Kitchener Rangers GM/coach Steve Spott has been calling out a bunch of players in the wake of the team's four-game winless skid.
On Sunday, in Ottawa, he pointed out three groups that weren't picking up the slack -- the team's captain and assistant captains, the overagers and the club's first round draft picks.
I thought I'd review how the team's first rounders stack up against others taken in the same round. It's an interesting list that reveals how some top picks are over-performing from their draft position, while others aren't delivering (note stats as of Oct. 16).
| 2012 OHL Draft Round 1 | ||||||
| Player | Team | Pos | Rank | Drafted | GP | Points |
| Connor McDavid | Erie | F | 1 | 1 | 9 | 11 |
| Mike Dal Colle | Osh | F | 2 | 7 | 10 | 9 |
| Josh Ho-Sang | Win | F | 3 | 5 | 10 | 7 |
| Sam Bennett | Kin | F | 5 | 9 | 8 | 5 |
| Dante Salituro | Ott | F | 5 | 18 | 9 | 5 |
| Blake Clarke | Bra | F | 5 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| Eric Cornel | Pet | F | 8 | 3 | 10 | 4 |
| Jared McCann | Soo | F | 8 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| Robert Fabbri | Gue | F | 9 | 6 | 9 | 3 |
| Roland McKeown | Kin | D | 10 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| Brett Hargrave | Sar | F | 16 | 13 | 9 | 1 |
| Conor Cummins | Sud | D | 16 | 14 | 5 | 1 |
| Niki Petti | Bel | F | 16 | 10 | 7 | 1 |
| Damian Bourne | Mis | F | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 |
| Brook Hiddink | Nia | F | 16 | 21 | 10 | 1 |
| Zach Bratina | Ply | F | 16 | 19 | 8 | 1 |
| Jeremiah Addison | Sag | F | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 |
| Jake Middleton | OS | D | 22 | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| Matt Schmalz | Kit | F | 22 | 17 | 3 | 0 |
| Aaron Haydon | Nia | D | 22 | 20 | 3 | 0 |
| Brendan Perlini | Bar | F | 22 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Liam Herbst | Lon | G | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
Notes: To be fair, Schmalz has only played three games and Spott has gone on record as saying he does not include the rookie when talking about players who aren't coming through. Kitchener typically finishes high in the standings and gets a lower draft pick, but they're not the only team that has to mine for gems -- see Ottawa's pick.
| 2011 OHL Draft Round 1 | ||||||
| Player | Team | Pos | Rank | Drafted | GP | Points |
| Max Domi | Kin | F | 1 | 8 | 70 | 64 |
| Ryan Kujawinski | Sar | F | 2 | 4 | 67 | 45 |
| Hunter Garlent | Gue | F | 4 | 10 | 68 | 44 |
| Stephen Harper | Erie | F | 4 | 12 | 72 | 44 |
| Nicholas Ritchie | Pet | F | 5 | 2 | 67 | 42 |
| Bo Horvat | Lon | F | 6 | 9 | 72 | 39 |
| Aaron Ekblad | Bar | D | 7 | 1 | 73 | 35 |
| Nick Baptiste | Sud | F | 8 | 6 | 73 | 30 |
| Jordan Subban | Bel | D | 9 | 5 | 65 | 28 |
| Brandon Robinson | Bra | F | 10 | 7 | 67 | 27 |
| Jordan Maletta | Win | F | 11 | 13 | 67 | 26 |
| Zach Nastasiuk | OS | F | 12 | 20 | 76 | 24 |
| Darnell Nurse | Soo | D | 13 | 3 | 63 | 18 |
| Cole Cassels | Osh | F | 15 | 16 | 73 | 16 |
| Brent Pedersen | Kit | F | 15 | 14 | 73 | 16 |
| Adam Bateman | Nia | D | 17 | 19 | 71 | 12 |
| Scott Teskey | Mis | F | 17 | 21 | 62 | 12 |
| Nick Moutrey | Sag | F | 18 | 15 | 73 | 10 |
| Alex Yuill | Bar | D | 19 | 22 | 69 | 8 |
| Mitchell Dempsey | Ply | F | 20 | 11 | 44 | 7 |
| David Perklin | Ott | F | 21 | 17 | 54 | 2 |
| Spencer Martin | Mis | G | 18 | 20 |
Notes: Clearly Pedersen needs to pick up the pace. He looked strong to start the season but, like most of his teammates, has fallen back in recent games. Pedersen has two points in eight games so far. He is tough to knock off the puck when he drives to the net but isn't as effective playing a peripheral game.
| 2010 OHL Draft | ||||||
| Player | Team | Pos | Rank | Drafted | GP | Points |
| Sean Monahan | Ott | F | 1 | 16 | 136 | 137 |
| Brendan Gaunce | Bel | F | 2 | 2 | 142 | 112 |
| Kerby Rychel | Bar | F | 3 | 21 | 140 | 103 |
| Alex Galchenyuk | Sar | F | 4 | 1 | 79 | 95 |
| Scott Laughton | Osh | F | 5 | 3 | 137 | 88 |
| Nick Ebert | Mis | D | 6 | 17 | 140 | 86 |
| Matt Finn | Gue | D | 7 | 12 | 130 | 78 |
| Jesse Graham | Nia | D | 8 | 6 | 142 | 62 |
| Matt Campagna | Sud | F | 9 | 5 | 113 | 60 |
| Chris Marchese | Erie | F | 10 | 11 | 108 | 58 |
| Chris Tierney | Lon | F | 11 | 19 | 120 | 49 |
| Slater Koekkoek | Pet | D | 12 | 7 | 101 | 48 |
| Gianluca Curcuruto | Soo | D | 13 | 14 | 127 | 47 |
| Jarrod Maidens | OS | F | 14 | 4 | 75 | 44 |
| Matia Marcantuoni | Kit | F | 15 | 18 | 74 | 41 |
| Marcus McIvor | Bra | D | 16 | 9 | 130 | 28 |
| Alex Gudbranson | Kin | D | 18 | 10 | 122 | 25 |
| Justin Kea | Sag | F | 18 | 13 | 137 | 25 |
| Max Iafrate | Ply | D | 19 | 15 | 132 | 24 |
| Luke Mercer | Nia | D | 20 | 8 | 111 | 22 |
| Grant Webermin | Win | D | 21 | 20 | 111 | 21 |
Notes: While Marcantuoni's rank is higher than his draft position, there is only one forward behind him in point totals to date. The speedy forward did miss half a season last year and is coming off shoulder surgery. But there is no debating that he is underachieving this season at minus-5 and no points. Notice too that Iafrate is on this list. The Rangers gave up two third round picks for him.
