I agree with alot of your choices in the West (don't follow the east enough to comment on those picks). But one thing I'll say is Gregg Sutch should be up for best body checker. That has been the one thing he has done well all year. He likes to run people over. Fun to watch. I'd also take Kea over Locke as the better PK guy.
You may add into the top 3:
Best Penalty Killer
Mike Curtis
Best Shot Blocker
Mike Curtis
Hardest Shot
Danny Zharkov
Best Shootout Goalie
#1 Malcolm Subban
I thought of Curtis when it came to the shot blocking category and best defensive forward. But ultimately felt there were better candidates.
Curtis is certainly a terrific penalty killer too, but IMO Cramarossa is the better of Belleville's players.
And Subban is #2 as a shootout goalie. There's absolutely no way he's number one in the East. Not only is Matthias Niederberger the best shootout goalie in the East, he's the best in the entire OHL. He's given up a total of 2 goals in 20 attempts this year.
Brock, was Josh Chapman any thought on best Shot Blocker? That kid doesn't have the best form, but he will use any part of his body to block the shot.
Absolutely. So was Craig Duininck. Both guys do a great job of getting into shooting lanes.
But I went with Harrington at number one because he's so smart about blocking. He anticipates the play so well and does well to read what the shooter is thinking. London is hurting defensively without him right now. And McNaughton is just a warrior out there. Nastasiuk is probably a bit of a bias choice because I like the kid a lot. Whenever I see Owen Sound play, he's always giving up the body to block shots and is terrific on the penalty kill taking away the shooting lanes from the point. Chapman (and Duininck) certainly could have easily been that 3rd West choice.
I thought of Curtis when it came to the shot blocking category and best defensive forward. But ultimately felt there were better candidates.
Curtis is certainly a terrific penalty killer too, but IMO Cramarossa is the better of Belleville's players.
And Subban is #2 as a shootout goalie. There's absolutely no way he's number one in the East. Not only is Matthias Niederberger the best shootout goalie in the East, he's the best in the entire OHL. He's given up a total of 2 goals in 20 attempts this year.
On faceoffs, he doesn't get a lot of attention but I'd love to see his actual stats -- Curtis Meighan in Kitchener. It's so rare that he doesn't win the draw, you're surprised when it happens.
Great list as always, Brock. I'm going to reorder your defensive defenseman picks, though. I think both Chiarlitti and Levi are in better position this year to take 1 and 2 in this category. Although Harrington took the top spot last year (I think), both Chiarlitti and Levi have in beat pretty handily in the plus/minus category. Chiarlitti's got the edge in point and even though Levi has a couple more games to play, it's safe to assume he will not catch Nathan in that department. This being a "defensive defenseman" category, however, I dont' thin that should weigh too heavily. I like Hughes' season, but I think the other three are all clearly above him in this category. I would probably go with Chiarlitti at the top and Levi Second followed by Harrington, but the minutes Levi has played and the assigments he has had may give him an edge in the eyes of enough coaches. That one could go either way imho. I'd be surprised if those three don't show up in some order, though.
Completely missed on the "most dangerous in the goal area" and "best skater" categories.
I think I have sort of a different opinion of the definition of most dangerous in the goal area I guess. My thought there is guys who are incredibly difficult to handle near the crease (what I would call the goal area). Thus my picks of Ritchie, Jenner, and Goodrow. Where as the coaches...well they seemed to go with more of a "the best goal scorer" approach with the likes of Scheifele, Strome, and Graovac.
As for best skater, the players listed are certainly terrific skaters. But I don't see how Jesse Graham isn't listed there. He's been a mainstay on that part of the coaches poll previously...and it's one of the sole reasons he's able to function as a top pairing defenseman in this league. Definitely don't agree with his omission.
For me, "most dangerous in the goal area" would be the last guy you want standing there with the puck. The goal is to score, so a dangerous guy in that area is going to put the puck in the net. You could have a big guy who doesn't move from in front, but if he's not going to score, he's not dangerous to the other team.
A few guys. I had Brace in the stickhandler category and Spencer Martin in the shootout goalie category (both third). I would have had Brace 4th in best playmaker, and Dylan DeMelo 4th in best offensive defenseman. I heavily considered both for those categories (of which both cracked the actual list for).
Brace as the 3rd smartest player in the East...I don't buy though. I've seen him take way too many undisciplined selfish penalties out of frustration, or in the heat of the moment to consider him for that category. To me, a truly intelligent hockey player is one that is also disciplined. Give me a Mark Scheifele or Brendan Gaunce in that category over Brace.
. Quine,2 Subans,Cramarossa,and Graovac not sure if I missed any others.
