# 2018 NHL Draft Prospects



## JFA87-66-99

I think its time we start the 2018 nhl draft watch. Anyone have any early rankings or information to add to this thread. I'll throw out some names that i have heard of. (Mattais Emilio-Pettersson, Jake Wise, Andrei Svechnikov, Joseph Veleno, Ryan McLeod, Milos Roman)


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## Babula

I would add Filip Zadina


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## SurMartin

Isac LundestrÃ¶m should be a top name.


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## VictorLustig

SurMartin said:


> Isac LundestrÃ¶m should be a top name.




For sure, he is really good.


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## McGlassbangers

I've heard good things about Mikhail Bitsadze.


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## Ovechkin962

Jaxon Nelson, Gabriel Fortier, Joseph Veleno, Oliver Wahlstrom


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## JJTT

Arttu Nevasaari and Jesse YlÃ¶nen seem to be the top forward prospects from Finland for this draft.

Vili Laitinen , Miska Kukkonen and Uula Ruikka are some defenseman to keep an eye on.


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## JFA87-66-99

I need a top 10-20, 2018 ranking. Usually im 3-4 years ahead on my prospects but i gotta tell u its tough finding info on 2018 nhl draft prospects. Some names i found to watch out for. (M. Emilio-Peterson, Jake Wise, Andrei Svechnikov, Quinton Hughes, Ryan Merkley, Milos Roman, David Levin, Ryan McCleod, Dennis Busby, Jarred McIssac, Joseph Veleno, Eduord St. Laurent, Body Wilde, Oliver Wahlstrom, Tj Walsh, Filip Zadina, K'Andre Miller)


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## thething

Ty Smith, Calen Addison, and Jett Woo could be the new Rielly, Pouliot, and Dumba. 

Ty Smith in particular is someone to follow, I've heard he's the best D prospect coming into the Dub in a while.


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## Eyelanders

JFA87-66-99 said:


> I need a top 10-20, 2018 ranking. Usually im 3-4 years ahead on my prospects but i gotta tell u its tough finding info on 2018 nhl draft prospects.




Here's one interesting write-up about some Finnish names who will be eligible in this draft: https://finnishjuniorhockey.wordpress.com/2015/05/24/notes-from-the-finnish-u15-league/


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## Kobe Armstrong

Wahlstrom (sp?)


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## Agalloch

Is there any potential superstar like McDavid, Eichel and Matthews in this draft?


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## Mickey the mouse

Wise


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## JFA87-66-99

Mickey the mouse said:


> Wise




Jake Wise is supposed to be better at his stage now than Eichel and Austin Matthews were


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## Brandel*

http://www.eliteprospects.com/draftcenter.php?year=2018


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## alko

*2018 NHL Draft - Next hyped draft?*

2015 NHL draft is regarded as one of the best in recent years. Or at least, one of the most awaited. 

It seems, that year 2018 will be also something special. If not better. 
We have this new "Next One + Exceptional Player" *Joseph Veleno*.

Long discussed* Mathias Emilio Pettersen* is preparing for this draft.

*Oliver Wahlstrom *and *T.J. Walsh* from Shattuck St. Mary's.

Then *Filip Zadina* from Czech looks very promising.

Isac LundestrÃ¶m, Andrei Svechnikov, Quinn Hughes and hopefully MiloÅ¡ Roman are other names to be considered.


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## 3 Minute Minor

Dennis Busby out of out Don Mills and Jared McIsaac out of Cole Harbour are two 00 borns that played midget as underages this year.

Jake Wise (Boston Univ commit) looks like a promising forward as well.


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## thething

Is Veleno really the "next one"? It seems more people are saying he wasn't even expectational more than anything.


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## Mr Writer

thething said:


> Is Veleno really the "next one"? It seems more people are saying he wasn't even expectational more than anything.




Nothing exceptional about Veleno. Unfortunately this is Hockey Canada just acting as the recruiting arm for the CHL. (QMJHL)


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## petoNHL

Milos Roman and Martin Fehervary are top slovak prospects for this draft.


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## Phrazer

Next years may not be as top heavy. But it also looks to be very very good.


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## bob27

Fraser Read said:


> Next years may not be as top heavy. But it also looks to be very very good.




It looks similar to 2013. Maybe no McDavid level talent, but many players who could go as number 1 in other years.


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## Paxon

Fraser Read said:


> Next years may not be as top heavy. But it also looks to be very very good.




I like the look of it. I don't have a good feel for the overall depth yet, but there's a strong amount of real high-end talent so far. It's going to be really interesting to see how the talent shakes out. It'll make the new multi-lottery system a real nail-biter.


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## edguy

thething said:


> Is Veleno really the "next one"? It seems more people are saying he wasn't even expectational more than anything.




No.. only reason he got it was because he was threatening to go the NCAA route


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## Fire Sweeney

Velano isn't exceptional. Jaxon Nelson could develop into quite something though.


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## Ovechkin962

Lets not forget Ryan McLeod, David Levin, Bode Wilde, Ty Smith, Philipp Kurashev, Jett Woo, Ryan Merkley, Evan Bouchard, Gabriel Fortier.


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## Kobe Armstrong

Is MEP the kid who scored the sick shootout goal as like a 9 year old?


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## Paxon

Kobe Armstrong said:


> Is MEP the kid who scored the sick shootout goal as like a 9 year old?



Yea.


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## member 96824

Jake Wise is the name a lot of local scouts in Massachusetts are talking about, reminds me a little of the hype that Hanifin/Eichel were getting at the same age.


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## QcFlames12

I may be mistaken but isn't Xavier Parent also 2018 draft eligible?


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## JayKing

FinanceGuy said:


> Jake Wise is the name a lot of local scouts in Massachusetts are talking about, reminds me a little of the hype that Hanifin/Eichel were getting at the same age.




Hopefully he grows.


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## Zero Requiem

Kobe Armstrong said:


> Is MEP the kid who scored the sick shootout goal as like a 9 year old?




No, that is Oliver Wahlstrom.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=241370


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## William H Bonney

JayKing said:


> Hopefully he grows.




He's not small. He was 5'10 in 2014. He's probably taller than that now.


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## JayKing

William H Bonney said:


> He's not small. He was 5'10 in 2014. He's probably taller than that now.




You're right, eliteprospects has him at 5"11. I guess I confused him with someone else


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## FrozenJagrt

No love for Ocean and Orca Wiesblatt?


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## Captain Clutch

2016 is going to be another excellent draft year that will create a lot of buzz & hype with Auston Matthews leading the way


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## SchennSational1022*

Honestly, I feel 2013 will end up being a better draft than this years.


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## Plastic Joseph

Every draft gets crazy hype.


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## seadawg

Flames1217 said:


> I may be mistaken but isn't Xavier Parent also 2018 draft eligible?




no, he is 2019


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## Fantomas

Veleno's stats don't look impressive to me. What am I missing?


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## JFA87-66-99

Anyone have any early rankings? Does seem like 2018 could be a great year.


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## Plastic Joseph

Fantomas said:


> Veleno's stats don't look impressive to me. What am I missing?




He had around the same stats as Drouin did and he was a year younger. Combine that with being over 6'0 already and looking elite among the best 99 born players at Canada games.


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## Fantomas

Plastic Joseph said:


> He had around the same stats as Drouin did and he was a year younger. Combine that with being over 6'0 already and looking elite among the best 99 born players at Canada games.




Seems Veleno did poorly in the playoff as well.


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## Kobe Armstrong

Jesus, Jaxon Nelson's stats are impressive. This whole draft looks good

Also, can't forget about Deep Bodalia


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## Silentjury

Kobe Armstrong said:


> Jesus, Jaxon Nelson's stats are impressive. This whole draft looks good
> 
> Also, can't forget about Deep Bodalia





I do think Nelson has the potential to be a special player but those stats are a bit inflated with the weaker competition he faces in southern Minnesota.


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## Kshahdoo

Agalloch said:


> Is there any potential superstar like McDavid, Eichel and Matthews in this draft?




They say Andrey Svechnikov is way more talented than his elder brother, who is going to be picked in the 1st round this draft.


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## ChicagoBullsFan

HIFK Helsinki winger prospect Niklas Nordgren, could be big name in 2018 NHL draft.
Season 2014-2015 Nordgren played 31 regular season games, in HIFK C2 juniors (U15 team) and scored 119 points ( 56 goals + 63 assists= 3,83 PPG).

Nordgren is a smart right-handed winger that handles the puck smoothly and makes accurate passes.
He’s difficult to contain in the corners because he moves very well laterally. 

Nordgren is a good finisher, particularly thanks to having an effective slap shot. 
A very heady player with nice instincts in all three zones.

Only issue with Nordgren is his size Nordgren is right now 166cm tall.
He has 3 years time to develop and grew up and get more weight 

Also Nordgren was top scorer ( 7+4= 11 points in 6 games) and all-star line up forward in 2015 Pohjola camp.


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## JFA87-66-99

Kshahdoo said:


> They say Andrey Svechnikov is way more talented than his elder brother, who is going to be picked in the 1st round this draft.




I've heard that too and that saying something. Evgeny is very talented so cant wait to hear more about Andrei.


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## Eyelanders

FinnHockeyFan said:


> IFK Helsinki winger prospect Niklas Nordgren could be big name in 2018 NHL draft.
> Season 2014-2015 Nordgren played 25 regular season games in IFK's U16 challenger team and scored 104 points ( 4,16 PPG)
> 
> Nordgren is Mikael Granlund type player and he must improve a lot his physical abilities,and of course everything basic skills and frames.
> If he wants to be NHL player.
> 
> Only issue with Nordgren is his size Nordgren is right now only 161cm tall.
> He has 3 years time to develop and grew up and get more weight




Actually Nordgren looked taller to me this past season, I'd say he's closer to 170 cm at the moment. Could be a solid prospect for this draft, though. Has great hands, puck control in close to set up plays, but can also finish. Plus I have heard that he may already play for their U18 team next season.


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## ChicagoBullsFan

Eyelanders said:


> Actually Nordgren looked taller to me this past season, I'd say he's closer to 170 cm at the moment. Could be a solid prospect for this draft, though. Has great hands, puck control in close to set up plays, but can also finish. Plus I have heard that he may already play for their U18 team next season.




Nordgren is 15 yrs old right now, so i don't know can he play IFK U18 team next season. 
Of course it's good if he could play with older players and became better player every season. 

Development isn't issue for Nordgren, he's getting excellent individual coahing in IFK Helsinki.
I don't know have heard this but IFK Helsinki has made big changes their junior work.

Former Finnish pro hockey player and Finland's former national team captain Ville Peltonen works right now with IFK Helsinki juniors.
He's assistant coach in IFK U20 junior team and also he's director of junior coaching in IFK Helsinki. 

Peltonen's responsibility area is individual coaching with young forward prospects.
And Nordgren is one those prospects who belongs that group.

Let's see how well Nordgren develops before 2018 NHL draft.
And when he gets more height and weight he could be solid TOP10 prospect into 2018 NHL draft. 
3 years is long time in develope for hockey prospects and anything can happen.


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## SOLR

Fantomas said:


> Veleno's stats don't look impressive to me. What am I missing?




He's a power forward. We'll see how he does next year.

He might be closer to Sean Day (early bloomer, more limited ceiling) than Tavares-McDavid.


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## orangeandblack

Wise, Walsh, Wahlstrom, Wilde and Nelson. Another great year for Americans.


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## tealhockey

orangeandblack said:


> Wise, Walsh, Wahlstrom, Wilde and Nelson. Another great year for Americans.




"The four Ws" - are scary good right now. Walsh lit it up playing up against good 99s last weekend and the other three are off the charts already. Throw Brady Tkachuk, Jake Pivonka, Jake Goldowski, Gavin Hain, John Drury, K'Andre Miller Mattias Samuelsson, Jack Deboer, Blade Jenkins, Shea Courtmanche, plenty of other guys that are just too young to figure out.. etc etc etc - there's going to be some players in this group.


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## alko

OTBHockey said:


> ... Jake Pivonka...



ň

Is he the son of Michal Pivonka?


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## orangeandblack

OTBHockey said:


> "The four Ws" - are scary good right now. Walsh lit it up playing up against good 99s last weekend and the other three are off the charts already. Throw Brady Tkachuk, Jake Pivonka, Jake Goldowski, Gavin Hain, John Drury, K'Andre Miller Mattias Samuelsson, Jack Deboer, Blade Jenkins, Shea Courtmanche, plenty of other guys that are just too young to figure out.. etc etc etc - there's going to be some players in this group.




Is Akil Thomas still considered a high end prospect?


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## cagney

alko said:


> ň
> 
> Is he the son of Michal Pivonka?




Yes.


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## Eugene85

Kshahdoo said:


> They say Andrey Svechnikov is way more talented than his elder brother, who is going to be picked in the 1st round this draft.



I don't like all that hype stuff but his numbers are... quite not bad I would say. That's what I found:
Last year(2014-2015) he played 16 games with guys year older than him, there he had 21g+16a. 22 games with kids of his age and scored 50g+32a. The last tournament he played he had 15g+11a in 6 games. Not to mention his last year's(2014) World selects performance where he had 23g+17a in 9 games. An intriguing prospect, I believe.


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## JFA87-66-99

Any info?


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## tealhockey

orangeandblack said:


> Is Akil Thomas still considered a high end prospect?




Akil is very fast and has a great skillset with good athleticism and size. Could be for real. Need to see more. he plays up in toronto.


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## JFA87-66-99

How about an early top 10-20 ranking? Would be curious too see one.


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## Yarice

Heard some good thing about goalie Zachary Bouthillier. Not a top prospect, but still promising. Played behind a really bad team in midget this year, witch explain his bad W/L ratio, but had a better SV% than recent 2nd rounder Zachary Fucale and Philippe Desrosiers in the same league at the same age.


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## Woll Smoth

F Deep Bodalia - Mississauga Braves


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## Bhrangerfan0809

Woll Smoth said:


> F Deep Bodalia - Mississauga Braves




I hate this running joke.


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## tealhockey

Bhrangerfan0809 said:


> I hate this running joke.




I'm still shocked Deep didn't get exceptional status. kid is like ovy and getzlaf combined.


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## tealhockey

JFA87-66-99 said:


> How about an early top 10-20 ranking? Would be curious too see one.




We will rank the whole age group extensively on otbelite.com (twitter @OTBElite) soon. The top 10 and their reports will be available without subscribing


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## Kshahdoo

Eugene85 said:


> I don't like all that hype stuff but his numbers are... quite not bad I would say. That's what I found:
> Last year(2014-2015) he played 16 games with guys year older than him, there he had 21g+16a. 22 games with kids of his age and scored 50g+32a. The last tournament he played he had 15g+11a in 6 games. Not to mention his last year's(2014) World selects performance where he had 23g+17a in 9 games. An intriguing prospect, I believe.




Btw where does he play?


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## JFA87-66-99

OTBHockey said:


> We will rank the whole age group extensively on otbelite.com (twitter @OTBElite) soon. The top 10 and their reports will be available without subscribing



Cant wait to see. Please post it here


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## VictorLustig

According to most, the 00-class looks very promising from a Swedish perspective. Players like....

Adam Boqvist
Filip Hasa
Rasmus Dahlin
Linus Skager
Samuel Fagemo
Dennis Finn Olsson
Lukas Wernblom
Oskar BÃ¤ck
Carl Jakobsson
Nikola Pasic
William Magnusson

...all have very good stats for their age.


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## FinPanda

http://www.draftbuzzhockey.com/#!2018-nhl-draft/c1zlt


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## ChicagoBullsFan

Porkkan4 said:


> http://www.draftbuzzhockey.com/#!2018-nhl-draft/c1zlt




Why IFK Helsinki prospect, Niklas Nordgren isn't named that list.
He's eligible 2018 NHL draft, just like Jesse YlÃ¶nen.

Past season ( 2014-2015) Nordgren played 25 regular season games, in IFK Helsinki U16 challenger team.
And scored 104 points (4,16 PPG).


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## VictorLustig

FinnHockeyFan said:


> Why IFK Helsinki prospect, Niklas Nordgren isn't named that list.
> He's eligible 2018 NHL draft, just like Jesse YlÃ¶nen.
> 
> Past season ( 2014-2015) Nordgren played 25 regular season games, in IFK Helsinki U16 challenger team.
> And scored 104 points (4,16 PPG).




Lists like those are pretty pointless. Everyone is clueless when it comes to ranking players that young coming from so many different leagues/places.


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## hockey38

Cream always rises to the top 

Jake Wise with 15 points in 5 games - leading u15 camp in scoring by a bunch.


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## Anthony Mauro

FinnHockeyFan said:


> Why IFK Helsinki prospect, Niklas Nordgren isn't named that list.
> He's eligible 2018 NHL draft, just like Jesse YlÃ¶nen.
> 
> Past season ( 2014-2015) Nordgren played 25 regular season games, in IFK Helsinki U16 challenger team.
> And scored 104 points (4,16 PPG).




You are right. My contacts have offered NN as a player to list. I am waiting for more information to surface publicly. It is very hard to confirm some junior league info. 

Also, these lists aren't rankings. Hundreds of prospects are considered each year for the draft. Specifically speaking of the DraftBuzz Watch lists, it is a rough guide of what prospects are hitting certain milestones and have placed themselves in historically advantageous scenarios (be it leagues, showcases/tournaments, drafts, college commitments). Some may be top ten picks, some may never be drafted at all.

The purpose of the lists are to constantly update and track, and funnel these lists into scrutinized rankings starting the summer before their draft year.


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## JFA87-66-99

hockey38 said:


> Cream always rises to the top
> 
> Jake Wise with 15 points in 5 games - leading u15 camp in scoring by a bunch.




This Wise kid is gonna be good. He could end up on the same level as Eichel or Matthews


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## North Country

Other talented Minnesotan's to mention

Blake McClaughlin F
Devlin McCabe F
Keegan Karki G


A few to add with J. Nelson, K. Miller and G. Hain.


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## Hagged

FinnHockeyFan said:


> Why IFK Helsinki prospect, Niklas Nordgren isn't named that list.
> He's eligible 2018 NHL draft, just like Jesse YlÃ¶nen.
> 
> Past season ( 2014-2015) Nordgren played 25 regular season games, in IFK Helsinki U16 challenger team.
> And scored 104 points (4,16 PPG).




Nordgren had 1.1PPG in the U16 and didn't play in the U18 right? Jesse YlÃ¶nen had 2.6PPG in the U16 league and 3 points in 8 games in U18. What is this challenger team and how does it compare to the U16 league?


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## JJTT

Hagged said:


> Nordgren had 1.1PPG in the U16 and didn't play in the U18 right? Jesse YlÃ¶nen had 2.6PPG in the U16 league and 3 points in 8 games in U18. What is this challenger team and how does it compare to the U16 league?




Most of the 00 born players played in C2 Sm Liiga, which is a U15 league. It's pretty weak compared to C juniors(U16)


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## scoutman1

I put up a list of guys but it was outdated, im going into my reports to do a new list of my top 30


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## JFA87-66-99

scoutman1 said:


> I put up a list of guys but it was outdated, im going into my reports to do a new list of my top 30




Awesome scoutman. Cant wait please post it here


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## Thebesthockey

scoutman1 said:


> I put up a list of guys but it was outdated, im going into my reports to do a new list of my top 30




have you seen them all play ?


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## wings5

SOLR said:


> He's a power forward. We'll see how he does next year.
> 
> He might be closer to Sean Day (early bloomer, more limited ceiling) than Tavares-McDavid.




I wouldn't say this because I don't think Veleno is done growing and certainly still has room to fill out, Day was already as physically developed as can be at 15 though.


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## scoutman1

Thebesthockey said:


> have you seen them all play ?




90% the other 10% comes from another scouting buddy i have over seas


im putting up the list in another day or so


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## Thebesthockey

Eager to see how you rate them

Where you at the NDTP last weekend u15.?
will you include "exceptional " 2001 ?


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## JFA87-66-99

How those 2018 lists coming along fellas, can't wait to see.


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## NylanderBros

Look forward to seeing myself on the list, since I am 16. Currently I play beer league with my father. I am a grinder listed at 5'10, I like to dump and chase, once in a while bury some garbage goals but I like to call them snipes. After the game I take my training very seriously as I do a couple curls and hit the bar with my dad and his team. I can't drink yet so I stick with Iced Tea, very good and healthy for such a big prospect like myself. I like to compare myself to Connor McDavid as I am not afraid to drop the mitts right beside the boards. I love to dump the puck and celebrate with the fellas. 

Also scoutman1, if you need a picture of me grinding it out just lemme know. Look forward to being a "Top Prospect".


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## JFA87-66-99

PhillingTheThrill said:


> Look forward to seeing myself on the list, since I am 16. Currently I play beer league with my father. I am a grinder listed at 5'10, I like to dump and chase, once in a while bury some garbage goals but I like to call them snipes. After the game I take my training very seriously as I do a couple curls and hit the bar with my dad and his team. I can't drink yet so I stick with Iced Tea, very good and healthy for such a big prospect like myself. I like to compare myself to Connor McDavid as I am not afraid to drop the mitts right beside the boards. I love to dump the puck and celebrate with the fellas.
> 
> Also scoutman1, if you need a picture of me grinding it out just lemme know. Look forward to being a "Top Prospect".




Wow the next gretzky


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## Best Hockey

There is top prospects in Canada too in that age group.


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## Thebesthockey

^^ hey what the f...
u could not find another name ?


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## AUAIOMRN

Thebesthockey said:


> ^^ hey what the f...
> u could not find another name ?




He probably assumed your name was Thebes Thockey


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## JFA87-66-99

Any lists ready scoutman or anyone?


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## Thebesthockey

This will cover a large part of the top 30
in no particular order...

http://www.eliteprospects.com/draftcenter.php?year=2018


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## JFA87-66-99

Thebesthockey said:


> This will cover a large part of the top 30
> in no particular order...
> 
> http://www.eliteprospects.com/draftcenter.php?year=2018



I'm aware of this but im waiting on scoutmans top 30 ranking.


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## scoutman1

1.	Bode Wilde—D—Honey Baked Major M	6’03/183	00 00 00 00
2.	Andrei Svechnikov—F—Ak Bars Kazan 99	6’01/155	00 00 00 00
3. David Levin—F—Don Mills 5’10/151	00 00 00 00
4.	Joseph Veleno—F—Lions Du LSL 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
5. Ty Smith—D—Lloydminster 5’10/160	00 00 00 00
6. Jake Wise—F—Central Catholic High	5’10/130	00 00 00 00
7.	Jared McIssac—D—Dartmouth 5’10/155	00 00 00 00
8.	Oliver Wahlstrom—F—Shattuck Bantam	5’09/155	00 00 00 00
9.	Edouard St-Laurent—F—Corsaires 5’11/150	22 33 18 51
10.	TJ Walsh—F—Shattuck Bantam 5’08/155	00 00 00 00
11.	Jett Woo—D—Winnipeg Monarchs 6’00/
12.	Ryan Merkley—D—Jr Canadiens 5’11/154	00 00 00 00
13.	Calen Addison—D—Lethbridge 5’09/160	00 00 00 00
14.	Jaxon Nelson—F—Luverne High School	6’03/200	25 41 42 83
15.	Allan McShane—F—Toronto Jr Can 5’10/185	00 00 00 00
16.	Mikhail Bitsadze—F—Dynamo 99 5’11/130	36 28 43 71
17.	Milos Roman—F—HC Trinec 6’00/160	00 00 00 00
18.	Dennis Busby—D—OHL 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
19.	Tyler Popowich--F--OHA
20.	Ryan McLeod—F—Toronto Marlboros	6’01/175	00 00 00 00
21.	Zach Jones—D—Verona Wisconsin 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
22.	Filip Zadina—F—HC Pardubice U18	5’11/190	20 21 13 34
23.	Benoit Olivier Groulx—F—Intrepide 5’10/160	24 26 18 44
24.	Luke Burzan—F—Surry Thunder 5’11/150	00 00 00 00
25.	Lukas Wernblom—F—Modo J18 5’09/150	14 05 03 08
26.	Mattias Emilio-Petterson—F—Norway	0’00/000	00 00 00 00
27.	Tyler Weiss—F—USA 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
28.	Eric Guest—F—Elgin Midle 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
29.	Mattias Samuelsson—D—Northwood Prep	6’03/194	19 01 01 02
30.	Isac Lundestrom—F—Lulea HF J20 5’10/160	03 01 00 01

Some other guys i like are Jeremie Bucheler a defender from Lac St Louis, Wyllum Deveaux a strong power forward for QMJHL draft who plays for Hill Academy,Jackson Leppard from NSWC, Blade Jenkins from Compuware,


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## Thebesthockey

scoutman1 said:


> 1.	Bode Wildeâ€”Dâ€”Honey Baked Major M	6â€™03/183	00 00 00 00
> 2.	Andrei Svechnikovâ€”Fâ€”Ak Bars Kazan 99	6â€™01/155	00 00 00 00
> 3.	Jake Wiseâ€”Fâ€”Central Catholic High	5â€™10/130	00 00 00 00
> 4.	Joseph Velenoâ€”Fâ€”Lions Du LSL 0â€™00/000	00 00 00 00
> 5.	Ty Smithâ€”Dâ€”Lloydminster 5â€™10/160	00 00 00 00
> 6.	Jared McIssacâ€”Dâ€”Dartmouth 5â€™10/155	00 00 00 00
> 7.	Oliver Wahlstromâ€”Fâ€”Shattuck Bantam	5â€™09/155	00 00 00 00
> 8.	David Levinâ€”Fâ€”Don Mills 5â€™10/151	00 00 00 00
> 9.	Edouard St-Laurentâ€”Fâ€”Corsaires 5â€™11/150	22 33 18 51
> 10.	TJ Walshâ€”Fâ€”Shattuck Bantam 5â€™08/155	00 00 00 00
> 11.	Jett Wooâ€”Dâ€”Winnipeg Monarchs 6â€™00/
> 12.	Ryan Merkleyâ€”Dâ€”Jr Canadiens 5â€™11/154	00 00 00 00
> 13.	Calen Addisonâ€”Dâ€”Lethbridge 5â€™09/160	00 00 00 00
> 14.	Jaxon Nelsonâ€”Fâ€”Luverne High School	6â€™03/200	25 41 42 83
> 15.	Allan McShaneâ€”Fâ€”Toronto Jr Can 5â€™10/185	00 00 00 00
> 16.	Mikhail Bitsadzeâ€”Fâ€”Dynamo 99 5â€™11/130	36 28 43 71
> 17.	Milos Romanâ€”Fâ€”HC Trinec 6â€™00/160	00 00 00 00
> 18.	Dennis Busbyâ€”Dâ€”OHL 0â€™00/000	00 00 00 00
> 19.	Tyler Popowich--F--OHA
> 20.	Ryan McLeodâ€”Fâ€”Toronto Marlboros	6â€™01/175	00 00 00 00
> 21.	Zach Jonesâ€”Dâ€”Verona Wisconsin 0â€™00/000	00 00 00 00
> 22.	Filip Zadinaâ€”Fâ€”HC Pardubice U18	5â€™11/190	20 21 13 34
> 23.	Benoit Olivier Groulxâ€”Fâ€”Intrepide 5â€™10/160	24 26 18 44
> 24.	Luke Burzanâ€”Fâ€”Surry Thunder 5â€™11/150	00 00 00 00
> 25.	Lukas Wernblomâ€”Fâ€”Modo J18 5â€™09/150	14 05 03 08
> 26.	Mattias Emilio-Pettersonâ€”Fâ€”Norway	0â€™00/000	00 00 00 00
> 27.	Tyler Weissâ€”Fâ€”USA 0â€™00/000	00 00 00 00
> 28.	Eric Guestâ€”Fâ€”Elgin Midle 0â€™00/000	00 00 00 00
> 29.	Mattias Samuelssonâ€”Dâ€”Northwood Prep	6â€™03/194	19 01 01 02
> 30.	Isac Lundestromâ€”Fâ€”Lulea HF J20 5â€™10/160	03 01 00 01
> 
> Some other guys i like are Jeremie Bucheler a defender from Lac St Louis, Wyllum Deveaux a strong power forward for QMJHL draft who plays for Hill Academy,




nice list
i would put as of this moment D.Levin first or second for now


----------



## scoutman1

Thebesthockey said:


> nice list
> i would put as of this moment D.Levin first or second for now




you know what, i actually should have him IMO 3rd overall, im changing that now, I ment to change him.


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Great list scoutman. Suprised to not see Pettersson higher but Svechnikov at #2. Wow he must be good. Thanks for posting this list


----------



## VictorLustig

Those are some pretty old measurements for LundestrÃ¶m, he looks really big now. I'd place him ahead of Wernblom for sure.


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Suprised to see Ryan Merkley at #12 . From what I can gather he seems to be a candidate for 1st overall in the 2016 ohl priority draft. Whats your thoughts on Merkley?


----------



## JFA87-66-99

JFA87-66-99 said:


> Suprised to see Ryan Merkley at #12 . From what I can gather he seems to be a candidate for 1st overall in the 2016 ohl priority draft. Whats your thoughts on Merkley?




Another question I have is about Bode Wilde? This kid is getting rave reviews and I was wondering how does he potentially compare to other top flight defenseman in say Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, Noah Hanifin, Jakob Chychrun, Max Gildon? Also were do you see Brady Tkachuk being ranked?


----------



## scoutman1

JFA87-66-99 said:


> Another question I have is about Bode Wilde? This kid is getting rave reviews and I was wondering how does he potentially compare to other top flight defenseman in say Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, Noah Hanifin, Jakob Chychrun, Max Gildon? Also were do you see Brady Tkachuk being ranked?




Brady Tkachuk i heard was great and could very well be a top my list for top 30, he is one of the few i have not seen play and heard on here he is good, so i will not rank him till i see him.

With Wilde he is in the Tier of Ekblad and Chychrun, Wilde is big strong, tough, big hitter, great skater, excellent two way skills, very smart. Gildon IMO is better than Wilde by a hair.


----------



## scoutman1

JFA87-66-99 said:


> Suprised to see Ryan Merkley at #12 . From what I can gather he seems to be a candidate for 1st overall in the 2016 ohl priority draft. Whats your thoughts on Merkley?




Merkley is really good, a great puck rushing defender, he is a guy who IMO will be the 1st overall pick in the draft but Busby might push him for that spot too.....this draft is looking super super strong for top end talent, now guys will drop and some others will excel but his ranking at 12 is no reflection of how good he is it is a reflection of how deep this draft has the potential of being for top talent


----------



## tealhockey

scoutman1 said:


> 1.	Bode Wilde—D—Honey Baked Major M	6’03/183	00 00 00 00
> 2.	Andrei Svechnikov—F—Ak Bars Kazan 99	6’01/155	00 00 00 00
> 3. David Levin—F—Don Mills 5’10/151	00 00 00 00
> 4.	Joseph Veleno—F—Lions Du LSL 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 5. Ty Smith—D—Lloydminster 5’10/160	00 00 00 00
> 6. Jake Wise—F—Central Catholic High	5’10/130	00 00 00 00
> 7.	Jared McIssac—D—Dartmouth 5’10/155	00 00 00 00
> 8.	Oliver Wahlstrom—F—Shattuck Bantam	5’09/155	00 00 00 00
> 9.	Edouard St-Laurent—F—Corsaires 5’11/150	22 33 18 51
> 10.	TJ Walsh—F—Shattuck Bantam 5’08/155	00 00 00 00
> 11.	Jett Woo—D—Winnipeg Monarchs 6’00/
> 12.	Ryan Merkley—D—Jr Canadiens 5’11/154	00 00 00 00
> 13.	Calen Addison—D—Lethbridge 5’09/160	00 00 00 00
> 14.	Jaxon Nelson—F—Luverne High School	6’03/200	25 41 42 83
> 15.	Allan McShane—F—Toronto Jr Can 5’10/185	00 00 00 00
> 16.	Mikhail Bitsadze—F—Dynamo 99 5’11/130	36 28 43 71
> 17.	Milos Roman—F—HC Trinec 6’00/160	00 00 00 00
> 18.	Dennis Busby—D—OHL 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 19.	Tyler Popowich--F--OHA
> 20.	Ryan McLeod—F—Toronto Marlboros	6’01/175	00 00 00 00
> 21.	Zach Jones—D—Verona Wisconsin 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 22.	Filip Zadina—F—HC Pardubice U18	5’11/190	20 21 13 34
> 23.	Benoit Olivier Groulx—F—Intrepide 5’10/160	24 26 18 44
> 24.	Luke Burzan—F—Surry Thunder 5’11/150	00 00 00 00
> 25.	Lukas Wernblom—F—Modo J18 5’09/150	14 05 03 08
> 26.	Mattias Emilio-Petterson—F—Norway	0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 27.	Tyler Weiss—F—USA 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 28.	Eric Guest—F—Elgin Midle 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 29.	Mattias Samuelsson—D—Northwood Prep	6’03/194	19 01 01 02
> 30.	Isac Lundestrom—F—Lulea HF J20 5’10/160	03 01 00 01
> 
> Some other guys i like are Jeremie Bucheler a defender from Lac St Louis, Wyllum Deveaux a strong power forward for QMJHL draft who plays for Hill Academy,Jackson Leppard from NSWC, Blade Jenkins from Compuware,




Really interesting list, a bunch of the 'right' names locally in the mix from what I saw but Samuelsson/ Pettersen/Wernblom/Guest and even Tyler Weiss to an extent I don't think are so much different than TJ Walsh or much lower than Jaxon Nelson either. It kind of blows my mind that there's 7 kids ahead of Wahlstrom - I don't disagree, haven't seen them all. I do think Bode and Wise are better today, but that makes it seem like a really exciting group. Svechnikov sounds like he's unreal. Akil Thomas I think could explode onto the scene in time.


----------



## Eugene85

OTBHockey said:


> Svechnikov sounds like he's unreal.



The hype Svechnikov jr. gets here in Russia is probably "the hypest hype" ever. Neither Nichushkin/Tarasenko/Kuznetsov/Sokolov nor even maybe Ovechkin/Malkin got that type of hype. People discuss things like "We only have to wait the next year when Svechnikov will make U20 team". They have no doubts that he'll make it and probably will just kill everyone on the ice like Terminator)), doesn't matter that he'll be only 16 at the moment. It's funny cause most of them have never seen him play, only stats. The hype-machine works good though.


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Thanks for the great feedback fellas!


----------



## bigdirty

Just looked up Bode Wilde and I see he's a dual citizen, though it seems he's played in the US for a while. Is it safe to assume he'll be representing USA internationally?


Also, I'm very interested to hear from anyone who's watched Jared McIsaac. Who would he be comparable to?


----------



## alko

Eugene85 said:


> The hype Svechnikov jr. gets here in Russia is probably "the hypest hype" ever. Neither Nichushkin/Tarasenko/Kuznetsov/Sokolov nor even maybe Ovechkin/Malkin got that type of hype. People discuss things like "We only have to wait the next year when Svechnikov will make U20 team". They have no doubts that he'll make it and probably will just kill everyone on the ice like Terminator)), doesn't matter that he'll be only 16 at the moment. It's funny cause most of them have never seen him play, only stats. The hype-machine works good though.




cant find his stats. 
Where will he play?


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Eugene85 said:


> The hype Svechnikov byjr. gets here in Russia is probably "the hypest hype" ever. Neither Nichushkin/Tarasenko/Kuznetsov/Sokolov nor even maybe Ovechkin/Malkin got that type of hype. People discuss things like "We only have to wait the next year when Svechnikov will make U20 team". They have no doubts that he'll make it and probably will just kill everyone on the ice like Terminator)), doesn't matter that he'll be only 16 at the moment. It's funny cause most of them have never seen him play, only stats. The hype-machine works good though.




Yes I even heard that Andrei is pretty much just as good as his brother Evgeni is right now. I mean he was a first round pick this year so thats sayin something. Also another question I have is about Quinton Hughes. I think he is 2018 nhl draft eligible? Were do you guys see him at right now?


----------



## tealhockey

Eugene85 said:


> The hype Svechnikov jr. gets here in Russia is probably "the hypest hype" ever. Neither Nichushkin/Tarasenko/Kuznetsov/Sokolov nor even maybe Ovechkin/Malkin got that type of hype. People discuss things like "We only have to wait the next year when Svechnikov will make U20 team". They have no doubts that he'll make it and probably will just kill everyone on the ice like Terminator)), doesn't matter that he'll be only 16 at the moment. It's funny cause most of them have never seen him play, only stats. The hype-machine works good though.






JFA87-66-99 said:


> Yes I even heard that Andrei is pretty much just as good as his brother Evgeni is right now. I mean he was a first round pick this year so thats sayin something. Also another question I have is about Quinton Hughes. I think he is 2018 nhl draft eligible? Were do you guys see him at right now?




lol. That's pretty insane, Evgeni looks like he is pretty legit too.. 
Quinn Hughes I've only seen video on but he is an American/U of Michigan commit so I've done some research. Ridiculously good skater and has great instincts and passing, I really like what I've heard and seen. He isn't huge but that's still so far away from now, I figure he will be a pretty noteworthy draft prospect. He made NTDP in a good year for 1999 D in the US.



bigdirty said:


> Just looked up Bode Wilde and I see he's a dual citizen, though it seems he's played in the US for a while. Is it safe to assume he'll be representing USA internationally?




He's playing in America again next year, originally from Montreal I think, but looks to be trying to make NTDP and is doing the USA player evaluation stuff and summer showcases down below the border. He's going to Chicago Mission next year and committed to Harvard so all signs indicate him sticking around here right now but OHL draft is just a season away.

One american player I didn't know on scoutman's list was Zach Jones from Verona. Any one seen him


----------



## AD1066

bigdirty said:


> Just looked up Bode Wilde and I see he's a dual citizen, though it seems he's played in the US for a while. Is it safe to assume he'll be representing USA internationally?
> 
> 
> Also, I'm very interested to hear from anyone who's watched Jared McIsaac. Who would he be comparable to?




Someone posted a tweet of his recently, a photo of the NTDP locker room which he described as 'the dream' or something to that effect. So looks to me like he wants to represent the US. Might ease the sting of missing out on Chychrun down the road.


----------



## Kshahdoo

alko said:


> cant find his stats.
> Where will he play?




http://r-hockey.ru/player.asp?TXT=44855

It's in Russian though. He plays for Ak Bars Kazan youth team.


----------



## AmericanDream

If your last name begins with a W and you are from the US, you gonna be a stud..haha..watch out for the killer W's!!


----------



## AmericanDream

bigdirty said:


> Just looked up Bode Wilde and I see he's a dual citizen, though it seems he's played in the US for a while. Is it safe to assume he'll be representing USA internationally?
> 
> 
> Also, I'm very interested to hear from anyone who's watched Jared McIsaac. Who would he be comparable to?




Wilde is representing the US as it stands today...could change obviously down the line.


----------



## Constable

so svechnikov, is he kovy or bure like?


----------



## Eugene85

TopJet said:


> so svechnikov, is he kovy or bure like?



Nobody knows it, lol.
As for stats. Last year(2014-2015) he played 16 games with guys year older than him, there he had 21g+16a. 22 games with kids of his age and scored 50g+32a. The last tournament he played he had 15g+11a in 6 games. Not to mention his last year's(2014) World selects performance where he had 23g+17a in 9 games.


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Eugene85 said:


> Nobody knows it, lol.
> As for stats. Last year(2014-2015) he played 16 games with guys year older than him, there he had 21g+16a. 22 games with kids of his age and scored 50g+32a. The last tournament he played he had 15g+11a in 6 games. Not to mention his last year's(2014) World selects performance where he had 23g+17a in 9 games.



