My super preliminary top 31 this year. Take it for what it is worth. Any input is appreciated!
- Alexis Lafreniere
- Tim Stutzle
- Lucas Raymond //Massively talented offensively. We can look at production, how last season went, intangibles like size. But in light of how open the league is right now, what works, Raymond is my No 3.
- Quinton Byfield //In 3-4 years I think that Byfield clearly can be No 2 as well as like No 7-8. Immensely talented. But I am afraid of that he will drown a little at the NHL level. Am I sure of it? Definitely not.
- Kaiden Guhle //Just massive presence on the defensive side. I haven’t checked around a ton, but I think I have him higher than many others. But his decisive ability for me is presence, presence and more presence. I just think that overtakes what others below him bring.
- Marco Rossi //Love his composure when he moves on the ice. Crisp executed offensively. I’ve been a little back and forth with him but landed here for the moment. How good is his potential really? In a way I think he is a bit of a Bryan Little type. Not super sexy potential. But with these guys, the future is a bit of a guess work and Rossi has a game that is good betting at.
- Cole Perfetti //Players like Perfetti is becoming more and more common in drafts. Skating, agility, balance, hockey sense, vision, hard to play against. Perfetti is a really good prospect. How good? Another guy I am a little back and forth with.
- Lukas Reichel //Everyone has different advantages and back ground and what not when ranking kids. Given that I don’t watch even remotely as much as others, I try to take advantage of that by really focusing on clearing away all noise and just call what I see. At the same time, it’s dangerous to err on the other side and make calls just to be a contrarian and get attention. This ranking might not sit 100% in the stomach. But seriously — I just think that this kid is darn good, AND that he also has higher potential than he get credit for.
- Anton Lundell //Lundell is a darn strong player, otherwise I wouldn’t have ranked him this high. Upside is a question mark for me however. Think environment and support will be really important for him early on in the NHL. If he gets just average support, production could be absent and pressure rise, OTOH, if he gets a ton of support, whoever got him could laugh all the way to the bank so to speak.
- John-Jason Peterka //JJ is just a very talented hockey player. I honestly think that if he was American, Swedish, Russian — nobody would have him outside the top 10-12. Kuznetsov type of talent. Explosive. Speed. Hands. Skill.
- Jamie Drysdale //Really skilled D. Think the market is a little saturated. Not to take — anything — away from him.
- Jaroslav Askarov //I don’t like scouting goalies. I don’t really know what I am talking about. But Askarov has all the tools obviously. I don’t buy the ‘don’t draft a goalie’ notion.
- Alexander Holtz //Holtz is as clutch as they get. His shot is world class. He works hard. A born leader. Winner. I don’t think the engine necessarily is there to become a good first line player, but a great add for any farm system.
- Marat Kushnutdinov //I think Kush is a bit of a boom/bust type (although I don’t like that term, what do you say, that he either is really good or really bad, hard to tell lol, but in this case, more from a development POV). But I think he should be alright.
- Daniel Torgesson //In terms of tiers, I think that maybe we see a drop off here. But that is not to take anything away from Torgesson. But he won’t become a goto guy. But the speed, wheels, hockey sense is all there, along with impeccable work ethic and stamina. Strong on the puck too.
- Jake Sanderson //Very solid pick no matter if you pick him here or a little higher.
- Jan Myzak //It’s hard to not draw comparisons to someone like Cirelli with Mysak. Such a strong engine and drive,
- Emil Andrae //Think Fox but at LD. Very smart. Very competitive. Gets the job done.
- Justin Barron //The complete package. Again, someone that like just is a great add to any farm system. I have a hard time kind of nailing down if I think this is a kid ‘that gets the job done’ or not, if the jury is out. But I’ve liked him a lot since last season and remain bullish.
- Zion Nybeck //Zion is also one of the harder kids to rank. To put it like this, due to playing in the SHL I definitely think that his non-strengths are magnified a bit compared to if he played junior hockey. Among his peers, he is just one of the best. How well will that transform to the NHL? Better than for most is a pretty safe bet. I leave him here for now.
- Seth Jarvis //It’s late, I continue tomorrow with comments.
- Braiden Schneider
- Dylan Holloway
- Jean Luc Foudy
- Joel Blomqvist
- Noel Gunler
- Radion Amirov
- Yan Kutznetsov
- Jack Quinn
- Jake Neighbours
- Helge Grans
This is so wacky and all over the place and I love it.
Mark me down as a Lukas Reichel believer. Not as much as you but if he slips beyond the mid teens hes a steal.
