Prospect Info: 2014 Draft

[2016cupwinners]

Future Considerations came out with their April ranking. Sonny Milano at #21.

www.futureconsiderations.ca/top-rankings/

 

[MattM92]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=712649&navid=nhl:topheads

NHL.com mock drafts. They have us at pick #21 for these

Kimelman's pick

Morreale's pick

Hoffner's pick

Nikita Scherbak seems like a really nice fit. 6'2 and 174 gives him a nice frame to add weight to as an 18 year old.



I like Virtanen as well. Seems like a really nice blend of size and speed. He's 6'1 210.

Nice highlight video, watch at 1:45. He scores and then bumps gloves with the opposing team at their bench

 

[2016cupwinners]

It seems there will be a lot of potential late round gems this year. Some to look for:

USHL leading D scorer,
RD Brandon Montour http://ushl2011.stats.pointstreak.com/playerpage.html?playerid=7208320&seasonid=11221

USHL leading goal scorer,
F Matt Iacopelli http://ushl2011.stats.pointstreak.com/playerpage.html?playerid=7209555&seasonid=11221

C Tyler Vesel http://ushl2011.stats.pointstreak.com/teamplayerstats.html?teamid=3137&seasonid=11221

C Scott Conway http://ushl2011.stats.pointstreak.com/teamplayerstats.html?teamid=8604&seasonid=11221

There are many more. LW Waltteri Hopponen, C Radel Fazleyev, RW Viktor Arvidsson, RW August Gunnarsson, C Brendan Harms, D Ashton Sautner, D Jimmie Jansson. We should get a good haul this year.

Google is your friend.

 

[2016cupwinners]

Central scouting's final rankings are out.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=712854&navid=nhl:topheads

 

[Rschmitz]

This is the year that Yzerman can pick up a nice power forward addition. Not many good righty defensemen though, maybe McKeown

 

[Steve Yzerman]

This is the year that Yzerman can pick up a nice power forward addition. Not many good righty defensemen though, maybe McKeown

Erne?

 

[Rschmitz]

Erne?

The 2014 is very deep at power forward, I wasn't implying that we didn't have any (Erne, Hart, Panik). We can certainly use more, however.

 

[DFC]

The 2014 is very deep at power forward, I wasn't implying that we didn't have any (Erne, Hart, Panik). We can certainly use more, however.

It's definitely a player type I'd like to have some insurance in. I'm all about BPA, but in our case, if it's close, I'd err on the side of size and physicality.

 

[2016cupwinners]

I did a HF mock draft as the Tampa GM. I'll post it here in case some of you might find it interesting. Based on who was actually available, this is what I would of gotten:

1-22, LW/RW Nikita Scherbak, http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=209468
Big, fast, skilled, gritty. Other options available were Larkin, Milano, Schmaltz, McKeown.

2-52, RD Julius Bergman, http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=38929
Was targeting Donato, Point, Eiserman, Magyar, but they were taken just before our pick. Bergman has great physical tools, but struggled a bit in a men's league at 17. That might be a red flag or maybe not, but it's beyond my reach to check out.

3-82, RW Ondrej Kase, http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=165006
Very smart, hardworking playmaker. Other options available were Lammikko, Foegele, Irving, Sanheim

5-142, LW/RW Daniel Bagenda, http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=86197
Board and net front warrior who is big, fast, and likes to hit.
Other options available were Sadowy, Letunov

5-147, LD Gavin Bayreuther, http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=178941
Fast, smart, offensive minded LD, ECAC rookie of the year.

6-172, RD Brandon Montour, http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=97957
Fast, smart, offensive minded RD, USHL leading D scorer.

7-202, RW August Gunnarsson, http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=109931
Impressive stats, brother of Toronto's Carl Gunnarsson. Other options Hopponen, Conway, Vesel, Bjorninen, Rathgeb.

I was pretty happy with the results, even though some guys I wanted were taken. The info I have on them was very limited, but I'm curious about them now, so I'll have to follow these guys in the future to see how they turn out.

 

[HoseEmDown]

We have the Rangers 2nd this year, which will be around our pick, so one of the player's you were hoping for we could possibly get too. I'd prefer to move one if not both 2nd's as don't think there's a ton of talent after the 1st round. If McKoewn falls to the late 1st early 2nd we should move the 2 2nds for him. Honka and Deangelo should be gone by our pick in the 1st and we need a RH PMD with those 3 the best.

 

[2016cupwinners]

We have the Rangers 2nd this year

The mock started before the Marty trade.

