Updated ISS 2007 draft rankings -- Dec. 4

[ISS Hockey]

No Korostin around at all? JVR getting lots of publicity, however, and seems to be solidifying himself near the top, as many predicted he would. Cherepanov at 22 is not-so-modest IMO. He may be worthy of low-mid teens with the way he has been playing over the pond.

We have Korostin at No. 40 for December.

 

[ISS Hockey]

Cherepanov, Bashkirov, Karamnov, Korostin, Gratchev, and Mayorov have all cycled in and out of top 30 now. I like how deep this draft is for Russia... perhaps the best since 1983 born players got drafted?

Suffice to say it is quite strange to see Mayorov as the top Russian skater.

We have lots of time of Mayorov. Our chief scout loved his game at the world junior A tournament. A rare combination of size, skating and soft hands. Makes plays at top speed and battles hard with good strength. We like him.

 

[ISS Hockey]

Wow, no Hamill.

Hamill just misses first round. We have him at no. 35 for December.

 

[DreamCatcher*]

I can see Canucks pick up with their first round draft pick either TURRIS, Gillies, or Veilleux.

 

[ISS Hockey]

What the heck? The one I saw a few days ago had "Backlund" at 9. Now he's not even on the list? What's goin' on?

Backlund has dropped to No. 33 for December.

 

[ISS Hockey]

Plante at 17th? I think he's a first day pick, but first round? Over complete players like Ross?

Otherwise pretty accurate. You could argue i going higher, but once you get past the top ten everyone's lists will differ. Seems like this year has great defensemen in high quantity, and some really talented forwards here and there.

How long is it going to take for Valach to get on one of these lists? I think he's better than Plante. And he's bigger.

Valach is No. 51 in our December rankings after being No. 38 in November.

 

[combine81]

We have lots of time of Mayorov. Our chief scout loved his game at the world junior A tournament. A rare combination of size, skating and soft hands. Makes plays at top speed and battles hard with good strength. We like him.

Lots of time? one tournament is equal to lots of time? I don't want to say something bad about Mayorov but Cherepanov (IMHO not the best skater of '89 borns in Russia) scored more in the RSL than Mayorov did in Leninogorsk (Vysshaya liga) this year. Korostin was announced as a best forward and all guys from team Russia said that he had been the best one in the team.

 

[Anthony Mauro]

Valach is No. 51 in our December rankings after being No. 38 in November.

Any specific reason for the drop?

 

[Slitty]

Lots of time? one tournament is equal to lots of time? I don't want to say something bad about Mayorov but Cherepanov (IMHO not the best skater of '89 borns in Russia) scored more in the RSL than Mayorov did in Leninogorsk (Vysshaya liga) this year. Korostin was announced as a best forward and all guys from team Russia said that he had been the best one in the team.

Agreed, I just don't see Mayorov as the top Russian '89. What were his previous ISS rankings in relation to the other Russians?

 

[Guillaume]

He is 180cm and 78kg... which is about 5'9 and 172lb.

This is a 2-year old measurement I believe. My understanding is that the latest measurement is at 1.85 m, which is 6'1.

 

[Guillaume]

Lots of time? one tournament is equal to lots of time? I don't want to say something bad about Mayorov but Cherepanov (IMHO not the best skater of '89 borns in Russia) scored more in the RSL than Mayorov did in Leninogorsk (Vysshaya liga) this year. Korostin was announced as a best forward and all guys from team Russia said that he had been the best one in the team.

I agree that it is a little odd not to see Cherepanov as the top Russian player on 2007 draft lists.

 

[ISS Hockey]

Lots of time? one tournament is equal to lots of time? I don't want to say something bad about Mayorov but Cherepanov (IMHO not the best skater of '89 borns in Russia) scored more in the RSL than Mayorov did in Leninogorsk (Vysshaya liga) this year. Korostin was announced as a best forward and all guys from team Russia said that he had been the best one in the team.

No, no. You misunderstand. The expression "we have lots of time" means "we like this player." It is not a comment on how much we have seen him.

 

[combine81]

No, no. You misunderstand. The expression "we have lots of time" means "we like this player." It is not a comment on how much we have seen him.

Ok.

But i think that one of the reasons to have a player on the top of the ranking is his stability. I am a fan of Spartak Moscow and, of course, wanna see guys from Spartak school on the top. But Korostin (Dynamo) is a guy who's been dominating for all this years and he deserves more because of his stability. Cherepanov made amazing breakthrough this season.
p.s. Talked yesterday to one guy who is playing with Mayorov in Leninogorsk. Resume: "Very skillful. Not worse than the Bashkirovs".

 

[RayLeeCharles]

Curious as to what ISS has Ondrej Roman rated at. He started off very slow, I think due to homesickness and adjusting to the WHL life on and off the ice. Since the end of October(16 games) Roman has put up 23 points, 21 of them on assists with most those being 1st assists. Watching him in Spokane you see hes a pure playmaker and has a ton of potential.

 

[Slitty]

No, no. You misunderstand. The expression "we have lots of time" means "we like this player." It is not a comment on how much we have seen him.

