Post Your 2020 Draft List

[felixpettersson]

I don't see anyone mentioning Theodor Niederbach - how is he looking?

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Well to be honest the difference between SHL and Liiga is not as big as you suggest, the CHL isn’t a relevant ranking because a few Finnish and Swedish teams take that seriously.

SHL is a bit better then Liiga but to compare Liiga to Hockeyallsvenskan is just stupid. Liiga exports players every year to NHL at a very good rate.

About Lundell vs Raymond I would say Raymond has more offensive upside but Lundell is better allround and a more mature player. Lundell being a C also helps him in future considerations for the NHL teams.

After WHC 2019 I don't know how much better KHL is than Liiga.

 

[tony d]

Lafreniere and Byfield would be my 1-2 at this point. Lafreniere has superstar written all over him.

 

[Preds666]

I don't see anyone mentioning Theodor Niederbach - how is he looking?

He isn't looking at all.... after his knee injury (osteochondritis) and surgery that kept him game less during the 18/19 campaign. From what I recall, he started practising on the ice in February. Hope he is fully recovered by the start of next season.

What he showed the year before was really promising. Strong two-way game, nice offensive tools and a nose for the net. Also good puck skills and passing ability. Not the fastest of skaters. however. First round potential if he recovered well, imo

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I have not watched Drysdale much but I do not see much offensive upside with him, I am not sure if he has the creativity and shot to run a power play for example. His skating is great and his defensive game is solid but I do not see any real standout ability at all besides his skating.

With Foudy, he does not really have close to the skill or playmaking of some other forwards in this class in my eyes. His skill and playmaking is decent but not much more. I do not see anything special at all yet besides skating but Inreally have not seen too much.

Does Gunler have attidute issues? I have not heard of that. The reason he was left off the U18 was because the coach for some reason thought role players where more useful. His shot, skating and skill is through the roof, and his production is Superelit and the SHL is insane.

Alexander Holtz has a lot more than just an elite shot. His hands and skill level are elite, his playmaking is very underrated and extremely good, he plays with great intensity and compete level and has a good defensive game along other good agility and solid speed. He is very well rounded.

You make a good point about Perfetti and Rossi, Perfettis skating really is a huge concern. I do also think they are overhyped
but their skill and production is way too good to be ranked that low.

Drysdale was second on his OHL team in assists in his U17 season. He's 11th all time in points scored by a U-17 defensemen in their U17 season, and 9th in assists by a defensemen in their U17 season. Foudy had the 4th most assists among U18 players in the OHL this season. He's a U17. That included more assists than first round picks Tomasino and McMichael. He's 29th all time in assists in a U17 season. Of the 28 seasons ahead of his in that stat, only six were in the last ten years, so his assist numbers don't even happen every year for a U17 in the OHL. He's plenty skilled and a tremendous playmaker. His problem is that he doesn't shoot. If his shot matched his playmaking, he'd be the favorite to go 1OA. He's significantly better offensively than his brother, who is a speedster with average offensive ability. He might already be better than him.

Pronman mentioned in an article today that Gunler had problems with Swedish coaches. I like Gunler, and he certainly has the talent to be a top 10 or top 5 pick, but right now I have him outside the top 10. I disagree about Holtz. Opinions on him are very divided. Some see an average level of talent aside from the goal scoring ability, others think he's very skilled. I think everyone agrees that he's a good player.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Agreed on Lafreniere, im not as high on him as most are. Definitely the favorite to go #1 but I think there are a few players with the ability to overtake his position. Lafreniere actually has an overall game that translates well to the NHL, but I dont think he ever ends up as a top 10 point guy or anything

I think he's like a winger Tavares. I also see some similarities to Kakko. He's going to be a great scorer because he has elite finishing and playmaking around the net, but he doesn't dominate a game in the way you'd like to see from a 1OA. He'll put up a lot of points, but is a winger that probably ends up in the 6-15 range of NHL wingers a 1OA lock? Not in my opinion.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I disagree on your assessment of Perfetti though. His skating isn't elite, but I don't think it'll be bad enough to hold him back at higher levels. I would call him an average skater and skating is something that usually improves in the transition between a players 16yo and 17yo season. What's important to note about Perfetti, is that he and Wilde were the drivers of the play in Saginaw. Tippett and McLeod are decent players, but they are North/South players, who are at their best off the rush or when another player on their team is controlling the puck for them. Perfetti almost always was the one holding onto the puck in the zone when Saginaw was set up, and with his elite shot/stickhandling/passing, he would make any OHL defense look porous.

