Connor Corcoran – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS – Top 20 Prospects

Sun, 18 Sep 2022 22:40:07 +0000

SAN JOSE, CA - FEBRUARY 20: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson (36) skates during a timeout during the NHL game between the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights on February 20, 2022 at SAP Center in San Jose, CA. (Photo by Matt Cohen/Icon Sportswire)

1 - Brendan Brisson C

While some might recognize the Brisson name from Brendan Brisson’s father, NHL super-agent Pat Brisson, Brendan is a player of note in his own right. As another member of the Chicago Steel to Michigan Wolverines pipeline, a set of players that includes quite a few first-round picks, Brisson has for many years had the luxury of playing with top-of-the-line teammates. That might sound like a knock to some but having quality linemates has actually brought out the best in Brisson’s game. Brisson is a talented playmaker who is always reading the ice and looking to find the best way to cut through a defense. At times, Brisson can look like he’s treating his shift like a chess game, diligently considering all potential possibilities of things he can do with the puck before selecting an optimal move. At times, this really works for him. There are shifts where Brisson takes over the game, creates a few chances, and puts his teammates in positions to score in ways that defenses can hardly react to. But there are also shifts where this tendency to think through every problem he faces rather than simply react and rely on his instincts causes him to be ineffective, unable to find his way through a fast-moving, aggressive defense. If Brisson is playing with talented linemates who can get the most out of his patient, calculated offensive style, he can be an effective playmaker. He’ll likely be at his best on a power play, where he’ll have more time and space to orchestrate offensively. If he can round out the off-the-puck flaws in his game and perhaps get a bit quicker, he can be a driver of play in the NHL. The more likely outcome is Brisson finds the future as an offense-first player who sees significant time on the man advantage. - EH

2 - Pavel Dorofeyev LW

With most of his 20-21 season spent in Russia’s VHL (pro) and MHL (junior) leagues, Dorofeyev concluded the season playing for AHL Henderson and immediately opened some eyes with nine goals and 13 points in 24 games. The excitement was warranted as he spent the 21-22 season kicking down the door in the AHL, becoming Henderson’s top scorer with 27 goals and 52 points in 63 games. He also played twice for Vegas leading him to be one of the Golden Knights’ most NHL-ready prospects. One of the most impressive aspects of his development is the continued use of creative play while adjusting his game to not only withstand, but also initiate physical contact. His board work and drive through traffic have been in ascending all season long. A strong transition player, Dorofeyev can dictate the pace when given time and doesn’t need much of that to create new lines of attack and find openings in the defense. These improvements have allowed his puck skills and creativity to unfold to a greater degree. The Golden Knights have seen Dorofeyev as one of the internal assets whose progress has allowed them to pawn off higher rated prospect assets in recent deals. Cap concerns would indicate that Vegas is likely very serious about getting him into the offensive fray within the next two seasons and he should be one of the first call-ups this season should injuries occur. – CL

3 - Zach Dean C

Complete is the name of the game for Zach Dean. There are not many weaknesses to his game. His hands, his skating and the pace of his play are all very good attributes. He can play very aggressively and be very tough to play against defensively as well. His shot is no weak spot either, as he has a very quick and precise release and has no problem getting himself away from pressure, creating some space in order to shoot. His compete level is quite high, and he always has an insatiable hunger for the puck. That said, injuries continue to delay his progression. He struggled with injuries in his draft year, and he had similar issues last season. In fact, an injury also prevented him from participating at team Canada’s WJC camp this summer. Staying healthy is key for Dean, especially given the way that he needs to play to be effective. Vegas will be looking for Dean to take that next step as an offensive star for Gatineau this season. If he does, he should eventually become a quality middle six option for the Golden Knights. If injuries continue to be an issue, Vegas may become concerned that he is not durable enough to withstand the rigors of a pro career. - EB

4 - Lukas Cormier D

Lukas Cormier is an offensive-minded defenseman with his shot being his main attribute. Selected 68^th overall in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Cormier’s game shines the most in the offensive zone, where he mans the blue-line with his booming shot that he uses as much as possible as a playmaking and a scoring tool. His scoring prowess was put on display this year with Team Canada at the WJC where he had a goal and five assists in only seven games on route to a gold medal. However, no one has ever doubted Cormier’s offensive abilities. His back-to-back QMJHL defenseman of the year trophies are impressive and are evidence to the fact that he is elite with the puck on his stick. But in the defensive end, there have always been concerns that Cormier is not big, strong, or engaged enough to be a true top four defender. No question, he has made strides as a defensive player, especially in the last calendar year. His physical engagement has been much more consistent, and he has figured out how to make himself a more difficult player to match up against. As he starts his pro career this year in the AHL, all eyes will be on Cormier to see if he can defend against bigger and quicker forwards. He might still be a bit of a project who will require patience, but his offensive capabilities are unique and do give him the projection of an NHL defender in some capacity. - EB

5 - Daniil Miromanov D

Probably about the oldest and most well-travelled of the prospects detailed in this yearbook. Despite three fairly productive seasons in the QMJHL as an overager, Miromanov was never drafted and made his way through pro leagues in Russia and the Czech Republic before a strong season in the ECHL brought him to the KHL. His breakthrough came with KHL Sochi in 20-21 when he put up 10 goals and 29 points, earning him a free agent shot with the Vegas organization. This past season, his first in the AHL, he amassed 40 points in just 53 games. It led to an 11-game tryout in the big leagues and his ability to remain even-keeled and display his experience has him looking like a true option for the team heading into next season. For the Henderson Silver Knights, Miromanov’s was among the team leaders in both scoring and +/-. With an imposing 6’4”, 203-pound frame, the 25-year-old Russian can appear stiff at times yet is ultimately more mobile than expected. Very clever with the puck on his stick, there is a bit of a magician in there trying to make the best of every situation and happy to sniff out creative plays, a chief reason he was also Henderson’s point man on the power play. Ultimately, he has very heavy wrist and slapshots, and is active in attempting to shut down lanes and put pressure on opposition attackers. What you see is what you get with Miromanov, and Vegas will soon be finding out if he can be more than just a number 8 or 9 blueline option in their system. – CL

