<p>The major junior hockey season is about to get spicy.</p>



<p>The Memorial Cup kicks off in Saginaw, Michigan on Friday, beginning a week-long journey to see who’ll be crowned CHL champions. The field is as stacked as ever, with the three league winners all sweeping their respective championships.</p>



<p>So it’s not like any of them will be tired – they all had about the same road to get here. And then there’s Saginaw, who London eliminated and had all this time to rest and recoup. We’ve seen teams with early exits come in swinging before, and with Zayne Parekh and Michael Misa leading the way, the Spirit definitely aren’t slouches.</p>



<p>With this being the last event on the junior hockey calendar, let’s look at some of the top NHL prospects taking part from May 24 – June 2:</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="138"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Easton Cowan, C, London (Toronto Maple Leafs)</h2>



<p>Cowan’s a monster. He easily was the OHL playoff MVP with 24 assists and 34 points in a year, which also saw him win the Red Tilson Trophy as the league’s most outstanding player. He had an incredible 15 points in just four championship series games and had at least two points in nine of his final 10 games. Since going 28th to Toronto last summer, Cowan has shown why the Leafs made the right call taking him when they did – his game has just taken major steps forward over the past year. If London wins it all, Cowan will be a big reason why.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Denver Barkey, LW, London (Philadelphia Flyers)</h2>



<p>With 11 points in four championship series games, Barkey is riding a real high. He led London with 102 points while bringing an immense level of energy to every shift. Few high-end producers work as hard as Barkey does to win battles, displaying an energy-forward grindset to every shift that you don’t often find from players with his pure skill. This is Barkey’s time to shine.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="172"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Oliver Bonk, D, London (Philadelphia Flyers)</h2>



<p>A first-round pick by the Flyers last year, Bonk took his offensive game to a new level with 24 goals and 67 points in 60 regular season games. He played some of his best hockey of the season against Oshawa, where he had eight points in the first three games alone. Bonk can still be a bit of a work-in-progress in his own zone, but you can see the pure upside every time he hits the ice. He’s a competitor that hates to lose, simple as that.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kasper Halttunen, RW, London (San Jose Sharks)</h2>



<p>There are few prospects I enjoy watching more than Halttunen, who’s brimming with as much confidence as you’ll find from any junior player. A pure goal-scorer, he had 32 goals in his first regular season with London but really came alive in the playoffs with 17 goals in 18 games. Halttunen is one of the best prospects on the power play, and while that is an overwhelming percentage of his offensive output, you can’t say he’s not effective. The best part? Hallttunen takes pride in pissing off opponents, making him a fan favorite. He loves the spotlight, which he’ll get plenty of in Saginaw. </p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="192"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Max McCue, C, London (Columbus Blue Jackets)</h2>



<p>It takes cojones to pull a lacrosse goal off in a lopsided playoff game but at least nobody can claim McCue isn’t a fun player to watch. He had points in nine of his last 10 playoff games, but his only goal in that span was the Michigan in Game 2. Originally drafted by San Jose in 2021 but left unsigned, the Blue Jackets signed him earlier this spring and it looks like they made the right call. He definitely was impacted by the lost 2020-21 season to COVID-19, but he came out swinging with his creativity and and confidence this year.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-denton-mateychuk-d-moose-jaw-columbus-blue-jackets">Denton Mateychuk, D, Moose Jaw (Columbus Blue Jackets)</h2>



<p>One of the best defensive prospects in the game today, Mateychuk put up a whopping 75 points in 52 games during his second year as Moose Jaw’s captain. He had three two-goal games in the postseason and even had a six-point night in Game 2 against Swift Current in mid-April. Put it this way: if Firkus or Savoie get shut down, Mateychuk can take over like a fourth forward – and that’s terrifying for opponents.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="177"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jagger-firkus-rw-moose-jaw-seattle-kraken">Jagger Firkus, RW, Moose Jaw (Seattle Kraken)</h2>



<p>Firkus is just built different. He won the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s points leader with 126, which also helped him claim Player of the Year honors. He capped off the year with a WHL-leading 32 points, so you know he’s foaming at the mouth for a chance to shine on the big stage. He just loves to perform when the stakes are high – he had 10 goals and 21 points in 10 playoff games a year ago, too. He might just be the best player in this tournament.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-matthew-savoie-c-moose-jaw-buffalo-sabres">Matthew Savoie, C, Moose Jaw (Buffalo Sabres)</h2>



