At the mid season point there are 2 players from the OJ on the list. Brandon Piri and Reily Smith

I thought the list was coming out on Tuesday! What about the other canadian junior A players who were on the previous watch list, none of them made it except for these 2? How do you know for sure?

thank you!

Current OJHL Players

Skaters:

80. Brandon Pirri Georgetown
167. Reilly Smith St. Mikes

Goalies:

23. Matt Ginn Lindsay

Former OJHL Players

Skaters:

1. John Tavares (Milton)
43. Ethan Werek (Stouffville)
58. Matt Clark (Brampton)
131. Jordan Mayer (Kingston)
134. Darren Archibald (Stouffville)
139. Marc Zanetti (Markham)
144. Brett Flemming (Burlington)
201. Andy Andreoff (Pickering)
206. Jeremy Price (Milton)


Goalies:

1. Eddie Pasquale (Wellington)
30. Brandon Foote (Whitby)

The draft is such a numbers game, but it's what we've got.

Looking at Brandon Pirri at 80th ranked for North American players. Wow a 3rd round pick...but wait

You need to double that number for his overall ranking, so now he's 159-160th or somewhere in the 6th Round.

Hold on, everybody needs a goalie so let say more than 20 teams pick a goalie before him...7th Round.

Not bad. The kids got an outside shot, especially with his scoring and effort at the World Jr A Challenge. He might be a flyer for one team but they would likely want to see him in the OHL for a year if they could first to see if he can play with the big boys.

Unfortunately by the numbers Mr. Reilly goes in the 12th round. There are only 7 I think. Ginn needs to look at other options as being rated in the mid 40's won't track him in at this point.

In a recent interview with a rep from NHL CS he put Pirri as a 4th or 5th round pick based on where he stood originally. I think he moved up, not positive, but I think he did. I wouldn't really immediately "double" the numbers.

However, someone does have to actually draft him, other than that it's all projections.

Sorry guys, without any disrespect to any player mentioned I am afraid that the player being discussed is not even close to having what it takes to make it to the show. If former Raider Mike Kneopfoli who was drafted by the Leafs did not make it to the NHL, even though he is doing fantastic in minor pro hockey, then there is no way that any player mentioned in this thread could expect anything more.

Being named to that list doesn't mean you are going to the NHL! As far as I know the last list in April is the one they draft from...lost of additions and omissions to come! I think that it sure would be an honour for those boys to be named if nothing else! Keep working hard boys!

First of all let's get his name right: KNOEPFLI LOL.

The NHL draft has changed quite a bit since the lockout and teams are looking for different type of players.

When Mike was drafted, 289 players were selected ( he was # 276). Today, only 210 picks are made.

You mentioned Mike is "doing fantastic". I noticed he scored one goal in 50 games last year in the Swiss League. I know there is more than just stats but can you please elaborate?

Thanks

I agree with "Still Stirrin", if Pirri makes the NHL, I'll put on the blades and come out of retirement.

From what I've seen, he may be able to score goals at this level (only 1 against the Tigers in 2 games) but he lacks the intensity and toughness to ever make in to the NHL. He's what we used to call, a great "Pond Player", but unfortunately the NHL does not play on ponds.

Just an opinion.

Here's what I'll never understand....

From the time a little kid puts on the skates and dominates his level, he has his naysayers. He's not that good, he's on a good team, the coach over plays him, the parents must be friends with the coach, the parents must have paid money, one day other players will catch up to him. etc. etc.

The kid keeps moving up, dominating. People keep on with the negative.

Now the kid reaches a high level of play and the best talent evaluators in the word deem the kid a prospect. People still find the negative in the situation.

I don't understand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, my scouting report for Saginaw on a kid who fits this description starts like this....."Hands down the best pro prospect in the OJHL".

Now if you can just get some of those 92's to report to Saginaw you'll be all set. LOL.

is Andy Bathgate in the rankings? former raider now Belleville Bull seemed like a solid kid last year.

Cheers!

Go Leafs Go!

He hasn't been ranked...yet, but hasn't been getting all that much ice time. The good news is that he is expected to play more in the second half of the season so we'll see if he gets ranked on the next list.

Kev - thank you. Too many times, this player has been criticized, picked on, you name it from people who do not even know him. All they see is that he is doing well so spend all of their energy discreditting a good hockey player.

Yes his Dad is involved, but guess what, he does not go out on the ice and score or setup goals.
He is traded to a team where his Dad is not involved and continues to show that he is an elite player.
Still he gets railed on by a bunch of jealous losers. He goes to the Jr. A Challenge and the Prospects Game and still - more criticism.

I am not comparing the kid to anyone, in fact I have only seen the kid play once, however there was a player once who had to leave his home town (Brantford) to avoid the crap from a bunch of jealous morons who had nothing better to do than to try and make a kid feel bad about being a talented hockey player.
Yes there were other reasons for the move, but if you read Walter's book, this was one of the reasons.
He goes on to be one of the best players in the history of the game.

Now he is Canadian Hockey's Ambassador to the world and his Dad is a Hockey Icon.

The unfortunate part of this forum which is a great source of information is that people who have issues are allowed to get on here and try and bring others down to their level. Tony does a great job moderating this forum, however more needs to be done to rid it of the scum that is trying to drag others down to their level. Thanks for getting me started Kev.

It takes more energy to be negative than it does to positive. Conserve Energy.

Wow, give an opinion and you get dumped on like you just killed someone.

I've seen Pirri play against the Tigers this season. Because of his press clippings I guess I was expecting a lot more but like I said he only managed 1 goal in 2 games against Aurora as a Raider and was not a threat at any time. I would take Georgetown's Marcoux over Pirri any time of the day based on their play against the Tigers.

