Who will be the steal of the draft?

[Scouter]

The player least known about, who comes out of almost nowhere, who goes on to have a good NHL career.


As for a good sleeper pick though I will go with Mitch Topping, sounded pretty good coming into the year, I don't know if it's because more guys have gotten attention and passed him, or if it's because of his play, but he has seemed to have faded into the background.

 

[Chainshot]

alex grenier: 6'5, 200 pounds, has the sort of ability to go "undercover" and pop out and make a devastating wrist shot or something. doesn't always use his frame, first year in the Q iirc. Like Guillaume Latendresse, except even bigger and a better shot. can top out as a 30-40g type of guy.

Being 19 though will likely drive his draft-stock down regardless.

 

[AmericanDream]

Nick Shore, Matt Nieto, and Andy Welinski come to mind.

Shore and Nieto were both very highly touted players from the USNDP, but didnt get the ice time as true freshman this year for their respective college teams to really put up some numbers. Whoever lands either of these kids (likely 2nd round) will get a couple of very solid players.

Andy Welinski is another kid that seems to be getting overlooked a bit. Big, strong, and mobile, the Minnesota native went to the USHL this year instead of staying put for highschool hockey. I think he projects very nicely as a pro, and someone is going to get this kid in the 3-5 rounds and make out like a bandit imo.

 

[ManByng]

I think theres a couple of good prospects in SEL-2 that don't get the kind of hype they deserve. I keep hyping them when I get a chance. Theese players might not turn in to the steal of the drafts but they could be steals, only Bengtsson is considered to be a pick for the three first rounds at the moment.

Pathrik Westerholm from Malmö could certainly be had in the last couple of rounds and is defenitely worth a shot. The kid got great offensive skills. Draft his twin brother too, so you can have a couple of a very poor mans Sedins in your prospect pool.

Rasmus Bengtsson from Rögle, isn't talked about much (Larsson, Brodin and Klefbom steals the spotlight) but have delivered on every level, SEL-2, Superelit and U-18 WC. He needs to improve some stuff but he could really be a diamond in the rough.

William Karlsson from Västerås had a great u-18 WC together with his buddy Gustav Björklund. Unlike Björklund, Karlsson got decent size. He has developed fantastic this season and he plays for a club that have a tradition of developing good centers.

Patrik Norén from Leksand is a lateborn 92 that proved before his unlucky injury that he is a good puckmoving d-man in the making. He could probably be had in a late round and it's not unlikely at all that he develops to a NHL-defenseman from what I have seen.

Besides theese kids I also think the austrian Konstantin Komarek that plays for Luleå deserves a pick. He might not have elite skills, but he could develop to a really good energy player on NHL-level.

Bengtsson was who i was thinking as well. i hope after the Oilers draft C Nugent-Hopkins, they draft D Oscar Klefboom at #19 and Bengtsson at #31, but i doubt either of those two will go that high....perhaps Klefbom but not Bengtsson....maybe he'll be there in the 3rd round for the Oilers to draft? one can dream.

 

[GranlundMagic]

Jyrki Jokipakka

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Ondrej Palat.

 

[R S]

Where should he go and where will he go, in your opinion?

I think he'll go in the 3rd round. If I were responsible for drafting a team I wouldn't hesitate to take him in the first half of round 2, maybe very early in round 2.





But I think people seem to be taking the easy route with this thread, picking guys who mostly will be picked in the first round. Would like to see more people predicting 4th, 5th, 6th round guys who will end up being the same quality as some 1st and 2nd rounders!

 

[Scouter]

Strome

How can he possibly be a steal if he's supposed to go top 10.

 

[BluechipBulletin]

How can he possibly be a steal if he's supposed to go top 10.

He's better than RNH and has more upside, but he's going to go 4th at the very earliest.

 

[Scouter]

He's better than RNH and has more upside, but he's going to go 4th at the very earliest.

I'm sorry, but a top 10 pick does not qualify as a steal, and no he is not better than RNH, and doubtful on the upside too, 4th at the earliest, probably not, 7th maybe, like Skinner.

 

[I am Canadian]

How can he possibly be a steal if he's supposed to go top 10.

Was Jeff Skinner not a steal?

 

[Scouter]

Was Jeff Skinner not a steal?

No, how could he be if he was picked where he should have been, in the top 10, and yes as of right now he is better than the other prospects, but we are talking about a players career, not 1 season.

 

[dubey]

Nobody that been mentioned or will be mentioned in this thread

 

[McDNicks17]

If we're going for a little later on in the draft, I'll go with Andrew Fritsch.

The guy definitely has the tools to be a solid NHLer.

 

[BluechipBulletin]

I'm sorry, but a top 10 pick does not qualify as a steal, and no he is not better than RNH, and doubtful on the upside too.

Being able to get a guy who should go #1 or #2 at #4-7 is a steal IMO.

