Getting the Lounge Game-Ready

The NHL and World Cup of Hockey previews are rolling in, most trying to sound notes of optimism and pessimism, just to keep you honest. I decided to fire up a little Reignwolf to provide a soundtrack to the dying days of August, giving me the right chill to move into September and the start of hockey in North America.

The Western Hockey League begin exhibition play tonight, with Swift Current facing Moose Jaw. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League began exhibition action on Aug. 18 and the Ontario Hockey League will open the preseason on Friday with two games. Opening night for the regular season is Sept. 21 in the OHL, Sept. 22 in the QMJHL and Sept. 23 in the WHL. For those of you keeping score, the United States Hockey League also opens on Sept. 23.

NCAA regular-season action starts Oct. 1. And the boys of winter begin Minnesota High School League action on Nov. 22.

Reignwolf, by the way, is the sound you get from Jordan Cook, a native of Saskatoon who has found his place in the Seattle sound garden. Maybe he grew up listening to the WHL's Blades. Maybe he just doesn't care. But if he does, he can answer the next question any time he wants: Everett Silvertips or Seattle Thunderbirds?

Keeping an Eye on the Future

East or west. Canada or the United States. Much of your attention this hockey season should be focused on the the junior leagues. The future stars are playing there, and with the NHL currently out of the picture, the time is now to get on the web and look for all you can find about the two top prospects for the 2013 draft.

Nathan MacKinnon, a center for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He's a Canadian and a player who grew up -- as any video or print report will tell you -- in the same home town as Sydney Crosby.

Any number of preseason draft forecasts have him at or near the top of the list. And last season, he had the pressure of being compared to the top players like the Quebec Remparts' Mikhail Grigorenko, who was taken in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres last June.



The other person battling for attention as the No. 1 selection in 2013?

Seth Jones, a defenseman for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. He's an American. His father, Popeye Jones, played in the NBA.



Both videos are from last spring, and there will be plenty more to watch as the two move through the season, the World Junior Championships and possible runs at their league championships and the Memorial Cup.

Bob McKenzie of TSN broke down his thoughts on MacKinnon and Jones and also rounded out his list of top 10 prospects for the 2014 draft. You think Mel Kiper Jr. knows the NFL draft? McKenzie knows the NHL draft and pretty much any number of levels of hockey beyond just the draft. And he doesn't need a bucket of hair lacquer, either.

I'll try to keep you updated with what is going on in all corners of the rink, so please feel free to join me on the junior beat. I'll be looking at the the Canadian Hockey League (the QMJHL, OHL and WHL compose this association), the United States Hockey League and I also hope to follow the trail of some top players in the CJHL, an association of 10 leagues at the level below the CHL, as well as Minnesota high school hockey and the New England prep leagues.

This is going to be a fun year, even if we don't quite reach the level of enthusiasm displayed in this video for the Victoria Royals of the WHL.

Hockey Feast on Friday

I will be stuck in the office on Friday, a day that includes 13 NHL games, 13 AHL games, 8 ECHL games, 7 QMJHL games, 9 OHL games, 11 WHL games, 6 USHL games, 17 NCAA games and, welcome to the party, 25 Minnesota Boys high school hockey games.

At some point that day, I will be out of the cubicle. That's when my feast of hockey begins.

The Minnesota Hockey Hub site has been preparing us for the season by listing it's top 100 all-time Minnesota high school players, with John Mayasich of Eveleth topping the list. In case you missed it, here are the names. But please, do go to the site and check out the faces of the players who have made the Minnesota game the best high school program of any sport in the nation.

The Minnesota Hockey Hub 100 Greatest Hockey Players
1. John Mayasich -- F -- Eveleth (Class of 1951)
2. Neal Broten -- F -- Roseau (1978)
3. Phil Housley -- D -- South St. Paul (1982)
4. Tim Sheehy -- F -- International Falls (1966)
5. Henry Boucha -- F -- Warroad (1969)
6. Mike Antonovic -- F -- Greenway (1969)
7. Willard Ikola -- G -- Eveleth (1950)
8. Mike Crowley -- D -- Bloomington Jefferson (1994)
9. Dave Spehar -- F -- Duluth East (1996)
10. John Matchefts -- F -- Eveleth (1949)

11. Kyle Rau -- F -- Eden Prairie (2011)
12. Aaron Broten -- F -- Roseau (1979)
13. Craig Norwich -- D -- Edina East (1974)
14. John Pohl -- F -- Red Wing (1998)
15. Gary Sargent -- D -- Bemidji (1972)
16. Bob Krueger -- F -- Edina (1970)
17. George Pelawa -- F -- Bemidji (1986)
18. Bill Nyrop -- D -- Edina (1970)
19. Tom Chorske -- F -- Minneapolis Southwest (1985)
20. Steve 'Pokey' Trachsel -- D -- Duluth Cathedral (1969)

21. Scott Bloom -- F -- Burnsville (1986)
22. Phil Hoene -- F -- Duluth Cathedral (1967)
23. Corey Millen -- F -- Cloquet (1982)
24. Reed Larson -- D -- Minneapolis Roosevelt (1974)
25. Bob Young -- D -- Hill (1971)
26. Brad Shelstad -- G -- Minneapolis Southwest (1970)
27. Mike Ramsey -- D -- Minneapolis Roosevelt (1978)
28. Matt Cullen -- F -- Moorhead (1995)
29. Bill Baker -- D -- Grand Rapids (1975)
30. Paul Martin -- D -- Elk River (2000)

