Prospect Info: 2019 Capitals Top Prospect #5

[tenken00]

2019 Capitals Prospects Rankings:

1) Ilya Samsonov G (40 votes 64.5%) Prospect Info: - 2019 Capitals Top Prospect #1

2) Alex Alexeyev LD (42 votes 91.3%) Prospect Info: - 2019 Capitals Top Prospect #2

3) Connor McMichael C (29 votes 48.3%) Prospect Info: - 2019 Capitals Top Prospect #3

4) Martin Fehervary LD (45 votes 91.8%) Prospect Info: - 2019 Capitals Top Prospect #4



With the 2019 draft and development camp done and finished, what do you think the Caps prospect rankings should be this year? Part of an ongoing series.

Admittedly, I'm not familiar with a lot of them, so it'll be interesting to read what you guys think.

I took this initial list from another site, so feel free to request an add of another prospect!

The requirement is U25, and less than 25 NHL games played.


Note: I'll start the next prospect ranking thread the next day if the polling isn't close. If two or more prospects are within 10 votes of each other, I'll leave that thread out for the additional day.

Click to read more...

 

[tenken00]

So like someone said. Now starts the meat and potatoes.

 

[Liam Smith]

I don’t think that picture is Fehervary but I may be wrong.

 

[tenken00]

I don’t think that picture is Fehervary but I may be wrong.

Actually I think you are right.

 

[Hivemind]

Pretty big drop off after 4. There’s a half dozen guys who could have an argument for #5.

 

[Charles Calvert]

Pretty big drop off after 4. There’s a half dozen guys who could have an argument for #5.

I disagree to an extent. I think Brett Leason is probably a step below Samsonov, Alexeyev, McMichael, and Fehervary. But I think he's an interesting case of being a decent ceiling player (certainly middle 6) but could be NHL ready pretty soon, as close to being NHL ready as the above guys. Same with Vaneck; probably a good NHL backup or spot starter.

I do think Leason is easily better than the next tier of guys, namely Johansen, Gersich, Snively, Pilon, and Hobbs; all are guys who have potential to be more than depth or bottom line/pairing guys. Then the next tier are guys like Sutter, Protas, Malenstyn, AJF, Geisser, and Pinho, who all have a good chance to be bottom six/pairing NHLers, but may be limited for different reasons to go much farther than that.

After that, I have guys like Clark, Florchuk, and Riat who are still intriguing, but their futures are sort of cloudy.

 

[Langway]

I think Leason is pretty easily next due to upside, even at his age. There is some bust potential and he'll need to really work on becoming more physical and physically strong/explosive. His hands and his defensive game may be close to NHL ready but that may be the extent of it currently. For me Alexeyev & Fehervary remain the closest skaters and it isn't particularly close. They both could be depth regulars elsewhere next season and skip the AHL in weaker orgs. They're that mature. That said, dominating the AHL would only be good for them.

Vanecek & Protas would be next for me due to upside. Then probably Snively for the same reason. After that the next tier IMO includes probably ten players or so, all more likely depth players or 4D/9F at best where it's more a matter of taste.

 

[895]

Pre-draft Leason was higher than McMichael in some lists (or at least only a few spots lower) so I have to say him.

 

[895]

I think Leason is pretty easily next due to upside, even at his age. There is some bust potential and he'll need to really work on becoming more physical and physically strong/explosive. His hands and his defensive game may be close to NHL ready but that may be the extent of it currently. For me Alexeyev & Fehervary remain the closest skaters and it isn't particularly close. They both could be depth regulars elsewhere next season and skip the AHL in weaker orgs. They're that mature. That said, dominating the AHL would only be good for them.

Vanecek & Protas would be next for me due to upside. Then probably Snively for the same reason. After that the next tier IMO includes probably ten players or so, all more likely depth players or 4D/9F at best where it's more a matter of taste.

Where are you putting Johansen?

 

[Langway]

Where are you putting Johansen?

