Prospect Info: NHL Entry Draft Discussion Thread - Looking Ahead to 2020

[93LEAFS]

They all are pretty good skaters outside of Kokkonen, but he at least has size. Robertson especially is a strong skater.

I don't think all of them will be pure speedsters, but there is a lot more to skating than just speed. I'm more worried about technique and it doesn't seem like anyone has poor technique. The rest comes with time and strength. Even Kokkonen, who has a choppier stride, had problems that could not be fixed with some time and training.

We'll see in training camp. They'll be going up against a lot of strong skaters from our pool so we'll see who gets exposed and who stands out.

And does Cherry needs these guys to be born and raised in Ontario for him to be happy? Like Robertson played his all of his important Junior Hockey in Ontario with programs he loves. First with Vaughan, then in Toronto, and finally in Peterborough. Just because the guy wasn't here since he was 4 years old doesn't mean anything, and I am pretty sure he has praised some Russians like SDA who have been here since they were 13 and coming up through the Canadian system. Robertson was here since he was 13/14 years old. I really don't care. It's not like the Canadian crop was amazing this year or anything.

Robertson is a weaker skater for his build. He's not bad, but I wouldn't classify him as a strong skater. It is probably around average. A couple places graded him out as average (HP and Pronman). If we are going to talk about what Robertson is strong at it would be his hands and shot. He also played in Michigan until he was 14, so most of his important youth hockey has taken place in Michigan. Not that I care where a prospect is from.

 

[Stigma]

Well the outrage I don't get is that 5'11 and 6'0 are an inch apart. You would never be able to tell unless you measured someone. Heck, even with some guys hair it can add an extra inch or two.

This is a great point. 6'0 is just an arbitrary cut-off. It's like the marketing trick where pricing things at $3.99 appears so much cheaper than $4.00. 5'11 and 6'0 are very, very close. I'm 5'11. When I have running shoes on and my 6'0 friends have sandals on, we're the same height.

 

[Peasy]

Really surprised Cole Mackay went undrafted

 

[hockeynorth]

Really surprised Cole Mackay went undrafted

Me too

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Really surprised Cole Mackay went undrafted

I kind of am, but when you are a late 3rd round-5th round pick (which is about where I had him), it is not totally shocking. I thought someone would have taken a chance on him, but he's not a particularly great skater for his size. For reference, he'd probably be the weakest skater in our draft class, even though he's not even that bad of a skater.

Other than that, he possesses a lot of what you like. High IQ, compete level, and defensive skill. Above average but not elite offensively.

I would have taken a chance on him in the 7th round and hope his skating could have improved. There were a lot of random prospects taken and I find it hard to believe that they were better bets than him. I fully believe he could turn into a Connor Brown type player in the NHL.

 

[baton elevated]

How long has it been that we haven't drafted a swede? No Bergman surprises this year? disappointed, i always like his sleeper picks.

 

[Green Snow Storm]

Really surprised Cole Mackay went undrafted

I’m even more surprised Dubas didn’t send him a camp invite being from the Soo.

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

How long has it been that we haven't drafted a swede? No Bergman surprises this year? disappointed, i always like his sleeper picks.

I would bet he has a couple guys playing in the middle of nowhere for 2020. Dubas seems intent on getting as many 2020 7ths as possible and I can't help but feel Bergman really likes a couple guys already.

He regularily talks about Bermans scouting ability so I wouldn't put it past him.

 

[Fogelhund]

Bergman does more than just Sweden... we picked two Finns this year, he may very well be behind those picks. The last Swede we picked was Sandin, in 2018...

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Bergman does more than just Sweden... we picked two Finns this year, he may very well be behind those picks. The last Swede we picked was Sandin, in 2018...

Holmberg in 2018 too.

 

[93LEAFS]

Bergman does more than just Sweden... we picked two Finns this year, he may very well be behind those picks. The last Swede we picked was Sandin, in 2018...

Pretty sure Vuori primarily covers Finland, and Sandin was primarily an OHL pick considering that's where he played most of the year. Also, the last Swede we picked was Holmberg.

 

[Kiwi]

Pretty sure Vuori primarily covers Finland, and Sandin was primarily an OHL pick considering that's where he played most of the year. Also, the last Swede we picked was Holmberg.

I'd have thought that the European boys would be flying to and from Sweden and Finland comparing players there looking at?

So Vuori and Bergman both getting eyes on the Finnish and Swedish players were interested in

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I'd have thought that the European boys would be flying to and from Sweden and Finland comparing players there looking at?

So Vuori and Bergman both getting eyes on the Finnish and Swedish players were interested in

The Leafs also have Robert Nordmark, whom I believe covers all of Scandinavia

 

[Fogelhund]

Paul Hendrick‏Verified account @HennyTweets 3m3 minutes ago
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Peterborough Pete products and Leaf draft picks hilight day 1 at Leaf Development Camp. Nick Robertson and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev on Leafs Nation Network tonight at 6. #LeafsForever

 

[93LEAFS]

I'd have thought that the European boys would be flying to and from Sweden and Finland comparing players there looking at?

