Prospect Info: Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #17

[tenken00]

#1 Connor McMichael London Knights / OHL

C | 6' 0" | 183 lb | Age: 19
Draft: 2019 WSH, 1st rd, 25th pk (25th overall)
42 Votes - 73.7%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #1
2019 Ranking - #3

#2 Hendrix Lapierre Chicoutimi Sagueneens / QMJHL

C | 6' 0" | 179 lb | Age: 18
Draft: 2020 WSH, 1st rd, 22nd pk (22nd overall)
28 Votes - 54.9%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #2
2019 Ranking - N/A

#3 Martin Fehervary Hershey Bears / AHL

LD | 6' 2" | 200 lb | Age: 21
Draft: 2018 WSH, 2nd rd, 15th pk (46th overall)
47 Votes - 73.4%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #3
2019 Ranking - #4

#4 Alexander Alexeyev Hershey Bears / AHL (Salavat Yulaev Ufa / KHL)

LD | 6' 4" | 210 lb | Age: 20
Draft: 2018 WSH, 1st rd, 31st pk (31st overall)
37 Votes - 82.2%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #4
2019 Ranking - #2

#5 Aliaksei Protas Prince Albert Raiders / WHL (Dinamo Minsk / KHL)

C | 6' 6" | 210 lb | Age: 19
Draft: 2019 WSH, 3rd rd, 29th pk (91st overall)
37 Votes - 86.0%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #5
2019 Ranking - #13

#6 Vitek Vanecek Hershey Bears / AHL

G | 6' 2" | 187 lb | Age: 24
Draft: 2014 WSH, 2nd rd, 9th pk (39th overall)
25 Votes - 61.0%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #6
2019 Ranking - #7

#7 Bobby Nardella Djurgardens IF / SHL

LD | 5' 9" | 180 lb | Age: 24
Draft: Undrafted
13 Votes - 30.2%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #7
2019 Ranking - Unranked

#8 Damien Riat Hershey Bears / AHL (Genève-Servette HC / NL Switzerland)

W/C | 6' 0" | 180 lb | Age: 23
Draft: 2016 WSH, 4th rd, 26th pk (117th overall)
15 Votes - 35.7%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #8
2019 Ranking- #20

#9 Bogdan Trineyev Dynamo Moscow / KHL

RW | 6' 3" | 198 lb | Age: 18
Draft: 2020 WSH, 4th rd, 24th pk (117th overall)
21 Votes - 55.3%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #9
2019 Ranking - N/A

#10 Axel Jonsson-Fjallby Hershey Bears / AHL (Västerviks IK / HockeyAllsvenskan)

LW | 6' 1" | 194 lb | Age: 22
Draft: 2016 WSH, 5th rd, 26th pk (147th overall)
13 Votes - 32.5%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #10
2019 Ranking - #8

#11 Beck Malenstyn Hershey Bears / AHL

LW | 6' 3" | 200 lb | Age: 22
Draft: 2016 WSH, 5th rd, 24th pk (145th overall)
7 Votes - 25.0%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #11
12 Votes (Runoff) - 52.2%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 #11 Runoff!
2019 Ranking - #11

#12 Brett Leason Hershey Bears / AHL

RW | 6' 5" | 210 lb | Age: 21
Draft: 2019 WSH, 2nd rd, 25th pk (56th overall)
11 Votes - 39.3%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #12
2019 Ranking - #5

#13 Lucas Johansen Hershey Bears / AHL

LD | 6' 2" | 190 lb | Age: 22
Draft: 2016 WSH, 1st rd, 28th pk (28th overall)
8 Votes - 36.4%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #13
2019 Ranking - #6

#14 Hugo Has Guelph Storm / OHL

RD | 6' 4" | 192 lb | Age: 19
Draft: 2019 WSH, 5th rd, 29th pk (153rd overall)
9 Votes - 39.1%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #14
2019 Ranking - #19

#15 Brian Pinho Hershey Bears / AHL

C | 6' 1" | 193 lb | Age: 25
Draft: 2013 WSH, 6th rd, 23rd pk (174th overall)
7 Votes - 28.0%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #15
2019 Ranking - Unranked

#16 Garrett Pilon Hershey Bears / AHL

C | 6' 0" | 192 lb | Age: 22
Draft: 2016 WSH, 3rd rd, 26th pk (87th overall)
10 Votes - 45.5%
Prospect Info: - Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #16
2019 Ranking - #14





Well here we go!

