Prospect Info: HFOil Top Prospects Rankings - #3

[joestevens29]

Well when people refer to improved drafting they mean 2015 onward. Of the picks on that list that we selected here is what players from the same round have done at the NHL level

2015:
Jones (4th round) - only player worth noting is Denis Malgin (98GP - 32P), few others have got a few games, but most of them were 2013 draft eligibles.
Bear (5th round) - only other player who has played more NHL games is Dominik Simon

2016:
Benson (2nd round) - Only Debrincat and Girard have played NHL games worth noting.

2017:
Skinner (3rd round) - none have seen the NHL
Safin (4th round) - none have seen the NHL
Maksimov (5th round) - only Sebastian Aho (NYI) has seen NHL time and he's a 2014 draft eligible.

In 2016 you missed Mete, Bratt, Mamin has also had more than a pot of coffee.

The point is the list of other prospects playing in the NHL is going to grow this year. How much is ours going to grow?

 

[nabob]

I think it was the opposite. He had a great start with 5 points in 8 games before his concussion, and then took a while to get back up to speed once he returned, but was playing quite well when he was called up. I recall Fleming saying that he had been their best D down there for the last while when he got called up.

Ahh my bad. Maybe I mixed up him and Jones and how they started the season.

 

[McFlyingV]

In 2016 you missed Mete, Bratt, Mamin has also had more than a pot of coffee.

The point is the list of other prospects playing in the NHL is going to grow this year. How much is ours going to grow?

Didn't miss them I listed the players in this poll and players taken in their rounds. The Oilers didn't draft in the 4th round where Mete was taken. They may have missed on Bratt by taking Rasanen, but so did many other teams.

Anyways my point was the players on this list are not underperforming their draft position in most cases, and some are even exceeding it quite easily.

Well ours is likely to grow with Yamamoto and Bear potentially getting NHL time. You'll probably have to wait a little longer for the CHL guys to graduate, but it won't be unheard of if one of Lagesson, Benson, Jones or Berglund see some NHL action by next season.

As McNuge mentioned on the last page, these are at least prospects with NHL potential which is a far cry from the drafting we were doing prior to 2015 where most guys were already write offs by the end of their first pro-eligible season.

 

[joestevens29]

Didn't miss them I listed the players in this poll and players taken in their rounds. The Oilers didn't draft in the 4th round where Mete was taken. They may have missed on Bratt by taking Rasanen, but so did many other teams.

Anyways my point was the players on this list are not underperforming their draft position in most cases, and some are even exceeding it quite easily.

Well ours is likely to grow with Yamamoto and Bear potentially getting NHL time. You'll probably have to wait a little longer for the CHL guys to graduate, but it won't be unheard of if one of Lagesson, Benson, Jones or Berglund see some NHL action by next season.

As McNuge mentioned on the last page, these are at least prospects with NHL potential which is a far cry from the drafting we were doing prior to 2015 where most guys were already write offs by the end of their first pro-eligible season.

That's my point, other teams are finding these players, but we still have yet to find one.

Our drafting on paper might be better, but we still aren't seeing guys make an impact like others have. Go back for years other teams have seemed to luck out with players stepping in early. We have yet to see that except for our top picks.

We still just have a bunch of guys that might make it some year.

 

[McFlyingV]

Ahh my bad. Maybe I mixed up him and Jones and how they started the season.

Yeah I think you're right. Jones had a rough start by most accounts and started to figure it out by the end. A bit surprising given that he had a decent training camp, but I think he still struggles with decision making at the pro level. Hopefully his second season will go a little better and he can work on adding some offence. I don't see high offensive upside at the NHL level for him if he makes it, but I think he could be a quality mobile 2-way puck mover. Seems to lack the shot to be a real offensive threat in my viewings, and might not have the vision and creativity in the offensive zone to translate the offence from junior to the NHL.

 

[McFlyingV]

That's my point, other teams are finding these players, but we still have yet to find one.

Our drafting on paper might be better, but we still aren't seeing guys make an impact like others have. Go back for years other teams have seemed to luck out with players stepping in early. We have yet to see that except for our top picks.

We still just have a bunch of guys that might make it some year.

You're talking about maybe one or two per round though in a lot of cases from these drafts that have broken through, and most of these guys haven't proven anything that they will be top 6 forwards or top 4 D.

I'd say having a pick in the 20's make the NHL in his draft+1 for 9 games, and a 5th rounder playing NHL games in his draft+3 is a decent start. The later picks just haven't had enough time to make the leap from 2015 and on, and very few players in general outside of the first 2 rounds have done anything of note in the NHL from those drafts.

Also from your last post, you might want to check Mamin's age. He was draft eligible the same year Nurse was picked. If he hadn't played NHL games by now he probably never would.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Huge drop off in talent.

Had to pick Bear. He has exceeded expectations at every level. If he can keep developing the way he has through drive and determination who knows how good he will end up being.

Certainly seems to be talented enough, generally speaking, that, and with his drive... looks good.

This really gets interesting now.

Disagree

Skinner is a major talent in goal
Bear has offense to be an NHLer
Benson has the tools

 

[MoneyGuy]

I voted Jones but I’m glad to see some love for Benson. I think he’ll prove to be a steal for where he was taken and will have a long career playing third line with some time on the second line.

