Prospect Info: My Top 20 Hab Prospects List (Updated #503)

[Goldenhands]

Kotka, Mete graduated, I don't count older guys like Lindgren or guys on AHL contracts


Top 20

1. Nick Suzuki
2. Josh Brook
3. Caden Primeau
4. Ryan Poehling
5. Alexander Romanov
6. Jesse Ylonen
7. Noah Juulsen
8. Cale Fleury
9. Jordan Harris
10. Joni Ikonen
11. Cam Hillis
12. Jake Evans
13. Cole Fonstad
14. Jacob Olofsson
15. Allen McShane
16. Joel Teasdale
17. Brett Stapley
18. Lukas Vejdemo
19. Michael McNiven
20. Michael McCarron


HM Walford, Gorniak, Sklenicka

Good job, solid list!

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Lets say we get Newhook, our top 10 prospects would be

1. Suzuki
2. Newhook
3. Poehling
4. Brook
5. Romanov
6. Primeau
7. Ylonen
8. Fleury
9. Ikonen
10. Evans

Thats really deep

 

[Steve Shutt]

Kotka, Mete graduated, I don't count older guys like Lindgren or guys on AHL contracts
1. Nick Suzuki
2. Josh Brook
3. Caden Primeau
4. Ryan Poehling
5. Alexander Romanov

16. Joel Teasdale
17. Scott Walford

Impressive group in the top 5 - even more so if we include Mete (20) & Kotkaniemi (18)
I've been following Teasdale's playoff run in the Q and have him higher in my mind at the moment
Really curious to see what happens with Walford & Tsyzka with their June 1st signing deadline fast approaching

 

[psychonaut]

I really hope we take our time with these prospect.

 

[Treb]

Teasdale is way too low. Should be around 8, and Suzuki is not first. Romanov is also too low. Best D at 18 at the WJC and played for the KHL champs.

Who beats Suzuki?

I don't think Teasdale beat the top 12. I'd have him over Mcshane though.

Who does Romanov beat in the top 4?

 

[montreal]

I've said it before but I'm not a big fan of rating prospects based off the WJC's as it's just too short of a tournament and some players will fake you out. I fell for it with Collberg who had a great tournament for a 17 year old, the Oilers look like they fell for it as Puljujarvi had one of the greatest WJC's a 17 year old can have. That said it's always good to see our prospects do well there but to me I don't put too much into it good or bad.

Damn fine list. I really think Teasdale should be higher though. Sure there's stat watching there but I have a good feeling about him. I'd put him after Ikonen. You did have Brook at the top before right? I did. Hard to ignore Suzuki's heroics of late. Man.

I take a lot of caution with undrafted players especially when they get traded to perhaps the best team in the CHL, they so rarely pan out. I'll have a much better feel for him next year when seeing him a ton in Laval.

I have had Suzuki and Brook neck and neck all year. My tiers would be,

Suzuki
Brook

Primeau
Poehling
Romanov
Ylonen
Juulsen
Fleury
Harris

Ikonen
Hillis
Evans
Fonstad
Olofsson
McShane
Teasdale
Stapley

Vejdemo
McNiven
McCarron
Walford

Gorniak
Sklenicka
Verbeek
Alain
Lernout
Houde
Audette
Waked
Pezzetta
Koberstein
Henriksson

Impressive group in the top 5 - even more so if we include Mete (20) & Kotkaniemi (18)
I've been following Teasdale's playoff run in the Q and have him higher in my mind at the moment
Really curious to see what happens with Walford & Tsyzka with their June 1st signing deadline fast approaching

I really like the top 9, there are some question marks for sure in that top 9 but it's impressive depth with some high end skill in the top 2 while having several quality prospects. Add in Kotka, Mete and the June draft picks and it's going to be a very deep system.

I would have ranked Tyszka around where I had Hillis but when Grant said he didn't think we would sign him I figured he must have heard we won't sign him. Walford I figured it would have been done by now, still have just over a month but guess we'll see.

I don't think Teasdale beat the top 12. I'd have him over Mcshane though.

It's close for me but I am comparing McShane this year to Teasdale last year, so McShane had the better year. Skill wise he's right up there but just don't like the skating/foot speed and think he needs to work harder. I'm not really high on either but if McShane can ever improve enough in his first step, mass, strength, and moves his feet more then we will have a really nice prospect as he's got a heck of a shot and can dish the puck.

 

[DangerDave]

Teasdale is way too low. Should be around 8, and Suzuki is not first. Romanov is also too low. Best D at 18 at the WJC and played for the KHL champs.

Who would you have above Suzuki? I can maybe see an argument for Brook but even then. What Suzuki is doing now is absolutely crazy.

 

[montreal]

Who would you have above Suzuki? I can maybe see an argument for Brook but even then. What Suzuki is doing now is absolutely crazy.

