Prospect Info: The 2020 Entry NHL Draft Thread

[AvsCOL]

Actually re-reading Seph’s post I don’t think he was saying Byram was overrated.

My B Seph. I hadn’t had my morning cup of coffee yet.

Not much has changed for me on Byram since draft day. I still think he has big upside.

I might change my mind depending on what I see from him next year, but I think he’s got a lot of tools that are going to make him a highly effective player.

Im not referring to Seph, or anyone on the Avs board, but it seems that Byram has somehow trended down lately, despite him being ranked as the #1 prospect by The Hockey News. I keep hearing “he’ll be a good #2 defenseman at best.”

Also, fun fact, I listened to the Byram interview by Moser and McGahey, and Byram said that he’s currently 6’1 205lbs. Has added 10lbs this season.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Im not referring to Seph, or anyone on the Avs board, but it seems that Byram has somehow trended down lately, despite him being ranked as the #1 prospect by The Hockey News. I keep hearing “he’ll be a good #2 defenseman at best.”

Also, fun fact, I listened to the Byram interview by Moser and McGahey, and Byram said that he’s currently 6’1 205lbs. Has added 10lbs this season.

It seemed like quite a few HFAvs members were not sold on Byram even before he was drafted, so not really surprised.

 

[henchman21]

Im not referring to Seph, or anyone on the Avs board, but it seems that Byram has somehow trended down lately, despite him being ranked as the #1 prospect by The Hockey News. I keep hearing “he’ll be a good #2 defenseman at best.”

Also, fun fact, I listened to the Byram interview by Moser and McGahey, and Byram said that he’s currently 6’1 205lbs. Has added 10lbs this season.

That is a hell of a hockey player... somewhere between 20th and 50th best defensemen on the planet. It shouldn't be looked at as a slight.

 

[Ararana]

Im not referring to Seph, or anyone on the Avs board, but it seems that Byram has somehow trended down lately, despite him being ranked as the #1 prospect by The Hockey News. I keep hearing “he’ll be a good #2 defenseman at best.”

Also, fun fact, I listened to the Byram interview by Moser and McGahey, and Byram said that he’s currently 6’1 205lbs. Has added 10lbs this season.

He didn't make the NHL out of his draft and apparently that's a bad thing. I don't know about the people on our board but that gets used against him quite a bit on the main boards.

I do think Byram is pretty underrated here, having Makar probably plays a big role in that. Sakic has turned us into spoiled rich kids with too many shiny toys. Detriot or Ottawa (lol) would be drooling all over themselves if they had Byram.

Had we drafted Byram before Makar he'd have his time in the golden boy spotlight. But to the average fans in the Pepsi Center Makar has destroyed reasonable expectations for Byram when he does join the Avs.

 

[henchman21]

I don't think Makar changes the Byram outlook. At least it doesn't with me. Byram is a very talented young hockey player, and has a raw skill set that gives him a good chance to be a high impact 2 way player. Byram's real question is how much his offense translates to the NHL... does he have the raw talent to pull off his rover, outside the system sort of play? Will he be good enough at recovering to earn the leash necessary? When he is faced with better athletes than himself, can he still create space? Will he maintain discipline when forced into structure and utilizing his skill set defensively?

 

[AvsCOL]

That is a hell of a hockey player... somewhere between 20th and 50th best defensemen on the planet. It shouldn't be looked at as a slight.

Wouldn't be a bad outcome at all, but I find it silly to put a cap on a 19 year old kid. Will he be a #2 on the Avs? Most likely, but that doesn't mean his skill set can't reflect a higher level. I'm thinking like Zach Werenski, where he's technically a #2 on the Jackets, but more realistically he's a top D.

 

[S E P H]

Actually re-reading Seph’s post I don’t think he was saying Byram was overrated.

My B Seph. I hadn’t had my morning cup of coffee yet.

Not much has changed for me on Byram since draft day. I still think he has big upside.

I might change my mind depending on what I see from him next year, but I think he’s got a lot of tools that are going to make him a highly effective player.

