2019 NHL Draft: Fisher’s Top 186 for December

[Larry Fisher]

Here we are at the holiday break and the eve of the World Juniors, which presents the perfect time for another update on my 2019 NHL draft rankings. Here are my top 186 prospects for December: 2019 NHL Draft: Fisher’s Top 186 for December

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[Pardus]

Good list! Nice to see Matias Maccelli rising even 44 positions compared to the November's ranking! Also delighted to see Matias Mäntykivi and Wiljami Myllylä on the list. I'm eagerly waiting for Myllylä's Liiga debut to happen. He has proven that dominating in Jr. A Mestis last season wasn't just a result of low level in that league.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Good list! Nice to see Matias Maccelli rising even 44 positions compared to the November's ranking! Also delighted to see Matias Mäntykivi and Wiljami Myllylä on the list. I'm eagerly waiting for Myllylä's Liiga debut to happen. He has proven that dominating in Jr. A Mestis last season wasn't just a result of low level in that league.

Thanks, shaping up to another strong year for Finnish prospects, both forwards and defencemen. Very impressive for a country that size to be churning out that much talent year over year.

 

[Nabrules]

How do Zegras and Boldy compare to Wahlstrom and Farabee from last year?

 

[Thebesthockey]

Here we are at the holiday break and the eve of the World Juniors, which presents the perfect time for another update on my 2019 NHL draft rankings. Here are my top 186 prospects for December: 2019 NHL Draft: Fisher’s Top 186 for December

well done !!

 

[Larry Fisher]

How do Zegras and Boldy compare to Wahlstrom and Farabee from last year?

Good question! In terms of NHL upside, I feel they are comparable. In terms of skill-set, I find Zegras to be the flashiest of the four, maybe closer to Clayton Keller. Wahlstrom is the best sniper of the four. Boldy and Farabee are just real solid all-around forwards who should put up numbers. I compared Farabee to Jordan Eberle. Not sure who I'm comparing Boldy to yet, but if you find his thread on here, I know lots of HF posters that follow the NTDP team closer than I do have already suggested some potential comparables for both Boldy and Zegras. But all four have nice potential to be complementary top-six forwards in their prime. Zegras has the highest ceiling IMO and might be the one capable of driving his own line. Wahlstrom has had his struggles this season, but if all four were available in the same draft, I might still be tempted to take him first overall. His shot and scoring ability is something special. So I'd rank them Zegras/Wahlstrom (1A and 1B) then Boldy and Farabee (2A and 2B). Again, somebody who watches the Program closer than me may have better insight, but that's my take.

 

[bellringer77]

Good list. There seems to be people who are high and Broberg and people that are very low on him with little in between. Who does he compare to in your opinion?

 

[Larry Fisher]

Good list. There seems to be people who are high and Broberg and people that are very low on him with little in between. Who does he compare to in your opinion?

I'm high on Broberg. He stole the show for me at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He was the best defenceman by a significant margin there and arguably the best player (Podkolzin his competitor for that title). Mixed reviews on Broberg out of Sweden has him dropping a bit in my rankings — down to No. 13 for December, but he's still the second-ranked defenceman on my list behind only Bowen Byram. If Broberg is able to make Sweden's team for the World Juniors and has another strong showing there, he'll be back in my top 10 and possibly even the top five for me — perhaps overtaking Byram again as my top defenceman. So, yeah, the limited full-game viewings I've had of Broberg, he dominated and looked like the best D in this draft class. I hope to see more of him in Vancouver (semi and medal game, maybe quarter too, since he'll be in Victoria for the round robin). Broberg will be here in Kelowna tomorrow night, facing Russia in a pre-tournament game, so I'll get another look at him there (at least for a period or two due to conflicting work schedules). Big fan of Broberg, but people I trust who have watched him much more than myself aren't as high on him and don't think he's a top-five candidate. I had him at No. 4 in my preseason rankings following the Hlinka and he's been No. 6, No. 14 and now No. 13 for me from October, November and December. All that said, scouts are very split on Broberg heading into the WJC pre-tournament games and potentially the tournament if he makes the cut for Sweden.

 

[Hockey Stick]

First round looks great! Good to see my Peterborough boys Robertson and Jones continuing to climb. Craig Button has Jones in the very early 2nd round, which I think is a little out there, but I see no reason he can't get there if he keeps playing how he has been. Very nice job on this list!

 

[Larry Fisher]

First round looks great! Good to see my Peterborough boys Robertson and Jones continuing to climb. Craig Button has Jones in the very early 2nd round, which I think is a little out there, but I see no reason he can't get there if he keeps playing how he has been. Very nice job on this list!

Thanks, appreciate the comment. I was really high on Robertson coming out of the Hlinka, he was arguably the second-best forward in that tournament (behind Podkolzin), so I think he could rise back into my first-round range but should safely be a second-rounder for me. I had Robertson at No. 26 and No. 27 earlier in the season (September-October), then No. 54 and now No. 48, so he's trending back up for me.

Jones kind of reminds me of Martin Jones (ironically) and he's on the way up at No. 75 but still the seventh-ranked goalie for me, so doubtful he cracks my second round, though I do like him in the top 100. That next goalie group right around 100 (Saville and Gauthier in particular) are still in that mix too. I can't see 10 goalies in the top 100, that seems like a ton, but I have 10 in my top 108, so I guess it's not impossible. I'm really high on the goalie class for 2019.

