Sleepers for the 2020 NHL Draft

Richard88

John 3:16
Jun 29, 2019
19,163
20,768
Eamon Powell looks like someone who could be a sneaky good pick if he's available in the 3rd. He's a high IQ RHD and does all the little things that coaches love. He could be a good fallback option for teams who strike out on RHD's in the first two rounds (i.e. Schneider/Grans/Barron/Grans/Niemelä/Cotton/Nickl/Benning/etc).

 
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OgeeOgelthorpe

Baldina
Feb 29, 2020
17,005
17,987
Eamon Powell looks like someone who could be a sneaky good pick if he's available in the 3rd. He's a high IQ RHD and does all the little things that coaches love. He could be a good fallback option for teams who strike out on RHD's in the first two rounds (i.e. Schneider/Grans/Barron/Grans/Niemelä/Cotton/Nickl/Benning/etc).



I'm liking his puck patience in that video. He's making taking his man the right way just about all the time, making the smart and safe passes, and his hand-eye coordination on a lot of those blocked passes is incredible. His skating also looks pretty good, but it won't blow anyone away. Still, could be a very good pickup.
 
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Pavel Buchnevich

Drury and Laviolette Must Go
Dec 8, 2013
57,228
23,100
New York
What's the deal with Sam Colangelo being rated #63? 58 points, +32 in 44 games for Chicago Steel of the USHL. 6'2" RW. Reading his scouting report he sounds a lot like Mark Stone. I just started looking up this kid's highlights because of this thread and he's looking like he could be the kind of top 9RWer that is tough to play against in all areas of the ice and he's got a great wrist shot to boot. Originally I was hoping that the Wings would pick JJ Peterka with one of their late 2nds but now I'm kind of hoping that Colangelo falls to us in the 48-63 range.

I doubt he’ll be a late second. I would think he’s likely an early second, but could also be a late first or mid second. He’s upped his stock this season.

He’s a much better skater than Stone. He has a pretty good skill/shooting/playmaking combo for a bigger winger that skates well, but he’s inconsistent in how he uses his size and his offensive skills may not quite be good enough for top six.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

Drury and Laviolette Must Go
Dec 8, 2013
57,228
23,100
New York
Eamon Powell looks like someone who could be a sneaky good pick if he's available in the 3rd. He's a high IQ RHD and does all the little things that coaches love. He could be a good fallback option for teams who strike out on RHD's in the first two rounds (i.e. Schneider/Grans/Barron/Grans/Niemelä/Cotton/Nickl/Benning/etc).



I wouldn’t consider him a sleeper because I think he’ll be a mid-second round pick, but he’s one of my favorite players in the draft. I would not be surprised if he ended up the best American player from this draft eventually.

He’s slightly undersized, although not terribly. Besides that, he’s no worse than average at pretty much every main part of the game. I think the main question is how good his offensive skill is. I think it’s probably at least good enough for an NHL PP, but is it high end for the NHL or merely good? I’d lean more towards the latter category, and he probably ends up as a 4/5, but if he’s a full NHL pair better than that, I would not be surprised.
 
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Pavel Buchnevich

Drury and Laviolette Must Go
Dec 8, 2013
57,228
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New York
Luke Evangelista-Feels like his upside is underrated. Skilled and very smart.

Ryan O'Rourke-Nothing not to like.

With Evangelista, I also think you have to factor in that London players tend to develop better and they produce more good players. If I was picking players from the OHL, I’d lean heavily towards picking London players.

And I completely agree about O’Rourke. Great sense, great intangibles, good all around skillset. I think a lot are underrating his game. Some think he’s a second rounder. I think he’s a definite first rounder.
 
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Richard88

John 3:16
Jun 29, 2019
19,163
20,768
I wouldn’t consider him a sleeper because I think he’ll be a mid-second round pick, but he’s one of my favorite players in the draft. I would not be surprised if he ended up the best American player from this draft eventually.