Wow those stats are quite impressive. How do his stats compare to his brother at the same Age


----------



## Kshahdoo

JFA87-66-99 said:


> Wow those stats are quite impressive. How do his stats compare to his brother at the same Age




In his last Russia U15 championat (final stage) Evgeny Svechnikov scored 2+4 in 6 games. Andrey in the same tournament scored 14+11 in 6 games. I mean, it's 4 times more than his elder brother, who was picked in the 1st round of the NHL draft. It's hard not to be excited about his potential... Ah, sorry, as 15 year old Evgeny scored 1+3 in 6 games. He scored 2+4 in the next year when he was 16.

http://r-hockey.ru/player.asp?TXT=41638
http://r-hockey.ru/player.asp?TXT=44855


----------



## scoutman1

I have seen Svechnikov play and the guy is unreal, amazing offensive player, great goal scoring but better playmaker, exciting hands, strong player and good size, great IQ, reminds me of Malkin at the same age....would not shock me if people ranked him 1st overall.


----------



## Kshahdoo

Kshahdoo said:


> In his last Russia U15 championat (final stage) Evgeny Svechnikov scored 2+4 in 6 games. Andrey in the same tournament scored 14+11 in 6 games. I mean, it's 4 times more than his elder brother, who was picked in the 1st round of the NHL draft. It's hard not to be excited about his potential... Ah, sorry, as 15 year old Evgeny scored 1+3 in 6 games. He scored 2+4 in the next year when he was 16.
> 
> http://r-hockey.ru/player.asp?TXT=41638
> http://r-hockey.ru/player.asp?TXT=44855




Btw Kucherov in the same tournament at the same age scored 5+6 in 6. But he played vs one year older opponents. I'd say Andrey Svechnikov's statistics is still more impressive.


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Kshahdoo said:


> Btw Kucherov in the same tournament at the same age scored 5+6 in 6. But he played vs one year older opponents. I'd say Andrey Svechnikov's statistics is still more impressive.




Svechnikov sounds unbelievable. How does he compare to say Kovalchuk, Malkin, Ovechkin, maybe Tarasenko at the same age?


----------



## Kshahdoo

JFA87-66-99 said:


> Svechnikov sounds unbelievable. How does he compare to say Kovalchuk, Malkin, Ovechkin, maybe Tarasenko at the same age?




It's hard to say right now. When he gets to MHL, it'll be easier to compare him to Russian greats. But of course he can skip MHL and go right to pros, like Tarasenko. Considering Bars (Ak Bars' MHL team) preseason roster, Andrey won't play in the MHL this season, though. Pity. I think, he's ready, but perhaps the management doesn't want to rush him.

I hope they will invite him to WJC U18 team next year. He'll be 16 in March.


----------



## Kobe Armstrong

What's the knock on Zadina? His stats seem very impressive


----------



## thething

I like how this thread has almost the same amount of posts as the 2017 draft thread. 

There seems to be much more excitement for this draft.


----------



## Plastic Joseph

thething said:


> I like how this thread has almost the same amount of posts as the 2017 draft thread.
> 
> There seems to be much more excitement for this draft.




2/3 of #1 OA picks who will 16 in the CHL this season are 2018 eligible in Levin and Veleno. One is the first ES player ever in the Q and the other has only been skating for 3 years. 

Add one of the more talked about Russians in recent memory and a man child Dman from the States and there is a lot to be excited about.

2017 has a lot of noteworthy players as well however.


----------



## doncherrysgrill

scoutman1 said:


> 1.	Bode Wilde—D—Honey Baked Major M	6’03/183	00 00 00 00
> 2.	Andrei Svechnikov—F—Ak Bars Kazan 99	6’01/155	00 00 00 00
> 3. David Levin—F—Don Mills 5’10/151	00 00 00 00
> 4.	Joseph Veleno—F—Lions Du LSL 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 5. Ty Smith—D—Lloydminster 5’10/160	00 00 00 00
> 6. Jake Wise—F—Central Catholic High	5’10/130	00 00 00 00
> 7.	Jared McIssac—D—Dartmouth 5’10/155	00 00 00 00
> 8.	Oliver Wahlstrom—F—Shattuck Bantam	5’09/155	00 00 00 00
> 9.	Edouard St-Laurent—F—Corsaires 5’11/150	22 33 18 51
> 10.	TJ Walsh—F—Shattuck Bantam 5’08/155	00 00 00 00
> 11.	Jett Woo—D—Winnipeg Monarchs 6’00/
> 12.	Ryan Merkley—D—Jr Canadiens 5’11/154	00 00 00 00
> 13.	Calen Addison—D—Lethbridge 5’09/160	00 00 00 00
> 14.	Jaxon Nelson—F—Luverne High School	6’03/200	25 41 42 83
> 15.	Allan McShane—F—Toronto Jr Can 5’10/185	00 00 00 00
> 16.	Mikhail Bitsadze—F—Dynamo 99 5’11/130	36 28 43 71
> 17.	Milos Roman—F—HC Trinec 6’00/160	00 00 00 00
> 18.	Dennis Busby—D—OHL 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 19.	Tyler Popowich--F--OHA
> 20.	Ryan McLeod—F—Toronto Marlboros	6’01/175	00 00 00 00
> 21.	Zach Jones—D—Verona Wisconsin 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 22.	Filip Zadina—F—HC Pardubice U18	5’11/190	20 21 13 34
> 23.	Benoit Olivier Groulx—F—Intrepide 5’10/160	24 26 18 44
> 24.	Luke Burzan—F—Surry Thunder 5’11/150	00 00 00 00
> 25.	Lukas Wernblom—F—Modo J18 5’09/150	14 05 03 08
> 26.	Mattias Emilio-Petterson—F—Norway	0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 27.	Tyler Weiss—F—USA 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 28.	Eric Guest—F—Elgin Midle 0’00/000	00 00 00 00
> 29.	Mattias Samuelsson—D—Northwood Prep	6’03/194	19 01 01 02
> 30.	Isac Lundestrom—F—Lulea HF J20 5’10/160	03 01 00 01
> 
> Some other guys i like are Jeremie Bucheler a defender from Lac St Louis, Wyllum Deveaux a strong power forward for QMJHL draft who plays for Hill Academy,Jackson Leppard from NSWC, Blade Jenkins from Compuware,




Having only seen about half the players here I can't really comment on the list, but there are a few places here that are interesting for sure.

It's incredible how many players not on this list I really love but can't rank with the ones I haven't seen. Starting to look like a really strong draft.


----------



## MrGeno101

Andrei led his team to victory in the Russian Championship (U15) this last spring. Score 25 points (14+11) in 6 games. In the finals he scored 3+1. Only time will tell how god the kid will be. But so far it looks really promising.


----------



## doncherrysgrill

I've only seen highlight videos of Svechnikov so if I'm wrong correct me, but it looks like a lot of his dominance is a result of being very physically mature for his age. He looks like he muscles through defenders and is bigger and stronger than most of the other kids on this ice. Is that a fair statement?


----------



## Tatar Shots

district9 said:


> I've only seen highlight videos of Svechnikov so if I'm wrong correct me, but it looks like a lot of his dominance is a result of being very physically mature for his age. He looks like he muscles through defenders and is bigger and stronger than most of the other kids on this ice. Is that a fair statement?




This is true, but his stick skills and puck control are sublime for a 15 year old.


----------



## scoutman1

district9 said:


> Having only seen about half the players here I can't really comment on the list, but there are a few places here that are interesting for sure.
> 
> It's incredible how many players not on this list I really love but can't rank with the ones I haven't seen. Starting to look like a really strong draft.




throw the names out you know, i would be interested to hear


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Any goaltenders?


----------



## scoutman1

JFA87-66-99 said:


> Any goaltenders?




i always wait a bit on goaltenders, IMO they are the hardest of all to predict.


----------



## hab 4ever

Thanks for sharing the list Scoutman.

Was wondering how you felt about Gabriel Fortier, Xavier Bernard and Sam Stevens for 2018?


----------



## North Country

scoutman1 said:


> throw the names out you know, i would be interested to hear




Where do you currently see K'Andre Miller? Thanks


----------



## JJTT

scoutman1 said:


> throw the names out you know, i would be interested to hear




Arttu Nevasaari?


----------



## dwanmaster*

North Country said:


> Where do you currently see K'Andre Miller? Thanks




Probably only a mid-low 20's prospect as of rn, but if he's as good as people say he is he'll have every opportunity at Minnetonka this year to show everyone


----------



## JFA87-66-99

North Country said:


> Where do you currently see K'Andre Miller? Thanks




I'm interested in K'Andre Miller as well. I've heard a little about him.


----------



## wings5

Ive heard some mention Samuelsson might have higher potential than Wilde and Gildon, I dont know how true this is.


----------



## The Exiled One

jdre said:


> Probably only a mid-low 20's prospect as of rn, but if he's as good as people say he is he'll have every opportunity at Minnetonka this year to show everyone



I've seen him play and I think he's over-hyped. My guess (and I usually don't make predictions like this) is that he's a middle-of-the-road D1 prospect. He won't be a first round draft pick, but if he can keep the hype train going, he could be a mid-rounder.


----------



## North Country

The Exiled One said:


> I've seen him play and I think he's over-hyped. My guess (and I usually don't make predictions like this) is that he's a middle-of-the-road D1 prospect. He won't be a first round draft pick, but if he can keep the hype train going, he could be a mid-rounder.




I've only heard he was a stud as a 14 year old defenseman playing varsity last year. Unfortunately, didn't have a chance to watch him. 

He almost always seemed to be the best player on the ice last summer when I watched him playing his same birth year.


----------



## IceHockeyDude

Any Finns potential first rounders?


----------



## JFA87-66-99

I believe Niklas Nordgren was mentioned for 2018.


----------



## Eyelanders

ElHefe said:


> Any Finns potential first rounders?




It's very early on and I haven't all the Finnish top teams yet, so some good prospects might not be included here. However, Arttu Nevasaari and Uula Ruikka were really good at U16's for KÃ¤rpÃ¤t. Nevasaari really impressed me with his scoring (one-timer, shooting accuracy etc.), while Ruikka showed puck skills and smarts from back end. Skating is an area where Nevasaari could improve from what I've seen. Some other 2000's I would mention at this point are forwards Patrik Siikanen (Blues) and Eppu Karuvaara (Jokerit) - not necessarily first rounders but they have showed some intriguing potential.



JFA87-66-99 said:


> I believe Niklas Nordgren was mentioned for 2018.




Nordgren has plenty of skill and makes crisp passes, moves well laterally and keeps his feet moving, doesn't stay in the same spot for too long. His slap shot is very heavy given the fact that he's on the smaller side, plus has an accurate wrist shot. He has started the season with HIFK U18 and scored a pair of goals in a win over DjurgÃ¥rden. Someone to keep an eye on for sure.


----------



## Wooren

Some info about czechs?


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Eyelanders said:


> It's very early on and I haven't all the Finnish top teams yet, so some good prospects might not be included here. However, Arttu Nevasaari and Uula Ruikka were really good at U16's for KÃ¤rpÃ¤t. Nevasaari really impressed me with his scoring (one-timer, shooting accuracy etc.), while Ruikka showed puck skills and smarts from back end. Skating is an area where Nevasaari could improve from what I've seen. Some other 2000's I would mention at this point are forwards Patrik Siikanen (Blues) and Eppu Karuvaara (Jokerit) - not necessarily first rounders but they have showed some intriguing potential.
> 
> 
> 
> Nordgren has plenty of skill and makes crisp passes, moves well laterally and keeps his feet moving, doesn't stay in the same spot for too long. His slap shot is very heavy given the fact that he's on the smaller side, plus has an accurate wrist shot. He has started the season with HIFK U18 and scored a pair of goals in a win over DjurgÃ¥rden. Someone to keep an eye on for sure.




I know its early but who do you see as the top Finn in this draft class as of right now?


----------



## czech

Wooren said:


> Some info about czechs?



f Filip Zadina - Pardubice U20
f KryÅ¡tof HrabÃ­k - Kladno U20 (he played his first game with the senior team)
g Jakub Å karek - Jihlava U20
d Libor ZÃ¡branskÃ½-Jr. - Brno U20/U18
f Martin Kaut - Pardubice U20/U18
f Zdeněk SedlÃ¡k - Oulu U18
f Michal Kvasnica - Opava U18


----------



## doncherrysgrill

Eyelanders said:


> It's very early on and I haven't all the Finnish top teams yet, so some good prospects might not be included here. However, Arttu Nevasaari and Uula Ruikka were really good at U16's for KÃ¤rpÃ¤t. Nevasaari really impressed me with his scoring (one-timer, shooting accuracy etc.), while Ruikka showed puck skills and smarts from back end. Skating is an area where Nevasaari could improve from what I've seen. Some other 2000's I would mention at this point are forwards Patrik Siikanen (Blues) and Eppu Karuvaara (Jokerit) - not necessarily first rounders but they have showed some intriguing potential.




Siikanen and Ruikka are my favorite Finns ATM


----------



## JFA87-66-99

One name I haven't really seen mentioned much is Kirill Nizhnikov. Were does he fit in on a top 30 ranking. How good is he and how did he exactly end up playing in Gthl. I see he's russian but actually eligible for the 2016 Ohl priority draft. I believe I even seen a few reports that have going pretty high in the ohl draft next spring.


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Another 2018 prospect I'm hearing about for the first time is Defenseman Brady Smith. Heard he could have 1st round potential


----------



## USHOCKEYUS

JFA87-66-99 said:


> One name I haven't really seen mentioned much is Kirill Nizhnikov. Were does he fit in on a top 30 ranking. How good is he and how did he exactly end up playing in Gthl. I see he's russian but actually eligible for the 2016 Ohl priority draft. I believe I even seen a few reports that have going pretty high in the ohl draft next spring.




Seems to be some mixed opinions on Nizhnikov but I think he's probably top 15. Not sure of how he got to the GTHL but he has been on the Rebels for a few years now.


----------



## ChicagoBullsFan

Niklas Nordgren is gifted player, but his size is big concern.
Nordgren is only 161cm tall ( 5'3) if Nordgren wants to be, potential 1st rounder 2018 NHL draft.

He must grow more about 20-25cm, also he needs more meat in his frames.
Nordgren's weight is now 58kg ( 128lbs) and that' isn't, enough for 1st round's prospect ( if he wants to be a 1st rounder).

Nordgren is received a lot skill that's for sure.


----------



## Ironrock

FinnHockeyFan said:


> Niklas Nordgren is gifted player, but his size is big concern.
> Nordgren is only 161cm tall ( 5'3) if Nordgren wants to be, potential 1st rounder 2018 NHL draft.
> 
> He *must grow more about 20-25cm, also he needs more meat in his frames*.
> Nordgren's weight is now 58kg ( 128lbs) and that' isn't, enough for 1st round's prospect ( if he wants to be a 1st rounder).



As someone who is genetically 6,25% the exact same person as Niklas Nordgren is... don't hold your breath on that height thing. If anything, the growth spurts in the family have been _below_ average. I was projected to be 185cm, but ended up as 178cm


----------



## Halloffamer99

So interesting to read some of the names from even 4-6 months ago that have really fallen. Just goes to show how hard it is to scout kids of this age and project them. Players that have jumped up like Little John and McBain from the GTHL were not even mentioned 6 months ago. It's a crapshoot people! Trying to make lists 3-4 years out when players change so rapidly is luck. Just follow the junior draft and go back 10 years. Hardly recognize any, with the exception of a few. Good luck to all mentioned. Should take a picture of it and see how off it will be. Even Valeno is just an above avg player. A nice player but not exceptional.


----------



## Kshahdoo

Andrey Svechnikov

Considering this http://r-hockey.ru/player.asp?TXT=44855

Russian championship for 1997-1998 players (Svechnikov is 2000), Volga region, 1+1 in 1 GP.
The same tournament for his age group (2000) 11+1 in 3 GP.


----------



## Igor Shestyorkin

Huffman said:


> According to most, the 00-class looks very promising from a Swedish perspective. Players like....
> 
> Adam Boqvist
> Filip Hasa
> Rasmus Dahlin
> *Linus Skager*
> Samuel Fagemo
> Dennis Finn Olsson
> Lukas Wernblom
> Oskar BÃ¤ck
> Carl Jakobsson
> Nikola Pasic
> William Magnusson
> 
> ...all have very good stats for their age.




Skager seems to me like a guy who isn't talked about very much, but he has a very impressive stat line. 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=294252

And this video gives me the impression that Skager has very good hands and shot:



He's 5'10, 143lbs at 15 right now, so he could also grow a big frame. 

In the highlight video I posted, he seems like a very smooth skater, with a lot of creativity involved in his game. He looks like more of a goal scorer(at least when I look at his stats), but looks to be able to dish the puck as well. 

A very intriguing prospect in my eyes.


----------



## canuckfan75

I really like Matthew Struthers from Owen Sound

6pts in 24 games with Owen Sound... 6"1 180 and is a true winner a demon in the faceoff circle.... won gold with Team White of Canada at Under 17


----------



## hockey2015

Slovakia - Martin Fehervary http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=274991


----------



## ChicagoBullsFan

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=284191

Jaxon Nelson 15 yrs old kid and scored pretty insane stats for USHS.
Joe Veleno's challenger for 1st overall in 2018 NHL draft?


----------



## Thebesthockey

that's the league that games finish 14-0 on many occasions ?



tell me who your competition is and I will tell you .......


----------



## Wooren

I wonder where Jakub Skarek will rank among goalies. He has .927 sv.% in 17 games played in Czech 2 league. Pretty solid for 16 years old.


----------



## Bonin21

Nelson's competition is terrible he lives out on the prairie.


----------



## habsrule4eva3089

There seems be a new player you hear about that's shaping up be a top pick for this draft every week. 2018 and 2019 are so far away but the potential for these two drafts are insane.


----------



## alko

Wooren said:


> I wonder where Jakub Skarek will rank among goalies. He has .927 sv.% in 17 games played in Czech 2 league. Pretty solid for 16 years old.




Goalies are hard to judge. He must show something special also on U18 WCH and after on U20. After the fiasco with DiPietro, no so special Fleury are the teams hesitated to draft goalies in the top 5.


----------



## Zaddy

Is there any word on how Jake Wise is doing? Haven't heard anything about him in a long time. Is he still tearing it up and following in the footsteps of Eichel (in terms of skill-level)?


----------



## Wooren

alko said:


> Goalies are hard to judge. He must show something special also on U18 WCH and after on U20. After the fiasco with DiPietro, no so special Fleury are the teams hesitated to draft goalies in the top 5.




Of course, goalies are crapshoot, teams will think twice before wasting a pick on them in 1st round. I am just very impressed by his stats. Stat-wise he seems like one of the best goalie prospects Czech rep. had in some time. But as I said, goalies are crapshoot. Who knows where he is in 2 years.


----------



## Rogie21

Zaddy Zads said:


> Is there any word on how Jake Wise is doing? Haven't heard anything about him in a long time. Is he still tearing it up and following in the footsteps of Eichel (in terms of skill-level)?



He's a sophomore at Central Catholic HS with a reported 15 points in nine games, thus far. He was named to the US squad for the 2016 Youth Olympics in Norway next month along with other top 2000s. USA Hockey hosted him earlier this season at the BU-U18 exhibition game at Agganis Arena.


----------



## Noma

Finnish forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi has already played in Junior A (U20) league in Finland and scored 8 points (2+6) in 11 games. Obviously a very small sample size, but only PuljujÃ¤rvi, Laine, Aki Berg and Saarela have scored at better pace in Junior A at the same age.


----------



## Kuz

Svechnikov have gotten a lot of attention, but have anyone seen any of the other russian prospects. Thinking especially of Grigori Denisenko who are putting up some massive numbers in the russian U17 League while Svechnikov at the same age are playing in the U16.

Denisenko have an average of 2,33 Points per game(49 in 21) and almost have the same pace as Abramov who have 2,6(39 in 15) and Abramov are 2 years older and are expected to between 15-20 this year. Looked at the stats from elite prospects so might be stats more up to date other places.


----------



## tmlmatus

hockey2015 said:


> Slovakia - Martin Fehervary http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=274991




Has anyone seen him play in the SHL? how has he looked. 

He must be one of the youngest defenseman to ever play in that league at only 16.


----------



## Thebesthockey

names for 2018 based on Lillehammer yourh olympics in 2016 ( 2018 draft class) 

team canada
http://stats.hockeycanada.ca/roster/show/2313796?subseason=275430

team USA
http://www.usahockey.com/youtholympics?id=2253000-2016-roster


----------



## alko

tmlmatus said:


> Has anyone seen him play in the SHL? how has he looked.
> 
> He must be one of the youngest defenseman to ever play in that league at only 16.




Actually he is the youngest foreign player in SHL history. But he played only 6 or 7 minutes. After the injury plague will be over, he would go to juniors.


----------



## NYRangers3061

All I can say is that Jaxon Nelson's stats are incredible

16 GP- 43 G- 35 A- 78 Pts

Pretty incredible if you ask me 

That's 4.875 Pts/game


----------



## Zaddy

NYRangers3061 said:


> All I can say is that Jaxon Nelson's stats are incredible
> 
> 16 GP- 43 G- 35 A- 78 Pts
> 
> Pretty incredible if you ask me
> 
> That's 4.875 Pts/game




Leon Draisaitl had 192 points in 29 games at the same age. Big numbers doesn't mean much if it's against low-quality opposition.


----------



## Kobe Armstrong

Zaddy Zads said:


> Leon Draisaitl had 192 points in 29 games at the same age. Big numbers doesn't mean much if it's against low-quality opposition.




That's still a compliment to Nelson.. Draisaitl is a very good player in the league right now and was drafted 3rd overall. I think Draisaitl is an example showing how big numbers are representative of elite skill, even in poor leagues. You could've said Jankowski... lol

I'm really excited to see what Nelson does in a better league, have to assume he goes to the USHL/OHL


----------



## Mbh71

Watched Chicago Mission 16u play Omaha and Little Caesars this weekend. My god is that some incredible hockey! Talent is so rich it's hard to stand out. I wanted to see Bode Wilde play, and yes he is tall and seems to have good hockey sense. However this kid Brady Smith dominated the D all weekend. He's a young 2000 and only about 5'9" but the kid is a beast. Best skater on the ice. Plays like 6'+ and hits like a tank. I've not seen a kid play that smart, hard and fast in a long time. Hear he's going to Wisconsin. My guess is that he won't stay hidden long in this league. Somebody should snatch him up NOW. When you stand out in that crowd it is something special.


----------



## Zaddy

Kobe Armstrong said:


> That's still a compliment to Nelson.. Draisaitl is a very good player in the league right now and was drafted 3rd overall. I think Draisaitl is an example showing how big numbers are representative of elite skill, even in poor leagues. You could've said Jankowski... lol
> 
> I'm really excited to see what Nelson does in a better league, have to assume he goes to the USHL/OHL




Of course yeah, but still I don't think you can think too much of that level of production. Would be interesting to see him play in the USHL for example. Garrett Wait was someone who had pretty good numbers in high school and that I thought could've been a very good prospect for this years draft. His transition to USHL seems to have been very rough though as he only has 5 points in 30 games. He's probably not even going to get drafted now.


----------



## North Country

People shouldn't be mislead that he's just a decent player in a poor quality league. He's always been "the" player in top end North American tournaments and has played for top Canadian teams in summer tournaments. He was also the Brick MVP playing with the Minnesota Blades.


----------



## Zaddy

North Country said:


> People shouldn't be mislead that he's just a decent player in a poor quality league. He's always been "the" player in top end North American tournaments and has played for top Canadian teams in summer tournaments. He was also the Brick MVP playing with the Minnesota Blades.




I don't know much about him and I'm not trying to put him down or anything if it sounds like that, I've heard great things about him. I was just saying that you should take big numbers like that with a grain of salt. From all accounts he is a very good prospect.


----------



## Bonin21

Based on live stats, it looks like Nelson has broken the modern regular season record for goals in MN HS with 64. He has two games to go after this. Joey Benik was the previous record holder with 63 in 26 GP (one extra game over usual).

Ben Hanowski had 73 goals and 135 points total including playoffs in 08-09. I think those are both the modern record that Nelson will be looking to break. The goals one is much more likely. Hanowski also holds the career record with 405 points in just four seasons. Even if Nelson came back for his fourth season (which would be his junior year), he wouldn't reach 405. He would maybe break Hanowski's career goal record of 196.

And yes, the competition is terrible but it's always fun to see records broken.


----------



## KarIgo87

Andrey Kovalenko's son, Nikolay - 4 games in MHL, 5 (4+1) points. But he scored only in two of these four games, against the weakest team in league (35 games, 0 wins, 1 point, 238 GA). http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=339499

Still, pretty impressive start. He's expected to play at upcoming 5 nations Cup in the USA next week. So as Bitsadze, Alexeev, Kostin.


----------



## ChiGuySez

Elite Prospects 2018


----------



## kp61c

KarIgo87 said:


> Andrey Kovalenko's son, Nikolay - 4 games in MHL, 5 (4+1) points. But he scored only in two of these four games, against the weakest team in league (35 games, 0 wins, 1 point, 238 GA). http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=339499
> 
> Still, pretty impressive start. He's expected to play at upcoming 5 nations Cup in the USA next week. So as Bitsadze, Alexeev, Kostin.



small and not that good


----------



## Zaddy

Some pretty high praise from the Director of Player Personnel for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL. He thinks Merkley is better than Tavares, Stamkos, Nash and Pietrangelo was at the same age. 

He's a right-handed defenseman who plays for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=273668

2018 will certainly be an interesting draft. So many extremely highly touted guys in this draft. Wise, Samuelsson, Svechnikov, Veleno, Wilde, Wahlstrom and now Merkley.


----------



## UsernameWasTaken

Zaddy Zads said:


> Some pretty high praise from the Director of Player Personnel for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL. He thinks Merkley is better than *Tavares*, Stamkos, Nash and Pietrangelo was at the same age.
> 
> He's a right-handed defenseman who plays for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens.
> 
> http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=273668
> 
> 2018 will certainly be an interesting draft. So many extremely highly touted guys in this draft. Wise, Samuelsson, Svechnikov, Veleno, Wilde, Wahlstrom and now Merkley.





Tavares was in the OHL when he was Merkley's age, having received exceptional status. If Carneiro is seriously saying that Merkley is a better player than Tavares was, I think a bit of time in the "quiet room" might be necessary.


----------



## Eyelanders

I've really liked Finnish defenseman Santeri Salmela (KooKoo U18) when I have had a chance to see the team play. He's a 2000 defenseman who stood out on their U16 team earlier this season. Poised, smart two-way defenseman, seems to be responsible and makes good decisions with the puck. He will play for Finnish U16 national team at the Youth Olympic Games. Could be one to watch for the future, but of course it's early on and a lot can change before the 2018 draft.

His Eliteprospects profile: http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=318146


----------



## KarIgo87

kp61c said:


> small and not that good



Well, he's not Svechnikov for sure but still.
And he probably won't be drafted at all. But I certainly see how in 3-4 years he could surprise people at WJC like Korshkov and Svetlakov did recently.
And 5'9 isn't small for 16 years old. DeBrincat is 5'7.

We will see him next week at U17 5 nations Tournament.


----------



## leaflover

thething said:


> Is Veleno really the "next one"? It seems more people are saying he wasn't even expectational more than anything.




I wasn't particularly impressed at the U17. He was maybe 4th or 5th best on his team. Didn't take long for the excitement of seeing the wonderkid wear off. He's still a good player but the whole exceptional thing seems overblown.


----------



## Wooren

Libor Zabransky (D) has already been mentoined, but his stats are something to keep an eye on. This season he has 23 points in 21 games of U18 league (7 goals) and is +22. After that he got called up to U20 team and he has 7 points in 10 games there (3 goals) and +4.
Eliteprospect page


----------



## VictorLustig

Rasmus Dahlin is the best 00-born Swede I've seen. Every Swedish D prospect is compared to LidstrÃ¶m at some point, Dahlin is actually a very similar player in terms of style. He's already played for FrÃ¶lunda J20 and practiced with the senior team as a 15 year old.


----------



## Daneurism

I doubt Merkley had the size to be granted exceptional status last year.

All I know is that every OHL scout with an online presence RAVES about him.


----------



## JJTT

Zdeněk SedlÃ¡k is another Czech forward to keep an eye on for this draft. Huge kid for his age and has some really good offensive skills and good shot. Can play both center and winger.

Moved to Finland this year and has adjusted really well. Was at the U16 league at the start of the season posting over goal per game there.

After a slow start in the U18 league(2 points in his first 7 games) he now has 11 points in the last 6 games there.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=273128
https://hockey.havusport.com/stats/player/24617/


----------



## gopherman23

Bonin21 said:


> Based on live stats, it looks like Nelson has broken the modern regular season record for goals in MN HS with 64. He has two games to go after this. Joey Benik was the previous record holder with 63 in 26 GP (one extra game over usual).
> 
> Ben Hanowski had 73 goals and 135 points total including playoffs in 08-09. I think those are both the modern record that Nelson will be looking to break. The goals one is much more likely. Hanowski also holds the career record with 405 points in just four seasons. Even if Nelson came back for his fourth season (which would be his junior year), he wouldn't reach 405. He would maybe break Hanowski's career goal record of 196.
> 
> And yes, the competition is terrible but it's always fun to see records broken.




I am all for MN High School players staying in the high school ranks, but Jaxon definitely needs to move on after this year.


----------



## Bonin21

gopherman23 said:


> I am all for MN High School players staying in the high school ranks, but Jaxon definitely needs to move on after this year.



I don't think anyone disagrees.


----------



## Zaddy

UsernameWasTaken said:


> Tavares was in the OHL when he was Merkley's age, having received exceptional status. If Carneiro is seriously saying that Merkley is a better player than Tavares was, I think a bit of time in the "quiet room" might be necessary.




Either way it's very high praise from a guy that presumably knows his stuff. Also as another poster mentioned I think it would be very hard to get ES as a d-man that is not a manchild like Day and Ekblad. Honestly, no matter how good he is, it would just be detrimental to his development to play in the OHL as a 5'11, 150lbs 15 year old defenseman. I'm very curious to see this kid play next year.


----------



## Kshahdoo

KarIgo87 said:


> Andrey Kovalenko's son, Nikolay - 4 games in MHL, 5 (4+1) points. But he scored only in two of these four games, against the weakest team in league (35 games, 0 wins, 1 point, 238 GA). http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=339499
> 
> Still, pretty impressive start. He's expected to play at upcoming 5 nations Cup in the USA next week. So as Bitsadze, Alexeev, Kostin.




Compare him to Anrey Svechnikov, who is even younger http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=328556


----------



## wings5

KarIgo87 said:


> Andrey Kovalenko's son, Nikolay - 4 games in MHL, 5 (4+1) points. But he scored only in two of these four games, against the weakest team in league (35 games, 0 wins, 1 point, 238 GA). http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=339499
> 
> Still, pretty impressive start. He's expected to play at upcoming 5 nations Cup in the USA next week. So as Bitsadze, Alexeev, Kostin.




Good start in MHL but when I see what he has done internationally this season it doesn't look like he has been a leader in his age group.


----------



## UsernameWasTaken

Daneurism said:


> I doubt Merkley had the size to be granted exceptional status last year.
> 
> All I know is that every OHL scout with an online presence RAVES about him.




I have not seen any scout say he's the best minor midget player outside of McDavid in the last 15 years.


----------



## Daneurism

UsernameWasTaken said:


> I have not seen any scout say he's the best minor midget player outside of McDavid in the last 15 years.




Pretty sure that guy quoted IS a scout. So one guy is.


----------



## UsernameWasTaken

Daneurism said:


> Pretty sure that guy quoted IS a scout. So one guy is.




Okay fine. And I won't say anything rude about Carneiro, I think he's a nice guy, he's very smart, and he's experienced. 

I will just say I think the idea that Merkley is suddenly a generational minor midget player is laughable. 

I can think of at least two players who aren't OHL draft eligible this season who are better than him.

I'm not convinced Merkley is even the best '00 d-man in North America.


----------



## Daneurism

UsernameWasTaken said:


> Okay fine. And I won't say anything rude about Carneiro, I think he's a nice guy, he's very smart, and he's experienced.
> 
> I will just say I think the idea that Merkley is suddenly a generational minor midget player is laughable.
> 
> I can think of at least two players who aren't OHL draft eligible this season who are better than him.
> 
> I'm not convinced Merkley is even the best '00 d-man in North America.




I'd agree with you that there seems to be a ton of good 2000 born NA dmen.

Who are the two guys you think are better than Merkley? Just curious


----------



## Plastic Joseph

leaflover said:


> I wasn't particularly impressed at the U17. He was maybe 4th or 5th best on his team. Didn't take long for the excitement of seeing the wonderkid wear off. He's still a good player but the whole exceptional thing seems overblown.




To be fair, he was playing with the 99s, and his team overall did not fare well. He did manage to tie for the lead in points on his team, which featured the top picks from the 99 class respectively in the WHL and OHL.

He isn't on the level of Crosby or McDavid at the same age, but he could very well end up as good as Hall/Stamkos/MacKinnon were as prospects. He is making an impact on a very good QMJHL team this year, and has been brought along gradually. 

FWIW after the U17s ISS had Veleno #1 and Svechnikov #2.


----------



## enj92

Kshahdoo said:


> Compare him to Anrey Svechnikov, who is even younger http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=328556




Funny thing that Svechnikov is 2nd in goals and 6th in scoring among guys, who have played two or even three times more games already, than him. He's leading in PPG by a wide margin (3.71). Second guy Alexander Khovanov (Svechnikov's teammate, who usually anchors the center position on Svechnikov's line) has only 2.63. What a stud.


----------



## Ovechkin962

*2018 draft shaping to be the best since a long time?*

I was looking at the top prospects for the 2018 draft and its pretty amazing to see how deep this draft is shaping up to be :

Europe : Andrei Svechnikov, Filip Zadina, Milos Roman, Kirill Nizhnikov
US : Jake Wise, Bode Wilde, Oliver Wahlstrom, Jake Pivonka, TJ Walsh, Jaxon Nelson, Blade Jenkins, Brady Tkachuk
QMJHL : Joe Veleno, Jared McIsaac, Benoit-Olivier Groulx
OHL : Ryan Merkley, David Levin, Aidan Dudas, Allan McShane, Dennis Busby
WHL : Ty Smith, Luka Burzan, Carson Focht

I forgot a lot of talent, but thats a pretty good draft class right there


----------



## ResilientBeast

Like 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015......


----------



## VictorLustig

Ovechkin962 said:


> I was looking at the top prospects for the 2018 draft and its pretty amazing to see how deep this draft is shaping up to be :
> 
> Europe : Andrei Svechnikov, Filip Zadina, Milos Roman, Kirill Nizhnikov
> US : Jake Wise, Bode Wilde, Oliver Wahlstrom, Jake Pivonka, TJ Walsh, Jaxon Nelson, Blade Jenkins, Brady Tkachuk
> QMJHL : Joe Veleno, Jared McIsaac, Benoit-Olivier Groulx
> OHL : Ryan Merkley, David Levin, Aidan Dudas, Allan McShane, Dennis Busby
> WHL : Ty Smith, Luka Burzan, Carson Focht
> 
> I forgot a lot of talent, but thats a pretty good draft class right there




I bet most of these won't even be 1st rounders.


----------



## nicholas89alex

2 years before a draft it always looks like the best draft ever, then half the guys dont meet the expectations and it is just a normal draft.


----------



## Fantomas

Blade Jenkins? What a name.


----------



## Flair Hay

Until they are 17 not gonna pay much attention. Certainly too early to look into how these guys will look as pros.


----------



## habsrule4eva3089

The pace of Hockey at the YOG is impressive. Too early to say, but it has the makings of a classic. The new generation of players have really placed emphasis on skill and speed and you'll see more depth of such players as a result in each draft that comes along, it's natural evolution.


----------



## Kshahdoo

nicholas89alex said:


> 2 years before a draft it always looks like the best draft ever, then half the guys dont meet the expectations and it is just a normal draft.




Yeah, but it looks like Svechnikov Jr is way more talented, than his elder brother. And elder brother was a 1st rounder.


----------



## Plastic Joseph

Flair Hay said:


> Until they are 17 not gonna pay much attention. Certainly too early to look into how these guys will look as pros.




Yes and no.

While I agree that a lot will change, 15 is usually the year I start looking at players as prospects rather than kids playing minor hockey.

Most of the players OP listed will be playing CHL in 7 months and a few (Levin, Veleno) already are,


----------



## BH4991

As of right now, it is hard to project, but it definitely seems like it will be a special group of players. Others that I've heard/seen are very high potential prospects:
Linus Skager (Swedish)
Lukas Wernblom (Swedish)
Ryan Savage (American, but playing in Austria)
Joel Farabee (American)
Emilio Pettersen (Norwegen, but playing in the US)

Pettersen in particular is a stud. So impressed by him every time I see him play.


----------



## Juxtaposer

This draft does look incredible. Obviously things can change, but I think we're near enough to start at least speculating. From the U.S., Wilde (unless he decides to play for Canada, since he's a duel), Wise, Wahlstrom, and Walsh look incredible. I know Merkley and McIsaac have a ton of hype around them. Obviously Veleno should not be underestimated. And Svechnikov looks amazing. Again, things could change big time but right now, I'm super excited, especially considering 2016 and 2017 looks fairly mediocre.


----------



## Zaddy

It looks really good right now but that can change quickly. 2 years ago I thought 2016 would be amazing but now I think it's quite weak outside the top15. Much can change in 2 years, but yes 2018 looks very exciting at this point in time.


----------



## Daneurism

Lookin like a deep year for Canadian Dmen. Four really high end guys in Addison, Tychonick, Vallati, and Lalonde were left off of the u16 team. Still more talented dmen after them


----------



## Goose of Reason

Fantomas said:


> Blade Jenkins? What a name.




Yeah holy crap I hope that kid makes it based on his name alone


----------



## Moveslikejagr247

add jett woo on the whl list. playing for canada at youth olympics


----------



## Leafidelity

Fantomas said:


> Blade Jenkins? What a name.




That name alone is worth exceptional status


----------



## BIitz

Fantomas said:


> Blade Jenkins? What a name.


----------



## Juxtaposer

Zaddy Zads said:


> It looks really good right now but that can change quickly. 2 years ago I thought 2016 would be amazing but now I think it's quite weak outside the top15. Much can change in 2 years, but yes 2018 looks very exciting at this point in time.




That's not true. I don't remember ever thinking the 2016 draft was strong. Two years ago, Auston Matthews was barely on anyone's radar (except mine ).


----------



## tigervixxxen

I think it will be better than 2017 at least


----------



## Master Radishes

Eh. People say this about every draft at some point. 2016 was completely unexceptional, then it was as good as 2015, and now opinions vary wildly. 2017 is currently considered slightly down, but by next year I'm sure will have a thread comparing it to other top years. 2018 right now looks great, but as the kids get older opinions will no doubt change as well. Even the remarkable 2015 year, which had hype for many years before, had people consider it not all that strong leading up to the date.

We get excited over new, shiny prospects, and we only really look at the upsides of these players until we scrutinise them in their draft year.


----------



## nanzenkills

TheJuxtaposer said:


> That's not true. I don't remember ever thinking the 2016 draft was strong. Two years ago, Auston Matthews was barely on anyone's radar (except mine ).




