Prospect Info: 2020 Ives Preliminary Draft Rankings -- Top 75

[StevenToddIves]

@StevenToddIves Pronman addressed why he had Fagemo as the Kings top prospect in his Q&A yesterday...

Like I said, I love Pronman. I just disagree with him a whole lot. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. The idea that a winger with second line upside is the Kings best prospect just feels like a slight on some tremendous prospects over there. My Kings top 10 is more like:

1 Turcotte
2 Kaliyev
3 Vilardi
4 Kupari
5 Bjornfot
6 Madden
7 Thomas
8 Fagemo
9 Anderson
10 Anderson-Dolan

I would also say that the Kings top 10 (not including younger NHL-ers like Pronman does) is quite possibly the best in the entire NHL. That top 6 is just ridiculous, and that 7 through 10 would be a 2 through 5 on many NHL teams.

I read The Athletic religiously. They're the best hockey journalism source in the USA right now (not including Canadian sites). I also read Scott Wheeler religiously and I disagree with him on pretty much everything -- but again he's a terrific writer and researcher and I highly recommend him to any hockey fan. I think in the current (cough, cough) political ambiance in America we've somehow culturally come to a place where many people think that another person is "bad" because they have an opposite opinion. This is not true, especially in a burgeoning science, like the projection of sports prospects.

This is simply absurd. Scott Wheeler is worthy of our respect, as Corey Pronman is worthy of our respect. Disagreement is part of the fun when no one is an asshat about it! I'm coming out with my final rankings next week, and I know people will roll their eyes about how high I rank a Tristen Robins or how low I rank some player they like. To me, that's the fun of it, because prognostication is essentially asking for future hind-sight criticism, right?

In the end, I'll always be the guy who ranked Gurianov #9 when no one else had him in the first round, or who ranked Barzal #4 when no one else had him in their top 5. But I'll also be the guy who had (cough, cough) Nolan Patrick ranked over Nico Hischier.

The only physical threat I ever received as a working hockey writer was when I ranked Barzal at #4 and Dylan Strome at #5. Some guy wrote in that I was an idiot writing "click bait" and had no idea what I was doing to insult Strome that way. I wrote back that I loved Strome, I ranked him 5th overall out of nearly 300 eligible prospects! He then messaged me on Twitter to say that if he ever saw me on the street he was going to kick my ass. I didn't have the heart to tell him that most people would bet on the guy who bartended on 8th Avenue for 15 years in a scrap over a guy in a basement writing insults on hockey website message boards.

Ultimately, I just wrote this because I think it's interesting and fun to disagree, and I think that regardless of what certain people in the public eye say about it, I think it's healthy -- and if we listen to each other we can all learn from each other.

 

[StevenToddIves]

It’s way too early to tell, but if we’re picking in the 7-10 range again the final Hughes brother may still be around.

First of all, I really hope we're not picking in the 7 to 10 range again. Second of all, see "first of all", haha.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Chris Peters talking with Matt Loughlin and Chris Westcott on Speak of the Devils Podcast prefers Sanderson to Drysdale. Thinks both have top pairing defenseman potential but Sanderson has slightly more chance of attaining that.

My final rankings are coming out reaaaaalllly soon.

 

[BxDevilsFan]

...because I also ranked Mikko Rantanen #19 in 2015.

This was my top 10.

1 McDavid
2 Eichel
3 Hanifin
4 Barzal
5 Strome
6 Marner
7 Werenski
8 Provorov
9 Gurianov
10 Zacha

Mistakes were made. I can brag forever that I nailed the #1 spot, haha.

Back in 2015 I wanted the Devils to draft Werenski. I just love that kid

 

[StevenToddIves]

Back in 2015 I wanted the Devils to draft Werenski. I just love that kid

Yeah, I liked Werenski and Provorov too, I was just obsessed with Barzal in 2015. My two favorite CHL layers that year were both on the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds -- Barzal and Ethan Bear (whom I ranked 32nd overall). I think I watched every one of their games.

