Hockey's Future's Top 50 Prospects: 26-50

[Vatican Roulette]

All rightie ...

Toivonen, Lehtonen, Bryzgalov and Fleury are the goaltenders I know will be in the top 25...Ward? Montoya? Leclaire? Liv/Howard? Danis? Levenue? Ahonen? Oulette? Okay...wow...JDD is better than some of those goalies? I can see Danis, Liv/Howard, and maybe Montoya but the others? Wow...

After last season, i could actually see Leclaire being in the top 25. He was struggling, but redemed himself with a comeback year. I personally dont see him as a top 50 prospect, but i wouldn't be surprised if he was on the list.

Ward, Liv, Howard, Danis, Levenue, Ahonen, and Oullette should not be in the top 25. If they are, i'd be amazed. I dont think any of them deserve to be there. Howard might have gotten recognition for his record breaking year, but i dont think it was enough to place him the top 25 prospects of the NHL.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Which is a problem to me...

Ahonen and Ouellette are better than JDD, and Ward is in about the same class. Leveneau would be hard but he has one more season than JDD.

 

[Buffaloed]

Comparing to the other Dmen on this list, Whitney would probably be taken by any GM over each of them right now.

Of the dmen on this list I'd rank them:

1) Thelen
2) Grebeshkov
3) Whitney
4) Ballard
5) Colaiacovo
6) Eminger

It's entirely possible someone could have Whitney rated first on this list. The difference between #26 and #50 is so small it's like splitting hairs.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Exactly...

 

[Buffaloed]

Well, with some of the remarks in this thread on Kesler's presence on this list, it sounds like the new car smell has worn off. I still think he's on the list.

It's hard to imagine him on the list when Derek Roy out performed him by a wide margin in the AHL & NHL and is ranked #47.

I'll have to take exception to this statement:

Roy is a small, diminutive forward who has great speed and determination.

Roy may be only be 5'8", but he's built like a fireplug. He has arms like popeye, and legs like tree stumps. He's easily pushing 200lb. It's a good description for Daniel Briere who's generously listed at 179lb.

 

[Jacob]

Not so sure I agree with Ballard being ahead of Whitney, or Grebeshkov for that matter.

I hope everyone realizes that Ballard was born in 82.

I'd like to mention that I do feel Whitney's about where he should be, in responding to some of the criticism. Hey, he's on the list. While his potential is extremely high, he's still got a ways to go into being the defenseman that he could be.

Eminger shouldn't be on this list to be quite honest. Maybe at the tail end, like 49-50. If at all. Especially if Ouellet ends up being off the list.

That's the problem I have with it. I wouldn't have a problem if Whitney was right in the neighborhood of Eminger or Colaiacovo, but he isn't. To me, they majorly snubbed Whitney for no apparent reason. I'd like to know why he dropped as far as he did after his best season to date. Why didn't they drop him this far after his injury-riddled 02-03 season? I probably sound like one of those Montreal homers, but I'm just trying to add my two cents for a prospect that I am very familiar with. Perhaps moreso than the people that made this list.

 

[Coffey77]

What exactly does "solid" mean? Defensively, Steen is a very strong defensive player and he's been doing it in a professional league since the age of 18. Phyiscally, he's a very strong player. And he's an extremely smart player with great vision.

Please point out what Kesler has over Steen in any of those categories.


He could have done it on Detroit for all I care, if a player plays in the NHL that still doesn't mean he's a much better prospect than other very similar and safe prospects who happen to have higher upsides.


So because he's playing in Scandinavia, he's not as "safe" as Kesler... even though he spent the first 12 years of his life playin hockey in Winnipeg, Manitoba?


According to fans of the Swedish Elite League and people I like to call "experts", he's as close to a sure-fire NHL player as there is.

Personally, I'd prefer Steen over Kesler. But aren't they both considered "safe" players?

I definitely agree that just because Kesler made the NHL for some games doesn't necessarily make him better. If that was the case I should be jumping for joy that Jiri Hudler played some games for Detroit as a 19 year old. It's impressive but that doesn't make him a better prospect than other guys his age who haven't made it yet.

 

[Greg7]

But Kesler has improved his game this year. Leading his team to a WJC, growing an inch and putting on some weight etc. If he were not even in the top 50 this year it baffles me because he is actually better now than last year.

He has gotten better, but he's SUPPOSED to have gotten better. The question is has he gotten enough better to stay ahead of people from last year's list and the new entries from this year. If other people have improved more, then he's out.

If you ask me, Kesler's ranking has already been botched. There's no way he should be in the top 25 (shouldn't have been last year either imo), but he also definitely should be in the top 50. They've got him way too high or way too low, but either way it's wrong.

 

[CH Wizard]

Grigorenko dropped a lot He was ranked 8th in the last list.

Btw what's your projection for the top 3 ?

1.Ovechkin
2.Lehtonen
3.Malkin.

 

[JR#9*]

NYR's should place 3 amoung the top 25 w/Tyutin, Montoya and Lundquist all being there.

Not bad considering that Jessiman and Balej likely just missed the cut amoung the top 50.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I know it is a broken record at this point, but I too think Whitney is too low. I'm not even a Pens fan!

