It's time for our annual Ducks prospect rankings. Each poll will run for 48 hours except in the case of a clear landslide. I will go to the top 25 and include a final poll where you can pick 5 honorable mentions. Please tell me who you want me to add in the replies. In the seventh poll, I am voting for Tyson Hinds.
1. C - Leo Carlsson (2023 draftee)
2. D - Pavel Mintyukov (no change)
3. D - Olen Zellweger (no change)
4. G - Lukas Dostal (no change)
5. D - Tristan Luneau (+9)
6. D - Jackson LaCombe (+4)
Our graduates and departures are:
Mason McTavish
Urho Vaakanainen
Henry Thrun
Simon Benoit
Axel Andersson
Sean Tschigerl
Hunter Drew
Thimo Nickl
Olle Eriksson Ek
Bryce Kindopp
Max Golod
Ethan Bowen
To me Hvidston is the best F prospect outside of Leo. The trajectory and versatility is really something for him. I might put Myatovic next one up after him albeit not sure now.
This one Hinds for me and I'll think about what's the next pick for me whether it's Hvid (likely) or someone else. Generally, I'm high on Moore but probably he's not my next pick.
To me Hvidston is the best F prospect outside of Leo. The trajectory and versatility is really something for him. I might put Myatovic next one up after him albeit not sure now.
This one Hinds for me and I'll think about what's the next pick for me whether it's Hvid (likely) or someone else. Generally, I'm high on Moore but probably he's not my next pick.
I wouldn't be surprised to see him become a stalwart defensive top-6 winger, but think realistically he could be an awesome third-line winger in the mold of Samuel Pahlsson.
Proud to say I do own his game-worn and signed white jersey from Swift Current from his Draft season 2021-22.
And it’s not like Terry is that old either. Our forward depth prospect wise doesn’t look strong, but our young forward core is I’m sure envied by a majority of the league.
Point-wise it's hard to say, I can see him topping out anywhere from 30-70 points. He was always praises about his defensive work but only last season he started to show offense.
Great pass and goes to the net.
He also plays with an edge. He is like a less skilled but more physical version of Terry to me. Unfilled frame, super young (he's still 18 for a couple of months), smart, skates good and nice hands. We are only starting to see his potential but it's there IMO, which makes me see him as our 2nd best forward prospect. He's just further away but I think he has clearly more offense than Gaucher and he's a much safer pick as a versatile (can play any situation) player than Pasta.
Fair. I still firmly believe there is a big need for a winger prospect with high upside in this system but I suspect that will be landed at next years draft
To me Hvidston is the best F prospect outside of Leo. The trajectory and versatility is really something for him. I might put Myatovic next one up after him albeit not sure now.
This one Hinds for me and I'll think about what's the next pick for me whether it's Hvid (likely) or someone else. Generally, I'm high on Moore but probably he's not my next pick.
How people rate this is all subjective. Some prefer the "safer" player with a solid floor but maybe lower ceiling, and some people prefer the high ceiling player. It's what makes this fun. I was between Hinds, Gaucher, Hvidston, and Helleson here. Those are my next 4, in whatever order I feel like when I log on lol. Also probably goes in to I've seen more of them 4 than say a Myatovic. In short, my opinion is subjective, depends on the time of day and overall useless .
Point-wise it's hard to say, I can see him topping out anywhere from 30-70 points. He was always praises about his defensive work but only last season he started to show offense.
Great pass and goes to the net.
He also plays with an edge. He is like a less skilled but more physical version of Terry to me. Unfilled frame, super young (he's still 18 for a couple of months), smart, skates good and nice hands. We are only starting to see his potential but it's there IMO, which makes me see him as our 2nd best forward prospect. He's just further away but I think he has clearly more offense than Gaucher and he's a much safer pick as a versatile (can play any situation) player than Pasta.
Anyway, it's Gaucher for me here. I think he and Hinds are both dark horses to make the team out of camp this year although Hinds probably has the easier path.
How people rate this is all subjective. Some prefer the "safer" player with a solid floor but maybe lower ceiling, and some people prefer the high ceiling player. It's what makes this fun. I was between Hinds, Gaucher, Hvidston, and Helleson here. Those are my next 4, in whatever order I feel like when I log on lol. Also probably goes in to I've seen more of them 4 than say a Myatovic. In short, my opinion is subjective, depends on the time of day and overall useless .
Yep. Outside of top-end prospects, other prospects move around. It's still fun to help kill time until the rookie tourney comes around. Plus, it does help shed light on those other prospects if we're not too aware of them.
Just for reference on the subject of Hvidston, He is less then 3 months older then Myatovic who was the #33 overall this year.
