1-David Jiricek RD
Huge physical defenseman with incredible athleticisms, skills, mobility and power. Jiricek is a beast of his own, he has an agrissive controlled approach of the game combined with a high IQ, what makes him incredibly difficult to face. His size/strength/reach/mobility and gap control gives his opponents no time and space at all and makes their life miserable. He is also excellent at reading and breaking plays displaying great anticipation. Offensively, he can generate offense multiple ways displaying great stickhandling and passing skills while his shooting arsenal is absolutely elite level.
Projection: Elite defenseman
2-Juraj Slafkovsky LW
Puck possession monster and physical specimen, Slafkovsky’s package is pretty unique. The way he generates power all over the ice coupled with some of the smoothest hands in the draft and great shooting skills easily makes him one of the most attractive players in the draft.
Projection: Top line power forward
3- Joakim Kemell RW
Best pure goalscorer in the draft. Kemell has a deadly wrister with quick release, great velocity/accuracy and his slapper/one timer violent and devastating. Furthermore, Kemell is a solid skater with high motor and solid puck skills, he plays with an edge, is pretty strong for his size and his game rather well rounded.
Projection: Top line scoring winger
4-Danila Yurov RW
A 18 years old kid in a man body, Yurov is a big, powerful skater with a long reach and some of the best puck skills in the draft. He is pretty hard to move off the puck, has very good playmaking and shooting skills and is a constant treath in the offensive zone. Combine that with a good IQ and some nice 200 ft. work and it gives you a very high potential forward.
Projection: Top line forward
5-Pavel Mintyukov RD
Pucks skills off the chart, just a brilliant and imprevisible puckhandler who uses his long reach and smooth hands to undress opponents and break defensive structures. Great skater who has the ability to switch gear and change his pace, what adds to the imprevisibility aspect of his game. Solid frame, strongly built, Mintyukov defends very well with a physical element to his game, closes gap quickly and is nearly impossible to beat one on one. Could be more aggressive and proactive at times in his own zone and needs to bring his “A” game more consistently. His tools are high end level and the potential sky high.
Projection: Top pairing defenseman and future PP quarterback.
6-Simon Nemec RD
Fast and dynamic skater who excels in transition, doesn’t miss an opportunity to jump in the play to support the attack, has sharp accurate passing skills, a high motor and the will to be a difference maker. His shot and defensive play are legit
Projection: Top pairing defenseman and future PP quarterback
7-Logan Cooley C
Electrifying center with high end dynamic skills. Cooley is a strong stickhandler with sly moves who can dangle through traffic and isn’t effraid to cut inside and take punishment to make plays. His motor is very high, competes at both ends of the ice and there is no glaring flaw in his game outside of an undersized frame, which shouldn’t be much of an issue in this case going forward.
Projection: Dynamic top 6 center
8-Marco Kasper C/LW
Strong powerful skater with high end IQ and motor. Great positional player with strong 200 ft. workload. Has a solid frame and uses it very well to protect pucks and work the board to his advantage. Kid is a very good stickhandler who makes the high % effective plays all the time. He is strong on pucks, plays the game with an edge and the way he generates offense should translate very well to the NHL.
Projection: top 6 versatile forward
9-Filip Mesar LW
Deceptively fast and talended, Mesar plays a high paced game and can make high level plays at top speed. He is pretty shifty, has great edges and his feet always moving. Kid can turn on a dime and change direction with baffling ease, what makes him highly imprevisible and tough to defend. Has a high compete and is highly combative.
Projection top 6 forward
10-Shane Wright C
Wright is a brilliant pucks distributor, uses his linemates extremely well, is aware of his options before the puck hits his stick going for the best passing option and then jump in the play looking for the open spots. His passing is the fundamental part of the way he generates offense. Kid is a good puckhandler, but doesn’t hold on the puck very long, will look for a pass as soon as he feels some pressure instead of varying his game such as challenging opponents one on one or using his frame to protect the puck ect., what at the end makes him expectable and rather boring to watch. Most of the time, he is just not driving the play. Has good skating agility and moves well laterally, but his unability to accelerate and generate enough straight line speed is also a legit concern since its impacting his pace and dynamism. His shot hasn’t been much of a treath this year, he struggled to beat goaltenders cleanly. There is also a notable lack of grit in his game and unwillingness to accept physical challenges. Needs to work on his skating and increase his motor, which one is way too low at the moment.
Projection Top 6 two-way center
11-Viktor Neuchev RW
Huge upside player. Neuchev is a fantastic skater with great hands and shooting skills. Competes hard, high motor and has that willingness to be a difference maker. Needs to keep on filling out.
Projection: Potential top 6 scoring forward.