31. Wally Grant -- F -- Eveleth (1945)
32. Brian Bonin -- F -- White Bear Lake (1992)
33. Larry Olimb -- D -- Warroad (1988)
34. Dave Langevin -- D -- Hill-Murray (1972)
35. Joe Bianchi -- F -- Bloomington Jefferson (1994)
36. Peter Fichuk -- F -- International Falls (1965)
37. Jon Casey -- G -- Grand Rapids (1980)
38. Doug Woog -- F -- South St. Paul (1962)
39. Darby Hendrickson -- F -- Richfield (1991)
40. Paul Ranheim -- F -- Edina (1984)

41. Steve Christoff -- F -- Richfield (1976)
42. T.J. Oshie -- F -- Warroad (2005)
43. Scott Lecy -- F -- Rochester John Marshall (1977)
44. Scott Bjugstad -- F -- Irondale (1979
45. Mike 'Lefty' Curran -- G -- International Falls (1962)
46. Joe Micheletti -- F -- Hibbing (1973)
47. Rob McClanahan -- F -- Mounds View (1976)
48. Nick Leddy -- D -- Eden Prairie (2009)
49. Tom Pederson -- D -- Bloomington Jefferson (1988)
50. Dave Christian -- D -- Warroad (1977)

51. Jay North -- F -- Bloomington Jefferson (1980)
52. Paul Johnson -- F -- Breck (1953)
53. Pete Waselovich -- G -- International Falls (1973)
54. Tom Kurvers -- D -- Bloomington Jefferson (1980)
55. Mark Osiecki -- D -- Burnsville (1986)
56. Mark Pavelich -- F -- Eveleth (1976)
57. Mark Parrish -- F -- Bloomington Jefferson (1995)
58. Bryan 'Butsy' Erickson -- F -- Roseau (1978)
59. Roger Christian -- F -- Warroad (1956)
60. Bill Christian -- F -- Warroad (1956)

61. Trent Klatt -- F -- Osseo (1989)
62. Erik Rasmussen -- F -- St. Louis Park (1995)
63. Robb Stauber -- G -- Duluth Denfeld (1986)
64. Joe Dziedzic -- F -- Minneapolis Edison (1990)
65. Ryan McDonagh -- D -- Cretin-Durham Hall (2007)
66. Craig Johnson -- F -- Hill-Murray (1990)
67. Matt Hendricks -- F -- Blaine (2000)
68. Wally Chapman -- F -- Edina (1982)
69. Bob Paradise -- D -- Cretin (1962)
70. Ben Hanowski -- F -- Little Falls (2009)

71. Damian Rhodes -- G -- Richfield (1987)
72. Eric Strobel -- F -- Rochester Mayo (1976)
73. Dick Dougherty -- F -- International Falls (1973)
74. Gino Guyer -- F -- Greenway (2002)
75. Jim Amidon -- F -- International Falls (1963)
76. Karl Goehring -- G -- Apple Valley (1996)
77. Rube Bjorkman -- F -- Roseau (1947)
78. Tony Bianchi -- F -- Bloomington Jefferson (1989)
79. Oscar Mahle -- F -- International Falls (1957)
80. Mike Randolph -- F -- Duluth Central (1970)

81. Aaron Ness -- D -- Roseau (2008)
82. Doug Palazzari -- F -- Eveleth (1970)
83. Nick Checco -- F -- Bloomington Jefferson (1993)
84. John Rothstein -- F -- Grand Rapids (1975)
85. Gary Wood -- D -- International Falls (1965)
86. Al Hangsleben -- D -- Warroad (1971)
87. Doug Peltier -- F -- St. Paul Johnson (1968)
88. Mike Lauen -- F -- Edina East (1979)
89. Max Oshie -- F -- Warroad (1989)
90. Tom Gorowsky -- F -- Centennial (2004)

91. Jack McCartan -- G -- St. Paul Marshall (1953)
92. Doug Zmolek -- D -- Rochester John Marshall (1989)
93. Pete LoPresti -- G -- Eveleth (1972)
94. Terry Abram -- D -- South St. Paul (1965)
95. Bill 'Buzz' Schneider -- F/D -- Babbitt (1972)
96. David Backes -- F -- Spring Lake Park (2002)
97. Don Ross -- F -- Roseau (1960)
98. Mike Polich -- F -- Hibbing (1971)
99. Chris Locker -- F -- Duluth East (1996)
100. Herb Brooks -- F -- St. Paul Johnson (1955

Minny High School Hockey. It's Coming.

If you are not checking out the countdown of the top 100 high school boy's hockey players in the state of Minnesota, shame on you.

There's some great names here, although some of the photos do not do the player or the topic justice.

The countdown, on the Minnesota Hockey Hub site, is designed to lead us up to the opening day of the boys' hockey season. As of today, it's 23 days until the march to March in St. Paul begins.

Corey Millen of Cloquet is player No. 23, which put him ahead of such names as Herb Brooks (No. 100, St. Paul Johnson), Jack McCartan (No. 91, St. Paul Marshall), Eric Strobel (No. 72, Rochester Mayo), Mark Pavelich (No. 56, Eveleth), Joe Micheletti (No. 46, Hibbing), T.J. Oshie (No. 42, Warroad), Dave Langevin (No. 34, Hill-Murray), Matt Cullen (No. 28, Moorhead) and Reed Larson (No. 24, Minneapolis Roosevelt).

I know those fans of Texas 5-A high school football and Indiana boy's basketball will disagree, as is their right, but in the Lounge, there is no better high school program than Minnesota high school hockey and the state tournament.

Case closed.