The Kids' Table: Prospect All-Stars

All-Star games can be fun, but most of the time they're completely pointless. I mean, all the John Scott stuff from this past weekend at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game was awesome. There has always been this mentality that it's the fans vs. the league (this is a recurring theme across sports), but it seems particularly prevalent when it comes to the NHL. The fans wanted an enforcer/AHLer to play in Nashville, and they ultimately got it, but not without finding out that the league tried to interfere with everything. This All-Star Game would have been a lackluster affair if not for Scott.

The point I'm trying to make is that in a week or so, most people will forget what happened in Nashville and it will become a memory, a conversation for next year, when undoubtedly the same thing will happen again and Matt Martin will get voted into the 2017 All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Everyone will forget about Scott and talk about Martin, and it'll just become a vicious cycle.

What separates the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game from any other All-Star game is its relevance. Outside of the World Junior Championship and a few other tournaments, it's hard to find a game that showcases all the best young hockey players in the world from the hotbed of puck prospects that is the CHL. It even brings out legend Bobby Orr and the beloved Don Cherry thumbs-up "Let's Go!"

So much can be taken away from Sunday's game. So much can be learned about some of the familiar prospects for the 2016 NHL Draft and even more about players that have flown under the radar. This week, I share some of my thoughts on which players helped their stock, stood out the most and made names for themselves.

Draft Stock Rising

Pierre-Luc Dubois should be considered a top-five prospect for the 2016 NHL Draft. This is something of a bold statement, considering Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Jakob Chychrun, Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrik Laine appear to be the odds-on top five, but if you watched Sunday's game, you saw how dominant Dubois can be.

Dubois notched with the game-winning goal and two assists while looking like a man playing among boys. (I'll try to keep the clichés to a minimum, but no promises.) He possesses great size for a winger and isn't afraid to use his big body to force smaller opponents off the puck. Dubois threw plenty of hits and was impressive on the forecheck, forcing turnovers that led to multiple scoring chances for his teammates. It was his tenacity that led to those helpers on a pair of Pascal Laberge goals.

Aside from his physical game, Dubois brings plenty of skill and creativity. On one particularly memorable play in the second period, he burst through the zone, beat a defender and drove to the net, coming across for a quality scoring chance. He also isn't afraid to fight, which is important for his fantasy stock five years down the line. He's the type of player who could score 30 goals with over 200 hits and 100 PIM.

Big-Bodied Players to Watch

Logan Brown, the son former NHL defenseman Jeff Brown, comes in listed at 6-foot-6, and it was mentioned during the broadcast that he's actually still growing; that actually may be a bad thing, though. Brown's skating isn't exactly there and you can tell that he's still getting used to his frame. The good thing is that Brown has an incredible shot, although it's only resulted in nine goals over 39 games for the Windsor Spitfires this season. Logan Stanley, a teammate of Brown's on Windsor, is also listed at 6-foot-6, and he made his presence felt with a few penalties and big hits Sunday. He isn't very offensively gifted, but points aren't always the most important statistic for defensemen in fantasy hockey.

Looking for the Next Tyler Johnson

Ever since Johnson's breakout season in 2013-14, people have become obsessed with pinpointing which undersized prospect will follow in his footsteps (and those of Martin St. Louis before him). There were plenty of tiny speedsters in Sunday's showcase, particularly a Team Cherry line that featured Ty Ronning, Vitali Abramov and Sam Steel.

Let's start with Ronning, the son of former Canucks center Cliff Ronning. Like his father, Ronning isn't the tallest in the bunch – he's listed at 5-foot-9 – but he snuck into the game as an injury replacement for his Vancouver Giants teammate Tyler Benson. In front of the hometown crowd, Ronning had incredibly big shoes to fill considering, Benson is also the Giants' captain. He stepped up big, scoring the game's first goal on a nice individual effort, burying his own rebound following a feed from Abramov.

Ronning has plenty of speed and skill, but there's always that question mark as to whether he'll be able to hack it in the big leagues. From what I saw, the odds are against him, but his hockey pedigree can only help.

Abramov, on the other hand has a real chance. The 5-foot-9 Russian forward has 31 goals and 74 points in 50 games for the Gatineau Olympiques this season and was a highlight reel of dangles and dekes the entire night. He's getting some first-round consideration for 2016, but (you guessed it) his size will likely be the biggest cause for concern among GMs.

Another Russian with Upside

Windsor defenseman Mikhail Sergachev clearly saw what last year's game did for Ivan Provorov's draft stock. The 6-foot-2 blueliner has a hell of a shot and did a nice job manning the point for Team Orr. Cliché No. 2: Like most gifted Russian defensemen, Sergachev draws comparisons to Sergei Gonchar, though he actually may turn out to be more of a two-way defenseman. Right now, Sergachev is projected to go in the first round in June, though his age (he turns 18 a few days before the draft) will likely hold him back from making the NHL right away. Still, he's a very fine prospect and is among a handful of Russian blueliners who will be household names by 2020.

Big-Name Prospects Overshadowed

Sure, Tkachuk and Chychrun made plenty of plays to draw some attention, but you really didn't see any of them separate themselves from the rest of the pack like Dubois, Laberge and Abramov did.

Tkachuk had a few nice scoring chances, but didn't do much else. Chychrun featured his big shot and sound skating, but really didn't wow you into saying, "Hey, that kid is going to be a stud in the NHL!" I think the intangibles are what will end up making both of these kids great. Chychrun was captain of Team Cherry and was mic'd up during the first period and before the game. You could tell by how he carried himself that this kid is going to be a captain at the next level. Sidebar: He makes a lot of sense for the Maple Leafs high in the draft as an eventual replacement for Dion Phaneuf.

Another big name, Mississauga Steelheads forward Alexander Nylander, seemed off his game in Vancouver. Sure, it's an exhibition game and you're playing with unfamiliar linemates in front of a bigger crowd, but that should bring out the best in you. Instead, Nylander seemed timid and indecisive on the ice. This isn't really a red flag, as Nylander should still go in the top 10 in June, but I would have liked to see him flash at least a little bit of that playmaking ability he showed us all at the WJC.

More Steelheads in Action

Nylander's linemates, Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian, were also on the ice Sunday, though none of the three played together on the same unit.

Bastian is a fine young player, but I want to talk about McLeod, who has 53 points in 46 games this season and helped his stock tremendously in this contest. He may have been the best skater on the ice, flying by defenders on multiple occasions with ridiculous speed. He was also very patient with the puck, not forcing things and making good decisions that led to shots on goal for his linemates. The thing with McLeod is he's going to have to choose which type of player he wants to be: a speedster who uses reckless abandon to put the puck in the net or a playmaker who uses that patience to create quality opportunities, albeit without as much flash.

Some Other Players I Liked: Jordan Kyrou, F, Sarnia Sting; Evan Fitzpatrick, G, Sherbrooke Phoenix; Jake Bean, D, Calgary Hitmen