No, you were originally right NAF, I suggest both Byram and Drysdale are overrated. FTR, just because I suggest that they're overrated doesn't mean they're necessarily bad players/prospects at all. I think Mark Messier is the most overrated player ever in NHL history...and he put up 1887 points in his career which is good for third of all-time (still damn good if you'd ask me). Drysdale is in a diminutive body and doesn't really have a lot of or any physical elements in his game. For a modern day defender that is absolutely okay, but that also means that he's going to be pushed around at times and reduces his effectiveness. His IQ with the puck, smooth-skating, and strong pass traits are all quite Duncan Keith-esque and he plays in the defensive zone similar to Keith too - in terms of outsmarting opponents. The problem is that he doesn't have truly amazing talent because he doesn't take enough risks nor does he have the high-enough vision to be at the same level of Makar or Hughes in the offensive zone. That doesn't mean he isn't productive, but similar to Girard, he's going to be an assist generator and not really a dynamic piece.

In terms of Byram, as Hench says he has all attributes to be a good defensive player, but doesn't really have the IQ yet. There is a chance that he never develops that IQ, but I also think there is a part of Byram that doesn't care about the defensive aspects. Earlier during his draft year, he was relied on defensively and I actually thought he did a decent enough job in that role (had pretty soft minutes though). However, the Giants required more and more of his offensive output - which he started to showcase more in games - and he decidedly shifted his focus from strictly defence to purely offence. The problem actually isn't his defensive game in the pros, but because he was so heavily relied on in the second half of the season for the Giants that he got to play half the game and ninety percent of the powerplay. I don't think his numbers nor some of his offensive skills will translate to the pros. He's still better offensively than Drysdale for me as I explained before, but both probably become solid #2 for each respected team and that's still a good player, just that both went higher and better players were (will be) drafted behind them for me. Byram has a higher-ceiling between a #1 to #3, whereas Drysdale has a higher floor at being a #2. This entire post was used with a magnifying glass though in terms of critiquing even the most minor problems.

 

[henchman21]

Wouldn't be a bad outcome at all, but I find it silly to put a cap on a 19 year old kid. Will he be a #2 on the Avs? Most likely, but that doesn't mean his skill set can't reflect a higher level. I'm thinking like Zach Werenski, where he's technically a #2 on the Jackets, but more realistically he's a top D.

I consider Werenski to be a #1 level defender... he is damn good. He was on his way to a 25+g season the way he was playing, and playing good defense with Jones out.

Watching Byram, there are legitimate concerns with his offensive game... and I actually think there is more support for that this year than there was last year. People can call me crazy, and point to his numbers to end the season... but that is with the coaches there basically giving him 'Byram rules' and letting him do whatever he wants on the ice. Which works because he's a lot more talented than nearly every WHL player... maybe 4 or 5 in the league have as much talent as Byram. It is awfully rare that NHL coaches allow players that level of freedom and play outside of the structure of the team. Byram hasn't shown a capability in the past two seasons that when he is held within structure, he can produce at the same level. The last two seasons, he has started the same and only produces high levels of offense when he's allowed to do what he wants.

 

[S E P H]

I don't think Makar changes the Byram outlook. At least it doesn't with me. Byram is a very talented young hockey player, and has a raw skill set that gives him a good chance to be a high impact 2 way player. Byram's real question is how much his offense translates to the NHL... does he have the raw talent to pull off his rover, outside the system sort of play? Will he be good enough at recovering to earn the leash necessary? When he is faced with better athletes than himself, can he still create space? Will he maintain discipline when forced into structure and utilizing his skill set defensively?

Pretty much echoes my thoughts as well. He's like a more talented, more raw, and more cocky version of Matt Dumba for me.

 

[McMetal]

Im not referring to Seph, or anyone on the Avs board, but it seems that Byram has somehow trended down lately, despite him being ranked as the #1 prospect by The Hockey News. I keep hearing “he’ll be a good #2 defenseman at best.”

Also, fun fact, I listened to the Byram interview by Moser and McGahey, and Byram said that he’s currently 6’1 205lbs. Has added 10lbs this season.

I would modify that slightly. I think that is the MOST LIKELY outcome, but he's young enough that his ceiling could be higher than that. I keep comparing his ceiling to prime EJ where he's a two-way beast but not quite what you would want as the true #1D on a team.

