Tyler Ennis has had the date circled on his calendar for a long time.
The Medicine Hat Tigers’ forward was one of 40 Canadian Hockey League players that were named to play in the 2008 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Edmonton, Alberta on January 23 and the Edmonton native can’t wait to hit the ice in his hometown.
“I was really excited,” Ennis said after being announced to play in the game during a media conference in Edmonton last week. “It was a goal for me to make this team and anytime you can play in front of your friends and family, it’s going to be exciting. I think there could be a few friends and lots of family members so it’s going to be fun to play in front of them.”
Having Edmonton Oilers’ greats Grant Fuhr and Glenn Anderson behind the white team bench and Calgary Flames’ greats Mike Vernon and Lanny McDonald coaching the red team adds a whole new rivalry to the game.
“I didn’t get to see them play too much, but obviously you hear all the stories about the Oilers of the 80’s and how great they were,” Ennis said. “It’s going to be cool to play under them. They are some of the greatest players ever. Their names are hanging up there in the rafters. It’s going to be awesome and I can’t wait.”
Ennis admits that there is some added pressure of playing in front of his home crowd, but doesn’t expect to let that stand in his way of a great performance.
“I think I’m going to be a little bit nervous, but once it gets underway, it’s going to be really exciting,” Ennis said. “I think there are going to be lots of people there. It’s going to settle in and it’s going to be lots of fun.”
This year is a special class of players. Nine of the top 10 North American prospects that were indentified in the mid-term rankings released last week by NHL Central Scouting play in the CHL and will participate in the annual match-up of the league’s top draft-eligible players.
“It’s certainly deep,” said E.J. McGuire, the NHL’s Director of Central Scouting. “In my five-year tenure with Central Scouting, it may be the deepest. I think all of these kids will get at least a shot at the NHL. These are the future stars of our league and they are going to carry our banner going forward into 2010 and beyond.”
McGuire pointed to players like Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks and Sam Gagner with the Edmonton Oilers who made the jump to the NHL the season after playing in the Top Prospects Game.
“We’re proud of the fact that a guy like Sam Gagner is playing for the Edmonton Oilers and getting an average of over 14 minutes a game and just last year he was a member of that Top Prospects Game,” McGuire said. “Not to put any pressure on any of the kids that are there that they have to appear in an NHL uniform next year but I would predict that they are going to appear – all of them – in an NHL uniform at some point in the very near future.”
The rosters were selected with a poll of the 30 National Hockey League general managers, as well as NHL Central Scouting.
“All of the participants should realize that these are the NHL teams that picked you for this game,” McGuire said. “We put out our list of recommended players to be drafted and we are proud of that list and the work of our guys but from the player’s point of view, you have been nominated and won a voting contest among those 30 NHL teams. They wanted to see you there.”
Steven Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting and Drew Doughty of the Guelph Storm were the top two players on the Central Scouting rankings and both helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2008 World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic earlier this month. Luke Schenn (seventh) of the Kelowna Rockets and Zach Boychuk (11th) of the Lethbridge Hurricanes also helped Canada to its fourth straight junior championship. All four players will play in the Top Prospects Game.
“It’s a great honour for me,” said Stamkos. “I just recently got back from the World Junior Championships and to get some more great news is definitely something I’m very proud of. I can’t wait to head out to Edmonton. It’s going to be a very exciting time for me.”
The top four North American goaltending prospects will also participate in the game, including Chet Pickard of the Tri-City Americans, Peter Delmas of the Lewiston MAINEiacs, Thomas McCollum of the Guelph Storm and Kevin Poulin of the Victoriaville Tigres.
“I’m very proud to play in the game,” said Poulin. “I think it’s a great opportunity for me to see some of the other players in Canada and to be coached by those players.”
Virtually every player that has played in the Top Prospects Game since its inception in 1996 have been drafted by the NHL, including Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames, Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks, Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks, Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes and Vincent Lecavalier of the Rimouski Oceanic. Sam Gagner of the Oilers and Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks both played in the event last year in Quebec City.
“I think they are in for a good show in Edmonton,” McGuire said. “The previous Top Prospects Games have been competitively exciting and intense.”
