This is the top 50 for future prospects. We don't include this years rookie.

Ottawa Senators prospects are in bold.

1: A. Pietrangelo
2: J. Markstrom
3: O. E-Larsson
4: C. Hodgson
5: J. Carlson
6: J. Eberle
7: N. Filatov
8: C. Wilson
9: L. Sbisa
10: B. Schenn
11: M. P-Svennson
12: K. Turris
13: N. Kadri
14: M. Boedker
15: J. Bernier
16: D. Stepan
17: P.K. Subban
18: K. Alzner
19: R. Ellis
20: C. Schneider
21: E. Grachev
22: C. Kreider
23: J. Colborne
24: Z. Boychuk
25: M. Backlund
26: C. Pickard
27: S. Glennie
28: C. D-Haan
29: T. Ennis
30: M. Neuvirth
31: T. Erixon
32: J. Moore
33: K. Shattenkirk
34: P. Cormier
35: D. Kristo
36: L. Couture
37: J. Josefson
38: J. Cowen
39: B. Smith
40: M. Tedenby
41: L. Leblanc
42: T. Bozak
43: P. Weircoch
44: M. Goncharov
45: J. Allen
46: L. Eller
47: J. Skille
48: C. Teubert
49: J. Morin
50: V. Stalberg

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Thanks to SD, AK-84, Vesal Audi, Jakim, and BSF. People who made my sigs!

This is the top 50 for future prospects. We don't include this years rookie.

Ottawa Senators prospects are in bold.

1: A. Pietrangelo
2: J. Markstrom
3: O. E-Larsson
4: C. Hodgson
5: J. Carlson
6: J. Eberle
7: N. Filatov
8: C. Wilson
9: L. Sbisa
10: B. Schenn
11: M. P-Svennson
12: K. Turris
13: N. Kadri
14: M. Boedker
15: J. Bernier
16: D. Stepan
17: P.K. Subban
18: K. Alzner
19: R. Ellis
20: C. Schneider
21: E. Grachev
22: C. Kreider
23: J. Colborne
24: Z. Boychuk
25: M. Backlund
26: C. Pickard
27: S. Glennie
28: C. D-Haan
29: T. Ennis
30: M. Neuvirth
31: T. Erixon
32: J. Moore
33: K. Shattenkirk
34: P. Cormier
35: D. Kristo
36: L. Couture
37: J. Josefson
38: J. Cowen
39: B. Smith
40: M. Tedenby
41: L. Leblanc
42: T. Bozak
43: P. Weircoch
44: M. Goncharov
45: J. Allen
46: L. Eller
47: J. Skille
48: C. Teubert
49: J. Morin
50: V. Stalberg

I would love to start a franchise with these manes at my disposal

I don't agree with Cowen's ranking. He didn't have a good WJC, but now he's not a great prospect because he didn't do good in a 7 game tournament? They need to go out and scout him in Spokane because he's apparently having a great season out there.

True

As much as I think its unfair, I wouldn't be surprised. He had to deal with major Knee injury for 2 straight years now.

But yes, he is having an amazing year, for a guy who has been injured quite a lot.

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Thanks to SD, AK-84, Vesal Audi, Jakim, and BSF. People who made my sigs!

Those rankings aren't rated by how GOOD you are. They are rated by how well you played in big tournaments or games.

Because if that list has any meaning to it what so ever, Markstrom would be first hands down.

Also as you can see Lehner isn't on that list not because he isn't good but because he didn't attend the WHJC.

Carlson, Eberle ahead of Filatov? Nice...

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I didn't made the list...

If its only graded on tournament, Weircoch wouldn't even be on the list. Eberle would be hands down #1...no Pietrangelo, no Markstrom, no Hodgson, and no Filatov. Its rated on how well the prospect has been and the overall skill. I think its also on if the prospect is NHL ready.

Lehner wouldn't be on that list anyways...he is still pretty young. But he was 58th place, so he will definately make the top 50 next year

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Thanks to SD, AK-84, Vesal Audi, Jakim, and BSF. People who made my sigs!

If they're only judging it in big tournaments, Cowen should be higher. He was one of the main reasons Spokane won the Memorial Cup, shutting down Kadri and the Rangers. Also Kadri didn't have a great WJC, so why would he be 13th?

Lehner isn't far off from 50, actually. He's in the Top 65, I know that.

