[2018 Draft] Who are your sleepers and stay away from prospects for this upcoming draft?

[Toss it to Tanti]

What prospects do you think are going to shine in their D+1 years and beyond, and what prospects are you hoping your team takes off their draft board completely?

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[cg98]

Stayaway for me is Ryan Merkley, guys offensive game is flawless but the defensive side of his game is a polar opposite so far. My sleepers are Jett Woo & Jonny Tychonik, both are severely underrated.

 

[93LEAFS]

I wouldn't draft Merkley until the 3rd round. So, I'd consider that stay away. He's only good on the PP. Terrible in his own-zone, can't kill penalties on a bad team, doesn't compete and turns the puck over a bunch trying what occasionally become twitter gifs. He has a bad attitude before even got NHL money, so he's a guy I'd draft to prove he's worthy of an investment in. You don't draft anyone you don't plan on signing to an ELC immediately in the first 62 (College guys you'd sign but they can't if they want to keep eligibility).

The two Russian based Russians will go lower than they should, but I wouldn't call them sleepers. I think it'd be crazy to let Miller or M Samuelsson get to the 2nd round which I see in a decent amount of lists.

 

[Habs76]

Not a fan of Kupari, Merkley, Olofsson, Hayton in the top 15, Groulx, Ginning

Sleepers: Kravtsov, Shafigullin, Tychonick, Blake McLaughlin, Hallander, and this Jack Perbix fella seems interesting and Rasmus Sandin


Kinda hard to kill Kravtsov a sleeper now tho

 

[Kevin Musto]

Not big on Kupari. Should not go in the top 15 (I've seen him ranked as such). Nobody should waste a 1st on Merkley. Groulx isn't a 1st rounder. I've dropped Tkachuk out of my top 10. He's still a solid player, but there's better talent ahead of him.

I guess Kravtsov isn't a sleeper anymore though he won't get drafted where he should (top 10).

To me the most underrated player outside of the first round is Aidan Dudas. He's incredible to watch.

 

[johum7]

Stay Away: Merkley, Hayton, Groulx, Tkachuk as a top 5 pick, Kupari, McLeod

Sleepers: Der-Arguchintsev, Tychonick, Sandin, Fonstad, Dunkley, Kravtsov if he’s still considered one, Dellandrea, McLaughlin, Miller, Bernard-Docker

 

[Tube Skates]

Stay Away : Alexander Khavanov
Sleeper : Radim Salda

 

[Chainshot]

Merkley was the guy I was going to post, but that seems to have been handled more than adequately.

Sleeper-wise, I really enjoy Blake McLaughlin's game and would be pleased as heck to get him early on day 2. That likely isn't happening, but he's such a bundle of offensive skills at high tempo.

 

[AmericanDream]

Bode Wilde and Joe Veleno - I think both has a shot as NHLers, but not worth where they will get picked at

 

[AmericanDream]

Bode Wilde and Joe Veleno - I think both has a shot as NHLers, but not worth where they will get picked at

sleepers for me - a lot actually-

Jack Drury - USHL - kid is a beast - likely 2nd round so not a secret - I think earns top 20 redraft status in a few years.. Nephew of Chris Drury

Jay O'Brien - Thayer Academy - smart, skilled, athletic player - high ceiling. Tony Amonte is his coach

Ryan O'Reilly - USHL - sniper/gifted goal scorer just a town over from me in Texas - not related to the other ROR..lol

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Sleepers: Allan McShane (Oshawa Generals),Riley Sutter (Everett Silvertips), Justin Almeida (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Stay away: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, (_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _),Ty Smith (Spokane Chiefs),Akil Thomas (Niagara IceDogs),

 

[Stive Morgan]

Sleepers:
Ty Smith
Jett Woo
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Akil Thomas
Jonny Tychonick
Alexander Alexeyev
Rasmus Sandin
Cole Fonstad
Riley Stotts
Riley Sutter
Tristen Nielsen
Wyatte Wylie
Jacob Bernard-Docker
Eric Florchuk

Stay Away:
Brady Tkachuk
Ryan Merkley
Serron Noel
Ryan McLeod
Mattias Samuelsson
Jáchym Kondelík
Kevin Bahl
Curtis Douglas

 

[Leopain]

Sleepers: Allan McShane (Oshawa Generals),Riley Sutter (Everett Silvertips), Justin Almeida (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Stay away: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, (_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _),Ty Smith (Spokane Chiefs),Akil Thomas (Niagara IceDogs),

I am genuinely curious as to your reason to stay away from Ty Smith.

