Reinhart, Barzal and Benson lead WHL’s offensive surge

Led by Kootenay Ice star Sam Reinhart, Seattle Thunderbirds playmaker Matthew Barzal and Vancouver Giants prospect Tyler Benson, the WHL’s offensive wheelhouse has the potential to steal the spotlight from the league’s back-end talent in the upcoming NHL entry drafts.

It has ultimately been business as usual for the Dub’s defenders to lead the way on the draft floor. Last year, former Portland Winterhawks blueliner Seth Jones was the first player selected as the Nashville Predators called his name with the fourth pick. Moreover, five defencemen – Ryan Murray, Griffin Reinhart, Morgan Rielly, Matt Dumba and Derrick Pouliot – were chosen with top-10 selections in 2012 while the first forward wasn’t selected until the 27^th pick when the Phoenix Coyotes snagged the Edmonton Oil Kings’ Henrik Samuelsson.

However, the Dub did recently see a forward go first overall as the Edmonton Oilers selected former Red Deer Rebel Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the top pick in 2011. But that was the first time a WHL forward was selected with the first pick since 1988 when the Minnesota North Stars chose then-Prince Albert Raider Mike Modano. To add insult to injury, seven OHL and two QMJHL forwards went up to the podium first on draft day during that 22-year drought.

As far as top-10 picks in the last five years go, the WHL is the only major junior league to have more defencemen than forwards. They have nine blueliners and seven forwards while the OHL has an 18-7 ratio and the QMJHL has a 4-0 ratio. These statistics don’t tell the full story, though. There is a strong argument to suggest that some NHL teams may lean towards forwards over defenders because it’s easier to calculate how smooth their transition from junior to the pros will go. Therefore, it doesn’t necessarily mean the CHL has a better track record at developing high-end forwards over defenders.

Unless the consensus on the 2014 NHL draft drastically changes from now until June, it seems it’s safe to bet that the first player selected out of the Dub will be a forward. All indications are that Reinhart is in a two-horse race with Barrie Colts blueliner Aaron Ekblad as the top candidate to go first overall. Not to mention, most peg Prince Albert Raiders centre Leon Draisaitl as the WHL’s second best prospect.

Reinhart, however, hasn’t blown the socks off scouts as New York Islanders sniper John Tavares or Tampa Bay Lighting star Steven Stamkos did so in 2009 and 2008 respectively. Even though the 6-foot-1, 183-pound centre hasn’t gone two-games in a row without a point this year, notching 16 goals and 50 points in 33 games along the way, talent watchers have found consistency issues in his game.

“Reinhart is a very unique first overall candidate, but this is a very unique draft,” says Ross MacLean, head scout of International Scouting Services. “There are a lot of high-end players toward the top of the draft that have shown consistency issues. Guys that can absolutely dominate from time to time, but can also be difficult to spot at others. I’m not sure if I’m ready to call Reinhart a franchise player at this point yet or not. There are times where it would be easy to proclaim this, but he still has a lot to prove. My opinion of him so far is that he projects as a very different type of offensive player at the next level than he does at junior and I think he is the type of player that is more an integral piece of a puzzle rather than the whole picture."

Since the Thunderbirds selected him first overall in the 2012 bantam draft, Barzal has lived up to the high expectations laid on his shoulders. In his first and only season in the BCMML last year, the 5-foot-11, 171-pound centre scored 29 goals and 103 points in 34 games with the Vancouver NE Chiefs. To put into perspective how impressive these stats are, he topped the major midget rookie seasons of Nugent-Hopkins (87 points, 36 games, 2008-09), Reinhart (78 points, 34 games, 2010-11) and Winnipeg Jets star Evander Kane (54 points, 30 games, 2006-07). His second-to-none hockey sense and play-making abilities have made his transition to major junior puck quite smooth. He currently sits just one marker shy of a point-per-game ratio as he has five goals and 29 points in 30 matches.

The odds are clearly stacked against Barzal to go first overall in 2015 because he’s in the same draft class as Erie Otters superstar Connor McDavid. Nonetheless, based on what he has done so far in the Dub and Seattle general manager Russ Farwell regarding him as the franchise’s best rookie since San Jose Sharks star Patrick Marleau in 1995-96, it seems he should be in the running to be a top-10 selection.

“They are different types of players, but Barzal is likely the best rookie to play here since Marleau,” says Farwell on Barzal. “He’s ahead of most players his age and is a talent that doesn’t come around that often. He thinks the game really well having great hockey sense. He’s a special player who has a bright future in this league and will have a bright future past this league.”

The book is still undoubtedly out on 15-year-old Benson, whom the Giants selected first overall in 2013. He still has to prove himself at the major junior level once that time comes. But based on the 5-foot-11, 183-pound centre blowing the roof off the AMBHL last year with 57 goals and 146 points in 33 games as a SSAC Lion, he clearly has the potential to be a special player.

“Tyler is the type of player and person that you can build around to win championships,” says Dean Nazaruk, the Giants’ director of scouting. “We paid the price last season when we decided to retool and moved some of our older players out and we were lucky enough to be able to select Tyler first overall. Tyler has a winning pedigree and his leadership and will to win is infectious. Tyler has the skill and ability to make others he plays with better and with those attributes we feel he is in the right position to be the face of our franchise in the years to come.”

It’s a little early to start projecting where Benson will go in the 2016 NHL draft. He, after all, has only played one game in the WHL thus far. But regardless of how well he does in his first two seasons with the Giants, he will be up against stiff competition as Mississauga Steelheads defenceman Sean Day and Brandon Wheat Kings back-end prospect Kale Clague are also all draft eligible in 2016.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen