Butch's List of the top 175 Drafted Prospects

Butch26

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Dec 12, 2016
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I humbly post my list every January since three year ago of my favorite prospect in the world , not in the NHL . Because of my y lack of knowledge of the Goaltender , i excluded of the list . I don't think i have a crystal ball but i watch a lot of junior hockey and i love to make my personal list . Keep in mind that i'm very far to being a bilingual guy , i usually speak french so it's normal that my sentence is not always good , so sorry for that .

I appreciate question/comment . I also put my top 30 of my 30 favorites player under 24 years old , and my top 15 of my favorites prospect for the next draft

Last list :
Butch's top 150 Prospect List
Butch List 115

  1. Quinn Hughes - Hughes is by far my favorite prospect in the world right now . He had one of the greatest skills package of the world , he had just to polish it . His skating ability is impressive , very strong on the ice and on his edge and his hands follow his quickness . He had a very good hockey IQ mostly a good hockey IQ to do these move . I know some people say that his defensive game is bad but a player who his team had the puck 60% of time when is on the ici is automatically a good defensive player . His backward skating ability is not problem to be good on the rush against , but he had to be more powerful on the corner .
  2. Cale Makar - Makar is second on my list , very mobile and a great acceleration and top speed . He had a better shot than Hughes but his IQ move is less good than Hughes . I think he will less dominate and controlate and game than Hughes and is why is second on my list . But great prospect who will be a dominant player for year .
  3. Erik Branstrom - Another D on the list , Branstrom always had been good , but this season he's been very very good . He play a more mature game than the two first in front of him but is overall skills package is lesser . His skating ability is very good , it look like he never skate and always navigate into the pression . He had a great IQ to develop a play to make a exceptional backdoor passes . Definitely a riser and a solid pick by the Knights
  4. Vitali Kravstov - He had amaze me all of the tourney . This guy is a train with a solid skills set . Remind me a little bit of Malkin in the way he skate . Kravstov is very dangerous on the rush , utilise a great range of move .
  5. Kristian Vesalainen - Vesalainen is very underrated . His winger two-way game is very rare . Very Solid in the corners , he will become in my book one of the best Offensive zone play player on the league along guy like Malkin and Wheeler . I don't know yet if he had the upside to be a 75pts+ player , but he reminds me a guy like Rantanen and despite his lack of speed , he could turn with good linemates a very solid first liner .
  6. Kirill Kaprizov -In the top player for third year in row , we know now the type of player he his with is WJ and OG . Very dynamic with the puck .
  7. Henrik Borgstrom - His soft hand is sooo good so he make a lot wide dribble, allow him to make incredible move . Borgstrom is also a specialist of changing the angle of the shot . Great 200 feet player
  8. Eeli Tolvanen - His season is quite disappointing for now . I always love him , rank him 9th in his draft year . I am sure now that he will not become a driver for his line , but could become a 40 goal scorer if he play on a good line et on a good PP .
  9. Adam Fox - Always love this player and this year he put a lot of point on the board in NCCA . Great puck mover and he compensated his lack of size by a great comprehension of the game
  10. Adam Boqvist - I was not my favorite prospect at the last draft , i found his skills good but he was doing nothing concrete with the puck . I found him a lot better in this WJ , and if his transition game keep going better and better , he will be great player .
