OHL Prospects: Preseason Top 30 for the 2020 NHL Draft
Top 7 below
1. Quinton Byfield - Forward - Sudbury Wolves
Byfield is a straight up beast. He's an August birth date, yet he's already 6'5, 220lbs. This is a man playing against boys at times. But what makes him a potential unstoppable force is the fact that he's actually a fantastic skater. He generates such power in his stride and just explodes into the offensive zone with what appears to be little effort. It's not that straight ahead speed that makes him so hard to contain though. It is his agility; stops, starts, turns. He can cut on a dime and it makes him very difficult to pin down in the offensive zone. Not only can he put you on his back, but he can skate circles around you. Byfield is also a terrific playmaker, something that was on full display at this year's Hlinka/Gretzky Cup. His reads and his anticipation are top notch, which is not something you see very often from players like him, who sometimes have a tendency to drive the net with their head down, using their size/speed advantage predominantly. An aspect of his game that really improved over the second half of his rookie OHL season and was evident at the Hlinka, is his play in all three zones. While there are no doubt times where you'd like to see him use his size more to be more assertive, his instincts and coverage are solid. In fact, you'll see him rotate back to the point and control play from there quite often in the offensive zone, to cover for pinching defenders. He swallows up so much ice with those strides, so the potential for him to develop further as a two-way player is extremely high. An area that I would like to see improve (on top of using his size more consistently away from the puck), is his shot. He can have a tendency to be too pass happy when in tight, trying to thread passes for higher percentage shooting lanes, rather than simply making that quick decision to put the puck home himself. Or he'll try to make an extra move to get the goaltender out of position, again, rather than trusting his shot. As he gains confidence here, the sky is truly the limit. He is a potential player with no flaws who is worth the price of admission to watch.
2. Jamie Drysdale - Defense - Erie Otters
Some may be slightly surprised to see Drysdale ahead of Perfetti, but I do think Drysdale is a special player (not to say that Perfetti isn't) and I'll take a potential franchise defender over a star forward. Compound this with the fact that this year's draft isn't very deep or strong on defense and I think Drysdale has slightly more value currently. Last year in Erie, not only did he play an insane amount of minutes for a 16 year old, but he was also only the fifth U17 defender in the new millennium to hit the 40 point plateau (along with Merkley, Ellis, Del Zotto, and Ebert). At the heart of Drysdale's game is his skating ability. He is just so smooth on the ice, taking little time to hit full speed coming out of the defensive end. But his four way mobility is such an asset in the defensive end. Even though he's not exceptionally strong yet, forwards rarely get by him in transition, or escape him in coverage. Drysdale is also highly intelligent and sees the ice so well. Calm under pressure, you rarely see him make a mistake, despite his aggressiveness on the attack. Quite frankly, I don't see many flaws in Drysdale's game already, and he's only going to get better. One thing that I would like to see improve is his shot and his confidence in using it. He opens up those passing lanes with his mobility when running the point, but you rarely see him looking to exploit those gaps for shots. Also would love to see him take more chances to jump up in the play as a 3rd or 4th man in, again relying on his mobility to recover should he need to. Last year, Drysdale was 29th in the league in shots among defenders. As an elite powerplay QB, I want to see that number jump.
3. Cole Perfetti - Forward - Saginaw Spirit
Tough to rank a player as good as Perfetti third, but someone has to be 3rd in this elite OHL class. Even in ranking him 3rd, I do think that Perfetti deserves to be in discussion for a top 5 selection along with Byfield and Drysdale. As an offensive winger (a projection, as I know he can lineup at center too), I do think that Byfield and Drysdale could be more complete players, and that's why I've got them ahead by a hair right now. This year, his game is bound to be dissected at times as is the case for any draft eligible player. And the first thing likely to be picked on is Perfetti's skating and size combination. He's not the biggest at 5'10, and he's not the quickest player on the ice. But I'm not worried at all about that. I actually think his start ups and edgework are improving greatly, and when you combine that with his elite hockey IQ, you have a dynamic offensive player. You saw what he is capable of at the Hlinka. Well second half of the previous OHL season, he was doing those things pretty regularly too. His anticipation, be it as a goal scorer or a playmaker, is top notch. And he just has this poise with the puck on his stick that can not be taught. He'll work the cycle, keep his feet moving, and eventually find an opening that he believes can create a high end scoring chance. And of course, he has a fantastic shot with a quick release that makes him equal part goal scorer and playmaker. At the Hlinka, I saw Perfetti be a lot more aggressive without the puck, especially as a forechecker and this is something that I really hope caries over to the OHL season this year. Don't be surprised at all if this kid is top 5 in OHL scoring this year.