 

[BxDevilsFan]

Yeah, I liked Werenski and Provorov too, I was just obsessed with Barzal in 2015. My two favorite CHL layers that year were both on the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds -- Barzal and Ethan Bear (whom I ranked 32nd overall). I think I watched every one of their games.

I was stupidly concerned about Barzal's size. Boy I was wrong about him. Provorov was rock solid. Werenski I felt had a big upside. I actually like Zacha but obviously taking him at 6 looks real bad now.

 

[BxDevilsFan]

Hey Steve, watching Nate Schmidt play in this tournament, I have a question for you. Does Ty Smith compare at all to this guy. I feel like they both have similar games. Thanks

 

[StevenToddIves]

Hey Steve, watching Nate Schmidt play in this tournament, I have a question for you. Does Ty Smith compare at all to this guy. I feel like they both have similar games. Thanks

In many ways, I would say yes I agree with you. Certainly in the positional acuity in the defensive zone and the compete level nullifying size-discrepancy. I think that Smith is a superior outlet passer, and this is his foremost strength. Ty Smith is just so elite in transition, I can't see how he won't be the best defenseman on the Devils in two years. With Smith, I think it's just a matter of building up physical strength and accustoming to the speed of the NHL game.

 

[BxDevilsFan]

In many ways, I would say yes I agree with you. Certainly in the positional acuity in the defensive zone and the compete level nullifying size-discrepancy. I think that Smith is a superior outlet passer, and this is his foremost strength. Ty Smith is just so elite in transition, I can't see how he won't be the best defenseman on the Devils in two years. With Smith, I think it's just a matter of building up physical strength and accustoming to the speed of the NHL game.

Boy I hope you're right. Question is do you trust this franchise to develop him the right way.

 

[Billdo]

I was stupidly concerned about Barzal's size. Boy I was wrong about him. Provorov was rock solid. Werenski I felt had a big upside. I actually like Zacha but obviously taking him at 6 looks real bad now.

This is where I'm at, minus the size issue with Barzal. I wanted him but was more concerned about his goals to assist ratio. Wanted him, Werenski, or Connor. I still like Zacha a lot and fortunately we don't NEED him to be a 1C but yeah, in hindsight we f***ed that up.

 

[BxDevilsFan]

This is where I'm at, minus the size issue with Barzal. I wanted him but was more concerned about his goals to assist ratio. Wanted him, Werenski, or Connor. I still like Zacha a lot and fortunately we don't NEED him to be a 1C but yeah, in hindsight we f***ed that up.

I'm changed my thinking over the years. I was real big on size but now I'm more open to being balance b/w size & skill. We suck because we're not a balance team. We're too small especially on the back end.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Sleeper Prospect Profile:

C Evan Vierling, Barrie OHL
Okay, so this might be my favorite of the sleeper profiles. Because I have yet to see Evan Vierling on a top 50 list, and to me he should be drafted around the end of the first round. There are just too many things working for him and not enough working against him.

Vierling began his draft-eligible season in Flint, and he really struggled. He had some injury concerns, and was shuffled from role to role on line to line and never really looked comfortable out there. By the end of 2019, he had virtually vanished from the draft radar.

In early January, the Barrie Colts were looking for a top-line center to pair with sniping RW Tyson Foerster and made a deal with Flint to acquire Vierling. From that point on, we saw a completely different player. In the final 28 games of the season, Vierling tallied 34 points -- not mind-blowing numbers, but he was certainly on the upswing when the season was called due to Covid concerns.

To me, we need to judge Vierling on that 28 game window, which is admittedly not a whole lot. But the player I saw in that span was a 6'0-170 center with high-end vision which borders on elite. His skating and shot are both very good, and seemed to be far better in February than in October. This development curve is consistent with the fact that Vierling is a lanky kid with a projectable frame. By the time he is ready for pro hockey in three years, he should be 6'0-190, which will inevitably improve the power of his shot and the explosiveness of his skating.