I do think he will be an excellent complement to Makar though. He'll have the defensive ability to cover for Makar's dynamism and allow him to take risks, but also be enough of a threat on his own that teams that key in on Makar will be punished for ignoring him.

It won't happen right away, but they will be a nasty two headed monster of a D pairing one day. I don't want to make it sound like I'm down on the pick or anything, there's nothing I would change about how the first round went down last year I just trying to be realistic about what level of player Byram is likely to be.

 

[Pokecheque]

If he turns into the next Eric Brewer, I'll admit I'll be disappointed*. If he's a legit top pairing defender who can play in all three zones, I'll be thrilled with him.

*NEB may disagree with this assessment.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I think a lot of times star players in the junior ranks have to play a certain way to help their teams win games.

For Bowen Byram, it’s a bit of a one-man show at times and certainly that will change when he’s with the Avs.

I look at his skills rather than how he needs to play at the junior level.

Skating - I don’t think we’ll be wowed by Byram’s skating considering Makar and Girard already play for the Avs. His speed is pretty average, but he moves extremely well laterally and has great edges.

Passing - From what I’ve seen he looks like a really strong passer. Able to find guys with good ice vision.

Assertiveness - He does appear to have the want to impact a game mentality and I think that’s really important. But, I haven’t really seen him enough to know for sure.

I need to watch him more to see how is at defending, beating the forecheck, and exiting the zone. Those will obviously be important aspects of the game for him.

As for the discussion about his potential. If you told me right now, I would get a guaranteed #2 defenceman in Bowen Byram, I’d take that.

I do think his potential is above that, but there’s always risk with prospects and usually an even greater risk with defenceman. A #2 would be like Ryan Pulock, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Ellis caliber player. That would be really good.

 

[S E P H]

1		-	Alexis Lafrenière
2		-	Quinton Byfield
3		-	Tim Stützle
4		-	Lucas Raymond
5			Jamie Drysdale
6		-	Cole Perfetti
7		-	Marco Rossi
8		-	Alexander Holtz
9		-	Connor Zary
10			Yaroslav Askarov
11		-	Anton Lundell
12		-	Jake Sanderson
13		-	Dawson Mercer
14		-	Braden Schneider
15		-	Kaiden Guhle
16		-	Rodion Amirov
17		-	William Wallinder
18			Seth Jarvis
19		-	Hendrix Lapierre
20			Dylan Holloway
21			Helge Grans
22		-	Noel Gunler
23		-	Jake Neighbours
24		-	Brendan Brisson
25			Mavrik Bourque
26		-	Jérémie Poirier
27		-	Jacob Perreault
28			John-Jason Peterka
29		-	Jan Mysak
30		-	Ty Smilanic
31			Lukas Cormier

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

ROUND 2	TEAM	ORIGINAL	PLAYER	DETAILS
32	DET	-	Justin Barron
33	OTT	-	Ryan O'Rourke
34	SJS	-	Vasili Ponomaryov
35	LAK	-	Topi Niemelä
36	ANA	-	Justin Sourdif
37	NSH	NJD	Eemil Viro
38	BUF	-	Lukas Reichel
39	MTL	-	Jean-Luc Foudy
40	MTL	CHI	Jack Thompson
41	ARI	-	Ozzy Wiesblatt
42	MIN	-	Joni Jurmo
43	LAK	VAN	Artur Akhtiamov
44	NSH	-	Roni Hirvonen
45	FLA	-	Thomas Bordeleau
46	CGY	-	Ridly Greig
47	CAR	NYR	Tyson Foerster
48	WPG	-	Luke Evangelista
49	OTT	NYI	Zion Nybeck
50	OTT	CBJ	Joel Blomqvist
51	TOR	-	Donovan Sebrango
52	CAR	-	Theodor Niederbach
53	OTT	DAL	Antonio Stranges
54	DET	EDM	Tyler Tullio
55	LAK	VGK	Emil Andrae
56	CHI	PIT	Yan Kuznetsov
57	PHI	-	Will Cuylle
58	DET	WSH	Tyler Kleven
59	TBL	-	Carter Savoie
60	SJS	COL	Oliver Suni
61	MTL	STL	Jan Bednar
62	BOS	-	Shakir Mukhamadullin	So I was just fooling around with the CapFriendly Mock Draft Sim and I completed this the other day in like 30 minutes.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[henchman21]

