When Cam Fowler turned away from his committment at Notre Dame to join the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, his standing as a high first round draft pick in the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft was hardly in question. Fowler, blessed with NHL size and elite level skill has had scouts salivating since he first became a teenager.
Some believe Fowler has the potential to be a franchise player for an NHL team one day. His combination of foot speed, pure offensive ability, and hockey smarts have made him the consensus choice to be the first defenseman drafted this June.
For fantasy hockey owners, it is important to know that Fowler should be considered a top-shelf offensive talent and those in keeper leagues should not hesitate to acquire him.
I asked our OHL expert Brock Otten, who compares Fowler to Los Angeles Kings star and Canadian Olympian Drew Doughty, to break down Fowler's assets, flaws, and fantasy potential and here is what he said:
Assets: Puck moving ability, first pass, straight ahead speed, lateral mobility, on ice
vision, powerplay quarterbacking, defensive positioning.
Flaws: Still learning to use his size defensively, needs to do a better job getting his
shot through to the net, can tend to force movement up the ice leading to turnovers in
his own zone.
Fantasy Potential: Depending on who drafts him, Fowler could very well make his debut in
the NHL next season and play a fairly large offensive role. Down the road, he looks to be
a potential top 10 fantasy defenseman due to how much ice time he'll see and how many
points he'll put up.
"While he's not necessarily being included in the discussion for first overall anymore, I'd easily take him first among the other two top defenseman available (Gudbranson and Gormley)", said Otten.
"His ability to transition so quickly up ice makes him a very valuable asset for today's faster NHL. Not to mention that his evolving defensive game means he could easily develop into a dominant two way defenseman...and quickly. His development could very well occur at the same pace as it has for Drew Doughty in Los Angeles. Having seen both play in the OHL, I see them as comparable players in the future."
Cam Fowler is currently ranked 3rd by both the ISS and NHL Central Scouting. Here at SchoolYourPool.com Fantasy Hockey we selected him 2nd overall after Taylor Hall in our 2010 NHL Mock Draft which can be found here.
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