G Andrei Vasilevskiy (2012, 19th overall, Tampa Bay)

[Sticks and Pucks]

Where was this kid projected to go in the draft before the WJC tournament started? And if he continues to stand on his head in this tournament, how high in the draft do you guys think he will go?

Click to read more...

 

[WheatiesHockey]

Certainly an impressive performance for a 17 year old goalie.
Just a hunch, but Detroit might take a goalie as late first round pick this year.

 

[Keke]

Certainly an impressive performance for a 17 year old goalie.
Just a hunch, but Detroit might take a goalie as late first round pick this year.

If we take a look in this year WJC performance it would be sick that Detroit is gonna have both Mrazek and Vasilevsky

 

[3 Minute Minor]

Vasilevski had first round potential prior to this tournament. I don't think many scouts ever questioned his talent. It's the Russian factor that will keep teams away.

Some people liked his game before this tournament

No order:
Mikael Granlund
Teemu Pulkkinen
Geno Kuznetsov
Nail Yakupov
Mikhail Grigorenko
Jaden Schwartz
Brandon Gormley
Brandon Saad
Andrei Vasilevski
Jack Campbell

I like Vasilevski and I think he could be a 1st round pick however he's Russian. We all know about the Russian factor and for that reason alone we'll see Malcolm Subban easily go ahead of him.

 

[hawksfan50]

This proves the point of the early rankings bias --sure it was easy to project Yakupov and Grigorenko as the likely conensus #1 and #2 -in whatever order you like--picks--BUT I think there are now to clear "franchise goalie" prospects to consider..

BEFORE the WJHC -in my Dec. ranking I put MALCOLM SUBBAN at #1 (Not that he'd be picked there but in best player regardless of position --because as good as Yakupov and Grigorenko are-Subban lloked like a once in a generation "franchise" goalie to me,,,NOW I also see the same real deal in Vasilevski ...so 2 "Franchise goalie" candidates in 1 draft ...bot of course certainly foirst rounders--the question is how high will they go given :i) the usaul bias for forwards or d-men ahead ofgoalies and ii) in Valilevsky's case--the russkie and KHL factors (does he want the NHL?)..

ALL I know is that these look like the 2 best goalie prospects ihave seen in a long time this good in their first draft year ...

NOW scoring forwards put bums in the seats--goalies do not--hence the bias for "star" forwards ahead of drafting goalies...YET --"GREAT" goalies ."FRANCHISE" goalies are key difference-makers that can make a greater contribution to winning and Cup contention...

SO in all proability Yakupov and Grigorenko both go before any goalies--but in honeset ranking of "BEST" regardless of position-I have to put these 2 goalies into the super special category...certainly as I said--the best goaltending prospects i have seen come down the pike in a long time...They could be the "next ones" dstined for NHL Hall of Fame status after their careers end..

Both deserve to be TOP TEN at least --but agin goalies do not put bums in the seats and teams starving for stars in the bottom 5 or bottom 7 --have to consider filling seats if that is a concern--if not then they may already have goalies signed long term affecting their caps and that could prevent taking another one --OR they could still subscibe to a bias that they can still get a good enough goalie in the rounds after the first.


Usually bottom teams need a lot of help in every position....Usually they don't see a turnaround for several years and know they need to stock up on early picks for several drafts to get better.. Therefore they can't "waste" an early pick on a goalie who probably alone can't turn them aroundquick even if he could be "ready" for the NHL (the usual wisdom being you can't rush a goalie anyway)..


So for all the above reasons neither goalie probably goes till at least #8 ---maybe both go by the end of the teens if NHL GM's are as smartas i think they should be...
These goalies are far better than the usual first rounder goalies taken in the 20's...

BUT to be honest in ranking overall regardless of position-I still must insist on putting them ahead of any forward or d-man from this draft.

Of course Subban is not at the wJHC--it makes no difference-I've seen him plenty of times for Belleville this season steal games for them..

I did not rank Vailevsky in the first round because I never saw him play nor did the conensus of rankings in this Forum have him first round ranked i in any overall attempt at grading all positions in one combo ranking..

HOWEVER--clearly he is the real deal (not withstanding that Sweden eventually broke him by barraging the Russkie net with shot after shot bombardment) -but you saw again his brilliance to keep Russia in the game vs. the CZECHS till they could win it in OT..

