2020 NHL Draft Prospects

[Petey3329]

I don’t understand how veleno has been a disappointment. He’s been on a great team and developing over the last two years into a real pro. Is he not captain of the ice dogs at 17? That’s impressive. He will
Have a long career in the NHL and there is nothing disappointing about that. What’s disappointing is people having these unrealistic expectations when he was 15. Yes he got exceptional status and by no means did he look out of place at 15 in the QMJHL. As someone who works with these guys (in Ontario) I hear scouts, agents, coaches promising promises that just don’t exist, the players make there own path. Let’s relax and watch his career pan out.

 

[alko]

I don’t understand how veleno has been a disappointment. He’s been on a great team and developing over the last two years into a real pro. Is he not captain of the ice dogs at 17? That’s impressive. He will
Have a long career in the NHL and there is nothing disappointing about that. What’s disappointing is people having these unrealistic expectations when he was 15. Yes he got exceptional status and by no means did he look out of place at 15 in the QMJHL. As someone who works with these guys (in Ontario) I hear scouts, agents, coaches promising promises that just don’t exist, the players make there own path. Let’s relax and watch his career pan out.

If im correct, he is the only only one Canadian player, that was on 2 Ivan Hlinka Tournaments.

 

[Fonzieleaf]

Looking at Byfield's stats, I think he could be a real possibility to go 1st overall in the next OHL draft. Provided he keeps things up

 

[Petey3329]

Byfields Stats are very impressive but you need to keep in mind his competition this season in the OMHA is not great. There are maybe 1-2 teams who could cause them a little bit of trouble. The beat a competitive team in Quinte the other day 6-0...

Every score in league play seems to be a win by 8-9 goals.

In saying that he is an amazing athlete with a huge skill set. I would love to see him do really well. Also in the London tournament he really played well against some good competition. Great player

 

[93LEAFS]

If im correct, he is the only only one Canadian player, that was on 2 Ivan Hlinka Tournaments.

Yes, but that is partially due to Canada not sending kids back to Hlinka if they graduated them such as McDavid and Crosby. Tavares was injured his 2nd chance.

I don’t understand how veleno has been a disappointment. He’s been on a great team and developing over the last two years into a real pro. Is he not captain of the ice dogs at 17? That’s impressive. He will
Have a long career in the NHL and there is nothing disappointing about that. What’s disappointing is people having these unrealistic expectations when he was 15. Yes he got exceptional status and by no means did he look out of place at 15 in the QMJHL. As someone who works with these guys (in Ontario) I hear scouts, agents, coaches promising promises that just don’t exist, the players make there own path. Let’s relax and watch his career pan out.

He simply hasn't shown the offensive skills to project as the franchise #1 center people were hoping for. At this point he is a guy with a good frame, high-end skating and works hard. He looks more like a Kesler is his upside rather than a Stamkos or Tavares.

 

[Daximus]

While Veleno is a disappointment, the biggest one is Wise. Hasn't grown in like 3 years and never developed as expected. He was supposed to be an Eichel level prospect (and appeared to be better at 14 from what I've heard), but thats the issue with giving kids too much hyped before they play real competition.

Still at 5'10 - 190 he shouldn't have issues producing from his size. He must be injured as he's only played 2 games so far this season.

 

[RWML67]

Byfields Stats are very impressive but you need to keep in mind his competition this season in the OMHA is not great. There are maybe 1-2 teams who could cause them a little bit of trouble. The beat a competitive team in Quinte the other day 6-0...

Every score in league play seems to be a win by 8-9 goals.

In saying that he is an amazing athlete with a huge skill set. I would love to see him do really well. Also in the London tournament he really played well against some good competition. Great player

Byfield is the unanimous top ranked player for the 2018 OHL draft. Dominated competition across all Ontario leagues.

 

[93LEAFS]

Still at 5'10 - 190 he shouldn't have issues producing from his size. He must be injured as he's only played 2 games so far this season.

Yes, but people thought he was going to end up 6'2 or so and that his size/strength carry over.

 

[Daximus]

Hm, it seems, that every year is stacked. From 2015 maybe only 2017 was considered as weak one.

