Prospect Info: 2021 NHL Draft Prospects

[Avery Rule]

Thoughts on Wallstedt vs Askarov? Who do you think is better?

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

I don't see a ton wrong with the mechanics. Most of what I see is a power issue, which makes sense because he has a lot of physical development left. I think he has good edges, he has decent top end already, he needs more explosion, but I don't see bad knee bend or any of the locked kind of features that would scare you in terms of skating.

Kent Johnson for me is what I have learned from being lower on Trevor Zegras. While I don't love all the flash and think some of what he does might not work at the NHL level, I have to grant he has an exceptional offensive hockey brain. He sold me enough at U of M, this guy is going to score at all levels.

I'm a little surprised there is not more of a push for Johnson on this board. Usually players that can do what he can with the puck are more coveted on here.

He had a good season at Michigan. Yes, Beniers did a lot of the heavy lifting... but Johnson did a lot of the creating offensively.

Yeah I echo this 100%. To me, Kent Johnson is a classic victim of the hfboards game of telephone. First, someone says something like "Kent Johnson needs to improve his first step." Fair enough. Then a few weeks later someone in another thread says something like "Kent Johnson's skating needs work." Not necessarily wrong, but an oversimplification of the first point. Before you know it there's this growing online consensus that Kent Johnson can't skate.

I remember a similar thing with Dylan Cozens. Around New Year's he "lacked elite hockey IQ," but by draft day people talked about the kid like he couldn't read. I think a lot of folks struggle to differentiate the top prospects, so they overexaggerate some of their flaws.

From my viewings, the only real knocks on Johnson are the average first step, average top speed, and lack of strength. Nothing to hand-wave away, but as far as prospects go those are some of the most solvable flaws you can have. His edgework is very good, and he navigates tight spaces very effectively. His defensive work-rate and positioning are fine, not as good as someone like Beniers, but much better I think than a lot of other "offense-first" top prospects.

Offensively, his hands and puck control are great. His vision and iq are excellent, maybe not Zegras level of "pass it through the feet of three defenders to an open man," but probably the best in this draft class. I think his scoring upside is underrated, I haven't seen many prospects in this draft scoring goals like these against good competition:



I know UofM had a nice roster this year, but you don't move up from the BCHL to NCAA hockey during your draft year and score at a >point per game pace unless you're damn talented.

Considering how comfortable this board generally was taking Perfetti, who I view as much more of a raw project than Johnson, at #4 last year, I would think Johnson is a pretty easy sell- especially if we're picking in that #6-9 range.

 

[ShippinItDaily]

I'm a little surprised there is not more of a push for Johnson on this board. Usually players that can do what he can with the puck are more coveted on here.

He had a good season at Michigan. Yes, Beniers did a lot of the heavy lifting... but Johnson did a lot of the creating offensively.

Many people seem to be dead-set on not drafting any more players that are wingers or project to be wingers. I'm not one of those. We need impact players, position be damned.

 

[Frk It]

Yeah I echo this 100%. To me, Kent Johnson is a classic victim of the hfboards game of telephone. First, someone says something like "Kent Johnson needs to improve his first step." Fair enough. Then a few weeks later someone in another thread says something like "Kent Johnson's skating needs work." Not necessarily wrong, but an oversimplification of the first point. Before you know it there's this growing online consensus that Kent Johnson can't skate.

Exactly.

And I wouldn't mind it nearly as much if people weren't pumping the tires so much on Eklund, like he doesn't have warts (listed by TSN at 5'9 3/4")(good but not great skater)(probably not a center).

 

[Hen Kolland]

Yeah I echo this 100%. To me, Kent Johnson is a classic victim of the hfboards game of telephone. First, someone says something like "Kent Johnson needs to improve his first step." Fair enough. Then a few weeks later someone in another thread says something like "Kent Johnson's skating needs work." Not necessarily wrong, but an oversimplification of the first point. Before you know it there's this growing online consensus that Kent Johnson can't skate.

I remember a similar thing with Dylan Cozens. Around New Year's he "lacked elite hockey IQ," but by draft day people talked about the kid like he couldn't read. I think a lot of folks struggle to differentiate the top prospects, so they overexaggerate some of their flaws.