6 - Logan Thompson G

Thompson went unselected through his years of NHL draft eligibility before signing as an free agent with the Vegas Golden Knights back in 2020. The GM that signed him in 2020, Kelly McCrimmon, happened to be the former owner of Thompson’s former WHL team, the Brandon Wheat Kings. McCrimmon was around when Thompson first began playing for the Wheat Kings back in 2014. Thompson has had a peculiar path from his junior hockey days to the NHL. He had served as the back-up for Brandon from 2015-17 before taking the reins for the 2017-18 season. As a starter for the Wheat Kings, he had a consistent .908 SV% over two seasons with a GAA over 3.00. After his last year with the Wheat Kings, Thompson found his way to Brock University where he dominated play, finishing with a 2.22 GAA, and .934 SV% in 24 games. He won goaltender and rookie of the year for the Canadian university and was signed to play in the ECHL. Over the next few seasons, Thompson had success in the ECHL, eventually landing a contract with Vegas in 2020. In his first season playing for Vegas’ AHL team, the Henderson Silver Knights, he posted a 1.96 GAA and a .943 SV% in 23 games. He was awarded the AHL’s best goaltender award, alongside being named to both the All-Rookie team and the AHL All-Star team. He also played in his first NHL game that season, recording a shutout. His success continued last season splitting time between the AHL and NHL. In the NHL, Thompson posted a 2.68 GAA and .914 SV% in 19 games. With Robin Lehner facing an injury that is expected to keep him out the entire 2022-23 season, Thompson is expected to carve out a large role for the Golden Knights this season. Time will tell if his unique success story continues. - ZS

7 - Kaedan Korczak D

Korczak was selected 41^st overall in the 2019 NHL draft by the Vegas Golden Knights. Standing at 6’4”, 192 pounds, he is a large defenceman who thrives in his own end. On top of his large frame, he is also a good skater for someone his size. He has the ability to transition the puck end-to-end with his combination of size and speed. He isn’t afraid of getting physical either, often punishing defenders who challenge him. Korczak showed a glimmer of offence with his time in the WHL, posting 33 points in 68 games in his draft year as well as 49 points in 60 games the year after. His offence has dried up since transitioning to the AHL, with the Henderson Silver Knights, with whom he has spent parts of the past two seasons. His first experience with the Silver Knights came during the pandemic 2020-21 season where he played 11 games for them before going back to the WHL. This past season Korczak spent almost the entirety of the year in the AHL, playing 47 games and producing 14 points on top of his solid defence. He was also able to make his NHL debut this year appearing in one game for Vegas. Korczak’s build and play scream future NHL third pair stay-at-home defenceman, expected to provide consistent play in the defensive end and allowing for more offensively gifted defenceman to shine. While it is expected for Korczak to spend the majority of the year in the AHL again, he is only a couple of injuries away from getting a larger opportunity at carving out an NHL role. - ZS

8 - Daniil Chayka D

The 38th overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, Daniil Chayka has had an interesting journey thus far and is coming off of a solid season. The former 7th overall selection in the 2018 OHL Draft had a good rookie season, finishing with 14 points (5G,9A) in 56 games. During the 2019-2020 season, Chayka took a step forward and finished with 34 points (11G,23A) in 56 games. During the 2020-2021 season while the OHL was shutdown due to Covid-19, Chayka made the decision to return back to Russia to get some ice time. In his time in Russia, he played in three different leagues, 11 games in the KHL, 10 in the VHL and 5 in the MHL. Chayka also got the opportunity to play in the U20 World Junior Championship. During the 2021-2022 season, Chayka returned to the OHL and had a great season, finishing with 39 points (7G,32A) in 53 games, which was 20th in the league for points by a defenseman, 8th on the team for points and 4th on the team in assists. Chayka’s best assets are his hockey sense and competitiveness. Chayka has a great understanding of how to best utilize his size, having a great reach to quickly take away space and make it difficult to get into the offensive zone and in the slot. His stick is consistently active, applying great pressure on opponents. He has a great motor and is rarely out of the battle, using good physicality. Going into the 2022-2023 season, Chayka will make the return to the OHL and be a leader on and off the ice for the Storm, being a strong defenseman on both sides of the puck. - DK

9 - Matyas Sapovaliv C

The 48th overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft, Matyas Sapovaliv was one of the best imports in the OHL last season and was a huge asset to a Saginaw Spirit team that struggled and finished 2nd last in the league with the 2nd most goals against. In the 2020-2021 season, Sapovaliv spent his time split between the Czechia U20 league, Czechia tier 2 league and the U18 World Championship. Sapovaliv made his way to the OHL in the 2021-2022 season and was able to quickly adjust to the league and was heavily relied on by the Spirit, playing a lot of minutes and being utilized on both special teams. At the end of the season Sapovaliv finished with 52 points (18G,34A) in 68 games, which was 4th on the team in points and 4th in the league for points by a rookie. Sapovaliv also spent time that year playing in the U18 World Championship and also the U20 World Junior Championship. Sapovaliv’s best assets are his playmaking and hockey sense. He has the ability to see passing lanes before they open up and connect tape to tape passes with precision at high pace. He consistently makes smart decisions with and without the puck, playing a responsible game. He uses his size very well, utilizing his reach to apply pressure and make it difficult to play against. His responsible play and strong defensive game make him an asset on the penalty kill, using an active stick and physicality to breakup and shutdown chances in the defensive zone. Going into the 2022-2023 season, Sapovaliv will continue to be a top player on a much better Spirit team, giving him more opportunity to increase his point totals and help him gain more confidence. - DK

10 - Ivan Morozov C

After two good years in the KHL, Morozov inked his ELC with Vegas late last season (allowing him to play some games with Henderson in the AHL playoffs), which means that the power center will be starting this year in North America. Morozov is a strong two-way center who can put his head down and power his way to the net. He has good speed and is difficult to knock off stride once he builds a head of steam. His size, strength, and speed does make him a possible bottom six candidate, but is he skilled enough to be a top six contributor? Consistency has always been an enemy of Morozov at the KHL level and how he adjusts to playing in North America is anyone’s guess. His upside does remain a serious question mark. Does he have the hands and creativity to be a scoring line player in North America? Do his issues with consistency point to IQ and processing issues? Already with great depth, Morozov will most likely start in the AHL with Henderson. From there, it will depend on his play. If he plays well, he probably moves to Vegas quickly as one of the team’s first injury call-ups. - BO

11 - Jakub Brabenec

A skilled playmaking center, Brabanec was terrific for Charlottetown of the QMJHL in his first season in North America. He has great offensive awareness but needs to continue adding strength.