2014 was considered pretty weak outside of Ekblad for awhile. Yeah Reinhart and Bennet had some hype but they weren't considered franchise players. It's just now gaining some recognition as being not as weak as some had considered. 2015 was seen as strong from a long ways out and just kept getting stronger as the risers joined in. 2016 was seen as pretty mediocre outside of Matthews and Chychrun. Puljujarvi was considered the best winger. As things went along Chychrun fell.. for some reason.. and Laine jumped up a few spots. All in all it's looking not as bad as many thought as a few more guys make the NHL. 2017 was considered pretty weak from the get go and I remember countless threads on this site stating that Patrick was one of the weakest 1OA in some time. 2017 will likely go down as one of the middling drafts of the 2010's.
2018 was always going to be a defencemen heavy draft and I don't really think it has failed in that regard outside of Merkley and MsIsaac the rest of the class looks great from a defencemen perspective with some guys even going well beyond where many thought they would be. With the rise of Zadina and Wahlstrom it's actually looking not bad at wing. Though drafts seem to always be judged on wether they produce a franchise centerman. But I'd say this draft is looking like one of the best drafts to grab a dman out of the 2010's and could easily rival or exceed 2012.

Next years draft is always the greatest ever.

2011, 2012, 2014 and 2017 were all seen as pretty weak.

I love when drafts are declared great when most of the players are still in Minor-midget. Impossible to judge a draft until at least a sizable portion are playing in legit leagues and being challenged. So far for 2020, the only thing I can say with some confidence is that Lafrenaire looks legit. Past that? A whole bunch of wildcards. I've seen too many John McFarlands and Alex Forsbergs too get hyped about 15-year-old kids dominating other 15-year-old kids.

Every kid is a wildcard. It's usually about 3 years out you start to see kids separate themselves. It's actually a lot more worrisome when kids don't start separating themselves because you know it will be a shit draft.

 

[Daximus]

Yes, but people thought he was going to end up 6'2 or so and that his size/strength carry over.

I think it's wishful thinking to think anyone will grow 3-4 inches even at 15. I'd say more often then not kids do not grow that much in between 15-18. I mean yeah some kids grow freakishly in that time but I'd imagine that is the exception not the rule. At least going from when I was that age. Very few of the kids I went to school with shot up massively in high school.

 

[93LEAFS]

I think it's wishful thinking to think anyone will grow 3-4 inches even at 15. I'd say more often then not kids do not grow that much in between 15-18. I mean yeah some kids grow freakishly in that time but I'd imagine that is the exception not the rule. At least going from when I was that age. Very few of the kids I went to school with shot up massively in high school.

The hype from his really built off the Quebec Pee-wee tournament and playing high-school at a high-level at a young age. He hasn't grown since 13 or so.

 

[Daximus]

The hype from his really built off the Quebec Pee-wee tournament and playing high-school at a high-level at a young age. He hasn't grown since 13 or so.

Do you know what his injury is?

 

[VictorLustig]

2011, 2012, 2014 and 2017 were all seen as pretty weak.

They were seen as weak maybe halfway through those seasons, it's almost impossible to tell how good a draft will be before the draft year actually starts. For example, the 2012 draft was supposed to be stacked with future stars like Yakupov, Grigorenko, Galchenyuk, Murray etc. Every team finishing in the bottom 5 was getting a surefire star. I remember following that draft class pretty closely. Players like Adam Larsson and Sean Couturier were also extramely hyped for the 2011 draft.

 

[VictorLustig]

Delete

 

[Daximus]

They were seen as weak maybe halfway through those seasons, it's almost impossible to tell how good a draft will be before the draft year actually starts. For example, the 2012 draft was supposed to be stacked with future stars like Yakupov, Grigorenko, Galchenyuk, Murray etc. Every team finishing in the bottom 5 was getting a surefire star. I remember following that draft class pretty closely. Players like Adam Larsson and Sean Couturier were also extramely hyped for the 2011 draft.

I remember many on here stating 2012 was pretty weak well before halfway through. At that point I was only a lurker not a full time member but I remember it. 2013 was seen as really good because it had a franchise C. Essentially as long as a draft has a Franchise C people tend to love it. Especially because Dmen can take awhile to develop and for some reason no one likes wingers.

 

[Petey3329]

If veleno ends up playing 10-15 years in the NHL then he certainly lives up to his potential. There are only so many stars in the NHL.

 

[Petey3329]

Byfield is the unanimous top ranked player for the 2018 OHL draft. Dominated competition across all Ontario leagues.

Well I have watched him since peewee on a pretty regular basis. Yes his talent is amazing I wouldn’t say he is a unanimous choice but he is definitely 1A). If Dylan Peterson weren’t committed to school there would be more of a head to head battle. He is a great player has a ton of tools. He also likes to quit on plays sometimes which at the next level he should get coaching to help with that. He needs to understand that when he’s outside of the offensive zone he needs to be a good defender as well.

He could end up being star but time will tell. There’s a lot that goes into the making of an NHL star.

