Sporting News: Top 50 NHL Prospects

[Animal]

TERRIBLE list

 

[Curufinwe]

In our polls for skater prospects (no goalies), Frost is ahead of Myers and Farabee.

1. Frost, Morgan - 84%
2. Myers, Phil - 80%
3. Farabee, Joel - 84%
4. O'Brien, Jay - 42%
5. Allison, Wade - 41%
6. Ratcliffe, Isaac - 61%
7. Morin, Sam - 39%
8. Rubtsov, German - 47%
9. Vorobyev, Mikhail - 85%
10. Laczynski, Tanner - 50%

 

[Macky]

Timmins underrated D-man

Better all around Def of Makar.

 

[ijuka]

I don't see how Pettersson could possibly be first. He also is a W. Quinn Hughes is much too low. Heiskanen way too low. Overall, I consider this list pretty bad.

 

[Elias Pettersson]

Pettersson too high. Hughes too low.

 

[Primetime8]

Nedeljkovic??!?!?!?

The poll on the Canes page had him ranked 15th in their own system.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

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.

Of course you think it's dumb. You're a Rangers fan and don't like seeing one goalie prospect ranked ahead of the one you like.

The truth is Nedeljkovic is fast tracking to be a No. 1 in Carolina and he significantly improved from last year. He was an AHL No. 1 before turning 22. Shestyorkin has never been a No. 1 or played for a weak team, so there's still a bit of uncertainty. Would he be a No. 1 in Hartford? Most likely, but for now he's a goalie who has to wait several years until he can even be considered a No. 1 in the NHL.

You're going to see Nedeljkovic in the NHL before you see Shestyorkin, and the former has a better chance at being a No. 1 than the latter. At least as of right now. That played into the ranking.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Of course you think it's dumb. You're a Rangers fan and don't like seeing one goalie prospect ranked ahead of the one you like.

The truth is Nedeljkovic is fast tracking to be a No. 1 in Carolina and he significantly improved from last year. He was an AHL No. 1 before turning 22. Shestyorkin has never been a No. 1 or played for a weak team, so there's still a bit of uncertainty. Would he be a No. 1 in Hartford? Most likely, but for now he's a goalie who has to wait several years until he can even be considered a No. 1 in the NHL.

You're going to see Nedeljkovic in the NHL before you see Shestyorkin, and the former has a better chance at being a No. 1 than the latter. At least as of right now. That played into the ranking.

Why should it matter what team I'm a fan of? I'm not quibbling the top couple rankings about the players on my team. I'm disagreeing with a serious oversight, in my opinion. Should I also say I disagree with your Dahlin placement? I'm no Sabres fan. You should've anticipated people disagreeing with your controversial rankings. Are you really going to push back at disagreement by mentioning what team they are a fan of? That should have nothing to do with this.

Would you have Shestyorkin higher if he played on some bad AHL team and was the first keeper with bad stats? Will he get bumped up in about a month when he's slated to become the #1? If you are to be consistent, he should. Its also worth mentioning that the goalie coach of his own team, the same team he wasn't the #1 on, said he was the best goalie in the league during the time he wasn't the #1. But lets completely ignore contract status, and act like there's some serious question if he could be the #1. You are also wrong that he's never played for a weak team. He's played for a good team the last two years. In the MHL and VHL, he never played on a team that was anywhere near as good relative to their competition as SKA is now. Before he transferred to SKA, he wasn't playing with a great team at Spartak Moscow.

And you know what, when has Samsonov been the #1 on his team? When has he played for a bad team? He hasn't. Sorokin hasn't played for a bad team for even longer than Shestyorkin hasn't. It just seems a very inconsistent process you are using here. I don't quibble with your rankings, but I think this is a serious oversight. I've got nothing against Nedeljkovic. Admittedly I haven't watched him play since the WJC, but those stats don't make me think he's better than top flight goalie prospects. I wasn't trying to take a stand against him. He very well may be a decent mid-tier goalie prospect. Saying he has a better chance at being a #1 than Shestyorkin is ludicrous, in my opinion. If he gets to the NHL quicker, it'll be because of Carolina's lack of depth. I'm not even sure that prediction will be right. Shestyorkin will likely be in the NHL to start 2019-20.

 

[Canucks777]

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.

Vancouver and Philly's pools would still be better

 

[WingsMJN2965]

I'm just saying... The guy named, "Elias Petterson" even says Petterson is too high.

 

[MasterMatt25]

Pettersson too low

 

[UnSandvich]

Considering Lias Andersson produced at every level while playing over 100 games since he was drafted, I think it's rather silly that he's outside the Top 50.

Traverse City: 4
NHL pre-season: 3
CHL: 7
SHL: 22
NHL: 7
AHL: 25
World Juniors: 7
Int. Juniors: 13
International: 8
Euro Hockey Tour: 6
World Championship: 10

112 games in 11 different competitions, in 10 different countries

 

[Tripod]

Considering Lias Andersson produced at every level while playing over 100 games since he was drafted, I think it's rather silly that he's outside the Top 50.

Traverse City: 4
NHL pre-season: 3
CHL: 7
SHL: 22
NHL: 7
AHL: 25
World Juniors: 7
Int. Juniors: 13
International: 8
Euro Hockey Tour: 6
World Championship: 10

112 games in 11 different competitions, in 10 different countries

2 pts in 7 NHL games
2 pts in 10 WC games

Is that really "produced at every level"?

