2015 NHL Draft Prospects

[sigx15]

as I said a long time to go before we get to the draft, but Eichel is looking like one of the more highend kids this country has produced at forward in some time, no matter the region...hopefully he doesnt fade like some of the others prior have..

I think people have no idea how good he really is as the few people on here that have made some top 30 lists really dont know much about him, but after the selects, I think it is starting to come out bigtime how skilled this kid is....already a bidding war is coming over trying to land this kid between the Q and BU...

whether or not he or McDavid challenges for #1 is pointless at this point as so much can happen between now and then, but primarily just throwing this kids name out there for people to warm up to...Jack Eichel..

Wasn't trying to put down your statement at all. I've actually been singing Eichel's praises for over a year and a half now and how he was being massively overlooked. Since he took over the empire league in the 2nd half and Junior B nationals as close to, if not the youngest player there and dominated, I've thought he was going to be a very very special player.

To add on to your point about the battle between the Q and BU for his play. Try and remember a US player picked in the first round of a CHL draft on the prayer he would come play for them. To put it into context, Patrick Kane who was about as touted as a kid could be at the same age, was picked in the 5th round of the 2004 OHL draft in the hope he would come north, Eichel was a 1st. Pretty much exact same scenario with the exception of the fact Kane wasn't committed to a college whereas Eichel had already committed to BU long before the QMJHL draft. Its pretty staggering to realize how badly they wanted Eichel to come play. Some people may bring up Brandon Shea, but very different scenario, Moncton had pretty much agreed with the Sheas that he would break his NTDP committment to come north. The Eichel draft pick was pure speculation and hope. Pretty impressive statement on the kids talent.

 

[Garyboy]

Just wondering who do you think will be the best player in the the next 5-10 years ?

nail yakapov - 94
Nathan mckinnon - 95
Aaron ekblad - 96
Connor mcdavid - 97
IMO I'd say ekblad or mcdavid

Yakupov is a 93. I'd say McDavid tops that list when all is said and done.

 

[ryanalbertmills]

What do you guys think of Ryan Donaldson? Played 2 games in the WHL for the Kelowna Rockets as a 15 year old and got into a fight, i believe he is eligible for 2015. being a December 1996 birthday.

 

[Mason10]

McDavid has been dominant
so has Barzal
Kevin Davis has played well
Musil has been playing well imo too

 

[40oz]

Ronning has impressed me, really like Adam Musils game.

Bloodlines ftw.

 

[Mason10]

holy **** Barzal is good

 

[Canuck71*]

(F) Nikita Korostelev (CSKA) 08.02.1997
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-fU-QM6NrE

(F) Ivan Kashtanov (CSKA) 24.02.1997
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvuRrETZat0&feature=related

(F) Denis Yan (CSKA) 14.04.1997
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmw0nE1oL3g&feature=related

Looking for some more info on this kid. He is russian apparently but I just noticed he played in Sarnia this past year with our Minor Midget "AAA" program as an underager. Just wondering why he chose Sarnia of all places? Thought most these Europeans that come over would lean towards playing in the GTHL. I'm going to keep an eye out for this kid, he had great stats as an under age player.

 

[40oz]

Wow, what a comeback. Crazy game. Thank god for hockey in July.

 

[Mason10]

Sprong trying the Kane

 

[40oz]

Sprong trying the Kane

That was ugly.

How incredible is McDavid? Kid is the real deal.

 

[Mason10]

That was ugly.

How incredible is McDavid? Kid is the real deal.

Seems like McDavid vs Barzal right now, look like they're gonna go 1-2

 

[pocketful]

McDavid was amazing. Great skater, skilled hands, and excellent vision. Was definitely on another level. Barzal is interesting to watch. He's got so much so much raw talent that just needs to be developed and polished.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Looked to me like Mcdavid and Barzal are in a 2 player tier by themselves.

I'd take Mcdavid over Barzal but Barzal is closer to Mcdavid than anyone else was to Barzal, if you know what i mean. 1 game sample is 1 game sample.

That said, I was impressed by a lot of the kids out there. Fun game to watch in the middle of July. Ronning is the definition of "the apple not falling far from the tree"!

 

[scout97]

After watching that I can say mcdavid is on another level then everyone. Also barzal is by far ahead of noel now. Liked davis, musil,Morrison, craivech, luchuck, Roy, lizzotte, duschense, ronning, harkins, estaphan, konecny, beauvillier, stephans, and a few others who I can't remember the names.

 

[scoutman1]

After watching that I can say mcdavid is on another level then everyone. Also barzal is by far ahead of noel now. Liked davis, musil,Morrison, craivech, luchuck, Roy, lizzotte, duschense, ronning, harkins, estaphan, konecny, beauvillier, stephans, and a few others who I can't remember the names.

I will agree on Noel...he seems to not be growing, and I am starting to wonder if other kids are passing him now talent wise, his development seems to have stalled and I am not just saying from the All State game, but the kid has to get A LOT stronger....Barzal is going to be an amazing player....and I will say McDavid is probably the best player I have seen since Sidney Crosby, the kid is special for sure.

 

[ReppingMTL]

That was ugly.

How incredible is McDavid? Kid is the real deal.

