Following the top 3 picks, there is no clear pick. These next 4 players are in tier 2 for this draft so far.
4. Justin Barron(D)
5. Kaiden Guhle(D)
6. Lucas Raymond(W)
7. Marco Rossi(C)
The reason I have Barron over Guhle is because I've seen him play more and he's currently playing at a higher level.
Barron(D) will enter the draft as one of the older players as he will already have 3 seasons in the Q under his belt. When I started watching the Mooseheads at the beginning of the season, I was mostly watching for Jared McIssac but quickly took note of Barron. Most nights he looks like a veteran even though he's the youngest defensemen on the team. Very good puck movement but has to work on his speed, acceleration and shot. He's been the Mooseheads second best defensemen throughout the year (behind Jocktan Chainey). His 9 points in 16 games is very impressive considering he only had 25 points in 38 games last year in midget. Standing 6'1 190 at 16 is impressive and can still definitely grow til draft day.
I can say a lot of the same things about Guhle(D) except I believe he will turn out better offensively. He's faster than Barron but needs to also work on his shot (more so than Barron). Makes some dangerous passes but they get through due to the competition he's playing against. He deservingly got picked #1 in the 2017 WHL bantam draft and should show flashes of talent in the few games he plays this year for the Raiders. Has great size standing at 6'2 and weighing 170. In the end, I believe that Barron will be the better all around player while Guhle is more offensive.
Raymond(W) has a great set of offensive tools but struggles when the game gets rough. Super quick and can blow by almost any defender when going top speed. He's playing in the same league as Holtz (J18 circuit in Sweden) and is also racking up points. When he's played his 3 games in the Superelit, he's looked nervous to do what he's best at and that's have the puck on his stick. Raymond has picked up 23p in 13 games so far. His passing is his strongest feature but also has a quick release on his wrist shot. Gets caught puck chasing sometimes but has the speed to find his man before anything can happen. Raymond stands at 5'9 155 but that shouldn't affect his draft stock due to the NHL becoming more of a speed game.
Rossi(C) is also similar to Raymond due to the fact he has a smallish body (5'9 170) and is very speedy. He is also a very good passer as he has 25p in 18gp for the U20 team in Switzerland. Even though he's playing against older people, the skill level of what Raymond and Rossi are very similar (slight edge to Raymond). Rossi will be one of the oldest players in his class as he missed the cut off date by 1 week. He too needs to tighten up defensively but doesn't tend to puck chase as much.
4. Justin Barron(D)
5. Kaiden Guhle(D)
6. Lucas Raymond(W)
7. Marco Rossi(C)
The reason I have Barron over Guhle is because I've seen him play more and he's currently playing at a higher level.
Barron(D) will enter the draft as one of the older players as he will already have 3 seasons in the Q under his belt. When I started watching the Mooseheads at the beginning of the season, I was mostly watching for Jared McIssac but quickly took note of Barron. Most nights he looks like a veteran even though he's the youngest defensemen on the team. Very good puck movement but has to work on his speed, acceleration and shot. He's been the Mooseheads second best defensemen throughout the year (behind Jocktan Chainey). His 9 points in 16 games is very impressive considering he only had 25 points in 38 games last year in midget. Standing 6'1 190 at 16 is impressive and can still definitely grow til draft day.
I can say a lot of the same things about Guhle(D) except I believe he will turn out better offensively. He's faster than Barron but needs to also work on his shot (more so than Barron). Makes some dangerous passes but they get through due to the competition he's playing against. He deservingly got picked #1 in the 2017 WHL bantam draft and should show flashes of talent in the few games he plays this year for the Raiders. Has great size standing at 6'2 and weighing 170. In the end, I believe that Barron will be the better all around player while Guhle is more offensive.
Raymond(W) has a great set of offensive tools but struggles when the game gets rough. Super quick and can blow by almost any defender when going top speed. He's playing in the same league as Holtz (J18 circuit in Sweden) and is also racking up points. When he's played his 3 games in the Superelit, he's looked nervous to do what he's best at and that's have the puck on his stick. Raymond has picked up 23p in 13 games so far. His passing is his strongest feature but also has a quick release on his wrist shot. Gets caught puck chasing sometimes but has the speed to find his man before anything can happen. Raymond stands at 5'9 155 but that shouldn't affect his draft stock due to the NHL becoming more of a speed game.
Rossi(C) is also similar to Raymond due to the fact he has a smallish body (5'9 170) and is very speedy. He is also a very good passer as he has 25p in 18gp for the U20 team in Switzerland. Even though he's playing against older people, the skill level of what Raymond and Rossi are very similar (slight edge to Raymond). Rossi will be one of the oldest players in his class as he missed the cut off date by 1 week. He too needs to tighten up defensively but doesn't tend to puck chase as much.
