NHL Draft War Room: John Quenneville

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by Eldon MacDonald (edited by @ChrisRalphTHW)

John Quenneville

THW’s NHL Draft War Room Rankings – Apr-14: #58

THW’s NHL Draft Rankings – The Next Ones Edition (aka Chris’s List): #40 (March 2014)

John Quenneville #17
John Quenneville #17 chasing down top 2014 NHL draft prospect Leon Draisaitl. He also chased down all the draft class all season long, garnering 1st or 2nd round consideration. (Photo: Thomas Porter Photographics)
  • Hashtag: #MrIndustrial
  • Team: #15, Brandon, WHL
  • Position: Centre
  • Shoots: Left
  • Height: 6’1
  • Weight: 182 lb.
  • Born: Sherwood Park, AB, 16-Apr-96
  • Twitter: @jaquinder88

Stats

Other Rankings

  • 29 – NHL Combined – Final, Apr-14
  • 39 – Bob MacKenzie, Jan-14
  • 44 – Craig Button, Mar-14

[Your quintessential draft resource:

2014 NHL Draft Guide: The Next Ones]

Worth Retweeting

Profile

[The 2014 NHL Draft War Room: Prospect Profile Index

Contains All the Prospects Profiled in This Series]

Quotable

  • Quote 1: Andrew Eide at THW, “Quenneville has flown under the radar somewhat this season but has turned into a consistent scorer for the Wheat Kings. He has 21 goals and 45 points through 46 games making him a hair under a point-per-game player.He has good size and is hard to play against and most scouts are projecting him to be a second round pick in the NHL Draft.”
  • Quote 2: John Quenneville, himself, at LubersLounge.Blogspot.ca, “I knew coming into the season that I had to make up a lot of ground for last year, I missed a lot of games and didn’t have the season I wanted to. I think I’ve come out to a first half and little bit of the second half of the season that I’ve played well and I’ve gained a lot of confidence.”
  • Quote 3:

From the War Room

Eldon MacDonald, THW:  A few words on John Quenneville:

  • Mr. Industrial – OK, Mr. Industrial grows on you after a while. At first, you may not appreciate all the things he does to make his team successful. He doesn’t have those “wow” you type skills but he does play with a “hardness of purpose” along with “a hardness in his physical play” that sets him apart from most in the pack.
  • Offense – While not a first liner and maybe not a second liner, John provides his offense (point a game in the WHL) from both his industrial work (corners and blue paint) and his open ice skills – hard shot, soft hands, decent top gear, excellent puck protection in traffic, good vision.
  • Battle – John battles for the puck at all ends of the ice, along the boards in the cycle, in front of the net. However, it is the hardness of how he does it rather than what he does that starts to make him special. And yes, he will drop the gloves too, if necessary.
  • Improvements to make – John’s top gear is fine but his effectiveness would be enhanced if he improved upon his first couple of gears. As with most players his age, some additional weight and strength would add to the industrial side of his game.
  • Draft placement – John is a second rounder on most lists. However, I think there will be considerable interest for a player who possesses the skill set that John does (decent size, two way, willingness to be physical, secondary scoring) towards the end of the first in this draft. John’s main competitors are Connor Bleackley and Brendan Lemieux. I think one if not two of these three will make it to the first round. The scouts’ memories of John’s performances in the key games of the U18 WJC will go a long way in making sure John is the one to be considered first.
John Quenneville
John Quenneville (Photo: Bruce Luebke)

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