I agree, nobody thought the 2011, 2012, or 2014 drafts were very strong ahead of time either.


----------



## VictorLustig

nanzenkills said:


> I agree, nobody thought the 2011, 2012, or 2014 drafts were very strong ahead of time either.




I remember people going crazy about Yakupov and Grigorenko the year before their draft. Same with Sean Couturier & Adam Larsson before their draft year. They were all supposed to become superstars.

People forget quickly how hyped some of these earlier drafts were.


----------



## Zaddy

TheJuxtaposer said:


> That's not true. I don't remember ever thinking the 2016 draft was strong. Two years ago, Auston Matthews was barely on anyone's radar (except mine ).




Fair enough, I definitely did though. Sokolov was seen as the next Malkin. Tyler Benson broke AMBHL scoring record, Kale Clague did the same but for defensemen. PuljujÃ¤rvi and Laine had hype. Then there was Sean Day, Logan Brown and Luke Kirwan. Huge kids who were all seen as potential top10 picks. Chad Krys and Abramov were quite hyped as well. Evan Fitzpatrick was seen as the "Next Great Goalie". That was actually three years ago now. Then as time went on you had guys like Chychrun, Fabbro, Jost get hype too. And yeah, Matthews wasn't even on anyones radar at that point. Just tells you how much things can change in a few years.


----------



## kelsier

Zaddy Zads said:


> Fair enough, I definitely did though. Sokolov was seen as the next Malkin. Tyler Benson broke AMBHL scoring record, Kale Clague did the same but for defensemen. *PuljujÃ¤rvi and Laine* had hype. Then there was Sean Day, Logan Brown and Luke Kirwan. Huge kids who were all seen as potential top10 picks. Chad Krys and Abramov were quite hyped as well. Evan Fitzpatrick was seen as the "Next Great Goalie". That was actually three years ago now. Then as time went on you had guys like Chychrun, Fabbro, Jost get hype too. And yeah, Matthews wasn't even on anyones radar at that point. Just tells you how much things can change in a few years.




Atleast these two were barely on no one's radar three years back. Think PuljujÃ¤rvi was 13 or 14yo when I first heard about him but wasn't much of a commodity amongst HF'ers due to Finnish factor. Laine emerged much later and the actual hype started maybe year or two ago or so. Sokolov and Abramov were "big" names already though amongst european skaters.


----------



## Zaddy

kelsier said:


> Atleast these two were barely on no one's radar three years back. Think PuljujÃ¤rvi was 13 or 14yo when I first heard about him but wasn't much of a commodity amongst HF'ers due to Finnish factor. Laine emerged much later and the actual hype started maybe year or two ago or so. Sokolov and Abramov were "big" names already though amongst european skaters.




http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1161253&page=5



JJTT said:


> From Finland
> 
> Jesse PuljujÃ¤rvi, F
> 
> http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=152117
> 
> Patrik Laine, F
> 
> http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=221667
> 
> Olli Juolevi, D
> 
> http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=196391
> 
> Tarmo Reunanen, D
> 
> http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=221513






Eyelanders said:


> PuljujÃ¤rvi, Laine, Juolevi and Reunanen are some of the better Finnish players at the moment for sure. I would throw into mix a few other players: Juha JÃ¤Ã¤skÃ¤, Oliver Felixson and Paavo Kilponen.
> 
> JÃ¤Ã¤skÃ¤ wore an A for HIFK U16 team as an underager. Nice skill level and hockey sense. Able to create a lot of offense. Also is a decent skater.
> 
> Felixson played with HIFK U16 as well as with year younger players. He is 6Â´5 tall, but is actually a fairly mobile defenseman. His confidence with the puck seemed to improve as the season went on. I actually saw him rushing the puck up ice in a few occasions. Good hard shot, although I didnÂ´t see him using it much.
> 
> Kilponen played for Ilves U16 and put up decent totals as an underager. Skilled forward who can skate and make some good moves. Really would have liked to see him playing more.
> 
> All were selected to Finland U16 National Team candidates.






thomast said:


> How would you rank finnish 2016-draftees right now?






Eyelanders said:


> PuljujÃ¤rvi looks to be the top prospect for certain at the moment. Then there are a bunch of good players after him. Such as Laine, Juolevi, Reunanen who have been already mentioned, as well as guys like Markus Nurmi, Juuso VÃ¤limÃ¤ki, Otto MÃ¤kinen, etc. But if I had to make a TOP 10 list, my would look like this:
> 
> 1. Jesse PuljujÃ¤rvi
> 2. Patrik Laine
> 3. Otto MÃ¤kinen
> 4. Markus Nurmi
> 5. Juuso VÃ¤limÃ¤ki
> 6. Olli Juolevi
> 7. Tarmo Reunanen
> 8. Emil Oksanen
> 9. Tino Siren
> 10. Paavo Kilponen
> 
> + Juha JÃ¤Ã¤skÃ¤, Markus NiemelÃ¤inen, Aleksi Nousiainen...




Those posts were from May 2013, almost 3 years ago. So they were already being mentioned back then. I think the hype didn't start until after the 13/14 season though, but that's still around 2 years ago, which was my original point.


----------



## CanadienShark

Fantomas said:


> Blade Jenkins? What a name.




Damn. That's bold.


----------



## J17 Vs Proclamation

TheJuxtaposer said:


> That's not true. I don't remember ever thinking the 2016 draft was strong. Two years ago, Auston Matthews was barely on anyone's radar (except mine ).




I doubt you knew much about the draft outside of the top names at the time. 2 years out, very few people have any strong idea of the strength/development of an entire age group. 

Matthews was an extremely known commodity within his age group and region. He isn't on the general radar of NHL fans because by and large, they don't care/don't follow 15 year old players.


----------



## J17 Vs Proclamation

kelsier said:


> Atleast these two were barely on no one's radar three years back. Think PuljujÃ¤rvi was 13 or 14yo when I first heard about him but wasn't much of a commodity amongst HF'ers due to Finnish factor. Laine emerged much later and the actual hype started maybe year or two ago or so. Sokolov and Abramov were "big" names already though amongst european skaters.




Laine and Puljujarvi excelled at 13/14 relative to both historical and current competition. People in the know within the Finnish community knew about them at an early age, but it doesn't get to a wider fan audience because at 13/14 it's way too far out. 

It's really strange to see people thinking these prospects "came out of nowhere" or relative obscurity. Most if not all have been at the top of their domestic age groups since a fairly young age. Fan awareness comes much later, and along with it comes general ignorance.


----------



## Juxtaposer

Zaddy Zads said:


> Fair enough, I definitely did though. Sokolov was seen as the next Malkin. Tyler Benson broke AMBHL scoring record, Kale Clague did the same but for defensemen. PuljujÃ¤rvi and Laine had hype. Then there was Sean Day, Logan Brown and Luke Kirwan. Huge kids who were all seen as potential top10 picks. Chad Krys and Abramov were quite hyped as well. Evan Fitzpatrick was seen as the "Next Great Goalie". That was actually three years ago now. Then as time went on you had guys like Chychrun, Fabbro, Jost get hype too. And yeah, Matthews wasn't even on anyones radar at that point. Just tells you how much things can change in a few years.




There is a huge difference between hype and people who have actually seen these players play. The YOG is providing an opportunity to watch these players. The U17 in ten months will be an excellent barometer.

I just don't think 2011, 2012, or 2014 had much hype at all. Bennett came on to the scene late, as well as Ehlers, but Nylander fell from a top-3 pick to barely top-10, McKeown fell the the late 2nd, etc. I think it would be fair to say that main stream media goes through predictably-timed hype and downplay cycles for every draft, but I think the hard core prospect guys on this forum like you and me and a lot of other people in this thread aren't really affected by that. 

RNH supposedly had the best vision since Gretzky, so obviously he was crazy overhyped. So were Couturier and Larsson. But I don't think anyone was claiming 2011 was a great draft (although it did have solid depth through the late-1st and early-2nd). For 2012, yeah, I guess Yakupov and Grigorenko (and Teravainen, and Reinhart, and maybe even Murray) were overhyped, but even if we didn't know it would be that awful a draft, in that four years later and there's still a legitimate debate for four or five guys being the best from that draft, no one was calling it a great draft. 

I think 2018 will be a GREAT draft, and that will be particularly emphasized since it will follow 2017, which IMO will be very weak.




J17 Vs Proclamation said:


> I doubt you knew much about the draft outside of the top names at the time. 2 years out, very few people have any strong idea of the strength/development of an entire age group.
> 
> Matthews was an extremely known commodity within his age group and region. He isn't on the general radar of NHL fans because by and large, they don't care/don't follow 15 year old players.




Look, I follow prospects from very early ages. You don't need to talk down to me. I knew Luke Kirwan and Sean Day weren't really top prospects as early as anyone. 

If you tell me that you knew that Matthews was going to be the consensus 1st overall before December 2013/January 2014, then props to you. But I doubt you or anyone else did.


----------



## FLYLine27*

I'm so excited, Rangers still have their first round pick that year!!


----------



## nanzenkills

Huffman said:


> I remember people going crazy about Yakupov and Grigorenko the year before their draft. Same with Sean Couturier & Adam Larsson before their draft year. They were all supposed to become superstars.
> 
> People forget quickly how hyped some of these earlier drafts were.




Fans, maybe, but I'm referring more to what the scouting community was saying publicly about those drafts at the time.


----------



## VictorLustig

nanzenkills said:


> Fans, maybe, but I'm referring more to what the scouting community was saying publicly about those drafts at the time.





So is the scouting community raving over the 2018 draft then?


----------



## Daneurism

I don't remember any of those drafts being hyped, beyond the top couples of players who you cited, but that's EVERY draft. Guys like Sean Couturier were never hyped as superstars. A star, sure, and he's fallen short of that.

2008, 2013, 2015 have been the hyped drafts


----------



## Thebesthockey

ahhh the 2000 birth year
craziest parent group alive
the beginning of the batch of birth years where they opened up summer AAA leagues AND super AAA leagues to anyone who had money irrelative of ability
almost 10 years ago , this is the offspring of this business and everyone now thinks junior is the next great one...this is going to get crazier for 2001, 2002, 2003..etc,...


----------



## Skinnyjimmy08

bold prediction for kids that haven't even worn a visor yet or played in a league that allows fights.

Id wait till these kids actually play a junior game or whatever league they choose to play in before making any predictions. Its a different world going from midget hockey to playing against kids up to 5 years older


----------



## Plastic Joseph

Skinnyjimmy08 said:


> bold prediction for kids that haven't even worn a visor yet or played in a league that allows fights.
> 
> Id wait till these kids actually play a junior game or whatever league they choose to play in before making any predictions. Its a different world going from midget hockey to playing against kids up to 5 years older





Levin and Veleno, the #1 OA picks in the 2015 OHL and QMJHL drafts respectively are playing the in the CHL this season. They are both 2018 prospects. Ty Smith in the west who was the 1st OA pick has 2 assists in 2 games.

Not to say a lot will not change but some of the top prospects for this draft are already playing Major Junior level hockey, wearing visors too!


----------



## FinPanda

well one Finnish guy (Jesperi Kotkaniemi) is already playing at the U20 level and has produced well.

Rasmus Dahlin from Sweden has already played one SuperElit game.


----------



## DSuttersface

Thebesthockey said:


> ahhh the 2000 birth year
> craziest parent group alive
> the beginning of the batch of birth years where they opened up summer AAA leagues AND super AAA leagues to anyone who had money irrelative of ability
> almost 10 years ago , this is the offspring of this business and everyone now thinks junior is the next great one...this is going to get crazier for 2001, 2002, 2003..etc,...




Can someone explain this a bit? I'm not all that familiar with how AAA or juniors work, or at least the process by which kids get selected and all that stuff. What is a super AAA league?


----------



## Wooren

Top Czech prospects seem to be Filip Zadina (Already played two games in Czech Extraliga), Libor Zabransky (Plays in U20 league) and Jakub Skarek (Plays in Czech WSM league, a tier bellow Extraliga)

That's pretty much all I can say though.


----------



## nanzenkills

Huffman said:


> So is the scouting community raving over the 2018 draft then?




No, but I never said they were. My point is that not all drafts are equal, and not all of them are perceived as being better just because they are newer. Scouts did rave over 2003, 2013, and 2015 IIRC. They did not over 2011, 2012, and 2014, as examples.


----------



## kelsier

Zaddy Zads said:


> Those posts were from May 2013, almost 3 years ago. So they were already being mentioned back then. I think the hype didn't start until after the 13/14 season though, but that's still around 2 years ago, which was my original point.




Yeah what I meant was that PuljujÃ¤rvi especially was rather well known domestically and even Laine to some extent (but not nothing like today), with PuljujÃ¤rvi being likely first round pick and Laine just a very promising prospect without much outside exposure. Seeing early 2016 lists I doubt many even had PuljujÃ¤rvi in the top 10, far less Laine. Feel free to enlighten me if false.


----------



## Igor Shestyorkin

pattyb91 said:


> As of right now, it is hard to project, but it definitely seems like it will be a special group of players. Others that I've heard/seen are very high potential prospects:
> Linus Skager (Swedish)
> Lukas Wernblom (Swedish)
> Ryan Savage (American, but playing in Austria)
> Joel Farabee (American)
> Emilio Pettersen (Norwegen, but playing in the US)
> 
> Pettersen in particular is a stud. So impressed by him every time I see him play.




Linus Skager might be shaping up as the most intriguing prospect for this draft thus far for me. I'm really interested to see how he turns out.


----------



## L13

I thought Groulx was going to the NCAA?


----------



## Plastic Joseph

L13 said:


> I thought Groulx was going to the NCAA?




His mother wanted him to but he wants to play in the Q according to his father.


----------



## J17 Vs Proclamation

TheJuxtaposer said:


> Look, I follow prospects from very early ages. You don't need to talk down to me. I knew Luke Kirwan and Sean Day weren't really top prospects as early as anyone.
> 
> If you tell me that you knew that Matthews was going to be the consensus 1st overall before December 2013/January 2014, then props to you. But I doubt you or anyone else did.




Why are you turning this into some sort of contest? I freely admit i have no handle on anentire age group at 18, nevermind 14/15.

People within the developmental range/region of Matthews knew he was a gifted player within his range. In alarge scope of the NHL draft? It's too far out, and most people stick to what they know i.e where they reside. No person on earth has a strong and reliable grip on an entire age group at 14/15. All you can do is note promising players and watch their progress, and as the draft gets closer, it gets a little more relevant for casual fans.

If you're someone who gets to see all the top players of an age group regularly (at such a youngage), congratulations, you're one of a very very very few select people.


----------



## Juxtaposer

J17 Vs Proclamation said:


> Why are you turning this into some sort of contest? I freely admit i have no handle on anentire age group at 18, nevermind 14/15.
> 
> People within the developmental range/region of Matthews knew he was a gifted player within his range. In alarge scope of the NHL draft? It's too far out, and most people stick to what they know i.e where they reside. No person on earth has a strong and reliable grip on an entire age group at 14/15. All you can do is note promising players and watch their progress, and as the draft gets closer, it gets a little more relevant for casual fans.
> 
> If you're someone who gets to see all the top players of an age group regularly (at such a youngage), congratulations, you're one of a very very very few select people.




It's not a contest. You just changed the point. I'm saying that folks who follow prospects have a pretty decent handle on how good a draft is going to be even two years out. That's all.


----------



## kunekune

kelsier said:


> Yeah what I meant was that PuljujÃ¤rvi especially was rather well known domestically and even Laine to some extent (but not nothing like today), with PuljujÃ¤rvi being likely first round pick and Laine just a very promising prospect without much outside exposure. Seeing early 2016 lists I doubt many even had PuljujÃ¤rvi in the top 10, far less Laine. Feel free to enlighten me if false.




You are wrong. Laine and Pulju have been superhyped in Finland since they were 9-11.

Laine changed from Ilves to Tappara at a age of 9 and started playing instantly with 11 years old. There were big buzz about him during that time and people came to see his games from different cities. His point production between 9-14 years is the best ever in Finland and he is hands down the best finnish junior between those 9-14 years.

As a junior player Barkov cant be even compared to Laine.


----------



## KingBrian

Scary injury for Wahlstrom


----------



## nbwingsfan

Well this is just way, way too early to say. Most of the guys you mentioned probably won't even be picked in the 1st or 2nd Rd.


----------



## kelsier

kunekune said:


> You are wrong. Laine and Pulju have been superhyped in Finland since they were 9-11.
> 
> Laine changed from Ilves to Tappara at a age of 9 and started playing instantly with 11 years old. There were big buzz about him during that time and people came to see his games from different cities. His point production between 9-14 years is the best ever in Finland and he is hands down the best finnish junior between those 9-14 years.
> 
> As a junior player Barkov cant be even compared to Laine.




Oh please, your saying that a 9 year old kid can be a rock star in Finland if he's better than his peers in hockey? 

If a few people knew about him when he was 9 that does not by any standards make him a future super star. There are plenty of peewees out there who are showing superiority by being physically more mature compared to their average age class. It really means nothing at all at that age. Can you point me one article about Laine that's been published country wide while he was in the age range of 9-11? I also live in the same city as Laine and know a guy that publishes articles in "Jatkoaika" (a Finnish hockey magazine). I can assure you that neither he nor his colleagues knew this kid was going to be drafted in top 3 at 2016 draft class years back from today. In general sense, making comments about kids being superhyped in their pre-teen years is ludicrous.


----------



## nanzenkills

KingBrian said:


> Scary injury for Wahlstrom




What happened to him?


----------



## Plastic Joseph

nanzenkills said:


> What happened to him?




Svechnikov hit to the head on him


----------



## nanzenkills

Plastic Joseph said:


> Svechnikov hit to the head on him




That sucks. Did he leave the game? Did he play today?


----------



## William H Bonney

nanzenkills said:


> That sucks. Did he leave the game? Did he play today?




Svechnikov was kicked out of the game and suspended the rest of the tournament.

Wahlstrom left the game and missed today's game as well. He has facial lacerations and a possible concussion.


----------



## kunekune

kelsier said:


> Oh please, your saying that a 9 year old kid can be a rock star in Finland if he's better than his peers in hockey?
> 
> If a few people knew about him when he was 9 that does not by any standards make him a future super star. There are plenty of peewees out there who are showing superiority by being physically more mature compared to their average age class. It really means nothing at all at that age. Can you point me one article about Laine that's been published country wide while he was in the age range of 9-11? I also live in the same city as Laine and know a guy that publishes articles in "Jatkoaika" (a Finnish hockey magazine). I can assure you that neither he nor his colleagues knew this kid was going to be drafted in top 3 at 2016 draft class years back from today. In general sense, making comments about kids being superhyped in their pre-teen years is ludicrous.




I'm also from the same city and I have played several years in same team as Barkov. I'm a year older than Sasha and 4 years older than Pate.

Everyone knows its basicly impossible to predict anyone of age 9-11 to be a superstar. Not even Ovie or Crosby was certain superstar at that age but LAINE is the most hyped Finnish player of that age ever in Finland. Partly because of his skills and partly because of his mother. BTW. Its very strange that noone here has talked about his mom and what issues it brought to young Patrick's life.

One video about young Patrick hype.
http://liiga.fi/videot/2016/01/14/ville-nieminen-kuulin-patrik-laineesta-ensimmaisen-kerran-2007

Like I said its basicly impossible to know whether young player can morph into a superstar but Patrick was better and more hyped junior player than Barkov, Grandlund, Rantanen, Pulju, tervainen etc. Andost of those guys turned OK.


----------



## FinPanda

I've heard nothing about his mother. I have heard rumours about something in his family but don't know what.


----------



## habsrule4eva3089

Curious now, what issues did Laine's mother bring?


----------



## izzy

Doubt it will end up beating 2015. Insane top end talent and lots of guys have really great +1 years in Jrs/College and a few even already being impact AHL guy at 18.


----------



## kunekune

Laines mother was/is "boarderline" crazy. During games she was partly cheerleadet partly southern european football hooligan. 

She had own chants for Patrik like "our Patrik is the best. He scores all the goals eventho he is couple years younger than everyone else". And those chants werent only for patrik or opposition. She would scream and mock even other Tappara players. If there was 2on1 and teammate didnt pass to patrik she would call them gay etc.

So if you think where patrik got that trouble attitude that he had when he was younger it came from his mother.

She was allmost as big of "rockstar" as patrik and people would come to see both him and his mother.

She stopped acting like that when Patrik moved to A-juniors. So either they banned her from games, drugged her or its harder to pick her out from stands when patrik is playing in bigger ice halls.


----------



## Pizza the Hutt

Ovechkin962 said:


> I was looking at the top prospects for the 2018 draft and its pretty amazing to see how deep this draft is shaping up to be :
> 
> Europe : Andrei Svechnikov, Filip Zadina, Milos Roman, Kirill Nizhnikov
> US : Jake Wise, Bode Wilde, Oliver Wahlstrom, Jake Pivonka, TJ Walsh, Jaxon Nelson, Blade Jenkins, Brady Tkachuk
> QMJHL : Joe Veleno, Jared McIsaac, Benoit-Olivier Groulx
> OHL : Ryan Merkley, David Levin, Aidan Dudas, Allan McShane, Dennis Busby
> WHL : Ty Smith, Luka Burzan, Carson Focht
> 
> I forgot a lot of talent, but thats a pretty good draft class right there




Given that a player's viability as an NHL is largely determined by the "hockeyness" of their name, it actually looks like a pretty weak field.

But I would definitely keep an eye out for Bode Wilde, Dennis Busby and Jaxon Nelson.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

I don't know why people can't say the 2018 draft is shaping up to be good. Its not like everyone says that every draft is good. Most people think that 2017 is a bad draft, and 2014 isn't regarded as a good draft either.


----------



## jdatb

Pulj and Laine have definitely been hyped up for at least 3-4 years now. I recall reading about them back in 12/13.


----------



## kelsier

kunekune said:


> I'm also from the same city and I have played several years in same team as Barkov. I'm a year older than Sasha and 4 years older than Pate.
> 
> Everyone knows its basicly impossible to predict anyone of age 9-11 to be a superstar. Not even Ovie or Crosby was certain superstar at that age but LAINE is the most hyped Finnish player of that age ever in Finland. Partly because of his skills and partly because of his mother. BTW. Its very strange that noone here has talked about his mom and what issues it brought to young Patrick's life.
> 
> One video about young Patrick hype.
> http://liiga.fi/videot/2016/01/14/ville-nieminen-kuulin-patrik-laineesta-ensimmaisen-kerran-2007
> 
> Like I said its basicly impossible to know whether young player can morph into a superstar but Patrick was better and more hyped junior player than Barkov, Grandlund, Rantanen, Pulju, tervainen etc. Andost of those guys turned OK.




You are mixing up nation wide exposure to what's happening in the local hockey circles and ice rinks. Most of the Finnish hockey viewers didn't have a clue who Laine was until he was 14 to 15. And no, he wasn't the most hyped junior player ever no matter what the points may indicate. PuljujÃ¤rvi was ahead of him in that department (and generally being higher ranked in most early 2016 draft lists I used to keep an eye on) while I pretty much always considered Laine with the one with the highest ceiling, still do in fact. That interview doesn't support the argument which was previously discussed. Nieminen was part of Tappara so he naturally was far more aware of what's happening inside the organization than a common viewer. This on the other hand, has little to none to do with the rest of the Finnish hockey culture.

That aside, no point derailing the thread any further.


----------



## VictorLustig

Watched a bit of the SWE U16 national team recently. Rasmus Dahlin looked terrific, clearly ahead of his peers at this point. 

Things can change so quickly though. Alex Nylander who will likely go top 10 in this draft wasn't even invited to the U16 camp.


----------



## tony d

Bit to early to be ranking these players. Maybe this time next year we'll know more of what their rankings should be.


----------



## OrangeAndBlackMetal

Has MEP's stock fallen a bit? I remember people suggesting he could be the first overall pick a couple years ago.


----------



## Plastic Joseph

orange is better said:


> Has MEP's stock fallen a bit? I remember people suggesting he could be the first overall pick a couple years ago.




According to some posters on here he is clearly a notch below some of the top guys like Wilde, Wise, Veleno, etc. Still an elite player for his age group though.


----------



## The Exiled One

Daneurism said:


> Lookin like a deep year for Canadian Dmen. Four really high end guys in Addison, *Tychonick*, Vallati, and Lalonde were left off of the u16 team. Still more talented dmen after them



Looks like Jonny Tychonick is looking to hang on to his NCAA eligibility...

https://twitter.com/josty_17/status/701977444937367552


----------



## crump

One to keep an eye on...

Connor Roberts
Canada
16
6'3" 209 
3 goals in the youth Olympic tournament 
Comes from poorly scouted area of Ontario.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=333820


----------



## North Country

The Exiled One said:


> I've seen him play and I think he's over-hyped. My guess (and I usually don't make predictions like this) is that he's a middle-of-the-road D1 prospect. He won't be a first round draft pick, but if he can keep the hype train going, he could be a mid-rounder.




K'Andre Miller made some of the all state teams as a sophomore and just got a invite to the NTDP eval camp. Some even have him ahead of Brinkman.


It's all a hype train?


----------



## HasbeenHallzy

Jett Woo deserves some love too.. Already 5 WHL games and over a PPG in Winnipeg AA Midget. 6'ft 200lb 15 year old.... And that name!


----------



## nanzenkills

orange is better said:


> Has MEP's stock fallen a bit? I remember people suggesting he could be the first overall pick a couple years ago.




I don't think it's fallen, I just think there were a lot fewer known names among hockey fans back then for that draft. Because I'm pretty sure it was fans and not scouts suggesting that he could go #1 back then. I've never heard any scout say that he is that level of prospect.


----------



## ReginKarlssonLehner

ResilientBeast said:


> Like 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015......




Anyone who closely followed the draft would know 2013 doesn't belong and shouldn't be in that group nor was it as hyped as the other 3.

The other 3 are definitely looking like elite drafts that deserve all their hype.


----------



## thething

ReginKarlssonLehner said:


> Anyone who closely followed the draft would know 2013 doesn't belong and shouldn't be in that group nor was it as hyped as the other 3.
> 
> The other 3 are definitely looking like elite drafts that deserve all their hype.




The 2013 draft was very hyped, perhaps it was because of the poor drafts of 2011 and 2012 drafts that proceeded it, but there was a lot of talk about it being at the level of 2003.

Also while the 2015 draft has a lot of strong talent, it's more of a top heavy draft imo. Depth wise its very average, I would say it's weaker than the 2014 draft (which is a very underrated draft class) in that regard.


----------



## Stand Witness

thething said:


> The 2013 draft was very hyped, perhaps it was because of the poor drafts of 2011 and 2012 drafts that proceeded it, but there was a lot of talk about it being at the level of 2003.
> 
> Also while the 2015 draft has a lot of strong talent, it's more of a top heavy draft imo. Depth wise its very average, I would say it's weaker than the 2014 draft (which is a very underrated draft class) in that regard.




Ya 2013 was considered the best draft since 2003 BUT I say every year the at the beginning of the year (or the years leading up) it is always considered a deep draft, then during the year it shifts to ok/whatever, then right before the draft it is considered the best since _____, then immediately after it is considered bad/average. Obviously we get the real result years after.


----------



## nanzenkills

ReginKarlssonLehner said:


> Anyone who closely followed the draft would know 2013 doesn't belong and shouldn't be in that group nor was it as hyped as the other 3.
> 
> The other 3 are definitely looking like elite drafts that deserve all their hype.




That's actually not true. Scouts were really high on the 2013 draft at the time. Not only did they consider the top 4 to be really strong, they said that there was first round quality all the way through picks 40-45 IIRC. History has shown that they were perhaps overtly optimistic on that draft, but it doesn't change the fact they were really high on it at the time. They certainly considered it to be a deeper draft than what they were saying about the 2015 draft last year, even with 2015's superior top end.


----------



## Scratchy

Jared McIsaac seems elite, see how he does next year because this year he's killing it. Next year, another step up but the kid has what it takes upstairs. Personally, I like defencemen who aren't afraid to attack and score goals yet still are solid on D. So very few of them in hockey really, so if you can draft one, don't hold him back, let him play to his talents.

Far too often good skill players are turned into third liners who can't score 20 by system coaches who hate individual talent. Same thing happens with defencemen, don't use your instincts and skill, stay back and make sure not to get out of position. Sad.


----------



## canuck2010

Scratchy said:


> Jared McIsaac seems elite, see how he does next year because this year he's killing it. Next year, another step up but the kid has what it takes upstairs. Personally, I like defencemen who aren't afraid to attack and score goals yet still are solid on D. So very few of them in hockey really, so if you can draft one, don't hold him back, let him play to his talents.
> 
> Far too often good skill players are turned into third liners who can't score 20 by system coaches who hate individual talent. Same thing happens with defencemen, don't use your instincts and skill, stay back and make sure not to get out of position. Sad.




I agree 100%. The idea should be to develop as a player not just to win. What will a defenceman learn if he does nothing but fire the puck off the glass all season long.

Coaches sometimes have a tough time trying to work with the high skill guys. What can a 4th line AHL plumber teach a natural goal scorer about scoring goals.


----------



## Plastic Joseph

Scratchy said:


> Jared McIsaac seems elite, see how he does next year because this year he's killing it. Next year, another step up but the kid has what it takes upstairs. Personally, I like defencemen who aren't afraid to attack and score goals yet still are solid on D. So very few of them in hockey really, so if you can draft one, don't hold him back, let him play to his talents.
> 
> Far too often good skill players are turned into third liners who can't score 20 by system coaches who hate individual talent. Same thing happens with defencemen, don't use your instincts and skill, stay back and make sure not to get out of position. Sad.




McIsaac is certainly one of the top 2000 born D in Canada right now.


----------



## tony d

Jake Wise looks like he could be a good 1. Be interesting to see how this draft will play out as we get there over the next yr. or 2.


----------



## 57special

Silentjury said:


> I do think Nelson has the potential to be a special player but those stats are a bit inflated with the weaker competition he faces in southern Minnesota.




Can't emphasize that enough. Far weaker than in other parts of the state.


----------



## 57special

North Country said:


> K'Andre Miller made some of the all state teams as a sophomore and just got a invite to the NTDP eval camp. Some even have him ahead of Brinkman.
> 
> 
> It's all a hype train?




Miller has always been good, but went through some awkward periods, probably due to growth. Don't see him being the player Brinkman is, but not far off, either.


----------



## Golden Gophers 4649

Silentjury said:


> I do think Nelson has the potential to be a special player but those stats are a bit inflated with the weaker competition he faces in southern Minnesota.




I agree my son played against him in a Peewee tournament 4 years ago and you could tell he has something special. We were a District 3 team from a strong hockey producing area in Redwood Falls for a weekend tournament and he was by far the best player on the ice.

Our kids beat them 9-8 but he had like 6g, 2a if I recall. He wasn't on my radar yet but a couple of us couldn't help but notice this kid who always had the puck.

If I was advising him I would say go to Ann Arbor to play for Team USA the next 2 years before playing for the Gophers. I'm not normally a fan of players going that way but I would be afraid he's not going to improve as much playing against the weaker competition in that part of the state.


----------



## Kshahdoo

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=339559

Alexander Khovanov, 5'10'', 179 as 15 yo - can't say he's going to be small. Natural center. Of course his statistics is a little bit inflated because of playing with Svechnikov, but as we know, it's a 2-way thing. It's going to be very interesting to see, how Svechnikov - Khovanov duo will work in the MHL next season.


----------



## North Country

57special said:


> Miller has always been good, but went through some awkward periods, probably due to growth. Don't see him being the player Brinkman is, but not far off, either.




Brinkman is definitely a little further along skill wise. Some prefer Miller's frame and think his pro ceiling would be a little higher.


----------



## Anthony Mauro

The DraftBuzz *2018 NHL Draft Watch* now lists 110 international players.


----------



## The Exiled One

North Country said:


> K'Andre Miller made some of the all state teams as a sophomore and just got a invite to the NTDP eval camp. Some even have him ahead of Brinkman.
> 
> 
> It's all a hype train?



Yes, I'm sticking with my prediction.


----------



## crump

My dark horse

Connor Roberts
I know it's not fashionable, but he's a big kid 6'3" 210 at barely 16. Scored 3 goals and an assist in the recent Youth Olympic's for Canada (6 games) big skilled and not afraid of the corners, decent skater too.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=333820


----------



## juniorhockeyfan1987

Dawson Baker of the 00 Quinte Red Devils had a great showing at the OHL cup and could be a prospect to keep your eyes on the next few years


----------



## 57special

North Country said:


> Brinkman is definitely a little further along skill wise. Some prefer Miller's frame and think his pro ceiling would be a little higher.




Brinkman is built like a truck, and hits like one. Miller might be bigger, but I'd take Brinkman in a collision anyday. Brinkman has all the skills, and zero weaknesses. Miller has always been really good, and his size will intrigue, but Brinkman is over 6' already and hasn't stopped growing.

Time will tell, but Brinkman has stuck out as something special even when playing with other top kids, and he has a balanced, healthy personality. Popular in school, plays AAA baseball, good parents, stable home life. Didn't bounce around much on hockey teams. Edina during the winter, Machine Orange during the summer. Didn't hop around like a lot of other kids, whose parents shop them around like a commodity. I've got to think that counts for something when it comes to character.


----------



## Bonin21

Was that a love letter or a parent's post? Lol "zero weaknesses".


----------



## Bonin21

Filip Zadina has five points in four games at the U18. Haven't watched him play, but he must be good. Top 10 potential?


----------



## 57special

Bonin21 said:


> Was that a love letter or a parent's post? Lol "zero weaknesses".




Not a parent, or even a friend, just an acquaintance. I've watched the kid grow up. If you want to discount what I have to say, fine. 


I Could say less flattering things to say other local kids....one who is in this year's draft...but I'm hyper aware that kids do change, mature, and are sometimes the product of their environment.

If you know Brinkman's game better, tell me what weakness he has?


----------



## Bonin21

I don't know his game better. To say any prospect has zero weaknesses is ridiculous. Jack Eichel has weaknesses.


----------



## 57special

Bonin21 said:


> I don't know his game better. To say any prospect has zero weaknesses is ridiculous. Jack Eichel has weaknesses.




What are his weaknesses, then? How am I being ridiculous?


----------



## Bonin21

You're saying he's the best hockey prospect on the planet. Done arguing lol


----------



## 57special

So you have nothing to add but negativity and absurdity.


----------



## USHOCKEYUS

57special said:


> Not a parent, or even a friend, just an acquaintance. I've watched the kid grow up. If you want to discount what I have to say, fine.
> 
> 
> I Could say less flattering things to say other local kids....one who is in this year's draft...but I'm hyper aware that kids do change, mature, and are sometimes the product of their environment.
> 
> If you know Brinkman's game better, tell me what weakness he has?





A weakness is Brinkman's game is he is consistently out of position defensively because he goes for the big hit way too much regardless of the situation.


----------



## 57special

I can see that. I think it comes from being the best player on the ice a lot...you can get away with a lot.

When he is consistently playing with the best players he will have to correct that.


----------



## Juxtaposer

Bonin21 said:


> Filip Zadina has five points in four games at the U18. Haven't watched him play, but he must be good. Top 10 potential?




I haven't had the chance to see him but I think I saw he's leading the tourney in shots on goal too. I think it would be fair to say he's in the convo for top-10 if not better due to those numbers alone.


----------



## Tigerscout

Is there a projected 1 overall?


----------



## enj92

Tigerscout said:


> Is there a projected 1 overall?




Wise, Veleno, Svechnikov, Wilde and Merkley are the strongest contenders at this moment.


----------



## teravaineSAROS

enj92 said:


> Wise, Veleno, Svechnikov, Wilde and Merkley are the strongest contenders at this moment.




how come not Oliver Wahlstrom? Haven't followed him just remember him having been hyped since he was 9


----------



## alko

Tigerscout said:


> Is there a projected 1 overall?




There is no McDavid or Matthews. But we have 2 season to 2018 draft. Lets speak in summer 2017, who is the choice for 1. pick.


----------



## Zaddy

Tigerscout said:


> Is there a projected 1 overall?




With a very limited sample size on all these guys I would say Jake Wise. 



alko said:


> There is no McDavid or Matthews. But we have 2 season to 2018 draft. Lets speak in summer 2017, who is the choice for 1. pick.




No McDavid no, but Wise seems to be doing as well as Eichel so far and Eichel=Matthews IMO.


----------



## DudeWhereIsMakar

Only ones from Winnipeg are Riley Stotts and Jett Woo.


----------



## USHOCKEYUS

teravaineSAROS said:


> how come not Oliver Wahlstrom? Haven't followed him just remember him having been hyped since he was 9




Wahlstrom could be in the mix but he has been out of the spotlight a bit lately. He got hurt at the YOG and he played U18 SSM Prep last season where he had a very good year but not the gaudy numbers he might of put up if he played U16 and then you would hear more about him.

A clearer picture on potential 1OA will probably come by the end of this year when you get to see a lot of these guys on the same team and guys like Merkley in the OHL.


----------



## Juxtaposer

Zaddy Zads said:


> No McDavid no, but Wise seems to be doing as well as Eichel so far and Eichel=Matthews IMO.




I think what that poster means is that there is no clear-cut consensus #1 two years in advance, like there was with McDavid and arguably Matthews.

But yeah I think Wise and Svechnikov are the two that will battle it out Hall/Seguin style. But as mentioned, guys like Veleno, Wilde, Zadina, Merkley, Wahlstrom, Jenkins, etc. will fill out a strong top-10 even if they don't end up truly challenging Wise and Svechnikov.


----------



## VictorLustig

TheJuxtaposer said:


> I think what that poster means is that there is no clear-cut consensus #1 two years in advance, like there was with McDavid and arguably Matthews.
> 
> But yeah I think Wise and Svechnikov are the two that will battle it out Hall/Seguin style. But as mentioned, *guys like Veleno, Wilde, Zadina, Merkley, Wahlstrom, Jenkins, etc. will fill out a strong top-10 even if they don't end up truly challenging Wise and Svechnikov.*




This type of speculation two years ahead of the draft will look silly in a few years.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=277600


----------



## Juxtaposer

Huffman said:


> This type of speculation two years ahead of the draft will look silly in a few years.
> 
> http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=277600




The OP of that thread ended up a scout for an NHL team, so I think you're the one that looks a little silly.

Nothing wrong with speculating.


----------



## thething

TheJuxtaposer said:


> The OP of that thread ended up a scout for an NHL team, so I think you're the one that looks a little silly.
> 
> Nothing wrong with speculating.




I don't think he was referring to the OP cause the OP wasn't making any claims, I think he was talking about scoutman1's predictions.


----------



## UsernameWasTaken

thething said:


> I don't think he was referring to the OP cause the OP wasn't making any claims, I think he was talking about scoutman1's predictions.




I wasn't a member of this board back then, but Scoutman1 was simply sharing his ranking of players a couple of years prior to the draft. You can take, literally, any ranked list of players two years out from a draft and it will be "inaccurate", so to speak, vis-a-vis how a draft pans out. 

Btw - Scoutman1 has had many very solid predictions not to mention frequently providing some great insight into younger players before most of the people who post on HF start to see them more (usually when the kids hit major jr or the non-Canada equivalent). 

Maybe some of those players didn't pan out as per his ranking in the linked to thread. But that doesn't mean his assessment wasn't accurate at the time. Lots of things change. Just like when you look at the NHL draft, things don't necessarily pan out the same.