12 - Jonas Rondbjerg

The big Danish winger split last year between Vegas and the AHL, his best season as a pro yet. Armed with a new three-year deal, he figures to be a long-term fixture in the Golden Knights’ bottom six.

13 - Jordan Gustafson

A third-round selection in 2022, Gustafson is already a terrific two-way center because of how well he processes the game. Adding quickness and speed to his game is a must moving forward.

14 - Isaiah Saville

Saville’s three-year tenure at UNO was solid, but unspectacular. However, he was terrific in a brief stint at the AHL level to finish last season. A highly athletic netminder, Vegas will be looking for Saville to maintain that strong level of play over a full season with Henderson.

15 - Jackson Hallum

Hallum is an attacking forward who knows only one speed. His year in the USHL last season was terrific and he will try to be an immediate impact player on a deep Michigan Wolverines team this season.

16 - Peter Diliberatore

An intelligent two-way defender, Diliberatore was solid as a first year pro this season with Henderson, playing big minutes in the AHL. His NHL upside may be somewhat limited, but there’s a strong chance he plays in some capacity.

17 - Connor Corcoran

Injuries wiped out Corcoran’s first pro season, so Vegas was careful with him in his first full pro year, split between the ECHL and the AHL. He was solid at both spots. Corcoran has great scoring instincts for a defender but will need to prove he can defend at the pro level.

18 - Paul Cotter

The power forward has improved in each of his first three pro seasons and was rewarded with a brief callup to Vegas last season. He is in contention to play a bottom six role for the Golden Knights this year.

19 - Jiri Patera

A former free agent signing by the Golden Knights, Patera has been all over the place in recent seasons. He likely competes with Isaiah Saville for ice time at the AHL level this season behind veteran Michael Hutchinson.

20 - Jakub Demek

The big winger was solid for Edmonton of the WHL in his first North American season, helping the Oil Kings win a WHL title. He should be in line for an even bigger role this season.

2021-22 TOP 15 PROSPECTS: VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS – RANK: #9 – TIER II

McKeen's Hockey — Sat, 11 Sep 2021 12:18:11 +0000

Vegas Golden Knights

#9 Vegas - Vegas only has two top 100 prospects, but their next tier is very deep, with seven ranked between 101-200.

Peyton Krebs

Peyton Krebs

Peyton Krebs has shown that his game is beyond that of junior hockey. He absolutely torched the WHL this past season; his 43 points in 24 games leading the league by six points for a remarkable 1.79 points per game. What impressed the most was the uptick in goal production. His goal scoring has never been above .33 goals per game but last season he spiked to over .54 goals per game. His largest criticism has been that he defers to passing too much, leaving so many goals on the table and creating a bit of a one-dimensional offense game.

Krebs has the potential to peak as a first line playmaking center that has all the tools to drive play, make teammates better and handle tough assignments. He is a hair undersized but plays the game with a good level of intensity and does not shy away from the center of the ice. His few games at the AHL and NHL level have also shown that his size is not going to be an issue. He was at a point per game in limited games in the AHL and in his first four NHL games he already picked up an assist. Krebs is an all situations forward because of his high IQ and excellent decision making with the puck and should land in the Vegas top six as early as next season. - VG

Brendan Brisson

With all of the hoopla around Power, Beniers, and Johnson, as well as the exploits of teammate Bordeleau, Brisson was almost the forgotten man at Michigan last year, even taking into consideration the pair of goals he scored while wearing the national colors at the WJC. Brisson’s skill set doesn’t pop as consistently, or as brightly, as those of some of his teammates, but when you focus on his game, it doesn’t take too long to be reminded of why Vegas used a first round pick on the son of super-agent Pat Brisson.

He is a slick puck handler and pinpoint passer. He has a great one-timer and was often set up accordingly on the power play to take advantage of that weapon. He reads the defense expertly and is often able to see how a play might develop and then execute on a cut, or a pass to set events in motion. He likes to attack the crease and force errors out of the netminders. Going forward, the major thing to look for is how Brisson is deployed in defensive situations. He almost never played when down a man last year, and his presence has never really been as prominent off the puck. With all of his abundant offensive tools, he only needs to get to reliably steady defensively to maintain his projection as a near term top six forward (he has played on the wing before) at the NHL level. - RW

Zach Dean

A hyper intelligent and well-rounded pivot, Zach Dean has terrific instincts at both ends of the ice. A player with very few flaws, Dean’s ability to work between checks and play through traffic, despite being average sized (6’0), is a testament to his anticipation and offensive zone awareness. Thanks to his high IQ, he is extremely versatile. He can play with pace but is also effective without the puck because he supports puck carriers well by sliding between cracks in coverage and by working hard to battle near the crease or along the wall to prolong possession or finish off plays. Dean also provides support down low in the defensive end, showing good defensive awareness and the strength to tie up forwards driving the middle.

No question scouts would like to see Dean’s explosiveness and first few strides improve. Additionally, Dean could stand to work on the release of his shot and its overall power to help him finish on a few more of those opportunities that he is gaining in the home plate area through his anticipation and ability to fight through checks. While the production in Gatineau last year did not jump off the page at you (20 points in 23 games), an early season injury was to blame and his effectiveness and importance to the Gatineau offense is greater than the numbers would suggest. Expect those numbers to improve significantly this season. Dean projects as a first or second line forward whose effectiveness should only improve as his physical tools mature. - McKeen’s Draft Guide 2021

Lukas Cormier

It is starting to really look like Vegas hit a home run with Cormier's selection, as he grown and flourished right before our eyes. This year we discovered a facet that we had not seen a lot in recent seasons: Lukas Cormier the shooter. His physical game has also improved considerably as he no longer appears hesitant to challenge players in the defensive zone. This has allowed him to win one on one battles with more consistency. His vision is excellent, and he understands how the game in front of him will unfold very well. His good IQ allows him to target the open spaces, where the game and the puck will go. He's a constant offensive threat and he plays forward quickly.