He had more points, in less games, and plays a better defensive game based on reports. Hvidston would have likely been a 1st rounder this year if he was 5 days younger. Super underrated.
Voted Hinds but I’m starting to get tempted with Siderov. He’s a tough one to rank since he’s a 3rd rounder who was passed up in his original draft year but based on his skill set and his numbers he may have way more upside than any other forward prospect we have, if he hits.
To me Hvidston is the best F prospect outside of Leo. The trajectory and versatility is really something for him. I might put Myatovic next one up after him albeit not sure now.
This one Hinds for me and I'll think about what's the next pick for me whether it's Hvid (likely) or someone else. Generally, I'm high on Moore but probably he's not my next pick.
Gaucher is set to be a 3/4C in the future. His production was incrementally better in his D+1 season, but was a leader on the as a shutdown center. IMO, Gaucher still gives off BO Groulx vibes with similar junior production. No point rushing Gaucher to the NHL b/c we kinda seen that with Groulx's first callup into the NHL.
Asst GM Madden described LW Myatovic as "he's an elite support player, somebody who can get pucks for first and second line players. " That makes Myatovic's projection as a top-6 player. Myatovic has a huge jump in goal scoring this year along with being even better in his defensive game.
I think Hvidston might also fit into that "elite support player" for the top-6. Hvidston was drafted as a shutdown forward, but he had the huge jump in his offensive production this past season. Hvidston will turn 19 in Sept. Myatovic will turn 19 in Dec.
Ducks
Prospects
Player
Season
League
Games
G
A
Pts
PPG
Plus/Minus
Gaucher
D-1
QMJHL
30
14
17
31
1.03
6
D+0
QMJHL
66
31
26
57
0.86
30
D+1
QMJHL
44
22
24
46
1.05
35
Hvidston
D-1
SMAAHL
7
6
6
12
1.71
n/a
D+0
WHL
58
13
19
32
0.55
-5
D+1
WHL
59
21
44
65
1.10
15
Myatovic
D-1
WHL
67
4
24
28
0.42
11
D+0
WHL
68
30
30
60
0.88
43
How one ranks each prospect varies from high potential to NHL projection to NHL-readiness. A case can be made for all three defensive forwards to be ranked 8th in the next poll, seeing as Hinds' lead is more than doubled Gaucher's tally.
Lost in the mix are our offensive forwards: Tracey, Perreault, Pastujov, and Kukkonen. Despite taking a step backwards in San Diego, Tracey still finished 7th in team scoring on a very terrible Gulls team. Perreault took a bigger step backwards, but some of that factor could be due to him being oft injured last year as he played only 48 out of 72 games. Pastujov's offense just keeps improving and improving, with a scoring rate of 1.72 with his new team, Sarnia! Kukkonen is a goal scorer at the NCAA level, tying for 5th overall in the NCAA for freshman with 18 goals.
The big fear with offensive forwards is if they can't produce at a top-6 pro level, then they might be useless. There's a bigger bust factor for offensive forwards drafted outside the top-10 because if they cannot contribute enough offense to coverup their lack of defensive play, then they won't have an NHL roster spot. Zegras is an offensive top-10 drafted forward who still needs to learn how to play a 200 ft game, but his offense more than justifies an NHL roster spot. Tracey and Perreault's journey to the NHL looks bleak. That could be a significant factor in avoiding putting Pastujov up earlier in the draft.
If we're throwing forwards out there, I'm a big Kyle Kukkonen guy. Michigan Tech might not be facing the true cream of the crop, but to walk into a pretty good program at 20 in your D+2 year and immediately lead the team in goals (18, 6 clear of the runner-up) is not an insignificant accomplishment. He'll probably slot in somewhere in the lower teens with the chance to rocket up this list this time next year.
Voted Hinds but I’m starting to get tempted with Siderov. He’s a tough one to rank since he’s a 3rd rounder who was passed up in his original draft year but based on his skill set and his numbers he may have way more upside than any other forward prospect we have, if he hits.
Sidorov feels like a clone of Pastujov. They both can score like crazy, both need to improve their skating, and both drafted in the third round. THW wrote that Sidorov has competitiveness issues. Both are the same age, but I think Pastujov is still the better scorer.
If we're throwing forwards out there, I'm a big Kyle Kukkonen guy. Michigan Tech might not be facing the true cream of the crop, but to walk into a pretty good program at 20 in your D+2 year and immediately lead the team in goals (18, 6 clear of the runner-up) is not an insignificant accomplishment. He'll probably slot in somewhere in the lower teens with the chance to rocket up this list this time next year.
He finished tied for 5th overall for goal scoring freshmen in the NCAA, according to college hockey news site. (Their multifunction sort stat didn't work for me. Just select goals column and then do a "ctrl + f" search for "fr" for freshman.)
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