3 Stars For Week Ending January 29, 2012

Here are your three draft eligible stars for the week ending January 29, 2012

1st Star - Nathan Pancel - Sudbury Wolves : Pancel scored 5 goals in 3 games for the Wolves last week. It began when he scored his 11th and 12th goals of the season in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Plymouth Whalers. He followed that up with two more goals in a 7-4 loss to the Erie Otters. He closed out the week scoring his 15th of the season in a 4-1 win over the Mississauga St Mike's Majors. Pancel is in his rookie season with the Wolves and now has 15 goals and 6 assists and is a plus 11 in 42 games.

2nd Star - Radek Faksa - Kitchener Rangers : Faksa had 2 goals and 3 assists in 3 games for the Rangers last week. He started with a 2 goal performance, his 21st and 22nd of the season, in a surprising 8-3 win in London. His 2nd goal was the game winner. That was followed by a 3 assist effort in a 5-4 win over Owen Sound Attack, setting up the game winner on the powerplay with just 22 seconds remaining. He was held off the score sheet in a 5-3 win over the Guelph Storm, but finished a plus 2 in the game. Faksa now has 22 goals and 25 assists and is a plus 23 in 41 games.

3rs Star - Dane Fox - Erie Otters : Fox had 3 goals and an assist in 2 games for the Otters. In a 3-1 loss against the Soo Greyhounds, Fox assisted on the Otters lone goal. That was followed up by a 3 goal performance, including the game winner, in a 7-4 win over the Sudbury Wolves. That helped the Otters end their 12 game losing skid. Fox now has 20 goals and 22 assists and is a plus 9 in 43 games with the Otters and London Knights.

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. 

Ceci Surpasses Yakupov As The OHL's Draft Eligible Assists Leader

Ottawa 67's defenseman Cody Ceci has surpassed the Sarnia Stings' Nail Yakupov as the assists leader among the OHL's draft eligible players. Ceci now has 10 goals and 34 assists for 44 points in 44 games to lead all draft eligible defensemen in goals, assists and points. His 44 points is second behind Yakupov among all draft eligible skaters and his 34 assists are tops among all skaters, 2 more than Yakupov.

Despite having only played in 26 games because of injuries, Yakupov continues to lead with 53 points and tied for tops in goals at 21 with Brendan Gaunce of the Belleville Bulls. Gaunce's teammate Malcolm Subban, who is also out with an injury, continues to lead all goaltenders in goals against average and save percentage. And that's not just draft eligible goaltenders but all goaltenders.

The Kitchener Rangers' Radek Faksa continues his climb. He now has 20 goals and 22 assists in 38 games played.

To view the leaders, click the stats tab at the top of the page.

3 Stars For Week Ending December 11, 2011

Here are your 3 stars for draft eligible players in the OHL for the week ending December 11, 2011.

1st Star - Radek Faksa - Kitchener Rangers : We can't say enough about how far Faksa's game has come since he came over to the OHL. Kitchener started the week with a 4-2 victory over London in which Faksa registered 2 assists including the set up on the game winning goal. They followed that with a 3-2 loss against Windsor in which he was kept off the board. The Rangers ended the week with a 6-1 victory over Mississauga in which Faksa had a short handed goal and 2 assists. It was his goal that put the nail in the coffin and just about ensured there would e no comeback.

2nd Star - Matt Finn - Guelph Storm : Like a good wine, Finn gets better and better with time. Statistically, it wasn't one of his better weeks but his play at both ends of the rink opened a lot of eyes. Guelph struggle throughout the week beginning with an 8-5 loss to Barrie. Finn notched a goal and 2 assists in the loss. That was followed by a 1 assist effort in a 6-1 loss to Owen Sound where he was on the ice for just 1 goal against. They ended the week with a 2-1 OT loss to London in which Finn played every situation and logged lots of ice time.

