Prospect Info: 2018-19 Prospects Thread (CHL, NCAA, Junior A, Europe)

[henchman21]

Motzko is probably the best coach in college hockey... this is a very good thing for Ranta. Walker and Ranta on a 3rd line next season might be deadly for opposing teams.

 

[Foppa2118]

Nobody builds around a winger intentionally. It's just the way it plays out when they can't bring in a top notch center.

Winnipeg didn't take Laine because they had the center position filled. They would have taken him anyway. He and Matthews completely separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

 

[Piestany88]

Timmins needs to put on some serious upper body meat. He looks weak and frail.
Dang video didn't work

 

[Avalanche]

 

[Balthazar]

Thanks. I wish that video was 10 min long instead of 50 seconds.

 

[Pokecheque]

Timmins needs to put on some serious upper body meat. He looks weak and frail.
Dang video didn't work

Ehhhh it's fine. There are a lot of hockey players who look like twigs with their pads off. They don't need to look like NFL linebackers.

 

[McMetal]

Ehhhh it's fine. There are a lot of hockey players who look like twigs with their pads off. They don't need to look like NFL linebackers.

He's not even 20 yet, either. Just growing into his man-body will do plenty for his bulk, not to mention the intense training he'll be doing anyway.

 

[Piestany88]

My geography says Minnesota is west of Wisconsin

 

[Tweaky]

Bah, maps are for chumps. I know for sure that I drove through the entire state of Wisconsin whilst driving over the bridge spanning the Red River when visiting my daughter in Grand Forks, ND and we went to a movie in East Grand Forks, MN.

 

[Goulet17]

Barstool Sports

"Cale Makar is going to dominate college hockey the season. The 4th overall pick in the 2017 NHL draft, kind of shocked everyone when he said he’d be returning to UMass for his sophomore season. Who can blame him, the Zoo is a blast. Makar put on a show at the WJC this year too and even got an invite to play in the Olympics with Team Canada, which he denied. How many people can say they said “No” to playing for the team Canada hockey team at the Olympics?

Makar can single handedly break the puck out of the zone on his own. His stick handling along with his puck possession are major assets to his game that don’t go unnoticed on a game at the Mullins Center. You always know when Makar is on the ice. Whether he is controlling the play with puck possession, taking the puck end to end or he is just making smart plays at both ends of the ice.
Makar has an extremely high hockey IQ as well and can provide both an offensive touch but can also be a sturdy defenseman. All signs point to Makar being a franchise defenseman someday, so if he opts to stay in Colorado, they got themselves a legit stud.

I’ll continue to look at more and more players who will make an impact on college hockey this season up until the season starts, so be sure to send any suggestions you may have over."

 

[Ivan13]

if he opts to stay in Colorado

 

[Balthazar]

You'd expect a comment like that for a team like Carolina, Edmonton or Arizona. Makes you wonder what kind of reputation we have around the league.

 

[The Kingslayer]

You'd expect a comment like that for a team like Carolina, Edmonton or Arizona. Makes you wonder what kind of reputation we have around the league.

Will Butcher talking mad shit.

 

[McMetal]

You'd expect a comment like that for a team like Carolina, Edmonton or Arizona. Makes you wonder what kind of reputation we have around the league.

Still probably not great. Even so, the idea that him going back to school was a shocker is kind of wrong to begin with. Lots of people in Avs land were pretty sure he was going back to school, it speaks to a certain amount of guesswork on the part of the author because of his draft status.

I also kind of disagree with the premise that he was controlling the play on every shift in college last year. He showed flashes towards the end of the year, but the big reason why he is going back to school is because he isn't there quite yet. He can be, and should be next year, but not as a freshman, especially not the first half of the season.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Still probably not great. Even so, the idea that him going back to school was a shocker is kind of wrong to begin with. Lots of people in Avs land were pretty sure he was going back to school, it speaks to a certain amount of guesswork on the part of the author because of his draft status.

I also kind of disagree with the premise that he was controlling the play on every shift in college last year. He showed flashes towards the end of the year, but the big reason why he is going back to school is because he isn't there quite yet. He can be, and should be next year, but not as a freshman, especially not the first half of the season.

Yeah hasn't it been pretty clearly laid out that his season before and after the WJC was fairly night and day? I get a little irritated when people act like Makar can't defend, and does not have the ability to be a two-way player. There is no denying there was bumps in the road adjusting to the NCAA though.

I actually think Makar made an intelligent choice to go back. Even if the main reason is simply physical development, but I've beat the drum about young players physical development and injuries earlier in their career enough. So I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Avs_19]

You'd expect a comment like that for a team like Carolina, Edmonton or Arizona. Makes you wonder what kind of reputation we have around the league.

No need to wonder or worry about that comment. It's Barstool sports we're talking about.

 

[Balthazar]

No need to wonder or worry about that comment. It's Barstool sports we're talking about.