BECAUSE--as good prospects as YAKUPOV and GRIGORENKO are -neither is GRETZKY or MARIO LEMIEUX respectively --but SUBBAN and VASILEVSKY could be BRODEUR and TRETIAK --in otherwords --very very special goaltenders who define the position over their careers..

 

[3 Minute Minor]

@hawksfan50
How often do we see goalies get picked in round 1 and flop?
How often do we see goalies get picked late and excel?

Goalies are the easily the toughest position to try to project potential. A good example is Jack Campbell. By no means am I saying he's a flop or a bust. He's not even 20 he has a lot left to give but look at his numbers from his draft year (11th overall) to now? But the guy went from a Gold Medal to 7th place at best and seemed to fight the puck every game. Goalies are such a gamble pick these days. Some better examples of flops are Chet Pickard, Thomas Mccollum, Riku Helenius, Al Montaya, Marek Schwarz.

Then you got starters in the NHL like James Reimer (99th overall), Ryan Miller (138th overall), Henrik Lundqvist (205th overall), Pekka Rinne (258th overall), Jonas Hiller (Undrafted) Jim Howard (64th overall not that late but still).

It's very justified for GM's to hesitate on goalies. I think the world of Andrei Vasilevski but I can see many reasons why teams would shy away from him.

 

[chasespace]

Yzerman will add him to his collection of Russians. So hands off!

 

[3 Minute Minor]

Yzerman will add him to his collection of Russians. So hands off!

I like this prediction

 

[BLBarmada]

I think this kid is the real deal. Whoever takes him won't regret it.

 

[Bjorn Le]

Bob McKenzie said he's a sure fire first rounder prior to the game tonight.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

Bob McKenzie said he's a sure fire first rounder prior to the game tonight.

I think most of the hockey world has respect for Bob McKenzie, including myself, but it's impossible to guarantee that. A) It's January B)He's a RUSSIAN GOALIE

Russians always drop and goalies typically go later in the draft. Unless ISS ranks him top 10 (Which I think is more than justified) I won't be surprised if he gets picked in round 2.

 

[MrFunnyWobbl]

This proves the point of the early rankings bias --sure it was easy to project Yakupov and Grigorenko as the likely conensus #1 and #2 -in whatever order you like--picks--BUT I think there are now to clear "franchise goalie" prospects to consider..

BEFORE the WJHC -in my Dec. ranking I put MALCOLM SUBBAN at #1 (Not that he'd be picked there but in best player regardless of position --because as good as Yakupov and Grigorenko are-Subban lloked like a once in a generation "franchise" goalie to me,,,NOW I also see the same real deal in Vasilevski ...so 2 "Franchise goalie" candidates in 1 draft ...bot of course certainly foirst rounders--the question is how high will they go given :i) the usaul bias for forwards or d-men ahead ofgoalies and ii) in Valilevsky's case--the russkie and KHL factors (does he want the NHL?)..

ALL I know is that these look like the 2 best goalie prospects ihave seen in a long time this good in their first draft year ...

NOW scoring forwards put bums in the seats--goalies do not--hence the bias for "star" forwards ahead of drafting goalies...YET --"GREAT" goalies ."FRANCHISE" goalies are key difference-makers that can make a greater contribution to winning and Cup contention...

SO in all proability Yakupov and Grigorenko both go before any goalies--but in honeset ranking of "BEST" regardless of position-I have to put these 2 goalies into the super special category...certainly as I said--the best goaltending prospects i have seen come down the pike in a long time...They could be the "next ones" dstined for NHL Hall of Fame status after their careers end..

Both deserve to be TOP TEN at least --but agin goalies do not put bums in the seats and teams starving for stars in the bottom 5 or bottom 7 --have to consider filling seats if that is a concern--if not then they may already have goalies signed long term affecting their caps and that could prevent taking another one --OR they could still subscibe to a bias that they can still get a good enough goalie in the rounds after the first.


Usually bottom teams need a lot of help in every position....Usually they don't see a turnaround for several years and know they need to stock up on early picks for several drafts to get better.. Therefore they can't "waste" an early pick on a goalie who probably alone can't turn them aroundquick even if he could be "ready" for the NHL (the usual wisdom being you can't rush a goalie anyway)..


So for all the above reasons neither goalie probably goes till at least #8 ---maybe both go by the end of the teens if NHL GM's are as smartas i think they should be...
These goalies are far better than the usual first rounder goalies taken in the 20's...