I would have no problem with someone ranking Brook at #1, I went back and forth many times between the two as the upside is just so high on both that there's no telling how good either will be. Brook has less concerns over the physical tools of size, strength, speed, skating, mobility, but Suzuki's offensive skills and smarts are sky high as you know.

I thought about moving Primeau up to the top tier, what he did last year was just outstanding and while he had some struggles early on this year he was great in the 2nd half. Goalies are so hard though to get a read on but I can't fault someone having him ranked at the top.

I think many will put Poehling there because of his big game in the WJC's and the season ending game with the Habs. It's the safe bet but I just couldn't do it as I was disappointed with his play with SCSU and his usage. I have always been high on him as a lock to be an NHLer just not sure how good he will be but I think at worst he'll be at least a very solid 3rd liner. I wouldn't put him at the top but I could see why others would.

There's Romanov who I have to admit really surprised me as he was really solid in the KHL and that was shocking. I still have a real hard time with his upside, he's likely the toughest non goalie prospect I have ever had to rank as the offensive upside is a real mystery to me but love the skating and mobility.

Ylonen maybe a few would put him at the top as he does have the speed, skating and shot that if he can improve his play without the puck and IQ he could be a real good one. I'd rather wait and see how much he can improve next year, I didn't want to rank him too high and have another Collberg/Kristo on my hands. The big problem is his games are almost impossible to get to see now so he's going to be a real tough one for me to see next year.

 

[Kotkaniemi15]

Rank these players in terms of who will be the best in five years:

Mete
Brook
Romanov
Fleury

 

[DangerDave]

Rank these players in terms of who will be the best in five years:

Mete
Brook
Romanov
Fleury

Brook
Mete
Romanov
Fleury

I can see Fleury being better than Romanov though. Mete's defensive game is already very good and if he can improve his offensive game, he could be a good top pairing guy. Brook is our best D prospect since Subban.

 

[Kotkaniemi15]

Brook
Mete
Romanov
Fleury

I can see Fleury being better than Romanov though. Mete's defensive game is already very good and if he can improve his offensive game, he could be a good top pairing guy. Brook is our best D prospect since Subban.

Nice list. The future is really looking bright on D. Imagine adding Heinola to that pool...

 

[HockeyDBspecialist]

Nikita Scherbak
2. Mike McCarron
3. Noah Juulsen
4. Charles Hudon
5. Jacob de la Rose


I like Juulsen, he's gonna be a really good one. He's getting comparisons to Brent Seabrook.

Also high on MCarron, I think he'll be a solid #2 center some day. Everyone remember Joel Otto. 25 goals 25 assists player.

Scherbak while he's highly touted, I don't see him scoring 50 goals. He'll put up points like 25 goals 30 assists.

DLR will be our future shutdown big center.


Imagine down the middle in a few years.

Galchenyuk 6'2" 210lbs
McCarron 6'6" 230lbs
DLR 6'3" 210lbs

Ouch

 

[26Mats]

Brook
Mete
Romanov
Fleury

I can see Fleury being better than Romanov though. Mete's defensive game is already very good and if he can improve his offensive game, he could be a good top pairing guy. Brook is our best D prospect since Subban.

Why do you have Brook ahead of Romanov?

 

[Treb]

Why do you have Brook ahead of Romanov?

Less questions about his offensive upside while still being great defensively.

 

[DangerDave]

Why do you have Brook ahead of Romanov?

Don't see much offense in Romanovs game.

 

[JianYang]

I know for a list like this, you have to quantify what is a graduated prospect, but for me, it's a case by case basis.

Kotkaniemi got his first taste of not only pro hockey, but North American hockey too at the age of 18. Physically, he looks to be very far from a finished product as well.

To me, he's still more a prospect than anything else. So I'm curious to see where you rank kotkaniemi if he is still a prospect. I'd say #1 but I dont get to see these guys as muc as you.

 

[Scriptor]

Ikonen could really surprise next year. He might end up better than Ylonen.

 

[Goldenhands]

Lets say we get Newhook, our top 10 prospects would be

1. Suzuki
2. Newhook
3. Poehling
4. Brook
5. Romanov
6. Primeau
7. Ylonen
8. Fleury
9. Ikonen
10. Evans

Thats really deep

I would have Newhook at 8...

 

[Legend123]

I would have Newhook at 8...

the shiny new toy syndrome. I would have him at 4 below Poehling, Suzuki and Brook. Those 3 are closer to the NHL and already offer credible offensive potential to our lineup. They are very well polished, unlike Newhook who is still incredibly raw.

 

[Goldenhands]

the shiny new toy syndrome. I would have him at 4 below Poehling, Suzuki and Brook. Those 3 are closer to the NHL and already offer credible offensive potential to our lineup. They are very well polished, unlike Newhook who is still incredibly raw.

I would have Primeau Romanov and Ylonen over him as well... Now we draft Broberg and thats another story, I would have him top 3 with ease...

