Prospect Info: 2018-2019 General Prospect Discussion Thread

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tomgilbertfan

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Jun 22, 2008
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Some summaries from Jake Jensen on The Athletic, mostly echoes what others have said, but always good to have another opinion.

Sokolov:
From the first practice session on Tuesday to the final scrimmage on Sunday, Sokolov’s undeniable skill was on full display. Offensively, he brings just about everything to the table — smooth and deceptive hands, a crafty way of drawing defenders in and then using them as bait, and oh yeah, an absolute rocket of a shot. His skating isn’t the greatest, but his natural offensive instincts and puck skills make up for the lack of foot speed. If he can figure out his conditioning and start taking his fitness and nutrition seriously, look out.

Lodnia
Lodnia didn’t disappoint this week. You can just tell that he is one of those players that really wants it. He loves to have the puck on his stick, and if he doesn’t have it, he works his tail off to go and get it. All throughout practice, I never saw him take a single drill off. His skating is really unique in a way that I’ve never quite seen before, but it works for him. Lodnia skates extremely low to the ice with his feet spread wide. With this low center of gravity, it allows him to power up and down the ice while also giving him the ability to turn on a dime. Look for him to continue to climb the Wild prospects chart and have a great season with the Erie Otters in the OHL.


McBain
He is a big, rangy center that loves to get involved and was thought by many to be a first- or second-round talent. I saw a lot of skill this weekend, but there was also a noticeable lack of speed in his game. McBain is no doubt a player that will work at it, as he won the award for hardest worker both on and off the ice for the week.

F. Johansson
He brought his advertised poise and hockey IQ — his gap control was really solid and he was always in position. He will no doubt take some time, and patience will be key with him as a prospect, but I saw enough from him this week to justify the Wild taking him late in the first round.

Belpedio
I thought Belpedio was the best defenseman at development camp this year. He was one of the older players, and it was apparent on the ice. As a two-way, puck-moving defenseman, Belpedio was making smart reads with the puck, connecting on solid, crisp passes to his forwards, and even stepping up on some “opposing” players at his own blue line.

Golden
Golden didn’t put up huge numbers for London in the OHL this past season to help his case as a legit prospect, but he’s officially on my radar. He was so poised when the puck was on his stick this week and defended really well in his own end. Golden also jumped into the offense from time to time and didn’t look out of place. And more importantly, every time he did jump up into the offense, he was always the first player back on the backcheck. He was one of my favorite players to watch this past week.

Wild development camp: Thoughts on Sokolov, Lodnia,...
 

DeagleJenkins

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Glad to see Johannson did well. IQ was what the Wild touted.
Appears that McBain's speed was justifiably noted by pre-draft pundits as being a concern. Hope he becomes quicker as he trains at BC.

I watched some tape on him, its not really a speed concern its acceleration. Once he gets going he has long powerful strides and is quite fast, its just getting to the speed takes a bit longer than people like. Needs quicker feet which if thats the only issue with his game that can be coached.
 
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Dee Oh Cee

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Scott Wheeler wrote a nice long article on the Athletic detailing the top 50 prospects in the NHL with some parameters. Wild have one player in the top 50 (Kaprizov at 11th). Belpedio, Kunin and Greenway were honorable mentions.
 

Saga of the Elk

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Anybody else watch those WJC Summer Spotlight games? I really liked what I saw from F. Johansson, not as smooth-skating as Brodin but he is one of those dmen who makes the right play to get the puck out of the zone, good positioning. I would guess he improved his stock in the coach's eyes. Simon Johansson got memorably burned on a one-on-one but he also looked like a good puck-mover, solid pick. Connor Dewar looked like a prototypical team Canada guy - knows where to be, goes 200 feet every shift. A bubble guy with their depth, but was one of the better players in the game I watched.
 
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Wabit

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Anybody else watch those WJC Summer Spotlight games? I really liked what I saw from F. Johansson, not as smooth-skating as Brodin but he is one of those dmen who makes the right play to get the puck out of the zone, good positioning. I would guess he improved his stock in the coach's eyes. Simon Johansson got memorably burned on a one-on-one but he also looked like a good puck-mover, solid pick. Connor Dewar looked like a prototypical team Canada guy - knows where to be, goes 200 feet every shift. A bubble guy with their depth, but was one of the better players in the game I watched.

I didn't watch any of the games, but we really need to come up with a better way of differentiating between the Johansson's. I don't remember which is the 1st rounder and which is the late rounder.
 

ThatGuy22

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Athletic is ranking prospect systems. Upto 24 now and the Wild haven't been picked. Somewhat surprising to me, I definetly pegged them in the bottom 1/3. Still some time.
 

