Sporting News: Top 50 NHL Prospects

[Steve Kournianos]

NHL prospect rankings: Top 50 players in NHL pipelines for 2018-19

Post-draft production had a role in this, especially if they produced in the AHL or NHL.

It's easy to make a list with just high draft picks, or put the most recent draftees at the very top. To me, AHL production has more weight than junior stats most of the time. But in some cases (like omitting Dylan Sikura for Heponiemi), I leaned towards some unproven types because their junior seasons were either historic or dominant (like Adam Boqvist).

I was lower on 2018 draftees than I would have liked to have been, but I also wanted to factor in Calder-winning readiness. That's why Dahlin, Svechnikov and Zadina are way higher.

Click to read more...

 

[Mrb1p]

Pettersson as number one ? Well...

 

[Mrb1p]

Cirelly at 18 ? Welll...

 

[Mrb1p]

And finally we have it, Kotkaniemi 18 spots lower than Cirelli

 

[WingsMJN2965]

*CRINGE*

 

[Mrb1p]

Timmins over Makar too.. Damn.

And I love Timmins.

Veleno at 24, ahead of Tkachuk, Kotkaniemi, Dobson, Wahlstrom... Jeezuz.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

And finally we have it, Kotkaniemi 18 spots lower than Cirelly

He has Joe Veleno 12 spots over Kotkaniemi.

 

[Jimbo57]

Come on Steve, 18 player difference between Boqvist and Hughes? Even the majority of 2018 draft rankings had Hughes ahead of Boqvist.

2018 NHL Draft Rankings

 

[Mrb1p]

He has Joe Veleno 12 spots over Kotkaniemi.

The Habs drafted the wrong C.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

The Habs drafted the wrong C.

All this time you could've been saying Veleno was a better pick than Zadina and would've actually had a leg to stand on!

 

[Mrb1p]

Didnt even see Svechnikov was 2nd...

Dahlin at 3 ? Jesus f***

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Come on Steve, 18 player difference between Boqvist and Hughes? Even the majority of 2018 draft rankings had Hughes ahead of Boqvist.

2018 NHL Draft Rankings

I don't care about other draft rankings. I only use my draft rankings.

I ranked Boqvist 4th and Hughes 10th on Draft Day. Why would I change it one month later?

I'm banking on Boqvist being the better prospect. Long way to go.

 

[Jimbo57]

I don't care about other draft rankings. I only use my draft rankings.

I ranked Boqvist 4th and Hughes 10th on Draft Day. Why would I change it one month later?

I'm banking on Boqvist being the better prospect. Long way to go.

I realize that you use your own rankings, and I respect that. Just pointing out that your comparison of the two players - ranking wise- is in the great minority. But who knows, you may be right.

 

[CodeE]

Lightning: 1 player in the top 50 = #7 overall cabinet
Panthers: 1 player in the top 40 = #8 overall cabinet
Bruins: 1 player in the top 50 = #12 overall cabinet
Senators: 1 player in the top 50 = #13 overall cabinet
--------
Islanders: 3 players in the top 40 = #14 overall cabinet

So are the rest of our prospects so unbelievably weak they completely discredit Sorokin, Wahlstrom, and Dobson?

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Lightning: 1 player in the top 50 = #7 overall cabinet
Panthers: 1 player in the top 40 = #8 overall cabinet
Bruins: 1 player in the top 50 = #12 overall cabinet
Senators: 1 player in the top 50 = #13 overall cabinet
--------
Islanders: 3 players in the top 40 = #14 overall cabinet

So are the rest of our prospects so unbelievably weak they completely discredit Sorokin, Wahlstrom, and Dobson?

Not necessarily.But I said AHL production/NHL readiness played a role in the rankings. The Isles had the best draft of any team in 2018, but this ranking is based on 2012-2018 (at least age-wise). So in that regard, having multiple players in the top 50 doesn't supersede teams like Tamps and Florida having multiple NHL-ready players or let;s say six in the top 75 than just four in the top 75.

You cherrypicked a little with Florida. Both teams have three in the top-50. Overall depth tipped the scales in Florida's favor.


What I do is go head-to-head down the line and then stop when it gets out of control:

Florida vs NYI

Borgstrom vs Sorokin -- Florida
Tippett vs Wahlstrom -- NYI
Heponiemi vs Dobson -- NYI
Denisenko vs Bellows -- Florida
Noel vs Koivula -- Florida

After that it's a toss up. I take Florida.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

I realize that you use your own rankings, and I respect that. Just pointing out that your comparison of the two players - ranking wise- is in the great minority. But who knows, you may be right.

I can end up with egg on my face -- wouldn't be the first time. But I never let public opinion sway my decisions unless I go back and verify that I was in fact wrong. Disagreeing is part of the process, even if it includes immature types who get personal or nasty.

I felt the separation between Hughes and Boqvist was minor in the draft rankings, but had to be extended to factor in three of four years of additional post-draft prospects for the prospect rankings. Plus, if bump Hughes up closer to Boqvist, then I have to bump up Farabee, Veleno, Tkachuk and Smith -- the four players I had ranked in between Boqvist and Hughes. It would be silly if I changed my rankings from a month ago while pushing other prospects down just to facilitate a closer Boqvist-Hughes ranking.

In the end, they're both Norris-caliber prospects who will put up points.

 

[CodeE]

Not necessarily.But I said AHL production/NHL readiness played a role in the rankings. The Isles had the best draft of any team in 2018, but this ranking is based on 2012-2018 (at least age-wise). So in that regard, having multiple players in the top 50 doesn't supersede teams like Tamps and Florida having multiple NHL-ready players or let;s say six in the top 75 than just four in the top 75.

