Guelph Storm near their peak: OHL Burning Questions

With the OHL season beginning this week, BTN is taking an early look at each team in reverse order of last season's standings.

Guelph Storm

In 2011-12 — 31-31-2-4, 68 points; eighth, Western Conference. Lost 4-2 to Plymouth in first round.

Final Dynamic Dozen ranking — 12th OHL, 33rd CHL.

Drafted — D Matt Finn (Toronto Maple Leafs, second round), LW Brock McGinn (Carolina Hurricanes, second), RW Scott Kosmachuk (Winnipeg Jets, third), D Andrey Pedan (New York Islanders, third), LW Tanner Richard (Tampa Bay Lightning, third), G Garret Sparks (Toronto Maple Leafs, third).

Draft watch — LW Jason Dickinson (13th in OHL rookie scoring in '11-12), C Hunter Garlent (fifth in rookie scoring) and LW Tyler Bertuzzi.

1. What obstacle might keep them from becoming a heavyweight this season?

Guelph has expectations of a top-four finish and playing past Easter, but it is still a relatively young team whose game-breakers, save for Richard and 75-point scorer Zack Mitchell, are 17 and 18 years old. Sometimes teams can overcome that when their young stars are truly exceptional; it would be expecting quite a lot of Finn, McGinn, Kosmachuk, Garlent, Dickinson and rookies Brody Milne and Robby Fabbri to all arrive ahead of schedule.

The Storm could have some nights where their focus is fleeting. However, they are deep up front with an experienced goaltender in Sparks, which gives them an outside shot at playing through the month of April.

2. Are they deep enough defensively to push for a top spot?

Coach Scott Walker's comments last week pertaining to 16-year-old defender Kyle Locke ("Unfortunately for him, we expect a lot from him right away") probably are a tip that the Storm are not exactly stacked on the back end beyond their workhorse, Finn, and 6-foot-5 shutdown defenceman Pedan, who has tended to be penalty-prone.

3. Who hears his name first at next summer's NHL draft, Garlent or Dickinson?

The 6-foot-2 Dickinson is five inches taller than Garlent, which will put him in better stead with NHL scouting departments who love taller skill guys. His 35 points, 80 per cent of which came after Christmas, were sixth among all 'true freshmen' in the Ontario League. That said, Garlent, listed at 5-9 and 164 pounds, might be able to erase qualms about his size. He's very sturdy for a smaller player, which augments his stickhandling and shooting ability. All told, Guelph had 94 points last season from Bertuzzi, Dickinson and Garlent as 16-year-olds; they'll probably up that by more than half this winter.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.