<p>A trade deadline pickup by the Warriors, it’s been a wild season for Savoie. It started on injured reserve after getting hurt at the Buffalo Prospects Challenge in September and resulted in him getting into a handful of NHL and AHL games before returning to junior in the fall. Savoie had 10 goals and 24 points in the postseason this year, failing to register a point in just one game against Saskatoon in the series-clinching bout. That type of consistency is going to be so big for a player who could be NHL-bound next season.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="186"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brayden-yager-c-moose-jaw-pittsburgh-penguins">Brayden Yager, C, Moose Jaw (Pittsburgh Penguins)</h2>



<p>It’s funny that a 50-assist, 78-point draft season was considered a disappointment, but it felt like Yager was capable of much more. This year, he improved to 35 goals and 95 points while still showing his tremendous two-way game with the Warriors. Taken 14th overall by Pittsburgh, Yager is easily Pittsburgh’s top prospect and one that could challenge for a top-six spot in a year or two, depending on how the Penguins approach his development. At the very least, he’s developing at a good enough pace to feel comfortable that he’ll be a big piece of the team’s long-term rebuild/retool when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin officially call it quits. But for now, he’s chasing the CHL’s most coveted hardware.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rodwin-dionicio-d-saginaw-anaheim-ducks">Rodwin Dionicio, D, Saginaw (Anaheim Ducks)</h2>



<p>Set to join Biel-Bienne in the National League in Switzerland next year, this is the last hurrah for a defender coming off a 73-point regular season. He had 20 goals and 53 points in 44 games with Saginaw after his trade from Windsor, and he was also one of the best defenders at the World Juniors, too. With 100 penalty minutes and a boatload of points, Dionicio is an intriguing prospect with a bright future, and he’s going to want to go out with a bang.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="206"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-owen-beck-c-saginaw-montreal-canadiens">Owen Beck, C, Saginaw (Montreal Canadiens)</h2>



<p>Competing in his second consecutive Memorial Cup, the Beck exploded with 51 points in 32 games with Saginaw this year. Projected to be more of a bottom-six forward in the NHL, it was nice seeing Beck show his offensive flair during the season, although he struggled to produce come playoff time. Still, his experience and drive to the net will be important if Saginaw is going to pull off upsets.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-matyas-sapovaliv-c-saginaw-vegas-golden-knights">Matyas Sapovaliv, C, Saginaw (Vegas Golden Knights)</h2>



<p>One of the best players from the 2024 World Juniors, Sapovaliv loves spending time in front of the net. He’s a big-bodied forward that defenders seem to struggle to know what to do with. So even when he’s not producing – and he’s truly a solid passer – he’ll do enough things that you won’t notice on the scoresheet to help Saginaw win. He’s likely a bottom-six NHLer at best but I think his ability to make himself difficult to play against helps him here.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="6" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="155"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nolan-lalonde-g-saginaw-columbus-blue-jackets">Nolan Lalonde, G, Saginaw (Columbus Blue Jackets)</h2>



<p>Saginaw made a splash and added Lalonde from Erie in a trade early in the season. His numbers weren’t great, but he assumed the No. 1 spot in time for the playoffs and played decently well in a series that proved to be the toughest challenge for the Knights. They’ll need more playoff-like performances from Lalonde, who is set to turn pro next season with the Blue Jackets organization in either the AHL or ECHL.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vsevolod-komarov-d-drummondville-buffalo-sabres">Vsevolod Komarov, D, Drummondville (Buffalo Sabres)</h2>



<p>Komarov is no stranger to the Memorial Cup; he won it all with Quebec last year. Now playing his best hockey with Drummondville, the 2022 fifth-rounder is looking to build upon an impressive playoff run that saw him score five goals and 15 points in 19 games. His experience in this tournament should come in handy while playing heavy minutes for a team that shut others out during the postseason. The 6-foot-3 defenseman can be difficult to play against, and they’ll need a bit of his nastiness against the speedy teams Drummondville will find themselves up against.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="7" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="172"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ethan-gauthier-rw-drummondville-tampa-bay-lightning">Ethan Gauthier, RW, Drummondville (Tampa Bay Lightning)</h2>



<p>A second-round pick in 2023, Gauthier was Drummondville’s best forward this year with 36 goals and 71 points in the regular season. I thought he also developed his physical traits nicely this year as he showed he is a more rounded player than he might have appeared in his draft season. If anyone is going to lead this group offensively, it’s Gauthier, but he’ll need to be great against some of the more pure skill teams like Moose Jaw or London.</p>



<p><em>Other notables: Joey Willis, C, Saginaw (Nashville Predators), Hunter Haight, RW, Saginaw (Minnesota Wild), Mikael Diotte, D, Drummondville (New Jersey Devils), Martin Rysavy, LW, Moose Jaw (Columbus Blue Jackets)</em>,<em> Jackson Edward, D, London (Boston Bruins)</em></p>



<p>_____</p>



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