Legit prospects being groomed on your AHL squad

[Number 57]

Wanted to spark some discussion on the top prospects for each teams that are right now in the AHL.

List the names of players who should reach the big leagues and become NHL regulars in the future. Tell us the role they should play in the NHL. You can also include other informations such as draft pedigree and current stats, etc

It's interesting for Montreal because they recently added a lot of great prospects, but none of them are in the AHL. Suzuki is in OHL, Poehling in NCAA and Kotkaniemi in the NHL, plus a bunch other in CHL/Europe. So there are a lot of average prospects in Laval.


1) Cale Fleury, D - Solid defensive-oriented D with good hockey sense and a knack for physical play. Seems to have top-4 potential in the NHL. Has been one of Laval's best defenseman so far. 3rd round pick in 2017. Stock is on the rise. Probably the only ''blue chip'' guy on Laval, although not elite.

2) Charlie Lindgren, G - Unfortunately hasnt showed to have #1 NHL goalie potential, more of a backup guy. Has been struggling a bit. Good size and skills. Was a free agent signing, so even if he just backs up Price, it's good for MTL. Has a one-way contract next season, should be in the NHL. Only 24 so still time to shine.

3) David Sklenicka, D - Just turned 22, seems to be adapting well to NA. Is physical and can move the puck well. Interesting project. Could be a solid signing by Montreal.

4) Michael McCarron, F - The former first round pick has been good in Laval this year. His size is a big advantage. Will not become a legit scorer at the NHL level. He is definitely in the cards for a 4th line spot, though.

5) Jake Evans, F - Had a great career at Notre Dame, he's adjusting to the pros now, got injured in training camp. Will likely top out as a 3rd for 4th liner.

6) Michael McNiven, G - The free agent signing is starting his second year in the AHL. Doesn't seem to have starter potential but with goalies who knows. He is very young still. Will take time to developp. He has the size for the job. Should be Laval's starter in 2019-20.

7) Brett Kulak, D - Probably should be in the NHL right now, too good for AHL. Solid 3rd pair guy.

8) Gustav Olofsson, D - Unsure what Montreal has with him, seems to be a good skater with defensive skills. Injured right now. Like Kulak, could probably play in the NHL right now. 3rd pair.

9) Lukas Vejdemo, F - Good size, speed and defensive smarts. Could be the next Jacob De La Rose. Doesn't seem to have much offensive upside.

10) Alexandre Alain, F - Another free agent signing, Alain had a huge overage season in the QMJHL and seems to have decent potential if he keeps on improving. A fast two-way smart center with size. A former 9th overall pick in junior. Is playing under his old junior coach right now in Joel Bouchard, which should help him.

Click to read more...

 

[Patmac40]

1) Timothy Liljegren
2) Carl Grundstrom
3) Rasmus Sandin
4) Pierre Engvall
5) Andreas Borgman
6) Calle Rosen
7) Dmytro Timashov
8) Andrew Nielsen
9) Jeremy Bracco
10) Mason Marchment

I'll let some others chime in more on the specifics of these guys but there's some good prospects knocking on the door along with some guys who haven't looked quite as expected when they entered the AHL. But this is a talented group of youngsters and it'll be interesting to watch them develop over this year.

 

[alko]

Devils: Marian Studenic (2017 round 5, #143 )

If im correct, he was the best player in this year Rookie camp. Also last year said GM of him positive words. Now you can see, that he has 4 goals (all in first period) in 7 games (10 SOG). Dont know his ice-time, but i thing it is not much. Somehow overlooked. Maybe because his statistics in juniors. The numbers are not great (28 + 40 in 120 games) especially on WJC (0 points in 10 games). But im sure, he will make it. Still only 19 years old. I will give him 3 years until regular NHL post.

 

[ecemleafs]

The Rangers have Lias Andersson, Libor Hayek, and Ryan Lindgren in Hartford as "top" prospects in our organization. The rest of our prospects in the AHL probably top out with 3rd line potential or bottom pair defense potential. Last season Chytil played a lot in the AHL as well.

 

[Walshy7]

The Rangers have Lias Andersson, Libor Hayek, and Ryan Lindgren in Hartford as "top" prospects in our organization. The rest of our prospects in the AHL probably top out with 3rd line potential or bottom pair defense potential. Last season Chytil played a lot in the AHL as well.