He’s slightly undersized, although not terribly. Besides that, he’s no worse than average at pretty much every main part of the game. I think the main question is how good his offensive skill is. I think it’s probably at least good enough for an NHL PP, but is it high end for the NHL or merely good? I’d lean more towards the latter category, and he probably ends up as a 4/5, but if he’s a full NHL pair better than that, I would not be surprised.
I agree that his ceiling isn't that high, but if you're getting a steady 4/5 Dman in the late 2nd or 3rd round you should be relatively pleased.
 

mazmin

Wig like a mink skin, soft like Twinkie dough
May 15, 2004
3,399
1,130
Winnipeg
What's the deal with Sam Colangelo being rated #63? 58 points, +32 in 44 games for Chicago Steel of the USHL. 6'2" RW. Reading his scouting report he sounds a lot like Mark Stone. I just started looking up this kid's highlights because of this thread and he's looking like he could be the kind of top 9RWer that is tough to play against in all areas of the ice and he's got a great wrist shot to boot. Originally I was hoping that the Wings would pick JJ Peterka with one of their late 2nds but now I'm kind of hoping that Colangelo falls to us in the 48-63 range.
That Chicago team has a lot of high end talent going into 2020 draft. It didn’t matter who’s highlight package I was watching, it was always Colangelo acting as the catalyst. I like the Stone comparison, great physical tools, good vision and hands, and v high IQ. I’m pretty sure he lead his team in PPG
 

Richard88

John 3:16
Jun 29, 2019
19,163
20,768
I think @S E P H has identified a good draft sleeper in Isaak Phillips:

Let me say, holy smokes this lad has been as impressive as anybody that I've seen for the 2020 draft. Sure, a lot of it is due to expectations, but Phillips has surpassed it and more for me. The biggest issue is that he's a late birthday...well, perhaps a very late birthday. With that said, I would also like to mention is that I think he's fairly raw at this current point of time. He has had a big growth spurt in a short time and at times it looks like he doesn't know what type of game he wants to play. Now lets talk about some positives.

Phillips is a Jamaican-Canadian who is a superb skater and I am not even talking about for his frame which is 6'3" and 195 lbs. He beats a lot of players in straight line speed with his skating ability because it is that smooth, that strong, and that good. The next aspect I would like to talk about is his cerebral play, it is outstanding and factoring in this with his skating ability makes him a very intriguing prospect. I would like to see more of that IQ on the offensive side, but I wouldn't call him strictly a defensive-defender currently. I admit that might be all he develops into, but as I said before I think there is a certain level of rawness in his game. He is one of the best 1v1 defenders for 2020 prospects I've seen thus far and he can break up plays looking so effortless. Isaak then skates the puck to the neutral zone and dictates it to one of his forwards.

In that way he plays it safe for majority of the time, but Phillips does have 9 goals on the season showing that he can score, he loves jumping up into the play, and he does like to shoot the puck. He prefers to do quick wristers or wrist shots with power instead of slappers, but he's able to walk back and forth on the blueline giving him the ability to change angles (due to his skating ability0. I do question his puck skills and hands, but if there is a lad who could be one of the bigger darkhorses in this draft, I have all the confidence to say that it is this lad. Reminds me of Brett Pesce/Oscar Klefbom. Thoughts and comments?

EP Profile
Isaak Phillips at eliteprospects.com
 

Richard88

John 3:16
Jun 29, 2019
19,163
20,768
I've seen Reichel ranked in the bottom half of the 2nd round on some lists, but I think he may have 1st line potential worthy of a top 20 selection and he might make GM's look a bit silly if he falls beyond the top of the 2nd.
 

Hale The Villain

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Apr 2, 2008
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Luke Evangelista-Feels like his upside is underrated. Skilled and very smart.

And I'm pretty sure almost all his points are at even strength.

Classic buried Knights kid that will explode offensively when given more opportunity. Will be a steal if taken outside of the 1st.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

Drury and Laviolette Must Go
Dec 8, 2013
57,228
23,100
New York
That Chicago team has a lot of high end talent going into 2020 draft. It didn’t matter who’s highlight package I was watching, it was always Colangelo acting as the catalyst. I like the Stone comparison, great physical tools, good vision and hands, and v high IQ. I’m pretty sure he lead his team in PPG

He skates a lot better than Stone.
 