Vierling's other near-elite talent I would call "spacial awareness". He possesses terrific hands and that sixth sense good centers have, which creates the sense that he is effortlessly weaving through opposing defenders on the break-outs and break-ins, when he is actually making tremendous and very difficult hockey plays.

It should be stated that Vierling is not a perfect player. Though his two-way play, physicality and compete level are all adequate, I would like to see him juice those characteristics up a notch and play with a bit more fire. I think he's plus across the board in his skill set and has shown evidence of a high hockey IQ, and he's one of the younger 2020 draft-eligibles with a late June 2002 birthday. Next year he's going into the season as "the guy" and other teams are going to key on him specifically in their game plans. He's going to face a ton of physicality and I can't wait to see how he handles it. I think Vierling will be a dominant force in the OHL in his draft+1 season and leave people scratching their heads how he fell to the 3rd round of the 2020 draft.

Evan Vierling is a classic sleeper. This is the rare center who falls through the cracks of consensus perception, but who possesses a skill set which screams "terrific NHL 2nd line center". I read some of the centers I see ranked above him and just scratch my head and wonder what that writer was thinking. I think sometimes draft writers are guilty of what we can call "The Jake Sanderson Dilemma". This is to say, they see a prospect in October and make up their minds, then they refuse to admit they were wrong five months later when the prospect has developed well beyond their initial expectations. Was Evan Vierling playing well in October? No. Was he a completely different player -- far, far better -- in February? Absolutely. When you combine this with his youth and physical tools, Evan Vierling is likely to be the best player taken after the second round in the entire 2020 draft.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Boy I hope you're right. Question is do you trust this franchise to develop him the right way.

Lindy Ruff has been good with young talent and Fitzgerald is new blood in the GM seat. I'm willing to give them a chance.

I felt John Hynes was horrible for the young players. One mistake out there and you were riding the pine, watching the "Hynes Guys" like Rooney and Hayden get pinned in their own zone for 2 minutes in the effort to play conservative, Hynes-hockey. Ruff has the reputation of tailoring his style to fit the talents of his players, not the know-it-all, my-way-or-the-highway Hynes bulls**t. So I'm keeping faith.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I'm changed my thinking over the years. I was real big on size but now I'm more open to being balance b/w size & skill. We suck because we're not a balance team. We're too small especially on the back end.

Agreed. The Devils clearly addressed this last year with nice draft picks of Okhotyuk, Misyul, Vukojevic and McCarthy and then the trade acquisition of Bahl.

I'd say physicality on the blueline has now fallen on the priority list behind "high-end forwards to play with Hughes and Hischier", which is why I'm advocating for 2020 picks of guys like Perreault, Amirov and Gunler over defensemen like Schneider and Guhle.

 

[StevenToddIves]

RW Ozzy Wiesblatt, Prince Albert WHL
Okay, he's not really a sleeper. But I'm including this kid because he's routinely ranked in the 40-50 overall range and he's just a tremendous hockey player.

Wiesblatt's compete level is off-the-board. This kid gives it all, all the time. He also has tremendous hockey sense and intelligence. As I say (ad nauseam) the combination of compete level and hockey IQ directly leads to the maximization of a prospect's overall skill set. And, whoooo boy does this kid have skills.

The 5'10-185 winger is a plus skater with a ridiculously good set of hands. He also possesses a phenomenal level of deception, which combined with his hockey IQ makes him dangerous every time he touches the puck. He will skate at a defender, then back off at the perfect time, then bait that defender into committing to pass or shot and then use his slick hands to execute with precision, speed and accuracy. Wiesblatt is the classic "dual threat" forward in that he's a plus passer and a plus shooter and -- again combined with a high level of intelligence -- the knowledge of when to choose which high-end skill.