3rd Star - Adam Lloyd - Brampton Battalion : We have a new kid on the block in Lloyd coming in at number 3. Brampton played 3 games in 3 nights beginning with a 7-4 win over Kingston in which Lloyd notched 2 goals. The next night they beat Barrie 4-1 with Lloyd contributing a goal and an assist. They closed out the week with a 5-2 victory over Kingston in the rematch of Friday's game in which Lloyd was held off the score sheet but played a terrific defensive game.

For a list of winners from previous weeks, and a list of voters of the 3 stars, click the 3 star tab at the top of the page.

3 Stars For Week Ending November 27, 2011

The closest voting for the draft eligible OHL 3 stars for the week is in. The 3 players selected were almost unanimous but the order wasn't. You could reverse the order and not go wrong. So here are your three stars :

1st Star - Malcolm Subban - Belleville Bulls : Since returning from injury, Subban has been the first star for 3 out of the 4 weeks in November. In 3 games last week, all Bulls victories, Subban stopped 87 of 89 shots he faced and had a shut out on the road against the Guelph Storm.

2nd Star - Brendan Gaunce - Belleville Bulls : Gaunce was named OHL player of the week yesterday and in most of our eyes, was only outplayed by his team mate Malcolm Subban. He led the Bulls offensively with 5 goals and 1 assists in three games. Gaunce now sits third in points and second in goals among draft eligible players in the OHL.

3rd Star - Radek Faksa - Kitchener Rangers : Faksa's game just keeps getting better and better. He posted 4 goals and 2 assists in 3 games and was a plus 6. Faksa now sits in the top 5 in goals, assists and points among draft eligible players.

Brendan Gaunce named OHL player of the Week

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that forward Brendan Gaunce of the Belleville Bulls is the OHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 27 after scoring five goals and one assist for six points in three games with a plus-minus rating of plus-5.

 Gaunce helped lift the Bulls to three straight wins while recording three straight multi-point games for the first time in his career beginning Thursday night in a 3-1 victory over the Erie Otters where he scored two goals as first star of the contest.  He also scored two goals on Friday night as part of a 6-0 win over the Guelph Storm before finishing the week with another first star performance scoring a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over the Oshawa Generals on Sunday. 

 Gaunce, a 17-year-old from Markham, ON, is playing in just his second OHL season with the Bulls where he currently leads the club with 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 25 games.  The former second overall OHL Priority Selection pick is now eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft where he was recently ranked seventh among OHL skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

 Also considered for the award this week was fellow 2012 NHL Entry Draft prospect Radek Faksa who scored four goals and two assists for six points in three wins for the Kitchener Rangers.  Vancouver Canucks prospect Alex Friesen also helped the Niagara IceDogs to three straight wins recording six points including three goals and three assists.  In goal, the Bulls’ Malcolm Subban went 3-0-0-0 posting one shutout victory with a goals-against-average of 0.67 with a save percentage of .978.

3 Stars For Week Ending November 6, 2011

1st Star - Malcolm Subban - Belleville Bulls : Malcolm Subban made his return from injury and is poised to retake his position as the top draft eligible goaltender in the OHL. Subban led his team to two straight victories. First came a 2-1 victory over the Owen Sound Attack in which he stopped 29 of 30 shots. He followed that up with a 1-0 overtime victory over the Mississauga St Mikes Majors in which he made 25 saves for the shutout.

2nd Star - Brendan Gaunce - Belleville Bulls : Gaunce and his Bulls went 3-0 during the week. First up was a 6-5 overtime victory over the Ottawa 67's in which Gaunce scored twice including the overtime winner. Then came a 2-1 victory over Owen Sound in which he was in on both goals with a goal and an assist. He went pointless in a 1-0 overtime victory over Mississauga but was his solid self creating chances.

3rd Star - Radek Faksa - Kitchener Rangers : Can't say enough about how Faksa's game is coming along. He opened the week with a 2 goal performance over the Niagara Ice Dogs including the shorthanded game winning goal. He had an assist in the Rangers lone goal in the rematch with Niagara, a 3-1 loss. He closed the week out pointless in a 3-1 victory over the Oshawa Generals but gets credit for his penalty killing duties.