 

[Necropolis]

This is the year that Yzerman can pick up a nice power forward addition. Not many good righty defensemen though, maybe McKeown

Honka is a righty as well and should be a good one. McKeown I'd love but I think he'll go before our pick. Honka is just as good but lacks size and therefore could drop around 20th pick.

2-52, RD Julius Bergman, http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=38929
Was targeting Donato, Point, Eiserman, Magyar, but they were taken just before our pick. Bergman has great physical tools, but struggled a bit in a men's league at 17. That might be a red flag or maybe not, but it's beyond my reach to check out.

This guy is interesting. Seems like a project but could become a very good defenseman in the long run, he has the tools for that at least.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Honka is a righty as well and should be a good one. McKeown I'd love but I think he'll go before our pick. Honka is just as good but lacks size and therefore could drop around 20th pick.

Seems like the top 3 RD, not including Ekblad, have all dropped in the rankings. DeAngelo has attitude issues, Honka size concerns and McKoewn had a down year. They all could be there in the early 20's if we pick in that spot.

 

[Necropolis]

Seems like the top 3 RD, not including Ekblad, have all dropped in the rankings. DeAngelo has attitude issues, Honka size concerns and McKoewn had a down year. They all could be there in the early 20's if we pick in that spot.

DeAngelo is great offensively but I'd rather have the two others, especially if DeAngelo has attitude problems. For all that I know of these guys, Honka is the best of them. McKeown has been good this year but he has been really inconsistent meanwhile Honka has been very consistent. From the three, he's the smartest all-around player and I think his defensive game gets overlooked by some people because he's small and posts big offensive numbers (not that you or anyone else in this thread did so). As I said on the earlier page, I think, Kimmo Timonen is a great comparison for Honka. I have no concern about his size and doubt that Yzerman or Murray are concerned about that either but I do think that they'd pick McKeown over Honka.

 

[Jacko95]

After a few days off I will now pick up my series again and hoe to finish it within the weekend/ monday.

I will go on with the USHL, for me the league where we should go for in the 2nd/3rd round. Tons of big talented (often right) defenders out of the league this summer. But you will see yourself:

Jack Dougherty: Many have him ranked above Glover (had him in my last post), but for some reason I have the feeling Glover has the higher upside and a more physical game. Dougherty is a 6'2 RD, that plays a smart intelligent game and plays strong on both ends of the ice. He is also starting to get more physical, but needs to fill out his frame and has skating issues.
Should go in the 2nd round, but good chance somebody reaches for him and takes him late in the first (same as with Glover)
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=204300

Joshua Jacobs: Yet another 6'2 RD, decent skating, tow-way, but has consistency issues. He is willing to play pyhsical and can move the puck quickly up the ice.
Mid to late 2nd, maybe he slips into the third, but I doubt that.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=168704

Jonathan MacLeod: 6'1 RD, very physical, more known for his defense than his offensive abilities, very effective and keeps it simple. Classic "gets the job done" defender. His overall game could get better and his skating coul be better, but it's not bad right now.
Might not have the potential the other Rds out of the USHL have, but he is a saver pick and a guy everybody could use for their bottom four. Could see him developing into a little less physical Gudas. He should go round the late 2nd early third.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=177674

Shane Eiserman: Considering the only powerforwards in the system (Callahan, Erne and Hart) are all RW, a left wing power forward is definitly a great addition. Eiserman is just that, has everything you look for in a Powerforward. He does not have the skill Erne has, but has a great effort and you can never have enough power forwards. Most likely mid to late 2nd rounder.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=177720

Ryan Collins: Big (6'4) shutdown RD, pretty good skating for his size, however there are huge questions marks about his ceiling. His stat sheet is nothing to write home about (even for a shutdown defender in his draft year). But he is only 180 lbs, he could be a completly different player once he checks in at 210lbs+. If he doesn't learn a better offensive game, he will most likely end in the Aulie mold, but if he does he could become a really good defender.
3rd round pick, maybe somebody reaches for him in the late 2nd, if he is there in the late 3rd, go for him he could be worth the gamble.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=120935

Brandon Montour: 20 year old USHL rookie, who came more or less out of nowhere, however almost all guys with NHL chances have left to college before they get 20, so he is more or less like a man among child.
Nonetheless his stats are impressive but I can't find much about him, other than he destroyed the USHL (words like best USHL defender this season and so on).
Might be an interesting pick up in the last few rounds, but not before.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=97957

KArson Kuhlman: Classic SY/ Cooper player in the Palat/Ikonen mold. Absolutly a guy to keep an eye on for this draft imo, his biggest issue right now is consistency, the difference to Ikonen/ Palat is that he is only 18, so plenty of time to grow and work on his game.
Absolutly a guy to have on the list from the 4th round on. If he makes it all the way to our 5th rounder, I really hope Murray and SY jump on this kid.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=118663

Austin Poganski: Could see this guy become a Killorn light, however has lots of work to do and is a project. Could be worth a flyer in the last two rounds, maybe not..
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=231724

As you can see, plenty of guys to like out of the USHL this year, at least for Tampa wconsidering the boat loads full of quality defenders coming out of the USHL.

