Last week we took a look at some of the players to watch around the Ontario Hockey League.

This week we’re going to narrow the look down a little further to some of the NHL Draft eligible players to keep an eye on heading into the season.

Brandon Saad (Saginaw) – A favourite to be a possible top five pick come next June. Saad was Saginaw’s first round pick in 2008 but decided to play a season with the Mahoning Valley Phantoms before playing last winter with the US Development Program. A power forward, Saad skates well and has a great shot, which he can get off on the rush.

Ryan Murphy (Kitchener) – Another player that could find himself in the top 10 come June, Murphy brings an offensive game to the table. At 5-foot-10, his size is a concern as a defenseman but his skating is something that makes up for it. His defensive game needs work, though at 17-years-old it’s something he can easily work on.

Gabriel Landeskog (Kitchener) – Landeskog made a smooth transition to the North American game last winter. He’s a little bit ahead of the likes of Murphy as he is a late ’92 birthdate, which means he’s eligible for the draft a year later than most players born in 1992. Skilled, Landeskog also has a physical element to his game.

Matthew Puempel (Peterborough) – Highly skilled is the one way of describing Puempel. Mature for his age, Puempel has an elite scoring touch and thinks the game extremely well. He’s not extremely flashy but he gets the job done, and did it a lot against his opponents top players.

Boone Jenner (Oshawa) – Competitive, Jenner skates well and is very tough to knock off the puck. The Generals centre has the ability to beat defenders one-on-one and also has a good scoring touch around the net.

Another player to keep an eye on is forward Vladislav Namestnikov. The Russian-born forward was selected in the CHL Import Draft by the London Knights. Although nothing official has been released by the team yet regarding his signing, it looks as though he could wind up with the Knights. Namestnikov is the type of player who always seems to find himself in the right place at the right time. Although he is on the small side and can get knocked off the puck easily at times, he provides some skill offensively.

Other players to keep an eye on around the OHL include Soo Greyhounds forward Daniel Catenacci; Plymouth Whalers centre Garrett Meurs; London Knights defenseman Scott Harrington and Guelph Storm forwards Cody McNaughton and Carter Sandlak – son of former NHLer Jim.

Early on, Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) centre Sean Couturier and Skelleftea (Sweden) defenseman Adam Larsson are seen as the top two prospects available. Along with Saad, other possibilities for the top pick include centre Victor Rask of Leksands (Sweden), Vancouver Giants (WHL) defenseman David Musil, son of another former NHLer (Frank), as well as centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels.