QJL 2020 Draft Final Top 100 Rankings

[QJL]

Final adjustments made the morning of draft day.

1 Alexis Lafreniere
2 Tim Stutzle
3 Quinton Byfield
4 Lucas Raymond
5 Seth Jarvis
6 Anton Lundell
7 Marco Rossi
8 Alexander Holtz
9 Jamie Drysdale
10 Yaroslav Askarov

11 Noel Gunler
12 Lukas Reichel
13 Braden Schneider
14 Cole Perfetti
15 Rodion Amirov
16 Jake Sanderson
17 Brendan Brisson
18 William Wallinder
19 Emil Andrae
20 Mavrik Bourque

21 Dawson Mercer
22 Kaiden Guhle
23 Hendrix Lapierre
24 Marat Khusnutdinov
25 Connor Zary
26 Topi Niemela
27 Dylan Holloway
28 Jan Mysak
29 Daniel Torgersson
30 Thomas Bordeleau

31 Roni Hirvonen
32 Justin Barron
33 Zion Nybeck
34 Jack Quinn
35 Eemil Viro
36 Martin Chromiak
37 Blake Biondi
38 Helge Grans
39 Jacob Perreault
40 Sam Colangelo

41 Jean-Luc Foudy
41 Emil Heineman
42 Ryan O’Rourke
44 Tyson Foerster
45 William Villeneuve
46 Alexander Pashin
47 Vasili Ponomaryov
48 Jake Neighbours
49 Eamon Powell
50 Jeremie Poirier

51 Connor McClennon
52 Jack Finley
53 Kasper Simontaival
54 Luke Evangelista
55 Antonio Stranges
56 Sean Farrell
57 Ridly Greig
58 Oscar Magnusson
59 Marko Stacha
60 Tristen Robins

61 Ozzy Wiesblatt
62 Justin Sourdif
63 Veeti Miettinen
64 Tyler Kleven
65 Oliver Suni
66 Theodor Niederbach
67 Dmitri Zlodeyev
68 Jack Thompson
69 Lukas Cormier
70 Daniel Ljungman

71 Jaromir Pytlik
72 Mitchell Miller
73 John-Jason Peterka
74 Yan Kuznetsov
75 Roby Jarventie
76 Joni Jurmo
77 Simon Kubicek
78 Elliot Ekmark
79 Shakir Mukhamadullin
80 Ivan Didkovsky

81 Will Cuylle
82 Lucas Ramberg
83 Carter Savoie
84 Anton Johannesson
85 Michael Benning
86 Alexander Nikishin
87 Brett Berard
88 Maxim Groshev
89 Bogdan Trineyev
90 Dylan Peterson

91 Ty Smilanic
92 Evan Vierling
93 Danil Aimurzin
94 Carson Bantle
95 Ryan Francis
96 Joel Blomqvist
97 Brock Faber
98 Maxim Beryozkin
99 Ian Moore
100 Luke Tuch

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[BlackEye from Xhekaj]

If you're going to make a list that has rankings varied so differently from others (Jarvis at 5, Gunler at 8, Perfetti 13 etc), give some reasoning behind it, otherwise to me, it's just a random list of names.

 

[QJL]

If you're going to make a list that has rankings varied so differently from others (Jarvis at 5, Gunler at 8, Perfetti 13 etc), give some reasoning behind it, otherwise to me, it's just a random list of names.

You can find my comments on all three in the player threads. It must pain you to see all the random lists of names on this site! Still, happy to provide thoughts to someone with that username (I grew up with Max in New Canaan). I put up these lists so people can question what they want. I always respond.

Jarvis - The back half of his pre-draft season was one for the ages. He outproduced every player in the CHL in the back half of the season, Lafreniere included. What made his run even more impressive was that he did it in the WHL, a tougher scoring league than the O or Q. The kid reminds of Panarin or Marner with his ability to skip away and make something special out of nothing. If he could score from the outside, he’d be even higher on my list.

