Prospect Info: The 2019 Entry NHL Draft Thread

[The Abusement Park]

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?

What if his upside is higher than Kane? I’d say he definitely has more upside than Matthews and Laine.

Laine and Matthews are obviously great players but Laine still really lacks some dynamic ability imo. He has the best shot in the league but still needs help getting into spots to utilize his shot. Matthews is good but I don’t see him having the play making skills to turn him into more than 80-85pt player; maybe he’ll have a season or 2 above that but idk.

Hughes oozes dynamic skill and ability like Kane, but will be a C in the NHL I’m almost sure of it. His skill level is higher than any player you mentioned above imo and I don’t think he’s quite generational like McDavid, but in a tier just above Matthews and Eichel.

 

[Patagonia]

What if his upside is higher than Kane? I’d say he definitely has more upside than Matthews and Laine.

Laine and Matthews are obviously great players but Laine still really lacks some dynamic ability imo. He has the best shot in the league but still needs help getting into spots to utilize his shot. Matthews is good but I don’t see him having the play making skills to turn him into more than 80-85pt player; maybe he’ll have a season or 2 above that but idk.

Hughes oozes dynamic skill and ability like Kane, but will be a C in the NHL I’m almost sure of it. His skill level is higher than any player you mentioned above imo and I don’t think he’s quite generational like McDavid, but in a tier just above Matthews and Eichel.

Mackinnon was drafted before McDavid, but considered equal to the players mentioned. I would assume you also believe Hughes would be better?

 

[henchman21]

I think Hughes will be better than MacKinnon... Hughes will be in the conversation with McDavid for best player in the league.

If anybody is in the midwest this winter, you really should look at taking in a game of his. There are not many prospects that I have seen that are as awe inspiring as he is. The dynamic qualities he possesses are just so strong and in your face that you can't help but be excited every time he is on the ice. Live it is simply a whole different level. I'm not saying he is better than McDavid at the same age here, but he has a magnetic way of playing that I haven't seen in a prospect since Crosby. That's not saying he will be better or more effective than other players... but just saying he is an absolute treat to watch.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Mackinnon was drafted before McDavid, but considered equal to the players mentioned. I would assume you also believe Hughes would be better?

Yes. I think he’ll be a touch below McDavid.

 

[McMetal]

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?

It sounds like your argument basically boils down to "he's too small", and he's just going to be Patrick Kane, which means you either haven't watched Hughes play, or didn't watch Kane play in his prime.

 

[The Abusement Park]

It sounds like your argument basically boils down to "he's too small", and he's just going to be Patrick Kane, which means you either haven't watched Hughes play, or didn't watch Kane play in his prime.

Even if he only turns out to be as good as Kane and not a C that’s a great #1 pick right there. But I strongly believe that won’t be case.

 

[Thepoolmaster]

I haven't watched Hughes but to say he'll ONLY be Patty Kane is selling Patty Kane short.

He leads the league in points for the last 3 seasons.
Is behind only Crosby in the last 5
And behind only Crosby and Ovechkin in the last 10.

Kane is arguably one of the best first picks in the last 15 years. If Hughes ends up that good the AVS should be very happy to select him with the sens pick

(Source quant hockey NHL Player Stats in Last 3 Seasons)

 

[McMetal]

Kane is one of the best wingers of his generation. Second only to Ovi, IMO. Hughes looks to be even better, the discussion of who should go first is the most ridiculous discussion we could have in this thread. I'd much rather talk about the 3-8 tier, that's where things get interesting right now.

 

[S E P H]

Hughes is absolutely in the McDavid category - how Connor scores majority of his goals is the same way how Jack scores his (with high end speed and IQ). I think McDavid will stay as the better player because he has the body frame you want for a centre, plus a tad more consistent/dynamic for me. However, that doesn't mean Jack will bust in the slightest. When you possess that amount of IQ similar to Datsyuk, no one can hit you; like nobody. Any Patrick Kane comparison I use is entirely style base and nothing to do with talent.

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.

Hughes will break the USNTDP record, which I believe is set by Clayton Keller around 230-something barring any sort of injury.

 

[Goulet17]

I just hope that the Avs hang on to both first rounders in 2019. I don't believe they will have a shot at Hughes (Ottawa will be a little better than expected IMO), but the top-half of the first round in 2019 appears to be loaded with talent (an unusual mix of talented center, defense, and scoring winger prospects). I believe that the Avs could have two first round picks in the top-half, probably not top-5, but top-15.

 

[henchman21]

Remember the name Martin Hugo Has...

 

[S E P H]

Remember the name Martin Hugo Has...

Really? During the U18 tournament I came away really unimpressed by him. Granted he was playing a year down, but I heard his hype last year and wanted to cheque him out. Was a turnover machine and had the same racing mentality in that of Jonas Holos where he tried to get rid of the puck as fast possible. Lets hope that was a small sample size because he has posted some really solid numbers at times so far in his junior career.

 

[henchman21]

Really? During the U18 tournament I came away really unimpressed by him. Granted he was playing a year down, but I heard his hype last year and wanted to cheque him out. Was a turnover machine and had the same racing mentality in that of Jonas Holos where he tried to get rid of the puck as fast possible. Lets hope that was a small sample size because he has posted some really solid numbers at times so far in his junior career.