  11. Evan Bouchard - This prospect amaze me by his inconstancy . Some game i found that he is a special player and other game i found him meh . It's funny because is so a great passer in the Offensive zone , and that show often a good comprehension of the game , but in the D-Zone he don't understand anything . It not a cliche to call him a bad defensively , he can make a good analysis of the other skating to put is stick at the good place of make the good skating tools . Great mobility eastern/western , but not the fastest skater . The only player in the top 11 can turn into a bust .
  12. Martin Necas - Necas had all the tool to become a good top 6 center who drive the play but i'm very concern if he game can translate 100% to the NHL because is not the strongest player .
  13. Filip Zadina - I was not loving him like everyone in the last draft . I found him not that dynamic , especially in his skating but in this WJ i found that i had a better crossover et better speed than last year . I know the result isn't the same but , we have to understand that even he play with 2 good foward , if you had 0 defensemen can give you supernumary on the rush , it's very difficult to put point on the board . I will wait to see her development but if he improve his acceleration et pure speed , he could become a player like Pasternak , but if he doesn't , he will turn a guy like Vanek who can make play on a good scoring line .
  14. Ryan Poehling - Love him since day 1 , he is absolute monster in all three of zone . I think is the best foward prospect in the world for using his stick . I know everybody talk about a futur third center , but i really think that he could turn into a first line player if he improve her pure speed and crossover to be more dynamic . Poehling is very strong on his feet , had a good package of shooting ability and IQ Skills and could turn in something like Bergeron , or at least a Jordan Staal type of guy .
  15. Oliver Wahlstrom - Was one my four favorite prospect in the latest draft , but i have to say that he have a tough year this year , and this season cooled me little bit . But his skills package is awesome , he had a lot of way to put the puck behind the goalie , he just had to find his confidence . Maybe a futur 40 goal per year per year , mostly because whe know that is futur center name is Matthew Barzal
  16. Connor Timmins - What a steal for the Colorado Avs . Play a superb two-way game , he manage the puck like nobody in the prospect . Good become a guy who play 30 min per game without suffering .
  17. Ryan Merkley - Merkley is probably one of my 5 favorite prospect talent wise , but what i heard of is attitude is a little bit scary . But i can put him further on the list , so talented . I think he is better than Hughes or Branstrom on the offensive zone , so patient and never be satisfait with a simple play . His mobility is awesome , i really want that Merkley operates is potentiel because he's a beast .
  18. Timothy Liljegren - He had a really nice release , great mobility but his decision is not always good . But he had all the tools to do a good top 3 defensemen
  19. Cody Glass - Is a riser on my list , i found is game really different than other player . Glass is physical , good in the corner ,can pass and can shoot . I think i was underestimated his offensive IQ , but i think he could be a good 50+ pts producer in the Show
  20. Barrett Hayton - Another play that amaze me this year , i was not thinking last year that he have that skills package in his bag . Possess very soft hands , i think he had to polish certain aspect of his game , but he's a rise for sur .
  21. Joe Veleno - He was not a fans of him when i was playing against him . I was not exceptional , just a beautiful player to watch but not efficient offensively and last year after christmas my opinion had change : He will be able to put couple point of the board , in addition of his superb good defensive game .
  22. Grigori Denisenko - Great speed with hands who follow the speed . Always try to do something with the puck , very creative . A riser
  23. Rasmus Sandin - Great defenseman to make break-out by himself , his decision taking is not the best be he had so a good skating that i'm not afraid of is potentiel to become a good top 4 player , with PP time
  24. Ty Smith - Very mobile and dynamic skater , make good decision but i don't have the wow factor . Play a high IQ game , remind me sometimes Duncan Keith
