Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey
League in association with Maple Leafs Sports and
Entertainment and Home Hardware Stores Limited today
announced the 40 CHL players eligible for the 2011
NHL Entry Draft that will compete in the 2011 Home
Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game January 18-19 at
Air Canada Centre in Toronto, ON.
The 40 top prospects have been
divided into two teams that will feature hockey icon
Don Cherry behind the bench for Team Cherry, and
Toronto Maple Leafs’ all-time great Doug Gilmour who
will serve behind the bench for Team Orr.
“On behalf of the Canadian Hockey
League we are very excited to showcase 40 of the
league’s top prospects eligible for the 2011 NHL
Entry Draft at Air Canada Centre January 18-19 where
they will compete in front of hundreds of scouts in
attendance and live on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS for
CHL fans across the country,” said CHL President
David Branch. “We are also honoured to have Don
Cherry and Doug Gilmour as coaches of this
prestigious event. Don has been a tremendous
builder of this event since it began in 1996, and
Doug’s participation will be exciting for the Maple
Leafs’ fans in attendance.”
The rosters were selected by the
30 NHL General Managers with NHL Central Scouting
and include 18 players from the Ontario Hockey
League, 13 players from the Western Hockey League,
and nine players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey
League.
The rosters include all three
players that were ranked first overall in their
regional league in NHL Central Scouting’s
Preliminary Draft Rankings including Ryan
Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels who will
compete with Team Orr, while Swedish National Junior
Team hopeful Gabriel Landeskog of the Kitchener
Rangers will compete for Team Cherry alongside Team
Canada forward Sean Couturier of the Drummondville
Voltigeurs.
27 of the CHL’s 60 teams are
represented in this game including four players from
the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks along with four
players from the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. Both
the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers and Oshawa Generals are
each represented by three players.
The 2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL
Top Prospects Game marks the 13th year of
involvement for Cherry who has coached head-to-head
against Bobby Orr 11 different times including
six-straight meetings when the event began in 1996
at Maple Leaf Gardens. Last year in Windsor Team
Cherry emerged with a 4-2 win over Team Orr to give
Cherry his fifth coaching win in this event which
also included a win over coaching opponent John
Davidson in 2005. Following the 2006 contest the
CHL presented the Don Cherry and Bobby Orr Home
Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Trophy for the first
time to the winning team. Engraved on the award are
the names of every player to ever participate in
this prestigious event.
Gilmour returns to Toronto where
his number 93 jersey was honoured by the Maple Leafs
in January, 2009. He played six seasons with the
blue and white from 1991-97 including three years as
team captain. In 1,474 career NHL games, Gilmour
had his best season as a Maple Leaf scoring 127
points in 83 games as a nominee for the Hart
Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable
player, and winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy as
Best Defensive Forward in the 1992-93 season. He is
currently in his third season as Head Coach of the
OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs.
The 2010 event in Windsor, ON,
featured 17 CHL players that were selected in the
first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft including
Taylor Hall who became the ninth player to compete
in this event before being selected first overall
when he was chosen by the Edmonton Oilers in June.
Previous first overall picks following this game
include Chris Phillips, Joe Thornton, Vincent
Lecavalier, Rick Nash, Marc-Andre Fleury, Patrick
Kane, Steven Stamkos, and John Tavares.
Home Hardware continues as the
title sponsor of the Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top
Prospects Game for the twelfth straight year dating
back to 2000 when the game was last played at Air
Canada Centre. Associate sponsors include Bank of
Montreal, Subway, and CCM.
The game will be broadcast
nationally live on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS.
Beginning
Thursday December 23, 2010, at noon, tickets for the
2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Skills
Competition and Game will be available
individually. Tickets are available beginning at
$10 for the Skills Competition on January 18 and $40
for the Game on January 19 at
www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling 416-872-5000.
Team
Cherry (Red)
Forwards (12):
Sean
Couturier, Drummondville Voltigeurs
Phillip
Danault, Victoriaville Tigres
Nicklas
Jensen, Oshawa Generals
Tomas
Jurco, Saint John Sea Dogs
Gabriel
Landeskog, Kitchener Rangers
Mark
McNeill, Prince Albert Raiders
Matthew
Puempel, Peterborough Petes
Rickard
Rakell, Plymouth Whalers
Ty Rattie,
Portland Winterhawks
Tobias
Rieder, Kitchener Rangers
Mark
Scheifele, Barrie Colts
Ryan
Strome, Niagara IceDogs
Defencemen (6):
Myles
Bell, Regina Pats
Scott
Harrington, London Knights
Joe
Morrow, Portland Winterhawks
Ryan
Murphy, Kitchener Rangers
Duncan
Siemens, Saskatoon Blades
Tyler
Wotherspoon, Portland Winterhawks
Goaltenders (2):
Christopher Gibson, Chicoutimi Sagueneens
David
Honzik, Victoriaville Tigres
Coaching Staff:
Head Coach
-Don Cherry
Assistant
Coach - Brian Kilrea, Ottawa 67’s
Assistant
Coach - Bert O’Brien
Training Staff:
Russ
Hammond, Guelph Storm
Brian
Miller, Peterborough Petes
Team
Orr (White)
Forwards (12):
Sven
Bartschi, Portland Winterhawks
Daniel
Catenacci, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Jonathan
Huberdeau, Saint John Sea Dogs
Colin
Jacobs, Seattle Thunderbirds
Boone
Jenner, Oshawa Generals
Lucas
Lessio, Oshawa Generals
Shane
McColgan, Kelowna Rockets
Vladislav
Namestnikov, London Knights
Ryan
Nugent-Hopkins, Red Deer Rebels
Zack
Phillips, Saint John Sea Dogs
Brandon
Saad, Saginaw Spirit
Vincent
Trocheck, Saginaw Spirit
Defencemen (6):
Nathan
Beaulieu, Saint John Sea Dogs
Dougie
Hamilton, Niagara IceDogs
David
Musil, Vancouver Giants
Xavier
Ouellet, Montreal Juniors
Stuart
Percy, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors
Reece
Scarlett, Swift Current Broncos
Goaltenders (2):
Jordan
Binnington, Owen Sound Attack
Liam
Liston, Brandon Wheat Kings
Coaching Staff:
Head Coach
- Doug Gilmour, Kingston Frontenacs
Assistant
Coach - Stan Butler, Brampton Battalion
Training Staff:
Joey
Garland, Windsor Spitfires
Kevin Emo,
Barrie Colts |