Ferraro impresses scouts
Red Deer Rebels centre Landon Ferraro will probably have to stumble his way through the remainder of the Western Hockey League season to avoid being selected in the first round of the NHL entry draft June 26-27 in Montreal.
Ferraro is one of five Rebels ranked by Central Scouting in the bureau’s mid-term report, and after being listed at No. 9 among WHL players in Central Scouting’s preliminary list, his current ranking of No. 13 among all North American skaters eligible for the ‘09 entry draft suggests that he’s gained some momentum with the talent evaluators.
Rebels head coach Jesse Wallin is not surprised that Ferraro, now sixth-ranked among WHL skaters, has moved up the ranks.
“Landon has been our go-to guy for the most part. He’s our leading scorer (with 25 goals and 40 points in 43 games) and his play has been fairly consistent through the year,” Wallin said Tuesday.
“He has a lot of attributes that the scouts really like. He’s built for today’s game. He’s quick, he’s competitive and he has a knack for scoring. . . a nose for the net.”
Also listed by Central Scouting in its mid-term rankings of North American skaters and goaltenders are forwards Cass Mappin (27th) and Willie Coetzee (77th), defenceman Tommi Kivisto (No. 46) and netminder Darcy Kuemper (No. 6).
Kivisto, at one time a sure-fire first-round prospect and along with Ferraro a participant in tonight’s CHL Top Prospects game in Oshawa, Ont., has clearly lost ground with the scouts, possibly due to a sub-par outing by himself and his Finnish teammates at the recent world junior championship.
Kivisto was ranked seventh among WHL players in November and now has 12 WHL skaters listed ahead of him.
“I didn’t see him play at all, but from the sounds of it Finland had just a decent team at the world juniors and played just OK,” said Wallin.
“I don’t know how much that might have effected Tommi. Being on the world stage and being so highly-touted. . . maybe there was some disappointment from scouts who expected more, I’m not sure.
“At the end of the day they are what they are — they are rankings and a bit of an indicator. But certainly teams have their own opinions and I know there’s a lot of teams that have Tommi rated very highly.”
Mappin was ranked 13th among WHL skaters two months ago, so when factoring in the other major junior leagues and international players, it’s difficult to determine if his overall standing with the scouts has changed despite the fact he’s moved up among WHL players, sitting ninth in the latest league rankings.
Regardless, Wallin sees the rugged, six-foot-one, 185-pound Big Valley native as a solid pro prospect.
“The strength of his game is obviously below the top of the circles in the offensive zone,” said the Rebels bench boss.
“I think that’s something that’s lacking a bit in today’s game. There are fewer and fewer guys who are built to play down low.
“The emphasis now is on speed, but there’s still a huge need for guys who can bull their way to the net, protect the puck down low and create opportunities for their linemates. ‘Maps’ has that ability and he’s also a decent skater. I know a lot of scouts and the big thing they talk about concerning Cass is his strength.”
Coetzee was listed 19th among WHL skaters in Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings and maintained his spot this time around. His overall North American ranking would suggest that the fleet-footed winger could go in the first four rounds of the entry draft.
“From talking to scouts throughout the season, they love his speed and his tenacity,” said Wallin. “He has areas of his game that he has to improve, most notably being his defensive play, but there’s a lot to like with Willie.”
The Rebels reassigned Coetzee to Cowichan Valley of the BCHL in November of last year. He returned to the WHL club in August packing an additional 20 pounds of muscle.
“Willie didn’t accept or take it lightly that he wasn’t able to play here last year. He went home and did something about it,” said Wallin, in reference to Coetzee’s stringent off-season training regimen. “That kind of competitiveness, determination and work ethic is going to carry him a long way and he’s certainly made an impression with people in the game.”
Among the five Rebels, Kuemper made the biggest impact with the Central Scouting evaluators and is currently the top-ranked WHL netminder available for the entry draft, up from No. 4 in the league in November. His performance over the last two months allowed the Rebels to trade veteran Morgan Clark to the Swift Current Broncos last week.
“He’s worked our way up our depth chart as well,” said Wallin. “He came into the season as a rookie back-up goaltender and as he continued to progress he earned more ice time and became our go-to guy.”
Kuemper posted back-to-back shutouts heading into the Christmas break, but hasn’t been as sharp in a handful of games since.
“But we have every reason to believe he’s going to be real solid for us down the stretch. The guys are pretty confident playing in front of him,” said Wallin.
One Rebel noticeably absent in the Central Scouting rankings is defenceman Justin Weller, whose omission is clearly due to the fact that injuries have limited him to 10 games this season. Otherwise, the six-foot-three, 200-pound Daysland product would be a virtual cinch for the entry draft.
“He’s a guy I think would have been rated in the top three rounds without the injuries he’s gone through,” said Wallin, who is confident that Weller will get the attention of scouts over the rest of the season.
“Injuries are a part of the game and they have obviously had an impact on his (draft) status, but I don’t think Justin has dwelled on that too much. He’ll make the most of the rest of the year and I think some team will show enough confidence in him to draft him.
“He might go a little later in the draft, but where you get drafted isn’t as important as what happens after the fact. I think some team is going to get a good pick in ‘Wellsy” and is going to be pleasantly surprised with him.”
• The Rebels will close out a four-game homestand this weekend, with the Chilliwack Bruins at the Centrium Friday and the Vancouver Giants to follow 24 hours later.
Contact Greg Meachem at gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com
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