Here is my 2 cents worth on the
latest ISS Top 30:
First, the big risers:
1.
Zibanejad, Mika -
Up 13 to 14 (Me - 11; MacKenzie as of Jan-11 - 19) - Welcome to the “Z†train, everybody seems to be getting on board, me included. This guy seems like the real deal and looks better every time you see him - decent size @ 6’2 and seems to know how to use it. A good write-up on him at NHL.com by Mike Morreale -
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=555223
2.
Oleksiak, James -
Up 6 to 19 (Me - 19; MacKenzie 23) - Look up, way up @ 6’7†242 lb. Is he a Chara/Myers or is he a Gill??? Either way, he is going to be an impact player in the NHL - this is a guy who could go even higher - the way Dylan McGrath went in the 2010 draft.
3.
Bärtschi, Sven -
Up 5 to 21 (Me - 17; MacKenzie 14) - This year’s Swiss “El Nino†in terms of draft success; other than his size (5’10†185 lb.) everything else would point to a yes. With his speed, shot and consistency in putting up the points, a mid-first round result is well within his grasp.
4.
McNeill, Mark -
Up 5 to 15 (Me - 15; MacKenzie - 22) - One of my personal favourites, I like what McNeil brings to a hockey club - a big centre with good hockey sense, who brings competiveness and physicality, good but not elite skills and can fight if called upon. I had him higher at one time but his lack of elite skills holds him back to a mid 1st round pick.
5.
Huberdeau, Jonathan -
Up 4 to 9 - (Me - 7; MacKenzie - 9) - As I predicted in last month’s ISS thread, ISS has now gone all in on Huberdeau. He seems to be good no matter where you see him - Super Series, Top Prospects , Regular season in the Q - he has the elite skills and competiveness to be successful in the Bigs.
Second, the big losers:
1.
Bell, Myles -
Down 7 to 25 - (Me - 52; MacKenzie - 56) - There is lots of controversy on this guy’s rating - do you want his offense and booming shot and believe his defense will come around - if so, late 1st is not unreasonable; if you are not so sure - the 2nd is likely where he will end up.
2.
Jaskin, Dmitri -
Down 5 to 24 - (Me - 22; MacKenzie 43) A guy I like who would be even higher I suspect if he played in North America. At 6’1 196 lb. he seems to look even bigger on the ice. Only a lack of elite skating is holding him back from an even higher rating. Maybe a good U18 will help his cause.
Third,
the big differences from what I think the ratings S/B:
1.
Nermark, Joachim -
37 spaces up from me - ISS 29; Me 66; MacKenzie >65. Hmm, the ISS rating for this guy is a puzzler for me. This pre-season sensation from the Ivan Hlinka tournament has not played close to expectations this year (26 pts in 37 games @ J20 and a measly 1 point in 12 games in the Elite League). The Swedish prospect guru, Anders Ostberg, has him 3rd round - sounds about right to me.
2.
Jacobs, Colin -
35 spaces up from me - ISS 26; Me - 61; MacKenzie - 37. Other than his size, what has this prospect done to equate to the 1st round. I am willing to admit that I could be wrong but maybe someone who sees him a lot can tell me why.
3.
Puempel, Matt -
18 spaces down from me - ISS 30; Me - 12; MacKenzie - 18. Although he is not flashy, his economy of motion and economy of movement in making and setting up scoring chances night after night on a very bad team make me believe this guy is the closest to a pure scorer in this year’s draft and I like goal scorers. He is out with an injury to the end of the year but I don’t think that will have a big effect on his chances.
4.
Rask, Viktor -
17 spaces up from me - ISS 28; Me - 45; MacKenzie - 16. This is a guy like Nermark who entered the year very high in the ratings (ISS had him top 10 for 5 months) but has not lived up to expectations - he has fallen from the 1st of the year, for sure - how far, the U18’s will likely determine if I am closely to the mark or ISS.
5.
Catenacci, Daniel -
14 spaces up from me - ISS 20; Me - 34; MacKenzie - 30. Like his skating and he is competitive but his lack of strength and size makes me wary of going as high as ISS.
6.
Khokhlachev, Alexander -
13 spaces up from me - ISS 16; Me - 29; MacKenzie - 42) - Had a monster January and many say he is this year’s Burmistrov but in the games I have seen him, he has not been visible enough for me to want to him mid-1st. Plus at 5’10 172 lb,. a little more meat would be nice too,
7.
Grimaldi, Rocco -
13 spaces up from me - ISS 18; Me - 31; MacKenzie - 31). The difference is simply this - if you are sure Grimaldi can take the results from his US NTP U18 season and translate them successfully (along with his 5’6 161 lb. frame) to the pros, an 18th ranking is appropriate; if not late 1st to early 2nd is more likely.