It's difficult to pinpoint the reason why Wiesblatt has been slightly undervalued for the 2020 draft, but one of the reasons may simply be that it's the deepest draft at his position in recent memory. He lacks the shot of a Holtz or the freakishly good hands of a Mercer or the elite vision of a Jarvis or the speed of a Perreault. But he's just so good at everything. When I think of what Ozzy Wiesblatt needs to improve, I'm at a loss. He simply needs to get bigger and stronger and play more hockey. This kid is so good, there's no way I can imagine that he will not ultimately be a stud second-line winger in the NHL.

I'd say that Wiesblatt has a chance to be taken as early as the late first round, because he's the type of competitor NHL scouts and front offices love. I cannot see him falling past the second round. If the Devils somehow trade down or up and find themselves with a 2nd round pick, Ozzy Wiesblatt should be a name at the top of the list.

 

[Guadana]

The only physical threat I ever received as a working hockey writer was when I ranked Barzal at #4 and Dylan Strome at #5. Some guy wrote in that I was an idiot writing "click bait" and had no idea what I was doing to insult Strome that way. I wrote back that I loved Strome, I ranked him 5th overall out of nearly 300 eligible prospects! He then messaged me on Twitter to say that if he ever saw me on the street he was going to kick my ass. I didn't have the heart to tell him that most people would bet on the guy who bartended on 8th Avenue for 15 years in a scrap over a guy in a basement writing insults on hockey website message boards.

Ultimately, I just wrote this because I think it's interesting and fun to disagree, and I think that regardless of what certain people in the public eye say about it, I think it's healthy -- and if we listen to each other we can all learn from each other.

Wtf did he say? He thinks he is so big? He thinks he is so tough? Hold my beer, I need to buy tickets.

"- What is the purpose of your visit to US?
- Kick the a professional athlete`s ass. Will you give me a visa or what?"

 

[Nubmer6]

I'm changed my thinking over the years. I was real big on size but now I'm more open to being balance b/w size & skill. We suck because we're not a balance team. We're too small especially on the back end.

Ya we're small on the back end, but we're also slow, which was a real killer when they were coached to chase forwards all the way up to the tops of the circles. Just a completely mismatched system for the personnel we have. For years I completely blamed Nas for this but he seemed to adjust at least a little post-Hynes. I just hope Lindy gets a better system in place, and that Nas can coach it.

 

[My3Sons]

Like I said, I love Pronman. I just disagree with him a whole lot. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. The idea that a winger with second line upside is the Kings best prospect just feels like a slight on some tremendous prospects over there. My Kings top 10 is more like:

1 Turcotte
2 Kaliyev
3 Vilardi
4 Kupari
5 Bjornfot
6 Madden
7 Thomas
8 Fagemo
9 Anderson
10 Anderson-Dolan

I would also say that the Kings top 10 (not including younger NHL-ers like Pronman does) is quite possibly the best in the entire NHL. That top 6 is just ridiculous, and that 7 through 10 would be a 2 through 5 on many NHL teams.

I read The Athletic religiously. They're the best hockey journalism source in the USA right now (not including Canadian sites). I also read Scott Wheeler religiously and I disagree with him on pretty much everything -- but again he's a terrific writer and researcher and I highly recommend him to any hockey fan. I think in the current (cough, cough) political ambiance in America we've somehow culturally come to a place where many people think that another person is "bad" because they have an opposite opinion. This is not true, especially in a burgeoning science, like the projection of sports prospects.

This is simply absurd. Scott Wheeler is worthy of our respect, as Corey Pronman is worthy of our respect. Disagreement is part of the fun when no one is an asshat about it! I'm coming out with my final rankings next week, and I know people will roll their eyes about how high I rank a Tristen Robins or how low I rank some player they like. To me, that's the fun of it, because prognostication is essentially asking for future hind-sight criticism, right?

In the end, I'll always be the guy who ranked Gurianov #9 when no one else had him in the first round, or who ranked Barzal #4 when no one else had him in their top 5. But I'll also be the guy who had (cough, cough) Nolan Patrick ranked over Nico Hischier.