----------



## VictorLustig

TheJuxtaposer said:


> The OP of that thread ended up a scout for an NHL team, so I think you're the one that looks a little silly.
> 
> Nothing wrong with speculating.




Well that's my point. Making top 10 rankings at this point is useless because too much will change the next two years.


----------



## Scratchy

Making rankings now simply gives people a chance to learn who might be interesting. After all, guys who play well at age 15-16 and are still that good in the rankings at 17-18 are players who will go high and deserve to, consistent top-notch players. Guys who come out of nowhere in their draft year rarely are all that good, many wind up nobodies and a few turn out to have long careers as 3rd liners. Consistency matters, so lists like this make sense for fans.


----------



## Thebesthockey

players DONT just come out of no where
they just have less of a " pimped" entourage
thats the reality


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

This is a random question, and it might not even be the right thread, but do any of the Russian posters know anything about Valenetin Tarasenko. I believe he's a 2018 draft eligible, and he's the brother of Vladimir Tarasenko. How good is he?


----------



## kabidjan18

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> This is a random question, and it might not even be the right thread, but do any of the Russian posters know anything about Valenetin Tarasenko. I believe he's a 2018 draft eligible, and he's the brother of Vladimir Tarasenko. How good is he?



Dang I was like "I thought he just had his first" when I read the post

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2016/05...harks-nhl-playoffs-western-conference-finals/


----------



## VictorLustig

Scratchy said:


> Making rankings now simply gives people a chance to learn who might be interesting. After all, guys who play well at age 15-16 and are still that good in the rankings at 17-18 are players who will go high and deserve to, consistent top-notch players. Guys who come out of nowhere in their draft year rarely are all that good, many wind up nobodies and a few turn out to have long careers as 3rd liners. Consistency matters, so lists like this make sense for fans.




Couldn't disagree more.


----------



## GoLeafs13

Wow just watched some of the highlights from the YOG and the 2018 draft looks really stacked. Lots of top end American forwards to look out for!


----------



## BIitz

I think Ty Smith will be in the top 10 by the time the draft rolls around.


----------



## Stive Morgan

Can someone give me the 411 on Ryan Merkley? Any player comparisons?


----------



## Juxtaposer

Stive Morgan said:


> Can someone give me the 411 on Ryan Merkley? Any player comparisons?




I'm fairly sure he compares himself to Kris Letang, but I may be wrong.


----------



## North Country

Some of the Minnesotans in the mix.
Colin Schmidt 6'5" 215 Wayzata/Omaha
Jaxon Nelson 6'4" 200 Luverne
Gavin Hain 6'0 188 Grand Rapids
K'Andre Miller 6'4 195 Minnetonka


----------



## Daneurism

Jett Woo has some dynamic puck skills, in addition to already having a very good defensive game. Right now, I think he has the most projectable NHL game of the 2000 defenders out west.


----------



## Zaddy

Some 2018 prospects participating in the Hlinka Memorial that's worth keeping an eye on:

Andrei Svechnikov (RUS), Danila Galenyuk (RUS), Mikhail Bitsadze (RUS), Rasmus Dahlin (SWE), Isac LundestrÃ¶m (SWE), Lukas Wernblom (SWE), Ryan McLeod (CAN), Joseph Veleno (CAN), Evan Bouchard (CAN), Filip Zadina (CZE).


----------



## ijuka

What a miss by Finland this draft year is.

The window to win a triple gold of u-20 + u-18 + WHCs is now and probably won't repeat next season.


----------



## FinPanda

ijuka said:


> What a miss by Finland this draft year is.
> 
> The window to win a triple gold of u-20 + u-18 + WHCs is now and probably won't repeat next season.



Yes, but it's still too early to say how it will turn out. Maybe someone will rise quite high. But no top end potential, that's for sure.

Only name to worth mention is probably Jesperi Kotkaniemi.


----------



## Zaddy

ijuka said:


> What a miss by Finland this draft year is.
> 
> The window to win a triple gold of u-20 + u-18 + WHCs is now and probably won't repeat next season.




Heh. The amazing drafts of 2016 and 2017 will make up for a potentially weak 2018 I'm sure


----------



## FinPanda

Zaddy Zads said:


> Heh. The amazing drafts of 2016 and 2017 will make up for a potentially weak 2018 I'm sure



Meh, considering the top talent coming in the 2018 Draft it isn't nice that we don't have anyone.


----------



## Eyelanders

FinPanda said:


> Meh, considering the top talent coming in the 2018 Draft it isn't nice that we don't have anyone.




Jesperi Kotkaniemi was already really good in the A-juniors last season, so saying 'we don't have anyone' sounds somewhat odd to me. I do agree that the 2018 draft does not look as strong as many recent drafts - at least not yet. I do think prospects like Henrik Tikkanen, Toni Utunen and Samuel Salonen have some upside, though. Forward Lenni Killinen has been very good for Blues U18 in preseason, showing a much improved game.


----------



## Kshahdoo

Svechnikov scored twice vs Slovakia at Hlinka's. Russia won 5-2. He looked great vs Sweden and Canada as well, just couldn't score.


----------



## JJTT

Kshahdoo said:


> Svechnikov scored twice vs Slovakia at Hlinka's. Russia won 5-2. He looked great vs Sweden and Canada as well, just couldn't score.




Too bad North America already ruined him


----------



## Kshahdoo

JJTT said:


> Too bad North America already ruined him




Not yet, not sure, has he even visited America. But yeah, I'm afraid it's inevitable.


----------



## SOLR

Huffman said:


> Well that's my point. Making top 10 rankings at this point is useless because too much will change the next two years.




Get out of the thread if you don't want to read it. We've been doing these predictions games for a long time.


----------



## B Boarding

Anybody seen Linus Skager play this year? How is he doing in MoDo J18, playing in a league easier to evaluate, than last year when he was playing in more of a bush league?
He hasn't made the NT yet. Does he still posses a lot of upside?


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Anyone want to take a guess at a top 10 or 20?


----------



## wings5

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> Anyone want to take a guess at a top 10 or 20?




To rank a top 20 and especially a top 10 is a matter of individual opinion and seems pretty impossible at this point given the high amount of elite talent and how early it is in the season/their development. There's around 20 or more players who can go in the top 5 if they play to their potential.


----------



## 93LEAFS

wings5 said:


> To rank a top 20 and especially a top 10 is a matter of individual opinion and seems pretty impossible at this point given the high amount of elite talent and how early it is in the season/their development. There's around 20 or more players who can go in the top 5 if they play to their potential.



Not only that, ranking kids 5 games out of midget/minor midget in Ontario is near impossible. Most scouting services who even cover these feeder leagues would be uncomfortable making a firm statement on Veleno vs Wise, let a lone trying to form a top 10. After the U-17 challenge and some games at a higher level we will have a better idea. Outside of grading guys like Veleno, Ryan McLeod and David Levin who are late birthdays with a year of CHL experience, figuring out where to place guys like Wise (coming out of high school hockey), Svechnikov (played in major tournaments, but on a disadvantaged team, otherwise in Russia), Merkely and Wilde (both out of AAA) is near impossible. How many people in the world, let alone scouts have over 10 viewings of each of these kids?


----------



## Zaddy

Have to think Dahlin and Svechnikov are the top dogs for the 2018 draft right now. I'd put those two in the top2 with Wilde and Veleno at 3-4 and Merkley rounding out the top5.

1. Dahlin
2. Svechnikov
3. Wilde
4. Veleno
5. Merkley

I'd have Khovanov, Boqvist, Wernblom, Wise and Bouchard on the bubble, but 4 of those guys are pretty small so depends a little bit on how much they grow.


----------



## Wooren

Zaddy Zads said:


> Have to think Dahlin and Svechnikov are the top dogs for the 2018 draft right now. I'd put those two in the top2 with Wilde and Veleno at 3-4 and Merkley rounding out the top5.
> 
> 1. Dahlin
> 2. Svechnikov
> 3. Wilde
> 4. Veleno
> 5. Merkley
> 
> I'd have Khovanov, Boqvist, Wernblom, Wise and Bouchard on the bubble, but 4 of those guys are pretty small so depends a little bit on how much they grow.




Gotta think Zadina is on that bubble too, in fact I would have him higher than some of those players, but I guess that's a matter of opinion + czech homerism on my side.


I wonder if some czech 2000 player can squeeze into the 1st round, considering the depth of the draft and quality of the czech players, really doubtful at this point.


----------



## Zaddy

Wooren said:


> Gotta think Zadina is on that bubble too, in fact I would have him higher than some of those players, but I guess that's a matter of opinion + czech homerism on my side.
> 
> 
> I wonder if some czech 2000 player can squeeze into the 1st round, considering the depth of the draft and quality of the czech players, really doubtful at this point.




You're probably right. I didn't include him because I've only really watched him once and it was this friday. I know very little about czech prospects in general, but he looked good against Sweden I thought. Displayed some nice hands and offensive skill, but beyond that I don't know much about him.


----------



## JimboA

Zaddy Zads said:


> Have to think Dahlin and Svechnikov are the top dogs for the 2018 draft right now. I'd put those two in the top2 with Wilde and Veleno at 3-4 and Merkley rounding out the top5.
> 
> 1. Dahlin
> 2. Svechnikov
> 3. Wilde
> 4. Veleno
> 5. Merkley
> 
> I'd have Khovanov, Boqvist, Wernblom, Wise and Bouchard on the bubble, but 4 of those guys are pretty small so depends a little bit on how much they grow.




First time I see Dahlin at #1. That's exciting, especially when there are so many good names in this draft.


----------



## Zaddy

JimboA said:


> First time I see Dahlin at #1. That's exciting, especially when there are so many good names in this draft.




I just think he's a complete defenseman and he has shown more than any of the other 2018 eligibles at this point in time. Of course there's been many defensemen who have been very hyped the season prior to their draft year and then fail to meet those lofty expectations so anything is possible, but right now he's the top dog in my mind. He's been incredible every time I've watched him.


----------



## scoutman1

I have to say I am very underwhelmed from Jake Wise this year, i expected a lot more...I wonder if his agent might try to get him to take a major change and bail NTDP route and go QMJHL route (probably not since i heard he is dedicated NCAA but never know)

I have not seen a lot of guys play live this year yet and was a rare time i did not attend the U17s either so no feed back from me for that tournament. Later in the year I will put my top 30 list out when i see guys.

from the QMJHL:

I think it is a very good year for the QMJHL:

Joe Veleno
Jared McIsaac
Olivier Rodrigue
Alex Gravel
Anderson MacDonald
Benoit-Olivier Groulx
Xavier Bouchard
Kevin Mandolese
Andrew Coxhead
Gabriel Fortier


----------



## NikF

JimboA said:


> First time I see Dahlin at #1. That's exciting, especially when there are so many good names in this draft.




I know as a new born Europe-based scouting service few might know about our rankings, but we already had Dahlin ahead of Svechnikov after last season (link). We consider Dahlin the best prospect playing in Europe overall (we would draft him ahead of every other Euro prospect eligible this year as well as next year).


----------



## MaxV

Alexander Alexeyev?


----------



## JimboA

Zaddy Zads said:


> I just think he's a complete defenseman and he has shown more than any of the other 2018 eligibles at this point in time. Of course there's been many defensemen who have been very hyped the season prior to their draft year and then fail to meet those lofty expectations so anything is possible, but right now he's the top dog in my mind. He's been incredible every time I've watched him.



Yes, I agree. First time I actually saw him play was at the Ivan Hlinka as an underager, and I was very impressed.


nki said:


> I know as a new born Europe-based scouting service few might know about our rankings, but we already had Dahlin ahead of Svechnikov after last season (link). We consider Dahlin the best prospect playing in Europe overall (we would draft him ahead of every other Euro prospect eligible this year as well as next year).




I think I've actually seen that one, but I was talking about a ranking that included NA players as well


----------



## 93LEAFS

Not much of a shocker. Seems the kids with the highest stocks at the moment are Dahlin, Svechnikov and Veleno. Canada also seems to have a very good crop of young d-men in Woo, Smith and Merkley.


----------



## SergeConstantin74

scoutman1 said:


> I have to say I am very underwhelmed from Jake Wise this year, i expected a lot more...I wonder if his agent might try to get him to take a major change and bail NTDP route and go QMJHL route (probably not since i heard he is dedicated NCAA but never know)
> 
> I have not seen a lot of guys play live this year yet and was a rare time i did not attend the U17s either so no feed back from me for that tournament. Later in the year I will put my top 30 list out when i see guys.
> 
> from the QMJHL:
> 
> I think it is a very good year for the QMJHL:
> 
> Joe Veleno
> Jared McIsaac
> Olivier Rodrigue
> Alex Gravel
> Anderson MacDonald
> Benoit-Olivier Groulx
> Xavier Bouchard
> Kevin Mandolese
> Andrew Coxhead
> Gabriel Fortier




From the Q, Philipp Kurashev will probably be one of the top picks. Great vision and passing ability. After a slow start, he is starting to heat up (7 pts in last 5 games).


----------



## jalperi

Eyelanders said:


> Jesperi Kotkaniemi was already really good in the A-juniors last season, so saying 'we don't have anyone' sounds somewhat odd to me. I do agree that the 2018 draft does not look as strong as many recent drafts - at least not yet. I do think prospects like Henrik Tikkanen, Toni Utunen and Samuel Salonen have some upside, though. Forward Lenni Killinen has been very good for Blues U18 in preseason, showing a much improved game.




Niklas Nordgren is also remarkable Finnish roster for 2018 draft.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

I try to watch as much as I can. I don't know everything. A few of these players I haven't even seen play, but I read what others say. This is my best guess as of now. 

Top 40 skaters.

1. Rasmus Dahlin
2. Bode Wilde
3. Alexander Khovanov
4. Joe Veleno
5. Andrei Svechnikov
6. Libor Zabransky
7. Jake Wise
8. Filip Zadina
9. Ryan Merkley
10. Danila Galenyuk
11. Evan Bouchard
12. Benoit Oliver Grouix
13. Grigori Denisenko
14. KeAndre Miller
15. Oliver Wahlstrom
16. Ryan McLeod
17. Jared McIsaac
18. Adam Boqvist
19. Isac Lundestrom
20. Ty Smith
21. Samuel Fagemo
22. Jesperi Kotkaniemi
23. Allan McShane
24. Jett Woo
25. Joel Farabee
26. Anderson McDonald
27. Jacob Semik
28. Allan McShane
29. Jakub Lauko
30. John Gruden
31. Patrick Giles
32. Martin Fehervary
33. David Gustafsson
34. Mikhail Bitsadze
35. Dominik Bokk
36. Lukas Wernblom
37. Alexander Alexeyev
38. Tyler Weiss
39. Calen Addison
40. Kirill Nizhnikov

Some goalies who are looking like players who could get drafted: Jakub Skarek, Keegan Karki, Amir Miftakhov, Alexis Gravel, Olivier Rodrigue, Kevin Mandolese, Daniil Isayev, Lukas Dostal, Jacob Ingham


----------



## Wooren

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I try to watch as much as I can. I don't know everything. A few of these players I haven't even seen play, but I read what others say. This is my best guess as of now.
> 
> Top 40 skaters.
> 
> 1. Rasmus Dahlin
> 2. Bode Wilde
> 3. Alexander Khovanov
> 4. Joe Veleno
> 5. Andrei Svechnikov
> 6. Libor Zabransky
> 7. Jake Wise
> 8. Filip Zadina
> 9. Ryan Merkley
> 10. Danila Galenyuk
> 11. Evan Bouchard
> 12. Benoit Oliver Grouix
> 13. Grigori Denisenko
> 14. KeAndre Miller
> 15. Oliver Wahlstrom
> 16. Ryan McLeod
> 17. Jared McIsaac
> 18. Adam Boqvist
> 19. Isac Lundestrom
> 20. Ty Smith
> 21. Samuel Fagemo
> 22. Jesperi Kotkaniemi
> 23. Allan McShane
> 24. Jett Woo
> 25. Joel Farabee
> 26. Anderson McDonald
> 27. Jacob Semik
> 28. Allan McShane
> 29. Jakub Lauko
> 30. John Gruden
> 31. Patrick Giles
> 32. Martin Fehervary
> 33. David Gustafsson
> 34. Mikhail Bitsadze
> 35. Dominik Bokk
> 36. Lukas Wernblom
> 37. Alexander Alexeyev
> 38. Tyler Weiss
> 39. Calen Addison
> 40. Kirill Nizhnikov
> 
> Some goalies who are looking like players who could get drafted: Jakub Skarek, Keegan Karki, Amir Miftakhov, Alexis Gravel, Olivier Rodrigue, Kevin Mandolese, Daniil Isayev, Lukas Dostal, Jacob Ingham




Interesting list. 

Zabransky is WAY too high in my opinion, didn't impress me at the U17 tournament that much. Lauko had good tournament, I would still have him lower though. Surprised you completely left out Milos Roman and David Levin.
Thanks for the list though 

My current ranking of Czech players:

1. Zadina F - Far and away the best Czech eligible
2. Skarek G - Goalie with 1st round potential
3. Kaut F
4. Dajcar D
5. Kondelik F - 6'7 C with some decent skill
6. Zabransky D
7. Dostal G
8. Kral D
9. Lauko F
10. Malik D
11./Wild card/ - Sedlak F He was one of the few Czech forwards I was really looking forward to see at the U17 Challange, but he didn't make it. (reason he hasn't been taken remains a mystery to me) Great stats in Finnish U18 and got his 1st U20 game like a week ago.


----------



## Eyelanders

Wooren said:


> 11./Wild card/ - Sedlak F He was one of the few Czech forwards I was really looking forward to see at the U17 Challange, but he didn't make it. (reason he hasn't been taken remains a mystery to me) Great stats in Finnish U18 and got his 1st U20 game like a week ago.




Zdenek Sedlak has looked really good with KÃ¤rpÃ¤t U18 - deadly shot, is very strong on the puck and has good puck skills, especially for a 6'2 forward. I would be very surprised if he's not among the very best Czech prospects in the 2018 draft when all is said and done.


----------



## Fantomas

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I try to watch as much as I can. I don't know everything. A few of these players I haven't even seen play, but I read what others say. This is my best guess as of now.
> 
> Top 40 skaters.
> 
> 1. Rasmus Dahlin
> 2. Bode Wilde
> 3. Alexander Khovanov
> 4. Joe Veleno
> 5. Andrei Svechnikov




Khovanov over Svechnikov? No, just no.

LOL. No.


----------



## kp61c

Fantomas said:


> Khovanov over Svechnikov? No, just no.
> 
> LOL. No.



yep, that seemed a bit crazy to me too


----------



## Fantomas

Svechnikov has that ideal body that scouts look for. And the ideal skillset to go with that body. Khovanov doesn't.


----------



## wings5

Fantomas said:


> Khovanov over Svechnikov? No, just no.
> 
> LOL. No.




If Svechnikov stays in the North American junior hockey system for years then who knows, he may be passed by other Russians. Also, I imagine Anderson McDonald and Nizhnikov will be much higher by next year.


----------



## Fantomas

Also Joe Veleno is not better than Svechnikov.


----------



## Eugene85

Svechnikov is the best forward available for 2018 draft at the moment. He may degrade as a player or someone may pass him in a year, whatever. But right now he is the best.


----------



## AirJordan

Eugene85 said:


> Svechnikov is the best forward available for 2018 draft at the moment. He may degrade as a player or someone may pass him in a year, whatever. But right now he is the best.




and meanwhile it is really not even close. he outscored wise, veleno, khovanov and the rest of the 2018 bunch at several tournaments, scored as an 16 year old 4 goals at the ivan hlinka, ppg right there in the ushl and nevertheless some ppl rank him behind those prospects... he was really head an shoulders above khovanov and denisenko at the u17 challenge (plus pre tournament), you simply can't think otherwise if you saw them play. wilde and dahlin are maybe a different story, cause they are defenders. but for forwards, not even close.


----------



## czechcanadian

Wooren said:


> Interesting list.
> 
> Zabransky is WAY too high in my opinion, didn't impress me at the U17 tournament that much. Lauko had good tournament, I would still have him lower though. Surprised you completely left out Milos Roman and David Levin.
> Thanks for the list though
> 
> My current ranking of Czech players:
> 
> 1. Zadina F - Far and away the best Czech eligible
> 2. Skarek G - Goalie with 1st round potential
> 3. Kaut F
> 4. Dajcar D
> 5. Kondelik F - 6'7 C with some decent skill
> 6. Zabransky D
> 7. Dostal G
> 8. Kral D
> 9. Lauko F
> 10. Malik D
> 11./Wild card/ - Sedlak F He was one of the few Czech forwards I was really looking forward to see at the U17 Challange, but he didn't make it. (reason he hasn't been taken remains a mystery to me) Great stats in Finnish U18 and got his 1st U20 game like a week ago.




Just because Zabransky didn't do that great in one tournament doesn't mean a whole lot. From what I've heard he's a big talent. Let's see how he does in his draft year.


----------



## Wooren

czechcanadian said:


> Just because Zabransky didn't do that great in one tournament doesn't mean a whole lot. From what I've heard he's a big talent. Let's see how he does in his draft year.




I based it on what I've seen and heard about them. That's one of the reasons why I have the late 99 are so high right now, I have seen them more than the 00. Zabransky remains a potential top prospect in my eyes. He just simply dissapointed me in the U17 tournament.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Fantomas said:


> Khovanov over Svechnikov? No, just no.
> 
> LOL. No.




Center over winger.

Svechnikov is very good, but unless you are a goal scoring winger like Patrik Laine who is going to score 50 goals, high draft pick wingers aren't as valuable as high draft pick centers.


----------



## SergeConstantin74

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I try to watch as much as I can. I don't know everything. A few of these players I haven't even seen play, but I read what others say. This is my best guess as of now.
> 
> Top 40 skaters.
> 
> 1. Rasmus Dahlin
> 2. Bode Wilde
> 3. Alexander Khovanov
> 4. Joe Veleno
> 5. Andrei Svechnikov
> 6. Libor Zabransky
> 7. Jake Wise
> 8. Filip Zadina
> 9. Ryan Merkley
> 10. Danila Galenyuk
> 11. Evan Bouchard
> *12. Benoit Oliver Grouix*
> 13. Grigori Denisenko
> 14. KeAndre Miller
> 15. Oliver Wahlstrom
> 16. Ryan McLeod
> *17. Jared McIsaac*
> 18. Adam Boqvist
> 19. Isac Lundestrom
> 20. Ty Smith
> 21. Samuel Fagemo
> 22. Jesperi Kotkaniemi
> 23. Allan McShane
> 24. Jett Woo
> 25. Joel Farabee
> *26. Anderson McDonald*
> 27. Jacob Semik
> 28. Allan McShane
> 29. Jakub Lauko
> 30. John Gruden
> 31. Patrick Giles
> 32. Martin Fehervary
> 33. David Gustafsson
> 34. Mikhail Bitsadze
> 35. Dominik Bokk
> 36. Lukas Wernblom
> 37. Alexander Alexeyev
> 38. Tyler Weiss
> 39. Calen Addison
> 40. Kirill Nizhnikov
> 
> Some goalies who are looking like players who could get drafted: Jakub Skarek, Keegan Karki, Amir Miftakhov, Alexis Gravel, Olivier Rodrigue, Kevin Mandolese, Daniil Isayev, Lukas Dostal, Jacob Ingham




In the QMJHL, Philipp Kurashev leads all 2018 eligibles in points (14 pts in 20 games). He has 10 points in his last 7.


----------



## enj92

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> Center over winger.
> 
> Svechnikov is very good, but unless you are a goal scoring winger like Patrik Laine who is going to score 50 goals, high draft pick wingers aren't as valuable as high draft pick centers.




It's rightly in the way if both are equally good, but svechnikov is clearly better player at the moment.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

SergeConstantin74 said:


> In the QMJHL, Philipp Kurashev leads all 2018 eligibles in points (14 pts in 20 games). He has 10 points in his last 7.




Its all a guess. Kurahsev could very well be listed if someone else made a list, and he was considered for my list. 

I'm not sure points matters when comparing McIsaac and Kurashev. A winger should have more points. Kurashev was the oldest of all those players also. 

How many games into the season are we? I wouldn't assume that the best draft prospect is always the player with the most points early in the season. There are many different factors like position, age, style of play, floor vs. ceiling. 



enj92 said:


> It's rightly in the way if both are equally good, but svechnikov is clearly better player at the moment.




I didn't think of it as Khovanov vs. Svechnikov when I made the list. I was considering the case for Khovanov as a top 5 pick. He's played at two major international tournaments so far, the YOG and WHC-17. He was tied for first in points at the YOG and second in points at the WHC-17. His current MHL PPG average as a 16 year old is only worse than Kucherov and Buchnevich. He's also taller than I initially thought, 5'11 and seems to have grown some recently, so I wouldn't put him in the same category as Wise who's been 5'10 for a few years, although I did say recently that Wise and Khovanov have the same concerns, but I'm changing my opinion on that. I've watched him play a few times, and he's a very good player. A player like that, whether Russian, whether on the same team as Svechnikov, thats a player who profiles as a likely top 5 pick. If Svechnikov was not in the same draft, I think a lot of Russians would be talking about Khovanov as a possible 1OA. I also don't think Svechnikov is so much better, although maybe he's a little better. I also only put him two spots higher, and its all a guess. I tend to prefer centers to wingers as well.


----------



## SergeConstantin74

FYI, Kurashev is a center. His playing style was compared to Jonathan Huberdeau.


----------



## Kaako Kappo

I hope to god some promising Finns emerge for the 2018 draft, or else it is going to be terrible for us :/


----------



## duga

SergeConstantin74 said:


> FYI, Kurashev is a center. His playing style was compared to Jonathan Huberdeau.




He was switching between LW and C the last 2 years. Was Hischier's Left Wing 2 years ago for Bern's U17 team. And IIRC played mostly C for Zurich's U20 last year. then played along Hischier again at this year's Ivan Hlinka. 
Isn't on Hischier's talent level, but nevertheless a fine prospect.
It's not even sure he's the best swiss late 99er. Nando Eggenberger has played a few games in the NLA this season, and hasn't looked out of place. Different Player-type though.


----------



## SergeConstantin74

duga said:


> He was switching between LW and C the last 2 years. Was Hischier's Left Wing 2 years ago for Bern's U17 team. And IIRC played mostly C for Zurich's U20 last year. then played along Hischier again at this year's Ivan Hlinka.
> Isn't on Hischier's talent level, but nevertheless a fine prospect.
> It's not even sure he's the best swiss late 99er. Nando Eggenberger has played a few games in the NLA this season, and hasn't looked out of place. Different Player-type though.




Yes he can play both but he only played center so far this season.


----------



## duga

SergeConstantin74 said:


> Yes he can play both but he only played center so far this season.




Yep. And I'd rather have him stay on C. Suits his smarts and hands better IMO.


----------



## SergeConstantin74

duga said:


> Yep. And I'd rather have him stay on C. Suits his smarts and hands better IMO.




Exactly. He has to get better on faceoffs though.


----------



## czechcanadian

Wooren said:


> I based it on what I've seen and heard about them. That's one of the reasons why I have the late 99 are so high right now, I have seen them more than the 00. Zabransky remains a potential top prospect in my eyes. He just simply dissapointed me in the U17 tournament.




I understand that. I really hope he turns into a star. His stats are just jaw dropping. Maybe he's just another Zacha that plays well for club but not for country


----------



## Loffer

Agalloch said:


> Is there any potential superstar like McDavid, Eichel and Matthews in this draft?




Most likely but hardly anybody matching Laine's exquisite skillset.


----------



## SergeConstantin74




----------



## JimmyO

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I try to watch as much as I can. I don't know everything. A few of these players I haven't even seen play, but I read what others say. This is my best guess as of now.
> 
> Top 40 skaters.
> 
> 1. Rasmus Dahlin
> 2. Bode Wilde
> 3. Alexander Khovanov
> 4. Joe Veleno
> 5. Andrei Svechnikov
> 6. Libor Zabransky
> 7. Jake Wise
> 8. Filip Zadina
> 9. Ryan Merkley
> 10. Danila Galenyuk
> 11. Evan Bouchard
> 12. Benoit Oliver Grouix
> 13. Grigori Denisenko
> 14. KeAndre Miller
> 15. Oliver Wahlstrom
> 16. Ryan McLeod
> 17. Jared McIsaac
> 18. Adam Boqvist
> 19. Isac Lundestrom
> 20. Ty Smith
> 21. Samuel Fagemo
> 22. Jesperi Kotkaniemi
> 23. Allan McShane
> 24. Jett Woo
> 25. Joel Farabee
> 26. Anderson McDonald
> 27. Jacob Semik
> 28. Allan McShane
> 29. Jakub Lauko
> 30. John Gruden
> 31. Patrick Giles
> 32. Martin Fehervary
> 33. David Gustafsson
> 34. Mikhail Bitsadze
> 35. Dominik Bokk
> 36. Lukas Wernblom
> 37. Alexander Alexeyev
> 38. Tyler Weiss
> 39. Calen Addison
> 40. Kirill Nizhnikov
> 
> Some goalies who are looking like players who could get drafted: Jakub Skarek, Keegan Karki, Amir Miftakhov, Alexis Gravel, Olivier Rodrigue, Kevin Mandolese, Daniil Isayev, Lukas Dostal, Jacob Ingham




Watched US u17 today in Sioux Falls. Stampede's Nelson looked like the best NHL prospect of the 2000's today. He has many of the qualities that make a top prospect...size, speed, skill, vision, playmaker and physical. I would put M. Samuelson next, great size with a booming shot. Wise has great skill and speed, but kind of small. I see him more of a grinder type, reminds a little of K.Bellows, but smaller. Also like little Jonny Gruden, high iq, is always in the right spot, small but high motor and efficient. Dad has taught him well. Walstrom looked ok, but didn't get anything done. Tries to get his own shot first. Bode Wilde is definitely not even close to the top of the draft board, he was completely invisible. K. Miller has good size also, needs to be more physical. Take it for what it's worth, just one game. U17'S in general looked a step slow a just not quite as strong, which is to be expected being so young.


----------



## WannabeFinn

JimmyO said:


> Watched US u17 today in Sioux Falls. Stampede's Nelson looked like the best NHL prospect of the 2000's today.



The kid had 113 points in 25 Minnesota high school games as a 15 year old. What the f***?


----------



## Bonin21

WannabeFinn said:


> The kid had 113 points in 25 Minnesota high school games as a 15 year old. What the f***?




He was playing on the prairie. Can't read too much into it.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

I have not seen Nelson play, and I was just making a guess on the rankings. There are probably many others I haven't seen play that will be top prospects for the 2018 draft. I was trying to put together close to a consensus of who some of the top names are under two years out from the 2018 draft. Don't take that list too seriously. I'm not a scout and don't know scouts. I try to watch games and keep track the best I can of how NHL prospects are playing.


----------



## Firecracker

WannabeFinn said:


> The kid had 113 points in 25 Minnesota high school games as a 15 year old. What the f***?




He was playing the weakest competition in Minnesota.


----------



## JimmyO

Numbers from previous year are meaningless. A lot can change in the next year and a half. It all depends who develops in that time period.


----------



## Number 57

The top names from the Q have been mentionned, also look out for 

G Zachary Bouthillier (Shawinigan)
D Noah Dobson (Bathurst)
D Xavier Bouchard (Baie-Comeau)
F Gabriel Fortier (Baie-Comeau)
F Andrew Coxhead (Quebec)

My personnal ranking overall at the moment:

1 Veleno
2 McIsaac
3 Rodrigue
4 Groulx
5 MacDonald
6 Fortier
7 Kurashev
8 Bouchard
9 Mandolese
10 Bouthillier
11 Dobson
12 Coxhead
13 Gravel
14 Element
15 Mathieu


----------



## North Country

JimmyO said:


> Watched US u17 today in Sioux Falls. Stampede's Nelson looked like the best NHL prospect of the 2000's today. He has many of the qualities that make a top prospect...size, speed, skill, vision, playmaker and physical. I would put M. Samuelson next, great size with a booming shot. Wise has great skill and speed, but kind of small. I see him more of a grinder type, reminds a little of K.Bellows, but smaller. Also like little Jonny Gruden, high iq, is always in the right spot, small but high motor and efficient. Dad has taught him well. Walstrom looked ok, but didn't get anything done. Tries to get his own shot first. Bode Wilde is definitely not even close to the top of the draft board, he was completely invisible. K. Miller has good size also, needs to be more physical. Take it for what it's worth, just one game. U17'S in general looked a step slow a just not quite as strong, which is to be expected being so young.




Maybe he was the best, but did you take into account that he was playing on a team with 18 to 20 year olds and won 6-0? Many of those other players would have also looked good in that scenario. He does have great size and some of his skill levels are up there, so he should be a high draft pick as long as his athletic ability keeps up.


----------



## 57special

WannabeFinn said:


> The kid had 113 points in 25 Minnesota high school games as a 15 year old. What the f***?




Unlike Mittelstadt, Nelson is playing very weak competition in HS. Not his fault, the team's just aren't strong out there.


----------



## SergeConstantin74

NA Scouting said:


> The top names from the Q have been mentionned, also look out for
> 
> G Zachary Bouthillier (Shawinigan)
> D Noah Dobson (Bathurst)
> D Xavier Bouchard (Baie-Comeau)
> F Gabriel Fortier (Baie-Comeau)
> F Andrew Coxhead (Quebec)
> 
> My personnal ranking overall at the moment:
> 
> 1 Veleno
> 2 McIsaac
> 3 Rodrigue
> 4 Groulx
> 5 MacDonald
> 6 Fortier
> 7 Kurashev
> 8 Bouchard
> 9 Mandolese
> 10 Bouthillier
> 11 Dobson
> 12 Coxhead
> 13 Gravel
> 14 Element
> 15 Mathieu




Ã‰douard St-Laurent and Mathias LaferriÃ¨re?


----------



## Scratchy

Top defencemen are hard to draft. 2018 should be a bounty that way.


----------



## Daximus

Scratchy said:


> Top defencemen are hard to draft. 2018 should be a bounty that way.




It's crazy. I'd put this draft up against 2012 rather easily in terms of dmen. 


Murray, Reilly, Lindholm, Dumba, Pouliot, Trouba, Koekkoek, Ceci, Maata, Matheson, Schmaltz, Skjei.

vs

Dahlin, Merkley, McIsaac, Addison, Bokvist, Smith, Hughes, Woo, Wilde, Alexeyev, Bouchard, Bouchard.

It may even one day as things shake out be able to challenge the 2008 class.

Doughty, Bogosian, Pietrangelo, Schenn, Myers, Karlsson, Gardiner, Sbisa, Del Zotto, Carlson.


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Does anyone have an updated top 20-30 for 2018?


----------



## Vatican Roulette

I'd like to see one as well.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

I'll give it a try. I'll try a top 15. The top 40 I made a few months ago was more of a guess towards the latter picks.

1. Rasmus Dahlin
2. Bode Wilde
3. Andrei Svechnikov
4. Joe Veleno
5. Alex Khovanov
6. Jake Wise
7. Filip Zadina
8. Ryan Merkley
9. Adam Boqvist
10. Anderson McDonald
11. Jesperi Kotkaniemi
12. Jared McIsaac
13. Martin Fehervary
14. Joel Farabee
15. Libor Zabransky
15. Isac Lundestrom

Some thoughts:

I think Dahlin is an easy #1. I'll catch some flack for not having Svechnikov #2, but I think Wilde has all the makings of an elite defenseman prospect. Svechnikov is very good, but I'll still go with a defenseman over winger if all things are equal, unless that winger is a Laine or Ovechkin type pure goal scorer. Svechnikov is maybe the best all around type of winger prospect since Taylor Hall. Move the guy to center, and maybe he's in contention for #1. I think Veleno is a victim of being in such a good draft year. Might be further in contention for 1OA, if he was a 2017 draft eligible. I continue to think Alex Khovanov is going very far under the radar. Without Svechnikov, he might be the most hyped Russian forward prospect in many years. Wise has been very good from what I've seen the last few tournaments. I'm not sure he's the next Eichel or Matthews, but he looks like a very good player and he's starting to play a lot better. Zadina is my highest ranked late birthday from 1999, but he's impressed at big international tournaments for a few years and has performed well playing in the Czech Republic against older age groups. He might be the best Czech prospect in many drafts. I found it hard to split Merkley and Boqvist, and also wasn't sure where to rank either. There could be an argument for them going a few spots higher or even Boqvist over Merkley, but I'm a little more confident in Merkley's full game. I've moved MacDonald up because of the season he's having. Kotkaniemi seems to be the best Finnish prospect in a really weak year for Finland. He's been injured for a lot of this season, but I won't hold that against him in this ranking. McIsaac is having a fairly good season in Halifax, Fehervary really impressed me at the WJC, Farabee has been very good this season for the u17 USNTDP team. I've dropped Zabransky a few spots from the last ranking, but I still believe he's one of the better defenseman in this draft. Lundestrom looks to be the top Swedish forward in this draft. He's playing in the SHL this year, and was the youngest player on the Swedish WJC-18 team last year. The WJC-18 this year will probably be a good barometer for where he's at.


----------



## L13

Wilde has done nothing to be ranked above Svechnikov. Svechnikov and Dahlin are the clear 1-2 as of now.


----------



## Zaddy

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I'll give it a try. I'll try a top 15. The top 40 I made a few months ago was more of a guess towards the latter picks.
> 
> 1. Rasmus Dahlin
> 2. Bode Wilde
> 3. Andrei Svechnikov
> 4. Joe Veleno
> 5. Alex Khovanov
> 6. Jake Wise
> 7. Filip Zadina
> 8. Ryan Merkley
> 9. Adam Boqvist
> 10. Anderson McDonald
> 11. Jesperi Kotkaniemi
> 12. Jared McIsaac
> *13. Martin Fehervary*
> 14. Joel Farabee
> 15. Libor Zabransky
> 15. Isac Lundestrom
> 
> Some thoughts:
> 
> I think Dahlin is an easy #1. I'll catch some flack for not having Svechnikov #2, but I think Wilde has all the makings of an elite defenseman prospect. Svechnikov is very good, but I'll still go with a defenseman over winger if all things are equal, unless that winger is a Laine or Ovechkin type pure goal scorer. Svechnikov is maybe the best all around type of winger prospect since Taylor Hall. Move the guy to center, and maybe he's in contention for #1. I think Veleno is a victim of being in such a good draft year. Might be further in contention for 1OA, if he was a 2017 draft eligible. I continue to think Alex Khovanov is going very far under the radar. Without Svechnikov, he might be the most hyped Russian forward prospect in many years. Wise has been very good from what I've seen the last few tournaments. I'm not sure he's the next Eichel or Matthews, but he looks like a very good player and he's starting to play a lot better. Zadina is my highest ranked late birthday from 1999, but he's impressed at big international tournaments for a few years and has performed well playing in the Czech Republic against older age groups. He might be the best Czech prospect in many drafts. I found it hard to split Merkley and Boqvist, and also wasn't sure where to rank either. There could be an argument for them going a few spots higher or even Boqvist over Merkley, but I'm a little more confident in Merkley's full game. I've moved MacDonald up because of the season he's having. Kotkaniemi seems to be the best Finnish prospect in a really weak year for Finland. He's been injured for a lot of this season, but I won't hold that against him in this ranking. McIsaac is having a fairly good season in Halifax, Fehervary really impressed me at the WJC, Farabee has been very good this season for the u17 USNTDP team. I've dropped Zabransky a few spots from the last ranking, but I still believe he's one of the better defenseman in this draft. Lundestrom looks to be the top Swedish forward in this draft. He's playing in the SHL this year, and was the youngest player on the Swedish WJC-18 team last year. The WJC-18 this year will probably be a good barometer for where he's at.




