ISS November rankings

[ISS Hockey]

Funny how Torquato dropped after "the incident" in Saginaw. He has been playing fine...but I wonder if the scouting services are taking it into consideration...

Torquato dropped to #32. While being involved in such an incident, guilty or not, speaks to a person's character, his on-ice performance probably had more to do with his drop. Being a talented hockey player and using that talent are two different things.

 

[ISS Hockey]

Iss what your take on michael biega? I really like him but what your take?

Biega has dropped in our rankings from #24 in June to #40 in October to #52 this month. He is in his second year of prep school. I think his "drop" has more to do with others who are playing at higher levels passing him by. This is not to say he is not a good prospect. It's just that we're less certain of his pro chances than we were. Personally, I can't say anything about him because I haven't seen him. I'll dig through some of our scouting reports to see what I can find.

 

[Judge Smails]

No way. He's going to challenge for the #1 spot.

The kid is the real deal. Super nice, too. I haven't seen him in a while but the last time I talked to him he was excited about all the press surrounding him. Here's hoping he continues to play at this level.

And here's hoping he makes it UNH next fall!

 

[JeromeHP]

Thanks iss i agree with you about his level of competition i wish he would be playing in the ushl that will really help his draft stock rise

 

[patsfan29]

well since eveyone else seems to be asking the questions...i'm going to join in too

I've always been pretty confident that N.Ross would be a first rounder, the kid didn't have the greatest start to the year, but since being forced to sit a few games (as the coach felt he wasn't playing up to his potential) Ross has stepped it up immensely. He's by far one of the better offensive d-men I've seen in the dub and this year i've witnessed him dish out numerous open ice hits that leave the opponent and the crowd in awe....ask McCardle and more recently Negrin

This is actually the first time I've seen Rowat on any draft rankings and its about time. He doesn't get mentioned alot due to fellow competitors Leclerc, Sexsmith and Mucha, but IMO he clearly belongs in the same category.

So ISS, whats your take on those two...

 

[Buddhaa]

Perhaps someone has knowledge of Kriss Grundmanis ranking in the ISS? Has he risen?

 

[Panopticon]

Brandon Sutter related to THE Sutters?

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Tyson Sexsmith is another guy who i expected to be in the rankings.

Problem is, Sexsmith plays behind such a strong team that he's hard to read. Is he a great goalie? Or a product of a great team and system? A good gamble pick in the 2nd or 3rd round, (Which maybe does make him a top 5 goalie in this years draft so far.) but not a top notch goalie prospect. IMO, he's the type of guy you pick if you have a good goalie prospect in your system, but they're in their 20s. Good to draft a goalie prospect every couple of years, but if you've got a stud, no need to take a sure bet high pick. Roll the dice.

 

[Thornton97]

And here's hoping he makes it UNH next fall!

That's all I'm looking forward to.

 

[Rexor]

ISS, thanks a lot for your info on Růžička.

 

[ISS Hockey]

So they actually dropped Kyle Turris 2 spots to #23 from #21.....proving that ISS sometimes gets it way way wrong...by year's end he's got to be moved up...last night he scored 4 goals in the 1st 2 periods to lead Canada to a 6-2 win over Russia in an opening night game at the 2006 World Jr. A Hockey Challenge Tournament...Turris will be a big star when he gets to Wisconsin next season ....I know the BCHL is not Major Jr. --but you cannot overlook a talent like this kid has...he is a special player...of course too many NHL teams AND SCOUTING SERVICES had HAVLAT ranked too low too in his draft year...muy hunch is ISS is too far off base on Turris--should be ranked much higher...

I don't wish to dispute your assessment of Kyle Turris's ability, but to be fair, you shouldn't use his excellent performance against the Russians on Monday night as proof that we ranked him too low last week. The rankings were prepared Friday, Nov. 3. Three days before he scored four in the opener of the world junior A challenge. Wait to see how we rate him after watching him at this tournament, if you disagree with our ranking then, blast away.

If he keeps playing well at this tournament, he's going to develop the reputation of a player who excels in big tournaments. That's a great thing to have on a resume. Doing it twice carries a lot more than double the weight of doing it once.

For those who don't know, Turris led the Canadian Junior A championship in scoring last season as a 16-year-old. He helped leading the Burnaby Express to the gold medal, too.

 

[Big Daddy]

Problem is, Sexsmith plays behind such a strong team that he's hard to read. Is he a great goalie? Or a product of a great team and system? A good gamble pick in the 2nd or 3rd round, (Which maybe does make him a top 5 goalie in this years draft so far.) but not a top notch goalie prospect. IMO, he's the type of guy you pick if you have a good goalie prospect in your system, but they're in their 20s. Good to draft a goalie prospect every couple of years, but if you've got a stud, no need to take a sure bet high pick. Roll the dice.

I was doubtful of all the hype about him on this board. Prior to the beginning of this season, he did not see regular play in the WHL. However, this season he is getting a 50/50 split duty and so far has lived up to the expectations. You are correct about the team and system but occasionally the team breaks down and Sexsmith has come up with some big saves. He is also very good in shootouts, a weakness of the Giants last season. His poise in net is often compared to being "cool as a pickle" and this is a fair assesment.