  25. Maxim Comtois - His attitude scare me of what i heard in what he had to in his time in Victoriaville . Great player , was a very tough player when i had to watch him when we play against in Midget AAA , so strong on his feet . I found him that he play a rare game , combine speed , goal and good on the forecheck .
  26. Rasmus Kupari - A riser on my personal list , found his skating so powerful in his stride and so good on the puck protection . I think he had to polish is game offensively , but he could become a good second center
  27. Morgan Frost - Great offensive player , i dont know if his offensive game will translate in the Show but he had the tools to be a player who can put 60pts per year on the board
  28. Nick Suzuki - He was awful at the WJ , but Suzuki is exciting to watch and he had the hands , the speed and the IQ to be a good offensively player in the NHL
  29. Lias Anderson - Great character player , love his attitude . He's a winner , and want to make the difference . Could become a good second winger , who's complete a good duo but he will be not the driver off his line .
  30. Drake Batherson - Don't know if i had to put him on this list , but Batherson had so improved in the last couple year . I already look like a NHLer , and a good complementary player on a first line in the NHL .
  31. Sam Steel
  32. Jason Robertson
  33. Kale Clague
  34. Martin Kaut
  35. Jordan Kyrou
  36. Urhoo Vakanainen
  37. Alexander Romanov
  38. Noah Dobson
  39. Olivier Kylington
  40. Adam Gaudette
  41. Josh Brook
  42. Jonathan Berggren
  43. Nic Hague
  44. Klim Kostin
  45. Janne Kuokkanen
  46. Phillipe Myers
  47. Ian Mitchell
  48. Aleksi Heponiemi
  49. Josh Mahura
  50. Troy Terry
  51. Cal Foote
  52. Jonathan Dahlen
  53. Jaret Anderson-Dolan
  54. Isaac Lundestrom
  55. Bode Wilde
  56. Evan Barratt
  57. Owen Tippet
  58. Gabriel Vilardi
  59. Dominic Bokk
  60. Dylan Gambrell
  61. Olli Juolevi
  62. Alex Formenton
  63. Jet Woo
  64. Jake Bean
  65. Logan Brown
  66. Ty Dellandrea
  67. Taylor Raddysh
  68. Joel Farabee
  69. Nils Lunkvist
  70. Roope Hintz
  71. Josh Norris
  72. Serron Noel
  73. Alexander Nylander
  74. Victor Mete
  75. Keiffer Bellows
  76. Dante Fabbro
  77. Ryan Donato
  78. A.J Greer
  79. Aarnan Talvitie
  80. Jack Studnicka
  81. Joey Anderson
  82. Adam Mascherin
  83. Tyler Madden
  84. Nicolas Beaudin
  85. K'Andre Miller
  86. Alexander Alexeyev
  87. Michael McLoed
  88. Liam Foudy
  89. Calen Addison
  90. Jesper Boqvist
  91. Scott Perunovich
  92. Jacob Bernard-Docker
  93. Sebastian Aho
  94. Jared McIsaac
  95. Max Jones
  96. Shane Bowers
  97. Yegor Korshkov
  98. Sami Niku
  99. Akil Thomas
  100. P-O Joseph
  101. Sammy Blais
  102. Jacob Forsbacka-Karlsson
  103. Jesse Ylonen
  104. Andrew Peeke
  105. Joachim Blichfeld
  106. Eetu Luostarinen
  107. Libor Hajek
  108. Ben Gleason
  109. Connor Garland
  110. Dilon Dubé
  111. Stelio Mattheos
  112. Emil Bemstrom
  113. Jachym Kondelik
  114. Mitchell Vande Sompel
  115. Robin Salo
  116. Jacob Olofsson
  117. Eeetu Tuulola
  118. Jordan Sambrook
  119. Otto Koivula
  120. Anatoly Golishev
  121. Chad Krys
  122. Jay O'Brien
  123. Denis Gurianov
  124. Tim Gettinger
  125. Nick Merkley
  126. Alexander Volkov
  127. Vitali Abramov
  128. Adam Ginning
  129. Filip Hallander
  130. Tyler Steenbergen
  131. Dmitri Sokolov
  132. Niklas Nordgren
  133. Mario Ferraro
  134. Rudolfs Balcers
  135. Trent Frederic
  136. Lucas Johansen
  137. Julien Gauthier
  138. Andrew Mangiapane
  139. Jake Wise
  140. Mathias Samuelsson
  141. Caleb Jones
  142. Filip Johansen
  143. German Rubstov
  144. Joni Ikonen
  145. Phillip Kurashev
  146. Stephen Starkov
  147. Jack Drury
  148. Lucas Elvenes
  149. Cam Morrison
  150. Johnny Tychonick
  151. Riley Tufte
  152. Brandon Gignac
  153. William Lockwood
  154. Frederic Allard
  155. John Quenneville
  156. Nikita Scherbak
  157. Alexander Khonavov
  158. Alexandre Texier
  159. Marcus Davidson
  160. Boris Katchouk
  161. Cale Fleury
  162. Nathan Bastien
  163. Ivan Chekhovich
  164. Rickard Hugg
  165. Jacob Lauko
  166. Mathias Emillo Pettersen
  167. Milos Roman
  168. Logan Stanley
  169. Cam Dineen
  170. Emeli Rasanen
  171. Tyler Benson
  172. Jordan Bellerive
  173. Ramus Asplund
  174. Santeri Virtanen
  175. Otto Somppi
  176. Mitchell Stephens