If OP is listing Michael McCarron as a legit prospect then the prospects in your AHL team with 3rd line potential are blue chippers

 

[Snippit]

Buffalo:

Victor Olofsson, Rasmus Asplund, Alex Nylander, Lawrence Pilut, CJ Smith, Brendan Guhle, Will Borgen. I think most of these guys have a future in the NHL

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

The Rangers have Lias Andersson, Libor Hayek, and Ryan Lindgren in Hartford as "top" prospects in our organization. The rest of our prospects in the AHL probably top out with 3rd line potential or bottom pair defense potential. Last season Chytil played a lot in the AHL as well.

I think you can add Lindgren to that last category.

The others are probably more likely 13F's or 7th defensemen. Maybe Gettinger or Fontaine, someone like that, can keep a 4th line role, but I think the only two guys in the AHL with anything more than bottom pair potential or fourth line potential are Andersson and Hajek.

 

[tsujimoto74]

1. LD Lawrence Pilut (undrafted free agent): He was the SHL's defenseman of the year for the 2017-18 season, and he's had little trouble adapting his game to the smaller NA rinks. Had 10 points in 6 games before missing the last couple with an injury. Make that 13 in 7. IMO he should've been on the Sabres opening night roster, but his chances will come. Upside: top 4 D.
2. LW/RW Alex Nylander (2016, 1st round (8)): Things are finally starting to come together for Alex in his 20-ear-old season. He looked overwhelmed by the pro game as a teenager, but, after a strong showing at camp, he's a off to a point per game start this season. Upside: top 6 forward.
3. LW Victor Olofsson (2014, 7th round (181)): After leading the SHL in goals last year, he's having no trouble terrorizing AHL goalies with his shot. Currently leads league scoring with 15 points in 9 games. Upside: top 6 goalscorer.
4. C Rasmus Asplund (2016, 2nd round (33)): Hasn't rocketed out of the gate scoring-wise, but he's younger than most of the other Swedes producing down on the farm. He plays a complete 200' game and consistently makes smart decisions with and without the puck. Upside: middle 6 two-way C.
5. LD Brendan Guhle (2015, 2nd round (51)): Guhle's entering his 2nd pro season. His #1 asset, by far, is his skating. His straight-line speed is good enough to go toe-to-toe with just about anyone, and he has great 4-way mobility as well. His offensive game continues to grow from last year with 6 points through 8 games so far, but he still needs improvement in the defensive zone. In particular, I think he's still figuring out how to make good decisions at NHL speed. As good as his skating is, I think he got too used to relying on using it to skate out of trouble in juniors. Upside: top 4 D.
6. RD Will Borgen (2015, 4th round (92)): Borgen is your prototypical tough-to-play-against shutdown D-man, he but also has enough skill to succeed in the modern NHL. His best asset is his physical play, but he plays smart D and makes decent breakout passes. Upside: could be a middle pair D, but more likely a bottom pair + PK guy.
7. LW C.J. Smith (undrafted free agent): Solid 200' winger with a well-rounded tool set. Good forechecker, above average skater, and at least enough offensive skill to produce at every level below the NHL. He was in line for a call up toward the end of last season before getting injured, but this year he's got more competition for NHL ice time. Upside: could wind up anywhere between the 3rd line and a being a perennial depth forward/tweener.

TL;DR: Swedes are good.

 

[Tripod]

For Philly:

Hart
Myers
Rubstov
Fiedman
Aube-Kubel
Kase
Bunnaman
Twarynski
Stolarz
Lyon

Leier, Vecchione, Fazleev....being passed by others.

Note: Vorbyev could be returned at some point. He made the Flyers unexpectedly but Hak has scratched him the last few games....in favour of Weise, Lehtera and Knight....lol.

 

[Curufinwe]

1) G - Carter Hart (48th, 2016)
2) RHD - Phil Myers (undrafted 2015)
3) C/W - German Rubtsov (22nd, 2016)
4) W - Nic Aube-Kubel (48th, 2014)
5) W - David Kase (128th, 2015)
6) RHD - Mark Friedman (2014, 86th)

I put Hart first, then ordered the skaters by our summer Prospect Poll rankings.

