Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranks his top U-23 players

IPS

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Between the Matthews bashing in this and that "most overrated player" poll, it really seems like the hockey iq on the HF mainboards have dropped 25 points. Someone really needs to investigate what happened.

What's not to understand? He's a complete trash player who's simultaneously overrated who gets carried by Marner and Nylander who are also complete trash players.
 

Mickey Marner

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He's not the playmaker on his line. What is so hard to understand about that?

Yeah, but assist totals and preconceived notions of how he should play!

The criticisms of his playmaking are funny. His assists totals are low because he doesn't hold onto the puck, everything is on his stick, off his stick. Constant quick passes, give-and-goes and low-to-high passing. In order to get more assists he would actually have to play more selfishly and keep the puck on his stick longer and more frequently.
 

moropanov

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Yeah, but assist totals and preconceived notions of how he should play!

The criticisms of his playmaking are funny. His assists totals are low because he doesn't hold onto the puck, everything is on his stick, off his stick. Constant quick passes, give-and-goes and low-to-high passing. In order to get more assists he would actually have to play more selfishly and keep the puck on his stick longer and more frequently.
In order to get more assists he should make more plays that lead into goals scored by his team.

Matthews is a phenomenal goalscorer, but overall offensively in terms of driving goals for he's fringe top 10 at best.
 
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nowhereman

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This guy gets paid for this?

As far as I'm concerned, the top 7 is pretty easy.

In no particular order (but sort of):

Matthews
Pettersson
Dahlin
Heiskanen
Q. Hughes
Makar
Svechnikov

These players have all proven themselves to be elite, franchise-level talent. Yes, there's still a lot to prove but they are already amongst the NHL's elite and will only get better. I think you could probably throw McAvoy in there too.

Lafreniere and Byfield are knocking on the door but haven't proven anything. That said, the smart money is on them becoming impact players but, after last year's #1 and #2 fell flat out of the gate, it's best to give it some time.

Pick your poison after that.
 
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Mickey Marner

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In order to get more assists he should make more plays that lead into goals scored by his team.

Matthews is a phenomenal goalscorer, but overall offensively in terms of driving goals for he's fringe top 10 at best.

He does create plays that result in a lot of goals scored by his team. Over the last three seasons (minimum 2000 all-situation minutes) he's one of five forwards (McDavid, MacKinnon, Malkin, Matthews, Kucherov) to finish top-20 in PTS/60, GF/60 and IPP%, out of 317 forwards.
 

Leafs at Knight

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In order to get more assists he should make more plays that lead into goals scored by his team.

Matthews is a phenomenal goalscorer, but overall offensively in terms of driving goals for he's fringe top 10 at best.
What a dumb comment. Or you know he could just score the goals himself, which he does? Also, it's not his fault his team doesn't score more often when he sets them up. 'Instead of shooting more and scoring, he should be passing more to boost his assist totals'...
 
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Rabid Ranger

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He does create plays that result in a lot of goals scored by his team. Over the last three seasons (minimum 2000 all-situation minutes) he's one of five forwards (McDavid, MacKinnon, Malkin, Matthews, Kucherov) to finish top-20 in PTS/60, GF/60 and IPP%, out of 317 forwards.

....yeah, but style points!
 

Super Hans

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Q.Hughes and Pettersson are both top 5 and anyone doubting it is absolutely insane. Throw Makar and Matthews with Heiskanen.
No particular order.
 

tucker3434

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Weirdly low on the defensemen. I’ll be absolutely shocked if they wind up that low on this list 10 years down the line.
 

belair

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Just cancelled my Athletic subscription because of this awful list.
Did you pay for the subscription initially thinking that their rankings articles were going to appease you. All rankings are complete garbage because they never take into account all of the factors that go into what an individual player does to contribute.

Seems like a particularly odd hill to die on considering The Athletic offers you far more.
 
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Svencouver

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Dont feel like doing more than top 10, ratings for projected full career just like Pronman

1. Auston Matthews - Potential for historic goal scoring as a C, career trajectory will depend on the trajectory of TML
2. Elias Pettersson - Plays on a solid core going forward, incredibly well rounded player, already in the top 3-5 in the league in advanced stats, Datsyuk+ potential. Could bring the first cup to VAN
3. Alexis Lafreniere - Hard to rate a '20 draftee but the comparables and projections are too good

4-7 are a classic tossup, they're more or less equal for the moment in terms of current ability and projected career potential and could shake out in any order when all is said and done. I think every single defenseman on this list will win a Norris within the next 10 years.

4. Miro Heiskanen - Best player on a cup final team. Already a mature two way game with excellent play-driving. Where can he go from here?
5. Rasmus Dahlin - Younger than the rest which doesn't favor him in comparisons, but has been historically great every year for his age.
6. Quinn Hughes - Historic rookie season, unique playstyle and gamebreaking skating has the potential for exceptional dominance and play driving from the blue line. Could be the QB of the entire team, not just the power play, in a peak Erik Karlsson way.
7. Cale Makar - Strong in all areas, but nothing on it's own screams gamebreaking. That being said, he's a surefire full-size #1D that can defend, shoot, and skate. Will likely lead the blueline of a potentially dominant squad in Colorado, if not an outright dynasty if the right pieces fall into place.
8. Quinton Byfield - Just like Laf, the scouting reports and junior play speak for themselves. I love what LAK is doing with their rebuild, and he'll be at the center of it.
9. Andrei Svechnikov - Potential to be one of the best offensive players of the generation. Just like Dahlin, he came in the league young and is only getting better every year.
10. Gabe Vilardi - Wildcard pick. I'm really high on Vilardi. He's been setback hard by injury, but looks to be no less the player he was drafted to be. Just like Byfield, he'll have all the opportunity in the world on what seems to be an excellently built Kings team. I think he'll really surprise people in his first full season. Otherwise, this spot goes to Matt Tkachuk as the known quantity.

HM: Trevor Zegras. Could easily, easily see him being anywhere from 4-10. Brilliant prospect, but for now, is just that without quite the pedigree of some of the 19-20 draftees on my top 10.
 
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