Yeah but Grinnell is not some no-name blogger on fansided either. Dude is constantly in contact with current and former NHL players.

That said I agree that we probably shouldn't read too much into it.

 

[McMetal]

Yeah hasn't it been pretty clearly laid out that his season before and after the WJC was fairly night and day? I get a little irritated when people act like Makar can't defend, and does not have the ability to be a two-way player. There is no denying there was bumps in the road adjusting to the NCAA though.

I actually think Makar made an intelligent choice to go back. Even if the main reason is simply physical development, but I've beat the drum about young players physical development and injuries earlier in their career enough. So I'll just leave it at that.

He definitely got better on the defensive end in the latter half, but I think he can do better, and probably will. One more year at a lower level will only help him, although I do expect a contract and NHL time when UMass is done.

 

[Piestany88]

Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25; #4 Tyson Jost

 

[Freaky Styley]

He definitely got better on the defensive end in the latter half, but I think he can do better, and probably will. One more year at a lower level will only help him, although I do expect a contract and NHL time when UMass is done.

I'm excited just because UMass as a whole should be a better team. Most of their best players were freshman last year, no? I expect him to be a lot more comfortable at that level and really thrive. Here's something to beat the summer blues:



Love his celly after the pass on Howden's goal in WJC

 

[Foppa2118]

Still probably not great. Even so, the idea that him going back to school was a shocker is kind of wrong to begin with. Lots of people in Avs land were pretty sure he was going back to school, it speaks to a certain amount of guesswork on the part of the author because of his draft status.

I also kind of disagree with the premise that he was controlling the play on every shift in college last year. He showed flashes towards the end of the year, but the big reason why he is going back to school is because he isn't there quite yet. He can be, and should be next year, but not as a freshman, especially not the first half of the season.

To be fair, the writer didn't say every shift. He said, "You always know when Makar is on the ice. Whether he is controlling the play with puck possession, taking the puck end to end or he is just making smart plays at both ends of the ice."

I take those more as general comments, and they're all things he has demonstrated an ability to do. Including controlling the play with puck possession.

 

[MikeC]

Junior Club World Cup details - Eurohockey.com
Nikolai Kovalenko was name the MVP of that tournament.

 

[Piestany88]

By inviting Cole Reinhardt to rookie camp, the Colorado Avalanche hope lightning strikes twice

 

[Tweaky]

Interesting.

 

[McMetal]

The results of the prospect ranking polls are in! Also updated in the second post of the thread for everybody to find easily!

Position	Player	Draft	2018 Rank	2017 Rank	Change
RD	Cale Makar	2017 #4	1 (100%)	1	0
RW	Martin Kaut	2018 #16	2 (49.1%)	-	-
RD	Conor Timmins	2017 #32	3 (70.8%)	7	+4
C	Shane Bowers	2017 #28 (TR)	4 (76.1%)	-	-
RD	Nicolas Meloche	2015 #40	5 (61%)	4	-1
C	Vladislav Kamenev	2014 #42 (TR)	6 (72.1%)	-	-
C	Igor Shvyrev	2017 #125	7 (65.2%)	10	+3
LW	AJ Greer	2015 #39	8 (71.6%)	6	-2
LW	Ty Lewis	Undrafted	9 (28%)	-	-
LW	Tyler Weiss	2018 #109	10 (29.2%)	-	-
LW	Sampo Ranta	2018 #78	11 (32.9%)	-	-
G	Justus Annunen	2018 #64	12 (40.3%)	-	-
RW	Nikolai Kovalenko	2018 #171	13 (35.5%)	-	-
LW	Cam Morrison	2016 #40	14 (47.5%)	11	-3
C	JC Beaudin	2015 #71	15 (60%)	9	-6
RW	Nick Henry	2017 #94	16 (58.6%)	15	-1
LD	Danila Zhuravlyov	2018 #156	17 (27.3%)	-	-
LD	Nick Leivermann	2017 #187	18 (32%)	25	+7
LW	Denis Smirnov	2017 #156	19 (53.7%)	17	-2
LW	Travis Barron	2016 #191	20 (22.7%)	24	+4
C	Josh Dickinson	Undrafted	21 (29.8%)	-	-
C	Brandon Saigeon	2018 #140	22 (28.3%)	-	-
LD	Sergei Boikov	2015 #161	23 (31.3%)	19	-4
LD	Josh Anderson	2016 #71	24 (29.5%)	22	-2
G	Adam Werner	2016 #131	25 (43.9%)	NR	+1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Position	Player	Draft	2018 Rank	2017 Rank
G	Spencer Martin	2013 #63	HM	12
RD	Nathan Clurman	2016 #161	HM	18
G	Shamil Shmakov	2018 #202	HM	-
G	Petr Kvaca	2017 #114	HM	23
RW	Logan O'Connor	Undrafted	HM	-

[TBODY] [/TBODY]