Prospect Info: The 2019 Entry NHL Draft Thread

[UncleRisto]

The Red Wings are likely to be one of the worst teams this year which would give them a good shot at #1 . Would they pick Hughes or pass on him like they did Quinn which I thought was a shocker

Sure because that's the same thing.

 

[Ivan13]

No one will pass on the best prospect since Connor.

 

[Pokecheque]

If the Wings had passed on Filip Zadina after at least two other teams passed on him in favor of Hughes, that would've been a shocker.

 

[henchman21]

If Zadina didn't drop, the Wings would have selected Bouchard.

 

[Avs_19]

No one will pass on the best prospect since Connor.

The Sens already did when they kept the 4th pick.

 

[Ivan13]

The Sens already did when they kept the 4th pick.

 

[Piestany88]

If the Wings had passed on Filip Zadina after at least two other teams passed on him in favor of Hughes, that would've been a shocker.

Well not if the teams had Hughes rated higher

 

[UncleRisto]

Well not if the teams had Hughes rated higher

Did Jim screw you on a car deal?

 

[Piestany88]

Did Jim screw you on a car deal?

Whose Jim lol . I know who you mean but he must be a runt

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Is it too late for Hlinka Gretzky Cup goalie thoughts..absolutely not!

Dustin Wolf (2019 Draft Eligible): Was one of the top 3 goalies of the tournament and for me he's slightly ahead in the race for Top CHL Draft Eligible goalie as he jumps ahead of Nolan Maier. Before the season started I had Maier ahead however this tournament shows that Wolf knows what it'll take to make the NHL as a goalie with a below average frame. He's very quick in moving around the crease, he has high IQ, understands the position, his eyes are attached to the puck, and a good puck handler to boot. What'll be important in making the NHL for Wolf is staying on his feet as long as possible to avoid allowing clean goals over the shoulder. And so far he gets it. He's holding his edges and being very patient. If he's on his knees he doesn't stay there for long. One thing I did notice is he'll have to fill out his frame more and keep his arms a bit tighter to his body as the majority of goals he allowed went through his body and arm.

Nolan Maier (2019 Draft Eligible): Was an average tournament from him and unfortunately got sniped twice while his team was asleep in the Gold Medal game resulting in him getting the hook. Showed everything you wanted to see from him from the time the U18 camp started and throughout the tournament. Him and Wolf share a lot of similarities in terms of how they play. Both understand that they are at a size disadvantage and have to adjust accordingly. For Maier that means being very quick around the crease which allows him to pick his spots where he can be aggressive and present a larger form. What Maier doesn't do that Wolf does is stay on his feet as much as possible. Maier has a tendency to stay in the RVH for long periods of time and at angles he should be on feet. Maier also likes to slide around the crease. It's no surprise that the majority of goals scored on him were clean over the shoulder.

Hugo Alnefelt (2019 Draft Eligible): A top 3 goalie of the tournament and came out of this tournament rocketing to the top of my must watch list. If what Alnefelt did in this tournament is carried on through the season he'll be the no. 2 guy behind Spencer Knight in this draft. Smartly uses his pro-sized frame in terms of controlling his depth and how to get the most out of his size. He always move well for a bigger goalie as well which is intimidating because with his efficient movement and size he's always in position which the Russians saw first hand. How Canada was able to light him up was through tips and excellent passing backdoor taking advantage of the fact that's he's not super quick and when faced with a screen he defaults to relying on his size. Overall he's an impressive goalie that showed a lot of promise in this tournament and if he continues this level of play this years goalie class could be what last years was supposed to be.

Yaroslav Askarov (2020 Draft Eligible): Another top 3 goalie from the tournament. Too bad he isn't eligible for this year's draft as he'd be a fighting for a spot in the top 3. The fact that he has two full seasons of development ahead of him is very exciting. One of his best assets is one you see a lot in Russian goalies, he just moves so smoothly around the crease. It looks like he just floats into position so quickly and does well keeping his form together when moving. Being a young goalie though and one that uses his feet a lot means we see moments where he loses his edges or he ends up having overly active feet taking him out of position. When he starts to fill out a bit more and understands his frame a bit better we should see him control his depth better minimizing the moments where he ends up out of position. Other than that he has a lot of the skills you want in a goalie and has put himself in the early front running for the 2020 draft.

