Prospect Info: 2019-20 Prospects Thread Part II (CHL, NCAA, Junior A, Europe)

[Northern Avs Fan]

It's not his raw skill that sets him apart. He is masterful at slipping into soft spots in coverage, and he's one of those guys who the puck just always seems to find in the right place at the right time. He has the hockey sense to just know where to be, and the hands and finishing skill to do the right thing when the puck inevitably ends up on his stick. He won't be pulling fancy dekes and dangles all over the place, but he's going to put away a lot of pucks. And like Hench said, his playmaking is also really good.

I agree that his playmaking is fine. What I meant by not bringing anything to the table other than goals is he’s not going to win any board/puck battles. He’s going to be physically outmatched by guys like Sam Girard.

It’s also a lot harder to get to those scoring areas in the NHL and even more difficult if you can’t bully your way into position.

It would truly be historic if Caufield became a perennial 40+ goal scorer. No one to my recollection has done that at 5’7 in modern NHL history.

I see no reason why he can’t be a good goal scorer in his career who hits big goal totals a couple times, but that consistent 40+ level would truly shock me.

I wouldn’t trade Newhook for Caufield either. Newhook outperformed Caufield while making a bigger jump in competition from the BCHL. Also... skating is a big deal in today’s NHL and Alex Newhook can get around the ice better than Caufield.

 

[McMetal]

I agree that his playmaking is fine. What I meant by not bringing anything to the table other than goals is he’s not going to win any board/puck battles. He’s going to be physically outmatched by guys like Sam Girard.

It’s also a lot harder to get to those scoring areas in the NHL and even more difficult if you can’t bully your way into position.

It would truly be historic if Caufield became a perennial 40+ goal scorer. No one to my recollection has done that at 5’7 in modern NHL history.

I see no reason why he can’t be a good goal scorer in his career who hits big goal totals a couple times, but that consistent 40+ level would truly shock me.

I wouldn’t trade Newhook for Caufield either. Newhook outperformed Caufield while making a bigger jump in competition from the BCHL. Also... skating is a big deal in today’s NHL and Alex Newhook can get around the ice.

I say none of that to denigrate Newhook or his skillset, I just think the one Caufield has is rarer. No doubt he has challenges to overcome to get to that superstar level, but I think he has a very good chance.

 

[Foppa2118]

No doubt but he's a shoot first winger and he's being ranked higher than a defenceman he himself claims to be the best of two combined drafts.

Has to be some sort of bias at play for him to contradict himself that badly.

Caufield was drafted 11 spots after Byram and Caufield's D+1 season was not good enough to surpass him.

Even Wheeler ranked Byram five spots ahead of Caufield in his final draft rankings. Nothing about their D+1 seasons should objectively make him change his mind.

This is what happens when you don't think things through before posting your article.

Wheeler: Final ranking for the 2019 NHL Draft's top 100...

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I say none of that to denigrate Newhook or his skillset, I just think the one Caufield has is rarer. No doubt he has challenges to overcome to get to that superstar level, but I think he has a very good chance.

I suppose it’s a rarer skillset if you assume Caufield will come into the NHL and be one of the very best goal scorers in the league.

If you look at the two players I’d say what Newhook offers is rarer than a goal scoring winger. Newhook’s skating and burst are pretty special imo.

Usually these small prospects that end up dominating in the NHL are better skaters and more skilled than what Caufield has shown. Maybe his shot and IQ are just so good that he’ll turn into a superstar, but I’m not sure.

 

[PAZ]

I suppose it’s a rarer skillset if you assume Caufield will come into the NHL and be one of the very best goal scorers in the league.

If you look at the two players I’d say what Newhook offers is rarer than a goal scoring winger. Newhook’s skating and burst are pretty special imo.

Usually these small prospects that end up dominating in the NHL are better skaters and more skilled than what Caufield has shown. Maybe his shot and IQ are just so good that he’ll turn into a superstar, but I’m not sure.

Caufield will either be a better version of Debrincat or a bust, I can't really see him falling anywhere else on the spectrum.

 

[McMetal]

I suppose it’s a rarer skillset if you assume Caufield will come into the NHL and be one of the very best goal scorers in the league.

If you look at the two players I’d say what Newhook offers is rarer than a goal scoring winger. Newhook’s skating and burst are pretty special imo.

Usually these small prospects that end up dominating in the NHL are better skaters and more skilled than what Caufield has shown. Maybe his shot and IQ are just so good that he’ll turn into a superstar, but I’m not sure.

Andre Burakovsky is a "goal scoring winger". That type is pretty common in the NHL, much more so than dynamic speedy centers like Newhook. I just think it's overly dismissive to dismiss Caufield as just another dime a dozen scoring winger. He has the potential to not just be a first line "goal scoring winger", but an elite, top eschelon one.

Again, not to dismiss how good Newhook is or can be. He's going to be a big riser in future redrafts for years to come. I just understand where Wheeler is coming from when he gives Caufield a VERY SLIGHT edge over Newhook in his rankings. We're talking about the difference between 3rd and 4th here, not 3rd and 24th.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Andre Burakovsky is a "goal scoring winger". That type is pretty common in the NHL, much more so than dynamic speedy centers like Newhook. I just think it's overly dismissive to dismiss Caufield as just another dime a dozen scoring winger. He has the potential to not just be a first line "goal scoring winger", but an elite, top eschelon one.

Again, not to dismiss how good Newhook is or can be. He's going to be a big riser in future redrafts for years to come. I just understand where Wheeler is coming from when he gives Caufield a VERY SLIGHT edge over Newhook in his rankings. We're talking about the difference between 3rd and 4th here, not 3rd and 24th.