Don't think Fehevary is going to be anywhere near the 1st round, let alone the top15.


----------



## JJTT

Zaddy Zads said:


> Don't think Fehevary is going to be anywhere near the 1st round, let alone the top15.




Agreed. He has scored 17 points in the last 4 seasons with his club teams. Not that points mean anything but NHL teams tend to shy away from that type of defenseman.


----------



## Fantomas

Svechnikov and Dahlin need to play in the same tournament. I hope Svech somehow makes it to the U18 tourney.


----------



## Wooren

Fantomas said:


> Svechnikov and Dahlin need to play in the same tournament. I hope Svech somehow makes it to the U18 tourney.




Both played at Hlinka.


----------



## MaxV

Vitaly Kravtsov might be a name to remember.

After kicking butt in MHL, he made KHL debut before his 17 birthday.


----------



## kabidjan18

Is Adam Mccormick one to watch for this draft? Don't know about the first round but maybe the first 3?


----------



## alko

Zaddy Zads said:


> Don't think Fehevary is going to be anywhere near the 1st round, let alone the top15.




you have a point. I also think, that 1th round isnt for him. But other side, i think, he could grow to next "Lubo Visnovsky".


----------



## Stive Morgan

kabidjan18 said:


> Is Adam Mccormick one to watch for this draft? Don't know about the first round but maybe the first 3?




I'd have him in the first round at this point.


----------



## Marshmont63

Where is TJ Walsh? I've seen him listed as a top prospect. I think I recall seeing him listed as a mid-to-late first round pick. Has he fallen off or something?


----------



## Zaddy

Marshmont63 said:


> Where is TJ Walsh? I've seen him listed as a top prospect. I think I recall seeing him listed as a mid-to-late first round pick. Has he fallen off or something?




Just from looking at this stat line he has 5 points in 19 USHL games. That's pretty bad for a top prospect. It's weird, a lot of the hyped kids from the american 2000's have fallen off pretty hard.


----------



## Firecracker

Zaddy Zads said:


> Just from looking at this stat line he has 5 points in 19 USHL games. That's pretty bad for a top prospect. It's weird, a lot of the hyped kids from the american 2000's have fallen off pretty hard.




To be fair though Cedar Rapids' leading scorer only has 14 points in 29 games. The team is awful since they lost a lot of the team from last year.


----------



## Apotheosis

Man, the flip flopping with Merkley being in the top 5 or not is really weird. Wonder if he's going to be another D who drops to like 10-15 because of weird circumstances like Chychrun.


----------



## Butch26

Top player from QC :


Joe Veleno 
Jared McIsaac
Benoit Olivier-Groulx
G Olivier Rodrigue
Anderson Mcdonald 
Gabriel Fortier 
Xavier Bouchard 
Jeremie Bucheler 
Noah Dobson 
G Alexis Gravel 
Philip Kurashev
Shawn Element 
Andrew Coxhead 
Kevin Mandolese

14 good name here . Veleno could be draft between 5 and 15 , McIsaac & Groulx have also some chance to go in top 20 at this point .


----------



## MMC

Can't wait until everyone drafts all these defense prospects, constantly argue here over which is the best, and then try to sell them off on the trade board for ludicrous prices.


----------



## Daximus

Zaddy Zads said:


> Just from looking at this stat line he has 5 points in 19 USHL games. That's pretty bad for a top prospect. It's weird, a lot of the hyped kids from the american 2000's have fallen off pretty hard.




Yeah not sure what happened there. Could be a number of factors but it looks like the O, Q, Sweden and Russia have a very strong batch. We'll see if Finland and WHL can produce some risers next year.


----------



## Thebesthockey

Butch26 said:


> Top player from QC :
> 
> 
> Joe Veleno
> Jared McIsaac
> Benoit Olivier-Groulx
> G Olivier Rodrigue
> Anderson Mcdonald
> Gabriel Fortier
> Xavier Bouchard
> Jeremie Bucheler
> Noah Dobson
> G Alexis Gravel
> Philip Kurashev
> Shawn Element
> Andrew Coxhead
> Kevin Mandolese
> 
> 14 good name here . Veleno could be draft between 5 and 15 , McIsaac & Groulx have also some chance to go in top 20 at this point .




sorry Anderson but should Easily be 2nd; stop going by the past hype

I also dont understand how you have players mixed in that have not played at a higher evel vs others well deserved at that currently play in Q

mandolese should be first goalie in ranking

imo


----------



## Redline

mymerlincat said:


> Can't wait until everyone drafts all these defense prospects, constantly argue here over which is the best, and then try to sell them off on the trade board for ludicrous prices.




I think the 2017 draft will result in some lively defenseman debates.

Didn't read the whole thread but Alexander Alexeyev has come a long way in his 1st NA year.


----------



## Arizonan God

Akil Thomas intrigues me. 20/20/40 in 55 games, smaller goal scorer. Good stats for a 16 year old.


----------



## tigervixxxen

Redline said:


> I think the 2017 draft will result in some lively defenseman debates.
> 
> Didn't read the whole thread but Alexander Alexeyev has come a long way in his 1st NA year.




I don't know where he falls among the other D this year but I was impressed with what I saw of him.


----------



## denominator

I believe Tristen Nielsen could be a big riser next year. His stats for this season are pretty bad due to playing bottom minutes in limited deployment on a poor team.

Other than being a small player (which could change), there is a lot to like about him - he's fast, has good hands, and plays a really physical game.


----------



## hockeydraftcentral

*The 2018 draft will be epic*

Realizing that 2017 is an unusually weak draft year, I have focused a lot of my Hockey Draft Central efforts on 2018. In compiling more than 300 player profiles for that draft, I continue to be amazed at just how much depth exists there. As was the case in 2003, for example, every NHL team has a real shot at a future star.

That's exciting, and I really feel that 2018 will one day rank up there with 2003, 1979, and all the other landmark draft years.

Having talked to many NHL scouts during my former career as a journalist, I have a fairly good sense of the qualities that separate potential NHL players from those who don't make it. Obviously, the top end of 2018 is phenomenal already (Dahlin, Svechnikov, Tkachuk, etc.), but as I have compiled the profiles, I keep seeing remarkable signs regarding character, such as a plethora of young team captains, and other intangibles.

I would like to hear what others think of the potential depth of 2018 beyond the biggest names (of which there are many). Am I crazy to have such high hopes for this particular year? I want to be right, because I don't see a lot of players coming out of 2017, and I need to look forward to a draft that will be truly exciting.


----------



## 93LEAFS

It's good, but we are a long way from comparing it to historically great classes. I'd be quite surprised if it ends up better than 2015. 2016 wasn't viewed as amazing a year out, but the top end ended up being quite elite. 

I expect 2018 to look maybe comparable to 2008 and 2009. The big issue with 2018 is that the best prospects are (Dahlin and Svechnikov), one is a high-risk position to project (defenders) if you look at the mixed history of highly hyped defenders (EJ, Doughty, Hedman, and Bouwmeester) and the best forward prospect is a winger. People had high hopes for Veleno, but at the moment, I wouldn't project him as a sure-thing franchise center. If you look at the good drafts in recent years, almost all have been anchored by having a sure-thing #1 center at the top, possibly even two. Look at 2016 (Matthews), 2015 (McDavid and Eichel), 2013 (People projected this for Mackinnon, but there have been arguably 4 #1 or at least 1B/2A centers in the top 10), 2009 (Tavares), and 2008 (Stamkos). 

Kids like McBain or Veleno could end up being that level of talent, but they simply aren't right now. 

This draft is very deep defenders wise, which is good, as that is a need league wide, but projecting defenders tends to be very difficult and high-risk. 2012 didn't have a Dahlin level talent but look at the scattered results of the top 10 of that class (Murray, G. Reinhart, Rielly, Lindholm, Pouliot, Dumba, Trouba, and Koekkoek).


----------



## Kshahdoo

93LEAFS said:


> It's good, but we are a long way from comparing it to historically great classes. I'd be quite surprised if it ends up better than 2015. 2016 wasn't viewed as amazing a year out, but the top end ended up being quite elite.
> 
> I expect 2018 to look maybe comparable to 2008 and 2009. The big issue with 2018 is that the best prospects are (Dahlin and Svechnikov), one is a high-risk position to project (defenders) if you look at the mixed history of highly hyped defenders (EJ, Doughty, Hedman, and Bouwmeester) and the best forward prospect is a winger. People had high hopes for Veleno, but at the moment, I wouldn't project him as a sure-thing franchise center. If you look at the good drafts in recent years, almost all have been anchored by having a sure-thing #1 center at the top, possibly even two. Look at 2016 (Matthews), 2015 (McDavid and Eichel), 2013 (People projected this for Mackinnon, but there have been arguably 4 #1 or at least 1B/2A centers in the top 10), 2009 (Tavares), and 2008 (Stamkos).
> 
> Kids like McBain or Veleno could end up being that level of talent, but they simply aren't right now.
> 
> This draft is very deep defenders wise, which is good, as that is a need league wide, but projecting defenders tends to be very difficult and high-risk. 2012 didn't have a Dahlin level talent but look at the scattered results of the top 10 of that class (Murray, G. Reinhart, Rielly, Lindholm, Pouliot, Dumba, Trouba, and Koekkoek).




If Svechnikov is going to be a Kovalchuk level winger, will drafting him be any worse, than drafting centers like Matthews or Eichel?


----------



## 93LEAFS

Kshahdoo said:


> If Svechnikov is going to be a Kovalchuk level winger, will it be any worse, than drafting centers like Matthews or Eichel?



Yes, it would be worse. You want to build from center out, it took Kovalchuk a long while to have any level of team success. Tons of teams have success without a truly elite winger, many can't win without either a Top 10 center or a top 10 defender (or preferably both). Pretty sure, the last draft showed that teams prefer the centers. Very few would have taken the Kovalchuk winger (Laine) over the complete 2-way center (Matthews). 

Center is the most important thing, where you can almost always predict sure things. Wingers, you can tell when they are sure things, but they are less important to the cause of building a cup contender. Defenders are always a risky proposition high, and goalies are by far the most erratic.


----------



## Zaddy

I think it will be a very deep draft with plenty of quality talent available throughout the 1st and 2nd round. Not really sure what the top-end looks like though outside of Dahlin and Svechnikov.


----------



## hockeydraftcentral

Thanks for all of that good info. Kind of shatters my excitement, but you mention a lot of upside on these kids. I just sense that this is a very high-character group and they will push each other to be better as they jockey for first-round status.

By the way, I don't see Dahlin being anything less than an All-Star. He seems to be at least as good if not better than both Karlsson and Hedman at his age. Sweden is pretty reliable for defensemen when they come up with this much hype.

As far as team success goes, I don't look at players on that basis, because much of that is beyond their individual control. I just want to look back at a draftee and say how great of a player was he? A lot of great players played for bad teams, and I don't think any less of their accomplishments.

Speaking of centers, what do people think of Jake Wise, Alexander Khovanov, Isac Lundestrom, and Oliver Wahlstrom? Could any of them be in the conversation with Dahlin and Svechnikov next year?


----------



## Wintersun

I see a lot of depth and a lot of high end talents but I don't think it's as good as we could have expected a year ago. Veleno, Wise, Wahlstrom and others haven't really been as good as expected. I'd say the top end is probably good but nothing too crazy compared to other drafts. But it's a good draft with a lot of talent in the first and a lot of good players in the mid rounds. 

It's not as good as 2015.


----------



## Kshahdoo

93LEAFS said:


> Yes, it would be worse. You want to build from center out, it took Kovalchuk a long while to have any level of team success. Tons of teams have success without a truly elite winger, many can't win without either a Top 10 center or a top 10 defender (or preferably both). Pretty sure, the last draft showed that teams prefer the centers. Very few would have taken the Kovalchuk winger (Laine) over the complete 2-way center (Matthews).
> 
> Center is the most important thing, where you can almost always predict sure things. Wingers, you can tell when they are sure things, but they are less important to the cause of building a cup contender. Defenders are always a risky proposition high, and goalies are by far the most erratic.




Many consider Thornton as a future Hall of Fame member, so you may assume he is a great center (or was a great center), probably not worse, than Matthews. Has he driven Sharks to Promised Land? Yeah, Kovy got Devils to the Final. What did Thronton do to Sharks?


----------



## Wintersun

Kshahdoo said:


> Many consider Thornton as a future Hall of Fame member, so you may assume he is a great center (or was a great center), probably not worse, than Matthews. Has he driven Sharks to Promised Land? Yeah, K*ovy got Devils to the Final. What did Thronton do to Sharks?*




He got them to the Final? lol


----------



## TheLeastOfTheBunch

Not so sure, was higher on this draft class a year ago. Still some ways away until draft day

Agreed with 93Leafs, he is pretty much on the mark here.


----------



## 93LEAFS

hockeydraftcentral said:


> Thanks for all of that good info. Kind of shatters my excitement, but you mention a lot of upside on these kids. I just sense that this is a very high-character group and they will push each other to be better as they jockey for first-round status.
> 
> By the way, I don't see Dahlin being anything less than an All-Star. He seems to be at least as good if not better than both Karlsson and Hedman at his age. Sweden is pretty reliable for defensemen when they come up with this much hype.



Adam Larsson had more hype than Karlsson, and arguably more than OEL, although it lessened by his draft date for Adam Larsson. Not sure if anyone can find Bob's lists, but I remember Larsson, a year out from his draft having hype as the clear number 1 in 2010 and a challenger to Hedman if they were in the same draft. 

I fully expect Dahlin to be an all-star, but I wouldn't guarantee it. Jay Bouwmeester, in my opinion, was the most hyped defender I can remember in my time following the NHL draft and while he's had a solid career, he never really became a bonafide franchise defender. Defenders are always hard to project. I do think coming from the professional leagues in Sweden helps weed out the massive defensive disappointments you see from the CHL (Bogosian, Gudbranson, Schenn, G. Reinhart, etc).


----------



## Kshahdoo

Mifroid said:


> He got them to the Final? lol




Hmm, as far as I remember, he did.


----------



## Wallet Inspector

I know it is early, but does Tkachuk project as a potential number 1 center?


----------



## Wintersun

Kshahdoo said:


> Hmm, as far as I remember, he did.




You don't understand. You said Kovalchuk got NJ to the finals, and what has Thornton done? 

I said : Thornton has lead them to the Finals, just like Kovalchuk, not even a year ago. 

So my point is : what's your point?


----------



## Wintersun

Wallet Inspector said:


> I know it is early, but does Tkachuk project as a potential number 1 center?




He plays the wing every time I watch NTDP18. And he doesn't project as someone who will drive offense on his line in the NHL in my opinion. He's not as good as Matthew to me.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Kshahdoo said:


> Many consider Thornton as a future Hall of Fame member, so you may assume he is a great center (or was a great center), probably not worse, than Matthews. Has he driven Sharks to Promised Land? Yeah, Kovy got Devils to the Final. What did Thronton do to Sharks?



How often did Thornton's team make the playoffs? Kovalchuk had a good run on a team he was traded to that was already a fringe contender. Where did Kovalchuk get Atlanta? Usually, you can acquire high-end wingers, later on to finish off a team. Pitt got Kessel, Blackhawks signed Hossa, Kings acquired Gaborik, Ducks re-acquiring Selanne, etc. Outside of Thornton, how many franchise center's have been moved?

Thornton's career destroy's Kovalchuk's.When did Kovalchuk finish top 5 in Hart voting? Answer. Never. Thornton has won it, and finished in the top 5 4 other times. How many times did Thornton make the playoffs? 15 times. 5 times with the team that drafted him. He only missed it 3 times in his career. Kovalchuk made it 3 times, only once with the team that drafted him. He missed it another 8 times. 

Looking at those numbers, and even if you factor in Thornton's extra longevity, it's quite clear, you had more opportunities to win the cup building around Thornton.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Wallet Inspector said:


> I know it is early, but does Tkachuk project as a potential number 1 center?



No, he projects as a winger.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Kshahdoo said:


> Hmm, as far as I remember, he did.



What team played in the final last year? I'll give you a hint, a team Thornton played on.


----------



## hockeydraftcentral

Jay Bouwmeester was hyped a lot as a 16-year-old. A lot. However he faded in his draft year, and the hopes weren't as high for him as the draft rolled around. I remember 2002 very well, since I was working at a major website and posted a lot of draft stuff for them. I remember being surprised at how fast Rick Nash came up in the rankings as he emerged in his draft year. In the end, the Columbus scouts made the right call there.

I go back a long, long way. Prior to your era (post-Bouwmeester), the most hyped defensemen in draft history have been Denis Potvin (1973), Barry Beck (1977), Scott Niedermayer (1991), Chris Pronger (1993), Ed Jovanovski (1994), and Bryan Berard (1995). 

I did a lot of research a couple of these guys.

Potvin 
Beck

Personally, I think Pronger was the most-hyped defenseman from this pre-1999 period. People were talking about his dominance at a very young age. Potvin is also up there in terms of pre-draft hype, but the draft didn't get as much attention back then, and players were drafted at age 20.


----------



## Juxtaposer

This draft isn't as strong as I thought it would be since Wise and Veleno haven't lived up to expectations, but I think Dahlin, Svechnikov, and Wilde will be a very strong top-3. There is a lot of risky skill in this draft, that is to say I think there are a ton of Josh Ho-Sang types, boom-bust types.


----------



## Buchnevich

I know he's not at the top of lists, but Akil Thomas is a player that I'm excited to see in his draft year. I really like his game.


----------



## 93LEAFS

hockeydraftcentral said:


> Jay Bouwmeester was hyped a lot as a 16-year-old. A lot. However he faded in his draft year, and the hopes weren't as high for him as the draft rolled around. I remember 2002 very well, since I was working at a major website and posted a lot of draft stuff for them. I remember being surprised at how fast Rick Nash came up in the rankings as he emerged in his draft year. In the end, the Columbus scouts made the right call there.
> 
> I go back a long, long way. Prior to your era (post-Bouwmeester), the most hyped defensemen in draft history have been Denis Potvin (1973), Barry Beck (1977), Scott Niedermayer (1991), Chris Pronger (1993), Ed Jovanovski (1994), and Bryan Berard (1995).
> 
> I did a lot of research a couple of these guys.
> 
> Potvin
> Beck
> 
> Personally, I think Pronger was the most-hyped defenseman from this pre-1999 period. People were talking about his dominance at a very young age. Potvin is also up there in terms of pre-draft hype, but the draft didn't get as much attention back then, and players were drafted at age 20.



I remember hearing Lachance was a legitimate challenger to Niedermayer at one point. 

Historically, just looking at the big defensive prospects you can tell they are fairly erratic compared to highly touted forwards. At least, throughout the 2000's. Although, in recent years, Doughty and Hedman have been major successess. EJ is a good player but never put it all togeather to be a top 10 defender. Bouwmeester has the same issues. 

I would just always have more faith in predicting a draft to be great if they are built around a strong crop of centers. Similar to 2015 and to a lesser extent 2013. I'm also, always naturally suspect of a draft class when the OHL looks significantly below par, which it currently does. Although, Svechnikov and some USNTDP kids leaving for it could drastically change the strength of the 2018 draft class coming from that league.


----------



## GetThePuckOuttaHere*

Zaddy Zads said:


> I think it will be a very deep draft with plenty of quality talent available throughout the 1st and 2nd round. Not really sure what the top-end looks like though outside of Dahlin and Svechnikov.




Right now, I'd have Wilde, Veleno, and McIsaac rounding out the top 5.


----------



## GetThePuckOuttaHere*

hockeydraftcentral said:


> Thanks for all of that good info. Kind of shatters my excitement, but you mention a lot of upside on these kids. I just sense that this is a very high-character group and they will push each other to be better as they jockey for first-round status.
> 
> By the way, I don't see Dahlin being anything less than an All-Star. He seems to be at least as good if not better than both Karlsson and Hedman at his age. Sweden is pretty reliable for defensemen when they come up with this much hype.
> 
> As far as team success goes, I don't look at players on that basis, because much of that is beyond their individual control. I just want to look back at a draftee and say how great of a player was he? A lot of great players played for bad teams, and I don't think any less of their accomplishments.
> 
> Speaking of centers, what do people think of Jake Wise, Alexander Khovanov, Isac Lundestrom, and Oliver Wahlstrom? Could any of them be in the conversation with Dahlin and Svechnikov next year?




Wise and Wahlstrom have had immensely disappointing years in comparison to expectations from last year. Really, only thing keeping them in projected first rounds for most people nowadays is that pedigree. I think that both of them have the talent to jump back up the draft boards, though.


----------



## Morgs

My favourite prospect from this draft right now is Merkley. Guy is just a treat to watch in the offensive zone, but that -41 though, hahaha Guelph. 

I have a feeling he's going to drop too far, and teams are going to regret it.


----------



## 93LEAFS

hockeydraftcentral said:


> Speaking of centers, what do people think of Jake Wise, Alexander Khovanov, Isac Lundestrom, and Oliver Wahlstrom? Could any of them be in the conversation with Dahlin and Svechnikov next year?



Don't know enough about Lundestrom. But, Wise and Wahlstrom haven't looked good, they still getting top 15 discussion right now based on prior hype. 

Khovanov I doubt challenges them. Small center from Russia not playing in NA will always have problems gaining on those guys. Also, for a smaller guy, he doesn't have the explosive skating you would want to counter-act being on the smaller side.

There is a large gap between Svechnikov/Dahlin and the rest of the draft right now is a quite sizable gap. Doesn't mean some kids won't put it all togeather next year and rapidly rise.This draft looks good, with one of the best defencemen crop we've seen in awhile. If I was a rebuilding team though, I wouldn't be that excited about the lack of high-end center prospects. But, maybe Veleno lives up to prior expectations or Jack McBain starts to amaze (although, I would think he would have to find a stronger league). The upcoming under-18's should give a good idea for next year.


----------



## HuGo Sham

hoping bergevin hangs onto all 3 of his 2nds...habs will have 4 picks in 1st 2 rounds


----------



## Starry Knight

Morgs said:


> My favourite prospect from this draft right now is Merkley. Guy is just a treat to watch in the offensive zone, but that -41 though, hahaha Guelph.
> 
> I have a feeling he's going to drop too far, and teams are going to regret it.




He's really not even that bad defensively. Guelph is just such a bad team all around and he plays like half the game.


----------



## Goose of Reason

Veleno may not be tearing the q up like would be expected from an exceptional player, but imo it's only because he's buried in depth in Saint John. When the Dogs are missing players (nhl camps and resting after clinching their playoff birth) he's been excellent and one of the best players on the ice. He's a very good 3c on a contending team which at 16 is pretty good. He's gonna make some noise next season when he gets the chance to be the guy imo.

2018 is definitely looking good but it's still too early to compare it to 2003 and other great drafts. Lots of hockey to be played still.


----------



## SelltheTeamFrancesco

It's really early but I think the 2015 and 2016 draft had a lot more depth from 3 -10. Obviously it's early so anything can happen in a year.


----------



## Duke16

It's my draft year!


----------



## FlyTimmo

Does Dahlin go first before Laine/Matthews if he was in their draft class?


----------



## Fantomas

93LEAFS said:


> Yes, it would be worse. You want to build from center out, it took Kovalchuk a long while to have any level of team success. Tons of teams have success without a truly elite winger, many can't win without either a Top 10 center or a top 10 defender (or preferably both). Pretty sure, the last draft showed that teams prefer the centers. Very few would have taken the Kovalchuk winger (Laine) over the complete 2-way center (Matthews).
> 
> Center is the most important thing, where you can almost always predict sure things. Wingers, you can tell when they are sure things, but they are less important to the cause of building a cup contender. Defenders are always a risky proposition high, and goalies are by far the most erratic.




What a load of nonsense. Kovalchuk's problem was not that he's a winger. He was a one-dimensional winger who played on terribly constructed teams. He wasn't the Atlanta Thrashers GM, for goodness sake.

And the Matthews/Lane debate is far from settled. So far Matthews has been better, and not because he is a center. He has just been a better player.

I can understand seeing the center as slightly more valuable in a situation of a tiebreaker - then you can pick the center over the winger. But that's about as far as I would go.

"Building from the center out" is some kind of silly religion with a few posters here. One of them recently ranked Veleno over Svechnikov because the former is a center. It's laughable.


----------



## Fantomas

On a related note, Svechnikov's forward status has not yet been settled. He played center before this season, and I would not be surprised to see him converted back there. To my eyes, he plays like a center much of the time. Closer to Malkin than Kovalchuk in the way he sees the ice and distributes the puck.


----------



## Luddowich

Azir said:


> Does Dahlin go first before Laine/Matthews if he was in their draft class?



In a vaccum ignoring positions theres arguments for it. I've watched Dahlin a lot and i would. Even though im going to be overflown with comments from leafs fans and others. Never seen anything like him.


----------



## VictorLustig

hockeydraftcentral said:


> Thanks for all of that good info. Kind of shatters my excitement, but you mention a lot of upside on these kids. I just sense that this is a very high-character group and they will push each other to be better as they jockey for first-round status.
> 
> By the way, I don't see Dahlin being anything less than an All-Star. He seems to be at least as good if not better than both Karlsson and Hedman at his age. Sweden is pretty reliable for defensemen when they come up with this much hype.
> 
> As far as team success goes, I don't look at players on that basis, because much of that is beyond their individual control. I just want to look back at a draftee and say how great of a player was he? A lot of great players played for bad teams, and I don't think any less of their accomplishments.
> 
> Speaking of centers, what do people think of Jake Wise, Alexander Khovanov, Isac Lundestrom, and Oliver Wahlstrom? Could any of them be in the conversation with Dahlin and Svechnikov next year?




I don't think LundestrÃ¶m belongs in that group. Khovanov was the most impressive forward in the recent U17 5 nations tournament. Thought he outplayed everyone there, including Wise and Wahlstrom on the US team. Svechnikov and Veleno (only seen a couple of games) are the only forwards that have impressed me more than Khovanov. Zadina is up there as well.


----------



## Eugene85

Fantomas said:


> On a related note, Svechnikov's forward status has not yet been settled. He played center before this season.



Nope. He is a winger, Idk where all these rumours about him being a center originate from. I read it on USHL official site in autumn for the first time and had never read and heard about something like that before. Svechnikov's center has always been Khovanov both in Ak Bars and in NT.


----------



## Morgs

Starry Knight said:


> He's really not even that bad defensively. Guelph is just such a bad team all around and he plays like half the game.




Yeah I know, I've watched Guelph enough to realize it's _definitely_ not him that's the problem. He's just crazy in the offensive zone.


----------



## FlyTimmo

Luddowich said:


> In a vaccum ignoring positions theres arguments for it. I've watched Dahlin a lot and i would. Even though im going to be overflown with comments from leafs fans and others. Never seen anything like him.




I imagine they are pretty close. But, I probably would choose Dahlin based on predraft performances. McDavid is probably the only player that goes ahead of Dahlin in the last ~5 years.


----------



## hockeydraftcentral

*High degree of character in 2018 class*

Glad to read a strong report on Khovanov. He's definitely one of the reasons I'm so excited about the 2018 draft.

Also glad to hear more praise for Dahlin. I have a feeling about this kid, and I really think he's going to be a very special player. As long as there are no off-ice issues, he will have a great career. 

Too many potential superstars have not panned out due to off-ice stuff. Character issues are so crucial, and the reason I'm so excited about 2018 is I think there is a lot of character there.

A couple of people have mentioned McBain, who seems like another character guy. His decision to play college hockey was a big one, and I think it was the right choice. Having a father who played in the NHL can be a real plus once it comes time to adapt to the pro lifestyle. I suspect this guy will be picked very high.

The talent has to be evident, of course, but so much time is spent judging a player on the ice when it's equally important to figure out who the person is and what makes them tick. Over the years, I interviewed a lot of talented young players on the verge of beginning their NHL careers, and one thing I can say is that the ones who pan out have a certain healthy attitude that includes self-confidence, a high degree of patience, and a realistic sense of what will be required of them.

One example is Cam Talbot. He wasn't even drafted, but when I met him in Traverse City, I came away from the initial conversation thinking he was going to make it -- just based on his mindset. And, boy, has he made it.

Speaking of goaltenders, there are a lot of good ones for 2018. At the rate they are going, we might see multiple goalies in the first round.


----------



## GetThePuckOuttaHere*

Azir said:


> Does Dahlin go first before Laine/Matthews if he was in their draft class?




Dahlin likely doesn't even go before Svechnikov.


----------



## GetThePuckOuttaHere*

matsin47 said:


> It's really early but I think the 2015 and 2016 draft had a lot more depth from 3 -10. Obviously it's early so anything can happen in a year.




You can think whatever you want. There's really nothing to base your statement on, right now as you say. Svechnikov, Dahlin, Veleno, McIsaac, Wilde, Hughes, Merkley, and a hell of a lot of other guys (mostly Europeans) who could be top-10 material.


----------



## GetThePuckOuttaHere*

Luddowich said:


> In a vaccum ignoring positions theres arguments for it. I've watched Dahlin a lot and i would. Even though im going to be overflown with comments from leafs fans and others. Never seen anything like him.




Absolutely zero bias having an affect here, eh? You must have only started watching hockey recently to think he's in an absolute class of his own at his age.


----------



## Slimmy

GetThePuckOuttaHere said:


> Absolutely zero bias having an affect here, eh? You must have only started watching hockey recently to think he's in an absolute class of his own at his age.




Out of your viewings of Dahlin, what player do you project him to become? Whom is his comparable?


----------



## ulvvf

93LEAFS said:


> How often did Thornton's team make the playoffs? Kovalchuk had a good run on a team he was traded to that was already a fringe contender. Where did Kovalchuk get Atlanta? Usually, you can acquire high-end wingers, later on to finish off a team. Pitt got Kessel, Blackhawks signed Hossa, Kings acquired Gaborik, Ducks re-acquiring Selanne, etc. *Outside of Thornton, how many franchise center's have been moved?*
> 
> Thornton's career destroy's Kovalchuk's.When did Kovalchuk finish top 5 in Hart voting? Answer. Never. Thornton has won it, and finished in the top 5 4 other times. How many times did Thornton make the playoffs? 15 times. 5 times with the team that drafted him. He only missed it 3 times in his career. Kovalchuk made it 3 times, only once with the team that drafted him. He missed it another 8 times.
> 
> Looking at those numbers, and even if you factor in Thornton's extra longevity, it's quite clear, you had more opportunities to win the cup building around Thornton.




Seguin, Gretzky, Forsberg, Lindros etc. I would say San Jose has been pretty stacked with talents that have help them to success, not just Thornton.


----------



## Fantomas

Eugene85 said:


> Nope. He is a winger, Idk where all these rumours about him being a center originate from.




They originate from him playing center a number of times.


----------



## ulvvf

Azir said:


> Does Dahlin go first before Laine/Matthews if he was in their draft class?




Comparing him with how they looked 1 year before the draft, then yes. BUT Laine and Matthews had a absolutly great draft year, we will se how Dahlin will handle it next year with more pressure on him.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Fantomas said:


> What a load of nonsense. Kovalchuk's problem was not that he's a winger. He was a one-dimensional winger who played on terribly constructed teams. He wasn't the Atlanta Thrashers GM, for goodness sake.
> 
> And the Matthews/Lane debate is far from settled. So far Matthews has been better, and not because he is a center. He has just been a better player.
> 
> I can understand seeing the center as slightly more valuable in a situation of a tiebreaker - then you can pick the center over the winger. But that's about as far as I would go.
> 
> "Building from the center out" is some kind of silly religion with a few posters here. One of them recently ranked Veleno over Svechnikov because the former is a center. It's laughable.



Its not all on Kovalchuk, but seriously, who would you rather build around Kovalchuk or Thornton? That poster implied they were equal building blocks because they both have only made the finals which used team accomplishments as the justification. I just put out how Thornton crushed him in team accomplishments and individual ones. It would be insane to take Kovalchuk over Thornton knowing what we know. He implied they were equal talents. 

It would be nuts to take Veleno over Svechnikov, but you probably take Eichel or Matthews over Svechnikov at the same age over him due to the demand for franchise centers. You don't make a fool of yourself by taking someone like Turris over Kane, or PMB over Rick Nash to reach for positional need.


----------



## 93LEAFS

ulvvf said:


> Seguin, Gretzky, Forsberg, Lindros etc. I would say San Jose has been pretty stacked with talents that have help them to success, not just Thornton.



Forsberg was moved due to weird circumstances due to the original implication of the cap. Gretzky was sold. Most of these are prior to the implementation of the cap. The only one in recent years was Seguin, and he was moved before he was viewed as a franchise center. Most of his time in Boston he played on the wing. When is the last time a team traded a bonafide franchise center? It simply doesn't happen. We've seen many of the best wingers over the past decade traded or moved in Kovalchuk, Kessel, Hossa, Gaborik, Parise, etc. You don't see P. Kane or Ovi move, but the tier below them seems to hit the market every so ofter.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Azir said:


> Does Dahlin go first before Laine/Matthews if he was in their draft class?



Don't think so, I'd view it as similar to Tavares/Stamkos vs Hedman/Doughty. It is always much safer to gamble on the center, and its more likely the center will make a bigger impact in his ELC years, so you get more value from the center, even if you get a franchise defender.


----------



## Tomas W

There is no doubt that Dahlin is going to be a stud as a offensive defenseman. It could be that there will be complaints of his defensive abilities (reminds me of someone...).

But how he stand against others in the draft I not sure of. Probably as the top D at least, I guess.


----------



## hockeydraftcentral

*Lots of former NHL players' sons*

One set of players to watch in the 2018 draft class is the group of more than 15 former NHL players' sons, as well as the sons of an NHL coach and executive.

I created pages for each of these guys that you can find on Hockey Draft Central. Check out the list and see if you can name all the dads without research. I linked to more info on the most likely first-rounders as of now.

Ryan Chyzowski
Kody Clark
Jack DeBoer
Jack Drury
Quinn Hughes
Simon Kjellberg
Nikolai Kovalenko
Christian Krygier
Jack McBain
Zack Malik
Ethan Manderville
Jake Pivonka
Adam Samuelsson
Mattias Samuelsson
Ryan Savage
Riley Sutter
Brady Tkachuk
Jesse Ylonen
Libor Zabransky Jr.
Ryan Savage


----------



## ulvvf

Tomas W said:


> There is no doubt that Dahlin is going to be a stud as a offensive defenseman. It could be that there will be complaints of his defensive abilities (reminds me of someone...).
> 
> But how he stand against others in the draft I not sure of. Probably as the top D at least, I guess.




He is pretty good defensivly for his age. But defense comes with ages, offensive skills do not, to the same degree.

But I still think he have to show more to be number 1. He hasnt been a full regular this season, but I guess he will be that next season. He could fall just like Liljegren and Kylington, but I think he is a tier above them.


----------



## Eugene85

Fantomas said:


> They originate from him playing center a number of times.



Maybe after he moved to NA he played a couple of games as C but in Russia he was a winger.


----------



## Luddowich

GetThePuckOuttaHere said:


> Absolutely zero bias having an affect here, eh? You must have only started watching hockey recently to think he's in an absolute class of his own at his age.




I knew that this was coming, can't have anyone better than Matthews!!

No, I have never ever seen a 16 year old defenseman skate through legitimate SHL pros like they're traffic cones on a regular basis. That as far as I can remember has never happened before during a modern era. Compared to the performances of past and current Swedish greats when they were 16. He is in a class of his own.



GetThePuckOuttaHere said:


> Dahlin likely doesn't even go before Svechnikov.




Why the "even"? Svechnikov is not an ordinary prospect. He has dominated everywhere he's gone above his as group. And wouldn't be surprised if he ended up on par with Matthews/Laine. Compared to Matthews, Svechnikov has similar numbers and better numbers than Matthews 16-17 year old season both in the USHL.
Not saying he is/will be better than either. I wouldn't be surprised to see him on par with the 2 though.

Also, why would you pick Svechnikov over Dahlin, just curious since I've only seen 1 list that has him over Dahlin.


----------



## Tomas W

ulvvf said:


> He is pretty good defensivly for his age. But defense comes with ages, offensive skills do not, to the same degree.
> 
> But I still think he have to show more to be number 1. He hasnt been a full regular this season, but I guess he will be that next season. He could fall just like Liljegren and Kylington, but I think he is a tier above them.




Yeah I dont think he will fall, but of course thats is only what I think.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Luddowich said:


> I knew that this was coming, can't have anyone better than Matthews!!
> 
> No, I have never ever seen a 16 year old defenseman skate through legitimate SHL pros like they're traffic cones on a regular basis. That as far as I can remember has never happened before during a modern era. Compared to the performances of past and current Swedish greats when they were 16. He is in a class of his own.
> 
> 
> 
> Why the "even"? Svechnikov is not an ordinary prospect. He has dominated everywhere he's gone above his as group. And wouldn't be surprised if he ended up on par with Matthews/Laine. Compared to Matthews, *Svechnikov has similar numbers and better numbers than Matthews 16-17 year old season both in the USHL.*
> Not saying he is/will be better than either. I wouldn't be surprised to see him on par with the 2 though.
> 
> Also, why would you pick Svechnikov over Dahlin, just curious since I've only seen 1 list that has him over Dahlin.



As pointed out many times before, you can't compare USNTDP numbers to that against players on USHL teams for a bunch of reasons. USNTDP isn't a regular team. They have to divide ice for developmental purposes as they have most of the elite young-Americans on the team, Matthews was moved up a spot mid-year. The 16-year-old team is also made up of what would be the youngest players on each USHL team, which have 18 and 19-year-olds. Plus, Matthews D-1 numbers are significantly better than Svechnikov's D-1 numbers in the same league if you do that comparison, Matthews had a 2.0ppg compared to Svechnikov's 1.21, Matthews was at a ppg at 16. The age difference is about the same going both ways when comparing birth year to draft year, as one is a March birthday, the other is a September. 

Also, you seem to be ignoring the extra risk with defenders. Almost any time there are comparable forwards and defenders at the top of the draft, the forward almost always goes first. See Stamkos over Doughty, Tavares over Hedman and Mackinnon (plus Barkov and Drouin) over Jones.


----------



## DeweyFinn

Anybody hear anything about goalies for the 2018 draft ?


----------



## 93LEAFS

DeweyFinn said:


> Anybody hear anything about goalies for the 2018 draft ?



Yes, that Czech kid Skarek will be arguably the most hyped goalie in awhile. He seems Samsonov/Vasilvesky level, if not better. People like Gravel out of the QMJHL. I'm sure I'm missing some other. I'm relying on word of mouth on this one, scouting goalies requires a lot of technical knowledge many people here probably don't possess.


----------



## DeweyFinn

93LEAFS said:


> Yes, that Czech kid Skarek will be arguably the most hyped goalie in awhile. He seems Samsonov/Vasilvesky level, if not better. People like Gravel out of the QMJHL. I'm sure I'm missing some other. I'm relying on word of mouth on this one, scouting goalies requires a lot of technical knowledge many people here probably don't possess.




I was hearing that both Jacob Ingham and Jordan Kooy were top goalies out of the OHL for this draft


----------



## ulvvf

Tomas W said:


> Yeah I dont think he will fall, but of course thats is only what I think.




Yes but he still have a lot to prove next season to justify the hype.


----------



## AirJordan

93LEAFS said:


> As pointed out many times before, you can't compare USNTDP numbers to that against players on USHL teams for a bunch of reasons.