I ranked Perfetti 15th. I think thats pretty high in a draft that is very deep. Players that go 15th usually are very good prospects. He's not a bad skater, but I think its hard to justify putting an averaged sized and skating forward much higher than that. He reminds me of Nick Suzuki, who went 13th. It's also almost a year before the 2020 draft, so he could move up or down from 15.

 

[MattiasSnall]

The SHL is still very far ahead of the Liiga, the SHL exports more than twice as many players on average. The Allsvenskans top teams are as good as lower SHL teams and would probably beat many Liiga teams. The Liiga is certainly much closer to the Allsvenskan than the SHL.

I mostly agree about your comparison, but I am not sure if Lundell is more well rounded. Raymond is also very well rounded and good at basically everything, besides his skill he plays with a great motor and does well defensively. I do think Raymond is the superior prospect

Well still don’t agree on SHL being that far ahead as you expressed.

About Lundell/Raymond I’m eager to see what they can do next season, I do respect your opinion about Raymond and agree about most things but still hold Lundell higher, he seems to be a Barkov type of a player that handle every part of the game excellently, even though he is not as big of a talent then Barkov was. Either way excited to see both these prospects.

 

[Polar Bear]

OT a bit, but if Byfield goes 2nd, he'd be the highest drafted Black player in what seems like forever, right? Jones and Kane both went 4th.

 

[AB13]

Well still don’t agree on SHL being that far ahead as you expressed.

About Lundell/Raymond I’m eager to see what they can do next season, I do respect your opinion about Raymond and agree about most things but still hold Lundell higher, he seems to be a Barkov type of a player that handle every part of the game excellently, even though he is not as big of a talent then Barkov was. Either way excited to see both these prospects.

It will be interesting to see, I see Raymond as a Mitch Marner type player, while possibly being an even better skater and playing with more intensity. Lundell is also a great player, but comparing him to Barkov is bit much, I don't see the same skill or creativity as Barkov in Lundell at the moment. I see more of a Mikko Koivu in him but that is good too obviously. Raymond is a better offensive player by a pretty large margin in my eyes but next season will tell I guess. Gunler and Holtz could also challenge them both.

 

[MattiasSnall]

It will be interesting to see, I see Raymond as a Mitch Marner type player, while possibly being an even better skater and playing with more intensity. Lundell is also a great player, but comparing him to Barkov is bit much, I don't see the same skill or creativity as Barkov in Lundell at the moment. I see more of a Mikko Koivu in him but that is good too obviously. Raymond is a better offensive player by a pretty large margin in my eyes but next season will tell I guess. Gunler and Holtz could also challenge them both.

Time will tell who will come out on top... Looking forward to an interesting winter!

 

[AB13]

Drysdale was second on his OHL team in assists in his U17 season. He's 11th all time in points scored by a U-17 defensemen in their U17 season, and 9th in assists by a defensemen in their U17 season. Foudy had the 4th most assists among U18 players in the OHL this season. He's a U17. That included more assists than first round picks Tomasino and McMichael. He's 29th all time in assists in a U17 season. Of the 28 seasons ahead of his in that stat, only six were in the last ten years, so his assist numbers don't even happen every year for a U17 in the OHL. He's plenty skilled and a tremendous playmaker. His problem is that he doesn't shoot. If his shot matched his playmaking, he'd be the favorite to go 1OA. He's significantly better offensively than his brother, who is a speedster with average offensive ability. He might already be better than him.

Pronman mentioned in an article today that Gunler had problems with Swedish coaches. I like Gunler, and he certainly has the talent to be a top 10 or top 5 pick, but right now I have him outside the top 10. I disagree about Holtz. Opinions on him are very divided. Some see an average level of talent aside from the goal scoring ability, others think he's very skilled. I think everyone agrees that he's a good player.

