Prospect 05 question

[august]

What do you think of these player?

Brendan Mikkelson
Vyacheslav Buravchikov
Dustin Kohn
Andrei Zubarev
Nicholas Drazenovic
Mikko Lehtonen
Scott Jackson
Peter MacArthur

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[Eb0la11]

I think Mikkelson is a pretty decent defender, could be a nice pick in the 2nd round, Kohn is pretty much an offensive defenceman hes alright on defence but he needs to lay the body more, he tries to hook them to slow them up rather than plaster them into the boards but hes a quite good skater. The rest Ive only seen a couple times.

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

Zubarev, Buravchikov are rising - it's really not as bad of a Russian prospect pool as many say... Lehtonen is also going up.

Drazenovic was originally projected as a top 20 last year. He had a pretty poor season and might slip to mid-third. I like Mikkelson the best of all these guys. Kohn is almost as overrated as Syvret. I think Mikkelson is even better than Jackson... MacArthur... ???

 

[Meat Wave]

Peter MacArthur had a solid season in Boston University... he is a goal-scorer and should be among the 5 first NCAA prospects picked in the draft. He wasn't chosen in the 2004 draft and I'm sure many teams are kicking themselves for it because MacArthur is an offensive force. He and Christopher Bourque formed a great duo before Bourque's season-ending injury.

 

[MS]

What do you think of these player?

Brendan Mikkelson
Vyacheslav Buravchikov
Dustin Kohn
Andrei Zubarev
Nicholas Drazenovic
Mikko Lehtonen
Scott Jackson
Peter MacArthur

Drazenovic is to me one of the most over-rated players in the draft ... most lists still seem to have him in rounds 2-3, but I'd have him down around round 5-6. I just don't see anything in his game that will translate well to pro ... he's slightly built, has no physical game whatsoever and plays on the perimeter a lot, is an average skater, and not a great finisher. Nice vision, good playmaker, but IMO not nearly good enough to compensate for his deficiencies in other areas.

Mikkelson came in to the season rated up with guys like Parent and Bourdon after a terrific performance at last year's u-17 tourney, but went nowhere this year. He's smart positionally and a good skater, but doesn't really do anything dynamic at either end of the ice, and needs to add a lot more strength. I'd still have him in round 2, but wouldn't be surprised to see him take a slide down the draft as teams look for guys with more upside.

Kohn is the best skill defender prospect in the draft (in North America at least) in a year that's very short on skill defenders. Very nice puck mover, but size and strength are a concern, and his skating is good but not great. Comparable to past guys like Brendan Bell and Nathan Paetsch ... may end up a very good AHL guy who just doesn't have the physical tools to play in the NHL. But I like his skills enough that I'd probably have him as a late 2nd rounder.

Jackson is big, strong, positionally excellent. I think he's big enough and smart enough that he will play in the NHL, but his upside will be somewhat limited because his skating is average and he lacks a true mean streak. I see him as a strong complementary #4-5 defender. I said in another thread I couldn't see him going in the first round, but after looking at the depth of the draft a bit more closely, I'd have him somewhere in the 25-35 range.

 

[johnny cool]

i LOVE pete macarthur's game (saw him about 10 times this year). chris bourque got all the hype, but p-mac was the reason he was successful. he, unlike bourque, is unselfish with the puck and his shot selection is exceptional. there are things he needs to work on obviously, but i really liked what i saw out of him

i'd peg him as a mid-2nd round pick if not higher. anything lower than that is basically inexcusable IMO

 

[KILLger]

i LOVE pete macarthur's game (saw him about 10 times this year). chris bourque got all the hype, but p-mac was the reason he was successful. he, unlike bourque, is unselfish with the puck and his shot selection is exceptional. there are things he needs to work on obviously, but i really liked what i saw out of him

i'd peg him as a mid-2nd round pick if not higher. anything lower than that is basically inexcusable IMO

He'll go much lower than that. He's older than most and is on the short side... at 5'10 178. I'm pretty certain he'll go 4th round and lower..

 

[Greg7]

Mikkelson is an extremely smooth skater who moves the puck fairly well and makes sound decisions. He's reasonably big, but not physical at all and never will be in my opinion. Early second round is a good bet for him.

