QMJHL: Vincent Priceless

Quebec League goalie Alexandre Vincent is currently among the hottest goalies in the league and one of the more significant risers in the CHL. Chris McCluskey reviews seven draft-eligible prospects from the Chicoutimi Sagueneens including Vincent and Slovak sniper Marek Zagrapan.

Alexandre Vincent, G (2005)

Quickly maturing goalie was passed up in his first year of eligibility for the QMJHL midget draft .. a composed, steadfast netminder .. displays excellent pad movement when down on the ice and superb angle coverage on shots coming from behind both faceoff circles .. one complaint is that he is beatable up close due to a tendency to stay deep in the net and hug the goal line .. all four Halifax goals in a recent goals against Vincent were scored this way, so teams are paying attention .. must play a bit bigger in nets .. very confident; will give you a big five-hole to glare at, but closes it before the puck reaches his grasp .. more of a stand-up style netminder than butterfly .. spends most of his time on his feet, but knows when to go down and use the big frame to his advantage .. quick laterally for a big kid .. maybe the biggest riser over the past several weeks.

Marek Zagrapan, C (2005)

Once all the gushing is out of the way, there will be time for nitpicking and already scouts who are dissecting Zagrapan's game are noticing chinks in the armour .. the skilled finesse forward stands out due to unreal stickhandling skills and lively puck moves .. focused and attentive, but not a dynamic player; he relies more on positional smarts and capitalizing on plays with savvy and deceptiveness .. carries the puck leisurely up the ice with more attention on puck skills than speed, which may catch up to him .. excellent at getting open near the net undetected .. shooting game is undeveloped, lacks quickness and hardness .. displayed admirable defensive awareness skating back into his own zone hard, catching up with the breaking Mooseheads' David Brine and diving to nearly negate a shot on goal.

Francis Verreault-Paul, RW (2005)

Diminutive but intelligent player who makes quick and decisive plays .. intelligent and energetic on the cycle .. has above-average shooting skills from any angle, but would benefit by carrying the puck more and utilizing his speed to a greater degree .. shows giddyup on the forecheck .. ok vision and above-average creativity .. struggles to compete in the defensive end due to strength and size issues .. struggled to clear the puck out of crucial areas.

Romy Elayoubi, RW (2005)

The Sagueneens' coaching staff don't yet seem to trust Elayoubi is key game situations and he's been receiving most of his icetime when his team is down by several goals in the third period .. energy and improvements in work ethic were visible .. not afraid to throw his body around a bit, but lack of size is a drawback and usefulness in that respect is minimal .. doing his best to earn shifts, but venting a lot of frustration .. not quick enough, especially mentally, and behind most guys on the ice.

Stanislav Lascek, C (2005)

Worked on improving his skating during the off-season, but is still sub-par in that regard .. has not showing glowing improvements since last year in most areas .. vision and stickhandling are significant pluses to his game .. a creative passer with good anticipation skills .. lack of strong mobility is preventing him from being considered a good prospect - skates like he's carrying an extra 25-30 pounds.

Travis Coles, D (2005)

Captain of team Atlantic at last year's World U-17 Challenge .. looks more confident and focused on the blueline this year .. Chicoutimi's most improved player from his rookie year, but will not put up good numbers .. plays a stay-at-home style .. an above-average skater who moves well laterally .. earns high marks for a rock-solid positonal game .. does not overcommit .. puck skills are good enough for basic feeds and to stickhandle a few steps.

Nicolas Blanchard, C (2005)

In his first few months in the QMJHL and is clearly in the learning stages .. very raw puck handler .. needs to strengthen his upper body; had the puck easily taken away from him .. struggled to feed the puck to teammates through traffic .. getting enough icetime to improve substantially.