HH99'S top 100 2015 prospect ranking and Round 1 Mock Draft

[LTIR]

So who do we have in our system that compares to Svechnikov?

Whoever we draft at 16 wont be making the big show anytime soon. Our forward group is stacked with young top end talent and the back end has young kids like Klefbom and Marincin.. Our farm team is stacked with Nurse, Davidson, Leleggia, Simpson and Musil.

Who do we have on the farm for wingers who project to be top 6 NHLers? The answer is None! Svechnikov can be the eventual replacement for Pouliot or Eberle.

 

[Lacaar]

Yup for sure. Rantanen definitely has all the tools but he needs to improve his skating and shot. He also wasn't near as dominant as Barkov or Granlund at the same age. My problem is these highly ranked Fins are taking longer to develop than expected. Granlund from the time he was drafted until he made the NHL was consistently ranked as a top 3 player outside the NHL. Barkov's offense still has yet to come through in NA though I do have faith in him. Panther's fans severely overrate him at this point.

Rantanen has a lot of similarities to fellow fin Joel Armia who was drafted in 2011 16th overall iirc and look how he's done thus far. Obviously these players are all still young but they have been pretty overrated.

I admit I am stereotypical when it comes to finnish hockey players.

I think the FEL absolutely crushes offensive growth of their Junior players.

They all seem to have an awful time adjusting to the offensive game in the NHL.

They make for great depth players. Awesome team guys.

I don't get to watch them play. But I do look for trends and tendancies.
I believe Finland needs to look at the way they develop their young hockey players. Their Junior league isn't good enough and the men's league seems to cap their offensive growth.

 

[Zaddy]

Zaddy Zads top120 draft rankings

Hijacking this thread because I wanted to post my own rankings but not start a new thread. So here it goes.