On the note of best defensive prospects, I think it is simply what you value and how likely they are to reach their ceiling. Overall, Byram has a high ceiling and likelihood combo that should rank him at the top or very near it. Seider and Harley are probably the only two in the debate (I wouldn't fight you on Soderstrom either). Of that group, Harley probably has the most pure upside with Seider being second. Seider is probably the riskiest to meeting his potential and could easily 'just' be a solid 2/3 defensive focused guy. But pure ceiling of all defensive prospects, it is Merkley and, IMO not even close. The kid has major attitude and coaching issues.... and needs a good locker room around him... but he's got legit 70+ point potential and has the ability to really tilt the ice.

 

[PAZ]

On the note of best defensive prospects, I think it is simply what you value and how likely they are to reach their ceiling. Overall, Byram has a high ceiling and likelihood combo that should rank him at the top or very near it. Seider and Harley are probably the only two in the debate (I wouldn't fight you on Soderstrom either). Of that group, Harley probably has the most pure upside with Seider being second. Seider is probably the riskiest to meeting his potential and could easily 'just' be a solid 2/3 defensive focused guy. But pure ceiling of all defensive prospects, it is Merkley and, IMO not even close. The kid has major attitude and coaching issues.... and needs a good locker room around him... but he's got legit 70+ point potential and has the ability to really tilt the ice.

Sounds a bit like DeAngelo.

 

[henchman21]

Sounds a bit like DeAngelo.

More talented and less issues... but same stigma, yeah.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I would modify that slightly. I think that is the MOST LIKELY outcome, but he's young enough that his ceiling could be higher than that. I keep comparing his ceiling to prime EJ where he's a two-way beast but not quite what you would want as the true #1D on a team.

I do think he will be an excellent complement to Makar though. He'll have the defensive ability to cover for Makar's dynamism and allow him to take risks, but also be enough of a threat on his own that teams that key in on Makar will be punished for ignoring him.

It won't happen right away, but they will be a nasty two headed monster of a D pairing one day. I don't want to make it sound like I'm down on the pick or anything, there's nothing I would change about how the first round went down last year I just trying to be realistic about what level of player Byram is likely to be.

This is what really matters imo, how he projects to fit with the Avs.

The only thing I don’t agree with is the bolded. Makar is not a risk taker. He’s just extremely good at knowing when to turn it up ice. There were very few times I can remember where Makar was caught up ice trying to make a play and the other team capitalized.

He is not a consistently good defender yet, because he still needs to improve his positional play in his own zone. His aggressive offensive play has never negatively affected his defence, in fact it’s probably helped it.

I definitely agree that Byram should fit really well with Makar long-term though. Or Timmins (if he continues to progress) for that matter. I think Byram’s IQ/passing will be a big asset to the Top-4.

 

[Richard88]

I consider Werenski to be a #1 level defender... he is damn good. He was on his way to a 25+g season the way he was playing, and playing good defense with Jones out.

Watching Byram, there are legitimate concerns with his offensive game... and I actually think there is more support for that this year than there was last year. People can call me crazy, and point to his numbers to end the season... but that is with the coaches there basically giving him 'Byram rules' and letting him do whatever he wants on the ice. Which works because he's a lot more talented than nearly every WHL player... maybe 4 or 5 in the league have as much talent as Byram. It is awfully rare that NHL coaches allow players that level of freedom and play outside of the structure of the team. Byram hasn't shown a capability in the past two seasons that when he is held within structure, he can produce at the same level. The last two seasons, he has started the same and only produces high levels of offense when he's allowed to do what he wants.

Whilst I agree that Byram's offense mostly comes from a very 'free' role in juniors, I don't necessarily think that will be that big of a problem in the NHL since Bednar is excellent at tailoring his offensive system around the skills of certain players.

We've seen Bednar make adjustments that get the best out of Barrie and Makar, and I would be surprised if Bednar didn't find a way to accommodate Byram's skillset as well, perhaps by partnering him with a more defensive guy (eg. Cole/Johnson/Timmins) and then allowing him a certain bit of freedom within the overarching system to play his game.