Kohn is one of my least favourite guys this year for how he's ranked. He's not big, not physical, not a good skater, and not particularly good defensively. I don't even think he's that good offensively, although I know that's supposed to be his strong area. I wouldn't take him until the late rounds, but people who know much more than me and actually do this sort of thing for a living say he's a 2nd or 3rd round guy.

Drazenovic is a decent skater and passer with a very effective quick release snap shot that he needs to use more, and he makes player around him better. He will make a great junior player, but his NHL ability is questionable because of his lack of size and strength.

After seeing Scott Jackson again in game 7 against Kelowna, I like him even more. He responded very well to the situation and I thought stood out as one of the best players on Seattle. He makes very good decisions with the puck, never finds himself out of position, uses his body to separate the man from the puck, plays a physical game and really looks like a guy who will translate well to the NHL. He isn't exceptionally fast north south, but he has great lateral movement and mobility. I'd have him as the best draft eligible defenseman out of the WHL this year, although 2005 is uncharacteristically weak for WHL defensemen.

 

[MS]

Mikkelson is an extremely smooth skater who moves the puck fairly well and makes sound decisions. He's reasonably big, but not physical at all and never will be in my opinion. Early second round is a good bet for him.

Kohn is one of my least favourite guys this year for how he's ranked. He's not big, not physical, not a good skater, and not particularly good defensively. I don't even think he's that good offensively, although I know that's supposed to be his strong area. I wouldn't take him until the late rounds, but people who know much more than me and actually do this sort of thing for a living say he's a 2nd or 3rd round guy.

Drazenovic is a decent skater and passer with a very effective quick release snap shot that he needs to use more, and he makes player around him better. He will make a great junior player, but his NHL ability is questionable because of his lack of size and strength.

After seeing Scott Jackson again in game 7 against Kelowna, I like him even more. He responded very well to the situation and I thought stood out as one of the best players on Seattle. He makes very good decisions with the puck, never finds himself out of position, uses his body to separate the man from the puck, plays a physical game and really looks like a guy who will translate well to the NHL. He isn't exceptionally fast north south, but he has great lateral movement and mobility. I'd have him as the best draft eligible defenseman out of the WHL this year, although 2005 is uncharacteristically weak for WHL defensemen.

My opinion of Kohn's skating went up a bit after catching most of the Calgary-Brandon series. One play in particular where he caught Ryan Stone on a breakaway from about 4 strides back stands out. He's interesting as opinions are all over the place on him - some people have him as a borderline first rounder, others not even on the first day.

Agree that Jackson has to be the top defender from the WHL. I think in the other thread when we were discussing him you were right to say his chances of going in the first round are strong.

 

[Greg7]

Agree that Jackson has to be the top defender from the WHL. I think in the other thread when we were discussing him you were right to say his chances of going in the first round are strong.

My question is, do you think he's worth the (assuming they don't do something crazy with the draft order) 25th or so pick the Canucks will have? That's what I'm starting to think... I used to want Durand despite his less than spectacular season, but his playoffs have scared me off a bit, and he made zero impact in game 7, which is alarming. I think I've switched my hope for the Canucks pick from one Thunderbird to another.

 

[MS]

My question is, do you think he's worth the (assuming they don't do something crazy with the draft order) 25th or so pick the Canucks will have? That's what I'm starting to think... I used to want Durand despite his less than spectacular season, but his playoffs have scared me off a bit, and he made zero impact in game 7, which is alarming. I think I've switched my hope for the Canucks pick from one Thunderbird to another.

Assuming Brule/Price/McArdle/Setoguchi are all gone by pick 20, Jackson is the only WHL guy I wouldn't mind with that pick. Don't know if he'd be my first choice, but he'd be a good safe pick who'd probably play for us. I'd prefer a forward, just because we have absolutely no-one in our system once Kesler sticks on our roster, but there might not be anyone of quality available. James Neal interests me a bit, as does Radek Smolenak.

Durand I don't like much at all. The couple games I saw him play this year he didn't do anything, looked weak on the puck, and didn't show much of a nose for the net. Hasn't really shown any upward development curve from last year. Plus the way he's gone into the tank is downright scary, as you say. 5 goals his last 47 games.