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/2018-19-flyers-prospects-final-rankings.2543345/

 

[DaveG]

C Nic Roy
C Martin Necas
C Clark Bishop
LW Janne Kuokkanen
LW Aleksi Saarela
RW Morgan Geekie
RW Julien Gauthier
RW Cliff Pu
RHD Roland McKeown
LHD Haydn Fleury
LHD Jake Bean
G Alex Nedeljkovic

some others that could make it to the NHL down there but if anyone's going to be an impact player they're in that group listed above. Not going to venture a guess as to Booth yet though because goalies are frigin voodoo man. 2 years ago people were immensely down on Ned and he's turned it around.

edit - if I had to rank them:

1 - Martin Necas - bluechip prospect, adjusting to NA game
2 - Haydn Fleury - legit NHLer already as of last season, numbers crunch
3 - Janne Kuokkanen
4 - Julien Gauthier
5 - Jake Bean
6 - Roland McKeown
7 - Alex Nedeljkovic
8 - Morgan Geekie
9 - Nic Roy
10 - Clark Bishop
11 - Aleksi Saarela
12 - Cliff Pu

 

[Mister Ed]

RW Filip Zadina
LW David Pope
C Christoffer Ehn

D Libor Sulak (undrafted 2017)
D Filip Hronek
D Villi Saarijarvi

G Harri Sateri (undrafted 2018)

 

[IceNeophyte]

D - Brannstrom
D - Hague
RW Ball of Hate - Kolesar
RW - Macek
RW - Wong
Cody Glass and Brandon Kooy in juniors.

Trading off futures will soon come home to roost.

 

[stempniaksen]

1) Drake Batherson
2) Rudolph Balcers
3) Filip Chlapik
4) Logan Brown
5) Christian Wolanin/Christian Jaros (both started in the A, both with the big club, they'll bounce back and forth)

 

[Kingpin794]

RW Filip Zadina
LW David Pope
C Christoffer Ehn

D Libor Sulak (undrafted 2017)
D Filip Hronek
D Villi Saarijarvi

G Harri Sateri (undrafted 2018)

Dude, no.

Hronek and Zadina would be the only "top" prospects

Sulak and Saarijarvi are mid level prospects.

Don't expect much from either Ehn or Pope.

Sateri is 28...so no

 

[Number 57]

If OP is listing Michael McCarron as a legit prospect then the prospects in your AHL team with 3rd line potential are blue chippers

I made a top-10 lol

I did say we didn't have much in Laval

 

[tigervixxxen]

For Colorado, I'll split it into two groups. The first being those I'd consider actual prospects with upside who might need time this year or so. The second group are those who have been called up or would be on the short list but likely don't have the upside moving forward, these are not pure AHL vets however. For the Avs there is a difference between their prospect and callup lists.

Prospects:
Martin Kaut (RW- 1st round 2018)
Nicolas Meloche (D-2nd 2015)
Ty Lewis (LW-Undrafted FA)
Igor Shvyrev (C-5th 2017)
Sergei Boikov (D-6th 2015)
JC Beaudin (C-3rd 2015)

Kaut and Meloche should see their NHL debut this season, they are playing big roles in the AHL and are top 5 prospects for the org.

Callups:
AJ Greer (LW- 2nd round 2015)
Sheldon Dries (F-FA)
Dominic Toninato (C-FA)
Logan O'Connor (RW-FA)
Ryan Graves (D-trade)

Conor Timmins is still recovering from a concussion and has yet to play in the AHL so he's not in the conversation yet.

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

RW - Dennis Gurianov

Finally showing off his shot years after we reached in the draft. He’s a big body, strong shot, and fast. He could top out as a second line winger, but he’s a boom or bust prospect.

C/LW - Roope Hintz

Started the season in the NHL before being sent down. Like his potential a lot he’s a good playmaker and excellent defensively. Same size as Gurianov (6’3, 200 pounds). Sure fire NHL player.

G - Colton Point

Just turned pro this season after a great year in college. Hasn’t put up amazing numbers in the AHL so far, but he’s a big, athletic goalie with starter potential.

 

[Elitersson]

Canucks:

Thatcher Demko: Injured right now but had a great sophomore season last year and looks to have a good shot at being a starter in the NHL.

