2018 NHL Draft: Fisher’s Top 93 Preseason Rankings

[Larry Fisher]

With the junior hockey season starting or about to start, depending on the league and country, I've released my preseason rankings of the top 93 prospects for the 2018 NHL draft: https://thehockeywriters.com/2018-nhl-draft-fishers-top-93-preseason-rankings/

Worth noting, I'm based in Western Canada/WHL, so I sometimes have a bit of bias, especially early in the season when I'm still getting to know (aka researching) the majority of draft-eligible prospects from other leagues/countries outside the top 30-50. Towards the end of these rankings, beyond the top 60, I plugged in some WHL prospects that I feel will play their way into position to be drafted this season, though perhaps outside the top 100.

Your thoughts?

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[Luddowich]

Appreciate the effort, i know how much of longshots lists are at this point.
Just curious to why you have a lot of Swedes on the list but no Adam Ginning?

 

[Emerz]

My first thought (being a CB Eagles fan so I look for my teams players to see where they're ranked) is that Kevin Mandolese appears to be missing, though you could just have him ranked later than the 3rd round.

Gravel/Mandolese > Rodrigue in my opinion, had much better seasons last year.

 

[Larry Fisher]

I haven't heard as much about Adam Ginning, is he one to watch this season? Where would you rank him?

Kevin Mandolese would have been in my next wave of goalies, right around 105-110. I like him, but I think Rodrigue's performance at the Ivan Hlinka will really bolster his draft stock, providing he has a decent season.

 

[Goose of Reason]

Thanks for posting this, seems to be a pretty solid list. I was wondering if you'd be able to explain your ranking of Tkachuk-Zadina-Veleno. I'm a big fan of Veleno and am just curious about what you see in the other two to rank them ahead.

 

[Larry Fisher]

The short answer is they are bigger with more of a power element to their game than Veleno. I think I actually prefer Zadina over Tkachuk personally, but Tkachuk seems to be a consensus top 4 right now, so I gave him the edge. Valeno would need a huge season to overtake either of them IMO, whether that means 100 points or making Canada's world-junior team and shining at that tournament. With Zadina playing in the Q, those head-to-head games are going to be heavily scouted and Veleno will need to outshine in those opportunities as well. They are different players, but I think Zadina has more tools to be an effective/dominant pro.

 

[OilTastic]

it's cool to see who could be available at #31, where the Oilers will be picking.

 

[RWML67]

looks like a near copy cat of Bob McKenzie's recent list with slight adjustment to make it "yours"

I can tell you, as an area based junior hockey fan, you're regional players there are out of whack.

 

[Wooren]

looks like a near copy cat of Bob McKenzie's recent list with slight adjustment to make it "yours"

I can tell you, as an area based junior hockey fan, you're regional players there are out of whack.

Didn't know McKenzie did top 93 ranking.

 

[tony d]

Thanks for posting this and I appreciate the effort. Browsing the list it looks like a good one.

 

[Larry Fisher]

looks like a near copy cat of Bob McKenzie's recent list with slight adjustment to make it "yours"

I can tell you, as an area based junior hockey fan, you're regional players there are out of whack.

McKenzie's list is a top 20, mine extends through three rounds to 93. I could post the top 20s side by side but they are far from identical. Not even the top four are in the same order. I've been doing mock drafts and prospect rankings since 2011, independently. I have never copied Bob or anybody else, but I have produced similar results, at times better results than McKenzie. You can go through my track record the last few years and see for yourself. These are my opinions and mine alone.

I am interested however in your opinions on the area in which you are based and how you would rank those regional prospects? Not saying it would change my opinions, but I'm always open to feedback.

 

[CraigBillington]

it's cool to see who could be available at #31, where the Oilers will be picking.

Two years ago, that would be an insult

 

[Larry Fisher]

Fun start to the CHL season already. Libor Zabransky was impressive in his debut with the Kelowna Rockets and I think Kirill Nizhnikov will be shooting up the rankings playing alongside Svechnikov. I had Nizhnikov at 67 and granted one shouldn't make decisions based on a game or two, but it's safe to say he'd be closer to 40 than 60 on my list going forward after seeing that instant chemistry between Barrie's two Russian imports. That team is going to be fun to watch. Stay tuned!

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

The Olivier Rodrigue hype is a bit weird considering how outclassed he was by Gravel, Mandolese, Ingham during the 2016/17 season. He had a good Hlinka tournament. It wasn't anything jaw dropping as the Canadian defense was fantastic in limiting anything dangerous towards the net. It wasn't a tournament where you come away thinking this guy is one of the best goalie prospects of the draft. It was a tournament where you figure he's worked his way back to being a mid round pick.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

Am I the only one who is having trouble getting worked up over this draft class?

 

[SergeConstantin74]

My first thought (being a CB Eagles fan so I look for my teams players to see where they're ranked) is that Kevin Mandolese appears to be missing, though you could just have him ranked later than the 3rd round.

