SAINT JOHN DOMINATES CENTRAL SCOUTING DRAFT RANKINGS

You know a junior hockey team has some depth in their lineup when the entire fourth line is among the 212 best North American draft eligible skaters for the upcoming National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Ryan Tesink (49), Scott Oke (58), Aidan Kelly (80), and Jason Cameron (114) all made NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings for the 2011 entry draft that will be held in Minnesota this summer.

Both Oke and Tesink made Central Scouting’s preliminary list for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League that was released in November. Cameron and Kelly are new additions to the services radar.

Tesink leads the four with six goals and 16 assists in 36 games this season. The Saint John native has cooled down a bit after a hot start but still has played well all season. Oke has seven points in 34 games, Kelly has six in 34 matches, and Cameron has two in 32 contests.

Defenseman Gabriel Bourret came in at 108 while recently traded defender Guillaume Cloutier was ranked 46th. Bourret has four goals and 15 assists and is a solid +12 while playing on the bottom defense pairing for most of the season.

The five current Dogs have certainly benefitted from playing on a stacked team loaded with top-end draft eligible players. As scouts come to watch Saint John’s ‘Big Four,’ other players are able to step up with a big league audience looking on.

In total, nine Sea Dogs made the list.

The ‘Big Four’ featuring forwards Jonathan Huberdeau, Zach Phillips, Tomas Jurco, and defenseman Nathan Beaulieu were all placed among the top 24 North American skaters. Huberdeau was the highest ranked, coming in at No. 4, just two spots back of Drummondville Voltigeurs star Sean Couturier.

Huberdeau has been on fire of late and currently sits second in league in scoring with 27 goals and 38 assists in just 40 games. He is coming off a five-point game against the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday.

Beaulieu was ranked ninth on the list, the second highest defenseman behind Niagara’s Dougie Hamilton. Beaulieu hasn’t been playing his best hockey of late but still has had a pretty good season. He leads the team in defenseman scoring with eight goals and 20 assists in 40 games to go along with a +25 rating.

Huberdeau’s linemate Zach Phillips was ranked 12th. The Fredericton native has 27 goals – tied for fourth overall in the QMJHL – and 33 assists in 40 matches. Slovakian Tomas Jurco is the final Sea Dog ranked in the top 30, coming in at No. 24. Jurco had 17 markers and 15 helpers in 33 contests prior to participating in the World Junior Hockey Championships over the past few weeks.

Also, as pointed out by SN reader Lorne, Michael Paliotta was ranked 32nd. He is currently playing in the States but was drafted by the Sea Dogs in the 10th round of June's QMJHL Entry Draft.

Although no Sea Dog has ever played in the NHL, things are looking good for the years to come.