1. C Connor McDavid (Erie Otters, OHL)
2. C Jack Eichel (Boston University, NCAA)
3. LD Noah Hanifin (Boston College, NCAA)
4. C/RW Mitch Marner (London Knights, OHL)
5. LD Ivan Provorov (Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL)
6. C Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL)
7. C Dylan Strome (Erie Otters, OHL)
8. RW Mikko Rantanen (TPS, Liiga)
9. C Kyle Connor (Youngstown Phantoms, USHL)
10. LD Zach Werenski (Univ. of Michigan, NCAA)
11. C Pavel Zacha (Sarnia Sting, OHL)
12. RW/LW Denis Guryanov (Lada Togliatti, MHL)
13. LW Lawson Crouse (Kingston Frontenacs, OHL)
14. RW Timo Meier (Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL)
15. LD Thomas Chabot (Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL)
16. C/RW Nick Merkley (Kelowna Rockets, WHL)
17. RW Travis Konecny (Ottawa 67's, OHL)
18. RW Brock Boeser (Waterloo Black Hawks, USHL)
19. RW Daniel Sprong (Charlottetown Islanders, QMJHL)
20. LD Vince Dunn (Niagara IceDogs, OHL)
21. C/RW Jack Roslovic (USNTDP, USHL)
22. C/LW Anthony Beauvillier (Shawinigan Cataractes, QMJHL)
23. C Joel Eriksson Ek (Färjestad, SHL)
24. LW Yevgeni Svechnikov (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, QMJHL)
25. C Filip Chlapik (Charlottetown Islanders, QMJHL)
26. RD Jeremy Roy (Sherbrooke Phoenix, QMJHL)
27. LD Jakub Zboril (Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL)
28. C/RW Colin White (USNTDP, USHL)
29. RD Noah Juulsen (Everett Silvertips, WHL)
30. C Jansen Harkins (Prince George Cougars, WHL)
31. LD Jacob Larsson (Frölunda, SHL)
32. LW Jake DeBrusk (Swift Current Broncos, WHL)
33. RW Jeremy Bracco (USNTDP, USHL)
34. LD Travis Dermott (Erie Otters, OHL)
35. LW Paul Bittner (Portland Winterhawks, WHL)
36. LD Oliver Kylington (Färjestad, SHL)
37. G Ilya Samsonov (Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk, MHL)
38. RW Christian Fischer (USNTDP, USHL)
39. RD Nicolas Meloche (Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL)
40. C Mitchell Stephens (Saginaw Spirit, OHL)
41. RD Brandon Carlo (Tri-City Americans, WHL)
42. C Thomas Novak (Waterloo Black Hawks, USHL)
43. LD Mitchell Vande Sompel (Oshawa Generals, OHL)
44. RW/LW Jens Lööke (Brynäs, SHL)
45. LD Ryan Pilon (Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL)
46. C Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (Omaha Lancers, USHL)
47. C Julius Nättinen (JYP, Liiga)
48. LW/RW Robin Kovacs (AIK, Allsvenskan)
49. RW Zachary Senyshyn (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL)
50. RW Nikita Korostelev (Sarnia Sting, OHL)
51. C Alexander Dergachyov (SKA St. Petersburg, MHL)
52. LD Parker Wotherspoon (Tri-City Americans, WHL)
53. RD Thomas Schemitsch (Owen Sound Attack, OHL)
54. LW/RW Roope Hintz (Ilves, Liiga)
55. G Mackenzie Blackwood (Barrie Colts, OHL)
56. LW Kirill Kaprizov (Mettalurg Novokuznetsk, KHL)
57. LD Jonas Siegenthaler (ZSC, NLA)
58. LW Erik Foley (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, USHL)
59. C Nicolas Roy (Chicoutimi Saguenéens, QMJHL)
60. LD Gabriel Carlsson (Linköping, SHL)
61. LW Dmytro Timashov (Quebec Remparts, QMJHL)
62. G Matej Tomek (Topeka RoadRunners, NAHL)
63. LD Guillaume Brisebois (Acadie-Bathurst Titan, QMJHL)
64. RD Rasmus Andersson (Barrie Colts, OHL)
65. RD Matthew Spencer (Peterborough Petes, OHL)
66. LW Graham Knott (Niagara IceDogs, OHL)
67. LW Ryan Gropp (Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL)
68. RD Jesper Lindgren (Modo, SHL)
69. G Daniel Vladar (HC Kladno, Czech)
70. LW Austin Wagner (Regina Pats, WHL)
71. LD Jeremy Lauzon (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, QMJHL)
72. G Callum Booth (Quebéc Remparts, QMJHL)
73. LW Jordan Greenway (USNTDP, USHL)
74. LD Brendan Guhle (Prince Albert Raiders, WHL)
75. LD Alexandre Carrier (Gatineau Olympiques, QMJHL)
76. C Denis Malgin (ZSC, NLA)
77. RW Blake Speers (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL)
78. LW/RW Filip Ahl (HV71, SHL)
79. RW Kay Schweri (Sherbrooke Phoenix, QMJHL)
80. LW Adam Marsh (Saint John Sea Dogs, OHL)
81. LD Kyle Capobianco (Sudbury Wolves, OHL)
82. C Michael Spacek (HC Pardubice, Czech)
83. C Glenn Gawdin (Swift Current Broncos, WHL)
84. LW Yakov Trenin (Gatineau Olympiques, QMJHL)
85. C Nathan Noel (Saint John Sea Dogs, OHL)
86. RD Erik Cernak (HC Kosice, Slovakia)
87. RD Loik Leveille (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, QMJHL)
88. C Adam Musil (Red Deer Rebels, WHL)
89. RW Conor Garland (Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL)
90. RD Gustav Bouramman (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL)
91. RD Ethan Bear (Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL)
92. LW Dennis Yan (Shawinigan Cataractes, QMJHL)
93. LD Simon Bourque (Rimouski Oceanic, QMJHL)
94. C Kevin Stenlund (HV71, SHL)
95. C Gabriel Gagné (Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL)
96. LW/RW Radovan Bondra (HC Kosice, Slovakia)
97. C Anthony Cirelli (Oshawa Generals, OHL)
98. LD Dennis Gilbert (Chicago Steel, USHL)
99. G Veini Vehviläinen (JYP, Liiga)
100. C Anthony Richard (Val-d'Or Foreurs, QMJHL)
101. RW Cooper Marody (Sioux Falls Stampede, USHL)
102. RD Connor Hobbs (Regina Pats, WHL)
103. RW Dante Salituro (Ottawa 67's, OHL)
104. C/LW David Kase (Chomutov, Czech2)
105. RW Maxim Lazarev (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, QMJHL)
106. LD Sami Niku (JYP, Liiga)
107. LW Brendan Warren (USNTDP, USHL)
108. C Brad Morrison (Prince George Cougars, WHL)
109. RW Keegan Kolesar (Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL)
110. LW Andrew Mangiapane (Barrie Colts, OHL)
111. LW Jeremiah Addison (Ottawa 67's, OHL)
112. RD Vili Saarijärvi (Green Bay Gamblers, USHL)
113. D Vladislav Gavrikov (Lokomotiv, KHL)
114. C/LW Samuel Dove-McFalls (Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL)
115. RW Deven Sideroff (Kamloops Blazers, WHL)
116. G Felix Sandström (Brynäs, SHL)
117. LD Caleb Jones (USNTDP, USHL)
118. C Tyler Soy (Victoria Royals, WHL)
119. RW Sebastian Aho (Kärpät, Liiga)
120. LW Aleksi Saarela (Ässät, Liiga)