12-Jonathan Lekkerimaki RW
Highly talended puckhandler with great offensive awarenesses and scoring skills, has that ability to find the open spots and fire pucks from danger areas. Has very good vision, passing skills and a quick deceptive release. Needs to get stronger and would benefit from adding an extra gear to his skating.
Projection: Top 6 pure offensively minded winger
13-Lian Bichsel LD
A force of nature, incredible physical tools coupled with excellent mobility. Excels at defending, a beast in his own zone, has an heavy shot and some raw tools. When you play this kid, you know you are going to do it through pain and punishment.
Projection: High end shut down defenseman
14-Cutter Gauthier LW
The prototype powerfoward of this draft. Has great size, strength, reach, soft hands and a devastating shot. Use his frame greatly to protect the puck and bring it to danger ereas. Needs to keep working on the quickness of his feet and pace.
Projection: top 6 power winger
15-Jiri Kulich C/LW
Might not be one of the most purely creative players in this draft, but still has some great tools, such as his shot, strong skating and good puck poise. His IQ and 200 ft. work are high level and projects easily as a future quality NHLer.
Projection: High quality versatile middle 6 forward.
16-Brad Lambert RW
Kid has some great tools, he is a strong skater with good size and good stickhandling skills, can make great plays at top speed and looks overall pretty dynamic. But has struggled a lot to produce in Liiga, changed teams twice and has some apparent off ice issues. Very good talent coming with some risks.
Projection: Potential top 6 forward
17- Gleb Trikozov RW
Great puckhandler with high end vision and playmaking. Good skater and pocesses great offensive awarenesses. Could be more proactive without the puck.
Projection: Potential top 6 foward
18-Cale Odelius LD
Smooth skating defenseman displaying a sharp accurate passing game, good puck skills, high IQ and a well rounded game.
Projection: Top 4 puckmoving defenseman
19-Isaac Howard LW
Very good skater with great edges and speed. Howard plays the game at a really high pace and proceed the game quickly, has very good offensive instincts and goalscoring abilities. Needs to work the boards better and avoid to precipitate plays under pressure.
Projection: Potential top 6 scoring winger
20-Frank Nazar C/RW
Creative puckhandler displaying great vision, above average IQ and offensive awarenesses. Needs to get stronger and more powerful.
Projection: Potential top 6 winger
21-Matthew Savoie RW
Fast dynamic skater with nice hands and shot. Plays the game with intensity but needs to play a better positional game and not the biggest frame out there.
Projection: Potential top 6 winger
22-Noah Ostlund C
Easily one of the fastest players in the draft, is phenomenal in transition and executes plays very quickly. On the very small side though and gets pushed around rather easily, what makes him harder to project at the NHL level.
Projection: Potential top 6 forward
23-Adam Sykora LW/RW
One of my favorites in the draft. Fiesty diminutive winger, but don’t let his undersized frame fool you, that little man plays big and is extremely strong. His motor is high end and his feet extremely quick. He is a beast on the forecheck and his game away from the puck flawless. Has quick hands and make plays in tight, works the boards extremely well, is pretty hard to knock off the puck, is excellent at cycling and keeping the play alive. He brings pucks to danger zones, has a good shot and a poison around the net. Similar playing style to T.J. Oshie.
Projection: Quality middle 6 winger
24-Nathan Gaucher C
Gaucher is a big power center with an heavy 200ft. game, who doesn’t miss an opportunity to throw his size around. Kid skates very well for a big boy, distributes pucks well enough and has a powerful shot.
Projection: High end shut down center
25-Conor Geekie C
Huge kid with sweet hands and playmaking abilities. Has good top speed once he gets going, but needs to improve his footwork/agility. Filling his frame will be his biggest challenge.
Projection: Potential 2nd line center.
26-Kevin Korchinski
Fluid, gracious skater, outstanding in transition, has great passing and stickhandling skills. Prone to blunder at times and his defensive game a work in progress.
Projection: Top 4 potential
27-Tristan Luneau RD
Smooth skating defenseman with good size and a well rounded game. Pretty stable, composed and balanced defenseman who does everything well, but nothing exceptional.
Projection: top 4 potential
28-Rudger Mcgroarty
Just a strong powerful kid with good skills and a great shot. Needs to keep working on his skating.
Projection: Middle 6 forward
29-Liam Ohgren LW
Has some nice tools, but nothing really standing out except above average passing skills.
Projection: Potential middle 6 winger
30-Denton Mateychuk LD
High risk, high reward undersized offensive minded defenseman. Does a lot of goods and some bads. Will need to get better defensively.
Projection: Top 4, PP quarterbacking potential
31-Jimmy Snuggerud RW
Good size/reach, skates well, good stickhandler, distributes pucks well. Snuggerud has some interesting tools.
Projection: Potential middle 6 forward
32-Ivan Miroshnichenko
Huge talent for the upcoming draft, we wish him good luck and a speedy recovery.
