READING, PA – In the Ontario Hockey League, the name Taylor Hall is already reaching legendary status, but if you’re the Central Scouting Bureau, the apparently doesn’t mean mush. Tyler Seguin has, for some unknown reason, leapfrogged Hall for the top prospect rankings of the respected scouting service.
No disrespect to CSB, but can someone explain why? Hall was at the top of the heap in the preseason rankings, and is currently the OHL’s league leader in points with 23 goals and 28 assists (51 points) in 27 games for the Windsor Spitfires. Seguin is currently fifth in scoring with 19 goals and 19 assists (38 points) in 21 games for the Plymouth Whalers.
No disrespect to Seguin, but what in the name of Don Cherry am I missing here? Hall plays on the defending Spitfires who have a record of 21-3-0-3 with the league’s best record. Seguin’s Whalers are 14-11-0-0 so we grant that Hall is on a better team. That said what has Hall done to be supplanted in the rankings? If you said nothing, you’d be correct. So, explain to me again why he is still not the top ranked prospect.
According to a recent article by Bob McKenzie ( http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/bob_mckenzie/?id=298731 ) in a survey of 10 NHL scouts, seven of the 10 scouts picked Hall over Seguin. Rankings are a subjective thing, but this is one time where you know you have to question why CSB would put Seguin over Hall.
Looking at the league standings in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes are tied for the league’s worst record with 15 points each. You get the feeling that come June when the draft begins; you can bet that the GM of either team would love to be the ones to pick either player.
Still, if you’re either GM, one has to believe that Hall is the top pick in this year’s draft. Brian Burke would get lambasted in TO and Jim Rutherford would be hard pressed to pass on Hall even if most of the fan base wouldn’t know either player if they walked into the same room together. Still, fans know there sports and passing on Hall at this point would be a near death experience for either.
The bottom line here is that Hall should be ranked first overall and will be the top pick in next year’s draft. Anything beyond that is wishful thinking.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
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