Jonathan Dahlen: Being eased into the AHL but looks very promising from what I've read. Most likely outcome is middle-six winger imo, could have chemistry with EP too.

Olli Juolevi: Adjusting very well to the AHL, leading our dmen with six points in nine games so far. Not a great pick considering who was picked after him but still a solid shot at being a top 4 dman.

Zack MacEwen is a guy nobody really knows but he is ppg so far and I think he could be a really effective bottom-six forward.

Beyond that, Kole Lind, Jonah Gadjovich, Petrus Palmu, Lukas Jasek, Guillaume Brisebois, Jalen Chatfield all have NHL upside down there as well but not convinced they will hit that potential. Lind hasn't looked very good in pro hockey yet after a great junior season last year, but still early.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

EDIT - looks like I am a few minutes too late lol

Canucks / Comets:

1. Olli Juolevi (D - 5th overall in 2016) - 6 points in 9 games played so far. Playing in all scenarios and logging big minutes. Likely will be a call-up to the NHL in the latter half of the season when injuries hit.

2. Adam Gaudette (C - 149th overall in 2015) - 4 points in 4 games, winner of the Hobey Baker award last season. He's already got some games in with the Canucks both last season and has played 6 games this season (partially due to the injuries to Beagle, Pettersson, etc.). He got his first NHL point (assist) last night.

3. Zack MacEwen (C - undrafted - 22 years old) - 9 points in 9 games. Big body centre that could carve out a bottom 6 role in the NHL in years to come.

4. Guillaume Brisebois (D - 66th overall in 2015) - Was called up to the Canucks yesterday due to injuries to Tanev and Edler. He had 2 points in 7 games in the AHL so far this season. Haven't had a chance to watch him much, but he seems like a decent skater and is good positionally.

5. Jonathan Dahlen (LW - 42nd overall in 2016) - 4 points in 8 games so far, but had a pretty solid pre-season and training camp. Could be NHL ready next season or so.

6. Lukas Jasek (RW - 174th overall in 2015) - 3 points in 5 games so far, after having a promising start to the AHL last season with 7 points in 6 games.

7. Kole Lind (RW - 33rd overall in 2017) - still has a lot of room to grow until he can make the big show, but is still promising and coming off a great WHL season last year.

And Demko as looked good in the AHL for the past two seasons but has been out with a concussion this season.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Mangiapane is the one that truly already looks like he could be in the show. Gawdin, Phillips, Kylington, Gillies, Parsons, all could be something.

I actually think our prospect pool was underrated. But with the graduation of Andersson, Dube, and Valimaki it’s pretty bad cause those 3 were clearly above everyone else. Although we’ve had some eye popping starts from late round picks so far (Zavgorodniy, Mathis Emilio Pettersen, Pospisil).. maybe there is hope

 

[AngelDuck]

Troy Terry and Josh Mahura

 

[Spirit of 67]

1) Timothy Liljegren
2) Carl Grundstrom
3) Rasmus Sandin
4) Pierre Engvall
5) Andreas Borgman
6) Calle Rosen
7) Dmytro Timashov
8) Andrew Nielsen
9) Jeremy Bracco
10) Mason Marchment

I'll let some others chime in more on the specifics of these guys but there's some good prospects knocking on the door along with some guys who haven't looked quite as expected when they entered the AHL. But this is a talented group of youngsters and it'll be interesting to watch them develop over this year.

I think the first 6 are locks to play (or return for) a good amount of games. The first 3 we expect to play a significant amount of games. I think 4 will as well.

7 and 8 only see an NHL game with a ticket.

9 I can see get at least 1 game. (I doubt it's with us)

10 is interesting. I'm not sure.

 

[Habs76]

1. Cale Fleury, D
2. Charlie Lindgren, G
3. Michal Moravcik, D
4. Michael McCarron, C/W
5. Jake Evans, C
6. Brett Kulak, D
7. Gustav Olofsson, D
8. Lukas Vejdemo, C

Yikes.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

RW Filip Zadina
LW David Pope
C Christoffer Ehn

D Libor Sulak (undrafted 2017)
D Filip Hronek
D Villi Saarijarvi

G Harri Sateri (undrafted 2018)

What on earth?