NHL Entry Draft 2020 NHL Draft Discussion - PART 2

[Hale The Villain]

Drysdale would be a solid pickup. He's the best defensemen in the draft and sitting around 7 or 8 at the moment.

Based on what I've seen of him I feel like he'll translate better to the NHL than people expect, kind of like Heiskanen did.

Very smart, very mobile, very talented. Has top pairing RD written all over him.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

2 of those top 9 and I'm happy. What kind of player is Amirov?

 

[Hale The Villain]

Raymond over Rossi is laughable at this point

He couldn’t stick in the SHL and people think he’s NHL ready now... no chance

Raymond's limited ice time in the SHL says more about Frolunda's coach than it does about him.

Elite Prospects - SHL Stats All-time season

Only SHL forwards the same age or younger than Raymond with significantly better production than him since the lockout are Holtz (who's getting a lot more opportunity in Djurgarden) and Fiala (in a short sample size mind you).

 

[BondraTime]

2 of those top 9 and I'm happy. What kind of player is Amirov?

A have a few questions based on your list. How do you compare Raymond to Holtz and why do you prefer Raymond? How do you compare Perfetti to Rossi and why do you prefer Perfetti?
What are your general thoughts on both Lundell and Amirov and why do you think they both deserve to be inside your top ten? Are there any other prospects that you are keeping an eye on that could push their way into your top ten? Thanks

Extremely smart 200 ft player with a ton of skill, dangerous shot, great hands and skating.

Raymond understands the game at a higher level than Holtz, while still being very skilled.

Similar guys in stature, I like Perfetti’s skillset better to translate at the NHL level, though not much difference between the two.

Lundell is likely the best 2-way Center in the draft, can play both sides of the puck really well and has good size. Amirov, I am definitely higher on him than the vast majority I would think. I love the way he sees the ice, and has a very nice skill set that I think will translate to a first line winger down the line.

Drysdale is the best D in the draft, though I want to go with 2 forwards with our first 2 selections. We can use the rest of our draft on D as we are already stocked with forward prospects.

We have little/no Gamebreaking talent. We need to use our first 2 draft picks in this type of player.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Extremely smart 200 ft player with a ton of skill, dangerous shot, great hands and skating.

Raymond understands the game at a higher level than Holtz, while still being very skilled.

Similar guys in stature, I like Perfetti’s skillset better to translate at the NHL level, though not much difference between the two.

Lundell is likely the best 2-way Center in the draft, can play both sides of the puck really well and has good size. Amirov, I am definitely higher on him than the vast majority I would think. I love the way he sees the ice, and has a very nice skill set that I think will translate to a first line winger down the line.

Drysdale is the best D in the draft, though I want to go with 2 forwards with our first 2 selections. We can use the rest of our draft on D as we are already stocked with forward prospects.

We have little/no Gamebreaking talent. We need to use our first 2 draft picks in this type of player.

I agree on the need to get gamebreaking talent. I think Raymond also plays with more intensity and chippyness than Holtz which is a positive. Amirov does seem like he is getting underrated. I think it is a very good draft to target Russian players and Amirov is certainly the best of them.

With Pefetti and Rossi I am curious to see how their speed impacts their play in the NHL. Perfetti seems faster and that seems like it will help him translate his game. Rossi has a lot of offensive tools but I see him as being more like Pageau than Marchand in terms of speed. I don't know how much that will impact his production.

I don't quite agree with your suggestion to focus on drafting d instead of forwards. I think we sill have decent defensive depth and the 2021 draft looks like a better one to focus on acquiring d prospects. I think there are some good forwards in this draft that will really fit the way this team is trying to play. With that said I get and agree with the comment of targeting the d prospects after our first two picks. There will still be a number of solid d prospects in the 2nd and 3rd round. I guess a worthwhile question is what style/type of d man do you think the prospect pool lacks most?

 

[tstracuzza]

Raymond's limited ice time in the SHL says more about Frolunda's coach than it does about him.

Elite Prospects - SHL Stats All-time season

Only SHL forwards the same age or younger than Raymond with significantly better production than him since the lockout are Holtz (who's getting a lot more opportunity in Djurgarden) and Fiala (in a short sample size mind you).

Ok now check the list of PPG players better than Rossi at his age in OHL

 

[Hale The Villain]

Ok now check the list of PPG players better than Rossi at his age in OHL

There's not many. His production as an 18YR old is extremely impressive.

