Team Orr Defeats Team Cherry 2-1 In The Home Hardware CHL Top Prospects Game

Scouts and General Managers from all 30 NHL Teams flocked to Prospera Place in Kelowna British Columbia to witness the lowest scoring game in the 17 year history of the event - a 2-1 victory for Team Orr.

Tom Wilson of the Plymouth Whalers (Team Cherry) showed why he's one of the top power forwards available for the draft when on his first shift he threw two big hits on Gianluca Curcuruto of the Soo Greyhounds. He continued to throw the body all night and was sure to draw the attention of scouts. He had a pretty good bout with Dalton Thrower of the Saskatoon Blades in the second period.

As for Curcuruto, he played a solid, physical, defensive game. He showed flashes of his puck carrying abilities, going end to end in the second period. He took the body when he could without going out of his way looking for the hit. He was left almost defenseless on Team Cherry's only goal as Thrower went out of his way to make a hit and missed leaving a virtual 2 on 1. Dillon Fournier scored on the rebound.

Gemel Smith of the Owen Sound Attack (Team Cherry) was his typical self. Tenacious on the puck despite his size, he fought battles along the wall and usually came away with the puck. His speed was evident throughout the night especially on the backcheck where he broke up a couple of Team Orr rushes.

Belleville Bulls teammates Daniil Zharkov and Brendan Gaunce (Team Cherry) played on a line together and created a couple of chances. The best chance came halfway through the second right after teams switched goaltenders when Zharkov picked the puck up at center and went in on defenseman Matt Finn (Guelph Storm). He pulled the puck between his legs and went around Finn and put a shot on Francois Tremblay.

Adam Pelech of the Erie Otters (Team Orr) was almost unbeatable defensively. He took his opponents out of the play at every opportunity, was positionally sound and took away shooting and passing lanes. It's no wonder he's only a minus 4 on a team where you find a roster full of minus 20 and 30.

Matt Murray of the Soo Greyhounds (Team Cherry) was nothing short of spectacular in goal coming in halfway through the second. His best two saves back to back were when they were on the penalty kill and he made a big save on Scott Kosmachuk (Guelph Storm) and then on Raphael Bussieres, who along with Radek Faksa (Kitchener Rangers), were buzzing.

No one really hurt their value in the game. The Finn's, Faksa's and Laughton's and such played okay games but weren't their usual dominant players that they show they could be at times. They should all be proud of the way they played and rest assured, no one hurt their value.

The one thing we learned from this game, or at least confirmed: This is the year of the defenseman.

3 Stars for Week Ending December 4, 2011

Since the beginning of November, we probably should have began naming this the Belleville Bulls Awards. Almost every week there's not one, but two Bulls teammates for consideration for the three stars. But there's a new kid on the block this week.

1st Star - Daniil Zharkov - Belleville Bulls : Zharkov led the Bulls to three straight victories offensively scoring six goals, two in each game in those victories, including the game winner in a 4-1 decision over Windsor. His 4 other goals came in back to back victories over Kingston, 4-2 and 8-1. Zharkov now has 11 goals in 11 games, and despite having only played those 11 games, now sits 7th in goals scored among first time draft eligible players.

2nd Star - Malcolm Subban - Belleville Bulls : Since returning from injury at the beginning of November, Subban has been dominant. He had a sparkling 1.33 GAA and .962 SV% in three games last week including a 36 save performance against Kingston, then 33 saves in the rematch and followed that up with another 33 sames over Windsor. Subban now leads the league in goals against average and save percentage. Since his return, he's been one of our three stars each week but once.

3rd Star - Scott Laughton - Oshawa Generals : Laughton recorded 1 goal and 5 assists in two games for Oshawa last week. The defensively responsible Laughton broke out with  3 assists in an 8-4 victory over Sarnia. He followed that up with a goal and 2 assists in a 9-1 thumping of Peterborough.

For previous week winners and a list of voters in our selection, click the 3 stars tab at the top of the page.

3 Stars For Week Ending November 20, 2011

Here are your draft eligible 3 stars for the week ending November 20, 2011

1st Star - Daniil Zharkov - Belleville Bulls : For the third straight week, a Belleville Bull takes first star honors, this time its Daniil Zharkov. Playing in just his 3rd, 4th and 5th games of the season, Zharkov opened the week with a two goal performance in a 6-3 victory over Peterborough Petes. He was held off the score sheet in the rematch, won 4-1 by the Petes. Zharkov closed out the week with a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa 67's.

2nd Star - Nail Yakupov - Sarnia Sting : Should we just hold a weekly spot here for Yakupov? He had a goal and an assist in Sarnia's 3-2 loss to the Kitchener Rangers. He followed that up with 2 goals and an assist in a 6-3 victory over the Saginaw Spirit. Yakupov did no play in the 2nd of back to back games with Saginaw.

3rd Star - Zack Leslie - Guelph Storm : The Storm defender opened up with a 3 assist effort in a 4-2 victory over the Oshawa Generals. He followed that up with a goal and an assist in a 5-0 win over the Erie Otters. Leslie was a plus 6 in the two games.

For a list of weekly winners and voters, please click on the 3 stars tab at the top of the page.

Daniil Zharkov

Daniil Zharkov - Belleville Bulls


6'3" - 195 Lbs
D.O.B. February 6, 1994


Daniil Zharkov joined the Tri City Storm of the USHL after the Christmas break last season following his time with Yaroslavl Locomotivs and then the St. Petersburg Silver Lions in his home country of Russia. He recorded 8 goals and 11 assists, along with 27 penalty minutes in 36 games for the Storm.


The Bulls used the 13th overall pick in the CHL Import Draft to select Zharkov.


"He played in a predominantly 19- and 20-year-old league last year and from a cultural standpoint he has been North-Americanized so there are some huge pluses in knowing what to expect. All reports we've received are positive. He has size, skill — it's a good fit." Bulls GM/Coach George Burnett said.


Asked if Zharkov would report to Belleville, Burnett replied, "Absolutely. You're never quite sure until the kid walks in the door but this young man is no secret. There has been zero inference that he's undecided. He came over last year and he wants to play."

Zharkov possesses great size and a willingness to use it. He is an average skater, something that he will have to work on. The left shooting forward prefers to play on his off wing. If he can work on his skating he'll be able to use that to power through or past defenders. 

Zharkov is more of a finisher then a playmaker. His success will come playing with a set up man who can feed him the puck. He has decent puck handling skills but it's his drive to the net and ability to finish that will make him successful.

His defensive commitment and skill need a lot of work. But playing under George Burnett, who requires you to play at both ends of the rink, should provide Zharkov with the tools he needs to compete defensively.

Zharkov has international experience. He has played for Russia in both the Under U18 and U16 tournaments. There are some that believe Zharkov could be a first round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and others that believe he will be a top 120 pick. It all depends on the work Zharkov puts in to improve his game and his willingness to learn the defensive game. He's shown a commitment by staying in the US this summer to work on everything from skating to adding bulk, mostly in LA and Philadelphia.

Good friend Jerome Berube from Hockey Draft Video put this compilation together on Zharkov. Jerome has more video than one can dream of so give it a look !