Sure Foudy had a decent season looking at numbers, but nothing exceptional worthy of even being considered in the top 5. You mention that the had the fourth most assists as a U18, but that is really not an incredible achievement, at least not compared to others. Players like Raymond, Gunler, Holtz, Stultzle and Mysak had historic seasons that are almost unmatched entirely in the past. They outscored first rounders by a larger margin. Foudys assist numbers are not historic, nowhere close to it. Looking at his point totals, they are not close to being top 10 worthy. He is not really that skilled in my eyes, he is a decent playmaker, but not much better than other players around that range in the draft, while also being an absolutely horrendous shooter. His defensive play is not impressive at all either. Foully should not be a top 15 or maybe even top 20 pick in my eyes.

Drysdale is an exceptional player, but there are so many players with much more skill and upside in my eyes. 11th all time in points might be decent, but Raymond and Holtz are first and second all time by U17 players in the Superelit, and Gunler had a better PPG than both. Lundell scored 19 Liiga points. Drysdales point totals are nowhere near as impressive or even comparable to those, and I don't see the same insane upside in him either, even though Drysdale is a great prospect with very high upside. I rate Drysdale highly, he is a great prospect, ranking him this low is simply because of how much better other players are in my eyes.

 

[JabbaJabba]

One guy that could rise into the early rounds is JJ Peterka.

Could be an interesting draft for Germany.
Tim Stützle, JJ Peterka, Samuel Dubé (depending on his health) and Maximilian Glötzl are all very good prospects. And there are another 5 or 6 guys that could have a legitimate chance of being drafted.

Do you have more information on these guys and who you think could be drafted?

 

[swissexpert]

1. Alexis Lafreniere-W
2. Jamie Drysdale-RD
3. Lucas Raymond-W
4. Quinton Byfield-C
5. Anton Lundell-C
6. Jean-Luc Foudy-C
7. Jeremie Poirier-LD
8. Yaroslav Askarov-G
9. Justin Barron-RD
10. Jan Mysak-C
11. Alexander Holtz-W
12. Noel Gunler-W
13. Hendrix Lapierre-C
14. Jacob Perreault-C
15. Cole Perfetti-C
16. Martin Chromiak-C
17. Ryan O’Rourke-LD
18. Antonio Stranges-W
19. Dylan Holloway-W
20. Jake Sanderson-LD
21. Kaiden Guhle-LD
22. Rodion Amirov-W
23. Vasili Ponomaryov-C
24. Thomas Bordeleau-C
25. Zion Nybeck-W
26. Marat Khusnutdinov-C
27. Will Cuylle-W
28. Simon Knak-W
29. Jake Neighbours-W
30. Ty Smilanic-C
31. Connor Zary-C
32. Mavrik Bourque-C
33. Marco Rossi-C
34. Eamon Powell-RD
35. Jan Bednar-G
36. Evan Vierling-C
37. Braden Schneider-RD
38. Connor McLennon-W
39. Dawson Mercer-W
40. Tyler Kleven-LD
41. Roni Hirvonen-C
42. Ryder Rolston-W
43. Ruben Rafkin-RD
44. Kasper Simontaival-W
45. Yan Kuznetsov-LD
46. Samuel Knazko-LD
47. William Villeneuve-RD
48. Landon Slaggert-C
49. Mitchell Miller-LD
50. Blake Biondi-W
51. Stephen Halliday-W
52. Tim Stutzle-C
53. Drew Commesso-G
54. Dylan Garand-G
55. Daemon Hunt-LD
56. Maxim Groshev-W
57. William Wallinder-LD
58. Wyatt Schingoethe-C
59. Luke Tuch-W
60. Vsevolod Skotnikov-G
61. Helge Grans-RD
62. Pavel Tyutnev-C

I’ll list 31 honorable mentions, so it amounts to a third round, but not ranked.

Honorable Mentions: Miettinen, Desnoyers, Delemont, Andrae, Johanesson, Szurowski, Blomqvist, Clang, Faber, Peterson, Sedoff, Kubicek, Cormier, Nikishin, Sourdif, Coe, Farrell, Keane, Brisson, Urdahl, Kunz, Shlaine, Jarventie, Malik, Niemela, Novak, Pashin, Savoie, Sebrango, Wiessblatt, Jarvis

Marco Rossi won't be available on Draft day 2, can't really imagine that..

 

[VictorLustig]

He isn't looking at all.... after his knee injury (osteochondritis) and surgery that kept him game less during the 18/19 campaign. From what I recall, he started practising on the ice in February. Hope he is fully recovered by the start of next season.