However, I do think his stats are a little inflated from playing on one of the best teams in the CHL and in a year where goal scoring is up in the OHL.

I wasn't arguing Raymond should go above Rossi because of his superior stats, just pushing back against the argument that Raymond's SHL season has been bad.

 

[MatchesMalone]

2 of those top 9 and I'm happy. What kind of player is Amirov?

If I may add my two cents on Amirov, I think I can explain why he's been so underrated by answering what type of player he is. In addition to what others have said - 200 foot game, real good shot - my favorite thing about him at the junior level was how skilled he is down low, below the goal line. Think of guys like Duchene, Crosby, Tavares, not power forwards but great edges, great at protecting the puck, the way they spin off defensemen to drive the puck out of the corner into open space. That's one of Amirov's biggest strengths and it's a skill that is very translatable to the NHL.

While it is still a useful skill in Russia, not as much so because there's more room in the corners so you don't need so much to be able to maneuver in a phone booth. But more importantly, Amirov is listed at 168 lbs. So yeah, needless to say he's having a lot of trouble with the size and strength of KHL defenders right now.

If you look at the guys I mentioned above, they're all somewhere in the vicinity of 195 lbs, which is what Amirov will have to get close to in order to reach his full potential in the NHL. He's gonna need some time, but easily first line potential. I have him 11th in my rankings right now.

One other thing, if you're wondering why he's even in the KHL when he's clearly not ready physically, and only has two assists in 21 games - he's been one of Ufa's best players at transitioning the puck through the neutral zone. So yeah, a 200 foot player with a wide variety of tools.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Danil Bashkirov F 6'2 163 lbs
2nd year draft eligible (May 15, 2001)
VHL 2019-2020: 23 GP 4 G 5 A 9 PTS
MHL 2019-2020: 21 GP 10 G 5 A 15 PTS
Danil Bashkirov at eliteprospects.com

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Ivan Zinchenko F 6'2 183 lbs
2019-2020 MHL: 40 GP 13 G 10 A 23 PTS
Ivan Zinchenko at eliteprospects.com

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Alexander Gordin F 6'1 194 lbs
2nd year draft eligible (July 31, 2001)
2019-2020 MHL: 41 GP 23 G 11 A 34 PTS
Alexander Gordin at eliteprospects.com

 

[tstracuzza]

There's not many. His production as an 18YR old is extremely impressive.

However, I do think his stats are a little inflated from playing on one of the best teams in the CHL and in a year where goal scoring is up in the OHL.

I wasn't arguing Raymond should go above Rossi because of his superior stats, just pushing back against the argument that Raymond's SHL season has been bad.

Ok that’s fair about Raymond... I haven’t watched him much (outside of world juniors) so I can’t fully assess him like I can Rossi who I’ve watched countless times since he joined the 67s. Rossi certainly plays with good players. But he is the driver on the line and he makes everyone around him better... Anyone who plays with him has their numbers shoot up significantly. Instant chemistry

 

[Adele Dazeem]

Give me Laferniere and Drysdale and I'll be a happy camper.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

im starting to lean Raymond - Stutzle/lundell with our first two picks

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

im starting to lean Raymond - Stutzle/lundell with our first two picks

Lundell is definitely a Sens kind of pick.

Given no Laf or Byf

I'd like one of Stutzle or Raymond

followed by one of Perfetti, Rossi or Holtz

Would not be disappointed in Drysdale but my preference is 2 forwards in that top 9 or 10
Lundell would be ok too but I don't think he is a 1C in the making ... of course I could end up being wrong on that but thats how I see it now.

If we end up with 2 picks below 4 would you trade them both for #2?

 

[GCK]

If we don’t get Laf I would be thrilled with any combo of Stutzle, Byfield, Rossi, Perfetti and one of Holtz or Raymond.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Lundell is definitely a Sens kind of pick.

Given no Laf or Byf

I'd like one of Stutzle or Raymond

followed by one of Perfetti, Rossi or Holtz

Would not be disappointed in Drysdale but my preference is 2 forwards in that top 9 or 10
Lundell would be ok too but I don't think he is a 1C in the making ... of course I could end up being wrong on that but thats how I see it now.

If we end up with 2 picks below 4 would you trade them both for #2?

im not sold on Holtz as something we need. Now I don't know him well but from the little ive seen he seems to be a shooter. not saying we couldn't use that but we really need line drivers. Maybe he is that, just going off what ive seen and read. someone hwo can exert serious influence on a game/shift.