Some notes:

- Thought about bumping Hanifin down to 5 since I like Marner and Provorov more, but based on limited viewings (only saw him in WJC this year, before that U18's last spring) and consensus I let him be at #3.

- Strome at #7 is not a slight on him. I still consider him a very good prospect, I just like the others better. Barzal over Strome might seem weird but if the Barzal post-injury is anything close to the "real" Barzal I prefer him, mainly based on his way of both creating space with his skating and finding space. In todays tight-played NHL you need those guys. Also, I'll admit, I'm a sucker for players who are "dynamic".

- I feel very confident with my top18 (yes, with no Svechnikov there). After that it got extremely hard. I put Sprong at #19 based on ability even though I personally wouldn't take him there with his "me first"-personality. Also, as you can see, I'm very high on Dunn. I think scouts are not necessarily down on him but doesn't like him as much as I do thanks to having a slow start to the season, but he finished it just terrificly. Similar to Sanheim's rise last year.

- I'm also not that high on Zboril. I think he'll be a fine defender at the NHL level but he just does not have anything that excites me. He's good at a lot of things but doesn't have a specific skill that sticks out which makes it hard to project what sort of role he will have in the NHL. I think best case scenario he turns into something similar to Seabrook, which obviously would be awesome but I rather swing for the fences and try and get a potential #1 in Chabot or Roy.

- After ~62 or so my list becomes a bit of a mess. As one person there is only so much time to get viewings on all players, which is why I had a hard time differentiating guys from each other. So just because one guy is slightly lower than another guy does not mean he isn't just as good. Worth to note is that I also stopped being super picky about where I placed guys the longer I dragged on with the rankings, but I'm pretty confident in my tiers and I like the top100 overall. For the 101-120 range I just put a bunch of guys who I think should be there, they are not necessarily in a particular set of order.

I'll post a mock draft here shortly too.

 

[Zaddy]

Zaddy Zads Mock Draft

1. Connor McDavid - Edmonton Oilers
No comment necessary.

2. Jack Eichel - Buffalo Sabres
No comment necessary.

3. Dylan Strome - Arizona Coyotes
They have plenty of good offensive prospects but I think the potential big #1C is too tempting to pass up.

4. Noah Hanifin - Toronto Maple Leafs
Despite their familiarity with Marner I think Leafs go Hanifin here. I like their new management group and I think they are smart enough to realize you need to build from the net and out. Hanifin gives them that potential minute-munching #1 d-man you so desperately need. I think the SCF's reinforced that point even further.

5. Ivan Provorov - Carolina Hurricanes
This one I'm not too sure about. Canes could go in a number of directions here but having young and small forwards Lindholm and Skinner up front and their need for help on defense I think they go Provorov. He'd look great together with Faulk for a number of years ahead. Could be ready to step in as soon as next year.

6. Pavel Zacha - New Jersey Devils
Devils are surprised Marner is still around which puts them into a bit of a bind. After heated discussions they decide to go with the guy they think is the whole package in offensive dynamo Pavel Zacha.

7. Mitch Marner - Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers had zeroed in on Rantanen but they are not so stupid as to pass on a franchise forward and future Giroux replacement. They are happy to select Mitch Marner.

8. Zach Werenski - Columbus Blue Jackets
The BJ's need d-men and in Werenski they get a potential top-pairing guy.

9. Kyle Connor - San Jose Sharks
I think the Sharks heavily considers Barzal, Rantanen as well as Crouse here but they like the incredibly speedy and versatile american forward Kyle Connor.

