Top Shelf Prospects 2018 Vegas Golden Knights

CupInSIX

My cap runneth over
Jul 1, 2012
26,283
18,254
Alphaville
Brannstrom’s best asset in the defensive zone is his ability to retrieve loose pucks and start the transition quickly. The best defence is a good offence, and he shows that by quickly starting the transition game. When he does get pinned in his own zone, he can be overpowered by bigger and stronger forwards. He also could stand to work on his positioning and defensive reads.

completely disagree

I'll take your word for it on Demin but Cotter looks to be a potential sleeper pick, and I'm not that high on Coghlan's upside.

You're also forgetting about Hyka and Kolesar, and I'm not sure Matteau has an NHL future at this point.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Vegas Mac

LastWordArmy

Registered User
Sep 11, 2011
9,056
3,543
Canada
completely disagree

I'll take your word for it on Demin but Cotter looks to be a potential sleeper pick, and I'm not that high on Coghlan's upside.

You're also forgetting about Hyka and Kolesar, and I'm not sure Matteau has an NHL future at this point.

Hyka is 25 so he doesn't qualify for the series

Kolesar should have been part of the system review

I don't think Matteau has much of a future either, he's not one of the top 10 prospects there. I merely mention him as someone of note in the system. As a former first round pick, he at least gets noted until he's 25 and no longer a prospect. That said, we aren't exactly high on him if he's not part of the top 10 group.

Coghlan was our 8th ranked prospect. The fact is that the Vegas system is not that deep yet, thats part of being an expansion team. The top end prospects.... Glass, Suzuki, Brannstrom are excellent. The next group of Hague, Elvenes, Demin and Morozov are pretty good. Beyond that the depth in the system falls off.
 

CupInSIX

My cap runneth over
Jul 1, 2012
26,283
18,254
Alphaville
Hyka is 25 so he doesn't qualify for the series

Kolesar should have been part of the system review

I don't think Matteau has much of a future either, he's not one of the top 10 prospects there. I merely mention him as someone of note in the system. As a former first round pick, he at least gets noted until he's 25 and no longer a prospect. That said, we aren't exactly high on him if he's not part of the top 10 group.

Coghlan was our 8th ranked prospect. The fact is that the Vegas system is not that deep yet, thats part of being an expansion team. The top end prospects.... Glass, Suzuki, Brannstrom are excellent. The next group of Hague, Elvenes, Demin and Morozov are pretty good. Beyond that the depth in the system falls off.

He may be 25 but due to his waiver exempt status Hyka will be one of the first call-ups and stands a decent chance of securing a roster spot down the road.
Cheers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LastWordArmy

Vegan Knight

Registered User
Feb 16, 2018
5,147
2,702
I won't disagree the prospect pool is thin but most teams won't get massive benefit even if they have seven or eight good prospects they often all don't make it or get traded and don't really benefit the teams that draft them long term.

We also have a young team so I don't think it's a big worry. We also have like 11 picks in the first three rounds the next two drafts.

I think Hague should be in the first tier. He might be an extra year away but has the same chance to be an impact player as those three.

I'll also concur that Cotter is getting underrated here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LastWordArmy

LastWordArmy

Registered User
Sep 11, 2011
9,056
3,543
Canada
He may be 25 but due to his waiver exempt status Hyka will be one of the first call-ups and stands a decent chance of securing a roster spot down the road.
Cheers.

Thats fine and all.

But considering that we are now going to compare all teams prospect groups, we need a bright line rule that applies to what is or isn't a prospect. We've been doing this since 2012 and have used the same rule since that time.

Prospects are players Under 25, and less than 50 games of NHL experience (regular season + playoffs) for the purposes of the series. If we make an exception here, then its not a fair comparison around the league. The only way to do this is with an objective rule.
 

LastWordArmy

Registered User
Sep 11, 2011
9,056
3,543
Canada
I won't disagree the prospect pool is thin but most teams won't get massive benefit even if they have seven or eight good prospects they often all don't make it or get traded and don't really benefit the teams that draft them long term.

We also have a young team so I don't think it's a big worry. We also have like 11 picks in the first three rounds the next two drafts.

I think Hague should be in the first tier. He might be an extra year away but has the same chance to be an impact player as those three.

I'll also concur that Cotter is getting underrated here.

Sometimes even top tier prospects bust. There are no guarantees. The advantage of depth is not to say that all of those players will make it, its to say that even if some bust, you still have others.

No one is saying that a team with 7 or 8 good prospects will all make it.

At the same time I wouldn't expect all of Glass, Suzuki, Brannstrom, Hague, Elvenes, Demin, Morozov to make make it either. One or two will fail to become impact players in the NHL, will end up a bottom line guy or a journeyman. Its just the way prospects work. Development is not guaranteed, some guys will plateau, and its hard, even for the professional scouts in the NHL to predict who.

As for Cotter, the one thing I've learned in 7 years now of doing these reports. Never overrate summer hockey. Never. Don't let a development camp, or the WJSS, or any of those events change your opinion on a prospect. Take all these events with a giant grain of salt. Summer hockey is weird and different prospects show up in different states of physical condition depending on what their off-season programs are trying to achieve. Some players can look awful at the end of July and be fantastic in September. Some can be fantastic in July, and back to average in September. Some have made real changes in their game and it will continue in September. Figuring out who is who in late July and Early August is a nightmare. Better to see when the season starts.

Thats without even getting into the fact that those events are 1 week in duration. I never overrate the World Juniors, cause its a two week event. You have to see if a prospect is hot (or cold) for that two weeks. How does the long-term, full season results line up with what they did in the tournament? Its worth watching, but too many fans overrate it as it gets such huge media hype.
 
Last edited:

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->