For the complete list of weekly winners and the voters involved, click the 3 stars tab at the top of the page.

Seven to watch: Top OHL prospects for 2012 Draft

The top Ontario Hockey League prospect for the 2012 NHL Draft is an offensive dynamo from the Sarnia Sting, with a string of solid defensemen next on the list.

It's a story reminiscent of the 2008 Draft, when Sarnia center Steven Stamkos was the league's best prospect, ahead of a list of blueliners that included Guelph's Drew Doughty, Peterborough's Zach Bogosian and Niagara's Alex Pietrangelo.

This year, the top player available is Nail Yakupov, who spent last season breaking Stamkos' Sarnia records.

In his first season in the OHL, the 5-foot-10 1/2, 189-pound right wing led all first-year players with 49 goals and 101 points, topping Stamkos' franchise rookie record of 92 points, set in 2006-07.


Full list and story on nhl.com
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3 Stars For Week Ending October 30, 2011

It was a good week for draft eligible players in the OHL. Unfortunately, only 3 can be named three stars.

1st Star - Gemel Smith - Owen Sound Attack : The Attack finished the week with a 2-0-1 record with Smith being a big part of it. He scored once in an overtime loss to the London Knights. He followed that up with 2 goals and an assist in a victory over the Oshawa Generals. He closed out his week with a 3 assist effort in a victory over the Windsor Spitfires. Smith now trails only Nail Yakupov in goals, assists and points among first time draft eligible players.

2nd Star - Nail Yakupov - Sarnia Sting : The leader in just about every statistical category, Yakupov played in 3 games in which he recorded 3 goals and 2 assists and was a plus 5. Yakupov scored twice and added an assist in a victory over the Soo Greyhounds. He added another goal and assist in a victory over Saginaw Spirit and closed out the week with an assist in a shootout loss to the London Knights.

3rd star - Radek Faksa - Kitchener Rangers : The Rangers began the week with a shootout victory over the Knights in which Faksa scored a goal and assisted on another. He added a single assist in a win against the Erie Otters and followed that up with another goal and an assist in the rematch vs the Otters in which Erie took that in a shootout. Faksa is one of those import players who's beginning to find his groove in the OHL and has been a model of consistency for the Rangers.

For a list of previous winners and a list of the voters involved in choosing the three stars, click on the 3 star tab at the top of the page.

Radek Faksa

Radek Faksa - Kitchener Rangers

6'2" - 185 LBS
D.O.B. January 9, 1994

There may not be a single player in all the CHL with bigger shoes (or skates) to fill then Radek Faksa.

CHL teams are permitted to have only two import players on their roster and to make room for Faksa, the Rangers opted to drop Gabriel Landeskog, the number 2 overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. It's almost a guarantee that Landeskog will be playing in the NHL in 2011-12, but there is a slim chance, very slim, that he could be returned back to junior and that move would backfire on the Rangers.

But make no mistake, Faksa was a good choice by the Rangers with the 22nd pick. His skating is described as having very good speed, both in acceleration and top speed. He can play the wing or a center. He is solid at both ends of the rink and uses his speed well to get in on the forecheck or on the backcheck.

He battles against bigger players along the boards and will take a hit to make a play. Good playmaker and finisher that will take the puck straight to the net if he sees the opportunity. Faksa is said to have a high hockey IQ and excels at reading plays.

The Czech Republic Native is also on the NHL Central Scouting List of players to watch for the NHL Entry Draft.

Faksa played in 28 games last season with HC Trinec U18 of the Czech U18. He registered 19 goals and 30 assists for 49 points during the regular season. He also played 24 games with the HC Trinec U20 team where he tallied nine goals and six assists for 15 points during the regular season playing with men three years older.


The Rangers are in a rebuilding stage now, but Faksa and his teammates should be fun to watch.