under 24 to advance with a franchise
  1. Connor McDavid
  2. Auston Matthews
  3. Nathan Mackinnon
  4. Rasmus Dahlin
  5. Jack Eichel
  6. Charlie McCavoy
  7. Elias Petterson
  8. Miro Heinskanen
  9. Alexander Barkov
  10. David Pasternak
  11. Thomas Chabot
  12. Zach Werenski
  13. Matt Barzal
  14. Mikko Rantanen
  15. Quinn Hughes
  16. Ivan Provorov
  17. Mitchell Marner
  18. Patrick Laine
  19. Leon Draisatil
  20. Cale Makar
  21. Sam Girard
  22. Brock Boeser
  23. Clayton Keller
  24. Pier-Luc Dubois
  25. Mathew Tkachuk
  26. Erik Branstrom
  27. Aaron Ekblad
  28. Brayden Point
  29. Sebastian Aho
  30. Vitali Kravstov

Next Draft
  1. Jack Hughes
  2. Dylan Cozen
  3. Kappo Kakko
  4. Vasili Podkolzin
  5. Raphael Lavoie
  6. Kirby Dach
  7. Trevor Zegras
  8. Phillip Broberg
  9. Alex Turcotte
  10. Peyton Krebs
  11. Tobias Bjornfot
  12. Bowen Byram
  13. Cole Caufield
  14. Albin Grewe
  15. Cam York
 
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Butch26

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I’ve been so impressed with brannstrom. Just seems like everything you want in a modern dman.

Yeah , his edge work and his transition/offensive IQ game is exceptional . VGK had a futur #1 D-man in their hands
 

EpicDing

which is why I included the question mark earlier
Oct 2, 2011
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Curious what you think of K'Andre Miller. Most Rangers fans rank over not only Lundkvist but Lias Andersson as well. 17 points in 18 games as a freshman defenseman in the NCAA.
 

thrillhous

Registered User
Jan 5, 2006
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Nice list, thanks for sharing.

When I look at the top 30 on your list I’m surprised by the low position of Farabee. I feel that he would fit right in in that top 30. Big fan of him. Curious as to what your thoughts are about him.
 

Nabrules

Registered User
Nov 5, 2018
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Farabee and Dobson way too low. Other than that I like it, nicely done
 

Butch26

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Dec 12, 2016
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Curious what you think of K'Andre Miller. Most Rangers fans rank over not only Lundkvist but Lias Andersson as well. 17 points in 18 games as a freshman defenseman in the NCAA.

Probably the guy between 50-100 who's have more potential to be higher next year . I was loving him at U18 , i find that he was mobile for his stature and bring lot of puck on the net , but i was loving him to draft Miller at the 21th spot last year . This year , i only had able to catch one game of Wisconsin , and i didn't see a wow factor at the WJ to put him higher than last year .

Miller is strong on his feet and always skate with heads up and with open ankle , allow him to carrier the puck on . From what i saw he don't do to much on the blue line but he's effective with his shoot . He had to work on his pivot and on his start
 
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Butch26

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Dec 12, 2016
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Noah Dobson -
I know that some people with not agree of my ranking , and i understand why . He's the type of defensemen who want on the ice in the Junior to be on the ice for any situation . He will be able to translate it's simple game on the NHL , but he will be not a player who generate offensive or rushing for his team . It's not that i don't love him , it just that i dont see his upside for what i want for a 2019 defensemen

His hands is very so so , and same for is offensive IQ . But he win is 1 vs 1 battle , very strong on his feet . The word for his game is mature , but no upside so it's why i prefer a guy like Boqvist , Bouchard or Smith .

Joel Farabee - It's hard for me to identify what Farabee will do in the NHL , he's score goal but he have a good shoot but not that much , he had a good skating but no that much , he have a good passing game but no that much .... Farabee is good , a good all around player and have all the tools in his bag but he don't have the wow factor . It will be a thing of good place at the good moment and with the good player to be a legit top 6
 

Butch26

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Dec 12, 2016
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No Yamamoto?