We have read it many times and its getting boring. You should accept that this is only your opinion and no fact, just because you see it this way. Thank you.

Btw, Svechnikov played nearly the complete ushl year as an 16 year old.


----------



## 93LEAFS

AirJordan said:


> We have read it many times and its getting boring. You should accept that this is only your opinion and no fact, just because you see it this way. Thank you.
> 
> Btw, Svechnikov played nearly the complete ushl year as an 16 year old.



No, it is an accepted fact by most and anyone who follows the USHL. This isn't some opinion I made up out of thin air. I don't think you grasp how the USNTDP works. It doesn't matter, that he played it as a 16-year-old, he has the same age advantage over Matthews 16-year-old season, as Matthews 17-year-old season has over his current one. You don't magically age a full year on your birthday, there are 365 days that make up that difference. 

How much USHL have you followed over the years prior to Svechnikov arriving?


----------



## Gigantor The Goalie

DeweyFinn said:


> Anybody hear anything about goalies for the 2018 draft ?




Jakub Skarek, Alexis Gravel, Kevin Mandolese, Jacob Ingham, Olivier Rodrigue, and Carl Stankowski are the obvious front runners for leading the goalie prospects in 2018. Two darkhorses are Jordan Kooy (great work in a small sample size) and Justin Blanchette (looked good when moved to Baie-Comeau).


----------



## olli

*2018 NHL Draft*

Who are the best players for next years draft? How good will they be/what is their potential?
To lazy to look through everyone but here's a link to top prospects for the 2018 draft: http://www.eliteprospects.com/draftcenter.php?year=2018
Close if there is already a thread.


----------



## Wintersun

There is a couple threads about the 2018 draft but to answer, the clear top 2 appears to be Dahlin then Svechnikov. 

You have other players that could be top 10 like Veleno, Khovanov, Zadina, Woo, McIsaac, Thomas, Hughes, Merkley, Boqvist, Wilde, Tkachuk, Farabee, Kravtsov, MacDonald, Lundestrom... It's pretty early though but draft looks like it'll have a good first couple rounds.


----------



## GetThePuckOuttaHere*

Mifroid said:


> There is a couple threads about the 2018 draft but to answer, the clear top 2 appears *to be Dahlin then Svechnikov.*
> 
> You have other players that could be top 10 like Veleno, Khovanov, Zadina, Woo, McIsaac, Thomas, Hughes, Merkley, Boqvist, Wilde, Tkachuk, Farabee, Kravtsov, MacDonald, Lundestrom... It's pretty early though but draft looks like it'll have a good first couple rounds.




Not really, many people and scouting services rank Svechnikov over Dahlin.


----------



## Number1RedWingsFan52

He's hoping that Detroit crash and burns next season as well, And drafts one of Svechnikov or Dahlin.


----------



## Luddowich

GetThePuckOuttaHere said:


> Not really, many people and scouting services rank Svechnikov over Dahlin.



Why are you so obsessed over that?
The majority of people see Dahlin as the front runner at this point. Obviously there's going to be people who think different. But the majority i've seen and spoken to see him as the BPA. But then again, it's way to early to tell how each player will develop over the summer.


----------



## GetThePuckOuttaHere*

Luddowich said:


> Why are you so obsessed over that?
> The majority of people see Dahlin as the front runner at this point. Obviously there's going to be people who think different. But the majority i've seen and spoken to see him as the BPA. But then again, it's way to early to tell how each player will develop over the summer.




I'm actually pretty partial to the entire debate. To simplify; I think it's way too early to be saying one person is over another, and would currently value Svechnikov higher than Dahlin from my (very) limited viewings.


----------



## Martinez

Seems like a lot of penalty minutes for dahlin


----------



## Juxtaposer

GetThePuckOuttaHere said:


> I'm actually pretty partial to the entire debate. To simplify; I think it's way too early to be saying one person is over another, and would currently value Svechnikov higher than Dahlin from my (very) limited viewings.




I think you mean non-partial?


----------



## Luddowich

GetThePuckOuttaHere said:


> I'm actually pretty partial to the entire debate. To simplify; I think it's way too early to be saying one person is over another, and would currently value Svechnikov higher than Dahlin from my (very) limited viewings.



Why do you value Svechnikov higher, not saying your wrong. Just very curious.
What seperates the players for you, why?


----------



## 93LEAFS

Luddowich said:


> Why do you value Svechnikov higher, not saying your wrong. Just very curious.
> What seperates the players for you, why?



Personally, I don't see a separation between either. Dahlin plays the more important position, but that position comes with higher risk. Svechnikov plays the less important position but is probably more of a sure thing to be an impact player. The other notable difference, rarely discussed, is that forwards on average are more likely to significantly outperform their ELC's. For example, Hedman may be the better player than Tavares, but early on Tavares probably gave more value-per-dollar spent which has to be acknowledged in the cap world. Same is probably true with Stamkos vs Doughty, but it's much closer. 

If I somehow had the first overall pick with my team, I'd obviously take Dahlin due to need, but it is unlikely that happens. If you are Vegas or a team like the Canucks that currently lack elite scoring player (Boeser could change this outlook within a year), you have to seriously consider Svechnikov. He looks to be a top-tier wing prospect, along with the likes of Hall, Laine, Kane, and Marner.

There are very strong arguments for either at the top of the draft. If they consider along this path, it should be a very interesting debate. I don't think there is a consensus for Dahlin right now, it seems quite split.


----------



## Luddowich

93LEAFS said:


> Personally, I don't see a separation between either. Dahlin plays the more important position, but that position comes with higher risk. Svechnikov plays the less important position but is probably more of a sure thing to be an impact player. The other notable difference, rarely discussed, is that forwards on average are more likely to significantly outperform their ELC's. For example, Hedman may be the better player than Tavares, but early on Tavares probably gave more value-per-dollar spent which has to be acknowledged in the cap world. Same is probably true with Stamkos vs Doughty, but it's much closer.
> 
> If I somehow had the first overall pick with my team, I'd obviously take Dahlin due to need, but it is unlikely that happens. If you are Vegas or a team like the Canucks that currently lack elite scoring player (Boeser could change this outlook within a year), you have to seriously consider Svechnikov. He looks to be a top-tier wing prospect, along with the likes of Hall, Laine, Kane, and Marner.
> 
> There are very strong arguments for either at the top of the draft. If they consider along this path, it should be a very interesting debate. I don't think there is a consensus for Dahlin right now, it seems quite split.



Thats absolutely fair, but i think Dahlin is a tad ahead. The guy is scoring a 0.42 PPG pace in the playoffs and is likely to miss the U18-WC because he will be playing an important role in the SHL finals.

Like i've said, i strongly believe Dahlin is on that McDavid tier. But i absolutely don't think you're wrong if anyone disagree on that. Svechnikov in his own right is a special player and gets underrated time after time. Think he's in or not far from Laines tier. But, there's obviously a lot of time left and as we've seen this year. Injuries is a possibility that can ruin a draft season.


----------



## UsernameWasTaken

Luddowich said:


> Why are you so obsessed over that?
> *The majority of people see Dahlin as the front runner at this point. *Obviously there's going to be people who think different. But the majority i've seen and spoken to see him as the BPA. But then again, it's way to early to tell how each player will develop over the summer.




How did you determine this?


----------



## Fought

Luddowich said:


> Like i've said, i strongly believe Dahlin is on that McDavid tier.




Doesn't he need elite speed to be considered McDavid tier? He got everything else, vision, agility, size, defending etc. Dahlin isn't slow, but he isn't lightning fast either.


----------



## googeyman31

Haven't been able to see Svechnikov yet, so I can't really make a well-founded assessment as to whether he is a better prospect than Dahlin at the moment.

But I can tell you this. I've been following all drafts quite avidly for the past 15 years or so, and there has not been a single Swedish prospect comparable to Dahlin at his age in terms of both completeness and high-end skill set over this time period. The only one who even comes close is Hedman. But to see a 17 yrs old D-man be so outstanding in the Swedish play-offs is unprecedented in modern times.


----------



## ulvvf

Personally I am never a big fan of to much hype, espically when they havnt shown so much at senior level yet. Yes Dahlin is a big talent and he is probably the most intresting looking talent comming from sweden at this age, (yes A Larsson had better numbers, but he had alot of questionmarks), and he could some day be the best d-men in the world, it is not far fetch at all. But still, it is a long way there. Now he had a season where he had more everything to win and nothing to lose, next season it will be a huge pressure on him, how will he handle that?


----------



## Daximus

At this point it's between Svechnikov and Dahlin. The depth in this draft is crazy though, high end players will be available well into the 2nd.


----------



## Luddowich

UsernameWasTaken said:


> How did you determine this?



Only place i haven't seen him at #1 is in a few mocks at HFB. But obviously its way to early to determine this since 1 season can make or break a player.



Fought said:


> Doesn't he need elite speed to be considered McDavid tier? He got everything else, vision, agility, size, defending etc. Dahlin isn't slow, but he isn't lightning fast either.



As you said, he's not slow at top edge speed but he isn't in that McDavid, Eichel, MacK tier either. I don't think his straight edge speed is a concern at all since it will improve as he gradually gains strength. Also, Dahlins game as we've seen doesn't depend on that much straight edge skating as McDavid, Eichel etc does. I think his smarts and stickhandling is just off the charts and compensates for that.


----------



## lawrence

93LEAFS said:


> Personally, I don't see a separation between either. Dahlin plays the more important position, but that position comes with higher risk. Svechnikov plays the less important position but is probably more of a sure thing to be an impact player. The other notable difference, rarely discussed, is that forwards on average are more likely to significantly outperform their ELC's. For example, Hedman may be the better player than Tavares, but early on Tavares probably gave more value-per-dollar spent which has to be acknowledged in the cap world. Same is probably true with Stamkos vs Doughty, but it's much closer.
> 
> If I somehow had the first overall pick with my team, I'd obviously take Dahlin due to need, but it is unlikely that happens. If you are Vegas or a team like the Canucks that currently lack elite scoring player (Boeser could change this outlook within a year), you have to seriously consider Svechnikov. He looks to be a top-tier wing prospect, along with the likes of Hall, Laine, Kane, and Marner.
> 
> There are very strong arguments for either at the top of the draft. If they consider along this path, it should be a very interesting debate. I don't think there is a consensus for Dahlin right now, it seems quite split.




Smart teams won't draft need, they draft bpa. If the Canucks happen to get the 1st pick it's going to be dhalin. He's too good of a dman to pass up on.


----------



## maaran

lawrence said:


> Smart teams won't draft need, they draft bpa. If the Canucks happen to get the 1st pick it's going to be dhalin. He's too good of a dman to pass up on.




I'm not too sure about that, I think Svechnikov has to be the potential to be a lesser Ovi and even though Dahlin could one day become the best defensmen in the NHL, the canucks need offense. Hopefully the canucks get #2 so they get a good player either way.


----------



## Luddowich

maaran said:


> I'm not too sure about that, I think Svechnikov has to be the potential to be a lesser Ovi and even though Dahlin could one day become the best defensmen in the NHL, the canucks need offense. Hopefully the canucks get #2 so they get a good player either way.



And you don't think Dahlin provides offense?


----------



## NikF

93LEAFS said:


> Personally, I don't see a separation between either. Dahlin plays the more important position, but that position comes with higher risk. Svechnikov plays the less important position but is probably more of a sure thing to be an impact player. The other notable difference, rarely discussed, is that forwards on average are more likely to significantly outperform their ELC's. For example, Hedman may be the better player than Tavares, but early on Tavares probably gave more value-per-dollar spent which has to be acknowledged in the cap world. Same is probably true with Stamkos vs Doughty, but it's much closer.
> 
> If I somehow had the first overall pick with my team, I'd obviously take Dahlin due to need, but it is unlikely that happens. If you are Vegas or a team like the Canucks that currently lack elite scoring player (Boeser could change this outlook within a year), you have to seriously consider Svechnikov. He looks to be a top-tier wing prospect, along with the likes of Hall, Laine, Kane, and Marner.
> 
> There are very strong arguments for either at the top of the draft. If they consider along this path, it should be a very interesting debate. I don't think there is a consensus for Dahlin right now, it seems quite split.




I realize before this season we at Draftin Europe were probably the only ones having him high, but after the year and the exposure he had this season I'd be really surprised if it was indeed split among scouts right now.


----------



## Ola

I think Tkachuk will raise a lot and I wouldn't be surprised if he started to challenge for a top spot too. Teams are desperate for that top Center, and Tkachuck has that potential.

I've seen a lot of both Sveshnikov and Dahlin, and with all due respect, I don't think anyone who watches a lot of hockey and have seen both of them a lot would have Sveahnikov ahead at this point. Some will always try to distinguish themselves and say whatever, but Sveshnikov looks like a very very good young center. But nothing special for a top 3-5 ranked player. Rasmus Dahlin -- at the age of 16 -- is probably the most impressive offensively talented D anyone have seen for basically 2-3 decades. The other day he became the youngest player for the men's Swedish national team in 57 years.

With that said, everyone knows that a ton can happen in the coming 14 months when it comes to 17 y/o hockey player. These kids are growing so much. Some kids may be finished growing when they are 16, others when they are 22-23.


----------



## JimboA

Ola said:


> I've seen a lot of both Sveshnikov and Dahlin, and with all due respect, I don't think anyone who watches a lot of hockey and have seen both of them a lot would have Sveahnikov ahead at this point. Some will always try to distinguish themselves and say whatever,* but Sveshnikov looks like a very very good young center. But nothing special for a top 3-5 ranked player.* Rasmus Dahlin -- at the age of 16 -- is probably the most impressive offensively talented D anyone have seen for basically 2-3 decades. The other day he became the youngest player for the men's Swedish national team in 57 years.




Svechnikov is a winger. And yes, he's absolutely special and deserves to be up there.


----------



## ManUtdTobbe

Isn't Tkachuk a winger aswell? He's only ever played winger in the 10-15 games i've seen atleast.


----------



## Alberta tough

Ola said:


> I think Tkachuk will raise a lot and I wouldn't be surprised if he started to challenge for a top spot too. Teams are desperate for that top Center, and Tkachuck has that potential.
> 
> *I've seen a lot of both Sveshnikov *and Dahlin, and with all due respect, I don't think anyone who watches a lot of hockey and have seen both of them a lot would have Sveahnikov ahead at this point. Some will always try to distinguish themselves and say whatever,* but Sveshnikov looks like a very very good young center.* But nothing special for a top 3-5 ranked player. Rasmus Dahlin -- at the age of 16 -- is probably the most impressive offensively talented D anyone have seen for basically 2-3 decades. The other day he became the youngest player for the men's Swedish national team in 57 years.
> 
> With that said, everyone knows that a ton can happen in the coming 14 months when it comes to 17 y/o hockey player. These kids are growing so much. Some kids may be finished growing when they are 16, others when they are 22-23.




Huh?


----------



## Ola

JimboA said:


> Svechnikov is a winger. And yes, he's absolutely special and deserves to be up there.




He played wing against Sweden, but has all the tools to be a center. I would be surprised if whoever gets him don't try to play him at center. Same with Tkachuk. But it of course also depends on where he goes. A lot/most teams would try to mold Pulju into a center but for EDM that's probably not in the plans. Depends a bit on what style a team plays too. 

In juniors you might want to give these guys a more free role. But so many teams are starving for that center with top ability. I've not seen that much of Tkachuck, has he never played center? Think he could do really well there.


----------



## Ola

JimboA said:


> Svechnikov is a winger. And yes, he's absolutely special and deserves to be up there.




Sure, never said anything else, but as of today -- is he close to Dahlin? No, he just isn't. AINEC. There are always special players in any draft, and Sveshnikov is one of them. But he is not "special" for a potential top 3 pick. Is Dahlin? He is today. Will he be in 12 months? Will Sveshnikov be in 12 months? That could change a lot. Much more than many are aware of. But Dahlins play as a 16 y/o is remarkable.


----------



## Daximus

Ola said:


> Sure, never said anything else, but as of today -- is he close to Dahlin? No, he just isn't. AINEC. There are always special players in any draft, and Sveshnikov is one of them. *But he is not "special" for a potential top 3 pick*. Is Dahlin? He is today. Will he be in 12 months? Will Sveshnikov be in 12 months? That could change a lot. Much more than many are aware of. But Dahlins play as a 16 y/o is remarkable.




I'm pretty sure most if not all people have Svechnikov penciled in for a top 3 pick at this point.


----------



## maaran

Ola said:


> Sure, never said anything else, but as of today -- is he close to Dahlin? No, he just isn't. AINEC. There are always special players in any draft, and Sveshnikov is one of them. But he is not "special" for a potential top 3 pick. Is Dahlin? He is today. Will he be in 12 months? Will Sveshnikov be in 12 months? That could change a lot. Much more than many are aware of. But Dahlins play as a 16 y/o is remarkable.




Svechnikov had one of the best 16-17 year old ushl seasons ever.


----------



## FireBird71

Ola said:


> Sure, never said anything else, but as of today -- is he close to Dahlin? No, he just isn't. AINEC. There are always special players in any draft, and Sveshnikov is one of them. But he is not "special" for a potential top 3 pick. Is Dahlin? He is today. Will he be in 12 months? Will Sveshnikov be in 12 months? That could change a lot. Much more than many are aware of. But Dahlins play as a 16 y/o is remarkable.




Svechnikov will be picked top 3 if not top 2


----------



## JK2K

It smells like the Swedes are using every opportunity to get this player picked #1. A source of pride. He hardly played in the WJ's. He is great player but the Swedish marketing team is on the case to make him greater than he is. Like Veleno with exceptional status in the Q. Not right.


----------



## gretskidoo

JK2K said:


> It smells like the Swedes are using every opportunity to get this player picked #1. A source of pride. He hardly played in the WJ's. He is great player but the Swedish marketing team is on the case to make him greater than he is. Like Veleno with exceptional status in the Q. Not right.




It isn't right, god damn it. He's so overrated. He should go about 5-10 at best. Preferably wherever Detroit ends up.

Tell your GMs, tell your scouts, tell your coaches.


----------



## bottomofthefoodchain

JK2K said:


> It smells like the Swedes are using every opportunity to get this player picked #1. A source of pride. He hardly played in the WJ's. He is great player but the Swedish marketing team is on the case to make him greater than he is. Like Veleno with exceptional status in the Q. Not right.




Watching him play is enough, dont need no "marketing".


----------



## Wintersun

maaran said:


> Svechnikov had one of the best 16-17 year old ushl seasons ever.




While Svech was great this year, a guy like Kyle connor did have better numbers in his draft-1 season than Svechnikov, so he still has work to do to prove he will be a top 2 pick for sure, but so far he absolutely is the best forward in the draft.


----------



## kp61c

Mifroid said:


> While Svech was great this year, a guy like Kyle connor did* have better numbers in his draft-1 season than Svechnikov*, so he still has work to do to prove he will be a top 2 pick for sure, but so far he absolutely is the best forward in the draft.



while svechnikov is a bit overhyped here, i'm confused. wasn't svechnikov like 9 month younger in his draft -1 season? wasn't it the first season for svechnikov and the second for Connor in the ushl (and in a new country in svechnikov's case)? what an absurd comparison.


----------



## Wintersun

kp61c said:


> while svechnikov is a bit overhyped here, i'm confused. wasn't svechnikov like 9 month younger in his draft -1 season? wasn't it the first season for svechnikov and the second for Connor in the ushl (and in a new country in svechnikov's case)? what an absurd comparison.




All of that is true and I'm not saying Connor was the better prospect at all. Just saying that Svechnkov is not out of the ordinary for a guy expected to battle for the first overall. If he had done less than that It would have been disappointing.


----------



## AirJordan

kp61c said:


> while svechnikov is a bit overhyped here, i'm confused. wasn't svechnikov like 9 month younger in his draft -1 season? wasn't it the first season for svechnikov and the second for Connor in the ushl (and in a new country in svechnikov's case)? what an absurd comparison.




Not to mention that svechnikov dominated every single international tournament his age group in which he participated, something connor has never done. But the stupidest statement is still he is not "special" enough to go top 3 who is then? Dahlin, dahlin and dahlin for the top 3? And i thought the finne were annoying last year...


----------



## tony d

Looks like the top 2 guys are Dahlin and Svechnikov for this draft. Will be interesting to see how they develop during their draft yrs. and if someone else steps up.


----------



## Donuts

canucks better win a top 3 lottery next year.

one of dahlin, svechnikov, veleno pls


----------



## vivalavili

I just hope that Wings are even worse next year. Both Svechnikovs would be a great fit in the red and white and a franchise can never have enough Swedish elite defensemen


----------



## TimeZone

Merkley looks interesting. I wonder if he has an outside chance at going top 2.


----------



## Daximus

TimeZone said:


> Merkley looks interesting. I wonder if he has an outside chance at going top 2.




Tonnes of upside there. A big year as an offensive defencemen of his calibre could really thrust him up there. Looks to be a great year for defencemen so far.


----------



## huntison

Dahlin clear cut #1. Russian factor. Yes I'm bitter about Tryamkin.


----------



## 93LEAFS

TimeZone said:


> Merkley looks interesting. I wonder if he has an outside chance at going top 2.



I doubt it without a massive growth spurt or a change in approach. He doesn't compete enough and can give up on plays when he causes turnovers. I'd be amazed if he developed in a way where anyone considers him over Dahlin and Svechnikov. I actually think he might have trouble being a top 6 or 7 defender in this draft. Strong arguments for Dahlin, Ty Smith, MacIssac, Samuelsson, Wilde and Jet Woo over him at the moment.


----------



## The Iron Goalie

huntison said:


> Dahlin clear cut #1. Russian factor. Yes I'm bitter about Tryamkin.




I believe both Svechnikov brothers came over to NA early, and even there parents have moved to NA to live with them. These 2 are not going to feel "home sick" and bolt back too Russia. 

Tryamkin's wife stayed in Russia, so Nikita was basically on his own. Furthermore, he played exclusively in Russia/the KHL, so he has deep ties too Russia.

Fear not the "Russian factor" with the Svechnikov's.


----------



## Yggdrasil

Ola said:


> I think Tkachuk will raise a lot and I wouldn't be surprised if he started to challenge for a top spot too. Teams are desperate for that top Center, and Tkachuck has that potential.
> 
> I've seen a lot of both Sveshnikov and Dahlin, and with all due respect, I don't think anyone who watches a lot of hockey and have seen both of them a lot would have Sveahnikov ahead at this point. Some will always try to distinguish themselves and say whatever, but Sveshnikov looks like a very very good young center. But nothing special for a top 3-5 ranked player. Rasmus Dahlin -- at the age of 16 -- is probably the most impressive offensively talented D anyone have seen for basically 2-3 decades. The other day he became the youngest player for the men's Swedish national team in 57 years.
> 
> With that said, everyone knows that a ton can happen in the coming 14 months when it comes to 17 y/o hockey player. These kids are growing so much. Some kids may be finished growing when they are 16, others when they are 22-23.




how does he compare to erik karlsson? 

dahlin obviously.


----------



## Fantomas

Mifroid said:


> While Svech was great this year, a guy like Kyle connor did have better numbers in his draft-1 season than Svechnikov, so he still has work to do to prove he will be a top 2 pick for sure, but so far he absolutely is the best forward in the draft.




That's meaningless. Connor is a September birthday. At 16 (Svechnikov's age) he had 41 points in 62 games.


----------



## Fantomas

Ola said:


> Sure, never said anything else, but as of today -- is he close to Dahlin? No, he just isn't. AINEC. There are always special players in any draft, and Sveshnikov is one of them. But he is not "special" for a potential top 3 pick. Is Dahlin? He is today. Will he be in 12 months? Will Sveshnikov be in 12 months? That could change a lot. Much more than many are aware of. But Dahlins play as a 16 y/o is remarkable.




You talk a lot for someone who doesn't even know which position Svechnikov plays.


----------



## Lataba76

Oh my God! Where are the Finns?


----------



## Daximus

Lataba76 said:


> Oh my God! Where are the Finns?




What are a few more names to watch for? I know of Nordgren, Kotkaniemi and Annunan so far.


----------



## ChicagoBullsFan

Lataba76 said:


> Oh my God! Where are the Finns?




If you want follow 2018 eligible Finnish prospects watch these guys.
Rasmus Kupari 
Jesse YlÃ¶nen
Jepseri Kotkaniemi
Arttu Nevasaari
Toni Utunen
Niklas Nordgren


----------



## JK2K

Dahlin
Schvechnikov
Farabee
McIsaac
McBain
Tkatchuk
Wilde
Woo
Smith
MacDonald
Groulx
Veleno
wahlstrom
Merkley
Zadina
Dellandrea
McShane
Serron
Khovanov
McLeod


----------



## JK2K

Sorry not Serron-it's Noel


----------



## jalperi

FinnHockeyFan said:


> If you want follow 2018 eligible Finnish prospects watch these guys.
> Rasmus Kupari
> Jesse YlÃ¶nen
> Jepseri Kotkaniemi
> Arttu Nevasaari
> Toni Utunen
> Niklas Nordgren




I would add Anttoni Honka to that list. And yes he is Julius' brother


----------



## jalperi

Few threads about this draft
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2212105
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2215473


----------



## Hockeyisl1fe

FinnHockeyFan said:


> If you want follow 2018 eligible Finnish prospects watch these guys.
> Rasmus Kupari
> Jesse YlÃ¶nen
> Jepseri Kotkaniemi
> Arttu Nevasaari
> Toni Utunen
> Niklas Nordgren



My ranking for them: 1. Kotkaniemi 2. YlÃ¶nen 3. Kupari 4. Utunen 5. Nordgren 6. Nevasaari. Kotkaniemi has a chance to go in top 15 and YlÃ¶nen late first, the rest are later round picks.


----------



## SportsDaily

JFA87-66-99 said:


> I think its time we start the 2018 nhl draft watch. Anyone have any early rankings or information to add to this thread. I'll throw out some names that i have heard of. (Mattais Emilio-Pettersson, Jake Wise, Andrei Svechnikov, Joseph Veleno, Ryan McLeod, Milos Roman)




This guy is awesome Rasmus Dahlin ``The Next Erik Karlsson``


----------



## North Country

A few 18's that impressed me at the Minnesota select weekend
Colin Schmidt
Ian Mageau
Bruce Brodzinski
Jack Jensen


----------



## FaulkYouAho

Svechnikov
Dahlin
tkatchuk
Wilde
Veleno

is my top 5 i also like Zadina Merkley groulx and wahlstorm. not everyday a franchise rw shows up but its same thing with defense (might be a bit biased on the fact the canes are set for defense) but not to down dahlin i do think he will be the next burns or karlsson, but defenseman almost ALWAYS drop because forwards is the safe route to go down. Svech is a dynamic forward. i have merkley down not in the top 10 cause of that -41 but his team was horrible...


----------



## Daximus

dedawpro said:


> Svechnikov
> Dahlin
> tkatchuk
> Wilde
> Veleno
> 
> is my top 5 i also like Zadina Merkley groulx and wahlstorm. not everyday a franchise rw shows up but its same thing with defense (might be a bit biased on the fact the canes are set for defense) but not to down dahlin i do think he will be the next burns or karlsson, but defenseman almost ALWAYS drop because forwards is the safe route to go down. Svech is a dynamic forward. i have merkley down not in the top 10 cause of that -41 but his team was horrible...




McIsaac, Woo and Smith are great defencemen too. Looks like a good crop of dmen for next year.


----------



## maaran

93LEAFS said:


> As pointed out many times before, you can't compare USNTDP numbers to that against players on USHL teams for a bunch of reasons. USNTDP isn't a regular team. They have to divide ice for developmental purposes as they have most of the elite young-Americans on the team, Matthews was moved up a spot mid-year. The 16-year-old team is also made up of what would be the youngest players on each USHL team, which have 18 and 19-year-olds. *Plus, Matthews D-1 numbers are significantly better than Svechnikov's D-1 numbers in the same league if you do that comparison, Matthews had a 2.0ppg compared to Svechnikov's 1.21, Matthews was at a ppg at 16.* The age difference is about the same going both ways when comparing birth year to draft year, as one is a March birthday, the other is a September.
> 
> Also, you seem to be ignoring the extra risk with defenders. Almost any time there are comparable forwards and defenders at the top of the draft, the forward almost always goes first. See Stamkos over Doughty, Tavares over Hedman and Mackinnon (plus Barkov and Drouin) over Jones.






Matthews was a late birthday... Thus, comparing both their seasons Svechnikov has slightly better numbers. Although, we'll have to see next year to see if he is that good!


----------



## doncherrysgrill

I don't really get where this idea that Wahlstrom is somehow not doing well comes from..he and Farabee were called up to the U18s and were excellent at the U18 worlds. Wahlstrom is still in the top discussion. Every game I've seen Wahlstrom is great.

USHL numbers, especially comparing guys on regular teams to the NTDP, are really a poor indicator of what a guy is going to be at the next level, 93LEAFS is spot on. Svechnikov is still an excellent prospect and wherever he goes in the CHL next year is going to get a top player who will light the league up. I also think it's important with Svechnikov to recognize his teammates/how hard it is to put up points in the USHL and how good Matthews' NTDP group was. It's a tough comparison, but Matthews is easily the better prospect for me still.

Dahlin is going to be an interesting one because he really might be the best D prospect in a generation but we know how teams are drafting D. Kid looks like he could be unbelievable in the NHL.

Since the Dahlin talk brought some Swedes in, anyone have any insight on Wernblom? I saw him 3 years ago and he was the best player at the tournament. Haven't been able to follow up.


----------



## The Sweetness

The only prospect I've seen so far is Dahlin but he's incredible. He's doing things in the SHL as a 16 year old that I've never seen anyone do before. His poise and hands are incredible. He still makes mistakes but he has such an insane ceiling.


----------



## VictorLustig

homefrontnyc said:


> I don't really get where this idea that Wahlstrom is somehow not doing well comes from..he and Farabee were called up to the U18s and were excellent at the U18 worlds. Wahlstrom is still in the top discussion. Every game I've seen Wahlstrom is great.
> 
> USHL numbers, especially comparing guys on regular teams to the NTDP, are really a poor indicator of what a guy is going to be at the next level, 93LEAFS is spot on. Svechnikov is still an excellent prospect and wherever he goes in the CHL next year is going to get a top player who will light the league up. I also think it's important with Svechnikov to recognize his teammates/how hard it is to put up points in the USHL and how good Matthews' NTDP group was. It's a tough comparison, but Matthews is easily the better prospect for me still.
> 
> Dahlin is going to be an interesting one because he really might be the best D prospect in a generation but we know how teams are drafting D. Kid looks like he could be unbelievable in the NHL.
> 
> Since the Dahlin talk brought some Swedes in, anyone have any insight on Wernblom? I saw him 3 years ago and he was the best player at the tournament. Haven't been able to follow up.




Don't think Wernblom's game will translate well to the NHL given his size. He's fun to watch but doesn't have that elite speed or skill that smaller players must have to make it. Still a bit early to write him off though.


----------



## Daximus

I read somewhere that Svechnikov might be eligible for the OHL draft, can anyone confirm?


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Daximus said:


> I read somewhere that Svechnikov might be eligible for the OHL draft, can anyone confirm?




The ohl draft already passed, but I'm pretty sure he's eligible for the chl import draft this year.


----------



## Luddowich

JFA87-66-99 said:


> The ohl draft already passed, but I'm pretty sure he's eligible for the chl import draft this year.



Who drafts first?


----------



## JFA87-66-99

Luddowich said:


> Who drafts first?




Barrie Colts


----------



## Therien25

*2018 Draft rankings*

Now that my beloved Canucks suck at draft lotteries, who can I look forward to in 2018.

Seen alot of things that say who is eligible, in alphabetical order, but what are the current rankings of expected draft order?

Anybody know where to find that?


----------



## 93LEAFS

Therien25 said:


> Now that my beloved Canucks suck at draft lotteries, who can I look forward to in 2018.
> 
> Seen alot of things that say who is eligible, in alphabetical order, but what are the current rankings of expected draft order?
> 
> Anybody know where to find that?



No one of note has dropped a list. Clear top tier is Dahlin and Svechnikov. Then you get into the next grouping which is hard to split guys up at this point. Guys who would be in that grouping are Veleno, MacIssac, Zadina, Tkachuk, Samuelsson, and Wilde off the top of my head. Then you have guys like Wahlstrom, Farabee, Merkley, Ty Smith, Jet Woo, Groulx, Anderson-Dolan, K'Andre Miller, etc. There's also Wise who had an insane amount of hype 18 months ago. Probably missed some people, but that is most of the guys you'll see in upcoming top 20's.


----------



## NikF

Therien25 said:


> Now that my beloved Canucks suck at draft lotteries, who can I look forward to in 2018.
> 
> Seen alot of things that say who is eligible, in alphabetical order, but what are the current rankings of expected draft order?
> 
> Anybody know where to find that?




If you're interested in prospects in Europe for 2018, we have a top 5 list (will become top 20 in June). First posted it last August before the Hlinka Memorial tournament started in Europe and had Dahlin #1. We have updated our top 5 for 2018 a couple of times since then and the latest update is available (along with our top 30 Euros for 2017) in our free draft guide preview at *Draftin Europe*, if you're interested in giving it a look. Cheers and I hope you guys have better luck at the draft table than in the lottery.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

nki said:


> If you're interested in prospects in Europe for 2018, we have a top 5 list (will become top 20 in June). First posted it last August before the Hlinka Memorial tournament started in Europe and had Dahlin #1. We have updated our top 5 for 2018 a couple of times since then and the latest update is available (along with our top 30 Euros for 2017) in our free draft guide preview at *Draftin Europe*, if you're interested in giving it a look. Cheers and I hope you guys have better luck at the draft table than in the lottery.




I have respect for your lists because you were really early on mentioning Dahlin, but can you explain how you don't have Khovanov top 5 on your list? I don't understand that at all.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

FinnHockeyFan said:


> If you want follow 2018 eligible Finnish prospects watch these guys.
> Rasmus Kupari
> Jesse YlÃ¶nen
> Jepseri Kotkaniemi
> Arttu Nevasaari
> Toni Utunen
> Niklas Nordgren




Have you thought about doing a yearly rankings of the Finnish draft prospects similar to what Caser does with Russian draft prospects?

You've kind of emerged as the go to Finnish expert on draft prospects on HFboards, no offense to the other Finnish posters, and I think a lot of people value your opinion on the best Finnish prospects. I think there would be a lot of interest in your own rankings where you make a new thread with comprehensive rankings, maybe update it a few times per year, and include any draftable overagers, take questions, things like that.


----------



## maaran

Do both Dahlin and Svechnikov project as Franchise players?


----------



## NikF

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I have respect for your lists because you were really early on mentioning Dahlin, but can you explain how you don't have Khovanov top 5 on your list? I don't understand that at all.




Re: Dahlin
@mkp_BD was super high on him last season while we were scouting for HockeyProspect.com and looking into him before the start of this season it didn’t take much for me to agree on having him as our early #1 ahead of Svechnikov. We knew Dahlin wasn’t even mentioned among top prospects for 2018 back then, but it was a case where we both felt totally at ease not caring about others’ opinions, we were confident the main reason behind it was lack of exposure and only a matter of time.

As for Khovanov, he’s definitely a talented and interesting kid. We’re curious to see how he’ll evolve his game while facing tougher competition along the next couple of seasons. In terms of remaining effective at the top senior level we don’t feel he projects as safely as some other 2018 eligible prospects. We didn't see the best wheels or athletical attributes, and a few average live viewings tempered our enthusiasm as far as ranking him top 5 goes. Keep in mind it is not easy to make the top 5 in Europe for that draft year given the number and quality of other candidates.

Anyway, we’ll obviously go into more details about Khovanov with his profile, part of our Blue Dispatch draft guide to be released in June.


----------



## VictorLustig

nki said:


> Re: Dahlin
> @mkp_BD was super high on him last season while we were scouting for HockeyProspect.com and looking into him before the start of this season it didnâ€™t take much for me to agree on having him as our early #1 ahead of Svechnikov. We knew Dahlin wasnâ€™t even mentioned among top prospects for 2018 back then, but it was a case where we both felt totally at ease not caring about othersâ€™ opinions, we were confident the main reason behind it was lack of exposure and only a matter of time.
> 
> As for Khovanov, heâ€™s definitely a talented and interesting kid. Weâ€™re curious to see how heâ€™ll evolve his game while facing tougher competition along the next couple of seasons. In terms of remaining effective at the top senior level we donâ€™t feel he projects as safely as some other 2018 eligible prospects. We didn't see the best wheels or athletical attributes, and a few average live viewings tempered our enthusiasm as far as ranking him top 5 goes. Keep in mind it is not easy to make the top 5 in Europe for that draft year given the number and quality of other candidates.
> 
> Anyway, weâ€™ll obviously go into more details about Khovanov with his profile, part of our Blue Dispatch draft guide to be released in June.




What's your take on Adam Boqvist?


----------



## Kaako Kappo

Lataba76 said:


> Oh my God! Where are the Finns?




Tell me about it. I hope 2019 has some Finnish top 10 talent.


----------



## NikF

Huffman said:


> What's your take on Adam Boqvist?




We think Adam is a highly skilled off D, and even if we haven't started putting that final ranking together yet, it feels obvious saying he will make our top 20 in June. The grade of compete/nonchalance he'll show next season in his own zone will probably go a long way towards determining his eventual draft status.


----------



## Ola

Fantomas said:


> You talk a lot for someone who doesn't even know which position Svechnikov plays.






AirJordan said:


> Not to mention that svechnikov dominated every single international tournament his age group in which he participated, something connor has never done. But the stupidest statement is still he is not "special" enough to go top 3 who is then? Dahlin, dahlin and dahlin for the top 3? And i thought the finne were annoying last year...






FireBird71 said:


> Svechnikov will be picked top 3 if not top 2






Daximus said:


> I'm pretty sure most if not all people have Svechnikov penciled in for a top 3 pick at this point.




Lol this place at times. I did NOT say that he wouldn't go top 3. I said quote he is not special FOR a top 3 pick. Malkin was really special for a 2nd overal pick. Svechnikov is a great prospect that looks like a lock to go in a top 3, this year he would probably be No 1. But he isn't "special" for a top 3 pick. Not generational. I would rank MANY of the better top 2-3 picks the last 5-10 years ahead of him.

All top 3 picks are more or less special, but for a top 3 pick he isn't special in that comparision. Read what you reply to lol, and cut the attitude if it's to hard to grasp simple English.

I've been in the stands watching Forsberg in the WJC, the Sedins, Crosby, Malkin and a lot of very good players. Seen most tournaments the last 20+ years. I don't need to see a ton of a player to know what I am talking about.

Further, Rasmus Dahlin is the best 16 y/o Swede I have ever seen, and it's not even close. In fact, he is the best 16 y/o defender I have ever seen. 16 y/o Swedes don't play in the SHL, this kid is doing these things at that level:


----------



## Fantomas

And yet you thought Svechnikov played C? Sounds like many careful viewings.


----------



## Ola

MasterMaximize said:


> how does he compare to erik karlsson?
> 
> dahlin obviously.




From my POV, a hockey player is far from a finished product at 18. The game is so complex, skating in hockey is enough to be a sport in it self, then you have the physical aspects AND the whole stick/puck part. These kids starts to do the work on their end result when they are around 14-15, and most only get to the level they can get around 22-23, if not later. EVERY year in that span, at least 8, is each as important.