I find his game perfectly suited to hockey in 2021, with a fast pace and where speed in the transition game is essential. The first few years as a pro will surely be a learning experience for him, but at maturity he should become a good second pairing defender. For now, Cormier will return to Charlottetown of the QMJHL, where he will be one of the best defensemen in the QMJHL this season. He also has a great chance to earn a spot on Team Canada at the World Juniors. - BB

Jack Dugan

Another late bloomer providing an example to the concept that scouting is hard, Dugan was in his second year of draft eligibility, shooting the lights out for a prep school around Lake Placid, New York, when Vegas took a seventh-round flyer on him. From there, he went to the USHL for a year, where he finished the season as a first team All Star and followed that up with two seasons scoring at a very impressive rate for Providence, the latter year of which ended with Dugan as a Hobey Baker Award Finalist.

His offensive touch did not diminish in the least during his rookie pro season, as he fell just short of one point per game with Henderson. He profiles as more of a playmaker than a sniper down the line, but he also has historically played with enough feistiness to profile in a bottom six role to start in the NHL, although that element of his game was not as evident last season in the AHL. Dugan has top six upside if he can put all of the positive elements of his game together with consistency, and he will have a chance to break camp with Vegas this year, competing for the role with Lucas Elvenes, although more AHL time to round out his game wouldn’t be detrimental, either. - RW

Pavel Dorofeyev

Before last season the news broke out about Dorofeyev being traded to the KHL's Traktor team, which actually was viewed as a positive thing, as they have a decent reputation of giving young players an opportunity. However, it was not meant to be, as after the Traktor team was able to get Kravtsov on loan, they decided that they did not need two players of this type on the KHL roster. This resulted in Dorofeyev spending the whole season in the VHL. He was good there, but at the same time he was clearly pretty uninspired, so when the season ended Traktor’s management agreed to terminate his contract a year early. That allowed Dorofeyev to continue the season in the AHL and he certainly looked much more interesting there, quickly adjusting to the new game style and posting solid production in his debut AHL season.

While the end of the season certainly was hopeful and inspiring, it is a bit too early to talk about Dorofeyev as an NHL player. He still needs to establish himself at the AHL level, as while his skillset never caused any doubts, his ability to be on par in terms of physicality in the North American hockey environment is something that still needs to be proven. Dorofeyev impresses in transition with his ability to create when playing with pace. His puck skills and creativity are his best assets. Because of this, his potential is definitely high as an NHL player. - VF

Daniil Chayka

Scouts were completely divided as to the offensive upside of Chayka heading into this year’s NHL draft. With the OHL season canceled, Chayka spent the previous year in Russia in the MHL and KHL with mixed results. Additionally, his performance at the 2021 World Junior Championships left a lot to be desired. A late born ‘02 defender, Chayka’s draft season can be described as underwhelming. However, that did not scare Vegas away from selecting him in the early second round.

Defensively, there is little doubt that Chayka can play at the next level. He has good size. His four-way mobility is good for said size. He shows good defensive instincts and awareness in transition and will be aggressive when he needs to take away space or separate players from the puck. Offensively, there are some tools. Chayka has an excellent point shot and scoring instincts. He routinely finds soft spots in coverage to get himself clean looks and is aggressive in jumping up into the play, usually picking his spots well. However, his puck skills are average at best. This is especially evident when he is pressured inside the offensive zone. Of course, the physical tools are there, and this year was not the easiest to assess his play and potential. However, at this point Chayka does look to have hit a plateau in his development, likely excluding him from becoming a top three defender at the NHL level. As he returns to the OHL this coming season with Guelph, look for him to get his development back on track. - McKeen’s Draft Guide 2021

Ivan Morozov

Morozov had a very strong year, as he has shown that he should be considered among the top young Russian centers, even making it to the Team Russia roster for the World Championships. He looked very impressive, as he plays a defensively responsible game combined with strong attacking skills such as a precise right-handed shot and natural playmaking talent. To add to that he can definitely win a face-off, which is very important for a center.

Morozov enters the final year of his KHL contract. While previously he was given mainly middle-six center duties he looks to be ready for a bigger role. If everything goes well in his development and without any bad surprises, then there is a good chance Morozov is ready for the NHL level already after the season. The Golden Knights management should be working hard on getting him to sign his entry-level deal at that point. In two years, Morozov might be ready to step into a middle-six center role in the NHL and has a potential to be a solid long-term answer for the second-line center role. However, without improving his skating, it is hard to think of him as a potential top line player. – VF

Logan Thompson

There is a reason why some scouts hate the notion of drafting goaltenders in the first round. For every terrific goaltender drafted early, you find stories like Logan Thompson. He had a mediocre WHL career with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Then he spent the next three years after graduating playing in USports and the ECHL. However, he seemed to get better year after year. This culminated with him finally making the AHL level full time last year with Henderson. The 24-year-old netminder did more than just “make it.” He dominated the league and was named the AHL’s best goaltender.

The 6’3 netminder owns that rare right-handed catching glove and has been lauded for his work ethic. He never gives up on a play and has that ability to make the highlight reel save using his quickness and athleticism. His level of dedication to his craft should come as no surprise given the way he has worked his way up the system. Vegas did bring in former Winnipeg Jet back-up Laurent Brossoit to be Robin Lehner’s back-up this coming season, effectively pushing Thompson to the AHL level for another year. They will be looking for him to prove that last season’s success is sustainable and not a fluke. Should he continue to perform well, he may force a trade of Brossoit before the following season and is certainly looking like a serious candidate to be an NHL netminder in the future. - BO

Lucas Elvenes

A 2017 fifth rounder, Elvenes has been a hot prospect commodity since he put up 48 points in his first 59 AHL games during the 19-20 season. Despite promising output in two SHL campaigns, the AHL numbers came somewhat unexpected and until December of that year, Elvenes led the AHL in scoring, thanks in good part to an 11-game scoring streak. A player that has definitely shined as a generator of offensive opportunities for his teammates, the organization is surely starting to wonder if he’s ever going to make more use of a shot that he does get some good torque on. What they don’t need to worry about is his on-ice elusiveness, which has continued to shine, particularly when he has the puck on his stick and a bit of space to dance around in.

