Prospect Info: Capitals Top Prospects 2020 Post-Draft #8

[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






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...

 

[Ridley Simon]

Riat. Again.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

Riat. Again.

He's slowly - but, surely - become a higher-end prospect. Maybe not in terms of being a blue-chipper, but, a later-bloomer that definitely has some top-nine potential, rather than solely bottom-six potential. We will see how he adjust to the American game, once pro seasons here start again. Will surely be a big year for him.

 

[Kalopsia]

I'm guessing this comes down to the two 117th overall picks, Riat and Trineyev. Curious to read peoples' arguments, I could go either way on this one.

 

[tenken00]

I'm guessing this comes down to the two 117th overall picks, Riat and Trineyev. Curious to read peoples' arguments, I could go either way on this one.

Its a good matchup. The battle for the #1 Caps prospect winger. From what I've gathered about them online (it's so much harder to find overseas info):


Both have good size - Riat at 6'0" 180 lbs and Trineyev at 6'3" 198 lbs


Both have good upside potential and the necessary skills for their prototypical types - Riat at scoring winger Trineyev at power forward


Riat could always put up points with ease, just a natural touch. He's got speed and he can skate. Unfortunately that injury (concussion?) derailed him somewhat last year after Caps rookie camp but he was on fire after returning and getting adjusted. Doesn't just rely on talent alone but also a hard worker. At 23, he's older than Trineyev by a good amount, but he's done well and has scored wherever he's played and at all ages - 2016 & 2017 Switzerland WJC's: 10 points in 11 games. He's bulked up and gained strength this year which will prepare him for the NHL but still has a slight build. Most scouts peg his potential as a top 6 winger.


Trineyev is really young (18 years) but he's already so damn huge. He plays a game that fits right into NA rinks and loves playing that type of game. And now he's been promoted to the KHL. He uses his huge ass size and his agility to punish people on the boards. Willingness to go to the net. He's actually pretty agile for a guy his size and the same goes for his skating ability which is surprising. Likes to use his body to create space while with the puck which makes it hard to knock him off of it. His all around offensive game has skyrocketed so far early this season. Much more confident with his shot this season as well.

Edited

 

[Ridley Simon]

I'm guessing this comes down to the two 117th overall picks, Riat and Trineyev. Curious to read peoples' arguments, I could go either way on this one.

Trineyev has that “shiny new toy” thing going for him (as does Magnusson, which is crazy as he’s a brand new 7th rounder).

guys like AJF, Malenstyn, Pinho, Pilot....heck, even LuJo.....should be ahead of these newbies

 

[twabby]

Who's scored the most points? (adjust for league or age or whatever)

That's my guy.

 

[Langway]

guys like AJF, Malenstyn, Pinho, Pilot....heck, even LuJo.....should be ahead of these newbies

As it concerns Magnusson I might agree, although I think he's still got more raw scoring-line ability than those older prospects. I don't think it's recency bias so much as valuing upside over fringe tools that haven't progressed substantially. A player like Gersich not long ago was valued fairly highly for similar reasons and is now among the muddle since not producing at higher levels. To me, though, I'd still value upside and raw ability until they break one way or another. I'm less convinced Magnusson is truly of that class compared to Trineyev so that's a closer call. (For me Magnusson probably is more in the 15 range.) But Trineyev has the most intriguing skill set among the players left IMO. The organization also seemingly had him rated much higher than he went. They don't rank every player so their list is somewhat abridged but it does speak to how highly they view him. Fairly quickly moving up to the VHL/KHL levels in that system also speaks well of him.

When it comes to Riat vs. Trineyev for me it's mainly Trineyev's frame and raw ability vs. Riat's speed and polish. It's close so I could see it either way. Looks like Riat will take it but Trineyev's raw physical tools are unique. We'll see how well he refines them but he could be a real player. If there's a concern it might be hockey sense to some extent but he has such a raw game you overlook it a bit. Riat's a safer bet at this stage and has probably progressed to rightfully be considered more NHL-ready than Malenstyn/AJF offensively (but it does remain a bit hard to say until he's in NA full-time).

 

[Silky mitts]

Last year I said I was going to vote for Protas #6 on and I didn’t follow through this year I’m doing it with Has, tempted as I may be to vote for Trineyev over Riat, because at least there’s a chance he’ll make it to the NHL before he’s 26

 

[Rayquaza64]

still going with trineyev, and wont stop

 

[Bieronymus Trotz]

I voted for Trineyev basically because he's so much younger than Riat, but

 

[Kalopsia]

Trineyev has that “shiny new toy” thing going for him (as does Magnusson, which is crazy as he’s a brand new 7th rounder).

guys like AJF, Malenstyn, Pinho, Pilot....heck, even LuJo.....should be ahead of these newbies

The thing with those guys is even if it's more likely they make it to the NHL than someone like Trineyev, I don't think they have as good of a chance at being above a replacement level player than Trineyev does. You can get cheap 4th line forwards and 3rd pairing D for barely over league minimum in free agency every year (see Dowd and TVR), so I really don't care about prospects who don't have a top 9F/top 4D ceiling. I'll take a prospect who has (just making up numbers here) a 10% chance of making the NHL with a 5% chance of being a top 9F over a prospect who has a 50% chance of making the NHL but only a 1% chance of being a top 9F any day.