Sprong didn't get the goalie to drop on the fakes but his hands were quite impressive in that 5 second stint. This guy Barzal really impressed me. I was let down on the hype of Noel. I heard such great things about him,

 

[ozo]

Thought most these Europeans that come over would lean towards playing in the GTHL.

I'm curious, what makes you think so?

 

[Johnny McBravo]

Harkins impressed me a lot. Reminds me of Kesler.

 

[Canuck71*]

I'm curious, what makes you think so?

It is a more competitive league and Toronto is so multi-cultural now I would think Europeans would would rather play in Toronto than A city like Sarnia with a population under 100,000. The russian connection to Sarnia has been pretty productive as of late though with Yakupov and Galchenyuk. Wondering if Yan has some kind of connection to Sarnia.

 

[Jabba11]

Yakupov is a 93. I'd say McDavid tops that list when all is said and done.

That's where you're wrong. McDavid has yet to play a single OHL game and you guys put so much pressure on him. I know OHL fans are happy to see their next "phenom", but you will be sorry when you see Nathan MacKinnon dominate. Nathan MacKinnon is build like Crosby, not talent wise, nor skillwise, but physically. Strong on skates, and explosive. MacKinnon will score over 100 pts next year and he should make team Canada.

 

[bruinsfan46]

Wasn't trying to put down your statement at all. I've actually been singing Eichel's praises for over a year and a half now and how he was being massively overlooked. Since he took over the empire league in the 2nd half and Junior B nationals as close to, if not the youngest player there and dominated, I've thought he was going to be a very very special player.

To add on to your point about the battle between the Q and BU for his play. Try and remember a US player picked in the first round of a CHL draft on the prayer he would come play for them. To put it into context, Patrick Kane who was about as touted as a kid could be at the same age, was picked in the 5th round of the 2004 OHL draft in the hope he would come north, Eichel was a 1st. Pretty much exact same scenario with the exception of the fact Kane wasn't committed to a college whereas Eichel had already committed to BU long before the QMJHL draft. Its pretty staggering to realize how badly they wanted Eichel to come play. Some people may bring up Brandon Shea, but very different scenario, Moncton had pretty much agreed with the Sheas that he would break his NTDP committment to come north. The Eichel draft pick was pure speculation and hope. Pretty impressive statement on the kids talent.

Cam Fowler taken in the first by Kitchener.

Eichel may be great, but challenging McDavid and Brazal is gonna be really hard. Eichel is also an age group ahead and has he accomplished anything more?

 

[bruinsfan46]

That's where you're wrong. McDavid has yet to play a single OHL game and you guys put so much pressure on him. I know OHL fans are happy to see their next "phenom", but you will be sorry when you see Nathan MacKinnon dominate. Nathan MacKinnon is build like Crosby, not talent wise, nor skillwise, but physically. Strong on skates, and explosive. MacKinnon will score over 100 pts next year and he should make team Canada.

MacKinnon is an incredible prospect but you're doubting McDavid for what appears to be league bias (you're the one who brought up league vs. league). McDavid really does look as good as people say, sure he still could come up short in the OHL but the speed and skill is just insane.

 

[ozo]

It is a more competitive league and Toronto is so multi-cultural now I would think Europeans would would rather play in Toronto than A city like Sarnia with a population under 100,000. The russian connection to Sarnia has been pretty productive as of late though with Yakupov and Galchenyuk. Wondering if Yan has some kind of connection to Sarnia.

Makes sense when you lay it out like that, but are foreigners common at all in these leagues? It's not often Canadian AAA sides get such a promising Euro kids at all so there's no previous examples which would inspire kids like Yan to follow the already established route.

 

[J17 Vs Proclamation]

That's where you're wrong. McDavid has yet to play a single OHL game and you guys put so much pressure on him. I know OHL fans are happy to see their next "phenom", but you will be sorry when you see Nathan MacKinnon dominate. Nathan MacKinnon is build like Crosby, not talent wise, nor skillwise, but physically. Strong on skates, and explosive. MacKinnon will score over 100 pts next year and he should make team Canada.

And yet you are in the process of doing exactly the same thing.

Such a list is preposterous, given the oldest player hasn't been eligible for NHL game yet. Inane pointless rankings/comparisons of players from different backgrounds who haven't overlapped seem pointless to me.

 

[scoutman1]

That's where you're wrong. McDavid has yet to play a single OHL game and you guys put so much pressure on him. I know OHL fans are happy to see their next "phenom", but you will be sorry when you see Nathan MacKinnon dominate. Nathan MacKinnon is build like Crosby, not talent wise, nor skillwise, but physically. Strong on skates, and explosive. MacKinnon will score over 100 pts next year and he should make team Canada.

im a big fan of Mackinnon but IMO McDavid is wayy closer to Crosby talent than Mackinnon....I watched Crosby as a kid right up through minor hockey and same as Mackinnon and I will say McDavid looks almost as good as Crosby did back then, he just lacks that more amazing decision making Crosby had back then where he never tried to do it all himself rushing the puck down the ice Sidney used his teammates more even on the rush and controlled the game a little bit more but McDavid is only a shade and I do mean a shade bellow Sidney Crosby esqness.