And yes, he's better than RNH and has better upside. He's a better goal scorer, has a better release on his shot, is far more capable of producing in traffic, was more productive this year overall and has a much greater developmental curve.

 

[Scouter]

Being able to get a guy who should go #1 or #2 at #4-7 is a steal IMO.

And yes, he's better than RNH and has better upside. He's a better goal scorer, has a better release on his shot, is far more capable of producing in traffic, was more productive this year overall and has a much greater developmental curve.

Maybe you are the only one who has this opinion.

Is he really better, and even if he is you haven't really said why he is better, which around these parts will probably not be taken seriously.

And just because he took a huge leap in production in 1 season mind you, does not mean it will continue that way.


The guy is just too weak physically.

 

[BluechipBulletin]

Nick Shore, Matt Nieto, and Andy Welinski come to mind.

If we're going for a little later on in the draft, I'll go with Andrew Fritsch.

The guy definitely has the tools to be a solid NHLer.

Two excellent picks. Nieto was amazing last year with the NTDP and suffers from being "stuck" as a freshman in a top program. I thought Nieto and Saad were two of the most impressive forwards on the NTDP last year.

Fritsch hasn't gotten a lot of run because he's been a healthy scratch at times in the playoffs. But when Reeds puts him in the lineup and on the Hishon-Wilson line, the kid has been fantastic. And no, it's not because he's out there with Hishon and Wilson. Kid creates on his own.

 

[BluechipBulletin]

Maybe you are the only one who has this opinion.

So? I'd rather be alone and right than be wrong with plenty of company.

 

[HockeySauce]

I believe he was already mentioned, but I'm pretty high on William Karlsson.

Seeing that he's been projected as a 3rd/4th rounder, he could be a big steal for whomever takes him.

 

[Scouter]

So? I'd rather be alone and right than be wrong with plenty of company.

Haha, ok, I have to wonder if you have seen much of any of the top rated guys besides Strome.

If anyone is better than R N-H, it might be Landeskog, Strome is a huge reach.

 

[BluechipBulletin]

Haha, ok, I have to wonder if you have seen much of any of the top rated guys besides Strome.

If anyone is better than R N-H, it might be Landeskog, Strome is a huge reach.

I've seen all of the top guys (and most everyone else) extensively. And I'm not a Strome guy. Landeskog is the best player in the draft, Grimaldi is the most talented player in the draft, and Strome is better than RNH. I realize that RNH has the hype, but if you watched all of them and had access to their stats but had no access to rankings, I doubt you'd put RNH ahead of Strome, and you certainly wouldn't put Huberdeau ahead of Couturier (especially considering that Couturier outscored Huberdeau by a considerable margin when you look at it from a points per game standpoint and especially when you factor out Huberdeau benefiting so heavily from his teammates).

To me, hype is about as important as what color eyes a player has.

 

[R S]

Another dub guy that has a very well rounded game is Dylan Willick from the Blazers. Gritty, does a lot of little things well and still has touch around the net.

You can see more here

http://blazerhockey.com/article/dylan-willick-2010-11-highlight-video

 

[Phion Keneuf]

Zibanejad. Should be going in the top 5 imo

 

[Scouter]

I've seen all of the top guys (and most everyone else) extensively. And I'm not a Strome guy. Landeskog is the best player in the draft, Grimaldi is the most talented player in the draft, and Strome is better than RNH. I realize that RNH has the hype, but if you watched all of them and had access to their stats but had no access to rankings, I doubt you'd put RNH ahead of Strome, and you certainly wouldn't put Huberdeau ahead of Couturier (especially considering that Couturier outscored Huberdeau by a considerable margin when you look at it from a points per game standpoint and especially when you factor out Huberdeau benefiting so heavily from his teammates).

To me, hype is about as important as what color eyes a player has.

Ahh so now we get to the bottom of it, you put Strome ahead of R N-H based on stats, sorry to break it to you, but stats are not the best measure for rating a prospect.

Sounds to me like you are using stats as your hype.

 

[YNWA14]

I've seen all of the top guys (and most everyone else) extensively. And I'm not a Strome guy. Landeskog is the best player in the draft, Grimaldi is the most talented player in the draft, and Strome is better than RNH. I realize that RNH has the hype, but if you watched all of them and had access to their stats but had no access to rankings, I doubt you'd put RNH ahead of Strome, and you certainly wouldn't put Huberdeau ahead of Couturier (especially considering that Couturier outscored Huberdeau by a considerable margin when you look at it from a points per game standpoint and especially when you factor out Huberdeau benefiting so heavily from his teammates).

To me, hype is about as important as what color eyes a player has.

As much as people will try and get at you for a post like this I agree with everything said here. Although it's not as simplistic as just outscoring one player or another. I do think Strome will be better than RNH and Huberdeau, and Landeskog could be the best player in the draft (but so could a number of others like Hamilton, Couturier and Strome...those are my top 4 though.)

But I've been saying this stuff for a long time now.