William Dufour

Here's Scott Wheeler's Memorial Cup notebook on the 25 NHL prospects, several draft-eligibles and free agents of note, and much more.

He makes the right play, he takes what’s given without necessarily looking to create (and still manages to create because of the consistency of that approach). His point shots are almost always on target where you’d like them to be. Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings): I thought Cossa played well on the whole in the tournament, but he wasn’t blemishless. He’s also not on PP1. But I thought he made little plays below the goal line, his slick hands in tight to his body flashed a few times, he was responsible defensively (as always) and he scored two huge goals on tips at the front of the net in the semi and final. I was impressed by how fast he was in straight lines too (he’s got some power now). His footwork adjusting in and out of slight cuts in control to handle the puck off of pressure ever so slightly really pops. He’s the primary carrier/playmaker whenever he’s on the ice, even with Bourque (when they play together). His one-timer on the off-wing on PP was popping. His decision-making is suspect at times (he needs to make better choices in tough spots under pressure but some of that comes with his desire to impact the game and be the guy). But he beats forecheckers off the point with little shifts and shakes and laterally in neutral ice (which drew a couple of penalties) with head fakes. There were moments where he just needed to empty the tank to get to a loose puck and he just didn’t. But he makes so many smart plays, he positions himself to control the puck along the wall extremely effectively, and he uses space and timing (on the puck or off of it finding ways to get open) as well as anyone in the CHL this year. Arber Xhekaj ( Montreal Canadiens): Xhekaj was huge for the Bulldogs. He double shifted with every defenceman on the team, on both the right and left side. He’s got a disruptive stick and an ability to track and then close out physically (he laid a couple of huge hits, which hasn’t always been part of his game). He showed some nice poise and vision with the puck too (improved, for sure) and clearly played to make a difference, activating more than he normally does, which is the best use of his smooth skating. He played as an attacking foil to Kuznetsov, he tried things even on the big stage when the pressures are higher, he used his hard wrister and booming slapshot, he had the puck a lot, and he beat the first layer of pressure to make things happen with his shoulder shakes. He was physical when he could be and did a good job closing out the wall and stepping up in neutral ice to disrupt rushes, but he was pretty clearly the fourth-best D in the top four. Four teams loaded with NHL prospects (who came up in big moments). A historic individual performance from the QMJHL MVP (and now Memorial Cup MVP). A host team, behind a deafening crowd and armed with what was clearly the deepest roster of the bunch, that won three out of four games (it’s only loss coming in one of those overtimes) to beat the QMJHL champs, the OHL champs twice, and triumph.