NHL Draft Watch: Another Roy on the rise in Quebec
NHL Draft Watch is your guide for eligible players worth keeping an eye on leading up to June's draft.
Rising/Falling
Rising: Jeremy Roy, D, Sherbrooke (QMJHL)
Roy - no relation to Colorado Avalanche coach and NHL goaltending legend Patrick Roy - is scoring at a point-per-game pace with the Sherbrooke Phoenix after recording 44 points in his rookie season. The right-handed blue-liner is helping turn the Phoenix into one of the better puck-possession teams in the QMJHL.
Roy combines smooth skating with fast hands and good awareness to dazzle against his peers on a nightly basis. He can dance around diving defenders on the power play, but he's also smart off the puck, forcing turnovers and creating odd-man rushes in transition.
Plenty of NHL teams need right-handed defensemen who can move the puck well, so Roy could be one of the most attractive blue line options in June. He's already projected as a first-round pick, but he could be a top-10 selection if he keeps up the pace.
Rising: Nick Merkley, C, Kelowna (WHL)
Merkley is tied with teammate Rourke Chartier atop the WHL scoring race thanks to an 11-game scoring streak. He has four goals and 16 assists in that span and is vaulting up draft boards as a result.
The Calgary native is first and foremost a playmaker, as his assist totals will attest. Merkley has already surpassed the 33 helpers of his rookie season in fewer than half the games, which compensates for his dip in goal-scoring.
The Kelowna Rockets lead the league and hold an extremely comfortable 15-point cushion in their division because of the play of Merkley and Chartier. It's likely Merkley's production will slow slightly along with the Rockets, who are benefiting from the best shooting percentage and second-best save percentage in the WHL, but he is displaying first-round form in November.
Falling: Pavel Zacha, C, Sarnia (OHL)
The beginning of Zacha's draft-eligible season has been nothing short of frustrating. The Czech standout recorded two assists in his first five games and is third in scoring on the Sarnia Sting, trailing Nikita Korostelev and defenseman Anthony DeAngelo.
If Zacha is frustrated, it's starting to show. He received a six-game suspension for a dangerous hit last Friday against the Erie Otters - his second suspension of the month after receiving a two-game ban for a slew foot.
The lack of scoring and lack of discipline makes for an ugly combination in a prospect. Zacha has the raw talent to be a productive professional some day, but he still has a lot to prove. His performance once he returns in December will go a long way towards determining his draft stock.
Spotlight
New crop of Sea Dogs in Saint John
The Saint John Sea Dogs were the best team in Canadian junior hockey for nearly two seasons, winning the QMJHL championship in 2011 and 2012 and capturing the 2011 Memorial Cup with a roster that included Jonathan Huberdeau, Simon Despres, Tomas Jurco and Nathan Beaulieu.
Saint John fell off after losing those players to the NHL, finishing 16th and 17th in the last two seasons, but the Sea Dogs are back on top of the QMJHL this year - due in large part to the play of three draft-eligible players.
Adam Marsh, Nathan Noel and defenseman Thomas Chabot lead the team in scoring. The trio of 17 year olds - along with draft-eligible Czech import defenseman Jakub Zboril - probably won't be first-rounders in June, but their contributions to Saint John's turnaround should not be ignored.
Marsh is a rookie from Chicago who signed with Saint John as a free agent in the offseason and leads the team in goals. Noel is building off a 39-point rookie campaign and is the Sea Dogs' top faceoff man. Chabot is taking a big step forward after an inconsistent rookie year, nearly matching his rookie point total in 22 games.
NHL teams would be wise to watch the Sea Dogs for mid- to late-round sleepers. Marsh, Noel, Chabot and Zboril are all likely a few seasons away from being pros, but they're helping bring that winning feeling back to Saint John.