Top Shelf: News from the World of Prospects

The NHL has decided to give everyone a shot at the next wunderkind Sidney Crosby. Not that I disagree - I do believe the NHL is getting it right – but it's pretty tough to stomach the reports of how in need the Leafs and Bruins are of the "Next One".

I for one am not qualified to question a player's decision to leave university and play in the Canadian Hockey League. Personally though, I wouldn't have recommended Chris Bourque's take on why he was leaving Boston University to play in the QMJHL. Suggesting to the Boston Globe that he wasn't a big fan of going to class and that he didn't think it was going to be as hard or as serious in the Q as it was would have been at BU might have been better left unsaid.

Congratulations to the Denver Pioneers for their second straight NCAA Division 1 championship. They turned away a tough North Dakota Fighting Sioux team with strong performances by Freshman Paul Stastny and goaltender Peter Mannino leading them to victory. Mannino is an undrafted, unsigned prospect, but that won't last: he was named the tournament MVP.

It also makes you wonder what is going on in NCAA Division 1 hockey. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association not only produced all four NCAA Frozen Four semi-finalists; it has also produced the last four NCAA champions.

CLASSY GESTURE

Kudos to the Pioneers for wearing North Dakota's injured Robbie Bina's number on their helmets during the game. Bina suffered a broken neck in the WCHA semi-final game, ironically against the same Denver Pioneers when he was hit from behind by Pioneers forward Geoff Paukovich and fell awkwardly into the boards.

It was sure nice to see the turnaround that Igor Grigorenko (Detroit Red Wings 62nd overall 2001) had after he was transferred to Salavat Yulaev of the Russian Elite League. After having a terrible start with Lada Togliatti with no points in 11 games, the skilled Russian put up 11 goals and 7 assists in his last 25 games.

Quietly having a solid rookie pro season for the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs is Montreal Canadiens free agent signee Yann Danis. After a couple of early bumps, Danis has set a franchise record for wins and tied the team record for shutouts. One has to think that the promise of Danis allowed the Canadiens to trade highly touted Mathieu Garon last season.

Team Canada will be without Gilbert Brule at the 2005 IIHF World Under 18 Championships, which will be a big loss. Nagging injuries that Brule endured over the WHL season, including a separated shoulder, are to blame.

STAAL'S PLAY A PLUS

Talk about guys that should be playing in the NHL: Eric Staal (Carolina 2nd overall,2003) leads the AHL in +/- as he skates for the Lowell Loch Monsters. A testament to his development on both sides of the ice, he is averaging over a point-per-game with only a handful of games left in the season and he also leads the league in SHG

Would you have bet me at that start of the season that Evgeny Malkin (Pittsburgh 2nd overall 2004) would outscore Alexander Ovechkin (Washington 1st overall 2004) in the Russian Super League this season? Malkin put up a stellar 32 points against Ovechkin's 27.

On top of that twist of fate, young players and prospects litter the top of the Russian Super League scoring table. Alexei Kaigorodov, Nikolai Zherdev, Alexander Perezhogin, Sergei Zinovjev and Alexander Semin join Malkin and Ovechkin in the Top 50 in scoring.

The top propsect in scoring in the Swedish Elite League is Anaheim seventh rounder Tony Martensson. Martensson has put up solid numbers on a team that hasn't loaded up with out of work NHL players.

Is Jani Rita turning the corner? All reports of his play in the Finnish Elite League indicate that his consistent effort, which sometimes lacked at the AHL level, will help him turn the corner on an NHL career. For whatever reason, the Edmonton Oilers have not given Rita a stretch of games to prove himself. One would think that if we see NHL regulars playing hockey this fall, it is make or break time for the former first rounder.