Prospect Info: 23-24 Prospect Poll #5 OA

[DaveG]

results so far:
1 - LHD Alexander Nikishin (no vote) - 2020 3rd rd, 69OA
2 - LW Bradly Nadeau (32.7%) - 2023 1st rd, 30OA
3 - RHD Scott Morrow (44.4%) - 2021 2nd rd, 40OA
4 - RW Felix Unger Sorum (62.2%) - 2023 2nd rd, 62OA

Click to read more...

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Blake or Koivunen. Both should be the next 2, really doesn’t matter the order. Dudes are killing it in their respective leagues. Both would add a dimension of puck skills to the team today.

 

[Daeavorn]

I'm going pono on this one. He is close to being ready.

 

[DaveG]

Blake or Koivunen. Both should be the next 2, really doesn’t matter the order. Dudes are killing it in their respective leagues. Both would add a dimension of puck skills to the team today.

those two and Rykov are my next 3 once Pono is off the board.

 

[Stickpucker]

I think people are sleeping on Suzuki.

If he can avoid his bad injury luck I think we'll start to see why he was drafted so high.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

those two and Rykov are my next 3 once Pono is off the board.

Pono has hit a serious wall with just 1 assist in his last 12 games.

While this 12 game skid doesn’t define him, it shows his inconsistency. He has registered a point in 19 games, meaning his high point total is from a handful of multi point games. He isn’t performing consistently in a lower league.

I think people are sleeping on Suzuki.

If he can avoid his bad injury luck I think we'll start to see why he was drafted so high.

Suzuki has all the tools and we are likely suffering from prospect fatigue. At the same time that blind spot and his injury history is likely going to hold him back. His skill set is a top 6 guy and he is going to have a hard time in a top 6 role with his sight issue. He needs to go to a team that is rebuilding (Chicago) that could give him a chance at a top 6 role to show his skills

 

[Stickpucker]

Suzuki has all the tools and we are likely suffering from prospect fatigue. At the same time that blind spot and his injury history is likely going to hold him back. His skill set is a top 6 guy and he is going to have a hard time in a top 6 role with his sight issue. He needs to go to a team that is rebuilding (Chicago) that could give him a chance at a top 6 role to show his skills

Or we could just be patient and see how he recovers in the AHL.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Or we could just be patient and see how he recovers in the AHL.

We could, for sure. I don’t see him having much of a chance here in our current state.

 

[chaz4hockey]

I'm going to keep on picking Pono until he gets voted in. He is our most NHL ready guy right now (that can play and isn't in Russia)

 

[Stickpucker]

We could, for sure. I don’t see him having much of a chance here in our current state.

2c is wide open in the future barring a trade.

We have a bunch of 35 pt 2 way guys.

Suzuki has the ceiling to easily outproduce all of those guys and is the only internal option barring moving Necas to C.

 

[Chrispy]

I'm going to keep on picking Pono until he gets voted in. He is our most NHL ready guy right now (that can play and isn't in Russia)

It's a tough question for me. I decided based on what I consider the best performance this year:

29 points in 37 games (I won't hold the Roadrunners against Pono) in the AHL and 2 points in 2 NHL games at age 21

47 points in 32 games in the NCAA at age 20

49 points in 53 games in Liiga at age 20

 

[FlyingSquirrels]

Heimosalmi listed twice. It's a sign?

 

[Unsustainable]

those two and Rykov are my next 3 once Pono is off the board.

Followed by Khazheyev after those 3

 

[DaveG]

Heimosalmi listed twice. It's a sign?

Lol, not sure how I screwed that up, will fix.

 

[Stickpucker]

For those who watch Pono what is his ceiling? Who does his game emulate?

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I think that around 5-10 is when NHL-readiness should be taken into consideration. Ponomaryov is my choice for this reason.

 

[WreckingCrew]

I think that around 5-10 is when NHL-readiness should be taken into consideration. Ponomaryov is my choice for this reason.

Yea it all comes down to individual evaluations on what is most important: high floor, high ceiling, probability of each, or a particular skillset and its translatability to the NHL game. Do you rate a guy who's guaranteed NHLer but probably bottom 6 above a lower-probability 1st line or bust kinda guy or vice versa?

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

those two and Rykov are my next 3 once Pono is off the board.

yeah as much as I love Rykov and Koivunen, what Pono has already shown here in the A and his couple game stint in the big leagues is enough to go with him before those next 3. But yeah Rykov, Koivunen, Blake all very very exciting and very close to each other. Those 3 will be interesting.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

For those who watch Pono what is his ceiling? Who does his game emulate?

I could see him being a Cirelli like NHLer.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Yea it all comes down to individual evaluations on what is most important: high floor, high ceiling, probability of each, or a particular skillset and its translatability to the NHL game. Do you rate a guy who's guaranteed NHLer but probably bottom 6 above a lower-probability 1st line or bust kinda guy or vice versa?

yeah all these lists need that type of context for sure, it also depends on team's needs and pipelines. If you have a long term elite 4th line locked up long term like the Islanders all those years then those "guaranteed bottom 6ers" are less valuable than to a team who has the top 6 talent but needs bottom 6 guys on ELCs, for example. I think we have a good mix of bottom 6 solid NHLer pipeline and boom/bust higher potential guys. I think there's a very good chance we get at least 1 or 2 solid top 6 forwards or top 4 D from our current prospect pool (not counting Nikishin). May take a while, could be one of the many Russians and not until 2030 or something but I feel good about our mix. Compare it to all the other perennial contenders and it's easily the best.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

we'll be lucky if pono is anything more than a 4C.

 

[bleedgreen]

we'll be lucky if pono is anything more than a 4C.

You can say that about any of the guys competing in this spot.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

You can say that about any of the guys competing in this spot.

sure but ceilings are different. Pono's ceiling isnt that high.

 

[chaz4hockey]

sure but ceilings are different. Pono's ceiling isnt that high.

I see Pono’s upside as a Jesper Fast type. D oriented, a little less cycle oriented but better offensively.

 

[Chrispy]

You can say that about any of the guys competing in this spot.

We will be a lot of things if Heimosalmi ends up a 4C, but I'm not sure "lucky" is one of them.