2014 Draft Eligibles: Niagara’s Brendan Perlini is quickly rising up the draft board

Niagara Ice Dogs winger Brendan Perlini (Photo c/o Yahoo Sports Canada)

Around this time last year, Niagara Ice Dogs left winger Brendan Perlini wasn't even a thought on NHL scouts radar for the 2014 Draft. Now he has caught the attention of people in the scouting community and many are saying “Did anyone see this coming?”

Perlini was the 16^th overall pick in the 2012 OHL Priority Draft by the Barrie Colts. After a slow and rocky start with Barrie, he was dealt to Niagara in January of 2013 and completed a rough rookie campaign with 12 points in 59 games for a combined minus-21.

There was no indication that Perlini was going to break out in a major way this season when the OHL season started back in September. Perlini has been Niagara’s best player night in and night out and currently has 28 goals and 31 assists for 61 points in 46 games played.  

Perlini was born in Guildford, Great Britain as his father, Fred, was a legend in the British Ice Hockey League. He’s the nephew of Kevin Conway, who is in the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame. His cousin, Scott Conway, is 2014-15 commit to Penn State.

NHL Central Scouting has Perlini as their eighth best North American skater. ISS Hockey has the 6’2, 205 pound winger as their number six player in their January top 30 rankings. TSN’s Bob McKenzie lists Perlini at number eight in his mid-season top 50 draft rankings.

So what does Perlini bring to the table?

He’s a big, strong, skating winger who possesses a great release on his shot that can beat goalies from 35 feet out. His blend of speed, puck skills, and hockey sense allows him to make dynamic plays in all three zones. He thrives when the puck in on his stick.

Here is a video of his skills. 

Perlini’s career can be compared to former Niagara Ice Dog and current New York Islander Ryan Strome. Both were high draft picks of the Barrie Colts, but after failing to live up to expectations, both were shipped to Niagara before the end of their rookie seasons. Strome was dealt for Alex Pietrangelo and Perlini for Mitchell Theoret.

Both Perlini and Strome finished their rookie seasons in Niagara with promise, which gave fans a glimpse of their potential and hope for the future. Perlini is on pace to finish the season with similar numbers to the numbers Strome set at the same age. Strome was more of a playmaking center, while Perlini is a natural goal-scoring left winger.  

His growth as a player has sky-rocketed and he shows characteristics of being a top pro. He does need to improve in his own zone, like many players his age do. I do wish he would play a bit more in the corners and the so-called “dirty” areas of the rink.

At the NHL level, I think Perlini projects as a big, rangy power forward similar to current Toronto Maple Leaf James van Riemsdyk. I think he’ll be a top 15 pick come June and could possibly sneak into the top 10 like Mark Scheifele did a few years’ back. Some NHL team is going to fall in love with him and draft him higher than he should go. Ideally, he would be good fit for the Nashville Predators.

He could play along side either Craig Smith or Filip Forsberg and provide some much needed scoring to the Preds' lineup.

Don't get me wrong, Perlini is a nice prospect, but I'm not in love with him like many people are. He's a classic case of a player jumping out to a hot start to begin the season and scouts and media falling in love with him. Niagara will be battling for a playoff spot in the OHL's Eastern Conference and if he can get them into the playoffs that will get points in my book.