Possessing a bit of a wide stance, his 20-21 season for Las Vegas’ very own Nevada-based franchise in Henderson didn’t quite see him clip at the same pace as the season before. In fact, he put up exactly half the goals and assists he had the season before despite playing roughly two/thirds of the number of games. This nonetheless left him fourth in scoring on the team, which only featured one skater who clipped at a point-per-game pace. Las Vegas continues to boast a solid attack without truly elite star power in its forward corps. There is room for more playmaking and the onus will be on Elvenes to continue making management recognize him as a viable option for that need. Expect to see him knocking on the door as soon as this fall. - CL

Kaedan Korczak

A big, right shot defender, Korzcak has the all-around abilities to become a quality second pairing blueliner for Vegas in the future. A graduate of the terrific Kelowna Rockets program, he will be a full-time pro player this coming season after a small taste last year before the abbreviated WHL season began. Korczak has the potential to move quickly through Vegas’ system, should his transition to the pro level go well.

Isaiah Saville

The athletic, former fifth round selection has been the starting netminder for the University of Nebraska-Omaha during his freshman and sophomore NCAA seasons. The former USHL goaltender of the year will return to UNO for his junior season and then may be a signing candidate for the Golden Knights next offseason.

Connor Corcoran

Corcoran’s first pro season did not go according to plan after the two-way blueliner injured his shoulder early in the year and saw his participation extremely limited. The former Windsor Spitfire will look to bounce back this season with Henderson and become an everyday AHL player to further his development.

Jakub Brabenec

A recent fourth round selection by the Golden Knights, Brabenec is a rangy, playmaking pivot who also happened to be one of the youngest players available in 2021 (with a mid-September birthday). As he gets stronger, look for his performance in the Czech men’s league to become more consistent.

Peter Diliberatore

After three strong seasons at Quinnipiac University, the puck moving defender turned pro at the conclusion of the college season this past year. The Golden Knights hope that he can develop into a quick thinking, reliable two-way defender at the pro level, who can eventually be a #4-5 for them. He needs to gain confidence in his puck moving ability at the pro level first.

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Vegas Golden Knights Top 20 Prospects

Rachel Howard — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 23:07:47 +0000

McKeen's Top 20 New York Rangers prospects for the 2020-21 season. You can read an organizational assessment prior to the draft in Ryan Wagman's article found here. Following the draft we provided a review on each teams performance based on our rankings found here.

Peyton Krebs, C (17^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 1)

Krebs has elite level vision coupled with elite passing skills that enable him to make plays and passes that few others can. He is a cerebral player who can slow the game down or push the pace to generate offense. His high hockey IQ enables him defensively in winning draws, leading play through the neutral zone, and effectively playing across all 200 feet of the ice. His weaknesses are few. His shot is only average, although he doesn’t hesitate to use it. He needs to have a finisher on his line for him to reach his full potential. The second concern is his size. This size will not prevent him from having an NHL career in any way but has created some doubts to his future projection. He is very quick, both in processing the game and in how he moves around the ice. He has separation speed and high agility enabling him to attack defenders in multiple ways. He is a great puck carrier and has the potential to be a true top line player. 50 assist seasons seem like a possibility in the not too distant future. – VG

Brendan Brisson, C (29^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

The son of super-agent Pat Brisson, Brendan showed a different positive element of his game in each viewing, regardless of his linemates. He moves the puck around exceptionally well, and his ability to create movement between the dots is especially impressive. He is athletic and coordinated, able to adjust to misplaced passes with his hands or his skates and prepare a shot or follow-up pass without a hitch. He reads the play with great maturity. Despite being somewhat physically underdeveloped, he shows surprising balance and strength on the puck, allowing him to win an unexpectedly high number of board battles. Brisson also shows commendable commitment away from the puck. He backchecks hard and has been known to sneak in behind an opposing puck carrier to strip the puck from him and get the game going back the other way again. His top speed is average or slightly above, but he adds plus agility, balance, and a non-stop motor to keep his feet moving. The shot is fine but would be much better with a quicker trigger. The Michigan commit has clear top six upside and enough versatility to carve out a lower role if push comes to shove. – RW

Pavel Dorofeyev, LW (79^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 2)

Dorofeyev is an interesting offensive prospect with some strong offensive assets, including technically sound skating. His edgework and efficient stride help him be effective even though he lacks the natural explosiveness needed for elite speed. He is good on the power play and can be both a playmaker as well as a shooter. He can one-time slap shots with precision and release hard wrist shots quickly. His most impressive asset is his strong puck skills, both carrying and passing, and looks like a zone entry specialist. There are some concerns about the consistency of his decision-making as he often prefers an east-west game rather than north-south, slowing the game down to seek cross passes rather than moving the puck forward. His game away from the puck is inconsistent and lacking intensity. If Dorofeyev learns to use his offensive assets more efficiently, he can become a top six NHL forward, but he may need to play in a top six role to reach his full potential. - JH

Jack Dugan, LW (142^nd overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 3)

Drafted in his second year of eligibility, after moving through multiple programs as a teen, Dugan had a good freshman year with Providence, before breaking out for the Friars as a sophomore, leading the nation in scoring, and earning recognition as a Hobey Baker finalist and being named New England’s best collegiate forward. Dugan is recognized as a bigger scoring threat, but he has also become more patient and has learned to look for more options for his teammates. There are many aspects of his game to like — he has excellent vision and his ability to see the ice plus his creativity makes him an exceptional playmaker. The top-line forward likes to hang out around the net and can feed his teammates from that position. At 6-2”, Dugan could stand to put more weight to his frame, so he doesn’t get pushed off the puck so easily. He has to pump his legs to skate, but he cycles smoothly in the zone. He has an ability to set his teammates up, but that is also his weakness as he needs to pass the puck less and shoot more to take that next step in his development. - JS

Ivan Morozov, C (61^st overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 4)

