jvr32
Registered User
- Oct 24, 2016
- 998
- 678
2020 Draft Final list time!
There's quite a bit of changes in here since my March list, despite the fact that very few games have been played since then. But I need to say in the last few months I have been able to watch more tape that I wasn't able to previously and I have changed my opinion on some players.
I am also posting my final list this late because I wasn't sure if there would be more games played before the draft. But now it looks like there would not be at least any meaningful games played, so it's about time to post my final list and switch my focus on 2021.
Reminder that this is a ranking of players I have seen enough to properly evaluate them, and I'm not going to rank anyone based on hearsay or what consensus says.
[TBODY]
[/TBODY]
[TBODY]
[/TBODY]
Previous Ranking: My March Top 100 for 2020 NHL Draft
There's quite a bit of changes in here since my March list, despite the fact that very few games have been played since then. But I need to say in the last few months I have been able to watch more tape that I wasn't able to previously and I have changed my opinion on some players.
I am also posting my final list this late because I wasn't sure if there would be more games played before the draft. But now it looks like there would not be at least any meaningful games played, so it's about time to post my final list and switch my focus on 2021.
Reminder that this is a ranking of players I have seen enough to properly evaluate them, and I'm not going to rank anyone based on hearsay or what consensus says.
| Rank | Player | Position | Comment |
| 1 | Alexis Lafrenière | F | The clear cut #1 for this draft. Everything has been said about him. But one thing that I have to put emphasis on here is he has the highest floor in this draft. People who have someone else #1 are effectively projecting him to get to the level Lafreniere will be and taking an unnecessary risk in my opinion. That is not to say someone could not end up better than him, because Lafreniere is not a generational player. But I see Lafreniere as a point per game winger in the NHL for sure and that is hard to pass because other players are not as certain things as him. Sometimes this gets overlooked in the draft. |
| 2 | Quinton Byfield | F | Byfield is a 6'4" center who skates and sees the ice really well and has good hockey sense. Puck skills are also great. He's also a August birthday so he's one of the youngest players for this draft. I'd like to see him drive to the dirty areas more often but it's not always necessarily bad thing for everyone. Reminds me a bit of Matt Duchene but with more size. 82 points in 45 games in the OHL. Needs to also improve his consistency and ability to rise in big games. |
| 3 | Lucas Raymond | F | Raymond is a playmaking winger with elite skill. He's just not taking what opponents are giving to him, he's asking questions from his opponents and creating goal scoring opportunities out of nothing. That is the reason why I have him as high as I do. Also he played the season in a stacked Frölunda team in the SHL where right handed wingers were a surplus so it wasn't the easiest situation for him. But he reminds me of Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Scored three goals as an underager to win Sweden gold in the U18's held at Sweden. |
| 4 | Tim Stützle | F | Stützle is another good German prospect who has impressed many during the season. He's an outstanding skater, he battles hard, his puck skills are great, and he scored 34 points in 41 in the German top league DEL as a forward. Most of the season he played as a winger though, and I'd like to see him switch to the center position on a permanent basis. And sometimes I wasn't overly impressed with his decision making and how he wasn't able to get to goal scoring positions. He only scored 7 goals in 46 games (DEL and WJC combined). |
| 5 | Cole Perfetti | F | Perfetti is another winger with elite skill (and the reason why he's ranked this high in the first place). His hockey sense is at a really high level and he can adapt to the emerging situations quickly. He sees an opening and is quick to take advantage of that. His puck skills are outstanding and he can score goals from in close and from distance. Sometimes he plays too much on the outside for my liking, but he's really good at what he does. And seems like a well spoken person from the interviews I have listened. Skating issues are a little overblown in my opinion. Scored 111 points in 61 games for the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL. |
