We have entered what I consider our third tier. Here is where things get harder to figure. Ability to make it into the league becomes a bigger factor than overall potential, as most of these guys don’t project as impact players. For me this tier consists of (in no particular order):
Foley
Walman
Blais
Mikkola
Sanford
Schmaltz
To me, all of these forwards have bottom six upside, with some potential to maybe be that 6th forward on a team light on depth. There are varying degrees of readiness with Foley being the lowest.
Sanford has not done enough for my liking in the AHL or NHL to feel confident that he will make it as a full-time NHLer. He has nice hands and some offensive vision. His game away from the puck might just be that proverbial nail in the coffin.
Blais thinks the game so well and has shown he is beyond the AHL level, but his speed is limited and his other skills are merely ok. I really like him as a prospect, but he will need to learn to play the game quickly if he wants to overcome his skating deficiencies.
Foley is obviously a nice prospect. He has some skills that translate well to the NHL, but his handling of the puck will need to improve to make it to the next level.
The D are a little tougher to analyze. They have the potential to impact the game more than the forwards if they hit their ceilings, but (like the forwards) it will be really hard to find space on the roster in a role other than the very bottom of the lineup. I would say we are looking at max potential of lower middle pairing for these guys with third pairing more likely given our roster.
To me Schmaltz is both the most ready and likely to reach the highest ceiling. He looks to me that he could eventually be a #4 on an ok to lower team. He moves the puck very well, can QB a PP and his defensive game is better than most realize. Unfortunately, he has a big roadblock ahead of him as our right side is loaded and solidified. The shame of it for Schmaltz is that quality RHD are hard to find. On just about any other team, he would be a full-time NHLer.
Walman would compete with Schmaltz for the best D man in this group if it were not for a terrible AHL season. He looked inept defensively and didn’t do a whole lot offensively either. He still has potentially the highest upside of the three, but last year makes me concerned about his ability to hit that projection. Hopefully he vaults himself back up these rankings early this year, but I can't “reward” poor play.
Mikkola is a strong find for a later pick. He is defensively sound, a decent mover of the puck and can bring a touch of offense. Overall, he has the hardest to determine ceiling. His defense may be good enough for an Edmundson type role. But figuring out how good a player will be defensively is one of the harder projections, as judging their ability to make reads at high speed is tough. This especially challenging for players on larger ice surfaces and without access to much game tape. I also wonder how his relatively low (compared to the group) offense will translate.
This might be one of the harder rankings for me because our roster projects to be so packed for a few years than many of these guys may never get a real shot at the big show. Even the players that I think they have a shot of surpassing have an advantage in the form of one-way contracts. We also have prospects ahead of them in terms of potential and that further complicates their chances. Usually I try to balance ceiling and ability to get to the NHL, but this year I feel the need to skew more towards how they fit in the organization.