Now, Provorov, Ghost/Sanheim, Gudas
In two years, Provorov, Myers, Sanheim, Zamula, Ghost
Provorov struggled the first half, but since the All Star break has played like a #1 D-man, playing huge minutes for a 22 year old, skating with confidence and not making brain dead passes. He's showing flashes of his ultimate upside, which is just below Doughty as a two way defenseman. He has the offensive skills of a scoring forward, just has to refine that wrist shot and he could score 20 goals a year. He's strong enough to go to the net and smart enough to know when to do so.
Myers is a projection, but you just can't teach 6'5 220+ with speed, a big shot from the point and all around skill. I put his upside over Sanheim due to his size and strength, which combined with his reach could make him a dominant defenseman at both ends of the ice.
Sanheim is developing in his second season, which is no surprise, and he should make a jump when they move him back to LHD, where he's more comfortable. He needs more offensive polish, but won't take the next step if he doesn't fill out a bit, add more strength and play with an edge. He's not going to be the physical monster like Myers/Morin, but he needs to be able to hold his own in the D-zone and win more battles than he loses. He's got more offensive skill than Myers, but will never strike fear into the hearts of smurfs.
Ghost is what he is, Mark Streit jr, a top offensive defenseman and PP QB, who you ideally shelter at 5x5 so he doesn't deal with top lines/physical lines. He's always going to struggle in the D-zone moving people out of the crease and he tends to avoid board battles or attacking the net on offense, he's best on the perimeter, directing traffic and shooting through a scrum. Ghost doesn't have elite speed or burst after his injury, so that limits him going forward, he can't just skate past people like he did as a rookie.
Zamula is the wild card, I don't know if he's as good as some have rated him, a great junior season, but it's so hard to project him three years from now because of that body, like Ghost he has good but not great speed, so he needs to fill out and be able to hold his own (he showed the willingness to mix it up in TC, but with that body he's going to get rag dolled in the NHL). If he can get to 200+ without slowing down he may end up better than Ghost.
Morin is another wild card, is he a bigger, faster version of Hagg (stiff physical defenseman who struggles with quick, agile players) or just a late bloomer who will "shock the nation" once healthy. He's not going to be a huge offensive force, but if he can play the Gudas role at the point he can be productive. But it's on defense where he'll have to make his mark as an "enforcer," a guy who can just skate anyone out of the crease, stop 2 on 1s with his incredible reach, etc.
Hogberg is an unknown to me, but Appleyard loves this guy. Not a big point producer right now but he's not asked to so so in the SHL. I'd like to see hm at LHV next year and see what we have, but he sounds like the perfect defensive defenseman for today's game, smart, mobile, skilled.