Gunler - I’ve been high on this player for over a year and have provided my comments in numerous rankings. He’s a two-way player and is a world better than his fellow Swedes in his own end. He still has one of the best shots in the draft and a snakebitten year shouldn’t disregard that. He scored at a better clip than Raymond or Holtz prior to this past season and was more trusted in late game situations by his SHL team than other wingers in his class. He has the skating, frame, shot, and skill for today’s NHL. With Jarvis, he’s one of the most underrated players in the draft.

Perfetti - This ranking is not a huge knock on Cole. I just think there are around 15 potentially elite players in a deep deep draft. The reason I have him lower is due to his inconsistency and his lacking top end speed (which could change). He’s one of the top playmakers and stick-handlers in the draft but I don’t see some of the crazy things he does with the puck translating effectively to the next level. I still think he’s a fantastic prospect, just slightly behind some others.

 

[BlackEye from Xhekaj]

You can find my comments on all three in the player threads. It must pain you to see all the random lists of names on this site! Still, happy to provide thoughts to someone with that username (I grew up with Max in New Canaan). I put up these lists so people can question what they want. I always respond.

Jarvis - The back half of his pre-draft season was one for the ages. He outproduced every player in the CHL in the back half of the season, Lafreniere included. What made his run even more impressive was that he did it in the WHL, a tougher scoring league than the O or Q. The kid reminds of Panarin or Marner with his ability to skip away and make something special out of nothing. If he could score from the outside, he’d be even higher on my list.

Gunler - I’ve been high on this player for over a year and have provided my comments in numerous rankings. He’s a two-way player and is a world better than his fellow Swedes in his own end. He still has one of the best shots in the draft and a snakebitten year shouldn’t disregard that. He scored at a better clip than Raymond or Holtz prior to this past season and was more trusted in late game situations by his SHL team than other wingers in his class. He has the skating, frame, shot, and skill for today’s NHL. With Jarvis, he’s one of the most underrated players in the draft.

Perfetti - This ranking is not a huge knock on Cole. I just think there are around 15 potentially elite players in a deep deep draft. The reason I have him lower is due to his inconsistency and his lacking top end speed (which could change). He’s one of the top playmakers and stick-handlers in the draft but I don’t see some of the crazy things he does with the puck translating effectively to the next level. I still think he’s a fantastic prospect, just slightly behind some others.

It doesn't pain me at all.. but if I'm not reading your take on every prospect you list in each individual thread, then posting a big list of names with no rhyme or reason behind it in it's own thread just looks out of place and thrown together. I too am very high on Gunler, so I appreciate you adding your reasoning (and was just a suggestion for future lists).

 

[RememberTheName]

Love the rankings, but obviously disagree with a few, namely with Kaiden Guhle and Jack Quinn. Would you mind explaining your decisions to rank these two so low, especially because I am the exact opposite end of the spectrum on one (I have Quinn at 5).

 

[QJL]

Love the rankings, but obviously disagree with a few, namely with Kaiden Guhle and Jack Quinn. Would you mind explaining your decisions to rank these two so low, especially because I am the exact opposite end of the spectrum on one (I have Quinn at 5).

First off, cheers to your opinions. If you are ranking both players high, you’re likely to disagree with the below.

Quinn - There’s no doubt he has had a fantastic year, much of which happened apart from Rossi (minus the power play). Quinn has improved his skating a ton but the one major concern I have is his ability to change direction and accelerate when needed. The NHL is a stop/start league most of the time and while top speed and edge work are greatly improved with this kid, he tends to float rather than drive toward the right place. I know it might not seem like a big criticism, but it’s a big hinderance to success at the next level. High drafted players I’ve seen with this crippling characteristic are Galchenyuk, Puljujarvi, and Jost. Quinn can sizzle with the puck offensively but his skating style in general worries me beyond juniors.

Guhle - This is a safe player and a good bet to be a bottom 4 shutdown defender in the NHL. He is a phenomenal skater and has excellent gap control. When I think of Guhle I think dependable but not dominant. Outside of a powerful shot he just doesn’t bring the offensive puck moving skills that most teams covet that back end. While there’s still room to develop that side of his game, I see him breaking into the league sooner than most in his class because of his skating and defense. Still there isn’t enough differentiation with those attributes between him and others to warrant a high ranking. He reminds me of Connor Murphy.