The Athletic - 2018/19 NHL Farm system rankings

[Haatley]

Nashville had a big drop, falling from 3rd last year to 26th this year. Boston went from 10th to 27th. Calgary being so low must be concerning for Flames fans, although they have a fairly young team. But similar to the Jets, they have some core pieces getting older (Giordano, Brodie vs Wheeler, Byfuglien)

Calgary's 3 top prospects are defencemen.... Valimaki, Anderson and Kylington are all fantastic prospects and will be more than NHL ready by the time Brodie and Giordano are declining. Also, Noah Hanifin is only 21 years old. Not worried about Flames future on defence.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

I would not doubt that Florida ends up in the top 5. Dude loves Borgstrom and Denisenko

 

[greasysnapper]

See, I love Chytil (And Tolvanen) but these two guys were drafted outside the top 20 for a reason, I have a hard time ranking the 21st pick equal to the 3rd pick overall (Or the 5th, if you believe there was a reach).

It's akin to comparing Heiskanen or Pettersson to Borgstrom, Colin White/Eriksson Ek to PLD and Tkachuk, Marner to Kapanen.

Obviously there might be a belief that Kotkaniemi is far inferior to all those players somewhere in here.

Players can never develop and where they were drafted is their future untold.


On a different note, the 2018 draft was arguably one of the worst drafts outside of the top 2 for initial top prospects. I don't know if I'd even have Kotkaniemi in the top 10, and outside of a few like Foote and Tippett I don't know if I'd take him top 15. 2019 looks like a very very strong draft and should easily outclass 2018 as well.

 

[LordNeverLose]

Players can never develop and where they were drafted is their future untold.


On a different note, the 2018 draft was arguably one of the worst drafts outside of the top 2 for initial top prospects. I don't know if I'd even have Kotkaniemi in the top 10, and outside of a few like Foote and Tippett I don't know if I'd take him top 15. 2019 looks like a very very strong draft and should easily outclass 2018 as well.

2018 was definitely a higher regarded draft class than 2017 was

 

[greasysnapper]

2018 was definitely a higher regarded draft class than 2017 was

Not a chance. Outside Dahlin and Svech 2018 is one of the worst initial draft classes in the last 10+ years.

 

[Mrb1p]

Players can never develop and where they were drafted is their future untold.


On a different note, the 2018 draft was arguably one of the worst drafts outside of the top 2 for initial top prospects. I don't know if I'd even have Kotkaniemi in the top 10, and outside of a few like Foote and Tippett I don't know if I'd take him top 15. 2019 looks like a very very strong draft and should easily outclass 2018 as well.

Is that because you know less about the prospects ?

What about the fact that Zadina, the number 6th overall had better stats than Hischier the first overall? What about Kotkaniemi having a better season than Rantanen? Hughes having a better year than Makar? Wahlstrom posting numbers that dwarf every prospect but the generstional ones? Bouchard posting up arcade numbers, Kravtsov posting up recors breaking numbers?

Initial thought: youre not familiar with this draft.

 

[IronMarshal]

It is early, and time will tell us which drafts and which picks were good/better. The reality is we are just spit balling here. We have hunches, see things we like in 17 year olds. If we pay attention, some later picks in every draft become better players than those drafted ahead of them. First rounders fail every year, some guys that are number 1 overall don't measure up and wash out quickly.

So more spit balling from me. A lot of posters (especially the MTL fans) are puffing up Kotkaniemi, who I believe was over drafted to fit a positional need. Hayton was as well. A lot of people who get paid to scout and opine have said the same thing. He is a very good prospect, but is no way elite, but the talk here is like he is the second coming. If he was drafted third by Vancouver (Benning), nin Vancouver people here would be laughing at Vancouver. If Zadina or Tkachuk were picked by Montreal, the fans would be thrilled and wouldn't care about Kotka. I know there are some fans who had him rated really high, but some of that may be due to the rumors the Montreal was going to reach for him. I doubt anyone admits to that though. I wish the kid well playing in that pressure cooker with the hopes of the league's most storied team firmly on his shoulders. I hope he plays well.
As I said time will tell.

 

[Deficient Mode]

It is early, and time will tell us which drafts and which picks were good/better. The reality is we are just spit balling here. We have hunches, see things we like in 17 year olds. If we pay attention, some later picks in every draft become better players than those drafted ahead of them. First rounders fail every year, some guys that are number 1 overall don't measure up and wash out quickly.

So more spit balling from me. A lot of posters (especially the MTL fans) are puffing up Kotkaniemi, who I believe was over drafted to fit a positional need. Hayton was as well. A lot of people who get paid to scout and opine have said the same thing. He is a very good prospect, but is no way elite, but the talk here is like he is the second coming. If he was drafted third by Vancouver (Benning), nin Vancouver people here would be laughing at Vancouver. If Zadina or Tkachuk were picked by Montreal, the fans would be thrilled and wouldn't care about Kotka. I know there are some fans who had him rated really high, but some of that may be due to the rumors the Montreal was going to reach for him. I doubt anyone admits to that though. I wish the kid well playing in that pressure cooker with the hopes of the league's most storied team firmly on his shoulders. I hope he plays well.
As I said time will tell.

Kotkaniemi was already rising rapidly for many because of his play in U18 tournaments in February and April before the Habs ended up moving up in the lottery or before their final place in the standings was cemented. And many people still didn't buy the late riser narrative and kept him at 10 or below.

 

[PKWeber]

Players can never develop and where they were drafted is their future untold.


On a different note, the 2018 draft was arguably one of the worst drafts outside of the top 2 for initial top prospects. I don't know if I'd even have Kotkaniemi in the top 10, and outside of a few like Foote and Tippett I don't know if I'd take him top 15. 2019 looks like a very very strong draft and should easily outclass 2018 as well.

2018 draft>2017 draft AINEC. Are you all there 100% in the brain? Serious question.

 

[greasysnapper]

Is that because you know less about the prospects ?

What about the fact that Zadina, the number 6th overall had better stats than Hischier the first overall? What about Kotkaniemi having a better season than Rantanen? Hughes having a better year than Makar? Wahlstrom posting numbers that dwarf every prospect but the generstional ones? Bouchard posting up arcade numbers, Kravtsov posting up recors breaking numbers?

Initial thought: youre not familiar with this draft.

Maybe I actually watch the prospects?

If you think because Zadina had better stats than Hischier in their draft season that he's a better player, than I don't know what to say. Timo Meier had better stats than both of them lol - Is Timo Meier (a good player) better than Hischier?! There's more at play here than basic stat watching. Especially when you factor into ice time, surroudng skill, usage, actual skillset and it's transferrable nature to nhl play. Same could be said about Kotka and Rantanen.

I'm quite familiar with this draft.

 

[greasysnapper]

2018 draft>2017 draft AINEC. Are you all there 100% in the brain? Serious question.

So because I view the 2018 draft as less than the 2017 something's wrong with my brain? No offense, but you seriously might need to get your head checked out if your first inclination that someone with a different opinion than you has issues.

How is 2018>2017 AINEC? I can at least respect the other people who are offering opinions and arguments.

The people who immediately sling to insult are the ones with nothing to back up their claims.

 

[PKWeber]

So because I view the 2018 draft as less than the 2017 something's wrong with my brain? No offense, but you seriously might need to get your head checked out if your first inclination that someone with a different opinion than you has issues.

How is 2018>2017 AINEC? I can at least respect the other people who are offering opinions and arguments.

The people who immediately sling to insult are the ones with nothing to back up their claims.

You said you wouldn’t have Kotka in your top ten which leads me to believe you have brain damage or some kind of brain failure. You also gave no evidence backing up your claim the 2018 draft is terrible and honestly do you actually think the 2018 draft is worse than 2017 or 2012?

 

[MarAlain MongYeo]

Seeing Wade Allison ranked as the 21st best Flyers prospect almost made me cry. I still cant get over how dumb that is.

 

[PKWeber]

Seeing Wade Allison ranked as the 21st best Flyers prospect almost made me cry. I still cant get over how dumb that is.

This prospect rank means nothing, Corey Pronman is a nobody and lol at anyone who paid to see his ranking.