Vote for your your Caps prospects for the 2020 Post-Draft rankings.

Again, to be eligible for the poll, player must be 25 years or younger and has played no more than 25 NHL games.

If there is someone I missed in the poll or you think should be added, please post about it below.



Former Caps prospects dropping out the rankings - No longer part of the organization or no longer eligible or has graduated to the NHL

Tyler Lewington
Liam O'Brien
Colby Williams
Kristofers Bindulis
Connor Hobbs
Alex Kannok-Leipert
Eric Florchuk
Ilya Samsonov

Like in the previous pollings, I'll close the polls after 2 days.

Now VOTE 2020!

Click to read more...

 

[tenken00]

Entering the final stretch - Final vote will be on #20!

 

[Ridley Simon]

Once a Bear, always a Bear

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Oskar, Gibson, Bear, and Snively round out the last of the top 20 for me.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Oskar, Gibson, Bear, and Snively round out the last of the top 20 for me.

How come Oskar over Bear? Curious why the 7th round pick from a month ago leapt over the 5th round pick from a month ago.

 

[Langway]

Oskar, Gibson, Bear, and Snively round out the last of the top 20 for me.

Clark over Snively for me but I agree with the rest in some order. Snively has a shot but at 24 it's increasingly slim whereas Clark makes for an easier NHL fourth-line fit if nothing else. I'd probably put Gersich over Snively as well for similar NHL depth fit reasons, albeit a little more suspect.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

How come Oskar over Bear? Curious why the 7th round pick from a month ago leapt over the 5th round pick from a month ago.

I think Oskar is a safer bet to make it to the show. His skill set and game seem like they'll translate well without the need for a ton of development except work on his skating, which is the easiest thing for prospects to improve on. Great hands and high IQ. Most reports I read said they thought he'd go in the 4th round. Hockey Writers projected him 3rd-4th round but no lower than the 5th. Seems like he slipped because he's a bit undersized but size seems to be less and less a factor moving forward so I doubt in 2-3 years it'll be a huge knock on him.

Bear has higher upside but power forwards are harder to project and he entered this year unranked in most draft rankings so his rise has been rapid and recent. Bear's path to the draft is definitely not a normal one so it's harder to know what his ceiling and floor could be.

I like both players but if you asked me today which one has a better NHL career or a better shot at making it to the NHL, I think it's Oskar.

 

[Ridley Simon]

I think Oskar is a safer bet to make it to the show. His skill set and game seem like they'll translate well without the need for a ton of development except work on his skating, which is the easiest thing for prospects to improve on. Great hands and high IQ. Most reports I read said they thought he'd go in the 4th round. Hockey Writers projected him 3rd-4th round but no lower than the 5th. Seems like he slipped because he's a bit undersized but size seems to be less and less a factor moving forward so I doubt in 2-3 years it'll be a huge knock on him.

Bear has higher upside but power forwards are harder to project and he entered this year unranked in most draft rankings so his rise has been rapid and recent. Bear's path to the draft is definitely not a normal one so it's harder to know what his ceiling and floor could be.

I like both players but if you asked me today which one has a better NHL career or a better shot at making it to the NHL, I think it's Oskar.

Well thought out answer. I don’t agree with it, but I get where you are coming from.

Oskar has to work on his skating AND he’s very small. Sure, small wingers can make it (perhaps he will be a C), but it’s far harder unless they really have the speed element to fall back on. He doesn’t. Least not so far.

I think that’s why the Caps chose him after Bear. They knew his road would be harder than Bear’s, and they were obviously worried the league would take Bear before Oskar.

anyway, good post

 

[Hivemind]

I think I'd have Gersich in my top 20, but it's basically a grab bag at this point.