 

[DFC]

I want Shane Eiserman. We'll put him on the Eiserplan.

 

[MattM92]

I want Shane Eiserman. We'll put him on the Eiserplan.

Yes.

 

[Jacko95]

Here comes the WHL:

Julius Honka: THE guy to go for the Lightning in the first round, right handed small offensive defender. He seems to play a little bigger than his 5'10 and isn't a liability on the backend either. However his offensive talent is obviously his best threat, to go along with great skating and great vision. He has huge potential either as a pure offensive defender or (if he gets better in the defensive department) a small (and poor mans) version of Hedman. great offensively, but no liability in the own end either.
Problems are obviously his size and the question wether he can learn to defensive end good enough to be trustable.
Anyways there is no question he should be the guy to go for us as he is as perfect a fit as it gets (with the exception of Ekblad and Fleury, who are supposed to go a lot higher than we pick).
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=65456

Nikita Scherbak: The surprise of the year, he was never thought has a guy with first round future, however since coming over last summer, he has done nothing but rise. He is a 6'2 highly skilled left wing with some edge to his game. However as always his defense needs help, but it doesn't seem to be as big a problem as it is with other russians.
Lots to like on him, but also the big question mark wether this season was just a 1 season break out or if he unleashed his true talent. There is also big uncertainity where he will go due to his fast rise. Could go anywhere from around 10 to all the way down into the 2nd round.
He is one of the better forward options, if Honka is not available.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=209468

Connor Bleakley: Strong mix of skill, work ethic & size for the next level. Add Leadership (Captain of the Rebels as 17 year old!!!) & character to that list as well. The Center is one of the guys that sees a huge difference in their rankings, mostly caused by upside question marks. His scouting report reads like the wet dream of NHL scouts, however there is a good chance he will never be more than a 3rd liner (if he makes it to the NHL).
Chances are slim that he is still on board in the late 2nd round, but if he is, this is SYs man.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=84020

After those three (and the early ones that are obviously out of reach for us) it ends with potential first rounders, but there are still interesting people left.

Brayden Point: 5'9 small center who plays bigger than he is. Great vision and skill, exceptional speed to go along with the willingness to battle hard for the puck. Overall this guy screams a lot of Tyler Johnson to me, and you sure can never have enough TJs.
If we have already drafted a defender, he is one of my front runners to become a Lighting pick in the 2nd round, however I could also see him sliding all the way down to us in the third due to his size (and I sure hope so)
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=62204


Nejezchleb, Richard: third year draftee, who might not have a high upside, however I read he might have some Thomas Holmstrom in him and otherwise this guy has everything needed to become a 4th liner. Tends to be so fancy, so there must be some skill as well otherwise he couldn't play fancy.
A project worth a look from the 4th round on, especially considering that he could be a usefull addition to the Syracuse bottom six right away.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=100577

That shoud be enough for today, I will finish the WHL tomorrow.

 

[Rschmitz]

I think Honka is too small, and Yzerman has shown a preference towards larger defensemen.

 

[Jacko95]

I think Honka is too small, and Yzerman has shown a preference towards larger defensemen.

There are plenty of pretty good defensemen that are as small as he is. Some examples that are also 5'11:
Erik Karlsson
Matt Greene
Marek Zidlicky
Kevin Shattenkirk
Andrew Ference

5'10:
Tobias Enstrom
Brian Campell
Kimmo Timmonen

Guys at 6'0:
Niklas Kronwall
Mark Giordano
Slava Voynov
Chris Letang
Matt Carle
Justin Faulk
Matt Niskanen
(PK Subban, Gudas)

Obviously Honka will never play the way Gudas or Subban does, but there are some pretty impressive names on this list that are realistic comparables. This guy is 5'11 and could easily grow up to 6'0 maybe even 6'1 if he is one of those guys that grows late. I mean he is not 5'9 or something and if SY really passes on him if he is on the board he will make a fault.

