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Ethan Gauthier, Mathieu Cataford head top 10 NHL draft list

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As hard as it is to believe, the QMJHL regular season is right around the corner so that means it’s time to assess the 2022-23 landscape.

For this week that means roughing out the scouting picture. Here’s an early look at the top 10 prospects for the next NHL draft:

1. Ethan Gauthier, RW, Sherbrooke Phoenix: The 2021 QMJHL first overall pick is already fulfilling the high expectations. Gauthier came on strong in the second half of his rookie season to finish with a solid 39 points in 65 games. He followed up with a terrific showing for Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka under-18 championship in August, scoring six times in five games to lead the team in goals. The son of former NHL defenseman Denis Gauthier is a fantastic skater with excellent hands and vision. Current projections put him as a mid/late first-rounder.

2. Mathieu Cataford, C, Halifax Mooseheads: He might not grab your attention right away the way the flashier Gauthier does but the maturity and polish in his two-way game warms the hearts of scouts after repeated viewings. Cataford’s style and personality compare best to Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, who always makes the right play and is universally respected across the NHL. And just to add another layer to his quiet excellence, Cataford tore it up down the stretch in 2021-22 to finish first in league scoring for 16-year-olds.

3. Tyler Peddle, F, Drummondville Voltigeurs: The pure athleticism of the Antigonish native leaps out at you when you watch him play. Peddle’s a powerful skater who eats up open ice and gives as good as he gets in the corners. The son of St. Francis Xavier X-Men head coach Brad Peddle is a shoot-first player who worked on adding a playmaking dimension to his game last year.

4. Dylan MacKinnon, D, Mooseheads: Physical strength and defense are MacKinnon’s bread and butter. He loves to overpower opponents and will only get better at that as he fills out his six-foot-two frame. MacKinnon doesn’t see himself as an offensive defenseman but he has good puck skills and a hard shot. There’s likely more potential there than he realizes.

5. Jordan Tourigny, D, Shawinigan Cataracts: His older brother Miguel was arguably the top offensive defenseman in the league the past two years and he’s very much in the same mold. Tourigny progressed well in his rookie season with the Q champion Cataractes and went on to wear an ‘A’ for Canada at the Ivan Hlinka. At five-foot-11, his size won’t limit him quite as much as his brother, who played at five-foot-eight, 172 pounds.

6. Vincent Collard, C, Baie-Comeau Drakkar: Big players are sometimes slower to develop when they graduate to a new level so it shouldn’t alarm anyone the six-foot-two, 195-pound pivot only produced 20 points last year. He was the No. 3 pick in the 2021 QMJHL draft for a reason and there’s little doubt he will take a healthy step forward as a sophomore this season.

7. Matyas Melovsky, C, Drakkar: Even at ninth overall, many called the Czech sniper a steal in this summer’s CHL import draft. Melovsky is highly skilled, reasonably big at six-foot one, 190 pounds and should make an immediate impact in Baie-Comeau.

8. Luke Coughlin, D, Rimouski Oceanic: All signs point to the Charlottetown native hitting the ground running after a solid rookie season in 2021-22. But the 2021 No. 4 pick hurt himself in game against the Victoriaville Tigres on Aug. 26 and will miss several weeks. Some have suggested he might even be sidelined until the Christmas break, which would be a real downer for the gifted defenseman.

9. Etienne, Morin, D, Moncton Wildcats: Moncton didn’t have a pick in the first round in 2021 but hit a home run in the second when they got Morin 21st overall. He was the highest-scoring 16-year-old defenseman in the league last year with 33 points in 64 games, which was 12 more than second-place Tourigny.

10. Nathan Drapeau, D, Val-d’Or Foreurs: His stats were pretty modest last year but there are two good reasons why – he was buried on a stacked blue line in Saint John and has the dreaded late hockey birthday (December 28). Drapeau’s an all-around defender who will play big minutes in every situation this season so expect a jump in production.