Jake Paterson is delivering on his promise.

When the Saginaw Spirit made Paterson the first goalie selected in the Ontario Hockey League priority selection draft, there were the usual questions of how he would adapt to the junior game after playing for a stacked Toronto Marlboros midget team. The way the 17-year-old is playing in the Spirit's second-round series against the London Knights — Paterson had a 42-save first-star effort Monday when Saginaw won on London ice for the first time this season to take a 2-1 series lead — has borne out the wisdom of that pick.

On Monday, just hours after he was ranked third among North American goalies on NHL Central Scouting's final list, Paterson stoned London by thwarting what Spirit coach Greg Gilbert called "seven or eight high-quality, Grade A chances." It was part of a late-season arc that has seen Paterson, counting his nine playoff starts, post a 2.45 goals-against average and .926 save percentage since Feb. 1.

"That kind of comes with confidence," Paterson, who is the youngest starting goalie still active in the OHL playoffs. "When you're feeling good and you're used to the league and the speed of the OHL, it just comes naturally. You're playing bigger and you're out a little more on the shooters."

Whether the Spirit can oust the regular-season champion Knights remains to be seen. Getting this far with a second-year goalie is notable. Only three other Canadian Hockey League, all in the QMJHL, managed to win a playoff round while relying on a goalie below the voting age. Paterson, who turns 18 in three weeks, has looked like a veteran netminder while helping stymie the star-studded London and Sarnia Sting lineups.

"Terry Barbeau, our goalie coach, has done a great job with him," Gilbert says of Paterson. "What I've noticed is he's become very efficient, a lot stronger and more confident in challenging shooters, coming out over the blue paint [in the goal crease]. He's not wasting energy. He's just getting square to the shots. He's come a long way."

At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, Paterson has the requisite size NHL teams prize in a goaltending prospect. The Mississauga native, who's giving up his beloved lacrosse this summer to focus on his craft, notes Barbeau has built on the tutelage he'd also had from his regular goalie coach, Piero Greco.

"He [Barbeau] has been a big help this year," Paterson says. "He's taught me a lot of little things. He's been working with [Buffalo Sabres goalie] Ryan Miller, so it's always good to be working with someone who works with a goalie of that [Miller's] calibre. It's been a large part due to Terry that I've been having the success I've had lately.

"He hasn't tried to change my game. Sometimes it's the little things that add up. Obviously, I have my goalie coach back home, Piero Greco, who's taught me pretty much everything technically. He [Barbeau] has been there all year. He'll see something in my game that needs a little tweaking."

The Spirit, who climbed from ninth in their conference to fifth over the second half of the season, did so while platooning two draft-eligible goalies. Paterson shared time with 18-year-old Clint Windsor, but won Gilbert and the team's confidence in time for the playoffs.

"It was earned," Gilbert says. "Clint Windsor came in and did a great job for us to help us get into a playoff competition, Both goalies have learned about internal competition and pushing each other. The great thing is they have a great relationship. Clint understands his position right now and so does Jake."

Quebec Remparts centre Mikhail Grigorenko (Getty Images)The fact 1,300 people followed a fake Mikhail Grigorenko Twitter account on Tuesday shows how much curiosity there is in Quebec about the Quebec Remparts centre landing with the Montreal Canadiens as the NHL's third overall pick.

The jokester behind the fake Grigo created a stir by sending out, "Cant wait to be drafted and maybe play for Roy again," an all too obvious reference to the Remparts coach-GM Patrick Roy possibly joining the Montreal Canadiens. It was a little too good to be true, especially since Grigorenko was involved in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff game on the same night that presumably would have commanded his attention. Plus one presumes a modicum of media coaching with the top NHL draft prospects. The way people were willing to believe does show how there will be a certain amount of pressure on the Canadiens' front office to go for the Quebec-based player, presuming he's still available at third overall.

From Pat Hickey:

Assuming that Edmonton grabs the top-rated Nail Yakupov and Columbus opts for defenceman Ryan Murray, the Canadiens will have their pick of Mikhail Grigorenko from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Quebec Remparts and Filip Forsberg from Leksand in Sweden.

They have a couple of things in common — they're both centres with some size. Grigorenko is six-foot-three and weighs 200 pounds while Forsberg is six-foot-two and 180.