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neelynugs

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
35,390
9,757
ben meehan, USHL defender. missed a lot of time due to injuries but impressive when
he played. good skater that can add offense and isn't inept in his own zone.
 
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bert

Registered User
Nov 11, 2002
35,984
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I wouldn’t consider him a sleeper because I think he’ll be a mid-second round pick, but he’s one of my favorite players in the draft. I would not be surprised if he ended up the best American player from this draft eventually.

He’s slightly undersized, although not terribly. Besides that, he’s no worse than average at pretty much every main part of the game. I think the main question is how good his offensive skill is. I think it’s probably at least good enough for an NHL PP, but is it high end for the NHL or merely good? I’d lean more towards the latter category, and he probably ends up as a 4/5, but if he’s a full NHL pair better than that, I would not be surprised.
Dylan Demelo?
 

Mark Edwards

@MarkEdwardsHP
Feb 14, 2008
1,061
1,288
Toronto
www.HockeyProspect.com
Luke Evangelista-Feels like his upside is underrated. Skilled and very smart.

Ryan O'Rourke-Nothing not to like.

I mentioned Luke in a recent interview (can't recall which one), He's a player that has been in our top 31 for a while and I expect will hold his ground on our final list. I was surprised when he was ranked around 60th on B0ob's mid term and I tweeted back then that I expect that will change on Bob's final list.

Luke is a very smart player, he's skilled and was trusted by Dale. A lot to like in his game. Just needs to continue to get stronger. We have an interview on our website.

We also posted about another player who we really like, Tristen Robins. His BB writeup is on our website's front page. We gave a bit of a BB preview as we continue working on our 2020 edition.
 
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Paralyzer008

Registered User
Jan 30, 2008
15,247
5,291
Roby Jarventie is interesting because 38 points in 36 games in the Mestis is a real big-time number.

For comparison, Jesse Ylonen went 2nd round to the Habs with 27 points in 48 games in the Mestis.

William Villeneuve would be my most underrated guy, Pronman said his skating was meh but I disagree completely.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

Drury and Laviolette Must Go
Dec 8, 2013
57,228
23,100
New York
I mentioned Luke in a recent interview (can't recall which one), He's a player that has been in our top 31 for a while and I expect will hold his ground on our final list. I was surprised when he was ranked around 60th on B0ob's mid term and I tweeted back then that I expect that will change on Bob's final list.

Luke is a very smart player, he's skilled and was trusted by Dale. A lot to like in his game. Just needs to continue to get stronger. We have an interview on our website.

We also posted about another player who we really like, Tristen Robins. His BB writeup is on our website's front page. We gave a bit of a BB preview as we continue working on our 2020 edition.

Mark, do you hear from NHL teams that they put extra emphasis on drafting players out of a program like London?

My own thinking would be that the historical statistics of the number of good players they produce is a better predictor of talent than all the professional and amateur prognosticators. Obviously you need some human thinking in your draft decisions, but I wouldn’t ignore what the record says for a program like London, and I’d try to get as many of those guys in my NHL organization.
 

Halfdan

Registered User
May 23, 2017
152
41
Hockey rink
„Stützle, Peterka, Reichel... oh, wait a minute, wrong file.“ ;)
You prefere german d-men? Take a look at Glötzl. Without corona and the cancelled WJC 18 he is not probably only a 7th-rounder.
 
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Mark Edwards

@MarkEdwardsHP
Feb 14, 2008
1,061
1,288
Toronto
www.HockeyProspect.com
Mark, do you hear from NHL teams that they put extra emphasis on drafting players out of a program like London?

My own thinking would be that the historical statistics of the number of good players they produce is a better predictor of talent than all the professional and amateur prognosticators. Obviously you need some human thinking in your draft decisions, but I wouldn’t ignore what the record says for a program like London, and I’d try to get as many of those guys in my NHL organization.

Many scouts I know have respect for London's record of developing players. It does not go unnoticed. Conversely, there are teams that make some scouts I speak to a bit nervous when it comes to drafting the player and sending him back to that same team. I have a decades worth of examples.
 

neelynugs

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
35,390
9,757
anyone seen jacob dion a lot? don't see his name pop up many places but he seems to fit
here. nice little offensive defenseman.
 

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