I think where we mainly disagree is on Caufield’s upside. I don’t think he’ll be a Draisaitl, Ovechkin, Matthews kind of goal scorer.

That’s pretty lofty company for a mid first round pick to live up to. Not impossible obviously. Great players come from throughout the draft, but I don’t know what Caufield’s done to warrant this hype. Jack Eichel scored 26 goals and 71 points in his draft year college season. He hasn’t even hit the 40 goal plateau once in his NHL career.

 

[Foppa2118]

Friendly Reminder

Alex Newhook
12 goals, 30 points in 19 games to end the season.

Bo Byram
11 goals, 32 points in 17 games to end the season.

Along with Cale's Hobey Baker season and WJC, probably three of the best seasons in Avalanche prospect history with Makar, Byram, and Newhook.

I'm trying to remember everyone, but I don't think anyone ever had better seasons as prospects than those three.

Drury's Hobey Baker season wasn't near as good as Makar's. Mikko had a good PPG+ AHL season and a solid WJC but it wasn't dominant like the other three. I'm sure it would have been if he was in the CHL instead of the AHL though.

 

[Balthazar]

My own list would have some questionable placements (IE Merkley top 5)

Wheeler has him at 22 and says that he has more offensive ability than any other dman in this list including Byram. On the downside he mentioned "flawed", "cheating" and "commitment" but he didn't give any detail. Does he still have attitude issues? Having him at 22 seems quite low.

He looks pretty good on this HL from last season:

 

[henchman21]

Wheeler has him at 22 and says that he has more offensive ability than any other dman in this list including Byram. On the downside he mentioned "flawed", "cheating" and "commitment" but he didn't give any detail. Does he still have attitude issues? Having him at 22 seems quite low.

He looks pretty good on this HL from last season:

Dale Hunter has raved about Merkley this year, but there have been plenty of issues in the past. His issues are maturity and focus related more than really being a bad egg. People throw out Tony DeAngelo a lot as a comparison and they are externally flawed, high end offensive defensemen types... but DeAngelo is a bad egg sort, Merkley is just immature and needs good leadership around him.

 

[Chiarelli]

Man can Merkley get a shot through from the point. Also looks like he’s not even trying in most of those videos just effortless.

One thing is if he tries those lunging parallel to the ice plays I think he’ll get lit tf up in the bigs or burned real bad.

 

[Richard88]

Wheeler: The top 10 drafted NHL goalie prospects ranking,...

Annunen is 7th.

Notably Wheeler has 3 tiers, with 1-2 being a tier, and 3-7 being the next tier which Annunen is part of. No complaints from me with that ranking.

 

[Ararana]

I guess we'll have to see how many schools follow suit. Newhook, Helleson, etc might be looking for a place to play next season.

 

[Richard88]

I guess we'll have to see how many schools follow suit. Newhook, Helleson, etc might be looking for a place to play next season.

One of the primary benefits of doing a course is to build friendships and relationships with people and build a network, but take that away and you're essentially paying $50,000 to watch videos from the comfort of your couch. If that was me I'd drop out and spend that money on something more worthwhile.

As for Newhook and Helleson, I guess we may see them in the AHL next season if the NCAA season is cancelled.

 

[Foppa Frossa]

Will there be an AHL though?

 

[henchman21]

Will there be an AHL though?

There will be... but we might see a greatly reduced schedule to limit the losses. ECHL might cease to exist...

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I guess we'll have to see how many schools follow suit. Newhook, Helleson, etc might be looking for a place to play next season.

The Avs might be forced to burn a year of ELC on some guys so they can develop in the AHL. Not ideal, but you don’t really want guys not playing hockey for a year.

 

[henchman21]

The Avs might be forced to burn a year of ELC on some guys so they can develop in the AHL. Not ideal, but you don’t really want guys not playing hockey for a year.

Both are 01s, so they can get a slide year if signed in 2020.

 

[Barklez]

Both are 01s, so they can get a slide year if signed in 2020.

I like to picture you posting from a desktop PC - next to your abacus, calculator pen, and pocket protector - with the wall above you devoted to prospects’ birthdates, /draft/contract/rights dates, and markers for when each’s slide rule eligibility runs out.

 

[henchman21]

I like to picture you posting from a desktop PC - next to your abacus, calculator pen, and pocket protector - with the wall above you devoted to prospects’ birthdates, /draft/contract/rights dates, and markers for when each’s slide rule eligibility runs out.

How old do you think I am?!?!?!

 

[Hasbro]

One of the primary benefits of doing a course is to build friendships and relationships with people and build a network, but take that away and you're essentially paying $50,000 to watch videos from the comfort of your couch. If that was me I'd drop out and spend that money on something more worthwhile.

Leave of absence, would also be a good option.

 

[Barklez]

How old do you think I am?!?!?!

Just because I have a rough idea doesn’t mean I can’t picture you as a distinguished retiree.

 

[Pistache]

5 weeks left to sign Cam Morrison...

 

[Foppa2118]

Caufield's ceiling is a perennial 40+ goal scorer from the wing, and that's not unrealistic. It's really hard to put that below Newhook, whose ceiling is probably low-end 1C if we're being optimistic. For that matter, Byram's ceiling as a low end 1D is pretty hard to put above that. I'm just gratified to have not one but two prospects ranked razor close behind an insane prospect like Caufield.

Low end 1D > low end 1C or 1W IMO.

The defenseman always get the edge for me when it's close in todays NHL. They're the equalizer with all teams and systems being so good now.

 

[McMetal]

Low end 1D > low end 1C or 1W IMO.

The defenseman always get the edge for me when it's close in todays NHL. They're the equalizer with all teams and systems being so good now.

Yeah, but is low end 1D > Elite 1W? That's where it gets tricky. Who would you rather have, Pastrnak, or prime EJ?