2020 NHL Draft Rankings: Fisher’s Top 124 for October

[Larry Fisher]

With the draft year now well underway, here are my updated rankings for October — my top 124 prospects for the 2020 NHL Draft: https://thehockeywriters.com/2020-nhl-draft-rankings-october-fisher/

Feedback is welcome and appreciated, as always. Somebody way too high or too low for your liking? Any omissions you'd like to highlight? Comment here, shoot me a direct message or email [email protected].

Click to read more...

 

[ProspectsSTC]

Good work, I'd have Byfield and Drysdale higher though.

Also running ads that autoplay video on that site tells me I'll never click on it while on data

 

[wetcoast]

Good work, I'd have Byfield and Drysdale higher though.

Also running ads that autoplay video on that site tells me I'll never click on it while on data

My first thought as well, but the top 3 are on a tier of their own right now, Drysdale should be in that second grouping.

 

[ijuka]

Curious not having Byfield top 2.

 

[Maverick41]

Keep an eye out for Lukas Reichel. I was somewhat disappointed with him last season, but his play in the DEL so far has been a bit of a revelation.
He is rapidly closing the gap to Peterka among German prospects and if he continues on like this I could see him sneaking into the 2nd or even 1st round.

Overall I like the list. Obviously I disagree with some rankings, I have Rossi a little higher and Mysak quite a bit higher, but I have not seen enough of everyone else to get upset about it.
Really appreciate the work you've done. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Good work, I'd have Byfield and Drysdale higher though.

Also running ads that autoplay video on that site tells me I'll never click on it while on data

Big fan of both Byfield and Drysdale but not sure how I could rank either of them higher. I simply prefer the guys ahead of them right now. Raymond was so dominant at the U18s in April, including his hat trick and OT goal in the gold-medal game, so it's going to take a lot to displace him as my No. 2 even though he's not producing much with limited playing time to start this season. That 2-3 battle will likely be decided, to some extent, at the World Juniors.

Drysdale is already my top defenceman, but the 2020 draft features a bunch of elite forwards and a potential superstar goaltender ahead of him. That said, these are rankings, not a mock draft, and I'm sure some team wanting a stud D prospect could take Drysdale higher in the top 10.

I passed along your feedback on the autoplay videos, that is out of my hands and I'm not in the know on the pros and cons for site performance.

 

[Larry Fisher]

My first thought as well, but the top 3 are on a tier of their own right now, Drysdale should be in that second grouping.

I have Drysdale in my third of four small tiers at the top of the first round: 1-3, 4-6, 7-10, 11-14. That's how I see it right now, as mentioned in my Final Thoughts section.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Curious not having Byfield top 2.

He could get there and perhaps even challenge for No. 1, but he didn't dominate the Hlinka the way Raymond dominated the U18 worlds in April. If Raymond would have played at the Hlinka, I think more people would still have him ahead of Byfield today. But, that said, they are both awesome talents that we'll hopefully get to compare and contrast and draw some more conclusions on at the World Juniors. Until then, I think Raymond will stay my No. 2 — as impressive and dominant as Byfield has been in the OHL, which was to be expected and isn't surprising to me. I'm looking forward to seeing him in another best-on-best scenario, assuming he's going to make the cut for Canada's team as an underager.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Keep an eye out for Lukas Reichel. I was somewhat disappointed with him last season, but his play in the DEL so far has been a bit of a revelation.
He is rapidly closing the gap to Peterka among German prospects and if he continues on like this I could see him sneaking into the 2nd or even 1st round.

Overall I like the list. Obviously I disagree with some rankings, I have Rossi a little higher and Mysak quite a bit higher, but I have not seen enough of everyone else to get upset about it.
Really appreciate the work you've done. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the comment and you are the second person to recommend Reichel with high praise. He was on my watch list, but it sure sounds like he's making a push for the top 100, if not the top 62. That German team is going to be fun to watch at the World Juniors.

Rossi and Mysak are bookending that 15-27 tier for me and I expect a fair bit of movement amongst that grouping from month to month. Both would have a tough time cracking my top 14, but it's not out of the realm of possibility going forward.

 

[wetcoast]

He could get there and perhaps even challenge for No. 1, but he didn't dominate the Hlinka the way Raymond dominated the U18 worlds in April. If Raymond would have played at the Hlinka, I think more people would still have him ahead of Byfield today. But, that said, they are both awesome talents that we'll hopefully get to compare and contrast and draw some more conclusions on at the World Juniors. Until then, I think Raymond will stay my No. 2 — as impressive and dominant as Byfield has been in the OHL, which was to be expected and isn't surprising to me. I'm looking forward to seeing him in another best-on-best scenario, assuming he's going to make the cut for Canada's team as an underager.

As good as Raymond is, I don't see any team not taking Byfield at #2 if he is still there.

 

[emptyNedder]

Larry. Thanks as always for providing a list of 124 prospects this early.
I did chuckle that you end your potential 1st rounds at 50—because I think the player who has the greatest potential to rise is Suni. He is one of the taller forwards in the top 60, skates well, and may be the best passer outside the top 10.

 

[Larry Fisher]

As good as Raymond is, I don't see any team not taking Byfield at #2 if he is still there.

We shall see. Raymond is really good. That 1-3 tier could go in any order, potentially, come June. Otherwise they would be in separate tiers to their own if they were locked in. Yes, that includes Lafreniere going anywhere from 1-3.

 

[wetcoast]

We shall see. Raymond is really good. That 1-3 tier could go in any order, potentially, come June. Otherwise they would be in separate tiers to their own if they were locked in. Yes, that includes Lafreniere going anywhere from 1-3.

We are going to agree to disagree as I think Raymond will be drafted behind the other 2 guys and that's no reflection on him.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Larry. Thanks as always for providing a list of 124 prospects this early.
I did chuckle that you end your potential 1st rounds at 50—because I think the player who has the greatest potential to rise is Suni. He is one of the taller forwards in the top 60, skates well, and may be the best passer outside the top 10.

Suni is on my risers list for October, publishing tomorrow (along with fallers), but I'm not ready to declare him a first-round talent just yet, so that is where I cut it off. He's obviously the next guy. Funny how that works out, but he's close to joining that group and making a smooth (and impressive) transition to North America. Perhaps he'll force his way into that tier for November.

 

[Larry Fisher]

We are going to agree to disagree as I think Raymond will be drafted behind the other 2 guys and that's no reflection on him.

That's entirely possible and perhaps expected among the masses, mainly because Byfield is a centre and thus more coveted/the most coveted among those top three. But this isn't a mock draft, this is a ranking for career potential/prime impact. In a mock, we can agree that Byfield likely goes ahead of Raymond and possibly ahead of Lafreniere too.

 

[wetcoast]

That's entirely possible and perhaps expected among the masses, mainly because Byfield is a centre and thus more coveted/the most coveted among those top three. But this isn't a mock draft, this is a ranking for career potential/prime impact. In a mock, we can agree that Byfield likely goes ahead of Raymond and possibly ahead of Lafreniere too.

I also wasn't only talking about a mock draft but in terms of NHL career potential.

Heck some years Raymond would be in contention for first overall he is an outstanding prospect.

 

[OSA]

I agree that the Windsor guys are slipping out of the 1st round conversation, but I really believe Jacob Perreault will be taken in the 20’s. He’s doing it all on a really bad team.