59 Games Played 8 Goals 22 Assists 30 Points +/- +23 74 Penalties in minutes that looks pretty good, hes a plus 23

Again, i KNOW you didn't make the list! lol I am just saying what i think of the people who did.

Wiercioch was supposed to be a top 4 in the tournament. Filatov already played in the NHL and did solid while Markstrom is the best goalie in the SEL league and Hodgson won the CHL player of the year. Eberle is currently one of the best but the others have proven in bigger circumstances.

True he should be higher but to them he was the biggest flop in the WHJC.

Also Kadri is tearing up the OHL i think is 6th in points?

Also Lehner is considered one of if not the best goalie in the OHL so him out of the top 50 makes no sense.

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Hahaha, People can argue with the list all they want, its based on a compilation of lists submitted by real NHL scouts who work for real NHL teams.

And yes, Lehner may be the best goalie in the OHL, but look at the list. How many current OHL goaltenders are on it? Zero. Lehner is ranked 58th, that just speaks to the quality of goaltending in the OHL. Nothing wrong with Lehner, but he is still young and relatively unproven.

But I think you are right to an extent about the WJCs. The tournament ended early January. This magazine was published, what? Late February? I suspect they were doing the polling of the scouts a couple of weeks before publication. So the World Juniors were still very fresh on their minds. And I think because of this, World Junior performances had a bit of a bigger impact than they perhaps should have.

Also, everyone should read the post i made a few weeks ago about Cowen's WJC performance. I'll see if I can find it.

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"Yeah, Cowen struggled at the World Juniors and it hurt his rating, but it didn't worry me at all, for a number of reasons.

The World Juniors is a junior-style and international-style tournament. It is a lot more open-ice, puck-movement, speed and skill oriented than the NHL or even the WHL, where Cowen is currently playing and doing very well. If you look at any scouting report on Cowen, the first thing they say is he is "an excellent pro-style player" or "a tremendous pro-style package". The Word Junior tournament is not meant for defensemen like Cowen.

As most people here know, I was at Canada's every game at the World Juniors. Not to mention I watched Cowen closely on every shift he played. He was solid defensively, had good positioning and was very strong in front of the net. He didn't do much in the offensive zone, good or bad. Didn't make many mistakes but didn't provide much offense either. All of that was entirely expected. In the neutral zone and high in the defensive zone, he always made the simple play, dumping it in or chipping it out along the boards. In the NHL, these would be the perfect plays, but for Canada - who, for the most part, had the talent to pass around the neutral zone and skate into and set up in the offensive zone - it just wasn't good enough. But deep in the defensive zone was where Cowen really ran into trouble. He has a hard, crisp, accurate pass but his problem was with his decision-making. I think the problem was a combination of a few things.

His confidence was hurt because of the limited role and ice-time he was given. And he was trying to do too much with the little ice-time he did get. He was also trying to live up to first round expectations and often hurt himself and his team by forcing plays.

Another problem was with his knee injury. I remember Bob McKenzie saying in the pre-tournament show that Cowen still hadn't quite regained his form from before the injury. I spoke to Bob McKenzie a number of times throughout the tournament and when I asked him about Cowen, Bob said he didn't have the same jump in his step he had when he was one of the best players at the Memorial Cup in 08, but whether that was due more to the lack of confidence or to lingering knee problem was uncertain.

Another thing, the old mantra, "the World Juniors is a tournament for 19 year olds", is much more true for defensemen than for forwards. The majority of 18 year old defensemen struggle in their first year of the WJCs (Karlsson didn't, but that is a testament both to his incredible skill and the aforementioned advantage this tournament lends to his style of play). Just look at, for instance, Alex Pietrangello. Despite being a 4th overall pick in 2009, he was Canada's 7th defenseman at the World Juniors and had a mediocre tournament. But he came back as a 19 year old in 2010 and was named the tournament's best defenseman.

I remember reading an article in early 2009 about how, prior to his injury, Cowen's goal was to be the first overall pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft. And he had been working hard to improve his puck-movement and offensive game to become a better all-around defenseman. Unfortunately, his injury derailed that goal and he was forced to spend most of the spring and summer working on strength and conditioning and rehabbing his knee just to be able to play again. Needless to say, much of the things he had planned on working on were temporarily put on hold.

He will be back to working on those things during the remainder of this season and the off-season. I guarantee that if he is not playing in Ottawa next season, he will be back with a vengeance and will be Canada's best defenseman at the World Juniors in Buffalo."

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