Jesper Wallstedt (2021 Draft Eligible) If it's a good thing that Askarov has two full seasons to develop then it's huge that Wallstedt has three full seasons to develop. If Wallstedt were eligible for this draft he'd either be the 2nd or 3rd goalie off the board. If Wallstedt wasn't a late birthday and eligible for 2020 he'd be the easy 1st goalie off the board. I've watched many minor midget goalies as well as 16yo CHL goalies and none of them have the pro ready game that Wallstedt has. By the time 2021 hits it's not out of the realm of possibility that Wallstedt could be in the NHL a year or two later. His hockey IQ is at an incredibly high level. He not only knows how to use his size he has a thorough understanding of the goalie position from a technical standpoint. The biggest aspect of his game he has to develop is stop over relying on his size. Canada took full advantage of this and his lack of quickness in the round robin game. He'll stay in the RVH for too long or just block the puck rather than actively pushing it into a non-dangerous area. It's really just a maturation issue so I'm not overly concerned.

If you want to see the in depth tournament reports on these goalies plus a few others PM me and I'll send you the PDF.

 

[S E P H]

Is it too late for Hlinka Gretzky Cup goalie thoughts..absolutely not!

Dustin Wolf (2019 Draft Eligible): Was one of the top 3 goalies of the tournament and for me he's slightly ahead in the race for Top CHL Draft Eligible goalie as he jumps ahead of Nolan Maier. Before the season started I had Maier ahead however this tournament shows that Wolf knows what it'll take to make the NHL as a goalie with a below average frame. He's very quick in moving around the crease, he has high IQ, understands the position, his eyes are attached to the puck, and a good puck handler to boot. What'll be important in making the NHL for Wolf is staying on his feet as long as possible to avoid allowing clean goals over the shoulder. And so far he gets it. He's holding his edges and being very patient. If he's on his knees he doesn't stay there for long. One thing I did notice is he'll have to fill out his frame more and keep his arms a bit tighter to his body as the majority of goals he allowed went through his body and arm.

Nolan Maier (2019 Draft Eligible): Was an average tournament from him and unfortunately got sniped twice while his team was asleep in the Gold Medal game resulting in him getting the hook. Showed everything you wanted to see from him from the time the U18 camp started and throughout the tournament. Him and Wolf share a lot of similarities in terms of how they play. Both understand that they are at a size disadvantage and have to adjust accordingly. For Maier that means being very quick around the crease which allows him to pick his spots where he can be aggressive and present a larger form. What Maier doesn't do that Wolf does is stay on his feet as much as possible. Maier has a tendency to stay in the RVH for long periods of time and at angles he should be on feet. Maier also likes to slide around the crease. It's no surprise that the majority of goals scored on him were clean over the shoulder.

You're not going to like this, but both play too small for me - like perfect for juniors, but will get shredded with better competition. I am not saying I want 6'6" goalers all the time in my debates since I am starting to believe that playing wider is actually more effective than height. However, you taller goalers tend to also be wider taking away more of the net. Out of these two, Wolf definitely is the step above and plays that wider stance I am talking about. I also echo the comments about him and his IQ, that should make or break his career. I quite like Maier's confidence and calm demeanor, but holy crap does he play small in the net. Goalers who tend to consistently look smaller in net never really go anywhere.

 

[McMetal]

Thoughts on Arthur Kaliyev? I don't like the way he stops moving his feet when his team's not on offense, but holy crap, that shot. Already would be a threat at the NHL level. He'd be a project, but with a tool like that, you take him and hope you can round out his D game to an acceptable level later.

 

[S E P H]

Thoughts on Arthur Kaliyev? I don't like the way he stops moving his feet when his team's not on offense, but holy crap, that shot. Already would be a threat at the NHL level. He'd be a project, but with a tool like that, you take him and hope you can round out his D game to an acceptable level later.

As I told Brock, his play away from the puck is brutal - like worst than PAP level. However as he rebutted to me, he's not going to make the NHL except for his offensive tools and his goalscoring ability. I totally get that, but I think every player to succeed in the NHL needs a certain level of defencive ability in his game (and I simply don't see it with him as of now).

And as you mentioned, not sure all the worth ethic is there if I was going to judge his body language character from what I've seen. I will admit, this might be me reaching a tad like all the people who think Ovechkin looks lazy when in reality he isn't. All in all, I totally buy his talent which I believe is good enough for the top 15, but I want to see how much desire his game has for the 2018-19 season. Far too often he waited for the play/puck to come to him instead of him putting in the effort to go and get the puck at all costs.

