Prospect Profile: Jeff Skinner

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Jeff Skinner
Height: 5'10
Weight: 193lbs
Current Team: Carolina Hurricanes
Draft: 2010 - 7th Overall

After being drafted 7th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, fans were ecstatic about Jeff Skinner, and in retrospect, rightfully so. It seemed that Carolina had finally found it's elite goal scoring presence to go with franchise center Eric Staal. However, not many truly expected him to stick with the Hurricanes, much less put up points at the level he has. In his very young career Skinner has played some great hockey, leading all rookies in points and proving himself worthy of such a high selection.

Jeff Skinner started his major junior career in 2008 with the Kitchener Rangers, being selected 20th in the OHL Bantam Draft. Skinner made an immediate impact at this level, leading the Rangers in goals scored in his rookie season, reaching a total of 51 points in 63 games. However it was his following season in which he truly "broke out", scoring 50 goals(21 on the powerplay) and totaling 90 points in 64 games, leading a much improved Kitchener team to the OHL playoffs. In the playoffs Skinner stepped up his game to yet another level, scoring 20 goals in 20 games and adding 13 assists. Kitchener would take eventual Memorial Cup Champion Windsor to seven games and come up just short. Skinner was subsequently invited to play for Team Orr in the 2010 CHL Top Prospects Game in which he was named player of the game with a goal and an assist.

Leading up to the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles, Jeff Skinner was an interesting prospect. His nose for the net was undeniable, everyone was well aware that he could score goals in bunches. It also seemed as if Skinner played his best hockey when it truly mattered, but his rating by central scouting was not very indicative of this. However questions were raised about his skating, although he was a former high level figure skater it was unknown whether his skating ability would be sufficient at the NHL level. Not concerned by the doubts, the Carolina Hurricanes chose Jeff Skinner 7th overall, despite players such as Cam Fowler and Brandon Gormley(Ranked 5th and 6th respectively) still on the board. Although there was a perceived need for a legit goal scoring threat to compliment Eric Staal, some people still thought that Carolina should focus on it's defense after being one of the 5 worst teams in the NHL in goals against per game. However, the late season emergence of Skinner was enough to sell Jim Rutherford on his abilities.

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Skinner was seen by many as a "Boom/Bust" type of prospect, either his game would translate well, and he may be a goal scoring star in this league, or his type of play would not translate at all, and another struggling team may have wasted an early pick. With a rep as a small forward early in his career, Skinner showed up to camp weighing 193lbs skating as fluid as ever, and hopes for him to stay in Carolina were way up. In late September he was signed to his entry-level contract, three years for a grand total of $2.7 Million. It was in training camp and preseason that fans got to see him at the NHL level, and he was impressively strong on the ice, and very hard to push off the puck, a great asset for a player that many thought to be an unimpressive skater.

It didn't take long for Skinner to start producing, in just his second NHL game on October 8th, he notched his first assist, and scored the game winning shootout goal against the Minnesota Wild, making him the 3rd youngest player to score in the shootout. Shortly after his debut, the Hurricanes announced that Skinner would be staying the season in Carolina, much to the delight of fans. This marked the start of a 14 game tear, in which he totaled 15 points, pulling away from all other rookies. Skinner has already seen some top line duty with Eric Staal, however he has spent the majority of his season playing second line minutes. Since his 14 game break out, he has just one point in 5 games, cooling off, but still playing strong hockey. As stated in my Early Season Calder Watch if Skinner can produce close to his early pace, he is a lock for a Calder Nomination. It is of course, not realistic to expect a point per game, but if he continues on his season pace toward 65 points, he should not only be a lock for a nomination, but close to a sure thing to win it.

With a lot of hockey left to play in 2010-2011, it is uncertain if Jeff Skinner will hold his pace, but Carolina fans have a huge upside to be excited about. Even at the highest level, Skinner has a nac for creating plays and finding the net despite being the youngest player currently playing in the NHL. His ceiling is extremely high, he projects as a 35-50 goal scorer who can keep plays alive and distribute the puck fairly well. Only time will tell, but it appears that the Carolina Hurricanes have a very special player on their hands.