HFNHL Vegas 2020 Draft Recap

Lord Stanley

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Feb 24, 2003
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Day one of the HFNHL draft was fairly busy for Vegas. Leading up to the draft the Golden Knights traded away picks they owned in the first and second round, in a trade for Johnny Gaudreau. After the deal and some others the Golden Knights attempted to get back into the first round and had talks with several teams leading up to the draft and during the draft. In the end we failed to get back into the first round. We did make one trade adding a late third round pick 92nd overall for a 4th (111th) and 5th (135th).

3rd round 66th overall: Sam Colangelo, RW
We were extremely happy to land Colangelo this late in the draft, we had him ranked 36th overall as an early 2nd round pick. We didn’t see a singe ranking with him outside the 2nd round. We think down the line we could have top 6 power winger.

“He can get himself into spots on the ice a lot of other people can’t… Strong on his feet, strong with his hands. Then he can fire a puck. When he gets an opportunity to shoot, he has a good shot. But he’s got to learn to get into those spots a little bit more during the game to utilize that… He also has a bit of an edge, which is good… He’s very strong for his age. He’s heavy on the puck. He can strip guys of pucks, which allows him to create more offense for him.”- Greg Moore, former Chicago Steel head coach

3rd round 81st overall: Eemil Viro, D
We had Viro ranked 57th overall, and were quite pleased to see him still available here. We were impressed with his ability to play a steady game in the top league in Finland at such a young age. Down the road we are hoping for a solid all around middle pairing defender.

“Viro is an average-sized two-way defenseman who doesn’t really have any standout qualities but he’s good at everything. He is a very good skater with edge work and three-step quickness being his biggest strengths in that area. He is also a very smart player who doesn’t usually force plays that aren’t there. He gives very good breakout passes and likes to join the rush. Even though he isn’t a puck-rusher, he can also carry the puck if passing lanes are not available. He can make flashy plays at times but those are not his calling card. Although he is a better player with the puck than without it, Viro is also a pretty good defensive player. He is not big or physical but he utilizes his stick effectively. His positioning still needs improvement but his good hockey sense allows him to improve in that area as well. Like most players his age, he needs to get stronger to win more battles at the pro level.” – Jokke Nevalainen, DobberProspects

3rd round 82nd overall: Roni Hirvonen, C
Similar to Colangelo we were excited to add Hirvonen in the 3rd round, as our final draft rankings had him 40th on our list. Five years ago as GM of the Hurricanes we drafted a similar smaller Finnish forward 86th overall by the name of Sebastian Aho. Hopefully we got another steal in Hirvonen.

“Hirvonen is an aggressive two-way center with quickness and tireless approach towards every shift while keeping his feet moving at all times. There are games where he will keep his foot on the gas from start to finish and maintain the intensity from start to finish. Even on power plays, Hirvonen stays in motion and will alternate sides of the ice. He handles the puck with ease and is agile in all directions, which helps him run the possession of a power play from the right half wall. Hirvonen also plays on the penalty kill and will pressure the points without overcommitting himself.” – Steve Kournianos, The Draft Analyst

3rd round 92nd overall: Jack Finley, C
We had the big centre ranked 81st on our list and decided to go off our board a little bit to take him. We had some higher ranked players left on our board, but as our pick was approaching we did some more digging on Finley and felt the upside was to high to pass on. Who knows what he will eventually be, but we are hoping he hits the ceiling.

“They’re going to get an NHL player for sure.” – Manny Viveiros Head Coach Spokane Chiefs offered up a simple scouting report for whoever picks him.

Considering we had no picks in the first two rounds, we are extremely happy with how things turned out for us with the four 3rd round picks. We still have four picks to make with three in the 5th round and one in the 6th.
 

Hossa

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Feb 27, 2002
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I really like this draft. Had Colangelo, Viro and Hirvonen all much higher than where you took them, especially Colangelo and Hirvonen.

I have no idea why Colangelo slipped - sure the skating isn't great, but it's not bad and half the first round is an average skater relative to their size. And I'm not totally sold on Hirvonen's upside, but he had a great year, works extremely hard and does a lot of things well. Both have a pretty good probability to be solid middle six players, and you just don't usually secure that in the third round.