From my viewings, the only real knocks on Johnson are the average first step, average top speed, and lack of strength. Nothing to hand-wave away, but as far as prospects go those are some of the most solvable flaws you can have. His edgework is very good, and he navigates tight spaces very effectively. His defensive work-rate and positioning are fine, not as good as someone like Beniers, but much better I think than a lot of other "offense-first" top prospects.

Offensively, his hands and puck control are great. His vision and iq are excellent, maybe not Zegras level of "pass it through the feet of three defenders to an open man," but probably the best in this draft class. I think his scoring upside is underrated, I haven't seen many prospects in this draft scoring goals like these against good competition:



I know UofM had a nice roster this year, but you don't move up from the BCHL to NCAA hockey during your draft year and score at a >point per game pace unless you're damn talented.

Considering how comfortable this board generally was taking Perfetti, who I view as much more of a raw project than Johnson, at #4 last year, I would think Johnson is a pretty easy sell- especially if we're picking in that #6-9 range.

In what ways is Perfetti a more raw version of Johnson? Where the does that bit of analysis pop in?

Perfetti’s skating isn’t his strong suit, lacks height but is built sturdier, has a notably better shot, and by everything I’ve watched, is a smarter player than Johnson.

There’s a hefty amount of disrespect for Perfetti here.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

With Mantha out the door and Zadina producing on par with Glendening, I think there's room for a winger. Berggren has had a good season, but he's a complete perimeter player who might struggle for a while.

Raymond is a great piece, but certainly not great enough that we're done at that position. The only thing that wouldn't make any sense, positionally, would be to draft a RD, imo.

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

In what ways is Perfetti a more raw version of Johnson? Where the does that bit of analysis pop in?

Perfetti’s skating isn’t his strong suit, lacks height but is built sturdier, has a notably better shot, and by everything I’ve watched, is a smarter player than Johnson.

There’s a hefty amount of disrespect for Perfetti here.

That comment wasn't meant as disrespect to Perfetti so much as benchmarking where Johnson is. Most of the criticisms I've seen of Johnson (first step, accelaration, strength, engagement without the puck) I think applied more strongly for Perfetti, and this board was generally pretty on board with Perfetti at #4 this year. If you prefer Perfetti's iq and offensive tools to Johnson's that's fair, I would probably disagree though.

 

[ricky0034]

That comment wasn't meant as disrespect to Perfetti so much as benchmarking where Johnson is. Most of the criticisms I've seen of Johnson (first step, accelaration, strength, engagement without the puck) I think applied more strongly for Perfetti, and this board was generally pretty on board with Perfetti at #4 this year. If you prefer Perfetti's iq and offensive tools to Johnson's that's fair, I would probably disagree though.

I do feel that this misses the point a bit though

a lot of us were okay with Perfetti due to viewing him as a Center

that view seems to be a lot less prevalent with Johnson

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

I do feel that this misses the point a bit though

a lot of us were okay with Perfetti due to viewing him as a Center

that view seems to be a lot less prevalent with Johnson

Interesting, I've always erred on the safe side and projected both as wingers.

Frankly, I think Johnson's size and skating mechanics makes him a better center project than Perfetti. That said I still see both more as NHL wingers.

 

[MBH]

That comment wasn't meant as disrespect to Perfetti so much as benchmarking where Johnson is. Most of the criticisms I've seen of Johnson (first step, accelaration, strength, engagement without the puck) I think applied more strongly for Perfetti, and this board was generally pretty on board with Perfetti at #4 this year. If you prefer Perfetti's iq and offensive tools to Johnson's that's fair, I would probably disagree though.

In all my mocks I've taken Johnson where Power and Hughes wasn't available. I still hold out hope he can be a center. I have no doubt he's going to get stronger and improve his power and speed.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I do feel that this misses the point a bit though

a lot of us were okay with Perfetti due to viewing him as a Center

that view seems to be a lot less prevalent with Johnson

Which is kind of weird? Johnson is much better equipped to play center at the NHL level, tool-wise.

To me, so many of Johnson's criticisms are minor and potentially fleeting. It's not that he's a bad skater, but he has things to work on. It's not that he projects poorly in terms of his frame, but he needs time in the weight room. It's not that he can't be a center, it's just that he had a rough couple of games when Beniers was gone. It's not that his game won't translate to the NHL, but he needs to keep it a little simpler.

All of that sounds fine to me.

 

[Frk It]

If Cole Perfetti was 6'1" he would have went top 5.

 

[Bench]

Thoughts on Wallstedt vs Askarov? Who do you think is better?