 

[henchman21]

Whilst I agree that Byram's offense mostly comes from a very 'free' role in juniors, I don't necessarily think that will be that big of a problem in the NHL since Bednar is excellent at tailoring his offensive system around the skills of certain players.

We've seen Bednar make adjustments that get the best out of Barrie and Makar, and I would be surprised if Bednar didn't find a way to accommodate Byram's skillset as well, perhaps by partnering him with a more defensive guy (eg. Cole/Johnson/Timmins) and then allowing him a certain bit of freedom within the overarching system to play his game.

Bednar will not be the Avs coach forever. Even the most successful coaches have a tenure. And with that, players still have to earn the rope with Bednar.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Seeing as there’s been a lot of Byram discussion today here’s his latest interview in case anybody missed it.

 

[UncleRisto]

1		-	Alexis Lafrenière
2		-	Quinton Byfield
3		-	Tim Stützle
4		-	Lucas Raymond
5			Jamie Drysdale
6		-	Cole Perfetti
7		-	Marco Rossi
8		-	Alexander Holtz
9		-	Connor Zary
10			Yaroslav Askarov
11		-	Anton Lundell
12		-	Jake Sanderson
13		-	Dawson Mercer
14		-	Braden Schneider
15		-	Kaiden Guhle
16		-	Rodion Amirov
17		-	William Wallinder
18			Seth Jarvis
19		-	Hendrix Lapierre
20			Dylan Holloway
21			Helge Grans
22		-	Noel Gunler
23		-	Jake Neighbours
24		-	Brendan Brisson
25			Mavrik Bourque
26		-	Jérémie Poirier
27		-	Jacob Perreault
28			John-Jason Peterka
29		-	Jan Mysak
30		-	Ty Smilanic
31			Lukas Cormier

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

ROUND 2	TEAM	ORIGINAL	PLAYER	DETAILS
32	DET	-	Justin Barron
33	OTT	-	Ryan O'Rourke
34	SJS	-	Vasili Ponomaryov
35	LAK	-	Topi Niemelä
36	ANA	-	Justin Sourdif
37	NSH	NJD	Eemil Viro
38	BUF	-	Lukas Reichel
39	MTL	-	Jean-Luc Foudy
40	MTL	CHI	Jack Thompson
41	ARI	-	Ozzy Wiesblatt
42	MIN	-	Joni Jurmo
43	LAK	VAN	Artur Akhtiamov
44	NSH	-	Roni Hirvonen
45	FLA	-	Thomas Bordeleau
46	CGY	-	Ridly Greig
47	CAR	NYR	Tyson Foerster
48	WPG	-	Luke Evangelista
49	OTT	NYI	Zion Nybeck
50	OTT	CBJ	Joel Blomqvist
51	TOR	-	Donovan Sebrango
52	CAR	-	Theodor Niederbach
53	OTT	DAL	Antonio Stranges
54	DET	EDM	Tyler Tullio
55	LAK	VGK	Emil Andrae
56	CHI	PIT	Yan Kuznetsov
57	PHI	-	Will Cuylle
58	DET	WSH	Tyler Kleven
59	TBL	-	Carter Savoie
60	SJS	COL	Oliver Suni
61	MTL	STL	Jan Bednar
62	BOS	-	Shakir Mukhamadullin	So I was just fooling around with the CapFriendly Mock Draft Sim and I completed this the other day in like 30 minutes.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Oh no, not Lundell to the Wild.

 

[PAZ]

Seeing as there’s been a lot of Byram discussion today here’s his latest interview in case anybody missed it.

Thanks for posting! That ending was so cringy and plays into the stereotype of women reporters/interviewers.

She isn't there the whole interview and shows up in the last minute to ask about his name... tf?

 

[henchman21]

Oh no, not Lundell to the Wild.

I fully understand why people question parts of his game, but many teams are going to regret not taking him. I think he'll win a Selke or two over his career and be a 60+ point center.

 

[UncleRisto]

I fully understand why people question parts of his game, but many teams are going to regret not taking him. I think he'll win a Selke or two over his career and be a 60+ point center.

That'd be great. But obviously the thing is he could end up a middling #2C. Which makes him a safe pick but...

 

[Murzu]

Oh no, not Lundell to the Wild.

Such a Wild center. Bleh 2C from Finland.