The only physical threat I ever received as a working hockey writer was when I ranked Barzal at #4 and Dylan Strome at #5. Some guy wrote in that I was an idiot writing "click bait" and had no idea what I was doing to insult Strome that way. I wrote back that I loved Strome, I ranked him 5th overall out of nearly 300 eligible prospects! He then messaged me on Twitter to say that if he ever saw me on the street he was going to kick my ass. I didn't have the heart to tell him that most people would bet on the guy who bartended on 8th Avenue for 15 years in a scrap over a guy in a basement writing insults on hockey website message boards.

Ultimately, I just wrote this because I think it's interesting and fun to disagree, and I think that regardless of what certain people in the public eye say about it, I think it's healthy -- and if we listen to each other we can all learn from each other.

It was click bait and I wasn’t in a basement. It was a cellar.

 

[My3Sons]

RW Ozzy Wiesblatt, Prince Albert WHL
Okay, he's not really a sleeper. But I'm including this kid because he's routinely ranked in the 40-50 overall range and he's just a tremendous hockey player.

Wiesblatt's compete level is off-the-board. This kid gives it all, all the time. He also has tremendous hockey sense and intelligence. As I say (ad nauseam) the combination of compete level and hockey IQ directly leads to the maximization of a prospect's overall skill set. And, whoooo boy does this kid have skills.

The 5'10-185 winger is a plus skater with a ridiculously good set of hands. He also possesses a phenomenal level of deception, which combined with his hockey IQ makes him dangerous every time he touches the puck. He will skate at a defender, then back off at the perfect time, then bait that defender into committing to pass or shot and then use his slick hands to execute with precision, speed and accuracy. Wiesblatt is the classic "dual threat" forward in that he's a plus passer and a plus shooter and -- again combined with a high level of intelligence -- the knowledge of when to choose which high-end skill.

It's difficult to pinpoint the reason why Wiesblatt has been slightly undervalued for the 2020 draft, but one of the reasons may simply be that it's the deepest draft at his position in recent memory. He lacks the shot of a Holtz or the freakishly good hands of a Mercer or the elite vision of a Jarvis or the speed of a Perreault. But he's just so good at everything. When I think of what Ozzy Wiesblatt needs to improve, I'm at a loss. He simply needs to get bigger and stronger and play more hockey. This kid is so good, there's no way I can imagine that he will not ultimately be a stud second-line winger in the NHL.

I'd say that Wiesblatt has a chance to be taken as early as the late first round, because he's the type of competitor NHL scouts and front offices love. I cannot see him falling past the second round. If the Devils somehow trade down or up and find themselves with a 2nd round pick, Ozzy Wiesblatt should be a name at the top of the list.

This is all fine but only if we can play Crazy Train every time he scores.

 

[Guttersniped]

RW Ozzy Wiesblatt, Prince Albert WHL
Okay, he's not really a sleeper. But I'm including this kid because he's routinely ranked in the 40-50 overall range and he's just a tremendous hockey player.

Wiesblatt's compete level is off-the-board. This kid gives it all, all the time. He also has tremendous hockey sense and intelligence. As I say (ad nauseam) the combination of compete level and hockey IQ directly leads to the maximization of a prospect's overall skill set. And, whoooo boy does this kid have skills.

The 5'10-185 winger is a plus skater with a ridiculously good set of hands. He also possesses a phenomenal level of deception, which combined with his hockey IQ makes him dangerous every time he touches the puck. He will skate at a defender, then back off at the perfect time, then bait that defender into committing to pass or shot and then use his slick hands to execute with precision, speed and accuracy. Wiesblatt is the classic "dual threat" forward in that he's a plus passer and a plus shooter and -- again combined with a high level of intelligence -- the knowledge of when to choose which high-end skill.