Askarov.

But that doesn't take anything away from Wallstedt as a top tier goalie prospect. It's just Askarov was the best we've seen in a decade.

I'd be just as excited to have someone of Wallstedt's pedigree.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Thoughts on Wallstedt vs Askarov? Who do you think is better?

The thing that makes me a little nervous with Wallstedt is supposedly he's a flawless technique guy. Perfect positioning that makes up for his relative lack of size, great game sense, just a guy who gets by with great reads and always being ready for the puck. But when you get to his tools, they're just good. Good glove, athleticism, rebounds, etc. So as long as he knows what's happening, he can make an excellent stop. But other guys have the advantage that whenever they don't know, they can sometimes still get a save out of being huge, or out of having inhumanly fast reflexes. Wallstedt isn't going to get that kind of break.

It's like he's the opposite of most goalies. Other guys are crazy athletes with great frames who need to learn how to play the goalie position. Wallstedt already knows. He needs to find a way to be a crazy athlete, and that might be the harder thing to do.



You can kinda see that here. On so many saves, he doesn't even have to move. He's already there. But my feeling is that NHL players will find a way to make you move, and that could be a different story.

 

[FrolundaRedWings]

If Cole Perfetti was 6'1" he would have went top 5.

 

[Frk It]

The thing that makes me a little nervous with Wallstedt is supposedly he's a flawless technique guy. Perfect positioning that makes up for his relative lack of size, great game sense, just a guy who gets by with great reads and always being ready for the puck. But when you get to his tools, they're just good. Good glove, athleticism, rebounds, etc. So as long as he knows what's happening, he can make an excellent stop. But other guys have the advantage that whenever they don't know, they can sometimes still get a save out of being huge, or out of having inhumanly fast reflexes. Wallstedt isn't going to get that kind of break.

It's like he's the opposite of most goalies. Other guys are crazy athletes with great frames who need to learn how to play the goalie position. Wallstedt already knows. He needs to find a way to be a crazy athlete, and that might be the harder thing to do.



You can kinda see that here. On so many saves, he doesn't even have to move. He's already there. But my feeling is that NHL players will find a way to make you move, and that could be a different story.

I’ll take Lundqvist over Fleury every time.

 

[Winger98]

I’ll take Lundqvist over Fleury every time.

Or Brodeur. really good, positionally sound D are also good options when playing a hard, low event system.

 

[Bench]

Perfect positioning that makes up for his relative lack of size

We've now entered the era of 6'3" goalies being labeled undersized.

 

[Bench]

Or Brodeur. really good, positionally sound D are also good options when playing a hard, low event system.

I wonder if Brodeur benefited from anything like that. Almost like they were, hmm, trapping opposing players somewhere in the neutral zone?

Nah, that would never work.

 

[Winger98]

I wonder if Brodeur benefited from anything like that. Almost like they were, hmm, trapping opposing players somewhere in the neutral zone?

Nah, that would never work.

it's not winning hockey.

 

[deca guard]

concerning johnson :
when i see many criticize skating and defense it makes me worry that he has a weak motor , as in energy level .
motor being a trait seriously under estimated as if all it takes is a guy getting in better shape and or trying harder .
but thats not always the case as all players arent born with the same lung capacity and heart size / strength .
and greater lung capacity and heart strength is what in so many cases makes a great nhler because he can summon
up the extra effort and endurance which allow him to go that little bit extra that allows him to make plays others cant .
motor is right up there with hockey iq and hands when im rating a player

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I wonder if Brodeur benefited from anything like that. Almost like they were, hmm, trapping opposing players somewhere in the neutral zone?

Nah, that would never work.

How many guys have had the entire rules changed because they were so good at something. Brodeur had that happen to him too...

 

[Bench]

How many guys have had the entire rules changed because they were so good at something. Brodeur had that happen to him too...

I can only think of one other instance recently... and it also involved Brodeur.

 

[lilidk]

In what ways is Perfetti a more raw version of Johnson? Where the does that bit of analysis pop in?

Perfetti’s skating isn’t his strong suit, lacks height but is built sturdier, has a notably better shot, and by everything I’ve watched, is a smarter player than Johnson.

There’s a hefty amount of disrespect for Perfetti here.

I'd take Perfetti over Johnson easily

 

[lilidk]

I can only think of one other instance recently... and it also involved Brodeur.

I remember that m.f