 

[Jacko95]

And the WHL goes on:

Brett Lernout: 6'4 RD that likes to play big and nasty, was not seen as a really promising guy after last season, however he has improved a lot and is definitly on the radar now.
He needs to improve his mobility and needs to simplify his game to be more effective (and to have a future in the pros)
Should be on the list from the 3rd round on, however good chance somebody takes a flyer on him before we pick in the third.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=104226

Travis Sanheim: 6'3 LD rookie WHL defender, he was more known for his defensive talent at the start of the season, however his offensive game has made huge improvement over the season, which leaves the question how high his offensive talent is, cause the defense is already there. Decent skater, gets rarly beaten 1 on 1
Have seen him go as early as late first round (obviously a reach), but more likely late 2nd round, however with some luck he might be available even later. Definitly high-risk, high-reward pick.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=120938

Justin Kirkland: Power winger with great hockey IQ, however the rest is a project. If he can put it alll together whoever drafts him will have a monster of a player, on the other side there is quit a lot of work to do for him to get there. What makes scout confidant that he might reach is his steady progress, he seems to get a little better every game and was a riser all year long. Depending on the confidance some scouts have in his progress he is a guy on the big list of potential 2nd round picks that could also go much later.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=63133

Ryan Rehill: Wanna have a a 6'3 version of Radko Gudas? This is the guy and on top of that he is an even better fighter than Gudas. He already wears an A as 18 year old and is only a -4 on for Kamloops who are -130 overall.
hard to say where he goes, cause he doesn't offer overly high potential, but I would think he can go as early as the third. more likely 4th round.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=83900

Aaron Irving: Do it all defender, very effective however some scouts don't see high upside in him, due to being overly good at nothing. Have seen him go from top20 to not even in the top3 rounds (all from credible scouting sources and all rankings are from this calender year).
I don't see him as overly interesting, unless he falls all day way out of the third round (which is highly unlikely) and we could get him in the 4th, where he sure would be one hell of a steal.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=84245

Keegan Iverson: 6'0 216 lbs (yes that weight is right!) center, that loves to get under other players skin, throw some hard hits and fight if needed. However he is no goon at all, he is still a very usefull player, able to chip in offensivly and provide a good shutdown option. If he can work on his offensive talent, he could become a good option to do the dirty work on a sscoring line, if not he could easily become a pretty good 4th liner.
If he goes before the 4th round he is not worth the pick, however after that he is one of the better options if we already have drafted some skill.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=185603

The rest of the forwards out of the WHL (ranked later than the guys I listed) are more or less guys that have not enough talent to get anything more than 4th line players/goons at best, which is not what Tampa drafts, so I will stop here.

Next up will be the OHL, but I am not sure wether I will start today or tomorrow with the first two rounds.

 

[Jacko95]

And we come closer to the finish of the series as I have only two leagues left to make. However here is the OHL:

Jared McCann: More likely gone when we come anyways, but he is a good two-way center, that can do it all. However I don't see anything more in him than 2nd line center adn a good chance that he ends up on the third line, but he is a pretty safe pick (comparable to Frederik Gauthier last season upside, talent wise). Anyways I don't see much Lightning player in him.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=189369

Anthony DeAngelo: The bad boy of the draft, he seems to have major issues getting his feelings under control and is known to be selfish. He had a 8 game suspension due to an incidant with a team mate (his fault).
His skill set is great (better than Honka's), however his defensive play is far worse and Honka is also more willing to use his body.
DeAngelo might have the higher upside than Honka, but there are sooo many problems off the ice and in the defensive zone, that I really question if he can work on all that.
He will go in the first round, but I really hope it's not the us. If Honka is of the board, the defense options are thin, but I would take a forward before I take DeAngelo.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=89818

Nikolai Goldobin: Yet another great skilled Russian, however his frame is already pretty decent at 6'0 185lbs. He is one of the better goal scorers in the draft and with his frame, one could hope, he can get become a pretty good all around player, however his defensive game isn't developed very well as of now. The frame is the thing that makes him more interesting than the other skilled guys available in the later first round. He is also dedicated to play better defense and play harder according to interviews-
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=160550

I am not a big fan of the other possible first round forwards out of the OHL. MacInnis has far to bad offensive stats that I would consider him as a forward in the first round, Ho-Sang and Fabbri are both small offensive dynamos, but they have shown no willingness to learn what it takes in the defensive zone, so I would prefer Nick Schmaltz as an offensive dynamo in the first round, cause he cares about it. And with Brayden Point there is another such guy, who is likely available in the 2nd round, has a little more well rounded game and is not that far behind skill wise.

