SAGINAW, Mich. — The Memorial Cup is rolling along with the hometown Saginaw Spirit and OHL-rival London Knights holding down top spot in round-robin play with identical 2-0 records.
Tuesday night’s game between the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Drummondville Voltigeurs will determine who advances to the semi-finals on Friday. Both teams have lost their first two games. One will be eliminated after their Tuesday games.
The Knights and Spirit will face off Wednesday night, with the winner getting a buy to Sunday’s championship game. The losing team will face the winner of the Warriors-Voltigeurs game in the semi-finals.
Here are some of my observations from the tournament:
Two Top 10 prospects in the same tournament
Saginaw’s Zayne Parekh is a six-foot, 181-pound, right-shot defenceman with an elite offensive skillset. He will be walking NHL blue-lines as a power-play quarterback in the near future. Parekh was named player of the game for Saginaw’s win over Moose Jaw. He produced a goal and two assists versus the Warriors and followed it up with an assist in Saginaw’s victory over Drummondville.
Some people have expressed concerns to me about Parekh’s defending. While it’s certainly an area he will have to pay more attention to moving forward, his offence wins out for me. Players who are gifted with the puck are blessed with a skillset that can be nurtured, but not taught. Defending is a choice. Parekh will buy in to the defensive side as he matures. He won’t have a choice because his NHL coach will value his offence but demand enough attention defensively.
I’m forecasting Parekh as a top 10 selection at the NHL Draft. He produced 33 goals and 63 assists in the regular season, his 96 points the most by an OHL defenceman since Ryan Ellis scored 100 for the Windsor Spitfires in 2010-11.
Sam Dickinson of the London Knights is another high-end prospect competing in the tournament. Rarely do scouts have the luxury of viewing two players who are forecasted to be selected in the top 10 of the draft at the Memorial Cup.
Dickinson continues to log a ton of ice time for London. He’s different than Parekh. He’s six-foot-three and 194 pounds, and a bit more cerebral with his approach. He’s an excellent skater who can lead the rush or join as an extra layer. He sees the ice and outlets pucks accurately, especially on the power play. For his stature, he isn’t punishing physically, but he takes up space and has a long reach that he uses to his advantage in the defensive zone.
Dickinson has one goal and one assist in his first two games at the tournament. His assist was a fantastic back flank pass to Ruslan Gavizov on the power play. His goal was a bar-down snipe from the high slot.
I love Dickinson’s size, skating, hockey sense, offensive upside and overall presence. The only thing that concerns me is he tends to pace his game at times. He’s similar to former London Knight, now Edmonton Oiler, Evan Bouchard in that respect.
Pipeline report
Columbus Blue Jackets prospect and Moose Jaw Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk (12th overall in 2022) has tried to will his team to victory. The Warriors are winless and in danger of being eliminated Tuesday after their game versus Drummondville.
Whatever happens, and through the rest of the tournament, Mateychuk can take pride in the fact he gave all he had in his last week of games in a Warriors uniform. He’s logging a ton of ice time in all situations and is tied for the tournament scoring lead with Parekh (two goals and two assists for four points).
Like all prospects, Mateychuk will need time to adjust to the pro game defensively. His skill, vision, leadership and compete are in place. If all goes to plan, he should be a top-four NHL defenceman for the Blue Jackets after he matures.
Vsevolod Komarov was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth round (135th) in 2022. He won a Memorial Cup last season playing for Patrick Roy and the Quebec Remparts. The six-foot-three, 190-pound right-shot defenceman was the MVP of the QMJHL playoffs this season.
Komarov isn’t a burner. He’s an average-plus skater who will have to find a way to increase his speed as he turns pro. What Komarov has is unique hockey sense and playmaking ability. He cradles the puck and makes plays over sticks and through opponents’ legs to produce offence. It’s difficult to describe his creativity, but it’s impressive to watch.
Komarov leads Drummondville with one goal and two assists in its first two games of the tournament.
Some prospects, for me, stand out from others with their overall approach.
Owen Beck is a Montreal Canadiens prospect (second round, 33rd overall, 2022) playing for Saginaw. It’s Beck’s second Memorial Cup appearance: He suited up for the Peterborough Petes last year in Kamloops.
Beck is the kind of prospect who has the skill and pace to drive play through the neutral zone and create scoring chances. He works off the cycle in the offensive zone, wins key face-offs, extends plays in battle. Beck basically does it all. He’s as close to a complete player at the junior level that I have viewed this season. Beck flies under the radar. He isn’t the first prospect to grab your attention, but he’s arguably one of the most reliable.
The Canadiens are building toward a bright future, and Beck will be part of the solution. He can play the middle or the wing. He has the skill and hockey sense to land on the power play or match up against top six opponents and kill penalties. Beck has a goal and two assists so far in the tournament.