As a Jackets fan, I assumed Leclaire was going to fall off the list. He looks like he's improved a bunch so far this season, but Buffaloed said this season's stats weren't considered.
I also thought Picard was a lock to be in the 40-50 range. I'd be shocked if he is in the top 25 (especially since this season isn't being considered). Since he isn't in the bottom 25, I'm thinking the Jackets are going to get shafted on this year's list...
Zherdev, then nothing.
We'll see.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

From what they've shown so far, Deslauriers > Schwarz

and Niittymaki better than both.

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

Wow, all this talk about Kesler. He's solid and looks like he will be a good pro, but it would have been nice to see him average a point per game at some point in his career. US Jr, NCAA, anywhere...

It's at least fair to debate about his offensive upside. And if they chose to leave him off based on his 11 points in 33 AHL games last year, well, I don't think we can exactly call it a conspiracy...even if he does seem a bit harsh given he was only 19.

Interesting to see Emery ahead of Vermette. I know a lot of Ottawa fans would disagree with that.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Wow, all this talk about Kesler. He's solid and looks like he will be a good pro, but it would have been nice to see him average a point per game at some point in his career. US Jr, NCAA, anywhere...

It's at least fair to debate about his offensive upside. And if they chose to leave him off based on his 11 points in 33 AHL games last year, well, I don't think we can exactly call it a conspiracy...even if he does seem a bit harsh given he was only 19.

Interesting to see Emery ahead of Vermette. I know a lot of Ottawa fans would disagree with that.

It's all about upside with Kesler. He's got the size and build to be an excellent 3rd line forward at the NHL, the question is how many points can he score? I think his play in the AHL this year has demonstrated that he has in improved in that regard. Vancouver is hoping he can be a Trevor Linden clone, and he might just be.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

The SEL produces som of the best prospects in the world but not all of their top end talent materializes. The 18th overall pick Jens Karlsson also disapointed.

That's putting it mildly.

 

[mymkovski]

I equate the Schremp ordeal similar to the Randy Moss of the Vikings ordeal.

Moss slipped all the way to the 17th (around there) in the NFL draft about 7 years ago. The reason he dropped was the uncertainty surrounding his attitude and behaviour.

Sounds like a similar situation here for Schremp. And I believe, like Moss, Schremp will fight his attitude demons and get over himself or whatever it is that has brought this upon him, and become a star.

I'm not saying he will be the equivalent to Moss, but I think his oozing offensive talents will make more than a few GM's wish they had drafted him a little earlier....similar to the 16 NFL GM's who wish they had a kid named Moss to throw the ball too...

 

[Frolov 6'3]

The current season isn't a factor in the ratings. The list was made based on information up until the start of this season.

Damn, no Yanick Lehoux.

No seriously, I do read several comments in the list about this season, so it's not unlikely that the current season may have influenced the ratings. Not that I care though, just an observation.

 

[Vic Rattlehead*]

Well, Toivonen will be in the top 25. As for Mark Stuart, he either remains in the top 25 or is not even on this list at all.


EDIT----Stuart was 15th to be exact last time, so he should be in the top 25.

 

[Enoch]

Kind of disappointed that none of the Predators bubble prospects made the list. I had hopes that one, maybe two of Klein, Weber, Radulov, Shishkanov, and Upshall had a chance at cracking the top 50 this year, but I'm not that surprised that it didn't work out. Personally, I think a case could be made for most of these players, especially Radulov when you consider how high Schremp is on the list.....and the similar offensive skills between the two. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. I'm not sure I like this years list. Lot of prospects on there that I just do not like, but regardless of that.....I think it is completely reasonable to have all the players where they are, at their respective rank (except Schremp....I still don't understand that one ). Good attempt, maybe next year some more Preds will crack the list, but I'm not holding my breath .

 

[DBL]

Well, Toivonen will be in the top 25. As for Mark Stuart, he either remains in the top 25 or is not even on this list at all.

Stuart will be there, maybe even right on #25...

 

[Vic Rattlehead*]

Why did Getzlaf fall from 22nd to 30th? It's insane!

 

[BuppY]

Sreen

 

[BuppY]

Why did Getzlaf fall from 22nd to 30th? It's insane!

I agree

 

[Slats432]

I am impressed, I thought the venom would be worse....but aside from the Kesler debate, it has all been very mild ....although there will be some suprises and omissions on 1-25 that are going to have some questions raised, most certainly.

As a cross section of a panel and input from a dozen people, you won't get everyone who thinks the same way about every prospect.

And Evilo, Whitney didn't have a great start to the season, it was actually pretty terrible, although that wasn't taken into account in the rankings.

 

[montreal25m]

quick notes

I saw Kesler play against the Bulldogs last week and by far he was the best player on the ice. He does remind me of a young Trevor Linden.

In terms of Schremp, I really feel his current stats are inflated due to his teams production. I have a feeling he is going to turn out to be the next Daniel Cleary. Clearly was projected to be a "sure fire" NHL player at the draft with insane skill etc, but dropped due to attitude etc. They both seem to be similiar players, just an opinion though.

It is hard to predict the next top 25 players. As a Hab fan, I wonder where Kots, Perez and Chipper fall in.