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

I don’t understand the Needaspellcheck ranking at all.

 

[UnSandvich]

2 pts in 7 NHL games
2 pts in 10 WC games

Is that really "produced at every level"?

A fair argument. "Almost every level" then. Played most of his 80 minutes in the NHL on the 4th line, and averaged just a hair over 10 minutes per game. Not going to put up a huge quantity of points there, especially with how bad the Rangers were this season. That said, still played in the NHL and the World Championships as an 18 year old

 

[MardyBum]

As a Jets fan I can't complain .

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

not sure how you make a list that is fair and accurate.....

but safe to say this is....not how....

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Why should it matter what team I'm a fan of? I'm not quibbling the top couple rankings about the players on my team. I'm disagreeing with a serious oversight, in my opinion. Should I also say I disagree with your Dahlin placement? I'm no Sabres fan. You should've anticipated people disagreeing with your controversial rankings. Are you really going to push back at disagreement by mentioning what team they are a fan of? That should have nothing to do with this.

Would you have Shestyorkin higher if he played on some bad AHL team and was the first keeper with bad stats? Will he get bumped up in about a month when he's slated to become the #1? If you are to be consistent, he should. Its also worth mentioning that the goalie coach of his own team, the same team he wasn't the #1 on, said he was the best goalie in the league during the time he wasn't the #1. But lets completely ignore contract status, and act like there's some serious question if he could be the #1. You are also wrong that he's never played for a weak team. He's played for a good team the last two years. In the MHL and VHL, he never played on a team that was anywhere near as good relative to their competition as SKA is now. Before he transferred to SKA, he wasn't playing with a great team at Spartak Moscow.

And you know what, when has Samsonov been the #1 on his team? When has he played for a bad team? He hasn't. Sorokin hasn't played for a bad team for even longer than Shestyorkin hasn't. It just seems a very inconsistent process you are using here. I don't quibble with your rankings, but I think this is a serious oversight. I've got nothing against Nedeljkovic. Admittedly I haven't watched him play since the WJC, but those stats don't make me think he's better than top flight goalie prospects. I wasn't trying to take a stand against him. He very well may be a decent mid-tier goalie prospect. Saying he has a better chance at being a #1 than Shestyorkin is ludicrous, in my opinion. If he gets to the NHL quicker, it'll be because of Carolina's lack of depth. I'm not even sure that prediction will be right. Shestyorkin will likely be in the NHL to start 2019-20.

All you needed to say.

You haven't seen a kid play in two years yet are going by stats.

You've known me long enough that I evaluate players based on both stats and watching them play. Also throw in a gut feeling.

This list was more short term than long term, barring some exceptions. In the short term -- this season -- Nedeljkovic has a very good chance at being a No. 2 or eventually play himself into the No. 1. Scott Darling isn't Mt. Everest.

Shestyorkin OTOH has to beat out Henrik Lundqvist, and wait until next year to do it. You of all people should know that a weak depth chart historically is the perfect chance for a rookie to distinguish himself. Shestyorkin won't have that opportunity for quite some time. Do I think he's NHL caliber and future No. 1? Yes, but I'm banking on Nedeljkovic making an impact earlier.

Besides, most goalies take anywhere from five to 10 years post-draft to really reach their prime. Ranking goalies as teens or early 20's is playing darts blindfolded. Both these kids will give us a clearer picture in two years anyway.

I simply like Nedeljkovic better. Simple as that.

And I think Sorokin and Samsonov are superior to Shestyorkin. At least, it is very clear to me, especially technically and mentally -- post-save recovery, tracking, net awareness, stickhandling, reads, anticipation etc. Both are more athletic than Shestyorkin, as is Nedeljkovic.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Why is Sprong not listed for the Pens? I know you did some "25 total NHL games" cutoff, but I think he's still eligible for the Calder, so why wouldn't he be considered a prospect?

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

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

One mans opinion..

 

[Peeps]

I don't understand people saying too high on EP. He destroyed a pro league at 18. Who's better and did better than him for the 1st spot?

Also where is Lias Andersson?

 

[ijuka]

I don't understand people saying too high on EP. He destroyed a pro league at 18. Who's better and did better than him for the 1st spot?

Destroyed SHL as a u20 player.

Many, many top prospects are in NHL already at u19 or u20.

For instance, I see very limited support for taking Pettersson over Dahlin. Everything considered, Pettersson really didn't impress me during his international competitions, I especially thought he was pretty disappointing at u20s. I think he's quite overhyped.

 

[Pantokrator]

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.

Thanks for posting this here Steve. I heard you on Sirius/XM Channel this morning and appreciate the work you've done. Thanks for the list.

 

[wankstifier]

A fair argument. "Almost every level" then. Played most of his 80 minutes in the NHL on the 4th line, and averaged just a hair over 10 minutes per game. Not going to put up a huge quantity of points there, especially with how bad the Rangers were this season. That said, still played in the NHL and the World Championships as an 18 year old

Yeah, I mean he was 18/19 years old and played in a few regular seasons and tournaments on several different teams. Lots of teammate turnover, lots of travel. Did about as well as one could reasonably expect!

 

[Gargyn]

Why is Sprong not listed for the Pens? I know you did some "25 total NHL games" cutoff, but I think he's still eligible for the Calder, so why wouldn't he be considered a prospect?

He’s no longer eligible for the Calder. Played more than 6 games in 2 different seasons.