Jacob Perreault hopes to follow in father Yanic's footsteps

Among the list of hopefuls at just about every draft appear the names of the sons of former NHL players. Several are drafted, but many, if not most, never manage to break through or establish themselves in the big league. This year, one of those is Jacob Perreault, the son of the former NHLer Yanic Perreault, and he has an excellent chance of making a name for himself outside of the family bloodline.

The 18-year-old winger, who was born in Montreal while his father was playing with the Montreal Canadiens, spent the last two seasons with the Sarnia Sting and he managed to put up some very good numbers. In his first year, he recorded 30 goals and 25 assists in 63 games, while this year he netted 39 goals and 31 assists in 57 games. He finished second in points for the team behind 20-year-old Sean Josling.

Several analysts are convinced that he will be taken in the first round of the upcoming entry draft, likely in the later stages. His shot is capable of fooling any goaltender and he's very dangerous in one-on-one situations.

For those unfamiliar with Jacob's dad Yanic Perreault, he was a second round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1991. He enjoyed a career spanning 14 seasons while suiting up for the Leafs in three separate stints with the team, as well as playing for the L.A. Kings, Montreal, Phoenix and Chicago. He was not a star offensively, but did put up just under and over 50 points in six different years. He also had eight 20+ goal seasons. However, if there is such a thing as faceoff superstars in the NHL, Yanic Perreault was definitely one. In fact, Perreault holds the best career faceoff percentage ever in the NHL at 62.86 percent. The next closest is Zenon Konopka at 59.33 percent.

It will be interesting to see who ends up snagging Jacob Perreault. As a winger, he obviously won't be following in his father's footsteps faceoff wise, but he has the talent to eclipse him offensively. If you look up scouting reports on him, you'll see his shot mentioned several times as being one of the best in the upcoming draft. If there is any knock against him, it would be his defensive game. However, at just 18-years-old, he has time to improve on his deficiencies.

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