OHL: Wolves at the Door

Despite being in last place in the Central division, there is some room for optimism with the Sudbury Wolves as they have already surpassed last seasons point totals. McKeen's correspondent David Burstyn looks at a handful of players on the resurging Sudbury Wolves including John McFarland who is already being considered as a potential first round pick in 2010.

Peter Hermenegildo (2009), D, Sudbury

Leading point producer, including goals on the Sudbury backend .. an offensive catalyst that makes plays with the puck and uses his cannon of a shot wisely .. has already recorded double digit goals (10) playing the QB on the PP .. average stride with minimal speed .. body structure is rather round and he lacks strength, as he is constantly out muscled off the puck .. throws away the puck too easily when pressured, as he simply cannot locate a play .. he can read plays well, however he cannot react quickly enough .. a fixture on the PK, he is agile moving laterally, which helps considering the lack of quality defensemen on this roster .. size is a major area of concern moving forward, as he can't sustain players down low .. offensive-minded with the ability to make a capable first pass but his game has many warts.

Daniel Maggio (2009), D, Sudbury

A midseason injury robbed Maggio from any type of offensive momentum he may have discovered .. known more for his ability to defend, Maggio is a prototypical defensive defenseman whose puck skills and skating simply are not there .. he has regressed this season and thus far has been unable to build on the modest success he had last year .. not used by coach Foligno in any type of offensive situations, his puck and hand skills have eroded as a result .. takes short steps when skating and has good straight ahead speed but simply lacks the agility/speed to move laterally and his reverse movement needs serious attention .. he is slow to make his pivots and watches the play, which cripples his one-on-one play .. he struggles to defend against speed .. despite his one-on-one issues, he reads and understands the play well and positions himself ok .. he doesn't make a good first pass and looks to get rid of the puck quickly, however to his credit he has developed more patience with the puck .. he hits hard and uses his aggression and size to help him down low .. he can jar pucks away from forwards but does not know what to do with the puck once he gets it .. Maggio is a long shot to hear his name called in Montreal.

Sergei Sheleg (2009), D, Sudbury

The 22nd overall selection in the Import draft was playing Division II hockey in Belarus for the Minsk Jr. team .. massive defenseman who stands at 6-foot-5 but has yet to fill out into his spacious frame .. physically underdeveloped and lacks lower body agility .. he looks awkward when he skates but he gets the job accomplished .. struggles with his speed out of the blocks .. has a long languid stride but is not explosive by any means .. slow at moving the puck and does not feel comfortable playing it .. nonetheless, he can make healthy decisions with time and space and coach Foligno has experimented with him on the PP, patrolling the line with his long reach .. plays a more calculated game in terms of his positioning and is considered more of a match up/shut down player .. lacks the skills to be an NHL prospect at this point but will make a good player in Europe in a few seasons once he improves on his overall coordination and speed.

Marcus Foligno (2009), LW, Sudbury

Was a late addition to the Top Prospects game after an injury to Tomas Vincour (Edmonton) opened up a spot for him .. he is not fancy on his skates but does play a power game .. not overly skilled but he does make the best out of his opportunities by his sheer will and determination .. his hands are better and quicker than his feet and he can bury his chances in close .. becoming more aggressive and attacking the boards, using his size and wide base to angle and muscle guys off the puck .. he follows this up by positioning himself to make a play afterwards not just prying the puck or hitting an opponent without purpose .. plays more a dump and chase game, as he lacks the finesse skills .. much like his dad he is very tough and backs away from nothing .. in a short range game he is very effective but once the game opens up he simply can't keep up, which helps to explain his woeful plus/minus totals to this point .. Foligno lacks the hand skills of his father but given the supporting cast around him and his overall maturation, he could become a formidable player at the OHL level and a pro in some capacity.