| 6 | Marco Rossi | F | Again, the skill is really hard to pass here in Rossi. He won the Most Outstanding Player trophy in the OHL over Byfield and Perfetti. Rossi has a really great skill level and composure, he understands when to push the pace and when to calm things down. Has a good shot too. 120 points in 56 games and next season he goes to play for Zürich Lions in the Swiss top league NLA. Not the most athletic player at 5'9" nor the best skater but the package is still very good. He could end up playing wing in the NHL, but I don't think that mean he would become less effective player. |
| 7 | Jamie Drysdale | D | Drysdale is my highest ranked defenseman for this draft, he's really an outstanding and effortless skater combined with great hockey sense. He held his ground in the WJC for gold winning Canadian team and got quite a lot of ice time. I don't have a lot of negative things about him, but what I'm concerned about is how his game will translate with his size and physicality at 5'11" as a defenseman and also how he's not the greatest passer to run the game on the offensive blue line. And his shot might need some improving. |
| 8 | Alexander Holtz | F | Goal scorers like Holtz don't grow in trees, he has a strong identity how likes to play the game and plays within his strengths. Good shot and very determined player. He's tough to play against, goes to the dirty areas which I like a lot, but unlike his Sweden team mate Raymond, I don't see him creating things out of nothing. And I think his skill and playmaking ability is lacking and is behind all of the forwards I have ranked above him. But I think he has a really high floor just like Lafreniere has and I think that risk reward ratio makes Holtz a valuable prospect at this point. |
| 9 | Anton Lundell | F | I thought he was one of the most overrated prospects at the start of the season and I was really low on some aspects of Lundell's game and was ready to drop to the second half of the first round. But as I saw him play more I saw improvements on his game that I previously saw as big weaknesses. More specifically his shot has improved a lot and his straight line skating has also looked better, which makes him more effective carrying the puck up the ice. Very determined kid, I don't think he has top line potential, but over the course of the season I got more comfortable projecting him as second line center as I saw the improvements in his game. |
| 10 | Connor Zary | F | Zary already has two good seasons under his belt in the WHL, and this season he scored 86 points in 57 games for the Kamloops Blazers. I rate his hockey sense really highly and I think he has really good skills. Sometimes when I watched he reminded me of Trevor Zegras of last year's draft. He knows really well where to position himself on the ice. But there's some aspects of his game that are just above-average, like his shot or his skating, which is the reason he isn't any higher than this on my list. He's an late 2001 birthday and very old for his draft, but I don't see it necessarily as a disadvantage as such, because he will be able to play in the AHL in his Draft+2 year which would only be a good thing. |
| 11 | Dawson Mercer | F | The most impressive thing about Mercer's game for me is his skill level. When most of the players are content to just dump the puck behind opposition, Mercer has a great understanding of when to make a quick turn and make a skilled play. Mercer is also strong battling in the corners, his ability to make plays in the neutral and offensive zone is great, he's good at faceoffs and he has a good motor. But he's definitely not a sniper, and I'd like to see him improve his shot as it's not as deadly as it should be right now. But he's a good prospect. |
| 12 | Dylan Holloway | F | Holloway started the season not producing for the Wisconsin in the NCAA. But to close the season he scored 9 points in the last 10 games. I like his speed and skating, and how he's able to carry the puck in that speed. He also has a good shot and a good motor. Sometimes I didn't like how he wasn't using his skill level, and I think he just somehow felt a little uncomfortable making plays. And in some games his hockey sense / skill level hasn't impressed much. But I still think he has higher upside than some people think. |
| 13 | Jake Sanderson | D | Sanderson is a late riser and I had to take even a closer look at him. His four-way skating has improved a lot. Now he's able to pull off difficult skating manouvres with ease. Also I liked his game defensively and how he separates the opposition from the puck. His wrist shot is also very strong as is his slap shot. He's really good at carrying the puck up ice, but he needs to improve his decision making and passing. His puck skills are good, but could also use some improvement. I see Sanderson as defenseman with a tremendous potential. |