 

[MM425]

I'm suprised Sam Ganger didn't jump. He's a wizard with the puck and on pace for a 160 point season in the OHL.

 

[Kevin Forbes]

Brandon Sutter related to THE Sutters?

Brent Sutter's son

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

I was doubtful of all the hype about him on this board. Prior to the beginning of this season, he did not see regular play in the WHL. However, this season he is getting a 50/50 split duty and so far has lived up to the expectations. You are correct about the team and system but occasionally the team breaks down and Sexsmith has come up with some big saves. He is also very good in shootouts, a weakness of the Giants last season. His poise in net is often compared to being "cool as a pickle" and this is a fair assesment.

Yeah, he's a good prospect, but the stats are misleading. He'll likely overtake Slade by seasons end and be a full fledged starter. I'd just really like to see him in tough situations a bit more frequently.

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

can I have a scouting report on Michael Biega?

 

[DaveG]

Suprised that Hamill has fallen so far, he was considered a top 10 pick in this draft a few years ago. Funny how things change. Tyson Sexsmith is another guy who i expected to be in the rankings.

Glad to see I'm not the only one thinking this. I expected Hamill to be a contender for a top 5-10 spot for sure and for Sexsmith to be a lock for the first round. Sexsmith may prove to be that still but it's looking less and less likely, although this is a rather weak draft as far as goalies go from all indications.

 

[Dan]

From the top 10 or so kids, who are considered the biggest projects? Good potential, but will take a while to "get there."

 

[JeromeHP]

Colton gillies is a project

 

[Crosby=Gretzky]

From the top 10 or so kids, who are considered the biggest projects? Good potential, but will take a while to "get there."

looking for another wheeler, aren't you?
as mentioned, Colton Gillies would be a big project, a huge guy good skater but needs to improve finishing skills. All goalies of course are somewhat a project.

 

[Dicky Dangles]

Being a Flyers fan, I'm already looking forward to a possible top 5 pick. Our biggest glaring need would be quick, puck moving defensemen. Who out of the top D prospects fits that bill the most? I'll take any top D-men honestly. Who here has any recommendations of who the top D-man, in the top 10, will be by time the draft comes around? Another quick question, and another glaring need for the Flyers, is about goaltending. When will the top goaltender be picked, and who will it be?

 

[Flynn84]

ISS

Where do the Cherepanov & Averin rank this month?

 

[OhNoItsComeau57]

Being a Flyers fan, I'm already looking forward to a possible top 5 pick. Our biggest glaring need would be quick, puck moving defensemen. Who out of the top D prospects fits that bill the most? I'll take any top D-men honestly. Who here has any recommendations of who the top D-man, in the top 10, will be by time the draft comes around? Another quick question, and another glaring need for the Flyers, is about goaltending. When will the top goaltender be picked, and who will it be?

The top d men in no particular order are nick petrecki, mark katic, keaton ellerby, and karl alzner to name a few (i think i missed 2, check the ISS link). If you want a quick puck mover it sounds like katic (the descriptions ive read make me think brian campbell from buffalo or to a lesser degree vishnevsky from the 06 draft, but that is just my amateur opinion. the other 3 i named are all above 6'2" i believe and seem more like the big steady dman ala Dion phaneuf (but obviously expected to be not quite as good). Hopefully one pulls away from the pack. If you remember last year EJ was rated in the middle of the top 10 even at mid season and really puled away by years end.

Hope this helps

 

[Dicky Dangles]

The top d men in no particular order are nick petrecki, mark katic, keaton ellerby, and karl alzner to name a few (i think i missed 2, check the ISS link). If you want a quick puck mover it sounds like katic (the descriptions ive read make me think brian campbell from buffalo or to a lesser degree vishnevsky from the 06 draft, but that is just my amateur opinion. the other 3 i named are all above 6'2" i believe and seem more like the big steady dman ala Dion phaneuf (but obviously expected to be not quite as good). Hopefully one pulls away from the pack. If you remember last year EJ was rated in the middle of the top 10 even at mid season and really puled away by years end.

Hope this helps

Yeah, that helped, thanks. I am hoping some d-man pulls ahead of the pack, and that we get him. For some reason, I usually get a hunch as to who the Flyers might pick, and then hope that we get that guy. I'm never right, but my hunch is Petrecki. I don't know why, maybe because we missed out in getting an Italian d-man last year, in Sanguinetti, and we'll go that route this year. See, my hunches are not at all logical. Anyways, don't get me wrong, I'm glad we got who we got, in Giroux, so I'm not complaining. As for Erik Johnson, I didn't know he was ranked in the middle of the pack last year, but I knew that Kessel was anointed to be the next Crosby, and that certainly changed, so who knows what the rankings will look like at the end of the year. I just hope the suffering us Flyers fans are going through now brings us a top notch prospect who pans out.

 

[ISS Hockey]

Perhaps someone has knowledge of Kriss Grundmanis ranking in the ISS? Has he risen?

Grundmanis dropped from #51 in October to #69 in November.