Dr Jan Itor

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Athletic is ranking prospect systems. Upto 24 now and the Wild haven't been picked. Somewhat surprising to me, I definetly pegged them in the bottom 1/3. Still some time.

Depends on the idea of top-end talent vs. depth. Having a top 10-15 prospect in the world has to help.
 

ThatGuy22

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Depends on the idea of top-end talent vs. depth. Having a top 10-15 prospect in the world has to help.
For sure. Nashville for instance though has Tolvanen who is certainly in the Kaprizov range was ranked 26, but maybe they have zero depth.

I've just never got the impression Pronman was impressed with Kunin, Greenway and F Johansson, and JEE would be graduated So i'd we'd be picked by now when he first announced the series.

Although it has always seemed like he liked Belpedio and it appears he like S Johansson. So maybe ther is enough depth with Kaprisov to move it up a few more rungs then I thought.
 

Saga of the Elk

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For sure. Nashville for instance though has Tolvanen who is certainly in the Kaprizov range was ranked 26, but maybe they have zero depth.

I've just never got the impression Pronman was impressed with Kunin, Greenway and F Johansson, and JEE would be graduated So i'd we'd be picked by now when he first announced the series.

Although it has always seemed like he liked Belpedio and it appears he like S Johansson. So maybe ther is enough depth with Kaprisov to move it up a few more rungs then I thought.

Kaprizov is a better prospect than Tolvanen, even if not in his Elite range. I do expect to see the Wild in the next couple of entries though, especially with how lukewarm Corey seems on Filip. But lots of guys would make the Very Good range for me: e.g. Greenway and Kunin. That aside, I think the Wild have tons of guys in the Legit category: both Johanssons, Lodnia, Shaw, Khovanov, McBain, Belpedio, Sokolov, Dewar. Not every team has that. It's depth, perhaps, but depth with upside.
 

57special

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I'm still hoping for Olofsson to show he is ready to be a NHL regular. This is the year for him, I think. Poop, or get off the pot.
 

Dee Oh Cee

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I get the feeling that his chance with this team is over with. I don't think he'll be on the team heading into the season. either waivers to Iowa or some sort of trade. Or claimed off of waivers.
 
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Wabit

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I'm still hoping for Olofsson to show he is ready to be a NHL regular. This is the year for him, I think. Poop, or get off the pot.

I think he'll get every opportunity to show he's a capable player before he hits the waiver wire. Seeler in the AHL, Olofsson in the NHL to start the year simply because of waiver eligibility.

Suter seems to be on or ahead of schedule for his recovery at least.
 

DeagleJenkins

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Olofsson is on his last lifeline. If he isn't at a high level out of camp, he'll find himself on the waiver wire before opening night.

Might make sense to try and get his numbers up and offer him in a package deal. Not sure on how likely it will happen or who would really buy on him being a solid top 4 nhl defenseman.
 

nickschultzfan

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Olofsson is on his last lifeline. If he isn't at a high level out of camp, he'll find himself on the waiver wire before opening night.
Wild might think he gets through to Iowa at this point. Maybe it is time up for him, but maybe he stabilized turns into a journeyman call-up for the bottom pair to give a different look than Seeler and Soucy.
 

ThatGuy22

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Athletic is ranking prospect systems. Upto 24 now and the Wild haven't been picked. Somewhat surprising to me, I definetly pegged them in the bottom 1/3. Still some time.

Officially not in the bottom third of Pronman's ranking. Very surprising to me, really interested to see the write up.
 

BagHead

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Simon Johansson loaned to Almtuna of the Allsvenskan. He probably wasn't going to get much playing time if he stuck in the SHL, so this seems like a good move for his development.

Press release from the team (in Swedish): Offensiv back lånas in - Almtuna IS

Just was browsing his elite prospects profile. Apparently Alex Wennberg is his cousin. Let's hope NHL hockey runs in their bloodlines now!
 

ThatGuy22

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I don't have the subscription. Anything of note that hasn't been discussed to death on the boards?

I'd say the biggest thing is maybe the descrepency in how we view our "2nd tier" forward prospects. He has Lodina as our #4 prospect in the category of Legit NHLer, same as Kunin and Greenway.

Mcbain, Shaw and Svetlakov don't get a bunch of press around here and he has them above F. Johansson in the Have a chance category.

And the biggest surprise to me is Sokolov all the way down in the Depth notes. With his scoring skillset, regardless of the warts, i'd thought he'd be higher. We talk about him more of in line with Kunin, but he's barely a passable mention..
 
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