3 Stars For Week Ending January 22, 2012

Here are your draft eligible three stars for the week ending January 22, 2012

1st Star - Cody Ceci - Ottawa 67's : Many have Ceci as the top ranked defender from the OHL for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and this week he showed his two way ability in a dominant way. He began the week with a goal and an assist in a 9-4 victory over the Peterborough Petes. His goal was a short handed marker and he finished the game a plus 1. He followed that up with another goal and another assist in a 8-3 win over the Oshawa Generals with both points coming on the powerplay. The week ended with a 2 assist effort in a 4-3 win over the Kitchener Rangers. The first was another powerplay assist while the second was on the game winner with under 4 minutes left to play.

2nd Star - Radek Faksa - Kitchener Rangers : We've said it before and we'll say it again : Faksa just keeps getting better and better. He had a goal and an assist in a 9-1 drubbing of the Kingston Frontenacs to begin the week. He followed that up with an assist in a 5-4 win over the Belleville Bulls, and closed out the week with a goal and assist in a 4-3 loss to the Ottawa 67's. Faksa sits 1 goal shy of the lead among draft eligible players (Yakupov and Gaunce) and leads all rookies in scoring.

3rd Star - Garrett Hooey - Belleville Bulls : Hooey is a bright spot on a Bulls team mired in a long slump. He had an assist in a 3-2 loss to the Mississauga St Mike's Majors. That was followed by 2 goals and an assist in a 5-4 loss to the Kitchener Rangers. He was held pointless in a 3-2 loss to the Kingston Frontenacs. But it wasn't about the stats with Hooey. Through Belleville's 2-8-1 record in their last 11 games, Hooey has been their most consistent player in terms of effort while putting up some points during a cold spell by the likes of Brendan Gaunce and Daniil Zharkov. 

Garrett Hooey

Garrett Hooey - Belleville Bulls

6'1" - 185 LBS
D.O.B. June 2, 1994

Hooey was selected in the 2nd round of the 2010 OHL Priority Draft by the Sarnia Sting. He played his rookie season for the Sting, scoring 8 goals and 3 assists in 60 games. He was acquired by the Bulls in the offseason in a trade for Alex Basso and a third round pick.

Hooey played his Minor Midget hockey for the Clarington Toros where he was captain of the squad. He amassed 41 goals and 54 assists in 52 games.

Last Season, he also played for Team Ontario at the World Hockey Challenge Under 17 where he won a gold medal. He was pointless in 5 games for Team Ontario.

Hooey didn't make NHL Central Scouting's preliminary list  of players to watch from the OHL. He wasn't on their top 25 preliminary rankings in November from the OHL. But in this weeks mid-term rankings, Hooey was ranked 61st among North American Skaters.

Hooey is a competitive player who wants to learn and get better. He can play both sides of the puck and kill penalties. He has both leadership qualities and an almost unstoppable work ethic. He is an average skater, something that needed some work when he came into the league and he has improved on that.

At 6'1" Hooey has some size, but as most players at this stage have to, he will need to add some muscle and bulk to his frame. I'd project Hooey to be an excellent shut down guy who has the ability to put up some points.