 

[LTIR]

Bear. He reminds me a lot of the Faulk and Barrie play style and has a lot of their charicteristics.

Decent skating
Bomb of a shot
Great pp qb
Great first pass
Overall very good in o-zone
Small but very physical for his size

But:
Defensive deficencies

We could have a nice #4 pp qb here.

Bear cant be compared to Barrie in skating. Bear is slower than Griffin Reinhart.

 

[MessierII]

Gotta be Bear.

 

[MessierII]

I don’t get how people still vote Jones over Bear. Bear has been better at every level.

 

[MessierII]

Do a single one of these prospects realistically project to top 4D or top 6F? I don't see it out of any of them.

Bear had a better draft +2/first North American pro year than Klefbom.

 

[Stud Muffin]

I don’t get how people still vote Jones over Bear. Bear has been better at every level.

I’d vote Bear after the seasons they had last year, but I expect Jones to spike this year. I’d be absolutely suprised if he didn’t play NHL games next year.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

McLeod for me. That said there's a case to be made for many players which bodes well for our prospect depth.

 

[Soli]

I still think Bear tops out as a #5 D with PP duty. Think MAB.

Tossed and turned... but going with Marody. May just be a perceived closeness to the NHL, but there’s only 2.5 prospects that I would consider Top-6 potential and that goes to Marody. Right handed shot got bonus points.

The other prospect I think has top-6 potential is Maksimov. The .5 is Benson.

 

[CupofOil]

Bear cant be compared to Barrie in skating. Bear is slower than Griffin Reinhart.

Not even remotely true. His skating isn't a big plus but it's not a liability either and he has great offensive instincts, reminds me a bit of Ryan Ellis who wasn't a terrific skater at this age either but had great offensive IQ to compensate. I don't see the MAB comparison as Soli posted, MAB had a bomb of a shot and nothing else whereas Bear has a well rounded offensive game.

I really like the way the prospect pool is shaping up with an emphasis on skill the past few drafts but, as usual, it will come down to development. Until some of or any of these guys for that matter develop at the pro level, it's understandable why there are those who are skeptical. I like the coaching upgrades with the big club but Woodcroft being in charge of our farm team has me scratching my head a bit.

 

[Soli]

Not even remotely true. His skating isn't a big plus but it's not a liability either and he has great offensive instincts, reminds me a bit of Ryan Ellis who wasn't a terrific skater at this age either but had great offensive IQ to compensate. I don't see the MAB comparison as Soli posted, MAB had a bomb of a shot and nothing else whereas Bear has a well rounded offensive game.

I really like the way the prospect pool is shaping up with an emphasis on skill the past few drafts but, as usual, it will come down to development. Until some of or any of these guys for that matter develop at the pro level, it's understandable why there are those who are skeptical. I like the coaching upgrades with the big club but Woodcroft being in charge of our farm team has me scratching my head a bit.

Hey now!... MAB had an excellent hip check to add to his repertoire as well. The comparison was more how I see him being deployed.

 

[CupofOil]

Hey now!... MAB had an excellent hip check to add to his repertoire as well. The comparison was more how I see him being deployed.

Those hip checks were legendary, similar to the Sutton dangles in the sense that you rarely saw them but when they happened they were spectacular.

 

[BarDownBobo]

I don’t get how people still vote Jones over Bear. Bear has been better at every level.

I still have Jones ahead of Bear in my personal ranks of the teams prospects. Jones stumbled out of the gate when he turned pro this year and had a brutal 10-15 games, but from what I saw and accounts I read he absolutely turned it around for the rest of the season and was regularly the teams best dman. Bear will always put up higher point totals since he is definitely a better PP guy, he has some major struggles in the dzone.

That said I voted Maksimov here anyways. His offensive game is top notch and I could see him being a 30+ goal scorer playing alongside McDavid or Drai in the future.

 

[MoneyGuy]

I'm a Jones fan. I think he will be a better player than Bear.

 

[48g90a138pts]

By the way things are sounding #4 on the list might be a close vote.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Disagree

Skinner is a major talent in goal
Bear has offense to be an NHLer
Benson has the tools

McLeod has the tools aswell

 

[lakai17]

Skinner

 

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

Ethan Bear, the most NHL ready with plenty of upside.

 

[MessierII]

I still have Jones ahead of Bear in my personal ranks of the teams prospects. Jones stumbled out of the gate when he turned pro this year and had a brutal 10-15 games, but from what I saw and accounts I read he absolutely turned it around for the rest of the season and was regularly the teams best dman. Bear will always put up higher point totals since he is definitely a better PP guy, he has some major struggles in the dzone.

That said I voted Maksimov here anyways. His offensive game is top notch and I could see him being a 30+ goal scorer playing alongside McDavid or Drai in the future.

From what I got from Bakersfield Jones was inconsistent all year. He was the one with major defensive issues and bled goals against pretty heavily even though he spent less time on the top pair than Bear.

The only argument in junior for Jones was that he was supposedly more of a pro style player. Well so far in the pros Bear has once again been way ahead of him.

Jones’ stock took a big hit for me this year. I have Maksimov and Skinner ahead of him at this point on top of Bear.