Shane Wright, Matthew Savoie, Connor Geekie and Pavel Mintyukov were among the 40 players invited Tuesday to go head-to-head in the rescheduled CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, which is back after a year’s absence.
The Canadian Hockey League and National Hockey League Central Scouting announced the list of players who have been invited to compete in the game, which will be held March 23 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. The game was originally scheduled to be held Feb. 2 but was postponed because of COVID-19 concerns.
The Top Prospects Game showcases some of the top players eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft who play in the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Of the 40 selected players, 18 are from the OHL, 15 are from the WHL and seven are from the QMJHL. The Guelph Storm lead the 23 CHL teams in representation with four players on the invitation list, while the Gatineau Olympiques, Kamloops Blazers, Seattle Thunderbirds and Swift Current Broncos each have three.
The 40 players will be divided into Team Red and TeamWhite; rosters and coaching staffs have yet to be announced.
The CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game was last held in Hamilton in January 2020, when Team White defeated Team Red, 5-3. Tyson Foerster (Team White/Barrie Colts/Philadelphia Flyers) and Jack Quinn (Team Red/Ottawa 67’s/Buffalo Sabres) were the Players of the Game. In all, 37 of the 40 players who competed in the 2020 game were later taken in the 2020 NHL Draft, headlined by Alexis Lafreniere’s first-overall selection by the New York Rangers. The game was not held last year because of the pandemic.
FULL LIST OF PLAYERS
Forwards
Maxim Barbashev, Moncton Wildcats
Owen Beck, Mississauga Steelheads
Luca Del Bel Belluz, Mississauga Steelheads
Josh Filmon, Swift Current Broncos
Jagger Firkus, Moose Jaw Warriors
Nathan Gaucher, Quebec Remparts
Ruslan Gazizov, London Knights
Conor Geekie, Winnipeg ICE
David Goyette, Sudbury Wolves
Jordan Gustafson, Seattle Thunderbirds
Hunter Haight, Barrie Colts
Jake Karabela, Guelph Storm
Paul Ludwinski, Kingston Frontenacs
Bryce McConnell-Barker, Soo Greyhounds
Fraser Minten, Kamloops Blazers
Matthew Poitras, Guelph Storm
Vinzenz Rohrer, Ottawa 67’s
Matyas Sapovaliv, Saginaw Spirit
Matthew Savoie, Winnipeg ICE
Reid Schaefer, Seattle Thunderbirds
Matthew Seminoff, Kamloops Blazers
Antonin Verreault, Gatineau Olympiques
Shane Wright, Kingston Frontenacs
Danny Zhilkin, Guelph Storm
Defencemen
Michael Buchinger, Guelph Storm
Jorian Donovan, Hamilton Bulldogs
Isaiah George, London Knights
Kevin Korchinski, Seattle Thunderbirds
Maveric Lamoureux, Drummondville Voltigeurs
Mats Lindgren, Kamloops Blazers
Tristan Luneau, Gatineau Olympiques
Denton Mateychuk, Moose Jaw Warriors
Pavel Mintyukov, Saginaw Spirit
Ty Nelson, North Bay Battalion
Owen Pickering, Swift Current Broncos
Noah Warren, Gatineau Olympiques
Goaltenders
Mason Beaupit, Spokane Chiefs
Tyler Brennan, Prince George Cougars
Reid Dyck, Swift Current Broncos
Ivan Zhigalov, Sherbrooke Phoenix
[relatedlinks]
1:35
1:43
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.