Two of the top prospects in the upcoming draft were on display in Rimouski Friday and both players lived up to their advanced billing.

RIMOUSKI, Que. -- Although the MasterCard Memorial Cup's semifinal featured the Windsor Spitfires versus the Drummondville Voltigeurs, another storyline shone through Friday.

Ryan Ellis and Dmitry Kulikov are two of the top defensive prospects available for next month's National Hockey League draft and each player was as good as advertised Friday.

Draft pundits have been touting both prospects for their immense potential all season long. While the two don't play the same style or for that matter in the same league, their names are often lumped together as both are potential top 10 picks. The Memorial Cup was the perfect stage for the two junior stars to once again showcase their immense potential and both left an impression.

Ellis, the pint-sized defenceman who helped lead Canada to gold at the Under-20 World Junior Championship, was a masterful wizard with the puck, creating chance after chance for his team. His size is his biggest question mark, as he's listed at five-foot-10 and 173 pounds. What kind of player he projects to be will be partly determined on where he's drafted as, if he were three inches taller, Ellis would surely challenge for the first overall pick.

Taylor Hall, the talented Windsor sophomore forward, played against Ellis in minor hockey and doesn't foresee his size holding him back.

"I don't think he plays small at all," Hall said. "He hits a lot, he holds his own in the corners. I don't really think his size is going to hurt him a lot."

Kulikov, a rookie with the Drummondville Voltigeurs this season, took home the bronze for his native Russia at the world juniors. Kulikov is listed at six-foot-one and pushing 200 pounds and is a skillful defender. His hockey sense is top-notch and his active stick enables him to come away with the puck nearly every time there's a play along the boards or in the corner.

Kulikov was easily one of Drummondville's top players in Friday's semifinal which is all the more impressive considering the circumstance. His head coach, Guy Boucher, had spoken about the plethora of injuries his team had endured in their run through the Québec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs and Memorial Cup.

Boucher said after Friday's game that Kulikov was playing with a banged up shoulder, a groin injury and a possible concussion. Kulikov injured his groin early in the final series against Shawinigan and was on the receiving end of a vicious open-ice hit from Rimouski's Logan MacMillan in Wednesday's round robin game.

"He's a warrior, let me tell you," Boucher said. "He could have been born in Canada and you wouldn't know it.

"When he was hit (Wednesday), he didn't know where he was and didn't want to answer the doctor because he didn't want the doctor to tell him he had a concussion."

Kulikov went on playing and was on the ice more than he was on the bench. Boucher says Kulikov's skating is one of his biggest assets, a trait that hadn't gone unnoticed in this tournament. He had the range and hockey sense to sniff out plays long before they developed and was always sneaking in the right place to make a play.

Ellis, meanwhile, was just as valuable for his team. Since the Spitfires' season continues Sunday with the Memorial Cup final against the Western Hockey League champion Kelowna Rockets, any injuries he's fighting through are unknown at this time.

He made the play of the tournament in their round-robin game against Kelowna. Ellis dove at a puck curling around the boards, knocked it twice to keep it in at the blue line before regaining his feet and throwing a pass across to his defensive partner. Fans in attendance were in awe of the play, which is just one of many highlight-reel plays he has made this season.

His potential is seemingly downgraded due to his size no matter how many big plays he continues to make for the Spitfires. Boucher, who was an assistant coach in charge of operating the power-play for Canada's world junior team, worked directly with Ellis at the tournament and knew he would have to game-plan around him in the Memorial Cup.

"He's not too small," Boucher exclaimed. "He controls the game. You can't forecheck this guy. If you forecheck him, he's going to beat three of your guys in one pass. He's got the poise of an NHL player.

"He'll be able to run any NHL power-play."

Kulikov is a late 1990-birthdate, making him eligible for the same draft as Ellis despite his different calendar birthdate. He elected to join the Canadian Hockey League after the Voltigeurs selected him second overall in the Import Draft last summer.

Kulikov called his decision to play in Drummondville: "the best decision I've made in my life. I was enjoying all the year and it was a good performance for our team and a good performance for me to get to the Memorial Cup this year. Losing semifinal in the Mem Cup against (one of the) best teams in Canada is a good performance."

The Russian defenceman should come off the board early in Montreal at this summer's draft. Boucher said his defenceman should earn some points for his competitiveness, grit and ability to play through pain.

"The minute (an NHL team) has a bit of space for him, he's not coming back (to junior)," Boucher said. "His attitude, his effort off the ice and on the ice, his demeanor, it's the best package deal I've had since Sidney Crosby.

"Whoever picks him up is going to love this guy."

The same can be said for Ellis who some project will be more of a long-shot to stick with an NHL team next season. Regardless of whether Ellis and Kulikov are honing their skills in the NHL next season or back in the CHL, fans at the Colisée in Rimouski were in for a treat with these two talented stars in the most intriguing game within the game.