| 14 | Noel Gunler | F | Before the start of the season Gunler had scored 27 goals in 31 games in the SuperElit. Gunler continued his good form into the season and played in a middle 6 role for Luleå in the SHL scoring 13 points in 45 games. His game is really strong in all three zones and he's effective at moving the puck up ice. He has also learned to play defensively. In some games I haven't liked how he has been moving his feet and unfortunately there's the character concerns with how he hasn't been selected to play for the national team, but as a blogger I'm not going to move him down as I don't see any issues with his game. |
| 15 | Jacob Perreault | F | I was really surprised when Perreault got snubbed for the Canadian Hlinka Team, as in the summer camp I thought he showcased himself very well. Perreault's skill level is at a really high level as is his skating. His +/- for his club team looks poor, but Sarnia started the season losing almost every game without it's best players like Jamieson Rees and a few others. But Perreault has to improve his consistency as sometimes I saw him make too many bad decisions for one good decision, but Perreault is one player with a great upside. |
| 16 | Yaroslav Askarov | G | Askarov has dropped quite a bit in my rankings, but I think this is the place I would feel comfortable taking him. I thought he showed last season already better than Spencer Knight who went #13 overall in 2019 Draft, but this season has got me a little concerned. He wasn't showing well at the WJC, and even though that doesn't mean everything for someone of his age, it means he has been left behind by some of the others he was ahead of previously. He really didn't close his season well and didn't play much, but you can't just overwrite everything he accomplished before that. Very athletic with good size. |
| 17 | Hendrix Lapierre | F | After my last ranking it was found out that Lapierre's injury wasn't actually concussion, it helped me to feel more comfortable to gamble with his upside and move him up on my list. Lapierre is a playmaking center who knows how to evade the opposition's pressure. His stat sheet doesn't look great, but at this point I see a drop off in the quality of the draft and I see Lapierre as worth the gamble. Needs to improve his shot. |
| 18 | Brendan Brisson | F | Brisson is a smallish forward with a great skill level and hockey sense. He has good hands to navigate the traffic in the offensive zone. His skating is also already at a good level, although he still needs to work on his straight line speed. Also he needs to grow physically, but he's very strong on the areas I value highly which moves him up as high as he is on my list. Shot is good too. |
| 19 | Ryan O'Rourke | D | O'Rourke is a good all-around defenseman, who scored 37 points in 54 games in the OHL, but I think he would have been able to score more with more had he been in on the first power play. But I rate his hockey sense very highly and how he understands the game. |
| 20 | William Villeneuve | D | Villeneuve is one of the most underrated players in this year's draft in my opinion. His skill level is very high and he has a very good first pass. His EV P1/GP is higher than any other defenseman in this year's draft and he was a finalist to win the award for the season's best defenseman in the QMJHL. His skating still needs some work, especially in the agility part, but I believe he will get there. |
| 21 | Jack Quinn | F | Quinn is a skilled winger with a good shot and skating ability, and is all-around game is very strong in all three zones. But what concerns me slightly is that he's very old for this draft and only has showed strong in one season so far. But despite that, it is very close in this group and would be fine taking him as high as #17. 52 goals in the OHL speaks volumes. |
| 22 | Sam Colangelo | F | Colangelo is a winger with good size and skill level, and is tough to play against. Those are hard to find in the NHL. His playmaking is at a high level too. But just like Mercer, I think his shot needs some improvement. Colangelo also shows strong on my analytics. I think some people are low on him because of his December birthday and lackluster international games last season, and wrote him off. But his game has improved a lot since then. |
| 23 | Braden Schneider | D | Schneider is a defenseman with a high floor and low ceiling. He's tough to play against and his skating is at a very good level for someone of his size. But I don't see great puck skills, they are just average. Should be a good pick at this point. |
| 24 | John-Jason Peterka | F | Peterka really stands out with his good skating and compete level, and his playmaking ability is also underrated. When it comes to Peterka vs. Reichel debate, always when I've seen them play together Peterka has stood out more. His hockey sense is a bit questionable, but he shows consistent effort. München isn't an easy team to break through in the DEL. |