 

[RWML67]

Well I have watched him since peewee on a pretty regular basis. Yes his talent is amazing I wouldn’t say he is a unanimous choice but he is definitely 1A). If Dylan Peterson weren’t committed to school there would be more of a head to head battle. He is a great player has a ton of tools. He also likes to quit on plays sometimes which at the next level he should get coaching to help with that. He needs to understand that when he’s outside of the offensive zone he needs to be a good defender as well.

He could end up being star but time will tell. There’s a lot that goes into the making of an NHL star.

I also have watched him for years. The gap between him and Peterson’s is widening and fairly quickly. Peterson has glaring holes and doesn’t match Byfield’s intangible qualities either. Just a much more complete player with similar pro tools.

 

[OldScool]

I also have watched him for years. The gap between him and Peterson’s is widening and fairly quickly. Peterson has glaring holes and doesn’t match Byfield’s intangible qualities either. Just a much more complete player with similar pro tools.

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't Byfield playing at Midget Minor level right now - which consists of just players his own age (15). Being 6'3 and 190 vs kids that haven't hit puberty yet is a huge advantage. I am not saying he isn't a stud but lets relax and see how his game transitions over the next few years once kids grow and he has to play against older and more developed players. Same goes for Peterson but I believe he is playing some games in the CJHL with older players. They are both big kids for age and that advantage will evaporate rather quickly. The "gap" between them is widening most likely because Byfield is playing vs 15 year olds and Peterson against 17 year olds. Will be very interesting to track their development.

 

[RWML67]

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't Byfield playing at Midget Minor level right now - which consists of just players his own age (15). Being 6'3 and 190 vs kids that haven't hit puberty yet is a huge advantage. I am not saying he isn't a stud but lets relax and see how his game transitions over the next few years once kids grow and he has to play against older and more developed players. Same goes for Peterson but I believe he is playing some games in the CJHL with older players. They are both big kids for age and that advantage will evaporate rather quickly. The "gap" between them is widening most likely because Byfield is playing vs 15 year olds and Peterson against 17 year olds. Will be very interesting to track their development.

Watch Byfield play then check back. Peterson might be playing against older players (U18) but it's not better competition than minor midget. Don't just throw out narratives assuming that older is better. It's definitely not in this case.

 

[Daneurism]

Byfield's size is an advantage, no doubt. It would be silly to argue otherwise. But i'd add a couple things to that: He's not your classic big man with some possession skills dominating an age group. His IQ, vision, puck skills and acceleration are top notch. That's what separates him. Secondly, he's likely always going to have a size advantage. You can't take that away and neither can you his athleticism. Saying all that, I'd agree that his defensive effort needs work. He looks a little bored out there sometimes. I don't think he's a great two way player yet.

 

[Daneurism]

There's A LOT of high end Ontario guys in this draft class. If you've got some free time, go check out a game between the top GTHL teams. You'll be impressed.

 

[Daximus]

There's A LOT of high end Ontario guys in this draft class. If you've got some free time, go check out a game between the top GTHL teams. You'll be impressed.

Do they stream games?

 

[Daneurism]

Do they stream games?

Possibly on HockeyTV, but i'm not sure. There's a couple youtube channels that upload on a fairly regular basis. Search benwoohockeymom

Marlies, YSE, and Vaughan are all stacked with talent.

 

[Mvprice]

At the moment, I believe that the top 3 prospects for this draft is
1. Alexis Lafreniere
2. Alexander Holtz
3. Quinton Byfield
I don't think anyone else in this draft yet is even close to these 3 guys. After that you got a cluster of names who you can make an argument about being 4-5-6 like Kaiden Guhle, Lucas Raymond and Justin Barron(really underrated).
Lafreniere is easily 1 imo. Through 20 games this season (he's only played 14), he's leading a Rimouski team with not a lot of depth to a 13-7 record after a terrible season last year. This is a type of player I want on my team. The type that will lead you to success. While the season is still very young , his 17 points in 14gp is very impressive. Some considered him the most hyped prospect coming into the Q since Sidney Crosby and I would have to agree. He wont get nearly as many points as Crosby did in his rookie season but he's also coming into the league younger.
Holtz is dominating the J18 circuit in Sweden. I see a little bit of Laine in him even though Laine is bigger and more of a goal scorer. His 33p in just 12 games played is just the tip of the iceberg. He reads the play so well and knows when to go all in. He can easily be sent up to the J20 in the Superelit and succeed as a 15 y/o.
Quinton Byfield might just be the best player in this class but until he plays against better competition, he's gonna stay where he is. He has great size (6'3 190) and speed for someone his age. There is no glaring holes in his game that he must fix as he does everything good. Will be the #1 pick in the 2018 OHL draft and that's when he will prove to us if he's really got it.