 

[Random schmoe]

I went Gersich here. Just can't ignore him any longer. He's played in the NHL, albeit for limited time and wasn't amazing. But then he joined the Caps right out of college with no AHL experience, so expectations should've been low.

He's actually younger than Snively who I don't think has much (if any) higher of an upside. Edit: He's also younger than Vanacek, Nardella, and Pinho.

I think some may be writing him off simply because it feels like he's been around forever and hasn't broken through to being a regular yet.

 

[Langway]

Both Gersich & Snively are probably tweeners, though. Neither are strong enough defensively to project as bottom six types nor are they skilled enough to be a soft minute Boyd type offensive producer. Snively has been the more productive of the two but not enough to be firmly on the radar.

Malenstyn, Pinho, AJF, Pilon, Riat and probably Carr if not also Maillet are probably ahead on the depth chart and it's not like there are many spots open to begin with. It's why I'd still opt for Clark over them since he's bigger, more of a grinder and has a longer window to remain in the mix.

 

[Ridley Simon]

I went Gersich here. Just can't ignore him any longer. He's played in the NHL, albeit for limited time and wasn't amazing. But then he joined the Caps right out of college with no AHL experience, so expectations should've been low.

He's actually younger than Snively who I don't think has much (if any) higher of an upside. Edit: He's also younger than Vanacek, Nardella, and Pinho.

I think some may be writing him off simply because it feels like he's been around forever and hasn't broken through to being a regular yet.

I liked him when he first came. Happy they signed him. Always thought his speed would allow him to play in the NHL. Had hoped he’d develop some offensive ability and could be a Chimera type for the team. Hasn’t happened yet.

 

[Random schmoe]

Both Gersich & Snively are probably tweeners, though...

(Trimmed for space)

I don't have anywhere near your prospect review and analysis acumen, so i have no reason to disagree or doubt the assessments you laid out.

Just feel like we're in the territory of 'crapshoot' with everyone still remaining, so I'm going with a guy I think is closer than the rest to being a 13th/14th forward type with an outside chance of regular minutes as a long term injury replacement.

 

[Langway]

Just feel like we're in the territory of 'crapshoot' with everyone still remaining, so I'm going with a guy I think is closer than the rest to being a 13th/14th forward type with an outside chance of regular minutes as a long term injury replacement.

I hear ya. I just think they don't really tend to go for those types of players in depth roles generally. If they were as skilled as Boyd I could see it. If Gersich somehow managed to become a real force on an NHL forecheck with his speed and tenacity I could see it but he doesn't really have that in spades. Otherwise they overwhelmingly go with bigger grinders in depth roles with PK ability and strong defensive play so I tend to think those type all have better chances going forward. I believe Gersich did PK this past season but in his case I doubt that's an NHL role for him. The speed could play but he's got to figure out some sort of niche from there to be useful.

 

[Hivemind]

Gersich did morph his game to be more of an "energy guy" and tenacious checker this year, as opposed to a waterbug offensive player. He's never going to be a dominant force on the forecheck, but he could be a depth sparkplug and PK fill-in.

 

[Langway]

I think that's generally been his game since he's turned pro. He was never much of a zone entry puck possession player against men. My question is more just how good at those things can he become? I don't think he has the skill level of a Leipsic, say, or the tenacity of Grimaldi so it's hard to see him finding that niche at the NHL level beyond 13th/14th forward type fill-in. So, yeah, tweener territory.

Bjorklund, Geisser & Walfridsson probably deserve a little more mention within the fringe of the top 20, as there's conceivable NHL depth potential there. But I'd probably go Gibson, Hughes & Clark to round it out. There's a little more depth now but they do need to start getting contributions from the older pro glob of players outside of the main top five group. The time is now for them.

 

[Hivemind]

I think when he first turned pro, he was trying to be a bit more of a scoring player (as he was in lower levels). As it became apparent he couldn't match that type of production, his game changed towards a player that contributes elsewhere.

All of the players left at this point are either distant projects or fringe guys, it's basically taking whoever you like at this point. I'm favoring Gersich a bit since he's at least had an NHL cup of coffee.