Morozov lived out of a suitcase last year, playing across three different leagues, as well as playing internationally for Russia. While he has yet to truly establish himself as a full time KHL player, he had a strong second half with SKA. Playing more of a power game, Morozov is more likely to try to plow through you rather than deke around. He combines strong skating ability, great puck protection, and a heavy wrist shot to provide an offensive impact. He is also a strong two-way player who uses his size effectively to win challenges for the puck and who can play in all situations. His main knock is consistency. He needs to find a way to be impactful from shift to shift, using his size effectively to dominate down the middle of the ice. Once he does come over to North America, he projects as a potential middle six center who will not need much additional seasoning to begin making his mark on the NHL. – BO

Lucas Elvenes, C/RW (127^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 5)

Exploding onto the scene from practically his first AHL game, Elvenes won AHL Rookie of the Month honors in October while steaming through an 11-game point streak and leading the league in scoring until early December. Bursting with speed and high-level passing ability, the Swedish hybrid forward loves to play a perimeter game that is predicated upon puck movement and his man-to-man game at top speed. He made faster passes than defenses were expected and take advantage of his speed against the walls. With soft hands and a smooth set of skates, he was as effective as any AHL winger at establishing possession in the offensive zone. With length and mature anticipation, Elvenes can also more than hold his own on defense. His shot could be more of a weapon, and with its speed and quick delivery, he should use it more often going forward, as he barely took more than one shot per game last year. Additional usage should make him that much harder to defend against. - TD

Connor Corcoran, D (154^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 6)

Corcoran has developed very well since being drafted, emerging as one of the top two-way defenders in the OHL last season. Originally drafted because of his size, solid mobility, and projectable skill set at both ends, he has embraced the jack-of-all-trades motif and become an all-situations minute eater for the Windsor Spitfires. Corcoran excels most in the defensive end where he understands how to use his quickness and mobility to play a suffocating, shutdown role. Not an overtly physical player, he shows poise and restraint, exhibiting great gap control to shut down the transition game, but also a good stick to excel in coverage. Offensively, his confidence soared last year as he took that next step in being able to lead the charge at even strength, and quarterback the powerplay effectively. While his offensive skill set is not dynamic enough to be a significant point producer at the next level, he definitely has the potential to develop into a quality #4-6 defender who can provide a reliable presence, following a few years of seasoning at the AHL level. - BO

Kaedan Korczak, D (41^st overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 7)

Korczak has really had a nice step forward in his development this past season. His shot rate is up nearly a full shot per game over his draft year and his goal production has followed suit. He has shown more offensive presence and looks much more comfortable with the puck on his stick. Last season he did not seemed as rushed to move the puck and is trusting in his ability to make a play. There was always a lot to like about his size, skating and overall defensive game but his ability to sneak in from the point to make a play, coupled with his development on the powerplay where he sets the table for his teammates, have been two very important and noticeable improvements. He has an excellent one timer and moves well laterally along the blue line which also adds another layer to his offensive game. He has always shown excellent gap and wall control where he uses both his reach and physical presence to disrupt his opponent’s game. – VG

Lukas Cormier, D (68^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Strong offensively yet lacking off the puck, Cormier has some of the traits that are constantly in demand, namely his high-end mobility and capacity to lead the rush. He handles the puck well and is a fine distributor from the point, with a large share of his QMJHL production coming on the power play. This speaks to the type of player that Cormier is and is expected to be at maturity; a power play specialist. He can quarterback the man advantage, distributing wisely to his teammates down low from the top of the umbrella. To Cormier’s credit, he is not a complete cipher in his own zone. He uses his stick well and keeps a solid gap. He is undersized, but not exactly a pushover. More concerning than his lack of size or strength is his tendency to look lost in the defensive zone, too often failing to pick up a man and contributing to a scoring chance against. The feeling here is that he gives a team more than he gives back, but that feeling may not be universal. Cormier’s combination of skating ability and puck skills will make him an asset. – RW

Dylan Sikura, C (178^thoverall, 2014. Previous ranking: 14 [Chicago])

A sensational skater, Sikura remains one of the Blackhawks’ most dynamic and intriguing offensive prospects. A sixth-round pick from back in 2014, the Northeastern alum has been a consistently dangerous player in transition with AHL Rockford, leading them in points per game in each of the last two seasons. His skating is a huge plus, as he can and will blow through the neutral zone against the walls or weave through the middle of the ice to begin an offensive chance. Passing off the rush and at full speed is a big asset of his as well, as he has some solid setup-man tools. Small and ineffective away from the puck, Sikura looks to be a solely offensive prospect and an alarmingly snake-bitten one, with just one goal in 47 NHL games across three stints, and he is already 25 years of age. His forechecking and ability to win races for the puck as a depth player will have to shine if he has a chance at making it with a deep Chicago forward lineup in the future. - TD

Zach Whitecloud, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Mar. 8, 2018. Previous ranking: 8)

Whitecloud has never been the most talented piece in the Vegas system, but his well-rounded defensive game and ability to effectively play against anyone gives him an NHL ceiling that rivals his more skilled counterparts in the Golden Knights organization. He quietly became an NHL regular before the March pause amid the COVID-19 pandemic and has drawn into Vegas’ round-robin postseason lineup already. While he is not the most impressive player to behold, the undrafted Bemidji State alum has no real flaws and can expertly slip into any role needed from him. A hard-nosed physical player, he plays deep, tight gaps and uses his 6-2” frame to close down any inside position against opposing forwards. He routinely shuts down plays below the goal line with his body, eliminating cycle play and high danger net-front chances. He has shown an underrated puck-moving ability to pair with his fairly respectable mobility, but I don’t expect him to be a two-way force of any kind in the NHL. Polished and ready for a permanent job on the Knights’ blueline, Whitecloud will likely stay put in the big league from this point on. - TD

Keegar Kolesar, RW (Trade: Jun. 24, 2017. Originally: 69^th overall, 2015 [Columbus]. Previous ranking: 9)

