WHL: Hurricane Zach

McKeen's correspondent Randy Gorman continues his WHL tour with notes on the 2008 NHL Entry Draft prospects from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Hurricanes have two standout prospects in their lineup, as center Zach Boychuk and defenseman Luca Sbisa are ranked No. 21 and No. 38 respectively on McKeen's Midterm Rankings.

Zach Boychuk (2008), C, Lethbridge Hurricanes

Boychuk is an above average skater with great speed and agility .. an offensively gifted player, Boychuk is very unselfish with the puck, as he is just as good a scorer as he is a playmaker .. he keeps his feet moving and creates plays when there seems to be nowhere to go with the puck .. a good stickhandler with nifty moves and a passer who creates chances on the rush and makes tape-to-tape passes .. he has a quick release on his shot even on the fly or setting up for the one-timer .. he also has great velocity and accuracy on his shot .. at 5-foot-9, and 176 pounds, Boychuk is very solid for his size and battles hard and has good offensive instincts like a sniper .. plays the game with good hockey sense, likes to go for the rebound in front of the net, and looks to his d-men at the point for tip-ins, as he keeps his stick low to the ice for redirections .. he played in the recent Canada-Russia super series and World junior squad and played key roles for coaches Brent Sutter and Craig Hartsburg respectfully and didn't bulk at seeing some reduced icetime during the latter part of the tournament showing that's he's a real team player .. even with his size, he is a battler with a lot of grit .. Boychuk challenges defenders and wants to be a leader and some scouts see a little bit of NHLer Joe Sakic in him .. he goes to the front of the net and battles opposing d-men for position with his stick down looking for tip-ins .. he is projected to be a first round draft pick in this year's draft and will be an offensive threat at the next level .. he has to work on his defensive game, in particular, picking up his check without the puck, but he looks to have the goods to potentially have a promising career.

Luca Sbisa (2008), D, Lethbridge Hurricanes

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Sbisa is developing into a steady defenseman .. the Swiss import is a very smooth skater and will not have any problem at the next level with that area of the game .. a good passer, he takes care of his own end with good outlet passes to his forwards and he joins the rush quite often .. he has a decent shot when he decides to explore it in his arsenal, but he prefers to pass and set up more than he shoots from the point .. he needs to play more physical to be effective, as is the case with most Europeans trying to adapt to the North American-style-of game .. he also has to compete harder for the puck and develop a mean streak .. he had respectable stats this year scoring six goals and 33 points to go along with 63 penalty minutes and an impressive plus-19 rating .. he has great vision and hockey smarts, which will go a long way in his overall development for the next level .. he is projected to either be a late first round selection, or as low as the third round on some scouts' depth charts .. but either way, the kid has tremendous upside.

Dan Iwanski (2008), LW, Lethbridge Hurricanes

A hard-working checker and gritty player that fits in nicely as a role player for this team .. the 5-foot-10, 177-pound winger put up pedestrian like numbers this season bagging 10 goals and 19 points in 71 games, as the iron man only missed one game in the 72 game schedule .. he also had 25 penalty minutes to go along with a plus- 4 rating .. skating is the number one concern, as he has to work in the off-season on getting a little faster and improving his foot speed .. shows competitiveness and is willing to get down and dirty to battle, but he has to be able to read plays and where they will develop in order to play a better defensive role .. it is unlikely that he will attract any interest in this season's draft because of his skating but he does have time to improve over the next few seasons.

Craig Orfino (2008), LW, Lethbridge Hurricanes

Plays a rough and ready in-your-face style, which complements his speedy skating and up-tempo-checking game .. the 6-foot-1, 198-pound winger is suited for his role as a checker on the Hurricanes but should develop offensively with time .. he scored only one goal and 10 points in 65 games with 26 penalty minutes, but had an impressive plus-7 rating .. he stickhandles well and looks to create plays off turnovers .. he has decent hands and battles hard along the wall for the puck but needs to play better defensively without the puck .. hockey sense is also an issue at this point of his junior career, as he needs to read plays better and know where his teammates are going to be on the rush .. it is unlikely that he will be drafted this year.