 

[montreal]

Why do you have Brook ahead of Romanov?

For me it's the case of Brook doing just about everything really well whereas Romanov I'm still trying to get a good read on him as the games I saw in the KHL he would play 10 minutes and the next game I saw he'd play 4 or so. That made it hard to get a good read when he wouldn't get a regular shift. Saw him in the playoffs but he didn't play him other then a shift or two until they broke the game open in the 3rd.

Brook's offensive upside is so high despite not having a booming shot he knows how to get his pucks on net but it's his puck moving and rushing up ice that really set him apart. I think he has a bit of Subban in him with the way he rushes pucks up ice. But he's also so smart in his own end, not saying that he couldn't use some improvement here but nothing that is an issue, just natural progression.

I know for a list like this, you have to quantify what is a graduated prospect, but for me, it's a case by case basis.

Kotkaniemi got his first taste of not only pro hockey, but North American hockey too at the age of 18. Physically, he looks to be very far from a finished product as well.

To me, he's still more a prospect than anything else. So I'm curious to see where you rank kotkaniemi if he is still a prospect. I'd say #1 but I dont get to see these guys as muc as you.

Kotka #1 for sure.

Ikonen could really surprise next year. He might end up better than Ylonen.

Perhaps, I do like him a good bit but Ikonen has to work on the physical tools, skating, speed, size, strength. Ylonen like Romanov are 2 tougher ones to say just how good they will be and are real wild cards for how good our system really is. Ylonen has the skill along with the physical tools of speed, skating, size that he could end up our best prospect but there are just some things about his IQ that I'm not sure of yet and since these Liiga guys as of this year are now so much harder to watch in North America it will be tough to rank these guys.

 

[WatchfulElm]

Kotka, Mete graduated, I don't count older guys like Lindgren or guys on AHL contracts


Top 20

1. Nick Suzuki
2. Josh Brook
3. Caden Primeau
4. Ryan Poehling
5. Alexander Romanov
6. Jesse Ylonen
7. Noah Juulsen
8. Cale Fleury
9. Jordan Harris
10. Joni Ikonen
11. Cam Hillis
12. Jake Evans
13. Cole Fonstad
14. Jacob Olofsson
15. Allen McShane
16. Joel Teasdale
17. Brett Stapley
18. Lukas Vejdemo
19. Michael McNiven
20. Michael McCarron

HM Walford, Gorniak, Sklenicka

I'd like to understand the reasoning behind Teasdale being so low on your list. His current performance in the playoffs is on par with what Suzuki is doing. Both players are carrying their team on their shoulders and could make it to the Memorial cup. I get that Teasdale is 5 months older, that he's undrafted and that he doesn't have the raw skills that Suzuki has. But still, I have a hard time understanding a prospect ranking that would put Teasdale after guys like Fonstad or Olofsson, especially while we're witnessing his playoffs performance.

I think we're all scared that Teasdale is just another Alexandre Alain, but Alain put up crazy numbers while he was an overager, one year older than Teasdale. Alain's level of play was nowhere near where Teasdale is at the same age.

I'm not following the prospects as much as many of you, but from what I've seen and what I've read, my top 10 would be something like that :

1- Suzuki
2- Poehling
3- Brook
4- Romanov
5- Primeau
6- Ylonen
7- Fleury
8- Juulsen
9- Teasdale
10- Ikonen

Harris might deserve to get up there but I've seen too little from him to really know.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Brook
Mete
Romanov
Fleury

I can see Fleury being better than Romanov though. Mete's defensive game is already very good and if he can improve his offensive game, he could be a good top pairing guy. Brook is our best D prospect since Subban.

You can make a case for any of those top 3 being #1 but I think you nailed it. Romanov could easily be the best one and even Mete. Romanov and Mete had better D+1 years than Brook but Brook just catapaulted himself up another tier with his production this year. I mean Mete did make the NHL (yes circumstances aside but still) so there's that. Will be interesting to see if Romanov can take a big leap like Mete and Brook did.

Can't discount Fleury though. 9 goals as a rookie D is nothing to sneeze at especially after missing a few games. Those 4 and Juulsen make up a very very solid young crop.

 

[Apeironic]

Ouch

Too funny. If anything should sober you up about hoping for a future of glory-- it is that post.

 

[CoopersFalls]

1. Nick Suzuki
2. Josh Brook
3. Ryan Poehling
4. Alexander Romanov
5. Cayden Primeau
6. Jesse Ylonen
7. Noah Juulsen
8. Cale Fleury
9. Jordan Harris
10. Joni Ikonen
11. Jake Evans
12. Jacob Olofsson
13. Cole Fonstad
14. Allen McShane
15. Joel Teasdale
16. Cam Hillis
17. Brett Stapley
18. Lukas Vejdemo
19. Scott Walford
20. Michael McCarron

By far the deepest prospect pool that I can remember.