WHL Report: Prince Albert Raiders

McKeen's correspondent Matt Bugg weighs in from the WHL with a report on the Prince Albert Raiders. Centre Mark McNeill and wingers Todd Fiddler and Austin Connor, all eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, are featured.

Mark McNeill (2011), C, Prince Albert

Prince Albert's franchise player and star attraction despite being just 17-years-old for the majority of the season, McNeill is currently tied for first in Raiders team scoring .. 6-foot-2, 210 pound pivot features prominently on both the first PK and PP units, including critical situations such as 4-on-3 powerplays in the waning minutes of overtime .. a dazzling player whose trademark move is to stop suddenly at the blueline and pull the puck laterally through a defenseman's skates .. is not afraid to try new things on the fly, and is responsible enough to hustle back if the play fails .. owns truly sublime hockey sense, sensing turnovers before they happen and making opponents pay with his quick hands and boundless creativity .. McNeill's most gaping issue is a lack of first-step quickness .. since suffering a severed Achilles tendon two off-seasons ago, he has not had the same jump off the hop and is still working to add leg strength .. in addition to his poor acceleration, his injury is also likely to blame for his problems with pivots and transitions, and he can get caught flat-footed should he turn the puck over.. primarily a playmaker who scores his goals in-tight .. while McNeill can sense and jump into open ice for a quick shot, he does not own a refined shot arsenal .. slapshot in particular is tepid and lacks velocity.

Todd Fiddler (2011), LW, Prince Albert

Former Saskatchewan Midget AAA MVP started rookie campaign well with points in his first three games, but has struggled to consistently produce since .. has shown nice chemistry with 2012-eligible center Mike Winther in Prince Albert's bottom six .. a player who thrives on quickly moving the puck and slipping through cracks in defensive coverage before the other team can react .. excellent offensive zone instincts, and is constantly ahead of the puck .. a surgically precise stickhandler who does his best work in traffic .. somewhat of a perimeter player earlier in the year, Fiddler has added more gumption along the boards and in front and is willing to battle for time and space, but he often displays tunnel vision and forgets to watch the play rather than the man he's trying to out-position .. although he owns good top-end speed and is a fundamentally sound skater, Fiddler lacks explosive acceleration, thus preventing him from penetrating the zone one-on-one effectively and surprising opponents as he attacks the net .. this is the biggest reason he has just six goals on the year, and will require a lengthier acclimation period than other, quicker rookies.

Austin Connor (2011), RW, Prince Albert

A physical specimen at 6-foot-4 and 228 pounds .. does not yet fully comprehend his own strength, but can bend bodies at will in skirmishes along the boards .. Connor is two different players, depending on the zone and the situation .. when starting from his end, he struggles with receiving pucks and accelerating from a stand-still simultaneously .. however, once in flight, Connor's excellent agility and foot speed is fully evident, and he can out-maneuver opponents with quick turns and lateral cuts .. a deceptively good puckhandler, something that is also only on display once he's comfortably in motion .. heads-up offensive zone player and cycles the puck effectively .. best asset by far is a thundering wristshot that never ceases to raise the hair on a goaltender's back - even if it lacks accuracy and lift at this point .. is strong defensively .. more than once a game, he will rotate back to cover for his defender during broken plays .. needless to say, due to his incredibly mature frame and raw offensive tools, Connor is very much a player that will entice NHL scouts .. with added experience and coaching, he could be a premier power forward prospect, much as Milan Lucic became after compiling just 19 points in his draft year.. like Lucic, Connor can be an absolute terror when engaged and has already earned respect league-wide as a heavyweight.