 

[McMetal]

As I told Brock, his play away from the puck is brutal - like worst than PAP level. However as he rebutted to me, he's not going to make the NHL except for his offensive tools and his goalscoring ability. I totally get that, but I think every player to succeed in the NHL needs a certain level of defencive ability in his game (and I simply don't see it with him as of now).

And as you mentioned, not sure all the worth ethic is there if I was going to judge his body language character from what I've seen. I will admit, this might be me reaching a tad like all the people who think Ovechkin looks lazy when in reality he isn't. All in all, I totally buy his talent which I believe is good enough for the top 15, but I want to see how much desire his game has for the 2018-19 season. Far too often he waited for the play/puck to come to him instead of him putting in the effort to go and get the puck at all costs.

Yeah, dude just coasts most of the time, maybe a half-hearted backcheck once in a while but not much else. You can see his engagement level shift when his team gets the puck and he gets to go on offense, he looks hungry to score. At worst, that's a character flaw that says he isn't willing to do the little things that it takes to make it at the pro level, where even as a winger coaches expect a certain level of defensive committment.

He seems like an Owen Tippett type who will go high based on his physical tools and a team will just pray they can work out the kinks in development, because if it pays off he could be a dynamite goal scorer.

 

[henchman21]

If a player can score 30 goals... a lot of sins can be forgiven. The question is can he score 30? How teams end up on that will determine where he is selected.

 

[CobraAcesS]

If a player can score 30 goals... a lot of sins can be forgiven. The question is can he score 30? How teams end up on that will determine where he is selected.

Detroit had someone like that.. They nicknamed him Mule



Actually had kind of a sad ending to his career, and a difficult life after.

 

[McMetal]

If a player can score 30 goals... a lot of sins can be forgiven. The question is can he score 30? How teams end up on that will determine where he is selected.

I think with that shot, more likely than not. I don't question his work ethic in the offensive zone, or even his brain, just what he does when waiting for the play to turn to offense.

 

[Pokecheque]

Detroit had someone like that.. They nicknamed him Mule



Actually had kind of a sad ending to his career, and a difficult life after.

Yeah I'm reading about that now. Terrible stuff.

That guy completely OWNED the Avs back in the day.

 

[DanishAvsfan]

Yeah I'm reading about that now. Terrible stuff.

That guy completely OWNED the Avs back in the day.

Yeah concussion problems: Red Wings' Johan Franzen has had 'really bad' few months, wife says. I don't like the way the NHL is dealing with it either. In N.H.L. Concussion Lawsuit, Gary Bettman Opts to Fight

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

No one will pass on the best prospect since Connor.

Better than Dahlin?

 

[Ivan13]

Better than Dahlin?

He could be close. I probably should've said best forward prospect.

 

[Patagonia]

No one will pass on the best prospect since Connor.

I would choose Matthews, Laine or Eichel than Hughes.

 

[The Abusement Park]

I would choose Matthews, Laine or Eichel than Hughes.

Why? Just wondering? Especially Laine?

 

[henchman21]

Hughes just put up 116 points as a u17 player... one off the overall record of 117 by Matthews (U18 player at the time) and 34 more than the old U17 record (Kessel and Keller). Stats are certainly not everything, but Hughes just had the most impressive U17 season I've ever seen from the Development Program player. Matthews, Laine, and Eichel are great players... but a notch down from generational sort of talent. Hughes has generational talent. Anybody can be entitled to their opinion, but to me, skipping out on generational talent is crazy talk.

 

[Patagonia]

Why? Just wondering? Especially Laine?

Hughes is often compared to P. Kane. Smooth skating, excellent hands and tremendous speed. His smaller size led him being a Winger.

Matthews is a big player and has been improving his PPG every season and won Rookie of the Year. He is quickly becoming the Leafs franchise player. Eichel is also a bigger player, shifty skater and deceptively fast. He plays on a terrible team and battled injuries, but still increased his scoring totals every year while playing fewer games. Laine has a wicked shot and likely the best Goal Scorer since Ovi or the past 13 years. His scoring totals are more impressive because he plays on their 2nd Line.

This is not a knock on Hughes and will undoubtedly be the top player drafted in 2019, but the hype seems a little excessive. So if his upside is a P. Kane, would you consider him to be any better than the 3 players being mentioned?