| 25 | Thomas Bordeleau | F | I think the quality of the draft drops here once again. But Bordeleau showed his skills in the USNTDP team all season. Wish he did it a bit more consistently. |
| 26 | Jan Mysak | F | Sometimes very inconsistent effort offensively, I watched him against Switzerland in the Hlinka and he failed to show anything. I don't think he's as good offensively as some think, but his straight line speed is a weapon and that has value. Hard player to rank for me. |
| 27 | Martin Chromiak | F | I was really low on him previously, but once he moved to Kingston he was able to showcase his skills more. His skating was a lot better than I thought and his top speed is at a great level. Good playmaker and has a decent shot. Young player for this draft. Should be in a good place in Kingston if he decides to stay in North America with Shane Wright. |
| 28 | Yan Kuznetsov | D | 2002 born Russian defenseman who played in the NCAA in the past season scoring 11 points in 34 games. I think he's a very good skater for someone of size. Not very dynamic or great offensive player, but he does things effectively and he has a good shot. |
| 29 | Seth Jarvis | F | He was higher in a previous list, but I really wanted to see him in playoffs because I thought he had issues when the going got tough. Jarvis is another player who's really good at navigating the traffic in the offensive zone with his hands. |
| 30 | Ridly Greig | F | He's tough to play against and he goes to the dirty areas. Throughout the season he showed more skill than I thought he had. |
| 31 | Lukas Cormier | D | Cormier is a smallish defenseman who skates really well, but he needs to improve his decision making in the offensive zone as now he is taking too many low-percentage shots. But I like his effort level and consistency to take him here at #31. |
| 32 | Tyson Foerster | F | Foerster has a great shot and he was able to score a lot of goals on the power play for Barrie in the OHL. Good size and surprisingly good playmaker and in the neutral zone, but he needs to work on his skating. |
| 33 | Rodion Amirov | F | Too many times I've watched Amirov has not been driving the bus for his team. I also think he has some issues with his skating and hockey IQ. But his puck skills are great, no doubt. I'm not sure he has developed in an ideal way this past season, and he couldn't stick to the WJC team. His skill level is really high, but I don't think the complete package here is very appealing. |
| 34 | Helge Grans | D | Grans is a big Swedish defenseman with great puck skills, but other areas of his game need a lot of work. His straight line speed needs work, his shot is also quite weak. And sometimes he's been weak battling against other players. But if he's able to develop, the upside here is big as he has skill. |
| 35 | Eamon Powell | D | Powell's hockey sense is well above-average and so is his skating. Good all-around defenseman. |
| 36 | Justin Sourdif | F | Good complimentary player in all three zones but doesn't possess high-end skill. |
| 37 | Simon Kubicek | D | Not a defenseman with big upside, but not one with many weaknesses either. I like him defensively and also think his first pass is good, I also value his decision making and hockey IQ. |
| 38 | Alexander Nikishin | D | Has gone under the radar but he was able to stick in the KHL and put in some good performances there. |
| 39 | Justin Barron | D | Injuries ruined his season, but I didn't think he was much more than a late first-rounder last season either. |
| 40 | Mavrik Bourque | F | I don't see the offensive upside here that some others see, but he is a good skater and competitor. |
| 41 | Eemil Viro | D | Finnish defenseman who played 39 games in the Finnish Elite League and got 3 assists. Quietly does his job well every night. Very good skater. |
| 42 | Maxim Beryozkin | F | Big Russian forward who scored at a very good rate in the Russian junior league MHL. I think he has all the tools to be a player in the NHL. |
| 43 | William Wallinder | D | He's just about above-average in almost everything. Don't see the upside others see with their ranking. 2nd pairing defenseman at best in my opinion. |
| 44 | Luke Evangelista | F | Evangelista is good at navigating the traffic with his stick handling, he's a good player in all three zones and is in a good place to develop in London. |
| 45 | Joni Jurmo | D | Big defenseman who skates really well for his size. He needs to improve on his physicality but he has a high upside. |
| 46 | Ty Smilanic | F | Good skill set but I think his hockey sense is average at best. He can move the puck himself but he doesn't quite know where to position himself when he doesn't' have it. Could be much more effective. |
| 47 | Donovan Sebrango | D | Good skill level and hockey sense, but he needs to improve his skating and physicality. |
