a couple of times .. trusted as a winger on the pk and took several faceoffs .. powerful on the puck, has decent vision and shares the puck crisply with his linemates .. can pass and shoot at top speed at a high level .. battling spirit is exceptional .. as the game grows old he only gets better.

James Neal, LW (2005)

Former OPJHL star is a green finesse forward .. makes nice fluid strides and keeps his feet moving .. does not stand still and works conscientiously on the forecheck .. has to get his body involved more at both ends of the ice; still in early stages of OHL seasoning (as he only played a handful of OHL games in 2003-2004) .. smooth moves with the puck, but often away from traffic and could attack the net more consistently .. lower body strength needs to be upgraded over the course of this season .. fires a sharp, quick wrist shot .. sees plays develop at top speed and makes things happen in full motion .. had several in-close scoring opportunities, but failed to convert with his hands .. does not get his nose dirty enough, but finishes checks .. wingspan is only okay .. very raw positionally, but should be given the benefit of the doubt due to his lack of league experience and should develop into a dangerous scoring threat once he makes adjustments.

John Mitchell, C (Toronto)

A compact, thinking man's pivot .. mainstay on the pk .. strong arms, quick wrists; wins faceoffs .. stopped and watched some plays instead of moving his feet .. so-so hands and fanned on several feeds in high-traffic situations .. positionally smart and makes savvy feeds, maintaining a cool decorum .. scored a goal on a strong, sharply released wrister at the right faceoff circle .. made crafty stickhandling moves on the powerplay at the point, faking out an opposing defenseman .. pretty solid, but should be dominating the OHL, which he isn't at the moment.

Vaclav Meidl, C (Nashville)

Does everything but produce at a high level .. aggressive, nasty and strong as a bulldog .. went after two guys on the same shift and knocked both off their feet .. big fella skates with nice fluidity and good quickness .. excellent stickhandler, showed improved offensive drive, but still fails to finish in many fast break opportunities .. an excellent faceoff man .. overwhelms guys along the boards; helmets fly when he throws his body around .. not an elite prospect, but sometimes looks like one.

Cory Tanaka, C (2006)

Small, not yet very effective along the boards, but that does not stop his from trying .. good overall speed, but not an effortless skater .. first few steps need to be quicker .. has a mean, no-nonsense side to his game and battles willingly in traffic.

Ryan McGinnis, D (2005)

Has a quick stick and clears the zone well .. jumps into the rush .. a good straightaway skater, but lack of balance can be exploited in man-on-man situations .. got into a scrum in front of the net .. nasty; loves to drop 'em and throw 'em .. uses his size with authority .. puck skills are mediocre.

Note

Plymouth's 2006 draft-eligible centerman John Armstrong is serving an eight-game suspension for breaking David Clarkson's wrist with a slash on October 9. Armstrong was Plymouth's first round pick in 2004 (13th overall).