Grigorenko dropped a spot in the final Central Scouting rankings because there's a perception he's lazy, but I like the idea he made the effort to learn English, which shows a commitment to the NHL. He's a cinch to be a Canadien if Patrick Roy joins the Canadiens in a management or coaching capacity between now and June 22. (Montreal Gazette)

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WHL

A passionate plea for the Edmonton Oilers to consider trading the NHL's No. 1 overall pick. Wait, Oilers fans are "long-suffering" now? (Edmonton Journal)

Ryan Murray is the most NHL-ready defenceman in the draft, writes Jim Matheson. (Edmonton Journal)

Tri-City's Patrick Holland and Spokane's Blake Gal have stayed best friends even while playing for rival teams the past four seasons. Meantime, the Americans-Chiefs series might be the only one of the second round which isn't a sweep. (Tri-City Herald, Spokane Spokesman-Review)

Every time the Portland Winterhawks took a penalty, they filled the net. Three short-handed goals helped the 'Hawks go up 3-0 on Kamloops on Tuesday. (Kamloops Daily News)

Today's should-read: Edmonton Oil Kings coach Derek Laxdal talks with Cam Tait about coaching his team while dealing with the recent death of his father, John Laxdal. (Edmonton Journal)

The Medicine

Carolina Hurricanes prospect Austin Levi (OHL Images)The Niagara IceDogs reach for the handle to the broom closet door, the third period was where the Plymouth Whalers roared and the Barrie Colts soared even though several players are ever so sore. On with the post-game questions.

Plymouth 4 Kitchener 3 (Whalers lead Eastern Conference semi 2-1) — How will Rangers goalie John Gibson recover from the soft goal that aided and abetted Plymouth's third-period comeback? Plymouth's comeback from a two-goal deficit began when Tom Wilson broke the goose egg 70 seconds into the final period on what Josh Brown called "a dribbler from the point that went five-hole."

Some practitioners of dollar-store sports psychology would pinpoint that as a moment where the Rangers gave up the ghost. But it took 12-plus minutes before Plymouth broke through to tie the game on a goal by the game's first star, defenceman Austin Levi. That would suggest Kitchener somewhat rolled with the punch and just wore down against Plymouth's death. Speaking of which ...

So the Whalers are 2-for-2 with No. 1 pivot Stefan Noesen out of the lineup? Whalers coach-GM Mike Vellucci's temporary Rickard Rakell-J.T. Miller-Wilson first line, which might well consist of three first-round NHL picks depending on how high Wilson is selected in June, scored the first three Whalers goals. Make no mistake, though, they were reaping the reward from Plymouth keeping perpetual pressure on Gibson and the Rangers defenders. The Whalers had 40-plus shots for the third consecutive game, firing 41 on the Anaheim Ducks second-round pick.

Everett Silvertips' Ryan Murray, NHL Central Scouting's second-ranked North American skater (Marissa Baecker, Getty Images)No sooner had the Edmonton Oilers unexpectedly won the NHL draft lottery on Tuesday night than Ryan Murray became a trending topic on Twitter.

The logic needs little explanation. The Oilers have spent the past two No. 1 picks on Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and boast other budding scoring stars such as Jordan Eberle, so they should get a defenceman this time, be it with the top pick or after trading down the draft board. Since Murray is ranked at the top of the Defenceman Draft, that created a mini-clamour to draft the polished Everett Silvertips captain.

[Nail Yakupov is] a tantalizing talent, but this could be one of those times when the team with the first selection is in quandary.

"You could take Yakupov. You could keep the No. 1 pick and take somebody else. You could trade the pick and move back in the draft, couldn't you?" TSN host James Duthie asked Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini.

"Yes, all of the above," said Tambellini.

The Oilers have greater needs on defence with Ryan ­Murray of Everett Silvertips and the Edmonton Oil Kings' Griffin Reinhart very high on their list. (Edmonton Journal)

History suggests that going for a D-man with the No. 1 pick almost never becomes a home run. The Oilers surely know this, which is why it would follow they would try to trade down and have drafting Yakupov as a very nice fallback. Ryan Murray likely is going to be a long-term solid NHLer, but it bears pointing out that the history of drafting a defenceman right off the hop is fraught with misfortune. Also, contrary to popular belief, the Oilers have blueline prospects in their system, as Chris Lund astutely noted at Backhand Shelf.

You probably know that Denis Potvin is the only defenceman taken No. 1 who went on to win a Norris Trophy and earn a plaque in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Seven defencemen have gone No. 1 since the arguable modern NHL took wing in 1979 when it absorbed four surviving World Hockey Association franchises. Of the seven, arguably no one became an A-list star. Four of the six did become reliable contributors who played 1,000-plus NHL games, while the other three's careers were all altered by injury problems. In most cases, the choice was dictated by not having a can't-miss centre or winger available. Yakupov is in that can't-miss territory.

Perhaps Murray could break that mould. The history here might dictate either trading down (where Murray could still be the guy) or taking Yakupov and letting the Oilers' young forwards determine who stays.