10. Lawson Crouse - Colorado Avalanche
The Avs want more grit and toughness in thei forward group and sees Lawson Crouse as the perfect guy for that. Will complement MacKinnon/Duchene quite nicely in the future

11. Mikko Rantanen - Florida Panthers
Another tough one. Cats can go in any direction. It seems they value size very highly though and therefore I see them taking the most skilled of the big guys available here and go for the finn Rantanen.

12. Mathew Barzal - Dallas Stars
I can't see Barzal falling any further than this. Dallas likes skill and gets plenty of it with Barzal. Will be a great #2C down the line behind Seguin.

13. Travis Konecny - Los Angeles Kings
Kings are supposed to be really high on Konecny. I would've personally gone another way but this is who they seem to like.

14. Jakub Zboril - Boston Bruins
Bruins considers Meier here but with some young forwards coming through already they might want to grab a highly touted defenseman instead. Zboril should be a solid two-way top4 d-man for years to come.

15. Nick Merkley - Calgary Flames
Calgary goes with the local kid in Merkley who has that compete level the Flames value so highly.

16. Timo Meier - Edmonton Oilers
Svechnikov is the other option but it seems fairly certain we'll be drafting a player out of the Q. Earlier on in the season Oilers were reportedly high on Meier and might have him just above the russian thanks to his "heavy" style of play.

17. Yevgeni Svechnikov - Winnipeg Jets
With Evander Kane traded, Frolik headed to UFA and Ladd only one year remaining on his contract the Jets could really use a highly skilled left winger in the system, and who better than Svechnikov?

18. Joel Eriksson Ek - Ottawa Senators
This one is really hard. They could go for Chabot, Bittner or even Kylington. Ultimately though I think they like what they've seen of Eriksson Ek and in him they get a powerful two-way forward who can score some goals.

19. Colin White - Detroit Red Wings
The way I see it, this could go two ways. With their excellent european scouting I think they heavily consider the potential homerun pick in Denis Guryanov, but seeing how successful they were with Larkin last year I think they are too tempted not to take a chance on a similar guy in Colin White. He seems to fit the Detroit model to a tee.

20. Brock Boeser - Minnesota Wild
I think Minnesota goes with the local boy in scoring winger Brock Boeser. Either that or they'll be that team swinging for the fences and taking Samsonov.

21. Jacob Larsson - Ottawa Senators
After taking a forward with the last pick the Sens makes some noise with their early selection of swedish two-way defender Jacob Larsson who represents the same team a certain Erik Karlsson did in his draft year.

22. Daniel Sprong - Washington Capitals
Everyone and their mother has Denis Guryanov going to the Caps, so I thought I'd mix it up. I do think they will pick a forward here and will be considering all of Roslovic, Beauvillier and Guryanov. Knowing Sprong's insane offensive ability they go with him though...and if someone is going to be able to coach some defense and team-first mentality into Sprong it's going to be Barry Trotz.

23. Jake DeBrusk - Vancouver Canucks
Canucks have plenty of young d-men and two-way C's in the system already, hence I think they go for the most productive forward available. With that in mind they choose the 42 goalscorer Jake DeBrusk.

24. Jansen Harkins - Toronto Maple Leafs
With Hanifin in the fold the Leafs go for a decently sized, hard working two-way centre in Jansen Harkins to balance out their forward group.

25. Paul Bittner - Winnipeg Jets
Having watched Bittner a lot thanks to fellow Winterhawks Chase De Leo and Nic Petan the Jets are comfortable taking him with the 25th pick.

26. Anthony Beauvillier - Montreal Canadiens
Montreal needs skill and goal scoring in the worst way. With local boy Anthony Beauvillier they get plenty of that as he had 42 goals in 67 games this season.

27. Jack Roslovic - Anaheim Ducks
Ducks like their USNTDP guys and takes another one in Ohio-native Jack Roslovic.

28. Denis Guryanov - Tampa Bay Lightning
Surprise?

29. Brandon Carlo - Philadelphia Flyers
Philly gets a smooth-skating, tough RHD to complement their big number of LHD's in the system.

30. Noah Juulsen - Arizona Coyotes
With Strome in the fold Arizona try and bolster their D-depth with the selection of the rising Noah Juulsen.

That's it folks, whaddaya think?