Anyway, I ended up voting for Riat, but he still feels like a real shot in the dark. His development route of just staying in the Swiss league is pretty rare from what I can tell. I looked through the list of Swiss players in the NHL, and most of them either switched to a CHL or SHL team before getting to the AHL/NHL. The only ones that jumped straight from the Swiss league to the AHL were Josi and Siegenthaler, but they each made the jump within two years of being drafted (Riat's entering D+5), and they're both obviously defensemen so they can't help with evaluating Riat's point production. For him to make the NHL after spending his first four years after being drafted in the Swiss league would basically be unprecedented.

 

[tenken00]

All of the rest of these prosepcts are long shots in the dark. Its just the state of the Caps situation that they are in with the depth of their prospects pool. Its unfortunate for Riat in that he was supposed to finish out last season and playoffs for Hershey before everything got shut down. We would have had our first glimpse of him in official games in a NA rink. I'm not sure why he decided to take so long to come over, or why he decided not to at least head to a higher regarded Euro league like the SHL, but thats everyone's personal choice. It could be that he needed time to stay close to home or for any number of reasons.

But hopefully once Hershey starts in February, all questions about Riat can finally be laid to rest. Or at least no longer be a mystery.

 

[Hivemind]

All of the rest of these prosepcts are long shots in the dark. Its just the state of the Caps situation that they are in with the depth of their prospects pool. Its unfortunate for Riat in that he was supposed to finish out last season and playoffs for Hershey before everything got shut down. We would have had our first glimpse of him in official games in a NA rink. I'm not sure why he decided to take so long to come over, or why he decided not to at least head to a higher regarded Euro league like the SHL, but thats everyone's personal choice. It could be that he needed time to stay close to home or for any number of reasons.

But hopefully once Hershey starts in February, all questions about Riat can finally be laid to rest. Or at least no longer be a mystery.

Even if the AHL season happens in February, I wouldn't count on all European prospects hopping over. If you were either the prospect or the Capitals, would you really want to take a guy out of a mid-season situation to have them quarantine for fourteen days before going through a training camp scenario to play in a shortened season against other likely less-than-full-strength rosters in a league that could suddenly shut down mid-season due to new outbreaks? I wouldn't. I suspect most of the guys that are playing in Europe are going to play the full season out in Europe. The only exceptions would be those the Capitals think have a serious chance of cracking an NHL roster this season.


I also think Malenstyn isn't really a shot in the dark, but his upside is more limited. He's likely to be one of the next couple I vote for, even if his max is as a 12th-14th forward with a bit of PK duty.

 

[tenken00]

Even if the AHL season happens in February, I wouldn't count on all European prospects hopping over. If you were either the prospect or the Capitals, would you really want to take a guy out of a mid-season situation to have them quarantine for fourteen days before going through a training camp scenario to play in a shortened season against other likely less-than-full-strength rosters in a league that could suddenly shut down mid-season due to new outbreaks? I wouldn't. I suspect most of the guys that are playing in Europe are going to play the full season out in Europe. The only exceptions would be those the Capitals think have a serious chance of cracking an NHL roster this season.


I also think Malenstyn isn't really a shot in the dark, but his upside is more limited. He's likely to be one of the next couple I vote for, even if his max is as a 12th-14th forward with a bit of PK duty.

I can't really say for all of the Caps prospects in Europe on whether to stay there or come back (the only one that I think should stay no matter what is Protas), but I think Riat would be one of the those most likeliest to come back. His stated goal from just a few days ago was to make the Caps roster as quickly as possible. He actually had set his sights on making the team out of training camp this season 2020-2021. I think once the Caps open training camp (whenever that is...) I think he'll be there.

October 25 (In German with use of auto-translate into English)

Riat knows about the great challenge that awaits him at the Capitals. In recent years he has been on the ice with the stars of the team several times at training camps. "It will certainly not be easy for me in Washington. But I will do everything I can to take the chance this time and make the leap into the team. My goal is to play in the NHL as soon as possible. I work on that every day he said.​

Damien Riat arbeitet hart für sein großes Ziel​

I imagine that the Caps will be taking a good long look at a competition between Sprong and Riat this training camp to see if they can fill that 3RW spot internally and cheap.



Edit: In Beck the Check's case: he's no long shot to make the team, but perhaps a long shot on becoming an impact player. Still very useful of course. I can see him getting Hathaway's job next year if he does well out of camp.

 

[tenken00]

Ok, I'll be honest though.

I selfishly admit I kind of do want at least all the Hershey guys to return so that I can have my Calder Cup that I was denied last year...

 

[Rayquaza64]

Ok, I'll be honest though.

I selfishly admit I kind of do want at least all the Hershey guys to return so that I can have my Calder Cup that I was denied last year...

with some of the signings they made i would be surprised if the bears dont at least make it to round 3

 

[Capagonia]

Yeah I agree that Protas should just stay over in the KHL for the rest of the season. Since he’s under contract with the Caps can they make that call or does he have some sort of contractual obligation to Prince Albert? Not really sure how CHL contracts work once you’ve signed an NHL ELC.