Roland McKeown: The #2 defender on the Lightning list behind Honka (hopefully), he is another righty and has a decent frame (6'1-194lbs). He is a very well rounded defender that can do it all. Very high hockey IQ, bomb of a shot and decent skating. He is smart, but not physical in his own end, which is his main weakness right now.
After reading more about him, he is really no #2 behind Honka on my list anymore it's more like a 1a/1b situation and I am just happy if we can get either. Interesting to see is that he has fallen a little bit as he was considered as possible top10 pick last summer and is now more around 20 in mock drafts, but I can't see why other than his lack of physicality (which really shouldn't push him too far down) and consistency issues.
From a need point, McKeown is better suited to play next to Hedman than Honka is due to their defensive abilitiys, however we also lack a right handed QB. Honka would be that guy, but McKeown has played a lot on the powerplay as well.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=189364

Brendan Lemieux: Agitator with skill, thats all you need to know about him. You love having guys like him on the team in the playoffs and hate to play against them as they get under your skin and can score, but his upside is limited (2nd line at best) which he makes up with being a pretty safe pick to get to the NHL.
I am not a fan of such picks in the first two rounds, as it should all be about potential there IMO and players like him can be find later in the draft as well (with some drafting skill and luck of course). And considering that he will hear his name in the 2nd round I don't see him as a fit, but he is still a likeable player and prospect.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=177647

Hunter Smith: The behemoth forward of the draft. 6'6, but only 209 lbs. He has some growing to do amd is already 2nd year draftee (only 4 days younger than the cut off), but he has made huge steps forward in every aspect this season and with his physicality he can become everything from 2nd liner (highly unlikely) to 4th liner. His speed seems okay for his height, but he once he adds weight that might change. I am torn wether he would be a good pick up or not, his upside is very questionable and many draftees this big don't go anywhere in the NHL, because their skill level is just not as big as themself (Aulie for example).
With the ove of some GMs for height, I don't see him falling to the point where we should consider him (late 3rd/4th round).
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=117017

 

[The Macho King]

From that breakdown, I would feel a bit more comfortable with McKeown than Honka. Yzerman likes size on the blueline (and in net, apparently), and I don't think there's a replacement for hockey IQ. 5'10" is really small for a defenseman.

 

[Necropolis]

From that breakdown, I would feel a bit more comfortable with McKeown than Honka. Yzerman likes size on the blueline (and in net, apparently), and I don't think there's a replacement for hockey IQ. 5'10" is really small for a defenseman.

I prefer McKeown to Honka as well. Honka is smarter player of the two but McKeown is a guy that can become a 'true shutdown-guy' in the NHL. He's not overly physical but he certainly can be strong physically which is an element that Honka lacks. He isn't a PPQB though, more of a trigger guy. I really don't think he'll be great offensively anyway but solid with good all-around game. But I don't think he falls around the 20th pick even if he has had some consistency issues.

 

[Jacko95]

I prefer McKeown to Honka as well. Honka is smarter player of the two but McKeown is a guy that can become a 'true shutdown-guy' in the NHL. He's not overly physical but he certainly can be strong physically which is an element that Honka lacks. He isn't a PPQB though, more of a trigger guy. I really don't think he'll be great offensively anyway but solid with good all-around game. But I don't think he falls around the 20th pick even if he has had some consistency issues.

Watch quit some videos of McKeown, I see why he dropped, for a guy with such a bomb from the point and the ability to lead the rush the way he does his offensive numbers don't look good. A big part of that is obviously the consistancy issue, but the other thing is, he just seems to get his job done by only 90% of his talent. He lacks those last 10% that are needed to get the goal/point.
There is plenty of time to sort both problems out and if he has his offensive numbers will be much better. After all he just did not met the expecatitions the scouts had for this season.
If he does sort it out, we have Hedmans partner, if he doesn't he will be a bottom pairing guy, cause his own zone talent does not seem to be good enough to make him a really good shutdown defender.

Overall Honka has a little more upside, but also the higher risk to never be anything in the NHL, cause he will have to make it through the PP and offensive numbers.

Those are the two prospects I have taken by far the most time to look for imformation and I am really torn, especially cause a McKeown on top of his ceiling is IMO the more usfull player to this team, but Honka on top of his ceiling is the better player.
Nevermind as long as we take either of them, I am happy and if we are able to make him into a great defender I am happy no matter what the other will accomplish.