Sorry, that's my opinion which I think I am entitled to or has the Canadian Bill Of Rights changed!

As they say, the proof is in the pudding. We will all be watching Pirri's progress and if he makes it to the NHL, I will be the first to congratulate him and eat some crow.

Till then, my opinion stands.

Sometimes people forget that this kid is only 17. When compared to other 17 year olds he is projected pretty high and it's well deserved.

I remember people saying some negative things about a guy with St. Mikes named Cogliano when he was NHL ranked as a 17 year old.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion.

"Estock"

In my opinion Cogliano was miles ahead of Pirri when he was a 17 year old with the Buzzers. The major difference, Cogliano was a better skater, better puck handler and more aggressive. Cogliano could control the play when he was on the ice and had the ability to make an end to end rush and score. Don't get me wrong, Pirri is an excellent player but I really don't see him in the same class as Cogliano at 17.

Okay SMC... is Pirri an excellent player or a terrific pond player?

You say you have seen him play twice. When watching anyone play against your beloved Tigers, absolutely no-one seems to stack up. I would love to hear that you have jumped in your car and watched Pirri on a few more occasions, against teams that you do not worship, and hear your opinion then. One or two games does not make up a season...

Brandon Pirri is one of two players from the OJHL to make the midseason list. Let's pat the young man on the back and wish him a strong playoff season, hoping his stock rises as the playoffs roll along.

I look forward to reading your posts SMC, don't get me wrong. There really is life outside of Aurora and you should wander southern Ontario a bit to enhance the opinions that you offer here in The Cage.

Happy hockey to all !!!

"munnyman"

I only referred to the 2 games that Pirri played against the Tigers as a Georgetown Raider, but Aurora played against Pirri also when he was with the Streetsville Derbys. In those 2 games 4-3 and 7-4 for the Tigers, Pirri scored 1 pp goal. To be honest though, I haven't checked but he may have been traded to the Raiders before the 7-4 game, not sure. So I have seen him play 3 times for sure, maybe 4.

I know there is life outside of Aurora, I live in Thornhill. LOL

I think what it boils down to is that sports fans in this country, and in particular hockey fans, tend to cheer for the underdog.

The player low on talent but who is determined, gritty and sacrifices his body, is applauded. However, the player with the skill, the guy who can bring you out of your seat or make you ooh and aw with a beautiful pass is criticized, especially if he is a perimeter player.

It's easy to be a critic. If you're wrong, no one remembers.

Estock,

I'm confident that Brandon Saad will be in a Spirit uniform next year. I also think we made some solid picks in the mid rounds, especially on D. Matt Braun (Oakville), Kyle Flemington (Sarnia) and Jamie Olesiak (Little Caesers).

"From the time a little kid puts on the skates and dominates his level, he has his naysayers. He's not that good, he's on a good team, the coach over plays him, the parents must be friends with the coach, the parents must have paid money, one day other players will catch up to him. etc. etc.

The kid keeps moving up, dominating. People keep on with the negative.

Now the kid reaches a high level of play and the best talent evaluators in the word deem the kid a prospect. People still find the negative in the situation.

I don't understand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


You don't understand??

Understand that his dad & Bakers dad didn't have to pay anyone off, they are/were running the show. In minor hockey they weren't dominating & the other kids were surpassing them.

Pirri was a slightly better than average goal scorer that played (& still plays) a one dimensional game. He, nor his dad could give a crap what happens in their end so long as he got his points in the other.

Maybe he is "criticized, especially if he is a perimeter player", because he is a perimeter player. Pass it to me I'll take a slap shot.

The other was a liability on defence & his offence was nothing to write home about. He wasn't even considered average among his defence playing peers in minor hockey.


Now they reach Junior age, the stakes get a little higher. Of course the parents are in complete control. All of a sudden they are dominating.

Baker is the leagues leading defenceman in point production & Pirri is one of the tops in the league as well. Either the league has dropped below the level of their Minor Midget AAA league a few years back or maybe just maybe parental involvement might have had something to do with it.

Pirri Stats this year
With
Streetsville 18GP 21G 28A 49PTS
Since Joining
Georgetown 18GP 13G 15A 28PTS

In those 18 Games with Georgetown, their team has scored 98 goals. When he played the 18 games with Streetsville, he had 49 Pts with only 70 Goals scored.

Of course everyone will get on about, he has to share the ice now, he has better players playing with him, whatever. How about relative to everyone elses ice he played 3 games to most players 1 game in Streetsville. They both have/had phantom points coming out of their butts in Streetsville. It was/is parental manipulation of the grandest scale.

A wise man once told me that stopping a goal is as important as getting one. Seems to have fallen on deaf ears with that group. Maybe it's not glamorous enough or maybe it's because you can't get "phantom" assists for stopping goals.

So would he be where he is right now on the draft list if it wasn't for the 49 points in Streetsville? Using his scoring pace at Georgetown & if he played all 41 games there he would have 64 points. Not bad, good enough for 22nd. Tied with that other 91 Tresham & behind that other 91 Ian Watters (not eligible until next year) & ever so slightly ahead of that 91 Streetsville defenceman named Baker.

As a side note. Since Pirri left Streetsville, Baker has 28 points in 18 games as well.

I don't think Pirri would be anywhere as far north on that list if it wasn't for his record with the Streetsville sham. Being a one dimensional perimeter player, he might not have even been put on it.

BTW, ex OPJHL & GMHL (for you outlaw guys) player Archibald is head & shoulders a better player than Pirri & to have him ranked behind him is mind boggling.

P.S. No Erlich? I thought the NHL liked little people now.

I would have expected to see Erlich on the list. H emay be added on later.

Oui, mon dieu dat petit garcon is tres bien