Steve Kournianos has his preliminary Top 31 rankings out already; he has a small blurb about each player; keep in mind how quickly the draft rankings can change throughout the course of a season.
Here are the Top 10:
NHL Draft big board 2019: Jack Hughes peerless atop way-too-early prospect rankings
NHL Draft big board 2019: Jack Hughes peerless atop way-too-early prospect rankings
By Steve Kournianos
Contributor
Published on Jun. 27, 2018 | Updated on Jun. 29, 2018
1. Jack Hughes, C, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
Explosive center with world-class vision and the lateral quickness of a running back. Hughes was the top scorer at the under-18 world championship despite playing against mostly older players. He plays like a man among midget-level talent, and there really is no way to slow him down or stop him. The comparisons to Connor McDavid are a bit premature, but there are multiple similarities between the two.
2. Peyton Krebs, C, Kootenay (WHL)
Dynamic center with leadership traits, game-changing speed and creativity. Krebs can be a stopper in the defensive zone and a scoring threat in the opposing end. He is the kid you summon to take all the big draws or deliver a game-changing play.
3. Kaapo Kakko, RW, TPS U20 Jr. A (SM-Liiga)
A puck-controlling fiend with exception hands, agility and vision, Kakko is a power winger who is impossible to knock off the puck. His close-quarter quickness and straight-line speed seem to always catch opponents off guard.
4. Alex Newhook, C, Victoria (BCHL)
Newhook is close to Hughes in terms of out-of-your-seat excitability, but he can also play a power game and wear down defenders with either his wheels or his strength. He chose the BCHL to maintain his NCAA eligibility and play for Boston College.
5. Bowen Byram, LHD, Vancouver (WHL)
Tough-as-nails defender with deceptive agility and puck handling who is earmarked for a top pairing at the NHL level. Byram is an outstanding puck mover who makes good decisions, but his powerful back skating helps him retreat in time to thwart counterattacks. He stands up at his blue line and rapidly transitions from defense to offense.
6. Alex Turcotte, C, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
The opinions may lean toward Jack Hughes as being the NTDP's top center, but this talented pivot is strikingly close to matching his skill for skill. Turcotte's blazing speed, high hockey IQ and vision are good enough to at least place him in the conversation with his more-heralded teammate.
7. Raphael Lavoie, RW, Halifax (QMJHL)
Towering power forward with a rocket of a shot who can control the puck with bodies draped all over him. He had an excellent showing at the under-18 world championship and shoot see an increase in shot opportunities if Filip Zadina heads to the NHL.
8. Valentin Nussbaumer, C/W, Biel-Bienne (NLA)
Slippery yet dangerous stickhandler with very good speed and an assassin's mentality once he gets near the high slot. Nussbaumer is this year's top Swiss prospect and he was quite impressive at the under-20 worlds juniors. Nussbaumer can play inside thanks to rapid directional changes.
9. Dylan Cozens, RW, Lethbridge (WHL)
The WHL Rookie of the Year had an impressive second half, including the postseason where he averaged nearly a point per game. Cozens has a great shot and knows how to finish in a variety of ways, including roofing a backhander from in close. He competes hard in all three zones and creates separation in open ice thanks to his above-average speed. Cozens also can serve as a low-slot option on the power play.
10. Kirby Dach, C, Saskatoon (WHL)
A power center with smarts who plays a 200-foot game and has elite playmaking abilities. Dach is a strong stickhandler with soft hands who dictates the tempo of most of his shifts. His average speed is at this point the only thing keeping him from being in the conversation for first overall.
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Peyton Krebs tends to be listed at LW as well as C. He is, by all means, a pass-first player and is listed at 5'11'', 172 lbs. He generates quite a bit of offense off the rush, and has the vision to dish the puck to his teammates. He is an above average skater with some grit to his game. He has a January 2001 birth date.
Alex Newhook is the size height as Krebs -- 5'11'' --, but heavier at 180 lbs. He is faster than Krebs, with more breakaway speed. He is also a playmaker, but a flashier one at that. He loves to wheel the puck end-to-end if he sees space in front of him; I don't really see blazing fast speed from him, but rather a combination of strength and momentum to take the puck wide off the rush and get a half-step around the defence. He is more of a north-south player than Krebs. He plays center. He has a January 2001 birth date.
Kaapo Kakko, a Finnish winger, doesn't have the most straight-line speed, but is great on his edges for a player of his height. He reminds me of Filip Forsberg as that prototypical European-style power forward with size to protect the puck, great balance along the boards, and the ability to spin off of checks to create plays. At 6'1'', 181 lbs, he is agile with quick hands to create chances in tight. He has a February 2001 birth date.
Raphael Lavoie is a player to keep an eye on too. He is an exciting center who has played some left wing and right wing also for the Mooseheads; they shifted him to the wing halfway through last season, likely to use his size and speed on the sides of the rink. At 6'4'', 192 lbs, he is already quite large among his peers. However, he also has terrific one-on-one skills, a quick release, and great straight-line speed. He can take the puck from zone to zone on his own and generate offense with his speed. He is excellent off the rush and likes to make power moves to the net at full flight. He also has a fairly big shot. Those who have watched Nico Hischier and Filip Zadina over the past two years have seen his growth as a player. He is a big, fast goal scorer with determination but also finesse. He had 30 goals, 33 assists last season in 68 games for Halifax. He has a September 2000 birth date.
Kakko's play along the boards with his ability to pivot, stickhandle around opponents and protect the puck with his frame remind me a lot of Gabe Vilardi.
Kakko has good, but not great straight-line speed -- better than Vilardi does -- but his edge work and ability to retain the puck after eluding defenders is excellent. He plays a European-style power forward game, comparable to Filip Forsberg
and Vilardi in a lot of ways: he isn't going to overwhelm the opposition with brute north-south strength and speed or physicality, but has the size, balance, agility and puck skills to protect the puck and maneuver with it in tight spaces. Raphael Lavoie is that speedy, aggressive power forward type.
He hounds the puck and plays a patient possession game, fighting to keep the puck when the opposition is draped all over him in order to open up teammates for pass or create a chance for himself; he'll also carry it around the zone if he sees space available to put himself in a better position to make a play.
There is some great footage of him from the 2018 U18s. bigwhite06 (Feebster on HF) and a new channel called Hockey Prospects Center both do video packages that are more than just goal/assist highlights; rather, their videos show the player's best plays, from takeaways to scoring chances to great passes as well.
I find that Hockey Prospects Center's Kaako video is more tightly-edited, with more plays shown and fewer replays of the same clips; both videos overlap in terms of a lot of footage and are about the same length, but this one flows more quickly -- video isn't quite as crisp as Feebster's, though: