By Steve Fitzsimmons /
The 2009/10 Canadian World Junior team will feature a top prospect for the 2010 NHL Draft in Windsor Spitfires left winger
Taylor Hall.
Hall currently leads the Ontario Hockey League in scoring with 26 goals and 59 points in 34 games and is a plus-25. Hall is ranked first by International Scouting and second by NHL Central Scouting among OHL prospects for the 2010 NHL Draft behind Plymouth Whalers centre Tyler Seguin. Seguin was surprisingly one of the first cuts in the Junior team camp.
Both Seguin and Hall were members of the gold medal winning team for Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Under-18 Championship this past summer in Slovakia. Hall also has a gold medal from the 2008 IIHF Under-18 Championship in Kazan, Russia on his resume, as well as a Memorial Cup title and hopefully, an upcoming World Junior gold.
Mark Edwards, founder of www.hockeyprospect.com, says Hall is about to show everyone what he can do on the grand stage of the World Juniors.
“Hall has that amazing combination of speed and power,” said Edwards. “If speed kills, what does speed and power do? He can be at a standstill and all of a sudden he’s on a guy and forces a turnover. Lots of people talk about his point production, which is great of course, but I don’t think some people see how valuable he is with those wheels on the forecheck. Just wait until he shows that skill off in Regina.”
Opposing defencemen in the tournament should take note of the skills that Hall can bring. One Western Conference NHL Scout sizes them up this way: “Hall brings the most blinding speed in the draft and is a tremendous skater. He has proven his ability to score and to find the open man when double-teamed. He can also play a physical game. Just ask John Tavares last year when Hall sent him to the sidelines with a clean bodycheck. There’s a lot to like about him.”
Guelph Storm left-winger and former teammate Conor O’Donnell, who won a Memorial Cup with Hall in Windsor, says Hall is a player who will pay the price to make a play.
“One thing that makes him so good is that he’s so hungry to put the puck in the net and he will do anything to make it happen.” said O’Donnell. “You see a lot of top-end players who don’t like the dirty areas like the corners and don’t want to get hit, but Taylor will do anything to make a play happen. He also will work just as hard in the defensive zone as he will in the offensive zone. I think that a lot of goal scorers don’t like defence. Taylor plays well in both zones.”
For NHL scouts, it will be an interesting litmus test for Hall and how he handles the pressure.
In the past, he’s come through with flying colours and won at every evel he’s been involved with. Team Canada is hoping that trend will continue. For Hall, if that does continue, not only will he likely get a gold medal, but it could go a long way towards earning the number one slot in the NHL Draft.
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