I remember Karlsson as a 17-18 y/o, he wasn't really close to were Dahlin is. He was so thin and small, albeit tremendously cocky with the puck. But even if he wasn't really a regular early at 18 for Frolunda, he was like 155 lbs it's felt like, I remember a preseason game between Ottawa and Frolunda in Gothenburg in 08' (Ottawa started the season in Europe). Karlsson got little ice time at first, but then just grew and grew and grew during the game. At the end he wasn't almost putting up a show. Chris Neil was half for fun mocking up a player on Frolunda. Then a few shifts later Neil got the puck between the redline and offensive blueline and Karlsson landed a Kronwall hit at him at like 180mph. Neil didn't fall down but lost his breath of the hit and had to go to the bench. That's Karlsson in a nutshell, there is nothing he can't do. Karlsson was of course drafted by Ottawa at that point and I remember the reactions on their bench after that hit, it was like wow we got this kid? He was so small and weak but he is amazing. Karlsson just took it and ran with it. Became so much better every year till he got where he is right now. Rose to every challenge ever put infront of him. 

Rasmus Dahlin is a completely different type, at 16 y/o he can look like he is on a different level than everyone else -- in some cases -- in the SHL. All of a sudden he isn't skating 8s around everyone. On the back check in a situation everyone is scrambling to get back, Dahlin all of a sudden notice that he skated way to fast and have to literary wait for the forwards to catch up before he can hit them. 

He is the best Swede ever at 16 y/o, and it's just not even close. I didn't see Sundin at 16, but I saw him at 17-18 and Dahlin is better. How good is Karlsson really? I would say that he is top 10 in the game easily, probably up towards top 5. That per definition would make him a very very good first overal pick. Will Dahlin become better than that? He would of course have a very long way to go. But he has that potential -- and probably then some. He is the best D prospect at 16 I've ever seen to be honest. We haven't had a real generational talent at D in a long while. Not McDavid/Crosby/AO level. Dahlin must keep taking huge steps -- but he COULD be at that level in 12 months.


----------



## Daximus

I beg to differ I think he is absolutely special for a top 3 pick. Kid has an incredible blend of speed and skill to go along with a great shot arsenal. He's arguably the best Russian wing prospect to come along since Ovi.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Ola said:


> From my POV, a hockey player is far from a finished product at 18. The game is so complex, skating in hockey is enough to be a sport in it self, then you have the physical aspects AND the whole stick/puck part. These kids starts to do the work on their end result when they are around 14-15, and most only get to the level they can get around 22-23, if not later. EVERY year in that span, at least 8, is each as important.
> 
> I remember Karlsson as a 17-18 y/o, he wasn't really close to were Dahlin is. He was so thin and small, albeit tremendously cocky with the puck. But even if he wasn't really a regular early at 18 for Frolunda, he was like 155 lbs it's felt like, I remember a preseason game between Ottawa and Frolunda in Gothenburg in 08' (Ottawa started the season in Europe). Karlsson got little ice time at first, but then just grew and grew and grew during the game. At the end he wasn't almost putting up a show. Chris Neil was half for fun mocking up a player on Frolunda. Then a few shifts later Neil got the puck between the redline and offensive blueline and Karlsson landed a Kronwall hit at him at like 180mph. Neil didn't fall down but lost his breath of the hit and had to go to the bench. That's Karlsson in a nutshell, there is nothing he can't do. Karlsson was of course drafted by Ottawa at that point and I remember the reactions on their bench after that hit, it was like wow we got this kid? He was so small and weak but he is amazing. Karlsson just took it and ran with it. Became so much better every year till he got where he is right now. Rose to every challenge ever put infront of him.
> 
> Rasmus Dahlin is a completely different type, at 16 y/o he can look like he is on a different level than everyone else -- in some cases -- in the SHL. All of a sudden he isn't skating 8s around everyone. On the back check in a situation everyone is scrambling to get back, Dahlin all of a sudden notice that he skated way to fast and have to literary wait for the forwards to catch up before he can hit them.
> 
> He is the best Swede ever at 16 y/o, and it's just not even close. I didn't see Sundin at 16, but I saw him at 17-18 and Dahlin is better. How good is Karlsson really? I would say that he is top 10 in the game easily, probably up towards top 5. That per definition would make him a very very good first overal pick. Will Dahlin become better than that? He would of course have a very long way to go. But he has that potential -- and probably then some. He is the best D prospect at 16 I've ever seen to be honest. We haven't had a real generational talent at D in a long while. *Not McDavid/Crosby/AO level. Dahlin must keep taking huge steps -- but he COULD be at that level in 12 months.*



We haven't seen a defenseman prospect that good in the last 30 or something years. The position is so reactive at the NHL level, that even the best defensive prospects will never be the sure things that high-level forward prospects are. It's simply the nature of the position. 

Dahlin is a special prospect, but even if he is ahead at 16 of guys like Hedman/Doughty, I don't think he'll put himself a full tier ahead of them within a year. 

Remember, in most people's eyes, Jay Bouwmeester was the best 16-year-old defensive prospect we have seen in the last 30 years. He turned into a fringe #1 NHL defender at points but never took that step into what was projected of him. Defensive players development also tends to be much rockier than that of high-level forwards, which again has to do with their responsibilities and the nature of the position, as a winger makes mistakes it carries much less risk. 

Both of these guys are elite prospects, and probably end up in the Matthews/Eichel/Laine tier of prospect, to expect more one way or the other is a bit extreme. Granted, if all those players are in the same draft, I'm leaning towards the two franchise centers as how much they control a game (over a winger) and the less risk attached (compard to defender) make them probably the best pick if all talent is equal.


----------



## Ola

Fantomas said:


> And yet you thought Svechnikov played C? Sounds like many careful viewings.




Why are you trolling me for? If you don't agree with me, argue against me stop trying to make things up for christ sake. I already responded to this:
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=131298401&postcount=26

Svech has all the tools to play center. Its not unusual that better center talents are used on wing on the big ice in Europe so that they get a more free role. 

He has played center before too:


> Center Andrei Svechnikov helped Russia win a bronze medal by recording a hat trick in a 7-4 decision



http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/a...hows-why-he-s-russia-s-next-big-thing-at-wjac

You just need to watch like one shift with him and you can see that he is a natural center at wing. With good size, I think many many organizations would try everything to utilize his ability as a center too. Almost everyone is looking for that size at center ice desperately.

Its the same with PuljujÃ¤rvi, but he ended up in EDM that has a ton of center depth and is used on the wing. But he could also easily play center, has everything it takes and has played center too albeit not that much in Finland.

Ohh god forbid you write something that could be misinterpreted at this place.


----------



## Fantomas

Except you didn't say that Svech 'can' play center, you said that he plays center and then made an insincere correction.

You know, you can praise Dahlin just fine without having to put down Svechnikov. And your criticisms of Svech can't be at all convincing when you don't even know his position.


----------



## Fantomas

And there is nothing about Malkin's tournament play at the age of 16 that clearly separates him from Svechnikov: http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=4231

And I remember Malkin at 16. There was definite hype about him, but no one was yet viewing him to be on the same level as Ovechkin. For a while many considered Malkin and Olesz to be close. Malkin's stock then rose some in his draft year.

Svechnikov's domination of USHL and performance on the international stage clearly positions him as the best 16 year old Russian prospect at least since Malkin and possibly better.


----------



## Ola

93LEAFS said:


> We haven't seen a defenseman prospect that good in the last 30 or something years. The position is so reactive at the NHL level, that even the best defensive prospects will never be the sure things that high-level forward prospects are. It's simply the nature of the position.
> 
> Dahlin is a special prospect, but even if he is ahead at 16 of guys like Hedman/Doughty, I don't think he'll put himself a full tier ahead of them within a year.
> 
> Remember, in most people's eyes, Jay Bouwmeester was the best 16-year-old defensive prospect we have seen in the last 30 years. He turned into a fringe #1 NHL defender at points but never took that step into what was projected of him. Defensive players development also tends to be much rockier than that of high-level forwards, which again has to do with their responsibilities and the nature of the position, as a winger makes mistakes it carries much less risk.
> 
> Both of these guys are elite prospects, and probably end up in the Matthews/Eichel/Laine tier of prospect, to expect more one way or the other is a bit extreme. Granted, if all those players are in the same draft, I'm leaning towards the two franchise centers as how much they control a game (over a winger) and the less risk attached (compard to defender) make them probably the best pick if all talent is equal.




Yeah, I am having the same "concerns". Definitely all fair points. Like Dahlin needs to go from that player that -- albeit while just making your eyes pop when you watch him play -- really dominates and wins hockey game for his team next season to go first overall in this competition. No doubt, and that is like you say a huge step hands down. And we don't really know what to look for in a "D" with this hype.



Daximus said:


> I beg to differ I think he is absolutely special for a top 3 pick. Kid has an incredible blend of speed and skill to go along with a great shot arsenal. He's arguably the best Russian wing prospect to come along since Ovi.




Yeah, maybe I am cutting him a bit short. But comparing him with say Malkin, I would say that he is much less powerful and not quite as talented. Definitely not saying that he can't be ahead of Dahlin in 12 months. But my honest opinion of him is that he looks kind of like many top 2-3 picks does at this stage. Extremely special, of course, but not blowing me away like Dahlin, McDavid, Crosby and the likes...


----------



## Daximus

*Daximus*



Ola said:


> Yeah, maybe I am cutting him a bit short. But comparing him with say Malkin, I would say that he is much less powerful and not quite as talented. Definitely not saying that he can't be ahead of Dahlin in 12 months. But my honest opinion of him is that he looks kind of like many top 2-3 picks does at this stage. Extremely special, of course, but not blowing me away like Dahlin, McDavid, Crosby and the likes...




It's tough for any wing prospect to blow people away. I just hope he heads to Barrie so it's easier to get a read on him.


----------



## BomaLightDevils

How is the top 15 looking like at this time a year for the prospect class?


----------



## Luddowich

BomaLightDevils said:


> How is the top 15 looking like at this time a year for the prospect class?



It's looking really strong in terms of depth and top talent. Many people as you can see are very split on the level of Dahlin/Svechnikov.
At this point the only consensus ranking is Dahlin/Svechnikov being the AB of this draft. And i haven't been able to watch as much as i'd like outside of Sweden during this year.
It's not going to look anything close to this come draft day but i think these players all have to potential to be top 10 picks come draft day.
Dahlin
Svechnikov
Wilde
Khovanov
Veleno
Tkachuk
McIsaac
Boqvist
Zadina
LundestrÃ¶m
Merkley

One player from Sweden i'm very excited about is Adam Boqvist, he'd be getting tons of hype if Rasmus Dahlin wasn't the name of the 2000 draft class. But boy can this guy play, resembles EK65 a lot on the ice (and that's not a lazy comparison) his numbers club and internationally are ridiculous.


----------



## VictorLustig

One player I look forward to watching next season is Albin Eriksson. He's got a rare combination of size, skating and hands but is still very raw.

Jacob Olofsson is my top ranked Swedish forward as of now, but that could easily change. He's also got good size, skating and skill. 

Not that high on LundestrÃ¶m.


----------



## LastWordArmy

*2018 NHL Draft Led by Defensemen*

While the 2017 NHL Draft has yet to come and go, the 2018 draft is setting up to be an interesting one. There have been some great performances from players eligible for the 2018 NHL Draft throughout the 2016-17 season, meaning there is more to come next season and leading up to the draft next year.

These performances have been produced by defensemen, for the most part. There is a great crop of them leading the pack in 2018. Guelph Storm’s Ryan Merkley and Frolunda’s Rasmus Dahlin, from what has been seen so far, are the two leading candidates for the first defenseman to be selected at the 2018 NHL Draft.

http://lastwordonhockeyprospects.com/2017/04/11/2018-nhl-draft-led-defensemen/


----------



## crashnburnluder

AirJordan said:


> Not to mention that svechnikov dominated every single international tournament his age group in which he participated, something connor has never done. But the stupidest statement is still he is not "special" enough to go top 3 who is then? Dahlin, dahlin and dahlin for the top 3? And i thought the finne were annoying last year...





All I could think of was... Who are the best 3 rappers in the world... Dylan, Dylan, and Dylan.. I spit a hot fire.


----------



## Patrik Barkov

jalperi said:


> I would add Anttoni Honka to that list. And yes he is Julius' brother




2019 eligible. I've seen many games and he does have great hockey IQ and hands. Lacks strength, speed and size.


----------



## JK2K

Draft top 20 Rankings:
1/Dahlin
2/ Svechnikov
3/Farabee
4/McIsaac
5/Tkachuk
6/McBain
7/Woo
8/Zadina
9/Merkley
10/ Valeno
11/MCLEOD
12/Smith
13/Khovanov
14/Groulx
15/Bokvist
16/Wild
17/ Dellandrea
18/ McShane
19/Walstrom
20/MacDonald


----------



## tigervixxxen

Anyone else catch Marek's top 10 on Facebook live from the combine? 

1. Dahlin
2. Svechnikov
3. Veleno
4. Wilde
5. Merkley
6. Zadina
7. McIsaac
8. Tkachuk
9. McLeod
10. Groulx


----------



## StatisticsAddict99

1. Dahlin(Best D-Man Prospect since Doughty, maybe even better)

2. Svechnikov(Franchise Winger/Center, what ever he plays he is gonna be in the same Tier as Matthews/ Eichel/ Laine Playing it)

3. Veleno(Gets allot of dirt for having exceptional status and not cementing any where near McDavid esc stats, but he could be a face of a Franchise one day as well, reminds me of Tavaras)

4. Khovanov(Tbh I don't know allot about many of these prospects as it's hard to find info and tape on them but this guy to me looks the smartest of any players in this draft and the best set up man as well, has Elite tools in the ahead from what I watched, I could see him jumping as high as 2)

5. Zadina(This guy reminds me a lot of Draisaitl, big bruting body with a limited stature and a wicked shot)

6. Wilde

7.Tkachuk

8. Woo

9. Groulx

10. McIsaac


----------



## Juxtaposer

tigervixxxen said:


> Anyone else catch Marek's top 10 on Facebook live from the combine?
> 
> 1. Dahlin
> 2. Svechnikov
> 3. Veleno
> 4. Wilde
> 5. Merkley
> 6. Zadina
> 7. McIsaac
> 8. Tkachuk
> 9. McLeod
> 10. Groulx




This looks pretty good to me.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Marek's list looks way too CHL heavy. Missing many of the best European players.


----------



## JimboA

Here you have Dahlin vs. Svechnikov back in the summer of 2011, taking the faceoff at the start of the video. 

Svechnikov is #14 in green, Dahlin #10 in white.

Source: http://variagi.ru/Match?TournamentID=216&EventID=558&MatchID=11933


----------



## SCampo98

*Is There Any Depth Next Year After Svechnikov and Dahlin?*

I've been hearing recently on TSN that teams aren't even entertaining the possibility of trading a 1st rounder from next years draft. I understand that Svechnikov and Dahlin and views as exceptionally talented players but is there are there any other potential stars after them. 

Maybe it's because they're both so good but I haven't heard too many other names in regards to high picks next years draft.


----------



## blindpass

Yes.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2211755&highlight=2018


----------



## 93LEAFS

There are a bunch of high-end potential D-men in Ty Smith, Woo, MacIssac, Wilde, Samuelsson, Boqvist, Quinn Hughes, and Merkley.

The area it is heavily lacking in though is potential star centers. The shine on Veleno is eroding, and the best Canadian center prospect (and possibly overall) is in the OJHL and likely to stay there (McBain). Then there are guys like Wahlstrom, Khovanov, Groulx, Delleandrea, Foudy, and Wise.

A fair amount of good winger prospects though. B. Tkachuk, Farabee and Zadina are likely top 10 picks.


----------



## Juxtaposer

Lots of great D, lots of great wingers, but unfortunately not very many good centers.


----------



## StatisticsAddict99

93LEAFS said:


> There are a bunch of high-end potential D-men in Ty Smith, Woo, MacIssac, Wilde, Samuelsson, Boqvist, Quinn Hughes, and Merkley.
> 
> The area it is heavily lacking in though is potential star centers. The shine on Veleno is eroding, and the best Canadian center prospect (and possibly overall) is in the OJHL and likely to stay there (McBain). Then there are guys like Wahlstrom, Khovanov, Groulx, Delleandrea, Foudy, and Wise.
> 
> A fair amount of good winger prospects though. B. Tkachuk, Farabee and Zadina are likely top 10 picks.




I thought Kohvanov, Veleno and McBain where Elite level(atleast looking that way) prospects...


----------



## ChicagoBullsFan

Some Finns to keep eye on to 2018 draft.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi ( C)
Rasmus Kupari ( C / RW)
Jesse Ylonen ( RW and son of Juha Ylonen)
All those guys played well U18 WJC in Slovakia.

Other names to follow

Niklas Nordgren ( RW)
Arttu Nevasaari ( RW)
Toni Utunen ( D)
Samuel Salonen ( LW)
Justus Annunen ( G)


----------



## 93LEAFS

matthole said:


> I thought Kohvanov, Veleno and McBain where Elite level(atleast looking that way) prospects...



Depends on who you talk to and depends on how you define elite. But, I don't think they are. I wouldn't classify them as elite right now, and I've seen some reliable sources having Khovanov out of the first (for a small guy he isn't a great skater, so he depends entirely on IQ which makes it difficult to have the space required to utilize his IQ to its full extent at the next level). None of them are notably better than Vilardi, Pettersson or Glass. A lot can change in a year, but at the moment, it is very weak down the middle of the ice depending on how you classify Brady Tkachuk.


----------



## johna2626

Earlier this season, I thought the depth of the 2017 Draft would be very weak. I thought there might be huge drop off after pick ten. But now there are about 20 guys that feel like are good solid picks in the first round. So I think the 2018 guys will start to shine once we get closer to their draft in 2018.


----------



## pckstpr31

93LEAFS said:


> There are a bunch of high-end potential D-men in Ty Smith, Woo, MacIssac, Wilde, Samuelsson, Boqvist, Quinn Hughes, and Merkley.
> 
> The area it is heavily lacking in though is potential star centers. The shine on Veleno is eroding, and the best Canadian center prospect (and possibly overall) is in the *OJHL and likely to stay there (McBain)*. Then there are guys like Wahlstrom, Khovanov, Groulx, Delleandrea, Foudy, and Wise.
> 
> A fair amount of good winger prospects though. B. Tkachuk, Farabee and Zadina are likely top 10 picks.




Don't know much about him. What exactly would cause a guy who could be a top 5 pick (just based on you saying he may be the best C prospect) to play Junior A in Ontario in his draft year?


----------



## 93LEAFS

pckstpr31 said:


> Don't know much about him. What exactly would cause a guy who could be a top 5 pick (just based on you saying he may be the best C prospect) to play Junior A in Ontario in his draft year?



Doesn't want to move too far from home (USHL or BCHL) and wants to keep college eligibility. Weird decision, but scouts will find talent wherever. He will be at the major events for Canada (Hlinka and the U-18's) and be at the World Jr A Challenge. 

He's known about, and in a hub were a bunch of scouts live. So, its not like he'll suffer too much from lack of exposure. The amount of head scouts and regional guys that live in Southern Ontario means he won't be overlooked.


----------



## pckstpr31

93LEAFS said:


> Doesn't want to move too far from home (USHL or BCHL) and wants to keep college eligibility. Weird decision, but scouts will find talent wherever. He will be at the major events for Canada (Hlinka and the U-18's) and be at the World Jr A Challenge.
> 
> He's known about, and in a hub were a bunch of scouts live. So, its not like he'll suffer too much from lack of exposure. The amount of head scouts and regional guys that live in Southern Ontario means he won't be overlooked.




Very interesting. Do you know if any player from the OJHL has been selected in the first round before?


----------



## BondraTime

pckstpr31 said:


> Very interesting. Do you know if any player from the OJHL has been selected in the first round before?




Since 2000 Brendan Smith and Cogliano.


----------



## 93LEAFS

pckstpr31 said:


> Very interesting. Do you know if any player from the OJHL has been selected in the first round before?



Yeah, Daultan Leveille off the top of my head. It was under the GHJHL label, which was an Ontario-based Jr. A league. Brendan Smith and Andrew Cogliano both played in the OPJHL.


----------



## pckstpr31

BondraTime said:


> Since 2000 Brendan Smith and Cogliano.






93LEAFS said:


> Yeah, Daultan Leveille off the top of my head. It was under the GHJHL label, which was an Ontario-based Jr. A league. Brendan Smith and Andrew Cogliano both played in the OPJHL.




Interesting, appreciate the responses. I suppose he'll deal with the same questions Makar and Mittelstadt are facing this year in regards to quality of competition.


----------



## BondraTime

93LEAFS said:


> Yeah, Daultan Leveille off the top of my head. It was under the GHJHL label, which was an Ontario-based Jr. A league. Brendan Smith and Andrew Cogliano both played in the OPJHL.






pckstpr31 said:


> Interesting, appreciate the responses. I suppose he'll deal with the same questions Makar and Mittelstadt are facing this year in regards to quality of competition.




Leveillie was from Junior B


----------



## StatisticsAddict99

93LEAFS said:


> Yeah, Daultan Leveille off the top of my head. It was under the GHJHL label, which was an Ontario-based Jr. A league. Brendan Smith and Andrew Cogliano both played in the OPJHL.




Back on subject to McBain, really the only places I've been able to read on the 2018 Draft is on a couple threads here and I don't see him in any of them(although I did here he was the Second best Prospect at the start of the year from Button), what makes this guy so good and why isn't he showing up on some of these lists(is it simply to early?)...


----------



## 93LEAFS

matthole said:


> Back on subject to McBain, really the only places I've been able to read on the 2018 Draft is on a couple threads here and I don't see him in any of them(although I did here he was the Second best Prospect at the start of the year from Button), what makes this guy so good and why isn't he showing up on some of these lists(is it simply to early?)...



Big center with a balanced offensive game. He's not talked about much because his draft is a year away and he plays in Jr. A. He also hasn't played much in high-profile events yet. He's currently listed at 6'3, with a big wingspan and needs to fill out. 6'3 centers with high hockey-IQ will always be in demand, regardless of what league they play in. He needs to fill out and improve his skating. 

He was invited to the U-18 tryouts and is on the Hlinka try-out roster (would be a massive shock if he doesn't make it). He can get his name in the top 3 discussions with strong international appearances and a dominant Jr. A. season. He could also stagnate and have his stock implode. 

Most guys who get hype tend to play in marquee events or on major teams. I doubt many people here are streaming Jr. A games for a prospect not eligible for the draft until next year. Compare that to Ryan Merkley, who most OHL observers were able to watch either live, through a cable package or an easily accessible stream.


----------



## AstrophysicalJet

What happened to that Norwegian kid Emilio something?

Wasnt he an expected top pick a few years back?

I feel like ive heard Dahlin and Svech names for so long, that in my mind they should be alot older.


----------



## 93LEAFS

ImGoingNucks said:


> What happened to that Norwegian kid Emilio something?
> 
> Wasnt he an expected top pick a few years back?
> 
> I feel like ive heard Dahlin and Svech names for so long, that in my mind they should be alot older.



He's in the USHL. Had an average year for a 16 year old, but dominated the U-18 D1A tournament.


----------



## AstrophysicalJet

93LEAFS said:


> He's in the USHL. Had an average year for a 16 year old, but dominated the U-18 D1A tournament.




Cheers


----------



## JK2K

Would love to see your top 31, 93Leafs. Will you be putting one out? You seem to have a great handle on the age group.


----------



## doug88

Nico Gross
Philipp Kurashev
Nando Eggenberger

These players should be interesting and they are potential first rounders.


----------



## Zaddy

JK2K said:


> Would love to see your top 31, 93Leafs. Will you be putting one out? You seem to have a great handle on the age group.




Don't really think it's possible to rank the 1st round right now. There's just an insane amount of depth in this draft and there's good players coming from all over, so I highly doubt anyone (meaning one individual) has seen all the top-end talent at this point. I think the only thing you could really do at this point is to rank them in tiers, or maybe use the NHL Central Scouting method of A, B and C prospects.


----------



## North Country

Blake McLaughlin, Jack Jensen and Gavin Hain should all be high draft choices out of Minnesota. Hain will be joining the NTDP for next season.


----------



## 93LEAFS

JK2K said:


> Would love to see your top 31, 93Leafs. Will you be putting one out? You seem to have a great handle on the age group.



Thanks, I don't know enough of the class to really give a top 31. I have sources I trust, I'm pretty sure HockeyProspect.com's list from the Black Book will soon become public.



Zaddy Zads said:


> Don't really think it's possible to rank the 1st round right now. There's just an insane amount of depth in this draft and there's good players coming from all over, so I highly doubt anyone (meaning one individual) has seen all the top-end talent at this point. I think the only thing you could really do at this point is to rank them in tiers, or maybe use the NHL Central Scouting method of A, B and C prospects.



Yeah, I could do a rough top 10 at best. I'd probably have something along these lines. Outside of the NHL, I primarily watch the OHL, and in my opinion, the OHL crop is pretty suspect this year at least in regards to who played in it this year. Svechnikov coming over is big though. The kids in the 2018 draft at the top were fairly spread out. From everyone listed including the HM, you have 2 guys in the QMJHL, 2 in Sweden (with one mostly playing J-20), 1 in the USHL, 1 U-18 USNTDP, 3 in U-17 USNTDP, 2 in the WHL, 1 in the Czech Republic, and 1 in the OJHL. 

1: Dahlin
2: Svechnikov
3: Tkachuk
4: Veleno
5: Zadina
6: Ty Smith
7: McIssac
8: Jet Woo
9: Farabee
10: Mattias Samuelsson

HM: Boqvist, Wilde, McBain, and Wahlstrom.

There is a big drop-off after the top 2 who are both franchise changing level talents. It will be interesting to see how things play out after the Hlinka, where a bunch of top players outside of the USNTDP and the overagers should be at.


----------



## JK2K

It looks like Future Considerations has him ranked 15th overall in the 2018 preliminary draft list they just released. I believe that's a credible source.


----------



## JK2K

McBain I was referring to. Also I was surprised to see Allan McShane in the 40's. I think that is low.


----------



## NA Hockey

93LEAFS said:


> Big center with a balanced offensive game. He's not talked about much because his draft is a year away and he plays in Jr. A. He also hasn't played much in high-profile events yet. He's currently listed at 6'3, with a big wingspan and needs to fill out. 6'3 centers with high hockey-IQ will always be in demand, regardless of what league they play in. He needs to fill out and improve his skating.
> 
> He was invited to the U-18 tryouts and is on the Hlinka try-out roster (would be a massive shock if he doesn't make it). He can get his name in the top 3 discussions with strong international appearances and a dominant Jr. A. season. He could also stagnate and have his stock implode.
> 
> Most guys who get hype tend to play in marquee events or on major teams. I doubt many people here are streaming Jr. A games for a prospect not eligible for the draft until next year. Compare that to Ryan Merkley, who most OHL observers were able to watch either live, through a cable package or an easily accessible stream.




Agree that the reason why he is not as talked about as much is simply where he plays at this point. If he had gone to Barrie he would be talked about a lot more. Has the tools and the IQ to move up. A natural athlete who is taking a slow patient approach to improving.


----------



## louie57

*Ramsus Dahlin*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMig8EbUFx8


----------



## hawksfan50

No...2018 supposed to be better than 2017 crop but no way is it exceptional in the class of expectation for 2019 2020 and 2021 which Pierre McGuire keeps telling us are so very deep and so very chock full of top talents ..These 3 drafts are where you do NOT want to have less than a full compliment of picks ...Vegas already has more than that for 2019...wuth 3 stockpiled for round 2 in addition to their own first ..McPhee knew when to load up ...Teams that give away picks for tge 19 20 and 21 drafts ...especialky top 3 rounds will be comitted g suicide ...McGuire has never raved about drafts to the extent he keeps pumping up the excitement about tge exceptional it and depth in these 3 drafts.2018 will not be as goid as any of the great 3 coming but it will be better than a very iffy of (overall) 2017 draft of not deep first round talent and average to below average depth..There will always of course be surprises who do better than their draft position indicates tgey would ...late bloomers etc. ..but on average tge expectation by most of the consensus was that 2017 was at best merely average but coukd be worse than average ...that 2018 will be better than average ..but that 2019 20 and 21 are alk going to provide exceptionally deep picking opportunities and lots of really impact pkayer's who will star in the NHL..


----------



## Bonin21

That's a long "sentence".


----------



## VictorLustig

hawksfan50 said:


> No...2018 supposed to be better than 2017 crop but no way is it *exceptional in the class of expectation for 2019 2020 and 2021 which Pierre McGuire keeps telling us are so very deep and so very chock full of top talents *..These 3 drafts are where you do NOT want to have less than a full compliment of picks ...Vegas already has more than that for 2019...wuth 3 stockpiled for round 2 in addition to their own first ..McPhee knew when to load up ...Teams that give away picks for tge 19 20 and 21 drafts ...especialky top 3 rounds will be comitted g suicide ...McGuire has never raved about drafts to the extent he keeps pumping up the excitement about tge exceptional it and depth in these 3 drafts.2018 will not be as goid as any of the great 3 coming but it will be better than a very iffy of (overall) 2017 draft of not deep first round talent and average to below average depth..There will always of course be surprises who do better than their draft position indicates tgey would ...late bloomers etc. ..but on average tge expectation by most of the consensus was that 2017 was at best merely average but coukd be worse than average ...that 2018 will be better than average ..but that 2019 20 and 21 are alk going to provide exceptionally deep picking opportunities and lots of really impact pkayer's who will star in the NHL..




Link?

Anyone posting a top 10 ranking of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 draft will be way off. Everyone is clueless about those drafts at this point.


----------



## 93LEAFS

VictorLustig said:


> Link?
> 
> Anyone posting a top 10 ranking of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 draft will be way off. Everyone is clueless about those drafts at this point.



Yea, I mean, the only relatively big-name prospect for 2019 who played a full season in the CHL this year was Nolan Foote. Some of the younger WHL guys we got glimpses of such as Krebs and Dach. But, trying to predict the depth of those classes right now is just insanity. In regards to NA prospects, I basically just ignore the hype until I see them in the CHL or USHL/USNTDP in regards to expectations for the NHL. Yes, there are stories of guys like McDavid, Crosby, Mackinnon, and Tavares who were highly hyped at 14/15 but there are also a bunch of John MacFarland, Alex Forsberg, Patrick McNeil, Steven Anthony, etc. Other guys who were hailed as prodigies turned into decent players and may turn into decent players like Hawlyruk, and Sean Day. 

Most of the promising Euro guys for these drafts I would assume are still not in their respective U-20 leagues such as J-20's.


----------



## M.C.G. 31

yeah it's waaaay too early to be talking about the depth of the 2019, 2020 and even 2021 drafts. What we do know is the 2018 draft is a good looking draft and definitely deeper than 2017, but to talk about how deep 2019-2021 drafts are at this point is nuts. It'll be fun to keep track of, though.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

2019 rankings can start coming out later this year, 2018 should be already coming out. Anything beyond that is really just an uninformed guess.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> 2019 rankings can start coming out later this year, 2018 should be already coming out. Anything beyond that is really just an uninformed guess.



We should be able to have a rough idea of who are tracking to be high picks on 2019 mid-way through the upcoming season with the U-17 challenge and players entering the CHL and USNTDP/USHL. Guys like Foote, Krebs, and Dach look really promising out west, but there aren't many high-end late birthdays that emerged this year. I'm interested in how Hughes, Beecher, and Turcotte look at the USNTDP. There are a bunch of promising guys, but midget/rep hockey up to Major Junior level is always a huge test.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

93LEAFS said:


> We should be able to have a rough idea of who are tracking to be high picks on 2019 mid-way through the upcoming season with the U-17 challenge and players entering the CHL and USNTDP/USHL. Guys like Foote, Krebs, and Dach look really promising out west, but there aren't many high-end late birthdays that emerged this year. I'm interested in how Hughes, Beecher, and Turcotte look at the USNTDP. There are a bunch of promising guys, but midget/rep hockey up to Major Junior level is always a huge test.




Warren, Knyazev, Kokkonen, Okhotyuk, Byram, I think it could be a pretty good year for defensemen.


----------



## polarbearcub

Kid to watch out for in 2018.

Matt Leduc on the Spokane chiefs. Huge kid. 6"5... d man .


----------



## Frk It

93LEAFS said:


> Thanks, I don't know enough of the class to really give a top 31. I have sources I trust, I'm pretty sure HockeyProspect.com's list from the Black Book will soon become public.
> 
> 
> Yeah, I could do a rough top 10 at best. I'd probably have something along these lines. Outside of the NHL, I primarily watch the OHL, and in my opinion, the OHL crop is pretty suspect this year at least in regards to who played in it this year. Svechnikov coming over is big though. The kids in the 2018 draft at the top were fairly spread out. From everyone listed including the HM, you have 2 guys in the QMJHL, 2 in Sweden (with one mostly playing J-20), 1 in the USHL, 1 U-18 USNTDP, 3 in U-17 USNTDP, 2 in the WHL, 1 in the Czech Republic, and 1 in the OJHL.
> 
> 1: Dahlin
> 2: Svechnikov
> 3: Tkachuk
> 4: Veleno
> 5: Zadina
> 6: Ty Smith
> 7: McIssac
> 8: Jet Woo
> 9: Farabee
> 10: Mattias Samuelsson
> 
> HM: Boqvist, Wilde, McBain, and Wahlstrom.
> 
> There is a big drop-off after the top 2 who are both franchise changing level talents. It will be interesting to see how things play out after the Hlinka, where a bunch of top players outside of the USNTDP and the overagers should be at.




What do you think keeps (or could keep) Wahlstrom from being a top 10 or top 5 guy? I thought he was really good for USA at the WJC.


----------



## Apotheosis

93LEAFS said:


> Thanks, I don't know enough of the class to really give a top 31. I have sources I trust, I'm pretty sure HockeyProspect.com's list from the Black Book will soon become public.
> 
> 
> Yeah, I could do a rough top 10 at best. I'd probably have something along these lines. Outside of the NHL, I primarily watch the OHL, and in my opinion, the OHL crop is pretty suspect this year at least in regards to who played in it this year. Svechnikov coming over is big though. The kids in the 2018 draft at the top were fairly spread out. From everyone listed including the HM, you have 2 guys in the QMJHL, 2 in Sweden (with one mostly playing J-20), 1 in the USHL, 1 U-18 USNTDP, 3 in U-17 USNTDP, 2 in the WHL, 1 in the Czech Republic, and 1 in the OJHL.
> 
> 1: Dahlin
> 2: Svechnikov
> 3: Tkachuk
> 4: Veleno
> 5: Zadina
> 6: Ty Smith
> 7: McIssac
> 8: Jet Woo
> 9: Farabee
> 10: Mattias Samuelsson
> 
> HM: Boqvist, Wilde, McBain, and Wahlstrom.
> 
> There is a big drop-off after the top 2 who are both franchise changing level talents. It will be interesting to see how things play out after the Hlinka, where a bunch of top players outside of the USNTDP and the overagers should be at.




The Murphy comparisons really have affected your opinion on Merkley.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Frk It said:


> What do you think keeps (or could keep) Wahlstrom from being a top 10 or top 5 guy? I thought he was really good for USA at the WJC.



I think he needs to round out his game (better defence and show more compete) and play less of a perimiter game. The talent is there to go high.


Apotheosis said:


> The Murphy comparisons really have affected your opinion on Merkley.



It's more his lackluster effort at time. It's frustrating enough when wingers give up on plays, let alone defenders after a rush.


----------



## AmericanDream

Bonin21 said:


> That's a long "sentence".




welcome to our hell on the Hawks board


----------



## AmericanDream

93LEAFS said:


> Thanks, I don't know enough of the class to really give a top 31. I have sources I trust, I'm pretty sure HockeyProspect.com's list from the Black Book will soon become public.
> 
> 
> Yeah, I could do a rough top 10 at best. I'd probably have something along these lines. Outside of the NHL, I primarily watch the OHL, and in my opinion, the OHL crop is pretty suspect this year at least in regards to who played in it this year. Svechnikov coming over is big though. The kids in the 2018 draft at the top were fairly spread out. From everyone listed including the HM, you have 2 guys in the QMJHL, 2 in Sweden (with one mostly playing J-20), 1 in the USHL, 1 U-18 USNTDP, 3 in U-17 USNTDP, 2 in the WHL, 1 in the Czech Republic, and 1 in the OJHL.
> 
> 1: Dahlin
> 2: Svechnikov
> 3: Tkachuk
> 4: Veleno
> 5: Zadina
> 6: Ty Smith
> 7: McIssac
> 8: Jet Woo
> 9: Farabee
> 10: Mattias Samuelsson
> 
> HM: Boqvist, Wilde, McBain, and Wahlstrom.
> 
> There is a big drop-off after the top 2 who are both franchise changing level talents. It will be interesting to see how things play out after the Hlinka, where a bunch of top players outside of the USNTDP and the overagers should be at.




Farabee seems criminally underrated by some people on here who barely have him in the top 25 - he looks like a top 10 talent to me, not sure what the concerns could be with him.

Also Tkachuk shouldn't go much lower than his brother did draft wise, not sure people realize how good this kid is and maybe are just assuming he isn't as good as his brother Matthew was - not sure.

Good year for the US, need some more kids to step up but we should have a few top 10 talents, possibly 3, and a few more sneaking into the top 15...definitely better than last year overall with solid depth.


----------



## 93LEAFS

AmericanDream said:


> Farabee seems criminally underrated by some people on here who barely have him in the top 25 - he looks like a top 10 talent to me, not sure what the concerns could be with him.
> 
> Also Tkachuk shouldn't go much lower than his brother did draft wise, not sure people realize how good this kid is and maybe are just assuming he isn't as good as his brother Matthew was - not sure.
> 
> Good year for the US, need some more kids to step up but we should have a few top 10 talents, possibly 3, and a few more sneaking into the top 15...definitely better than last year overall with solid depth.



I think Brady Tkachuk who is more likely a very high-end complimentary piece (in the sense you don't want either to really be the driving force of an NHL first line/primary puck carrier) similar to his brother. This gets him knocked down by stat-watchers when comparing the two. They forget his brother was playing with Matthews and had another great linemate in Roslovic forming a dominant line at USNTDP and later in London with Marner and Dvorak, while Brady played with guys like Scott Reedy, Josh Norris, and Pastujov while being asked to be his team's best offensive player.

He may not hold onto his 3rd or so spot, but I don't see him slipping out of the top 10, let alone top 20.

Farabee's concern is size, but he has everything else. Highly skilled, smart and great skating. Could be this drafts Keller.


----------



## Daximus

93LEAFS said:


> I think he needs to round out his game (better defence and show more compete) and play less of a perimiter game. The talent is there to go high.
> *
> It's more his lackluster effort at time. It's frustrating enough when wingers give up on plays, let alone defenders after a rush.*




How did you feel about Makar in this draft?


----------



## 93LEAFS

Daximus said:


> How did you feel about Makar in this draft?



He competes a hell of a lot harder than Merkley. I wouldn't have taken him top 5 but had him at 7. But was more worried about his competition level and transition up from there than actual effort. Makar also possesses a more sturdy frame, Merkley isn't only short but is also slightly built for a defender.

Merkley plays a very me-first game, Guelph is a mess so it's hard to tell how much fault lies with him. With their new coach, they will also be ultra-defensive, it will be interesting to see how Merkley adapts. If he doesn't buy in, he will ride the pine.