 

[Peeps]

Sleepers:
Jake Wise
Oliver Wahlstrom (I feel he should be the 1st player we talked about after Dahlin)
Ryan O'Reily
Blake McLaughlin
Akil Thomas
Martin Kaut
Alexander Alexeyev
Jack Drury
Nils Lundkvist

Stay Away:
Ryan Merkley
Mattias Samuelsson
Jared McIsaac
Jack McBain
BOG (Groulx)
Adam Boqvist
Rasmus Kupari
Martin Pospisil

 

[newdimension]

Did a quick scroll through my list.


Sleepers:
- Jack Drury (It wouldn't surprise me to see some team go off-the-board and take him late in the first as a surprise)
- Nils Lundkvist (maybe not so much anymore)
- Blake McLaughlin: Another guy I really like. Loads of talent.
- Ryan McLeod (overrated at the start of the year; but now it almost feels like he's being underrated)
- Johnny Tychonick (I think he'll be a top 25 pick by the time the draft rolls around)
- Kyle Topping
- Rasmus Sandin
- Jake Wise
- Bulat Shafigullin
- Jacob Bernard-Docker (I think he'll be one of those defenseman that, in 5 years from now, people will look back and wonder how he went in the 2nd)
- Axel Andersson
- Jacob Ragnarsson
- Ivan D. Morozov
- Logan Hutsko
- Niklas Nordgren
- Tyler Madden
- Danila Galenyuk
- Danila Zhuravylov
- Luka Burzan
- Aidan Dudas (if only he were 4 inches taller, he'd be a top 30 candidate imo)
- Riley Stotts:
- Jack Perbix
- Paul Cotter
- Yegor Sharangovich: (worth a 4-7th round pick)
- Riley Damiani
- Joey Keane
- Cole Fonstad
- Jonatan Berggren
- Toni Utunen
- Amir Miftakhov
- Justus Annunnen
- David Tendeck
- Alexander Steeves
- Filip Kral
- Kirill Marchenko
- Jack Randl
- Semyon Der-Arguchintev
- Severi Lahtinen
- Linus Karlsson
- Johan Sodergran
- Marc del Gaizo
- Brendan Budy
- Tristen Nielsen
- Michael Kesselring
- Collin Schmidt
- Jake Gricius
- Spencer Stastney
- Justin Almeida
- Connor Corcoran
- Linus Nyman
- Liam Kirk



Stay Away:
- Joseph Veleno (still not sold on him)
- Jacob Olofsson (also not sold on his offensive upside)
- Ryan Merkley (wayyy too many issues that scare the crap out of me if my team were to take him. In the 2nd, sure; but not in the first)
- Sampo Ranta
- Jachym Kondelik
- Curtis Douglas
- Riley Sutter
- Benoit-Olivier Groulx (not in the top 45 at least)
- Albin Eriksson
- Kevin Bahl
- K'Andre Miller
- Jett Woo
- Alexander Khovanov (his skating concerns me just a little. I'd be okay with him in the late 2nd/3rd round)
- Anderson MacDonald (inconsistency and skating scares me)
- Serron Noel
- Brady Tkachuk (at least not in the top 5... although I think some team in the top 5 is going to grab him)
- Xavier Bouchard
- Nando Eggenberger
- Jacob Ingham
- Krystof Hrabik
- Rasmus Kupari (he's a first rounder, but I'm not sure if he'll ever be a standout)
- Adam Ginning
- Vladislav Kotkov
- Jakub Skarek (not entirely sold on him; and think you could get other, talented goalies later in the draft)
- Oscar Back
- Kirill Nizhnikov
- Adam Samuelsson (bad skating)