What he showed the year before was really promising. Strong two-way game, nice offensive tools and a nose for the net. Also good puck skills and passing ability. Not the fastest of skaters. however. First round potential if he recovered well, imo

I was a big fan of Niederbach but he's never played a game against players older than 15 heading into his draft year. That's pretty crazy. You have to consider him a long shot at this point.

 

[AB13]

I don't see anyone mentioning Theodor Niederbach - how is he looking?

Injured all season last year but he was great before that. I have no idea on when he will return

 

[thethinglonger]

2020 Top 30:
1) Alexis Lafreniere
2) Noel Gunler
3) Quinton Byfield
4) Anton Lundell
5) Lucas Raymond
6) Marco Rossi
7) Alexander Holtz
8) Yaroslav Askarov
9) Jamie Drysdale
10) Kasper Simontaival
11) Cole Perfetti
12) Jan Mysak
13) Hendrix Lapierre
14) Justin Barron
15) Zion Nybeck
16) Roni Hirvonen
17) Connor McClennon
18) Jacob Perreault
19) Ryder Rolston
20) Ty Smilanic
21) Dylan Holloway
22) Antonio Stranges
23) Jeremie Poirier
24) Daniil Gushchin
25) Thomas Bordeleau
26) Sean Farrell
27) Michael Benning
28) Helge Grans
29) Vasili Ponomaryov
30) Mavrik Bourque

 

[BroadwayStorm]

Which guy in this draft is most similar to Zegras/Keller/Pettersson? Because that is the guy I want. And plays center.

Also is Lafreniere a true center because I've heard he might be a winger in the NHL. Is this true?

 

[PuckProspects]

Which guy in this draft is most similar to Zegras/Keller/Pettersson? Because that is the guy I want. And plays center.

Also is Lafreniere a true center because I've heard he might be a winger in the NHL. Is this true?

Lafreniere is a winger now and will be a winger in the NHL. Hasn't really played C

 

[QJL]

Which guy in this draft is most similar to Zegras/Keller/Pettersson? Because that is the guy I want. And plays center.

Also is Lafreniere a true center because I've heard he might be a winger in the NHL. Is this true?

He isn’t showing up on many lists yet but the player I see most in the Zegras/Marner mold is Tim Stutzle out of Germany. Only seen him play twice but he’s dynamic, creative, quick, tenacious in pick battles, and has excellent vision. I don’t see a player of this mold at the top of the normal pack in most rankings. I have Stutzle at #9 going into next year.

- 2.62 ppg in the u20 German league (21 gp, 23g, 32a, 55p)
- 10 points off the league scoring lead in 14 less games
- Over 1.5 ppg in every international appearance this year

 

[Favin]

I haven't done a list yet. But my initial thoughts are:

1. Marco Rossi is ranked too low on many lists. One of the better skaters for his age and someone I feel has enormous upside.
2. Quinton Byfield is not locked as #2 guy. Big, skilled centers like him won't drop, but too much competition to crown him #2 behind Lafreniere.
3. Guys I like more than others: Antonio Stranges, Theo Rochette, Ryder Rolston, Jake Neighbors,
Ty Similanic, Daniil Gushchin, Connor McClennon
4. Guys I have bookmarked to watch more of next season: Dylan Holloway, Brandon Brisson, Ethan Bowen, Noel Gunler, Chase Dafoe, Avery Winslow, the NTDP u17 crop, many of the Russians.

 

[Machinehead]

58. Wyatt Schingoethe- C

I hope the Rangers draft this guy in the first round.

 

[passive voice]

I'm just looking forward to a draft year where American/Finnish posters can take a back seat.

Heh, I dunno, seems like the Swedes and Canadians are already getting preeetty rowdy here.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Whats the story on lafreniere? How does he campare to other notable #1 OAs? Curious, since everyone have him at nummer one. Is he way ahead of everyone? Is he a RNH #1, Hall, or Hishier?

None of the above.

 

[KahunWOW]

Just going to +1 the posts that mention Tim Stützle. He put up insane numbers in Germany as one of the youngest players in the league.

Next year he plays for Adler Mannheim in the DEL (like Moritz Seider).

If the draft was today, I would expect him to go Top10.