Though hockey has only just returned in North America with the beginning of the WHL, QMJHL, and NCAA seasons, most of the European leagues have already been rolling for a few weeks now. This means there's already a fair bit of film to be studied, data to be collected, and some initial conclusions to be drawn.

This week's edition of the Scout's Notebook features three top European draft-eligible prospects in Eduard Šalé, Leo Carlsson, and Kasper Halttunen, and examines how they've started their important campaigns. 

Eduard Šalé, F, HC Kometa Brno

Šalé really established himself as a top prospect among this draft class with a fantastic U18 Worlds showing last spring as an underager. Serving as the setup guy for Jiří Kulich, Šalé added eight assists en route to nine points in six games. Almost a