| 48 | Vasili Ponomaryov | F | Ponomaryov has impressed me when I've watched but he lacks size and his production in the QMJHL is bad. Also not sure he is at the best place in Shawinigan for further development. |
| 49 | Jake Neighbours | F | A little inconsistent offensively, sometimes he looks like top 6 player and sometimes like a bottom 6. But he always battles hard and has a good motor. |
| 50 | Lukas Reichel | F | Good skill and double digits both in goals and in assists in the DEL. But I think his skating is an issue. |
| 51 | Kasper Simontaival | F | I was very low on Simontaival previously mostly because of his very poor decision making. I knew he had skill but once I got to watch him more he surprised me with actually how skilled he is. Improved a lot as the season got going on. |
| 52 | Drew Commesso | G | Not the biggest goalie but he impressed me with his consistency and he has also gained a lot of confidence to his glove hand. |
| 53 | Jacob Truscott | D | Good skater and also his puck skills are above average. Sometimes his decision making isn't the best, but he has good tools to work with. |
| 54 | Theodor Niederbach | F | - |
| 55 | Dylan Peterson | F | Warmed up to him as I got to watch him lately. I think his playmaking ability on the wall is really good, and he performed well in many games late in the season but that doesn't disregard everything I saw before. |
| 56 | Pavel Novak | F | - |
| 57 | Tyler Kleven | D | Didn't think this player had much upside previously but his skating is definitely good for someone of his size and Kleven is good defensively. |
| 58 | Jérémie Poirier | D | When someone pointed out his backward skating I actually noticed how awful it was. I think he could be better as a forward. |
| 59 | Roni Hirvonen | F | Small and quite weak skater, but he knows where to position himself on the ice and is surprisingly tenacious and tough to play against. Good skill too. |
| 60 | Evan Vierling | F | Has improved his skating a lot which I think was holding him back previously, but he still needs to work on his consistency and ability to get into shooting positions. |
| 61 | Daniel Torgersson | F | I liked him early, but the more I got to watch him, he seemed more and more like a player with only a bottom 6 potential. |
| 62 | Emil Heineman | F | Good skilled player with great production in the Swedish junior league SuperElit. Wish I got to watch a bit more than just in international games, but I saw just enough to rank him at #62. |
| 63 | Oliver Suni | F | Suni has worked on his skating, and he has good skill, but his all-around skill set just is a little questionable. |
| 64 | Connor McClennon | F | Shame McClennon's good run got stopped because of an injury since he had just found his game. Small forward but he has good skill. |
| 65 | Zion Nybeck | F | I think Nybeck is very hard to project to the next level, I just don't see his game translating well to the NHL. He's been listed at 5' 6'' by NHL Central Scouting. |
| 66 | Jean-Luc Foudy | F | Excellent skater but his decision making and hockey IQ are inconsistent at best. Doesn't contribute to the game a lot when he hasn't got the puck. |
| 67 | Mitchell Miller | D | - |
| 68 | Joel Blomqvist | G | - |
| 69 | Antonio Stranges | F | - |
| 70 | Topi Niemelä | D | - |
| 71 | Trevor Kuntar | F | - |
| 72 | Simon Knak | F | - |
| 73 | Ozzy Wiesblatt | F | - |
| 74 | Zayde Wisdom | F | - |
| 75 | Alexander Pashin | F | - |
| 76 | Jaromir Pytlik | F | - |
| 77 | Luke Tuch | F | - |
| 78 | Veeti Miettinen | F | - |
| 79 | Roby Järventie | F | - |
| 80 | Brett Berard | F | - |
| 81 | Cross Hanas | F | - |
| 82 | Daniel Ljungman | F | - |
| 83 | Landon Slaggert | F | - |
| 84 | Jack Finley | F | - |
| 85 | Daniil Pylenkov | D | - |
| 86 | Ben Meehan | D | - |
| 87 | Brandon Coe | F | - |
| 88 | Brock Faber | D | - |
| 89 | Jack Thompson | D | - |
| 90 | Filat Zotov | D | - |
| 91 | Kaiden Guhle | D | I think he has skating issues, also his puck skills aren't that great, and defensively he hasn't been great whenever I've seen him. But he's tough to play against and se him as a third pairing defenseman in the NHL. |
| 92 | Oskar Magnusson | F | - |
| 93 | Thimo Nickl | D | - |
| 94 | Maxim Groshev | F | He has played well in the role he has been given, but I don't see a lot of room for him to grow to become more than a bottom 6 player. |
| 95 | Ruben Rafkin | D | - |
| 96 | Reid Valade | F | - |
| 97 | Theo Rochette | F | - |
| 98 | Mateusz Szurowski | F | - |
| 99 | Ville Ottavainen | D | - |
| 100 | Karel Klikorka | D | - |
| 101 | Kasper Puutio | D | - |
| 102 | Alex Laferriere | F | - |
| 103 | Hugo Styf | D | - |
| 104 | Will Cuylle | F | - |
| 105 | Carter Savoie | F | - |
| 106 | William Dufour | F | - |
| 107 | Luke Reid | D | Chicago Steel |
Previous Ranking: My March Top 100 for 2020 NHL Draft