----------



## Daximus

93LEAFS said:


> He competes a hell of a lot harder than Merkley. I wouldn't have taken him top 5 but had him at 7. But was more worried about his competition level and transition up from there than actual effort. Makar also possesses a more sturdy frame, Merkley isn't only short but is also slightly built for a defender.
> 
> Merkley plays a very me-first game, Guelph is a mess so it's hard to tell how much fault lies with him. With their new coach, they will also be ultra-defensive, it will be interesting to see how Merkley adapts. If he doesn't buy in, he will ride the pine.




I'm not sure I agree. I watched quite a few games of the Bandits last season and he floats more that most wingers I've seen. I've never seen anything like it. Pucks in the corner and his partner is fighting for it and he's up at the blueline waiting for the breakout pass. Not to mention some of the times I saw him completely give up on defensive plays or changing after a rush with an odd man rush going back the other way. Obviously it worked for the Bandits and they were stacked so he could get away with it. But I see a lot more in Merkley than I ever saw in Makar defensively. Not to mention he's probably already a better skater while being much younger which is crazy when you think about what Makar can do skating wise. I see similar offensive potential but if he can round out his game in his draft year he should be very coveted.


----------



## Daximus

My current rankings as of July 7th. They will change as I continue to watch older video when I can find it.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Here's my initial rankings for the 2018 draft going into this season. I'll leave it at 45.

1. Rasmus Dahlin
2. Andrei Svechnikov
3. Adam Boqvist
4. Bode Wilde
5. Joe Veleno
6. Jared McIsaac
7. Alex Khovanov
8. Jett Woo
9. Filip Zadina
10. Ryan Merkley
11. Joel Farabee
12. Ty Smith
13. Jake Wise
14. Jesperi Kotkaniemi
15. Anderson MacDonald
16. K'Andre Miller
17. Ryan McLeod
18. Quinn Hughes
19. Isac Lundestrom
20. Evan Bouchard
21. Brady Tkachuk
22. Jacob Olofsson
23. Grigori Denisenko
24. Mattias Samuelsson
25. Vitaly Kravtsov
26. Philipp Kurashev
27. Benoit Olivier Grouix
28. Jesse Ylonen
29. Dominik Bokk
30. Oliver Wahlstrom
31. Danila Galenyuk
32. Jakub Skarek
33. Nando Eggenberger
34. Ty Emberson
35. Adam Ginning
36. Akil Thomas
37. Rasmus Kupari
38. Allan McShane
39. Nico Gross
40. Ty Dellandrea
41. Jakub Lauko
42. Keegan Karki
43. Jack McBain
44. David Gustafsson 
45. Jacob Ingham

1, 2 is obvious. Outside of 1, 2, Boqvist is my favorite player in this draft. He legitimately might be the next Erik Karlsson. I know thats said a lot about many players, but the skill-set is so similar. Big fan of McIsaac. I think he's one of the few that could break up 1-2, if he has a great season. Awesome two way potential. Merkley is fun to watch. I have him a little lower than some might have him, but he easily could be top 5 if he cleans up his defense. Kotkaniemi is probably the lone really good Finn in a weak draft for Finland. Miller is Brady Skjei size, skating, athleticism starter kit. He's not that good right now, but very projectable. I think Kravtsov could move further up this list with a big season in the KHL. Skarek is the top goalie in this draft. I'm not sure he's as good as any of the top few goalies in the 2017 draft, but he has shown very well. McBain played off the radar this year. Some really like his game, he could be a big riser.


----------



## wings5

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> Here's my initial rankings for the 2018 draft going into this season. I'll leave it at 45.
> 
> 1. Rasmus Dahlin
> 2. Andrei Svechnikov
> 3. Adam Boqvist
> 4. Bode Wilde
> 5. Joe Veleno
> .




Interesting how you have Veleno still as the second best forward whereas he has dropped in many peoples eyes including my own. Will be interesting to see what he can do next year though. Looks pretty good as its a very hard draft to predict at this point, I do strongly feel Tkachuk goes higher though.


----------



## Juxtaposer

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> Here's my initial rankings for the 2018 draft going into this season. I'll leave it at 45.
> 
> 1. Rasmus Dahlin
> 2. Andrei Svechnikov
> 3. Adam Boqvist
> 4. Bode Wilde
> 5. Joe Veleno
> 6. Jared McIsaac
> 7. Alex Khovanov
> 8. Jett Woo
> 9. Filip Zadina
> 10. Ryan Merkley
> 11. Joel Farabee
> 12. Ty Smith
> 13. Jake Wise
> 14. Jesperi Kotkaniemi
> 15. Anderson MacDonald
> 16. K'Andre Miller
> 17. Ryan McLeod
> 18. Quinn Hughes
> 19. Isac Lundestrom
> 20. Evan Bouchard
> 21. Brady Tkachuk
> 22. Jacob Olofsson
> 23. Grigori Denisenko
> 24. Mattias Samuelsson
> 25. Vitaly Kravtsov
> 26. Philipp Kurashev
> 27. Benoit Olivier Grouix
> 28. Jesse Ylonen
> 29. Dominik Bokk
> 30. Oliver Wahlstrom
> 31. Danila Galenyuk
> 32. Jakub Skarek
> 33. Nando Eggenberger
> 34. Ty Emberson
> 35. Adam Ginning
> 36. Akil Thomas
> 37. Rasmus Kupari
> 38. Allan McShane
> 39. Nico Gross
> 40. Ty Dellandrea
> 41. Jakub Lauko
> 42. Keegan Karki
> 43. Jack McBain
> 44. David Gustafsson
> 45. Jacob Ingham
> 
> 1, 2 is obvious. Outside of 1, 2, Boqvist is my favorite player in this draft. He legitimately might be the next Erik Karlsson. I know thats said a lot about many players, but the skill-set is so similar. Big fan of McIsaac. I think he's one of the few that could break up 1-2, if he has a great season. Awesome two way potential. Merkley is fun to watch. I have him a little lower than some might have him, but he easily could be top 5 if he cleans up his defense. Kotkaniemi is probably the lone really good Finn in a weak draft for Finland. Miller is Brady Skjei size, skating, athleticism starter kit. He's not that good right now, but very projectable. I think Kravtsov could move further up this list with a big season in the KHL. Skarek is the top goalie in this draft. I'm not sure he's as good as any of the top few goalies in the 2017 draft, but he has shown very well. McBain played off the radar this year. Some really like his game, he could be a big riser.




Good list, thanks Pav. 



wings5 said:


> Interesting how you have Veleno still as the second best forward whereas he has dropped in many peoples eyes including my own. Will be interesting to see what he can do next year though. Looks pretty good as its a very hard draft to predict at this point, I do strongly feel Tkachuk goes higher though.




Well, Veleno had a long way to fall. He was an exceptional player with huge expectations. Just because he didn't fulfill those expectations doesn't mean he isn't very good. He was excellent in the Mem Cup from what I saw. Helps that he's one of few exciting centers in this draft.


----------



## FinnishSniper

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> Here's my initial rankings for the 2018 draft going into this season. I'll leave it at 45.
> 
> 1. Rasmus Dahlin
> 2. Andrei Svechnikov
> *3. Adam Boqvist*
> 4. Bode Wilde
> 5. Joe Veleno
> 6. Jared McIsaac
> 7. Alex Khovanov
> 8. Jett Woo
> 9. Filip Zadina
> 10. Ryan Merkley
> 11. Joel Farabee
> 12. Ty Smith
> 13. Jake Wise
> 14. Jesperi Kotkaniemi
> 15. Anderson MacDonald
> 16. K'Andre Miller
> 17. Ryan McLeod
> 18. Quinn Hughes
> 19. Isac Lundestrom
> 20. Evan Bouchard
> 21. Brady Tkachuk
> 22. Jacob Olofsson
> 23. Grigori Denisenko
> 24. Mattias Samuelsson
> 25. Vitaly Kravtsov
> 26. Philipp Kurashev
> 27. Benoit Olivier Grouix
> 28. Jesse Ylonen
> 29. Dominik Bokk
> 30. Oliver Wahlstrom
> 31. Danila Galenyuk
> 32. Jakub Skarek
> 33. Nando Eggenberger
> 34. Ty Emberson
> 35. Adam Ginning
> 36. Akil Thomas
> 37. *Rasmus Kupari*
> 38. Allan McShane
> 39. Nico Gross
> 40. Ty Dellandrea
> 41. Jakub Lauko
> 42. Keegan Karki
> 43. Jack McBain
> 44. David Gustafsson
> 45. Jacob Ingham
> 
> Kotkaniemi is probably the lone really good Finn in a weak draft for Finland.




Rasmus Kupari will rise in to the top 20 next season mark my words! He has a special kind of skill and speed to his game that for example Kotkaniemi doesn't have. I could also see Kotkaniemi rise into the top 10.
I also am in love with Boqvist's game. The kid also has an incredible shot!


----------



## PuckLife

Newport's top prospects, including Dahlin were in TO training last week: https://www.thestar.com/sports/hock...next-gen-gets-jump-on-cutting-edge-ideas.html


----------



## Gigantor The Goalie

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> *32. Jakub Skarek*
> 33. Nando Eggenberger
> 34. Ty Emberson
> 35. Adam Ginning
> 36. Akil Thomas
> 37. Rasmus Kupari
> 38. Allan McShane
> 39. Nico Gross
> 40. Ty Dellandrea
> 41. Jakub Lauko
> *42. Keegan Karki*
> 43. Jack McBain
> 44. David Gustafsson
> *45. Jacob Ingham*




I like seeing the acknowledgement of the kind of prospect Keegan Karki is along with Jacob Ingham. Both are usually not mentioned in lists like this. Still though I wouldn't have Karki this high unless you believe he's fixed his footwork because right now he's having issues knowing where his feet are.


----------



## JK2K

Thomas, McShane, Dellandrea and Mcbain out of the first round? 
Looks a little Eurocentric for my taste. 
McBain in top 15
Thomas in top 20
McShane and Dellandrea late first rounders.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

wings5 said:


> Interesting how you have Veleno still as the second best forward whereas he has dropped in many peoples eyes including my own. Will be interesting to see what he can do next year though. Looks pretty good as its a very hard draft to predict at this point, I do strongly feel Tkachuk goes higher though.




Veleno is still pretty good. He's maybe not an ES player, and the CHL has botched their usage of that rule recently, but he's still one of the best forwards in this draft. Very productive, well-rounded skill-set. 

And while I think Tkachuk is good, I kind of regard him similarly to Alex Nylander. People remember his brother being under-drafted, and that makes them want to overdraft him. He was good for the NTDP 18 team from what I saw this season, but I didn't think he was even the best player on that team, and I don't believe I had any players on that team in my 2017 first round or maybe I had one. It was a weak year, and he didn't particularly stand out. He misses the 2017 draft by one day. He's a first rounder I think, but I think it would way over drafting him to have him top 5-10. 



Juxtaposer said:


> Good list, thanks Pav.




Thank you!



FinnishSniper said:


> Rasmus Kupari will rise in to the top 20 next season mark my words! He has a special kind of skill and speed to his game that for example Kotkaniemi doesn't have. I could also see Kotkaniemi rise into the top 10.
> I also am in love with Boqvist's game. The kid also has an incredible shot!




Yeah, I like Kupari, but there were so many players who I wanted to put higher that I just couldn't because of how many good players there are. Not everyone can go higher on the list. Its only a preliminary list, anyway. He could very well be picked like mid first round. I want to see Kotkaniemi have a really good season in Liiga before I move him into the top 10. Most of the Finnish forwards who've went top 10 in recent years have scored like 25 or more points in their draft season. I think the biggest unknown in his game is his NHL upside. Could he be a 1C in the NHL eventually? Right now, I regard him as one of the safer forwards in this draft. If the big upside is not there, I'm not sure he belongs in the top 10 of a deep draft like this, but a big season could help his draft stock.

Agree about Boqvist, thats why I have him 3rd. 



Gigantor The Goalie said:


> I like seeing the acknowledgement of the kind of prospect Keegan Karki is along with Jacob Ingham. Both are usually not mentioned in lists like this. Still though I wouldn't have Karki this high unless you believe he's fixed his footwork because right now he's having issues knowing where his feet are.




I won't lie and say I'm great with the little technical things about the goalie position, just my initial observations. You probably know more about that than me.



JK2K said:


> Thomas, McShane, Dellandrea and Mcbain out of the first round?
> Looks a little Eurocentric for my taste.
> McBain in top 15
> Thomas in top 20
> McShane and Dellandrea late first rounders.




Yes, Eurocentric. All my rankings are Eurocentric compared to the majority. I think Europeans are often very under-drafted, and I'm NA, so its not like I'm deliberately ranking my players higher. I think Americans and Canadians are often over drafted.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> Yes, Eurocentric. All my rankings are Eurocentric compared to the majority. I think Europeans are often very under-drafted, and I'm NA, so its not like I'm deliberately ranking my players higher. I think Americans and Canadians are often over drafted.



This may be true later on (especially for Russians). I haven't seen any in-depth study on this, but I don't think Euro's are undervalued at the top of the draft. I'd say the respective return among top 10 or so picks is fairly equal regardless of regions. Later rounds there is a disparity, partially caused by some teams not having adequate scouting in the euro leagues to grab guys who aren't in top leagues, so the J-20's and MHL are under-scouted. The top guys who play in big leagues and are at most major IIHF events are probably drafted where they belong. I don't think you can apply a universal approach to this.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

93LEAFS said:


> This may be true later on (especially for Russians). I haven't seen any in-depth study on this, but I don't think Euro's are undervalued at the top of the draft. I'd say the respective return among top 10 or so picks is fairly equal regardless of regions. Later rounds there is a disparity, partially caused by some teams not having adequate scouting in the euro leagues to grab guys who aren't in top leagues, so the J-20's and MHL are under-scouted. The top guys who play in big leagues and are at most major IIHF events are probably drafted where they belong. I don't think you can apply a universal approach to this.




I guess we just disagree. 

I think Canadians and Americans, especially Canada usually produce more good players from every season's draft eligible pool due to sheer number of quality players, but if I'm ranking individual players, I'm not going to factor in those numbers, I gotta evaluate each player individually, not based on their nationality. All these players are still developing, nearly impossible to predict who will be the best, the side with more numbers will usually win out, which is usually the Canadians, and then the Americans. I think there are individual examples that have nothing to do with those numbers that point to Europeans being under drafted. Do you really think Crouse and Rasmussen would go 9th and 11th if they were Europeans? I don't think so, although I tend to think Europeans playing in NA pre-draft have an easier time with draft position, although I still don't think its equal. How does a player like Sebastian Aho sneak into the second round? How does Kucherov sneak into the second round? How does Poehling go 50 picks higher than Lipanov?


----------



## Daximus

93LEAFS said:


> This may be true later on (especially for Russians). I haven't seen any in-depth study on this, but I don't think Euro's are undervalued at the top of the draft. I'd say the respective return among top 10 or so picks is fairly equal regardless of regions. Later rounds there is a disparity, partially caused by some teams not having adequate scouting in the euro leagues to grab guys who aren't in top leagues, so the J-20's and MHL are under-scouted. The top guys who play in big leagues and are at most major IIHF events are probably drafted where they belong. I don't think you can apply a universal approach to this.




Sometimes I think they may even be over hyped. Specifically if they preform well at international events. Overhyping happens in pretty much every region but Russia.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I guess we just disagree.
> 
> I think Canadians and Americans, especially Canada usually produce more good players from every season's draft eligible pool due to sheer number of quality players. All these players are still developing, nearly impossible to predict who will be the best, the side with more numbers will usually win out, which is usually the Canadians, and then the Americans. But I think there are individual examples that have nothing to do with those numbers that point to Europeans being under drafted. Do you really think Crouse and Rasmussen would go 9th and 11th if they were Europeans? I don't think so, although I tend to think Europeans playing in NA pre-draft have an easier time with draft position, although i still don't think its equal. How does a player like Sebastian Aho sneak into the second round? How does Kucherov sneak into the second round?



How does Gaudreau fall into the 4th round, how does Parayako get completely passed over then drafted the next year? Jamie Benn went in the 5th round. You can easily pick exceptions on both sides. Europeans probably bust at a similar rate relative to the amount drafted as North Americans at the very top. There is still a bunch of big name euro busts at the top such as Stefan, Chistov, Svitov, Zheredev, MPS, and Filatov. 

I don't think Euro's are undervalued at the very top of the draft, and it would be very difficult to make a case that they are. Are guys in lesser leagues overlooked, probably, but at the very top, I don't think it really matters. Those guys get a significant amount of viewings.

If you want to say big physical guys are overvalued that's fine, but I don't think that is entirely a nationality issue.

At the very top of the draft, I'd think it would be very difficult to prove your assertion and the divide in later rounds is getting minimized over years by the increased spending on European scouting.


----------



## Daximus

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I guess we just disagree.
> 
> I think Canadians and Americans, especially Canada usually produce more good players from every season's draft eligible pool due to sheer number of quality players, but if I'm ranking individual players, I'm not going to factor in those numbers, I gotta evaluate each player individually, not based on their nationality. All these players are still developing, nearly impossible to predict who will be the best, the side with more numbers will usually win out, which is usually the Canadians, and then the Americans. I think there are individual examples that have nothing to do with those numbers that point to Europeans being under drafted. Do you really think Crouse and Rasmussen would go 9th and 11th if they were Europeans? I don't think so, although I tend to think Europeans playing in NA pre-draft have an easier time with draft position, although I still don't think its equal. How does a player like Sebastian Aho sneak into the second round? How does Kucherov sneak into the second round? How does Poehling go 50 picks higher than Lipanov?




Usually it's because of under production and size. If you are 6'0+ and producing like Laine, Puljujarvi, Barkov, Lindholm, Ristolainen, Hedman, etc. Than you are likely going to be selected high. If you are sub 6'0 and aren't producing highly there tends to be some under rating going on. 3 Euro's went in the top 10 this last draft though so I think it has a lot to do with the same reasons the Marchands, Simmonds, Benn, Subbans and the like all fall to later rounds. They develop a bit later than some other guys. It's going to happen to every single region in the draft not just Euro regions.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

93LEAFS said:


> How does Gaudreau fall into the 4th round, how does Parayako get completely passed over then drafted the next year? Jamie Benn went in the 5th round. You can easily pick exceptions on both sides. Europeans probably bust at a similar rate relative to the amount drafted as North Americans at the very top. There is still a bunch of big name euro busts at the top such as Stefan, Chistov, Svitov, Zheredev, MPS, and Filatov.
> 
> I don't think Euro's are undervalued at the very top of the draft, and it would be very difficult to make a case that they are. Are guys in lesser leagues overlooked, probably, but at the very top, I don't think it really matters. Those guys get a significant amount of viewings.
> 
> If you want to say big physical guys are overvalued that's fine, but I don't think that is entirely a nationality issue.
> 
> At the very top of the draft, I'd think it would be very difficult to prove your assertion and the divide in later rounds is getting minimized over years by the increased spending on European scouting.




I think its mostly a league issue, and then there's some nationality that plays into it. Some teams even admit that they ignore Russians.

And I don't necessarily buy that all big guys are drafted high because they are big. I think NA big guys are still preferred to European big guys. I could use individual examples, but you didn't seem to like that when I did so for my last point.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I think its mostly a league issue, and then there's some nationality that plays into it. Some teams even admit that they ignore Russians.
> 
> And I don't necessarily buy that all big guys are drafted high because they are big. I think NA big guys are still preferred to European big guys.* I could use individual examples, but you didn't seem to like that when I did so for my last point.*



It's not that I didn't like it, I didn't agree with it. You can cherry pick late round picks who hit quite easily in both directions and you can cherry pick busts the exact same way. The Russian issue is also much different when compared to the Finnish/Swedish/Swiss. Kopitar was probably under-drafted because he was under-scouted early on, but I don't think the guys who come up through major Swedish and Finnish teams are treated unfairly.

I haven't seen any proof that high in the draft euro's are more likely to exceed where they are drafted high-up in the draft.

I mean, this argument can be proven either way if you convert players careers into GVT, find that for the average draft position then compare results. But, just looking at each pick there doesn't appear to be much going either way. Atleast not the extent one can be viewed as significantly undervalued. My main contention was, at the top of the draft, they don't appear to be.


----------



## Daximus

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I think its mostly a league issue, and then there's some nationality that plays into it. *Some teams even admit that they ignore Russians.*
> 
> And I don't necessarily buy that all big guys are drafted high because they are big. I think NA big guys are still preferred to European big guys. I could use individual examples, but you didn't seem to like that when I did so for my last point.




That has more to do with Russians being unsure of whether they will come over or not or bailing if things get tough. You really don't have that problem with Finns, Swedes, Czechs, Germans or Swiss players.


----------



## Babula

Daximus said:


> That has more to do with Russians being unsure of whether they will come over or not or bailing if things get tough. You really don't have that problem with Finns, Swedes, Czechs, Germans or Swiss players.




I think it is pretty normal in every league to prefer "home made kids". Foreigner has to be better player or to be back at home.


----------



## Daximus

vroutek said:


> I think it is pretty normal in every league to prefer "home made kids". Foreigner has to be better player or to be back at home.




I don't think the NHL is super picky. Some areas like Montreal obviously have a bit of a Quebec bias. Minnesota has been known to favor Minnsota kids as well. But other than that some teams actually have more of a Swede or Finn bias. St. Louis seems to love Russians.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Daximus said:


> I don't think the NHL is super picky. Some areas like Montreal obviously have a bit of a Quebec bias. Minnesota has been known to favor Minnsota kids as well. But other than that some teams actually have more of a Swede or Finn bias. St. Louis seems to love Russians.



Certain teams also trust certain regions of their scouting department slightly more. Under Hunter, Leafs seem a bit more comfortable taking Ontario based guys late (which we did this year) and gambled on Russians recently now that we've expanded our scouting there.

Very few teams have a scout in all European regions, so they miss out on guys and have to have one or two guys cover the entire region. I don't think it leads to them being disproportionally under-drafted but it does lead to sleepers. The Leafs who probably have the biggest scouting budger of all teams only have 2 Swedish guy, a director of Euro scouting based in Finland, 1 Czech guy (fairly new) and 2 Russians. Teams like Florida only have 2 Euro scouts for the entire region (hence why management/ownership tried to embrace the draft cohort model from the Canucks Army guys).


----------



## cgf

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I think its mostly a league issue, and then there's some nationality that plays into it. Some teams even admit that they ignore Russians.
> 
> And I don't necessarily buy that all big guys are drafted high because they are big. I think NA big guys are still preferred to European big guys. I could use individual examples, but you didn't seem to like that when I did so for my last point.




It's more that it's easier for Euros to not get the hype they deserve. Like Rantanen. Mikko clearly should've gone higher in his draft class; but that's not because he was finnish, it was because he played for a s***ty team in Finland and on a ****** team at his draft year WJC. Because his team sucked it was easier for him to get forgotten or lost in the shuffle than a guy on a mediocre OHL team.

But you see this happen in NA as well. The small market Q teams are regularly under-scouted because they get less attention and so it's harder for kids to get the hype they deserve; even if Halifax is so well scouted that they're averaging a top 10 guy in each draft because it's easy to get media attention when you're tearing it up on that team.

The same factors effect both NA & european prospects, but it's just easier for the europeans to get hit harder by those factors.


----------



## 93LEAFS

cgf said:


> It's more that it's easier for Euros to not get the hype they deserve. Like Rantanen. Mikko clearly should've gone higher in his draft class; but that's not because he was finnish, it was because he played for a s***ty team in Finland and on a ****** team at his draft year WJC. Because his team sucked it was easier for him to get forgotten or lost in the shuffle than a guy on a mediocre OHL team.
> 
> But you see this happen in NA as well. The small market Q teams are regularly under-scouted because they get less attention and so it's harder for kids to get the hype they deserve; even if Halifax is so well scouted that they're averaging a top 10 guy in each draft because it's easy to get media attention when you're tearing it up on that team.
> 
> The same factors effect both NA & european prospects, but it's just easier for the europeans to get hit harder by those factors.



Rantanen's good, but I don't think he was really slept on. Most of the guys who went ahead of him would still go ahead of him today, it was just a ridiculously talented class. McDavid, Eichel, Marner, Werenski, and Provorov still go ahead. Hanifin probably keeps his spot ahead but it's debatable. Strome and Zacha are very debatable, and he clearly goes ahead of Meier. Then again, there's also Aho behind him, and to a lesser extent Konecny of players who have established themselves as NHLers. Guys like Connor, Barzal, Chabot and Boeser are also held in very high-regard. It will be interesting to see what a re-draft of that class looks like in another 5 years when the busts have been weeded out and players are in their prime.

The real sleeper Euro in that draft was Gurianov, who at the moment probably got over-drafted on the back of a very strong U-18's.


----------



## cgf

93LEAFS said:


> Rantanen's good, but I don't think he was really slept on. Most of the guys who went ahead of him would still go ahead of him today, it was just a ridiculously talented class. McDavid, Eichel, Marner, Werenski, and Provorov still go ahead. Hanifin probably keeps his spot ahead but it's debatable. Strome and Zacha are very debatable, and he clearly goes ahead of Meier. Then again, there's also Aho behind him, and to a lesser extent Konecny of players who have established themselves as NHLers. Guys like Connor, Barzal, Chabot and Boeser are also held in very high-regard. It will be interesting to see what a re-draft of that class looks like in another 5 years when the busts have been weeded out and players are in their prime.
> 
> The real sleeper Euro in that draft was Gurianov, who at the moment probably got over-drafted on the back of a very strong U-18's.




I've never rated Strome, Meier was a clear mistake even at the time, and though I liked Zacha; I don't think he ever showed the smarts or skill level Rantanen has...though to me he was the safer NHLer, as he's a great 3C even if the offensive game never became efficient...that said I really liked Crouse's IQ against the puck & shot and saw the 30 goal PWF with an elite two way game and leadership qualities; basically a rich man's Ladd; so take my thoughts at that time with a grain of salt.

I loved Connor to so won't argue with you there; but I was a Barzal doubter...and at the time neither Chabot nor Boeser were that level of prospects; ridiculous draft+ years are why those two are so highly rated by their fanbases. Aho is another fine example of the difficulty euros can have building hype; though he's more Chabot / Boeser than Barzal / Connor in that his great draft+ seasons have fueled the rise in his standing and he wasn't proven enough to be there as a prospect in that draft...though obviously in a re-draft with hindsight, he should've gone higher.

My top 10 that year went McDavid, Eichel, Hanifin, Provorov, Marner, Rantenen, Crouse, Connor, Werenski, Zacha


----------



## 93LEAFS

cgf said:


> I've never rated Strome, Meier was a mistake, and though I liked Zacha; I don't think he ever showed the smarts or skill level Rantanen has...though to me he was the safer NHLer, as he's a great 3C even if the offensive game never becomes efficient.
> 
> I loved Connor to so won't argue with you there; but I was a Barzal doubter...and at the time neither Chabot nor Boeser were that level of prospects; ridiculous draft+ years are why those two are so highly rated by their fanbases. Aho is another fine example of the difficulty euros can have building hype; though he's more Chabot / Boeser than Barzal / Connor in that his great draft+ seasons have fueled the rise in his standing and he wasn't proven enough to be there as a prospect in that draft...though obviously in a re-draft with hindsight, he should've gone higher.



Was speaking in a re-draft type scenario. Rantanen appeared to be in the 6-13 range of that draft. Provorov and Zacha probably led that pack but could easily be grouped with Werenski, Rantanen, Crouse, Barzal, Connor, and Meier. The 3 to 5 range appeared to have a decent amount of separation at the time.

Aho was a shocker, just among Euro's he was ranked 18th overall among Euro skaters and wasn't even the highest ranked Sebastian Aho. His status is purely post-draft.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Daximus said:


> That has more to do with Russians being unsure of whether they will come over or not or bailing if things get tough. You really don't have that problem with Finns, Swedes, Czechs, Germans or Swiss players.




So its the fault of the Russian kids? 

NHL teams don't scout Russia well enough. Thats on them. They also under scout the other European countries. You see teams make errors all the time with picking the bigger name European than the better one who's on the same national junior team. Thats because teams don't scout Europe well enough. And part of that is that its harder for the central figures within teams to get to Europe, so they probably know the players playing in NA a lot better.


----------



## 93LEAFS

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> So its the fault of the Russian kids?
> 
> *NHL teams don't scout Russia well enough. Thats on them.* They also under scout the other European countries. You see teams make errors all the time with picking the bigger name European than the better one who's on the same national junior team. Thats because teams don't scout Europe well enough. And part of that is that its harder for the central figures within teams to get to Europe, so they probably know the players playing in NA a lot better.



Russian teams are also highly uncooperative with NHL teams that magnifies the difficulty in scouting them. Unless you have a scout with deep connections (which are hard to find because KHL also hires a bunch of Russian scouts) getting info is extremely difficult. Then there are the shady agents which can make it very difficult to actually tell what a guys contract is. KHL teams view NHL as competitors and the enemy taking talent away. I don't blame KHL teams for this, as it's their prerogative to protect their interests, but it makes life much more difficult for NHL teams. Other federations/teams are pretty open with NHL teams making getting accurate background info on a kid much easier and can give you access to practices. 

Scouts mess up Canadians on the U-18 and Hlinka teams all the time. That's far from an exclusive European thing. They may slightly over-emphasize guys at IIHF events and mis-rank them, but I don't see how it makes them universally undervalued on are large scale, rather it makes the rankings of players within Europe just more inaccurate.


----------



## Daximus

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> So its the fault of the Russian kids?
> 
> NHL teams don't scout Russia well enough. Thats on them. They also under scout the other European countries. You see teams make errors all the time with picking the bigger name European than the better one who's on the same national junior team. Thats because teams don't scout Europe well enough. And part of that is that its harder for the central figures within teams to get to Europe, so they probably know the players playing in NA a lot better.




When it comes to Russians, yeah I suppose it is. They are far more susceptible to just up and leaving if things aren't going right over here. Or just flat out staying in Russia. Not all Russian kids want to come over to play and that will undoubtedly affect their rankings and likely where they get picked. Why waste a 1st rounder or 2nd rounder on someone that may never come over? Obviously not every team feels that way but the Russian Factor is still a very real thing. Even if they find some success here like Kovalchuk did, there is still a chance they up and leave. Finns and Swedes tend to stay here even if they become depth players, likely because the pay is still better than in their native countries. Russians that aren't top guys here can go home and be higher up on a KHL teams depth chart and likely make more money. Teams scout Russians quite a bit but just because they don't take them high in the draft doesn't mean they don't like them as players it's likely much deeper than that about how the player feels about coming over among other factors. Team's take weaker players on other teams all the time. This isn't just isolated to Europe.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Daximus said:


> When it comes to Russians, yeah I suppose it is. They are far more susceptible to just up and leaving if things aren't going right over here. Or just flat out staying in Russia. Not all Russian kids want to come over to play and that will undoubtedly affect their rankings and likely where they get picked. Why waste a 1st rounder or 2nd rounder on someone that may never come over? Obviously not every team feels that way but the Russian Factor is still a very real thing. Even if they find some success here like Kovalchuk did, there is still a chance they up and leave. Finns and Swedes tend to stay here even if they become depth players, likely because the pay is still better than in their native countries. Russians that aren't top guys here can go home and be higher up on a KHL teams depth chart and likely make more money. Teams scout Russians quite a bit but just because they don't take them high in the draft doesn't mean they don't like them as players it's likely much deeper than that about how the player feels about coming over among other factors. Team's take weaker players on other teams all the time. This isn't just isolated to Europe.




But you can't blame an individual for the actions of their countrymen. And while you might be right that they are more susceptible to leave, its not because they are inherently evil, its because the KHL is a more viable option for Russian players than the SHL or Liiga is for Swedes or Finn's. The pay is usually better, and more sustainable over a career. Other than one or two instances, most of the players who've left have left because they weren't getting a chance with the NHL team. Thats the team's doing, not theirs.

I don't see any good reason for the Russian factor. The only thing I'd say should exist within the Russian factor are the cultural differences. Might take some time for a Russian kid to adjust once they come over, but that shouldn't mean you don't draft good players. 

But I do think you are wrong here about how teams scout Russia. I realize teams have different ways of how they draft and its not always about taking the best player, but you often times see some of the best Russian first year draft eligibles not getting drafted. Never does that happen with Canadians or Americans, and rarely with Swedes or Finn's. Might be a little more likely with Czechs, Slovaks, Danes, but those countries have less talented players on average.


----------



## Daximus

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> But you can't blame an individual for the actions of their countrymen. And while you might be right that they are more susceptible to leave, its not because they are inherently evil, its because the KHL is a more viable option for Russian players than the SHL or Liiga is for Swedes or Finn's. The pay is usually better, and more sustainable over a career. Other than one or two instances, most of the players who've left have left because they weren't getting a chance with the NHL team. Thats the team's doing, not theirs.
> 
> I don't see any good reason for the Russian factor. The only thing I'd say should exist within the Russian factor are the cultural differences. Might take some time for a Russian kid to adjust once they come over, but that shouldn't mean you don't draft good players.
> 
> But I do think you are wrong here about how teams scout Russia. I realize teams have different ways of how they draft and its not always about taking the best player, but you often times see some of the best Russian first year draft eligibles not getting drafted. Never does that happen with Canadians or Americans, and rarely with Swedes or Finn's. Might be a little more likely with Czechs, Slovaks, Danes, but those countries have less talented players on average.




I'm not saying they are evil or bad people for doing it. Just that they are more likely to. Which makes teams apprehensive about drafted them high. It's why when they show the commitment to come play in NA Junior they are more likely to be drafted higher. It shows teams that they want to come play in NA. The things that influence that are a different story but it does show a commitment to the NHL in a small way. If there was a talented Russian playing in the KHL but said he won't come over for a few years vs a slightly less talented kid playing the OHL. The team will likely opt for the OHL kid as he is pretty much a guarantee to come play for you. The guy in the KHL might stay so you essentially wasted a pick. It's why Russian guys often drop in the draft.

I wouldn't say that good Canadians or Americans go undrafted either. There are tons of very highly skilled but smaller players who never get drafted or don't get drafted until their D+1. If you have a small Russian playing in the MHL or VHL they are highly unlikely to be drafted even if they are playing well. That is changing now but we'll see if it lasts.


----------



## BigRangy

Both Makar and Dubois came out of pretty much nowhere to land in the top 5 of their drafts. They both started building their hype to top 10 levels around this time in their respective years, and then they both went higher than expected on draft day.

There’s Dahlin, Svechnikov, Zadina, Hughes, Boqvist, Tkachuk in the mix right now, is anyone going to be able to get into that group by the end of the year?


----------



## Dominance

I’d take Dobson at 5.


----------



## Emerz

I think it already was Zadina, well maybe not quite as big a rise but I recall some ranking had him in the teens I believe to start the season?


----------



## Thebesthockey

99664987 said:


> I’d take Dobson at 5.




agreed big time
he is imo the top north american defenseman at this point in draft

can skate
plays D
score
carry puck
vision/IQ tops


----------



## BigRangy

Emerz said:


> I think it already was Zadina, well maybe not quite as big a rise but I recall some ranking had him in the teens I believe to start the season?




McKenzie had Zadina at 7 going into the season. He's definitely jumped up to being definitely in conversation for #2 but he was on the radar. There could just be nobody that makes an insane rise this year.

Maybe a guy like Curtis Douglas stays around a point per game and someone falls in love with him.


----------



## Thebesthockey

top 5:

dahlin
zadina
svechnikov
tkachuk
dobson
boqvist


----------



## thrillhous

Thebesthockey said:


> top 5:
> 
> dahlin
> zadina
> svechnikov
> tkachuk
> dobson
> boqvist



Hmmm


----------



## Thebesthockey

thrillhous said:


> Hmmm




well top 6


----------



## ViktorBaeArvidsson

Evan Bouchard, or Noah Dobson. Any defender who isn't named Dahlin, Boqvist, or Hughes could end up being selected in the Top 5. Although I see it being 3 forwards, and 2 defenders in the Top 5.


----------



## Thebesthockey

ViktorBaeArvidsson said:


> Evan Bouchard, or Noah Dobson. Any defender who isn't named Dahlin, Boqvist, or Hughes could end up being selected in the Top 5. Although I see it being 3 forwards, and 2 defenders in the Top 5.




Exception Hughes
not impressed
and size matters


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Dobson


----------



## Constable

Dominik Bokk/Alexander Khovanov/Alexander Alexeyev


----------



## Habs76

Noah Dobson. Was considered a safe, future bottom pairing second rounder, now he's seen as a stalwart defensively who still contributes a lot offensively, and a player with top pairing potential.


----------



## Constable

Thebesthockey said:


> Exception Hughes
> not impressed
> and size matters



Size far from matters when you skate and play with the puck like Hughes does.

Also, forgot to mention Bouchard. (Evan)


----------



## 93LEAFS

PLD was always viewed as a first rounder. Makar came out of nowhere to an extent playing as a 18 year old in the AJHL.

Dobson is a big riser. But he was on Canada's Hlinka team and was a fringe-1st rounder/2nd round lock entering the year. 

My guess for guys who've come out of nowhere would be Dominick Bokk although, I doubt he gets into the top 5.

I doubt we get a Makar like riser or similarly someone like RyJo or Scheifele.


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## lawrence

Ty Smith aka Duncan Keith clone is this years, Cale Makar, dynamic offensive dman that is good defensively.


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## Rasmus CacOlainen

Dobson who was not in the top20 of Bobby Mac and now is consideration for top5 pick it seems.


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## Tryamkin

lawrence said:


> Ty Smith aka Duncan Keith clone is this years, Cale Makar, dynamic offensive dman that is good defensively.



I wouldn’t call Smith a “dynamic offensive defenseman”. He’s more of a two way guy.


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## Tryamkin

Lots have people in this thread have hit the nail on the head. To sum up and add my thoughts of people who could rise:
-Noah Dobson and Evan Bouchard could rise to the top 5 by June with continued success.
-Dominik Bokk could rise to a top 10 spot with continued success in SHL
- Alexander Khovanov is one I’m fond of and is being slept on because he’s missed so many games. He could end up top 10 when healthy and shown impact.


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## Daximus

Dobson is probably the best answer here. Many including myself had him in the 25-40 range not long ago. He has slowly crept up everyone's rankings.


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## TT1

99664987 said:


> I’d take Dobson at 5.




This, i currently have him #5 on my list. Bouchard is another good one.


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## Mrb1p

Lundestrom is gonna end up around 8 or 9 imo.


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## ponder

Already been mentioned a lot, but Dobson and Bouchard are the two that stick out.

Don't think either go top 5 - Dahlin/Svechnikov/Zadina/Tkachuk/Boqvist are 5 strong prospects, with quite a few other guys in the conversation. However, I think both have good chance to go top 10, after being more in the mid-2nd (Dobson) to late 1st (Bouchard) range not long ago, so that would still be quite a big rise.


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## Castle8130

As this thread states, it's players that you like and dislike. Players you want your team drafting and players you want your team to stay away from. I know this is a little early, but this might get more excitement for this years draft. Ill go first for my Blackhawks:

Players I want my team to draft: Bouchard, Dobson, Lundestrom, Wahlstrom, Hayton, Madden and Smith

To stay away from: Merkley, Kupari, Samuelsson, and Denisenko

These are all players my team is capable of picking based on draft position too.


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## Cquant

Vancouver is likely going to draft top 6. So by this logic I'd say:
Like: Dahlin, Zadina, Boqvist, Dobson
Stay away: Tkachuk, Hughes
Undecided (i.e. Don't know if I'd pick them where they are projecting to go): Svechnikov, Wahlstrom, Wilde, Bouchard.


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