In making his NHL debut on January 11, logging just over 12 minutes of ice time, Kolesar has shown to be far enough along in his development to be a viable call-up option in a pinch. Though he struggled in his third full AHL season, he has carved out a role within the organization and looks to make the club full time in the 2020-21 campaign. One of most complete players in the system, the 6-2”, 223lb winger has a bruising power-forward game in the mold of Ryan Reaves that would be fitting for Vegas’ heavy fourth line. With nifty and elusive hands as well as a dangerous, albeit inconsistent shot, Kolesar is capable of racking up points, while pressuring opposing defenses and goaltenders as a depth option. His puck-protection skills against the boards and tenacious forechecking could make him one of the peskiest players to play against in a deep Vegas forward lineup. He is capable of taking on heavier defensive minutes with AHL Chicago, where he has been one of the top penalty-killing forwards on the club. He is becoming more of a certain future NHLer, but it looks like his ceiling is as a fourth liner with a grinder’s scoring output. - TD

Isaiah Saville, G (135^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 10)

Team USA’s third string netminder at last year’s WJC (he never played) Saville still has the highest upside of any goalie in the Vegas system. The freshman had some hiccups in adjusting to life in college, playing for a minnow in a top-heavy NCHC conference no less, but he still was able to demonstrate a number of the traits that made him an exciting draft prospect one year earlier. A southpaw on the smaller side for a modern goaltender, the Alaskan is very athletic with impressive lateral agility, yet he plays a very calm game, keeping his feet steady and generally playing with an abundance of composure. Going forward, he could stand to be a tad more assertive, especially when it comes to handling the puck. He should also work on tightening his five hole to be a less attractive target for shooters. More than anything, though, he needs to be more consistent from game to game. As with all goalies, there is boom-or-bust potential here, but the shine has not yet come off Saville. - RW

Gage Quinney, C/LW (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Jun. 1, 2018. Previous ranking: 11)

Quinney became the first Las Vegas-born player to appear in an NHL game earlier last season, and he absolutely earned that big-league debut. Signed as a free agent in July of 2018, the winger has been quietly superb in the AHL with seasons of 33, 43, and 36 points (the last of which came in just 46 contests) since coming over from the Pittsburgh organization. Playing with more pace than ever, Quinney makes great reads of the ice and knows exactly where to the put the puck, whether that is utilizing his well-placed and heavy wrist shot or drawing defenders to him before dishing it out. An excellent puck-handler, he does not lose it often when attempting to move through traffic. He is not the biggest forward, but he competes well for pucks and can kill penalties with effectiveness. What hurts his potential is that the lefty does not have great speed and at 25, this might be the plateau of what he can provide. If the Knights truly value the former WHL role player, he can suit up for a bottom-six PK role in the near future. - TD

Jiri Patera, G (161^st overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 12)

Patera has shown continued progression last season bringing his GAA down from 3.31 to 2.55 and his save % up from .906 to .921, both of which metrics are significant season over season improvements. The strengths of his game are his control and positioning. He is able to stay pretty compact without a lot of stray movements which keeps him square to the puck and in control of his body. He isn’t a great lateral mover, but he gets across fine. His glove hand is pretty strong, and he does well tracking the puck through traffic. His rebound control is pretty good, and he directs pucks to the corners well. Occasionally, these are off target and end up in the slot but overall, his game is solid. He protects the bottom of the net extremely well. The only concern with his overall game is he tends to go down a bit early to protect the lower half of the net and his save % drops dramatically (per Instatscouts.com) the more the puck is elevated. - VG

Peter Diliberatore, D (180^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 13)

Diliberatore is currently an average player in most aspects, but he has a couple of stellar aspects to his game. He spent two seasons playing prep hockey at Salisbury before joining Quinnipiac as a true freshman and making an offensive impact while playing in every game. Diliberatore is an offensive defenseman who led all Quinnipiac defenders in scoring this past year as a sophomore. While his skating, hockey sense and his skills range more on the average side, his big assets are his shot and physicality, even though he measures in at a slender 6-0” and 170 pounds. While he could certainly add more weight to his frame, he still uses what he has well. His shot is also exceptional, and it is one of the reasons why Diliberatore is an effective offensive defenseman. He has a blistering slapshot from the point, and he likes to use it, leading all Quinnipiac blueliners by more than 20 shots on the season. He will need at least one more collegiate season before turning pro. - JS

Dylan Coghlan, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Sep. 20, 2017. Previous ranking: 14)

Undrafted and signed out of Tri-City before the Knights ever played their first game, Coghlan spent the 2019-20 season working on the defensive side of the game, with mixed results. Out there against top competition more often and for longer, his gaps and patience without the puck improved last season. This is encouraging, because offensively, he doesn’t need much work. A solid skater capable of carrying his heavy 6-2” frame to an impressive top speed, Coghlan is a rush-oriented defender who likes to carry the puck into the zone, allowing him to use his plus vision to defer to a teammate or his booming slapshot for a chance from the line. His defensive decision-making still needs some work, and his absence on the Chicago penalty kill is not a good sign, but he is a depth puck-rushing defender at the NHL level with potential on the power play with a bit more work. - TD

Brandon Kruse, LW (135^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 15)

An undersized winger with good wheels, Kruse moved directly from the NAHL to the NCAA as an 18-year-old and immediately put up impressive numbers with Bowling Green State. He has continued to put up strong numbers in the two subsequent seasons for the Falcons, as one of the key offensive drivers for the team. His stature will always be a concern, even if he plays tougher than one might expect, but his quick feet have thus far helped him avoid hits even as he regularly wins races for the puck. He also demonstrates great vision for passes, stickhandling the puck into the clear and finding an open man in a more dangerous spot. Those are skills which can help to mitigate his size concern, although not the concern that he can be one-dimensional, relying on the same tricks again and again to escape danger. That he has not yet signed is indicative that he will return to school for a senior season and that Vegas would like to see more progress before extending a contract. It’s hard to expect more out of a fifth rounder. – RW

Marcus Kallionkieli, LW (139^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 16)

After a blistering start to his draft year, it has all been downhill for Kallionkieli in the last two years. First, he saw his production dry down considerably in the second half of his draft season, something that could have been written off as a result of his first North American experience. The Golden Knights took the plunge on his impressive set of tools eventually coming through. He has solid size, which he puts to good use, owns a pair of slick and soft hands, and generally reads the game well. His skating needed some work, and he wasn’t a natural finisher, but there was plenty to work with. Unfortunately, after being drafted, Kallionkieli moved from the USHL to the WHL, but an off-season injury delayed his debut until December and he never really got going. Vegas has already given him an ELC, so they believe, but the winger needs to recover from a lost season. More a project now than ever, he is spending the early part of 2020-21 playing back in Finland. – RW