BUT to be honest in ranking overall regardless of position-I still must insist on putting them ahead of any forward or d-man from this draft.

Of course Subban is not at the wJHC--it makes no difference-I've seen him plenty of times for Belleville this season steal games for them..

I did not rank Vailevsky in the first round because I never saw him play nor did the conensus of rankings in this Forum have him first round ranked i in any overall attempt at grading all positions in one combo ranking..

HOWEVER--clearly he is the real deal (not withstanding that Sweden eventually broke him by barraging the Russkie net with shot after shot bombardment) -but you saw again his brilliance to keep Russia in the game vs. the CZECHS till they could win it in OT..

BECAUSE--as good prospects as YAKUPOV and GRIGORENKO are -neither is GRETZKY or MARIO LEMIEUX respectively --but SUBBAN and VASILEVSKY could be BRODEUR and TRETIAK --in otherwords --very very special goaltenders who define the position over their careers..

hahahaha. Gotta be the best part of this post.

 

[Jabba11]

Canada fan here.

I have no words to describe this kid.

 

[Vipers31]

Haven't seen a ton of him, but the little I have leaves me quite impressed. Seems to move and use his size well. His glove looked unbelievably fast.

 

[shaner8989]

Top 10 pick wouldnt suprise me

Hes amazing

 

[3 Minute Minor]

A little background information for those who are new to Andrei Vasilesvki. At age 15 he was the starting goalie for Russia at the 2010 U18 tournament. In 5 games he put up a 2.65GAA and .897Save%
At Age 16 he was again the starting goalie for Russia at the 2011 U18 tournament. In 6 games he posted a 2.62GAA and .936Save%

Kids a stud despite just getting yanked from the Canada/Russia game.

 

[SLAPSHOT723]

@hawksfan50
How often do we see goalies get picked in round 1 and flop?
How often do we see goalies get picked late and excel?

Goalies are the easily the toughest position to try to project potential. A good example is Jack Campbell. By no means am I saying he's a flop or a bust. He's not even 20 he has a lot left to give but look at his numbers from his draft year (11th overall) to now? But the guy went from a Gold Medal to 7th place at best and seemed to fight the puck every game. Goalies are such a gamble pick these days. Some better examples of flops are Chet Pickard, Thomas Mccollum, Riku Helenius,Al Montaya, Marek Schwarz.

Then you got starters in the NHL like James Reimer (99th overall), Ryan Miller (138th overall), Henrik Lundqvist (205th overall), Pekka Rinne (258th overall), Jonas Hiller (Undrafted) Jim Howard (64th overall not that late but still).

It's very justified for GM's to hesitate on goalies. I think the world of Andrei Vasilevski but I can see many reasons why teams would shy away from him.

Montoya ended up saving his career late, so I don't know if I would put him in that category.

But man, Vasilevski had a really good game up until the third period. I also became a huge Mrazek fan after the USA game.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

Montoya ended up saving his career late, so I don't know if I would put him in that category.

6th overall and still never won double digit games in a season throughout his career(age 26, 27 in a month)? I'd say he belongs in this category

 

[forthewild]

that meltdown wasn't his falut, when the team started celebrating 10 min early the goalie was hung out to dry.

still given what previous posters have said picking a goalie early on is very very risky specially if there is some good players still on board. and with him you have the russian factor as well.

after watching him make huge saves early on he is talented won't be shocked if he goes top 15 but won't be shocked if he falls out of 1st

 

[BLBarmada]

He's better then Campbell at the same age.

 

[chaosrevolver]

He and Subban are incredible at their ages. Both could easily be border-line first round picks.

Subban will go first probably due to the Russian factor and maybe cause he is better (I say maybe cause I really haven't seen Vasilevski other than this tourney).

 

[LT]

Screw Campbell, let's draft this guy.

 

[Minister of Offence]

Talent wise...he's more impressive than Jack Campbell at 19.

I don't believe in spending a top 15-20 pick on a goalie for the most part but it's hard to guess which teams might be willing. If he expresses interest in the NHL and people like his character/work ethic...he's good enough to go in the top half somewhere.

This isn't just about how he played...the guy is just extremely talented and polished. And he has a level of calmness and relaxed style that is hard to teach. Very Carey Price like.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Jackets 2nd round pick please

 

[Spawnisen]

Wow, Subban, Vasilevsky, Mrazek, some of the great upcoming NHL goalies imo