 

[Nabrules]

Good question! In terms of NHL upside, I feel they are comparable. In terms of skill-set, I find Zegras to be the flashiest of the four, maybe closer to Clayton Keller. Wahlstrom is the best sniper of the four. Boldy and Farabee are just real solid all-around forwards who should put up numbers. I compared Farabee to Jordan Eberle. Not sure who I'm comparing Boldy to yet, but if you find his thread on here, I know lots of HF posters that follow the NTDP team closer than I do have already suggested some potential comparables for both Boldy and Zegras. But all four have nice potential to be complementary top-six forwards in their prime. Zegras has the highest ceiling IMO and might be the one capable of driving his own line. Wahlstrom has had his struggles this season, but if all four were available in the same draft, I might still be tempted to take him first overall. His shot and scoring ability is something special. So I'd rank them Zegras/Wahlstrom (1A and 1B) then Boldy and Farabee (2A and 2B). Again, somebody who watches the Program closer than me may have better insight, but that's my take.

Awesome!! Thanks for the reply! I mostly agree with your overall assessment with potential for each player being solid top 6 forwards with the chance of being first liners. One last thing, I know u have AT at 12, but now that he’s healthy again, do u see him regaining his status as the best NTDP forward besides Hughes?

 

[Larry Fisher]

Awesome!! Thanks for the reply! I mostly agree with your overall assessment with potential for each player being solid top 6 forwards with the chance of being first liners. One last thing, I know u have AT at 12, but now that he’s healthy again, do u see him regaining his status as the best NTDP forward besides Hughes?

Another good question, Turcotte is somebody I'll be trying to track closely in the second half. I never had him as the second-best prospect behind Hughes, though I know many below the border did. Turcotte has been 12, 10, 13 and now 12 for me through four months/four rankings. I'll need to see more from him in the second half to consider Turcotte for my top five or even that 5-10 range. I'm not saying he can't crack my top 10, but I never had him projected there even if he was healthy. I have always had him 10-15, which was considered "too low" back in August/September when my preseason rankings were released. Turcotte seems like a really well-rounded player but I don't know if he has an elite first-line ceiling. I could see a Dylan Larkin-type player in terms of impact not necessarily skill-set. Or a prime Ryan Kesler. Larkin went 15th overall and Kesler went 23rd. Both would probably go in the teens or the 10-20 range in a redraft of 2014 and 2003. I kind of see a similar outcome for Turcotte, but time will tell. He could turn it on in the second half and blow me away still.

 

[Cupless44]

Nice work.

No Brett Leason on your list?

 

[bellringer77]

I'm high on Broberg. He stole the show for me at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He was the best defenceman by a significant margin there and arguably the best player (Podkolzin his competitor for that title). Mixed reviews on Broberg out of Sweden has him dropping a bit in my rankings — down to No. 13 for December, but he's still the second-ranked defenceman on my list behind only Bowen Byram. If Broberg is able to make Sweden's team for the World Juniors and has another strong showing there, he'll be back in my top 10 and possibly even the top five for me — perhaps overtaking Byram again as my top defenceman. So, yeah, the limited full-game viewings I've had of Broberg, he dominated and looked like the best D in this draft class. I hope to see more of him in Vancouver (semi and medal game, maybe quarter too, since he'll be in Victoria for the round robin). Broberg will be here in Kelowna tomorrow night, facing Russia in a pre-tournament game, so I'll get another look at him there (at least for a period or two due to conflicting work schedules). Big fan of Broberg, but people I trust who have watched him much more than myself aren't as high on him and don't think he's a top-five candidate. I had him at No. 4 in my preseason rankings following the Hlinka and he's been No. 6, No. 14 and now No. 13 for me from October, November and December. All that said, scouts are very split on Broberg heading into the WJC pre-tournament games and potentially the tournament if he makes the cut for Sweden.

Thanks for the insight! do you have a comparable for him?

 

[Larry Fisher]

Nice work.

No Brett Leason on your list?

No overagers thus no Leason. My rankings are all first-time eligible prospects for now. I have a separate running list of approximately 200 overagers that I will integrate in 2019. I think I'll go the full 217 in first-timers for January then start working in my overagers from February-June. That's the tentative plan. Could be as many as 50 overagers in my top 217 I'm thinking.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Thanks for the insight! do you have a comparable for him?

I do not, he's pretty unique with his powerful skating but some knock his awareness when he's on the move and also his lateral movement, saying he's a north-south player. I'm not sure there is a current NHL comparable. If Broberg can round out his offensive skill-set in the next 2-3 years, I think he could be a bigger version of John Klingberg. But that's a pretty big IF as of today. Broberg has to do quite a bit of developing to get to that level, so I hate to even throw out Klingberg's name as a current comparable.

 

[bellringer77]

I do not, he's pretty unique with his powerful skating but some knock his awareness when he's on the move and also his lateral movement, saying he's a north-south player. I'm not sure there is a current NHL comparable. If Broberg can round out his offensive skill-set in the next 2-3 years, I think he could be a bigger version of John Klingberg. But that's a pretty big IF as of today. Broberg has to do quite a bit of developing to get to that level, so I hate to even throw out Klingberg's name as a current comparable.

Thanks again!

 

[FinPanda]

Looking great for Finns when there is at least 20 guys on the list and there is potential to have even more.