It's difficult to pinpoint the reason why Wiesblatt has been slightly undervalued for the 2020 draft, but one of the reasons may simply be that it's the deepest draft at his position in recent memory. He lacks the shot of a Holtz or the freakishly good hands of a Mercer or the elite vision of a Jarvis or the speed of a Perreault. But he's just so good at everything. When I think of what Ozzy Wiesblatt needs to improve, I'm at a loss. He simply needs to get bigger and stronger and play more hockey. This kid is so good, there's no way I can imagine that he will not ultimately be a stud second-line winger in the NHL.

I'd say that Wiesblatt has a chance to be taken as early as the late first round, because he's the type of competitor NHL scouts and front offices love. I cannot see him falling past the second round. If the Devils somehow trade down or up and find themselves with a 2nd round pick, Ozzy Wiesblatt should be a name at the top of the list.

Doesn’t he have a kind of vaguely famous family with a brother named Orca and a deaf mom? Why do I know this?

 

[StevenToddIves]

Doesn’t he have a kind of vaguely famous family with a brother named Orca and a deaf mom? Why do I know this?

Your second question is clearly the better one of the two.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Just FYI folks, I have two more sleeper profiles to write up and then I'm dropping my Final Top 100 for the 2020 draft (which is almost done but a ton of work).

 

[StevenToddIves]

It was click bait and I wasn’t in a basement. It was a cellar.

It was a padded cell and you know it.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Sleeper Prospect Profile:

RW/C Zayde Wisdom, Kingston OHL
If there is an OHL line I can't wait to watch next year, it might be the Kingston top trio of Shayne Wright, Zayde Wisdom and Martin Chromiak. Sure, Wright gets the press as the de facto first overall pick in 2022 and Chromiak is likely to be drafted higher in 2020 due to his unbelievable shot, but Wisdom is one heck of a player in his own right.

Built like a lumberjack at 5'11-210, Wisdom immediately affected me with how protective he was over the prodigal young superstar Wright. Any opponent taking liberties on the kid had to answer to a very angry Wisdom, and this is not a position you want to be in. This ferocity transfers quite seamlessly onto the ice, where Wisdom is an intense competitor in all three zones. He can play any forward position, he can kill penalties and he can contribute on the power play. This is -- as I like to say -- a guy you win with.

Skill wise, Wisdom is pretty simple without being rudimentary. He has the creativity and vision to go east/west, but he really shines when he's playing downhill. Wisdom has a very good shot and a beast in the crease, he always is in the right place. He's constantly trying to compliment his wingers, which makes him transcend a simple heavyweight role for the line. He's great in support and on the cycle, and his good skating and anticipation always see him in the right place.

Again, Zayde Wisdom is a guy you win with. Outside of first round picks, I cannot think of a bigger compliment than that. Some team will draft him in the third or fourth round, and some team will be thrilled that they did for many years to come.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Sleeper Prospect Profile:

C Chase Yoder, US-NTDP USHL
Okay folks, I've been doing this alphabetically so this is the last one, unless someone wants me to write up Zarley Zalapski again. It's been fun, and I must say that one of my favorite things about the pandemic was that it allowed me to really buckle down and research my 2020 draft sleepers. My Final Top 100 list is coming out any day now, and I'm excited about that, as well. I'll also do a new mock draft after the Islanders/Lightning series is done -- and I think that baby is going the full 7.

Yoder is anti-climactic, in that he's an easy prospect to write up. All effort and hustle, defensive-minded center who makes up for in compete level what he lacks in physical gifts. A very strong bet to make the NHL as a bottom-6 forward, but the lack of scoring prowess or great size makes him a likely bet in the 5th-7th rounds. I personally like players like this, but the Devils as things stand are loaded with bottom-6 forwards with a litany of varietal talents, so I do not see Yoder as a New Jersey target. But he is a name to remember because his chances of making the NHL will be extremely high, especially in relation to where he will be drafted. Just a smart, smart player who gives his all shift in and shift out.