You cherrypicked a little with Florida. Both teams have three in the top-50. Overall depth tipped the scales in Florida's favor.


What I do is go head-to-head down the line and then stop when it gets out of control:

Florida vs NYI

Borgstrom vs Sorokin -- Florida
Tippett vs Wahlstrom -- NYI
Heponiemi vs Dobson -- NYI
Denisenko vs Bellows -- Florida
Noel vs Koivula -- Florida

After that it's a toss up. I take Florida.

Why are the Islanders AHL players getting so little love then?

Last season the Sound Tigers (80 points) finished higher than the Thunderbirds (Florida's AHL affiliate, 71 points), with the following prospects having key roles: Ho-Sang, Aho, Vandel Sompel, Burroughs, Dal Colle, Toews, Wotherspoon.

You might have Koivula high in your personal rankings, but I'm running the Islanders prospect rankings on the Islanders board and he's still available in the poll I posted this morning - #16. Islander fans like 15 guys better than him. We prefer NHL-ready prospects as well, like :

1. Sorokin (who has easily put up the stats to compete at the NHL level)
2. Ho-Sang (0.55 PPG last season, looking for a fresh start under a new regime)
3. Toews (who was set to be called up before suffering a season-ending injury)
4. Aho (looked extremely poised in 22 games as an injury call-up in his D+1 season)

The fact is, we're but a few weeks away from the big three prospect cabinets - Buffalo, Vancouver, and Carolina, taking a "serious hit" by graduating top names. Dahlin, Mitts, Pettersson, Necas, Svech - these guys will very likely only be considered "prospects" until the puck drops on a new season. Islanders, meanwhile, will not have Wahlstrom, Dobson, or Sorokin graduating - in my opinion that pushes us to the #1 spot.

 

[M2Beezy]

Too low:

Necas
Hughes
Kotkaniemi
Dobson
Chytil
Hayton
Wahlstorm
Vilardi

And you completely are missing Gaudette but have Terry that high (not to take anything away from Terry tho)

Too high:

Boquist
Thomas
Timmins
Makar

Just found it really odd your hatred for Hughes Kotkaniemi and Dobson. Like really odd

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Why are the Islanders AHL players getting so little love then?

Last season the Sound Tigers (80 points) finished higher than the Thunderbirds (Florida's AHL affiliate, 71 points), with the following prospects having key roles: Ho-Sang, Aho, Vandel Sompel, Burroughs, Dal Colle, Toews, Wotherspoon.

You might have Koivula high in your personal rankings, but I'm running the Islanders prospect rankings on the Islanders board and he's still available in the poll I posted this morning - #16. Islander fans like 15 guys better than him. We prefer NHL-ready prospects as well, like :

1. Sorokin (who has easily put up the stats to compete at the NHL level)
2. Ho-Sang (0.55 PPG last season, looking for a fresh start under a new regime)
3. Toews (who was set to be called up before suffering a season-ending injury)
4. Aho (looked extremely poised in 22 games as an injury call-up in his D+1 season)

The fact is, we're but a few weeks away from the big three prospect cabinets - Buffalo, Vancouver, and Carolina, taking a "serious hit" by graduating top names. Dahlin, Mitts, Pettersson, Necas, Svech - these guys will very likely only be considered "prospects" until the puck drops on a new season. Islanders, meanwhile, will not have Wahlstrom, Dobson, or Sorokin graduating - in my opinion that pushes us to the #1 spot.

I've watched Koivula extensively for four years. He's NHL ready. Don't know how closely the Isles' board follows Finnish hockey but he's been one of their better forwards and a PP1 option. So I'm partial to him.

And Ho-Sang is no longer Calder eligible, so he wasn't ranked or considered.

Fan-polling on message board is "a" way to rank prospects. I don't use that method.

There's a lot of "what if's" and "woulda, coulda, shoulda's" here. I get that you don't like the ranking, but the goal was not to parrot somebody else's opinion or use somebody else's benchmarks.

Prospects will cease being prospects when they lose Calder eligibility, which in this year's case should be at season's end for most of them.

 

[Jimbo57]

I can end up with egg on my face -- wouldn't be the first time. But I never let public opinion sway my decisions unless I go back and verify that I was in fact wrong. Disagreeing is part of the process, even if it includes immature types who get personal or nasty.

I felt the separation between Hughes and Boqvist was minor in the draft rankings, but had to be extended to factor in three of four years of additional post-draft prospects for the prospect rankings. Plus, if bump Hughes up closer to Boqvist, then I have to bump up Farabee, Veleno, Tkachuk and Smith -- the four players I had ranked in between Boqvist and Hughes. It would be silly if I changed my rankings from a month ago while pushing other prospects down just to facilitate a closer Boqvist-Hughes ranking.

In the end, they're both Norris-caliber prospects who will put up points.

Fair enough Steve, kudos for showing up in here and participating in the "peer review".

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Steve, how can you possibly explain Nedeljkovic with a .903 in the AHL last year ahead of Shestyorkin?

I think its pretty dumb to have him 5th among the other "consensus top goalie prospects", but they are all within a reasonable range of each other. Nedeljkovic over Shestyorkin seems a serious gaffe.

 

[Dbrownss]

Kostin at 22 and Kyrou at 48?

 

[Rolo]

Nedeljkovic??!?!?!?

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Bold list. Taking Petterson first! I’d have him behind Dahlin but can see an argument for second. I just think Dahlin is the best prospect out there by a good margin.
Good to see Demko getting recognized. I think he’s going to be starting for the Canucks by next year. Probably play some games this year as well.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

Hughes >> Boqvist. Hughes is going to be very good, Boqvist is a lot more likely to bust than reach his high level ceiling.