What were Mayorov's previous rankings before the Junior A Challenge?

 

[Prussian_Blue]

Cherepanov, Bashkirov, Karamnov, Korostin, Gratchev, and Mayorov have all cycled in and out of top 30 now. I like how deep this draft is for Russia... perhaps the best since 1983 born players got drafted?

That's all well and good, but could someone over there please convince the Russian Hockey Federation to stop treating their players' statistics -- at the RSL, High League, and top junior levels, anyway -- like some kind of state secret?

Every other major hockey-playing nation has a website where a relatively complete set of statistics can be gotten for players in the elite leagues and top junior leagues. But Russia has diddly-squat...


P_B

 

[pdxshark]

nice to see mucha the second rated goaltender, his numbers suck but thats because of our poor defense. His biggest problem i've seen is rebound control, which is something that can be taught...is that taken into consideration? Guy has great anticipation and great lateral movement.

 

[Preds666]

Moller has been moved down to No. 32 in our December rankings. Our chief scout and our director of scouting have seen him play in the last three weeks. They are concerned about his skating, especially since he's not really big enough to overpower guys.

This is one weird statement. I have seen Möller's skating described as phemomenal, terrific, great etc. If I remember correctly, Möller was top 2 or top 3 on the Swedish national team when they ran some tests 1,5 year ago.

 

[Prussian_Blue]

This is one weird statement. I have seen Möller's skating described as phemomenal, terrific, great etc. If I remember correctly, Möller was top 2 or top 3 on the Swedish national team when they ran some tests 1,5 year ago.

Different people see things in different ways.

I haven't gotten to actually see Moller play yet, but he's caught fre on the scoresheet recently, and he seems to be making a pretty good adjustment to North America, on an expansion team at that.

If his stock falls a little bit, and some team -- cough, cough, St. Louis, cough, cough -- can pick him up in the second or third round, they might end up with a steal.

P_B

 

[Slitty]

That's all well and good, but could someone over there please convince the Russian Hockey Federation to stop treating their players' statistics -- at the RSL, High League, and top junior levels, anyway -- like some kind of state secret?

Every other major hockey-playing nation has a website where a relatively complete set of statistics can be gotten for players in the elite leagues and top junior leagues. But Russia has diddly-squat...


P_B

I will happily provide you with the statistics of any player that interests you, just ask in the infamously backlogged "Official Prospect Inquiry" thread.

 

[Hiishawk]

This is one weird statement. I have seen Möller's skating described as phemomenal, terrific, great etc. If I remember correctly, Möller was top 2 or top 3 on the Swedish national team when they ran some tests 1,5 year ago.

Agreed. Moller is an explosive, very agile skater. The only skating deficiency I can see is that because he's always pumping his legs he tends to go down a bit easily if hit.

 

[Sore Loser]

Curious as to what ISS has Ondrej Roman rated at. He started off very slow, I think due to homesickness and adjusting to the WHL life on and off the ice. Since the end of October(16 games) Roman has put up 23 points, 21 of them on assists with most those being 1st assists. Watching him in Spokane you see hes a pure playmaker and has a ton of potential.

I'm also curious to see where Roman is slotted. I'm also curious as to where they have Drayson Bowman - he may not be scoring at such a rapid pace, but his talented shot and size are obvious.

 

[ISS Hockey]

Curious as to what ISS has Ondrej Roman rated at. He started off very slow, I think due to homesickness and adjusting to the WHL life on and off the ice. Since the end of October(16 games) Roman has put up 23 points, 21 of them on assists with most those being 1st assists. Watching him in Spokane you see hes a pure playmaker and has a ton of potential.

He's dropped to 75 on our list this month.

 

[ISS Hockey]

I'm also curious to see where Roman is slotted. I'm also curious as to where they have Drayson Bowman - he may not be scoring at such a rapid pace, but his talented shot and size are obvious.

Bowman is at 61.

 

[ISS Hockey]

This is one weird statement. I have seen Möller's skating described as phemomenal, terrific, great etc. If I remember correctly, Möller was top 2 or top 3 on the Swedish national team when they ran some tests 1,5 year ago.

Agreed. Moller is an explosive, very agile skater. The only skating deficiency I can see is that because he's always pumping his legs he tends to go down a bit easily if hit.

Why is it weird? Because it differs from your viewpoint, or another viewpoint you heard?

Allow me to flesh out the comment I got about Moller's skating: "concerned about his skating" does not mean they think he is a bad skater.

It means they don't think it's as strong as it needs to be given his other limitations, particularly size. At 5-10 1/2, 184 pounds, they would like to see him be a better skater given what his role will be in the NHL (i.e. a scoring forward).

We won't dispute what others see or have seen, but we will tell you what we see. Sometimes the two will the same, sometimes they will be different. The purpose of a scouting service is not to conform to other viewpoints nor build a consensus.

This can be a useful tool for hockey fans who are trying to get a sense of a prospect's potential, but it's not a good way for a scouting service to evaluate talent.

This is not to say that we don't listen to what others are saying -- we do. But we don't let it affect our take on a player.

Hope this clears things up a little bit.