4. Marco Rossi - Forward - Ottawa 67's
Here's a stat for you (courtesy the great
pick224.com) that summarizes Rossi's impact beautifully. His even strength goals for percentage last year was a remarkable 85%, tops in the entire OHL by a pretty significant margin. He is such a strong overall player and a testament to that, is the fact that he was named the East's smartest player in last year's coaches' poll. He creates so much time and space for his wingers because of how well he dictates pace and how well he works below the hash marks. He's not a huge kid at 5'9, 175lbs, but he's very strong on the puck and comes away with the puck in so many of those 50/50 battles. That's because he anticipates the play well and is great at using his body to gain inside leverage on defenders. Rossi is also aggressive in attacking the net, using his strong skating ability and strength on the puck to fight through traffic to generate scoring chances. And as I alluded to earlier, he's a very strong three zone player who projects as a terrific two-way forward at the next level. This is a very complete player who is bound to generate buzz inside the Top 10 if he continues to improve next year as part of another strong Ottawa team.
5. Jacob Perreault - Forward - Sarnia Sting
Perreault was very impressive as a rookie in the OHL last year. The son of former NHL'er Yanic, Perreault is a multi-faceted offensive player. He does a lot of things well. His best asset is a terrific shot. Perreault's elite release allows him to be effective in traffic. He is also a good skater whose first few steps are quite impressive. His quick feet allow him to be a quick strike player who can find those soft spots and beat defenders to gaps or loose pucks. At the Hlinka Camp, we saw him be a lot more confident and aggressive as a puck carrier and this is something that I am really looking forward to seeing from him in his second OHL season. Last year, he was more of a supporting character who relied on his smarts and skill to finish off plays that his linemates created for him. But I want to see how well he creates his own chances this year. And speaking of the Hlinka, still shocked that he did not make that team. He would have been the perfect linemate for Quinton Byfield, who could use his speed and elusiveness to finish off the plays that he was creating.
6. Antonio Stranges - Forward - London Knights
Stranges is a tough player to rank heading into the new year. I had debated putting him lower, but ultimately settled on him here because of his high end upside. There are some things that I really liked last year and some things that concern me about his game. First the positives. Stranges' hands are so good. He is such a creative offensive player who can make multiple defenders miss on any given shift. He really can keep the puck on a string. Stranges is also an explosive skater who has such power in his stride. He has this 10/2, surfing style skating stride that allows him to cut and change direction so efficiently. When you combine his hands and skating, you have a very dynamic player in transition who can attack the offensive zone and really push the pace of attack. Stranges also has an absolutely lethal backhand. He generates just as much power on the backhand as he does with his wrist shot and as such, he goes to it a lot. Now some negatives. First is his ability to work through traffic. The majority of the "electricity" that I saw from Stranges last year occurred in the neutral zone and not the offensive end. So while it looked great, did it really create a scoring chance? I think this is part of why Stranges' ice time fluctuated so greatly in London last year, as the Hunters worked through getting Stranges to be more assertive and a willing combatant in the offensive end. Second is some of the negative things that I have heard about his demeanor, especially stemming from his surprise cut from the U.S. Hlinka team this offseason. Is he the type that will be willing to work on improving some of his weaker areas? But the potential here is sky high.
7. Jean Luc Foudy - Forward - Windsor Spitfires
Like his brother Liam, Jean Luc's game is built around his elite skating ability. He is just so much fun to watch glide around. If he picks up the puck in his own end or neutral zone and is given some daylight, you aren't preventing him from gaining the opposing blueline. And he does a better job than Liam does, at times, in terms of not forcing plays or turning the puck over. Jean Luc is a good playmaker who will circle the offensive zone and continue to keep his feet moving until he feels confident distributing. With the NHL game getting faster and faster, Foudy could most definitely be an offensive asset. There are some things that I am looking for from him during the upcoming year though. The first is attacking the middle of the ice more with his speed. He can be kept to the perimeter currently, and while his speed is impressive, teams neutralize it by challenging him to bring the puck to the net, keeping him to the outside rather easily. I want to see him driving the net to open those lanes for his linemates more effectively, forcing defenders to actually come to him. I also want to see him identifying passing lanes more effectively in his own end and neutral zone. Late in the year (and this was evident at the Hlinka too), teams were really keying in on Foudy early, taking away his time and space before he could get a head of steam and turnovers were a bit of an issue. Lastly, like his brother Liam, Jean Luc's shot will need to improve. Again, teams will cheat when defending against him because they give him that space knowing that he is looking to pass. But his skating ability and skill make him a very exciting player to watch and it will be interesting to see if he can become more of a well rounded offensive player this year.