Akim Aliu (Chi), RW, Sudbury

The saga of Akim Aliu continues with another stop to Sudbury where he had already played a total of 83 games spread over two seasons in 2005-07 .. it is the same story with Aliu as it has always been, a highly skilled forward who is versatile, as he can play forward or defence, can skate and can score .. however, he simply does not think the game and is still immature in his on ice and off ice actions, as witnessed with his unnecessary antics of calling out former teammates and coach Hunter in a recent contest against the Knights .. sensational skater who finds the open man (when he wants too) .. at times, he wants to do it all by himself and doesn't want or choose to see his teammates .. is a physical specimen and literally impossible to contain down low in this league .. guilty of forcing things and making boneheaded plays .. Aliu continues to get chances and whatever bad blood there was with Foligno it appears to have gone away, as he is playing upwards of 25 minutes a game.

Eric O'Dell (Ana), C, Sudbury

A late surge in the second half of the season followed up with a stellar performance at the Under 18's resulted in O'Dell becoming a high second round draft pick .. has become the most consistent forward on the offensive side of the puck .. capable of threading the needle on a pass through a maze of skates or carefully placing a shot by a goalie with a well-timed wristshot .. not physically strong but has uncanny hockey sense, which has allowed him to survive .. desperately needs to add weight to his 6-foot frame .. a savvy playmaker, he manages to always make a play with the puck and successfully push it up .. very skilled with his hands and marries it well with his vision .. sees plays unfold and processes the game at a higher level than many of his linemates .. at times, he can become lazy and not move to passes, as he expects them to come to him .. his defensive play comes into question, as he does not always move his feet and relies on others to make a play in the defensive zone while he watches .. he needs to get more involved in all facets of the game, especially defensively .. offensively, he plays a perimeter game but it suits him well as he does on occasion, come into higher volume areas to make a play .. he is adept at getting into scrums as the third or fourth man and fishes out the puck and more importantly, makes a play once he has the puck in his possession .. at times, his play can be described as self preservation .. O'Dell continues to develop and flourish.

Jake Cardwell (2010), D, Sudbury

Third round selection won a spot in training camp in large part to his play but also due to the fact that second round selection defenseman Nick Quinn opted to go the school route .. has looked confused and lost defensively, as he tends to chase down the puckcarrier and not stay true to his position .. can get wandering and simply does not have the speed at this point to recover .. routinely gets beaten to the outside .. ok skater but not dynamic in any direction or in terms of speed .. likes to jump into the rush but needs to be more aware of the play around him .. Cardwell needs to keep things simple to be effective .. last year he played with a mean streak and was constantly kicked out of contests as a result of his over aggression, a trait he has not displayed to the same degree this year.

John McFarland (2010), RW, C, Sudbury

The accolades have started to pile up for McFarland, as he has already been mentioned as a high draft pick for next season's NHL entry draft .. started slowly with a mere assist in his first seven games but has since found the back of the net with more regularity and is averaging more than a point a game through the first 43 games .. a terror on skates, he establishes great speed and is tremendous at reaching top speed with a few strides .. he is a good up and down skater, his lateral agility is good but not as strong as his straight ahead speed .. he is playing wing even though he is a natural centre .. the move to wing has helped him focus less on defensive assignments, an area where McFarland has struggled this year, as he has the worst plus/minus on the team with a dreadful minus-22 rating .. to his credit, he is getting better but needs to identify his man quicker .. McFarland has also learned to curb his aggression and not take foolish penalties .. what makes McFarland such a prized prospect is his brute strength .. he has a patent move in where he comes out of the corner, shields the puck and blows a shot past a goalie .. his forearms, wrists and upper body strength help him to get his shots off fast and it is that trait that will make him an accomplished goal scorer .. coupled with the fact that he is well balanced and strong on his skates adds to the package .. he generates his power from his hips and has a wide skating base making him that much more powerful of a skater .. led the Under 17 in goal scoring with 9 goals and points with 13 en route to a second consecutive gold medal for Team Ontario .. McFarland needs to play with a playmaking centre to bring out his natural finishing skills .. the combination of O'Dell and McFarland has not quite been explored but could be a successful one .. the future looks very bright for the former Jack Ferguson award winner.