I've been reviewing Finnish junior tape... and he stands out each game I've seen. I keep writing down #14 over and over for flash plays. He plays with a lot of risk to his game, but the tools are fantastic. Size, skating, aggression, great stick, booming shot. I'm not sure he is a 1st or 2nd round pick because of his style of play and IQ questions... but the physical tools are 1st round quality. Actually reminds me of Z a lot at the same age.

 

[UncleRisto]

I've been reviewing Finnish junior tape... and he stands out each game I've seen. I keep writing down #14 over and over for flash plays. He plays with a lot of risk to his game, but the tools are fantastic. Size, skating, aggression, great stick, booming shot. I'm not sure he is a 1st or 2nd round pick because of his style of play and IQ questions... but the physical tools are 1st round quality. Actually reminds me of Z a lot at the same age.

Oh you have? Any thoughts on other guys? Honka?

 

[henchman21]

Oh you have? Any thoughts on other guys? Honka?

I can't go too in-depth here...

Honka - not really a huge fan. Might be that he reminds me of his brother too much though I think Anttoni is a bit better at the same age. Good, but not great skater at his size. Plays almost too calm at times and that leads to puck mistakes around his net. Very good with the puck in the offensive zone and especially on the PP (future PP QB somewhere). Don't see a lot of plus skills though. He will go in the mid to late 1st, but I don't see him as more than a middle pairing PP specialist... more likely a bottom pairing PP specialist in the NHL. I'd put him as more of a 3rd round guy personally.

Mathias Hanninen, Henri Nikkanen, Anton Lundell (2020... might be the next top end Finnish center pick though), Antti Saarela, Leevi Aaltonen, and Veeti Miettinen (2020) are all catching my eye. Still early though.

 

[S E P H]

Aatu Raty might realistically become Finland's best player since Selanne. @henchman24 I quite like Honka, I think people are seeing too many negatives in how his brother has preformed for the Stars and judge him for that. I mean Julius had to play for ageless wonder Hitchcock who also single-handily destroyed Nichushkin as well. I don't consider Anttoni a top 15 player at this frame, but he has enough talent that I like for a 1st rounder - if Avs are in the twenties and he's there I have no problems grabbing him. Like him a lot more compared to what I've seen from Hugo Has IMHO.

Also...
https://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-hughes-easily-tops-first-draft-rankings-1.1170553

 

[henchman21]

I’m by no means a Hitch fan, but he didn’t have anything to do with Nuke and Honka’s issues weren’t on Hitch... they were on Honka’s skillset.

My issue with the younger Honka stems around his average skating for his size. I fully admit I don’t like average skating with smaller framed players, especially for defensemen. I see that as really limiting his NHL upside. Worse when combined without an abundance of plus skills.

 

[UncleRisto]

Lundell is an interesting guy to follow because his dad had a long career in Europe as a goalie. Now he's working as a goalie coach. He played late and retired in 2012, so it's crazy to me that his kid is already coming up, and not only that, he's a legit NHL prospect. There's just something extra interesting about hockey and all these hockey families.

 

[henchman21]

Not really a better spot for this... but the USNTDP opening with a line of Turcotte-Hughes-Caufield is just unfair.

 

[kelsier]

I was expecting to read about the NHL draft 2019 but instead there's talk about Laine and Matthews and then the discussion shifts to 2020 and beyond, ha.

I don't know why anyone would pick Hughes over the two priorly mentioned players, at least if he doesn't suddenly grow a few inches taller. Anyway, Kakko is one to follow and his first FEL game is tomorrow. I'd say his close to Barkov/Laine level prospect at this moment and I'm expecting a huge year (could be setting myself up for disappointment but doubt it). It's going to be interesting seeing if he can give Hughes a race for his money. There are other European forwards who are highly skilled in the draft, like Podkolzin, who just might enter into conversation for the top 3 drafted players. Another thing to follow is how many top level/franchise potential players the draft actually holds. There could be more than two or three, which normally seems like the average (apart from crazy draft years like 2015 for instance) - of course, depending on one's standards. I would guess that as long as team gets a pick in the top 5, the odds for a miss factor are minimal at best. Anyhow, it's so very early and there's so many good forwards in this year's draft that nothing seems to be set in stone.

Someone mentioned Räty and Lundell and I've got to say I'm extremely thrilled about the latter especially. Extremely promising two-way center who possesses tons of tools to score goals on top of his defensive awareness. Then again, this is not the year for either one of them, draft-wise anyway.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Well time to start taking this seriously... So, is this draft Hughes and everyone else or is there another player that can challenge him for the #1 pick?

 

[Foppberg]

It's truly a miracle we can go for the playoffs AND rebuild at the same time.

 

[Ivan13]

Well time to start taking this seriously... So, is this draft Hughes and everyone else or is there another player that can challenge him for the #1 pick?

No one will challange. But top 10 and top 5 are better than this year.

 

[dahrougem2]

JACK HUGHESSSSSSSSSSS

 

[McMetal]

Well time to start taking this seriously... So, is this draft Hughes and everyone else or is there another player that can challenge him for the #1 pick?

Nah. There's some minor talk that Kakko could challenge, but I doubt it. It's like Barkov vs. McDavid. Both great players who will change your franchise, but one is clearly better.