I'm less a fan of Finley, but I may be in the minority on that one, as I know several others were hoping to get him in that range. So well done all around.
 
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Lord Stanley

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Feb 24, 2003
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5th round 126th overall: Calle Clang, G
We had Clang ranked 3rd on our day 2 list and had no expectation that he would fall to us in the 5th round. He’s certainly a long term project as are most goalies, but we like the upside he adds to our goaltending ranks which includes Soogard, Kochetkov and Wolf currently.

Clang has been a workhorse for Rögle this season in J20 SuperElit, and he’s been one of the top goalies in the league. His stats don’t really do him justice because he hasn’t had a good team in front of him. Clang also doesn’t get much exposure in international events because of Jesper Wallstedt (2021) but Clang is arguably the best Swedish goalie in this draft class and one of the top goalies out of Europe.
Dobber Prospects

5th round 137th overall: Ryder Rolston, RW
Rolston was a player that we drafted in part because I was a fan of his father Brian. We had him ranked 17th on our day 2 list. We’ve seen him ranked all over the place from a 3rd to 6th round pick. At this point in the draft taking a gamble on the son of a former NHLer that can skate and shoot isn’t a bad thing.

"His world is open. He wants it. You have to have that," O'Handley said. "He's got the competitive nature. You've got to have that. He's got the skill set. You've got to have that. Just all has to come together, and that just takes a little bit of time."
It's easy to tell when a prospect comes from a family with NHL experience, O'Handley said.” — Waterloo Coach PK O’Handley

5th round 138th overall: Christoffer Sedoff, D
He’s not a flashy guy at all, just a solid defensive players that could one day be a solid bottom pairing guy that plays some penalty kill. We had him 18th on our day 2 list, no real expectations at this point just a guy we think is a safe pick to potentially reach his ceiling one day.

“A skilled passer with vision, he consistently delivered passes that were easy to receive. He also managed well in the defensive zone by using an active stick to maintain good gap control. He played a solid physical game along the boards.” – Marco Bombino/FinnProspects

5th round 140th overall: Thimo Nickl, D
Big solid defender that I’ve seen ranked inside just about every top 100 list. Similar to Sedoff I think that Nickl is a solid guy with limited upside, but also a guy that at this point in the draft has a real chance of reaching his ceiling. We had him ranked 19th on our day 2 list.

“Thimo is a solid two-way defenseman that brings a good puck game and a physical element,” said one NHL scout. “He has good size and uses it well. He defends well with his stick and body position. He’s a strong skater with good mobility and agility.”

5th round 144th overall: Bogdan Trineyev, RW
Admittedly this is a player we had lower on our draft list heading into the draft, after seeing that he was listed as a honourable mention on Bob Mackenzies final list we moved him up a little bit to 22nd on our day 2 list. He’s got some size and we think with time could be a similar type of player to Ilya Mikheyev.

Bogdan Trineyev is one of the most complete Russians in this draft class… For a big man, his skating is very fluid and his speed/motor are high-end.
Alexander Taxman – futurescopehockey.com

6th round 182nd overall: Tucker Tynan, G
Who knows what will end up happening with Tynan. He suffered a freak gruesome injury early this year that could have ended his life or career. We were impressed with what we seen from him before the injury and are happy to roll the dice on this kid. Who knows if anybody at the NHL draft will take a chance. He was 28th on our day 2 list.

Overall I'm happy with how day 2 played out, I definitely thought I would end up deeper into my list. Very surprised that I needed up adding 5 players on day 2 that were on Bob's top 100 list those guys I think those guys typically all end up being selected before the 5th round starts. Obviously there are no guarantees especially when you don't pick until the 3rd round, but I think we had a strong draft all things considered.
 
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Ohio Jones

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Feb 28, 2002
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Tynan is a great gamble late, in the hopes he recovers and continues to de flop. And I liked Trineev as a late pick too. But the best selection has to be Calle Clang on name alone. Every time someone rips a shot off the post or crossbar, “Clang!”.
 
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