The temptation is to read too much into a showcase event like the CHL Prospects Game, played in Toronto on Wednesday. After all, the talent level is universally higher than in a league game in the WHL, for example. And with a game with a final score of 7-1, there's a temptation to elevate those on the winning team, particularly those who impressed most on that side. But while those players certainly stood out, it's not a certainty they'll get a big boost to their draft stock or fly up our Top 50 Prospect Rankings.
With that caveat out of the way, there were definitely players who left an last positive image, and others whose play opened questions about their ability to perform against a high talent level.
The stand-outs
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: RN-H lived up to his billing and won player-of-the-game honors for the winning Team Orr. He made a great pass on a 2-on-1 break resulting in a goal by Sven Baertschi. It was a thing of beauty -- a saucer pass over a defenseman's stick that hit Baertschi's tape while the winger was in flight. On almost every shift Nugent-Hopkins showed high-end puck skills -- he wove in and out of traffic and checkers could find him, but not the puck. He doesn't have much of a body, but he takes what he has and puts it between the defender and the rubber.
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