9. The CHL playoffs are getting underway, and one series that will be getting NHL attention is Niagara-North Bay. The underdog Battalion feature an intriguing prospect, undrafted Justin Brazeau. The 21-year-old right-winger scored 61 goals in 68 games, just missing Nick Kypreos?s 62 from 1985-86. ?I shut him down in the third period the last few games,? North Bay head coach and GM Stan Butler laughed Tuesday. ?I didn?t want him to break Kypreos?s record.?
10. Brazeau is a big man. Six-foot-six, but a great athlete. Butler, given an opportunity to wax poetic on behalf of his player, launched into a filibuster so good he should be a Member of Parliament. ?I don?t know why an NHL team hasn?t signed him,? he said. ?It?s starting to concern me, I?m shocked it hasn?t happened.?
One of the problems as he sees it is that Brazeau comes from New Liskeard, Ont., a small town (now amalgamated into Timiskaming Shores) that is a six-hour drive northwest of Ottawa. ?You know the theory about it taking 10,000 hours to perfect something?? Butler asks, referencing Malcolm Gladwell?s Outliers. ?Well, Brazeau is 2,000 hours behind any kid from Southern Ontario. He didn?t take power skating, didn?t have a skills coach, none of that stuff. But he?s improved every year, from six goals to 22 to 39 to 61. He?s a great athlete. People can say he?s not a great skater, but he can get from A to B. Just because he?s not pretty because he wears size 16 skates doesn?t mean he?s bad. I know the game is fast, but there is still room for a tall, skilled player.?
Butler also brought up Mark Giordano. ?Calgary took a chance on him at age 20, for what, a $25,000 signing bonus? What?s the difference? If you?re going to gamble on an NCAA player at 24, why not this guy at 21?? Several teams will go see Brazeau, and Butler says he?s made a few calls on the player?s behalf. Columbus and Vegas are believed to be among those interested.