I think I'd listed him seventh recently but I could see an argument for someone like Malenstyn over him and Johansen coming in at eight or nine even in a weaker system overall. Johansen's strength is his skating but aside from that it's unclear what his role/value would be. He hasn't developed a physical game to be cement becoming a stay-at-home type and doesn't quite have the decision-making to be a positional defensive D or the overall IQ to be a Djoos type. He could still pan out but the clock is ticking. It's a big year for him. If he manages to fill out more then he could step into being more of that Djoos type perhaps but is he a special teams guy? The timing just seems like he'll struggle to find a spot or role here with Alexeyev & Fehervary bringing more to the table. A change of scenery for a forward prospect that's a little further along but on the outs for whatever reason makes sense at some point.

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Where are you putting Johansen?

Stats does not lie. ECHL he go.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I think people are lower on LuJo than they should be.

 

[tenken00]

Stats does not lie. ECHL he go.

Ouch. He was injured most of the year.

 

[Langway]

Yeah, I don't want to be that guy but a trade makes a lot more sense if he's, say, battling with Nardella/Geisser on the third pair in Hershey or something and it's pretty close. But something like a Johansen/Hobbs third pair could be pretty solid just the same and it's possible they'll need to him should others be needed in DC. He'll likely still have more value in a second-pair AHL role than those others.

 

[tenken00]

Who would be the first forward up in case of injury?

Leason? Pilon? Sgarbossa?

Edit: Nevermind. I totally forgot one of the Stephenson/Boyd pair who gets sent down.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Stats does not lie. ECHL he go.

Your made up stat does lie though. You’ve never even watched the guy play a game

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Who would be the first forward up in case of injury?

Leason? Pilon? Sgarbossa?

Edit: Nevermind. I totally forgot one of the Stephenson/Boyd pair who gets sent down.

Depends on who are injured players. But Leason is most probably the first one to go up.

 

[hb12xchamps]

LuJo is an easy target to pile on when the shiny new toys come out. If AA and Fehervary outplay him at camp and into the AHL season, I think they could end up dealing him somewhere else in some sort of underperforming prospect for prospect swap. The issue would be finding another forward with a first or second round pedigree that doesn’t have major issues off the ice.

The main issue with drafting and signing all of these LDs is the lack of playing time. Right now you’re looking at a Hershey D core as some variation of:

AA-Lewington
Fehervary-Burgdoerfer
LuJo-Hobbs
Nardella-Williams
Geisser
Bindulis

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Your made up stat does lie though. You’ve never even watched the guy play a game

Well we will not start it over again. Aren't we? You like to watch games. I like to spend time with stats.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Who would be the first forward up in case of injury?

Leason? Pilon? Sgarbossa?

Edit: Nevermind. I totally forgot one of the Stephenson/Boyd pair who gets sent down.

That should play itself out. Depending on the role and cap hit you have Gersich, Pinho, Malenstyn, Pilon and Leason as the prospects to get a look. Sgarbossa or O’Brien could be possibilities since they’re cap hits are probably smaller than the ELC guys

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Our AHL D is like this for me:

Fehervary - Lewington
Alexeyev - Burgdoerfer
Geisser - Hobbs
Nardella - Williams
Bindulis - Hughes

And it will be (Lewington staying in DC due to Kempny injury) at season start:

Fehervary - Hobbs
Alexeyev - Burgdoerfer
Geisser - Williams
Nardella - Hughes
Bindulis - LuJo


Trading LuJo is an option while he has some value may be,

 

[discobob]

I think a Leason vote is the "shiny new toy syndrome"

It all depends on how you vote - based on ceiling or likelihood of outcome...

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I think a Leason vote is the "shiny new toy syndrome"

It all depends on how you vote - based on ceiling or likelihood of outcome...

You could thrown in who is closest in NHL readiness as a differentiator too.....this is why I don’t take these polls seriously. Not defined enough for me.

 

[AtNightWeFly]

I voted AJF this time. He is the next Hagelin.

 

[Langway]

You could thrown in who is closest in NHL readiness as a differentiator too.....this is why I don’t take these polls seriously. Not defined enough for me.

I think it's just who do you value most. If you could only choose to keep one player at each juncture who would it be? At times that's carried by upside and others it's floor vs. the field but the later is more rare earlier on. It's hard to definitively say that a given player will at least be X level NHL player. In this group I think that ends with the top four.