Yeah good call , i put him on the graduate but he could definitely been on the list . Always love his skills package , how he finish to play for a goal but i don't see him be dominant like in the junior . Futur good top 6 guy , but not the driver of the play he has been in the junior

I see him around the 30 spot

And thanks for the little error of Jones .
 
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780il

edm
May 29, 2018
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Yeah good call , i put him on the graduate but he could definitely been on the list . Always love his skills package , how he finish to play for a goal but i don't see him be dominant like in the junior . Futur good top 6 guy , but not the driver of the play he has been in the junior

I see him around the 30 spot

And thanks for the little error of Jones .
Exactly as I see him. Not a play driver but a top 6 winger who can play both sides and plays a tenacious gritty game.

Overall not a bad list :thumbu:
 

93LEAFS

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Nov 7, 2009
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I think in your rankings overall their is a slight over-valuing of defenders at the expense of wingers in the U-24 rankings. I wouldn't take Provorov, McAvoy, Chabot, Werenski or Heiskanen over Marner, Barzal, Rantanen or Laine (although you have Provorov behind Barzal and Rantanen). Those guys just drive goal differential too significantly to ignore.
 

Butch26

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Dec 12, 2016
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I think in your rankings overall their is a slight over-valuing of defenders at the expense of wingers in the U-24 rankings. I wouldn't take Provorov, McAvoy, Chabot, Werenski or Heiskanen over Marner, Barzal, Rantanen or Laine (although you have Provorov behind Barzal and Rantanen). Those guys just drive goal differential too significantly to ignore.

Yeah your probably right , i always over-valuing good defenseman who bring offense . My opinion it's you have to have that on your team if you want that your winger have time and space

I think the offensive game start with your D-Core and i value more that time of player than offensive winger . It's more philosophical than evaluation of a player i guess
 

93LEAFS

Registered User
Nov 7, 2009
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Yeah your probably right , i always over-valuing good defenseman who bring offense . My opinion it's you have to have that on your team if you want that your winger have time and space

I think the offensive game start with your D-Core and i value more that time of player than offensive winger . It's more philosophical than evaluation of a player i guess
Fair enough. I think high-end wingers can significantly drive scoring production/goal differential to an extent it can't be ignored. Very few offensive D unless you are talking Karlsson or Brent Burns can drive offense by themselves. Otherwise, they are extremely dependent on forwards capitalizing on outlet passes or on the PP. Its much easier for one offensive player to drive scoring, than it is for one defender to reduce goal production, due to defense being such a heavy 5v5 creation (and so reliant on your own goaltender), whereas its easier for a single guy to create high-danger chances (although, it is also team dependent, but not to the same extent). Teams like the Avs, Leafs and Isles, don't have particularly great Defensive units, but these guys can produce despite that because they create so much time on the puck either through elite skating/hands (Barzal), edgework and hands (Marner) or strength/hands (Rantanen), Laine is a bit different because he is mostly a pure finisher, which makes him more reliant on his teammates than other elite offensive guys, although he is so elite at that one ability in converting goals it has to be acknowledged. I know Barzal is a center, but I just used him in these rankings due to placement.

If you offer me an average top 4 defender over an average top 6 forward, I'll take the D most times. But, with elite wingers its a bit different.
 
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Gardiner Expressway

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Dec 1, 2011
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Thanks for your effort putting this together!

A couple spelling mistakes I saw... in the interest of making this post a better reference for us all...

Emil Bemstrom, Chad Krys, Lucas Johansen, John Quenneville
 

truthbluth

Registered User
Feb 2, 2011
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Disagree that you don't have Oskari Laaksonen up there. I have higher hopes for him than Mathias Samuelsson, for instance.
 

Butch26

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Dec 12, 2016
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Disagree that you don't have Oskari Laaksonen up there. I have higher hopes for him than Mathias Samuelsson, for instance.

Could have been there , it's okay that you love more Laaksonen than Samuelson , at this ranking it's difficult to me to say ''hey this guy is really better than this one'' Samuelsson could turn into a good 6th defensemen , big size and not under skilled
 

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