HabsWorld.net -- 

As part of our prospect rankings this year, we wanted to get your insights on
who you feel the Habs’ top prospects are.  The results of our top-10 poll
have been tabulated and today we bring you the top five.  In the early
stages, it didn’t take long for this group to establish themselves as the top
players and they continued to dominate right up to when the voting was closed.

Scoring

Players received points for each vote they received.  1st place received
10 points, 2nd place received 9, all the way to 10th place which received a
single point.  The scores were then tallied and the ten highest scores were
ranked 1-10 accordingly.  Please note that in several instances, this means
that the slot where the player received the most votes is not where he is
ranked.

#5 – F Brendan Gallagher, Vancouver, WHL

Gallagher was the lowest drafted player to appear in the fans’ top-10 after
another strong campaign with the Giants and a good stint with Canada’s World
Junior squad.  Although nearly everyone had him in their top-10, the
comments showed that a lot have considerable reservations about him overcoming
his size.  His highest ranking was 1st.

5th Place Voting


Player

% of #5 votes

Player

% of #5 votes

Gallagher

26.21%

Beaulieu

5.83%
Collberg 19.42% Thrower 3.88%

Tinordi

11.65%

Bozon

2.91%
Leblanc 7.77% Holland 0.97%
Kristo
6.80%

Palushaj
0.97%
Ellis 6.80% Galchenyuk 0.97%

Bournival

5.83%
   

Your Say  (Please note that some comments have been
edited for brevity, grammar, and spelling.)

DRich: "With no lockout Brendan could have made the club,
especially with Rene Bourque out. Potential of 30 goals plus and some grit for
his size."

Hugo: "A sniper who can score from everywhere on the ice."

Shawn W.: "We’ve learned so often size doesn’t matter so much
but I can’t help but keep him lower because of it; otherwise he could also be
pushing for #1."

#4 – F Louis Leblanc, Montreal, NHL

Leblanc barely qualified as a prospect for our rankings and it appears there
are quite a few fans out there who feel he shouldn’t qualify at all as the
former first rounder was surprisingly left off quite a few ballots which cost
him a chance to crack the top-3.  He had votes in nine of the ten ranking
spots which placed him in a tie for second (with Gallagher) in that regard. 
His highest ranking was 1st.

4th Place Voting


Player

% of #4 votes

Player

% of #4 votes

Leblanc

27.18%

Kristo

0.97%
Beaulieu 21.36% Bournival 0.97%

Tinordi

17.48%

Thrower

0.97%
Gallagher 16.50% Galchenyuk 0.97%

Collberg

9.71%

Palushaj
0.97%
Ellis 2.91%    

Your Say

Anonymous: "Is the most NHL ready and has the potential to make
an impact as a right handed top-6 besides Gionta, who is the only possible
viable option although he would be most effective as a solid above average 3rd
line RW."

Louis Caron: "Un vraie joueur d’hockey qui veut gagner."

Patrick Francis: "He is very reliable in his own zone. He has
top-6 playmaking skills and had the potential to put up 20 goals and 50 points a
season."

#3 – D Jarred Tinordi, London, OHL

Fans of every team love a physical defensive-minded defenceman and Montreal
fans are no exception.  In fact, beyond the number one prospect, Tinordi
was the only player to be on every ballot and he only narrowly missed out on
finishing second.  Like the others mentioned already, his highest ranking
was 1st.

3rd Place Voting


Player

% of #3 votes

Player

% of #3 votes

Tinordi

35.92%

Kristo

1.94%
Beaulieu 26.21% Galchenyuk 1.94%

Leblanc

19.42%

Bournival

0.97%
Gallagher 6.80% Hudon 0.97%

Collberg

4.85%

Dietz
0.97%

Your Say

Andre: "Made huge improvements last season and looks like a
future top-4. Question is if he can become Hatcher-like or Gill-like."

G. Mockler: "Power d-men who are decent skaters are hard to
find…he could develop into one of the NHL’s top shut down d-men."

Machine of Loving Grace: "If Galchenyuk is our top offensive
player, Tinordi is our top defensive player from a pure defensive perspective.
Brings size, decent skating (for his size) and tenacity like nobody else. He’s
everything Komisarek was supposed to be."

#2 – D Nathan Beaulieu, Saint John, QMJHL

Although he finished second in the voting, there were more negative/cautious
comments about him than any other player.  Fans love his offensive
potential but have concerns about his decision making in his own end although as
evidenced by the results, the good outweighs the bad.  His highest ranking
was 1st.

2nd Place Voting


Player

% of #2 votes
Beaulieu 37.86%
Tinordi 22.33%
Leblanc 17.48%
Gallagher 10.68%
Galchenyuk 6.80%
Collberg 1.94%
Bozon 1.94%
Ellis 0.97%

Your Say

bbp: "Something about Beaulieu makes me cautious… but he was
a 1st rounder and he does score a lot of points."

BCHabnut: "A major offensive threat in junior, his resume is
much like P.K. Subban before he stepped up."

Don: "Not my favourite due to my reservations regarding his
defensive liabilities, but if he can avoid being another Marc-Andre Bergeron on
the backend, I could be way off on him."

#1 – F Alex Galchenyuk, Sarnia, OHL

In what should as a surprise to no one, Galchenyuk was as close to a
unanimous selection as there was in this poll.  Montreal management
believes he is a future franchise centre and for the most part the fans feel the
same way; he is as can’t miss a prospect as there is in this organization. 
Obviously, his highest ranking was 1st.

1st Place Voting


Player

% of #1 votes
Galchenyuk 89.32%
Gallagher 2.91%
Leblanc 1.94%
Tinordi 1.94%
Collberg 1.94%
Pateryn 0.97%
Hudon 0.97%

Your Say

Anonymous: "Just needs to make sure he has fully recovered from
serious knee injury and he is ready to make the jump."

Ben Melindy: "Judging on his scoring at 16 years old in the OHL,
I think he can be a point per game guy in the NHL, as long as his injury didn’t
hurt his development too much.  I couldn’t have been happier when Timmins
called his name at the draft."

B. Kerr: "Quite simply one of the best prospects in all of
hockey. He’s the type of player who can do it all. He’s got some of the best
hands in junior hockey, he can pass, has a laser wrist shot, can skate, and
plays a gritty two way game. He’s a super stud."

Missed The Cut

Here are the prospects who had a fair bit of support but were unable to crack
the top-10:

11) F Tim Bozon, Kamloops, WHL
12) F Aaron Palushaj, Montreal, NHL
13) F Patrick Holland, Tri-City, WHL
14) F Charles Hudon, Chicoutimi, QMJHL
15) D Darren Dietz, Saskatoon, WHL

The 2012 Prospect Rankings series will conclude next week as our top-10,
voted on by our writers, will be revealed.