Liam Kirkwood, 1993-2012Words fail to capture what it must be like for a family and a community to lose a son, a brother, a friend who was just 18 years old. Of course, in sad times, profundity can never fill in the void; it's about being about to carry on and become stronger while carrying that person's spirit.

Two years ago, many in the Ontario Hockey League rallied around Liam Kirkwood after the Kingston Frontenacs draft choice was diagnosed with leukemia. While there was optimism, it wasn't to be. The Sudbury, Ont., native died Saturday, aged 18, which was coincidentally the same day as the OHL priority selection draft, an occasion which was one of the high points of his life.

The remarkable part is that his former team, the Sudbury Nickel Capitals, were able to honour Kirkwood's memory by winning their regional AAA midget championship the following day in Sault Ste. Marie. As both Brad Coccimiglio at Soo Today and Bruce Heidman of the Sudbury Star, the Nickel Caps put Kirkwood in their hearts for the final the final day. Then they beat the London Jr. Knights 4-3 to advance to the Telus Cup, the national championship.

The Nickel Caps got some extra motivation Saturday evening when the news reached the team that former Nickel Capitals player Liam Kirkwood had passed away earlier in the day after a long battle with cancer.

"It was a quiet bus ride home after dinner," [Sudbury coach Peter Michelutti Jr.] said. "A lot of guys played with him and his brother and I coached him his first year playing midget. We had a wall of pictures of people everyone was playing for starting in the Nickel City series and we bring it everywhere we go and we got a picture of Liam (Sunday) morning and put him on wall and we played for him today. Our hearts go out to the Kirkwood family and he was in the back of our minds." (Sudbury Star)

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WHL

Why not winning the NHL draft lottery would not be the worst thing. (SB Nation)

Kamloops Blazers starting goalie Cole Cheveldave might have a concussion, reports Gregg Drinnan. That would obviously keep Cheveldave out for tonight's crucial Game 3 vs. Portland and would factor into Winterhawks forward Oliver Gabriel's suspension (one game and counting). (Kamloops Daily News)

Facing Brandon in the Eastern Conference playoffs is a homecoming for Edmonton Oil Kings star centre Michael St. Croix, a Winnipegger. (Edmonton Journal)

Calgary Hitmen rookie defenceman Kenton Helgesen came out of near obscurity to be ranked by NHL Central Scouting, writes Kristen Odland. (Calgary Herald)

Paging the Brandon Wheat Kings power play (2-for-22 so far in playoffs). (Brandon Sun)

The Portland Winterhawks would prefer to not need a third-period rally to beat Kamloops as they take a 2-0 lead into Game 3 tonight. (Portland Tribune)

The Edmonton Oilers have some tough calls to make on whether to sign 2010 draft picks such as the Edmonton Oil Kings' Kristians Pelss and Kootenay Ice captain Drew Czerwonka. (Coming Down The Pipe!)

Top prospect Nail YakupovNHL's Central Scouting Service released their final rankings for the 2012 draft class on Monday morning.  And it was like Christmas  for those who closely follow the burgeoning would-be NHL prospects.

Sarnia Sting winger Nail Yakupov topping the North American skaters wasn't much of a surprise to anyone. The dynamic sniper has clearly separated himself from the rest of pack. He has scored 80 goals and 170 points in 107 games in his two seasons in Sarnia.

Yakupov has elicited comparisons to several different NHL superstars. The most accurate of those would seem to be New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk.

"I would compare Yakupov to Kovalchuk as they both want the puck, can score and also know how to use their linemates better," says David Burstyn, former NHL scout and current head scout for Mckeen's Hockey.

Sarnia's other top draft prospect, Alex Galchenyuk, officially made his way onto Central Scouting's rankings. The 6-foot, 190-pound centre is ranked fourth. Galchenyuk went unlisted in their mid-term rankings because of limited viewings due to a long-term knee injury he suffered last year.

Since there are so many elite blueliners in this year's NHL draft crop it's hard to tell which one of them has the edge. However, after Everett Silvertips defenceman Ryan Murray bumped Quebec Remparts centre Mikhail Grigorenko out of the second spot, it now seems Murray is clearly leading the way on the back end.

Belleville Bulls' Malcolm Subban stayed put as the No. 1 ranked North American goaltender. Like Yakupov, this should come to no surprise to anyone. Subban has been one of the top goaltenders in the CHL this season, maintaining a 2.50 goals-against average and .923 save percentage throughout 39 showings.

On the European side of things: Swedish centre Filip Forsberg topped the skaters list; Russian goaltender Andrei Vasilevski is ranked the best puck-stopper.

Here's a look at some of the players who surprised, rose, or fell in Central Scouting's final 2012 draft rankings: