Prospect Info: The Nascent 2020 Draft Thread

[McDoused]

You just listed 30 defensemen. There's no way that many defensemen go in the first two rounds.

I'm not nearly as high on some of those defensemen as you have them. I wouldn't take guys like Mukhamadulin, Nishikin, or Kleven in the 2nd let alone the 1st. I will say that I think Ronan Seeley and Eamon Powell are better than a good chunk of defensemen you listed.

These are the defensemen I have ranked in the top-two rounds:

Jamie Drysdale (5)
Braden Schneider (18)
Jake Sanderson (19)
William Wallinder (22)
Kaiden Guhle (28)
Jeremie Poirier (30)
Justin Barron (33)
Helge Grans (34)
William Villeneauve (36)
Topi Niemela (38)
Ryan O'Rourke (40)
Lukas Cormier (45)
Emil Andrae (46)
Joni Jurmo (48)
Michael Benning (59)

15 defensemen in the first two rounds, plus a few that I debated putting in there. So yeah, I think it's pretty light on defensemen, and I don't think that's really an unpopular opinion. The consensus seems to be that it's a forward-heavy draft.

Anyway, what do you think of the goalies this draft? Anyone besides Askarov you think would be worth a shot? I'm intrigued by Commesso, Daws, Garand, Blomqvist, and Bednar, but I can't say I know much about them apart from stats and what I've read.

I just wanted to circle back to dmen in light of Craig Buttons breakdown. I think NHL teams value dmen very highly, even when it's a but of a reach. I mean look at Detroit taking Seider and Edmonton taking Broberg early. I think that teams prioritize dmen even if the draft isnt particularly strong for dmen.

Let's take a look at the number of dmen drafted in the 1st over the past few years.

2015 - 8 dmen
2016 - 9 dmen
2017 - 9 dmen
2018 - 14 dmen
2019 - 10 dmen

I would be surprised to see less than 9-10 dmen drafted in the first this year. So we will probably see something like:

Jamie Drysdale
Jake Sanderson
Braden Schneider
William Wallinder
Kaiden Guhle
Justin Barron
Helge Grans
Ryan O'Rourke
Emil Andrae
Jeremie Poirier

That definitely looks like a questionable group of 1st rounders.

 

[FlameChampion]

I prefer Reichel myself but who knows. I just hope we pick a skilled forward with our first.

 

[FlameChampion]

I just wanted to circle back to dmen in light of Craig Buttons breakdown. I think NHL teams value dmen very highly, even when it's a but of a reach. I mean look at Detroit taking Seider and Edmonton taking Broberg early. I think that teams prioritize dmen even if the draft isnt particularly strong for dmen.

Let's take a look at the number of dmen drafted in the 1st over the past few years.

2015 - 8 dmen
2016 - 9 dmen
2017 - 9 dmen
2018 - 14 dmen
2019 - 10 dmen

I would be surprised to see less than 9-10 dmen drafted in the first this year. So we will probably see something like:

Jamie Drysdale
Jake Sanderson
Braden Schneider
William Wallinder
Kaiden Guhle
Justin Barron
Helge Grans
Ryan O'Rourke
Emil Andrae
Jeremie Poirier

That definitely looks like a questionable group of 1st rounders.

Yeah I dont like this years Defenders much. Teams are still going to pick them. It really seems there is a lack of RD in particular. Theres not much.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

I just wanted to circle back to dmen in light of Craig Buttons breakdown. I think NHL teams value dmen very highly, even when it's a but of a reach. I mean look at Detroit taking Seider and Edmonton taking Broberg early. I think that teams prioritize dmen even if the draft isnt particularly strong for dmen.

Let's take a look at the number of dmen drafted in the 1st over the past few years.

2015 - 8 dmen
2016 - 9 dmen
2017 - 9 dmen
2018 - 14 dmen
2019 - 10 dmen

I would be surprised to see less than 9-10 dmen drafted in the first this year. So we will probably see something like:

Jamie Drysdale
Jake Sanderson
Braden Schneider
William Wallinder
Kaiden Guhle
Justin Barron
Helge Grans
Ryan O'Rourke
Emil Andrae
Jeremie Poirier

That definitely looks like a questionable group of 1st rounders.

I agree. Villeneauve, Cormier, and Niemela could also be 1st rounders for sure. I don't doubt NHL teams will pick defensemen high this year, I just personally wouldn't.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Button has Drysdale and Sanderson tied for second best player in the draft so far.

I might be Quinn's biggest fan, but ahead of Byfield? Sanderson at 2? No Stutzle?

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Any news on when Bob McKenzie will release his list?

 

[Tobias Kahun]

I might be Quinn's biggest fan, but ahead of Byfield? Sanderson at 2? No Stutzle?

Button seems to base all his rankings off international tournaments.

Byfield didn't have a great world juniors.

 

[Llamamoto]

Button seems to base all his rankings off international tournaments.

Byfield didn't have a great world juniors.

Agreed, although Stutzle had a great world juniors and he's out of the top-10.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

I just can't get over Craig Button right now. He gave Byfield the same score as Guhle, which is 3 points behind Sanderson. Sanderson is 0.5 points behind Lafreniere.

 

[belair]

I just can't get over Craig Button right now. He gave Byfield the same score as Guhle, which is 3 points behind Sanderson. Sanderson is 0.5 points behind Lafreniere.

Seems like an odd list of things to grade solely off of. There isn't a whole lot of room to differentiate elite from average.

I've watched Byfield and he's far from flawless at this point.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Seems like an odd list of things to grade solely off of. There isn't a whole lot of room to differentiate elite from average.

I've watched Byfield and he's far from flawless at this point.

Yeah, very odd methodology. "Competitiveness" is given equal weight to skating and hockey sense, and passing/playmaking and two-way ability aren't given any consideration. Ranking each skill out of 5 isn't exactly going to be a thorough analysis either.

I don't think Byfield is a slam-dunk pick at 2nd overall like most do, but Sanderson and Quinn ahead of him is very odd.

 

[BarDownBobo]

Y’all are putting way too much thought into a TV segment that TSN uses to try and familiarize viewers with prospects skill sets. Button’s last actual list is here:

Craig's List: Alexis Lafreniere solidifies status as hockey's top prospect - TSN.ca

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Y’all are putting way too much thought into a TV segment that TSN uses to try and familiarize viewers with prospects skill sets. Button’s last actual list is here:

Craig's List: Alexis Lafreniere solidifies status as hockey's top prospect - TSN.ca

That's from March. He has yet to release his final rankings.

 

[McDoused]

I might be Quinn's biggest fan, but ahead of Byfield? Sanderson at 2? No Stutzle?

Pretty sure he just hasnt got to Stutzle yet? He had him ranked 2nd back in March.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Pretty sure he just hasnt got to Stutzle yet? He had him ranked 2nd back in March.

Probably. The scores he gave Sanderson and Byfield still strike me as odd though.

 

[McDoused]

Probably. The scores he gave Sanderson and Byfield still strike me as odd though.

I think with Byfield you are drafting him based on what he could turn into, not necessarily how good he is at this very moment. I wouldn't put too much into those scores.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

I think with Byfield you are drafting him based on what he could turn into, not necessarily how good he is at this very moment. I wouldn't put too much into those scores.

I guess. I'll reserve further judgement until he releases his final list.

Then I'll tear him to shreds.

 

[McDoused]

I guess. I'll reserve further judgement until he releases his final list.

Then I'll tear him to shreds.

He had him at 3 in March so I doubt the overall points matter.

 

[Stud Muffin]

Y’all are putting way too much thought into a TV segment that TSN uses to try and familiarize viewers with prospects skill sets. Button’s last actual list is here:

Craig's List: Alexis Lafreniere solidifies status as hockey's top prospect - TSN.ca

Exactly the segments are just to rank how good each player is in each category not to rank them head to head there many other things that go into a rankings list then those few categories that ache uses.

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

Button's stylistic comparisons are the only things that are somewhat worth listening to. A decent amount of them are good and give a general idea about a player's style of play, although others are really weird/off the mark.

Button's rankings are total garbage though, so paying them any mind is a waste of time. The volatility/movement in his lists month to month especially is ridiculous.

 

[McDNicks17]

I think with Byfield you are drafting him based on what he could turn into, not necessarily how good he is at this very moment. I wouldn't put too much into those scores.

I kind of think his potential makes people actually underrate how good he is right now in some cases.

You never really hear people talk about the crazy numbers he put up this year.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

I think with Byfield you are drafting him based on what he could turn into, not necessarily how good he is at this very moment. I wouldn't put too much into those scores.

Byfield is very good right now.

 

[McDoused]

Byfield is very good right now.

Yes he is. He is already an incredible talent. That's why I have him ranked 2nd above guys like Stutzle, Raymond, Rossi, etc.

I'm not trying to be down on Byfield, quite the opposite. I just see the potential and watch out if he continues his development at the rate he currently is. He is the only guy I look at and think "Yeah if everything goes well for him he could actually be better than Lafreniere".

1. Hes almost a year younger than AF.
2. Hes a center.
3. He has like 3 inches and 30lbs on AF.

Now I still think hes a step below right now but man hes that big center that every NHL team wants.

 

[McDNicks17]

The OHL has been pumping out more videos on their channel. Open this over on Youtube for the playlist.



Zayde Wisdom, Evgeniy Oksentyuk, Rory Kerins, Donovan Sebrango, Jack Thompson, James Hardie, Antonio Stranges, Oliver Suni, Nick Malik, Ty Tullio, Jaromir Pytlik, Luke Evangelista, etc.

 

[Mcnotloilersfan]

That's from March. He has yet to release his final rankings.

Unless he's diving into old video and questioning his rankings, there is nothing after March 30th to judge these kids on.