So Vuori and Bergman both getting eyes on the Finnish and Swedish players were interested in

They overlap a bit, but in that region Vuori is the primary guy to cross-check scouts. Generally, you have a lower-level scouts cover a region, then bring in certain senior scouts to verify what the lower level scouts are seeing. In this setting, the senior scouts would be Morrison, Clark, Speltz, Lilly, Palafito, and Vuori. Now, they will go down to major tournaments together and stuff.

 

[cupcrazyman]

This is a great point. 6'0 is just an arbitrary cut-off. It's like the marketing trick where pricing things at $3.99 appears so much cheaper than $4.00. 5'11 and 6'0 are very, very close. I'm 5'11. When I have running shoes on and my 6'0 friends have sandals on, we're the same height.

Same here. I'm 5 11 & at my heaviest close to 190 with minimal body fat. That's not small unless i'm playing in the NBA.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

SSM selected Nick Malik, son of Marek Malek, and a guy who is expected to be one of the top goalie prospects for the 2020 NHL draft. Seems to be the type of goalie the Leafs like too.

He'd be an immediate target for the Leafs if he goes to the Soo. He was already a co-starter in the Czech2 league at 16 and did decently well.

 

[Matthews34]

Same here. I'm 5 11 & at my heaviest close to 190 with minimal body fat. That's not small unless i'm playing in the NBA.

You're not big either by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[justafan22]

You're not big either by any stretch of the imagination.

5'11 is above average height in canada

 

[Matthews34]

5'11 is above average height in canada

Average isn’t big. Average is average which the median

 

[Morgs]

Size doesn't matter. Can't believe people are still discussing it in 2019 when 5'9" Jared Spurgeon is arguably a top-10 defenseman in hockey.

No matter who you draft, the odds are stacked against him especially after the 1st round. Personally I believe even looking at size as a top-5 quality is a recipe for disaster. Look at IQ, skill, skating, production, etc, for the best chance of finding "steals" outside the 1st.

Better to always draft guys who you believe if all goes right will end up as top-6/top-4 guys than looking for guys to specifically play on the 4th line/3rd pairing because of size/grit.

 

[Kiwi]

Size doesn't matter. Can't believe people are still discussing it in 2019 when 5'9" Jared Spurgeon is arguably a top-10 defenseman in hockey.

No matter who you draft, the odds are stacked against him especially after the 1st round. Personally I believe even looking at size as a top-5 quality is a recipe for disaster. Look at IQ, skill, skating, production, etc, for the best chance of finding "steals" outside the 1st.

Better to always draft guys who you believe if all goes right will end up as top-6/top-4 guys than looking for guys to specifically play on the 4th line/3rd pairing because of size/grit.

You can find bargain basement bottom 6 and 3rd pair types cheap as free agents or trade for them if you need to

Best of luck doing that for top 6 forwards and top 4 defenseman, swing for the fences and look for upside

 

[Duffman955]

Size doesn't matter. Can't believe people are still discussing it in 2019 when 5'9" Jared Spurgeon is arguably a top-10 defenseman in hockey.

No matter who you draft, the odds are stacked against him especially after the 1st round. Personally I believe even looking at size as a top-5 quality is a recipe for disaster. Look at IQ, skill, skating, production, etc, for the best chance of finding "steals" outside the 1st.

Better to always draft guys who you believe if all goes right will end up as top-6/top-4 guys than looking for guys to specifically play on the 4th line/3rd pairing because

It mattered when Blues and Caps crushed opponents into the ground with their heavy forecheck.

 

[Morgs]

You can find bargain basement bottom 6 and 3rd pair types cheap as free agents or trade for them if you need to

Best of luck doing that for top 6 forwards and top 4 defenseman, swing for the fences and look for upside

Lol seriously. Everyone wants a Tom Wilson/Jaime Benn, but there's a reason the amount of guys like them in the league is so few.

And its not like Dallas looked at Benn's size and said "we got a steal". Guy was playing in a lower-tier league and had good production with projectable skills.

 

[Morgs]

It mattered when Blues and Caps crushed opponents into the ground with their heavy forecheck.

Nah. The Caps won because their best players were their best players. Same goes for the Blues. Same goes for the Pens 2x in a row. That's the winning formula, your best players play like your best players with help from the depth.

Blues probably even wouldn't have gotten through the 3rd round if SJ wasn't the most injured (not from forechecking lmao), but even then I hardly see their best players: Tarasenko, O'Reilly, Schwartz, Pietrangelo, and Parayko as balls to the wall forecheckers.