 

[greasysnapper]

You said you wouldn’t have Kotka in your top ten which leads me to believe you have brain damage or some kind of brain failure.

You sound like someone with actual problems. Bless your heart.

 

[schnapshot]

This prospect rank means nothing, Corey Pronman is a nobody and lol at anyone who paid to see his ranking.

I mean, he actually gets paid to watch and write about hockey, you are an anonymous poster on a hockey forum.

The lack of respect here is astounding...

 

[93LEAFS]

2018 was a pretty average draft, 2017 was viewed as below average and comparable to 2012. 2018 was comparable to 2016, and 2010 but behind 2013 and 2015. Probably above 2014, and 2011, and definitely above 2012.

 

[Mrb1p]

So because I view the 2018 draft as less than the 2017 something's wrong with my brain? No offense, but you seriously might need to get your head checked out if your first inclination that someone with a different opinion than you has issues.

How is 2018>2017 AINEC? I can at least respect the other people who are offering opinions and arguments.

The people who immediately sling to insult are the ones with nothing to back up their claims.

Maybe I actually watch the prospects?

If you think because Zadina had better stats than Hischier in their draft season that he's a better player, than I don't know what to say. Timo Meier had better stats than both of them lol - Is Timo Meier (a good player) better than Hischier?! There's more at play here than basic stat watching. Especially when you factor into ice time, surroudng skill, usage, actual skillset and it's transferrable nature to nhl play. Same could be said about Kotka and Rantanen.

I'm quite familiar with this draft.

Ok

 

[Mrb1p]

2018 was a pretty average draft, 2017 was viewed as below average and comparable to 2017. 2018 was comparable to 2016, and 2010 but behind 2013 and 2015. Probably above 2014, and 2011, and definitely above 2012.

This makes little sense

 

[93LEAFS]

This makes little sense

No, 2018 wasn't a particularly strong class. It was average by draft standards. Its behind both how 2013 and 2015 were viewed at the time.

Edit: I mean to say 2017 was comparable to 2012, not to 2017, if that's what you were referring to when you said my statement made little sense.

 

[Mrb1p]

No, 2018 wasn't a particularly strong class. It was average by draft standards. Its behind both how 2013 and 2015 were viewed at the time.

Edit: I mean to say 2017 was comparable to 2012, not to 2017, if that's what you were referring to when you said my statement made little sense.

Yes. I disagree on 18. Svech and Dahlin alone make it an above average one, sure its below 15 and 16 but above the rest.

 

[93LEAFS]

Yes. I disagree on 18. Svech and Dahlin alone make it an above average one, sure its below 15 and 16 but above the rest.

2013 was viewed as better than 2016. That top 6 anchored a very strong class (MacKinnon, Barkov, Drouin, Jones, Lindholm, and Monahan). The depth hasn't really shown up, but the top 10 makes it a fairly strong class. There are at least 3 guys there you'd be comfortable building a contender around (Mackinnon, Jones and Barkov), a legit 1st line center (Monahan), and probably a first line winger in Drouin. Lindholm didn't quite pan-out for the Canes, but he's still a player with value. Most drafts aren't much different once you get past the top 10 to 15 prospects, so I heavily weight that when looking at a class overall.

2018 is pretty average in my eyes, and that isn't an uncommon sentiment. Hell, Pronman said this when talking about the class.

The 2018 draft class is an average draft class. At the top of the class, a bulk of the talent is in defensemen, with very few centers. The top prospect is a legit first overall talent, with the next tier being a reasonable bunch of players for the top five but none who stand out as exceptional for that range. The talent level is solid but there’s more risk than usual.

 

[boredmale]

12. Phuladelphia

This made me laugh

 

[boredmale]

2018 is pretty average in my eyes, and that isn't an uncommon sentiment. Hell, Pronman said this when talking about the class.

I think 2018 will go down as a great year for wingers and defense and depth, below average for Centers

 

[FlyTimmo]

Yes. I disagree on 18. Svech and Dahlin alone make it an above average one, sure its below 15 and 16 but above the rest.

Top-2 is strong and comparable to 2016, but 3-5 was very weak. Overall, it seems like a very average draft.