"Kings' Prospect-of-the-month: Sean Blanchard
The 4th round pick of the Kings in 1997 was easily the biggest surprise of all of junior hockey last season. Blanchard, a defenseman playing for ex-Kings Brian Kilrea and the Ottawa 67's in the Ontario Hockey League, started the season undrafted and a virtual obscurity. By the end of the year he had won the hardest shot competition in the Canadian Hockey League (the combination of the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL, the three major junior hockey leagues in the world) and had won the Chrysler Defenseman of the Year award for best defenseman in the CHL. This award is especially prestigious because Blanchard had to beat out Chris Phillips, the top pick in 1996 by the Ottawa Senators and generally considered one of the ten best young players in hockey, to get the award.
This season Blanchard has picked up where he left off, as he is second in the league in scoring among defensemen. He has NHL potential offensively and his defensive game is ever-improving. The reason Blanchard slipped in this year's draft is because of his size. The Kings list him at 6'0" even though most observers believe him to be 5'10" or 5'11". If this "short"-coming can be addressed he could be a potential star on the blueline for the Los Angeles Kings."
Ei kai se ihan susi ole ainakaan, jos se systeemiin sopeutuu.