For the most part, the "big, toolsy" players kind of scare me away. I like most of the players more than I dislike them, though. Even guys in my "stay away" section have some upside; I'd just be wary to use early'ish picks on them. Also, I always go way overboard with these lists.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Stay away:

Merkley
McLeod
Ollofsson

Sleepers:

Regula
Beaudin
Morozov
Foudy
Bernard-Docker

 

[Tryamkin]

Stay Away : Alexander Khavanov
Sleeper : Radim Salda

If you don’t mind me asking, why would you stay away from Khovanov, I think he’s underrated.

Also, Salda is an overager, what exactly makes him a sleeper for you?

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Sleepers
Niklas Nordgren
Justus Annunen
Jesse Ylönen
Linus Nyman
Severi Lahtinen

Stay away
Arttu Nevasaari.
Sampo Ranta

 

[Artorius Horus T]

I am genuinely curious as to your reason to stay away from Ty Smith.

Now this is only my opinion.

Skating&skill alone isn't enough, i think he is too soft, as a small d-man you have to
play big to make it in the NHL ala Torey Krug, Sami Vatanen, Samuel Girard...
I think he lacks in hockey sense department too, (NHL level hockey IQ)

i think he plays like an "old school" offensive d-man (5 to 10 years ago) rather
than a modern small d-man,this is just my take .

I guess we all see in few years.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Sleepers:
Rasmus Sandin
Nils Lundkvist
Bulat Shaffigulin
Ruslan Iskhakov
Blake McLaughlin
Jacob Ragnarsson
Cameron Hillis
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev
Matej Pekar
Yegor Sharangovich
Jesper Myrenberg
Bogdan Zhilyakov
Jack Lagerstrom

No Drafts:
B-O Groulx
Ryan McLeod
Riley Sutter
Adam Ginning
Matthias & Adam Samuelsson
Xavier Bouchard
Krystof Hrabik
Nando Eggenberger
Jakub Lauko
Kevin Bahl
K'Andre Miller
Declan Chisholm
Jakub Skarek
Patrick Giles
Joachim Kondylik
Curtis Douglas
Samuel Bitten
Michal Ivan

 

[Killerjas]

Nils Lundkvist & Martin Kaut, the sleepers of the 1st round.

 

[Dod93Cityt]

Did a quick scroll through my list.

Christ, who didnt you put on these lists?

 

[emptyNedder]

Since they aren't often considered sleepers I will mention a few over-agers:
Linus Nyman--haven't seen him in anyone's top 100, which means 4th round at best. While small, his skills and compete level are similar to other small players who have succeeded (Zuccarello, Tyler Johnson).
Simon Johansson--RHD with decent size who has offensive upside.
Brady Lyle--another RHD with size. Doesn't commit a lot of penalties.
Vladislav Yeryomenko--yet another RHD who has shown the ability to score in CHL and international competition.

None of these players are sleepers in the sense that they will end up top line players. But I think each has high upside and one or more could make it to the NHL.

 

[North Country]

Minnesota sleepers in no particular order:

Scott Perunovich - Knows the play before anybody else. Could be a very good pick up from where he's currently ranked.

Collin Schmidt - CS had him at 6'4.5 and 230lbs. Skates well and has a very good shot. Pretty amazing he's not ranked way higher.

Jack Jensen - Mittelstadt had Jack on his line to play with last year and Jack didn't have that same type of luxury this year. Highly skilled and a great motor. Sounding like a team will get a bargain in a mid round but wouldn't doubt if a team did their homework and he goes much earlier.

Jack Perbix - A good sized kid that will fill out and his game will become more complete. Shows flashes of offensive brilliance.

 

[Lays]

Sleepers-McLaughlin, Berggren, Ragnarsson, Fonstad, Shafigullin, Iskhakov, Lundkvist, Foudy, O’Brien, Gustafsson, Miller
Stay aways- wouldn’t touch McBain, Woo, McIsaac, Noel, Merkley in 1st round, most of these guys I have ranked closer to the 3rd round than 1st