Gravel/Mandolese > Rodrigue in my opinion, had much better seasons last year.

Rodrigue had a better Hlinka tournament than Gravel though.

We'll see. There are a lot of interesting young goalies in the Q now.

 

[SergeConstantin74]

I still think Kurashev is underrated. Third best ppg ratio behind Merkley and Veleno in the CHL among 2018 eligibles last season. He started the regular season really well this year with 2 goals and 2 assists in 2 games. He also played well at the U18 last Spring.

 

[SergeConstantin74]

The Olivier Rodrigue hype is a bit weird considering how outclassed he was by Gravel, Mandolese, Ingham during the 2016/17 season. He had a good Hlinka tournament. It wasn't anything jaw dropping as the Canadian defense was fantastic in limiting anything dangerous towards the net. It wasn't a tournament where you come away thinking this guy is one of the best goalie prospects of the draft. It was a tournament where you figure he's worked his way back to being a mid round pick.

Drummondville didn't have a good team at all. They did a fire sale at the mid-season trade deadline. That's when Rodrigue's stats started to drop.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Drummondville didn't have a good team at all. They did a fire sale at the mid-season trade deadline. That's when Rodrigue's stats started to drop.

Happened in November when he came back from the U17 Challenge. Still doesn't ignore the fact that he was outplayed by Mandolese/Gravel alone in the QMJHL. Or that he was outplayed by goalies on his own team once he came back from the U17's as well. Or that while his Hlinka tournament was good he heavily benefited from the Canadians having a superior offense/defense that fit perfectly in with Rodrigue's style. Rodrigue is a fine goalie prospect but hasn't shown he's better than Mandolese or Gravel in the QMJHL let alone Jacob Ingham in the OHL. It's a long season in the CHL so there is time to catch up right now though Ingham/Gravel/Mandolese are the better goalie prospects from the CHL until Rodrigue manages to pass them.

 

[SergeConstantin74]

Happened in November when he came back from the U17 Challenge. Still doesn't ignore the fact that he was outplayed by Mandolese/Gravel alone in the QMJHL. Or that he was outplayed by goalies on his own team once he came back from the U17's as well. Or that while his Hlinka tournament was good he heavily benefited from the Canadians having a superior offense/defense that fit perfectly in with Rodrigue's style. Rodrigue is a fine goalie prospect but hasn't shown he's better than Mandolese or Gravel in the QMJHL let alone Jacob Ingham in the OHL. It's a long season in the CHL so there is time to catch up right now though Ingham/Gravel/Mandolese are the better goalie prospects from the CHL until Rodrigue manages to pass them.

I'm not saying he's better but FYI Gravel and Mandolese were both outplayed by goalies on their own team. To me, that doesn't mean anything. Mandolese wasn't even #1 on his own team.

What I think will make a difference is their size. 6'1 is considered small for a NHL goalie. Drummondville should again be a bottom feeder in the league this season.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

I'm not saying he's better but FYI Gravel and Mandolese were both outplayed by goalies on their own team. To me, that doesn't mean anything. Mandolese wasn't even #1 on his own team.

What I think will make a difference is their size. 6'1 is considered small for a NHL goalie. Drummondville should again be a bottom feeder in the league this season.

Gap wasn't as large between Mandolese/Jessiman or Gravel/Mann-Dixon as it was between Rodrigue and either of the two regulars in Drummondville. Also Gravel thoroughly outplayed Resop whereas Rodrigue didn't outplay either Dumont-Bouchard or Boilen.

Size will make some difference. The biggest difference though will be in consistency and how two goalies can regularly make active save selections due to above average puck tracking while the 3rd can't.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Am I the only one who is having trouble getting worked up over this draft class?

Yup.


This draft is going to be a very strong one. Maybe not quite on 2015's level but the top of it is very comparable to 2016 and the depth is stronger than that draft IMO.


Lots of really good Dmen available in the top couple rounds.

 

[Tube Skates]

Am I the only one who is having trouble getting worked up over this draft class?

Think you just have a 2017 hangover. Some have a hard time getting excited about a dman heavy draft. Do your research and get out to watch some live games. It's a great draft class with a couple of franchise talents. If you can't get the funk out go take a look at 2019 that should get some blood pumping

 

[Thebesthockey]

one thing for sure, the 2000 dob 's is the yr mobile and internet computing started to be more readily available and one thing is for sure it has driven the overhype starting with this age group

there are going to be more than usual BIG discrepencies between forecast and reality
a large part driven by parent/freind online " pumping"

 

[SergeConstantin74]

The Olivier Rodrigue hype is a bit weird considering how outclassed he was by Gravel, Mandolese, Ingham during the 2016/17 season. He had a good Hlinka tournament. It wasn't anything jaw dropping as the Canadian defense was fantastic in limiting anything dangerous towards the net. It wasn't a tournament where you come away thinking this guy is one of the best goalie prospects of the draft. It was a tournament where you figure he's worked his way back to being a mid round pick.

Things change fast.