Jesper Vikman, G (125^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

While Vikman’s numbers in his SuperElit rookie campaign were unexceptional – and are significantly worse in the early goings this year - he was at a disadvantage playing for a poor AIK club. He is tall and reads the play well, keeping his composure in difficult circumstances. He also does well at controlling rebounds. On the downside, his size seems to come at the expense of athleticism. Furthermore, he is rather raw technically. Vikman will need to show that he has mastered the Swedish junior level to earn a regular spot on the senior side. On a deeper with a deeper prospect pool, Vikman, at this stage in his development, might be an afterthought. With Vegas, whose system hasn’t yet been built up like more mature franchises, Vikman is a player to watch. That said, his lack of experience with the Swedish national age-based teams might be telling. Even more than Kallionkieli (#19), Vikman is a long-distance project. – RW

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Top 300 Prospect Rankings

McKeen's Hockey — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 17:09:56 +0000

These are our final prospect ranking prior to the start of the season. As a subscriber you can download the list in an excel chart and can link to the player pages in the chart found here. As always, the rankings you see below are based on our 20-80 scouting system looking at five categories for skaters (Skating, Shot, Puck Skills, Hockey Smarts, Physicality) and six for netminders (Athleticism/Quickness/Speed, Compete/Temperament, Vision/Play Reading, Technique/Style, Rebound Control, Puck Handling). Our prospect team spent large portions of their last few months pre-COVID in the rinks, watching the players below and many others, and further work on video (Instat Hockey has been a terrific resource in recent days) before passing judgement on their future projections.

The 20-80 scouting system is meant to allow players from different leagues in different parts of the world to be compared to one another, such that grades on a player in the OHL can be directly compared to grades from an AHL player, and to grades of someone playing in the MHL.

PROSPECT CRITERIA

Players under 26 years of age as of the September 15th prior (Sep. 15, 1994) to the season in question who have appeared in less than 60 NHL games (30 for goalies) and less than 35 in any one season – or 25 last year (20 for goalies, 15 last season) are considered prospects

RANK	PLAYER	NHL	POS	AGE	HT/WT	ACQUIRED
1	Alexis Lafreniere	NYR	LW	19	6-1/195	`20(1st)
2	Tim Stutzle	Ott	C	18	6-1/185	`20(3rd)
3	Quinton Byfield	LA	C	18	6-4/215	`20(2nd)
4	Trevor Zegras	Ana	C	19	6-0/170	`19(9th)
5	Kirill Kaprizov	Min	LW	23	5-10/200	`15(135th)
6	Lucas Raymond	Det	LW	18	5-11/170	`20(4th)
7	Dylan Cozens	Buf	C	19	6-3/185	`19(7th)
8	Bowen Byram	Col	D	19	6-0/195	`19(4th)
9	Peyton Krebs	VGK	C	19	5-11/180	`19(17th)
10	Jake Sanderson	Ott	D	18	6-1/185	`20(5th)
11	Moritz Seider	Det	D	19	6-3/185	`19(6th)
12	Jamie Drysdale	Ana	D	18	5-11/175	`20(6th)
13	Igor Shesterkin	NYR	G	25	6-1/190	`14(118th)
14	Alexander Holtz	NJ	RW	18	6-0/190	`20(7th)
15	Cole Perfetti	Wpg	LW	19	5-10/180	`20(10th)
16	Marco Rossi	Min	C	19	5-9/185	`20(9th)
17	Vasili Podkolzin	Van	RW	19	6-1/190	`19(10th)
18	Victor Soderstrom	Ari	D	19	5-11/180	`19(11th)
19	Nick Robertson	Tor	LW	19	5-9/160	`19(53rd)
20	Cole Caufield	Mtl	RW	19	5-7/165	`19(15th)
21	Yaroslav Askarov	Nsh	G	18	6-3/175	`20(11th)
22	Spencer Knight	Fla	G	19	6-3/195	`19(13th)
23	Philip Broberg	Edm	D	19	6-3/200	`19(8th)
24	Jack Quinn	Buf	RW	19	6-0/180	`20(8th)
25	Matthew Boldy	Min	LW	19	6-1/190	`19(12th)
26	Nils Lundkvist	NYR	D	20	5-11/180	`18(28th)
27	Seth Jarvis	Car	RW	18	5-10/175	`20(13th)
28	Ty Smith	NJ	D	20	5-10/180	`18(17th)
29	Grigori Denisenko	Fla	LW	20	5-11/185	`18(15th)
30	Barrett Hayton	Ari	C	20	6-1/190	`18(5th)
31	Alex Newhook	Col	C	19	5-10/195	`19(16th)
32	Thomas Harley	Dal	D	19	6-3/190	`19(18th)
33	Alex Turcotte	LA	C	19	5-11/185	`19(5th)
34	Vitali Kravtsov	NYR	RW	21	6-3/185	`18(9th)
35	Philip Tomasino	Nsh	C	19	5-11/180	`19(24th)
36	Connor McMichael	Wsh	C	19	5-11/175	`19(25th)
37	Dawson Mercer	NJ	C	19	6-0/180	`20(18th)
38	Ilya Sorokin	NYI	G	25	6-2/180	`14(78th)
39	Gabriel Vilardi	LA	RW	21	6-3/200	`17(11th)
40	Ryan Merkley	SJ	D	20	5-11/170	`18(21st)
41	Alexander Romanov	Mtl	D	20	5-11/185	`18(38th)
42	Kaiden Guhle	Mtl	D	18	6-2/190	`20(16th)
43	Samuel Poulin	Pit	LW	19	6-1/205	`19(21st)
44	K'Andre Miller	NYR	D	20	6-3/205	`18(22nd)
45	Scott Perunovich	StL	D	22	5-10/175	`18(45th)
46	Evan Bouchard	Edm	D	21	6-2/195	`18(10th)
47	Braden Schneider	NYR	D	19	6-2/200	`20(19th)
48	Juuso Valimaki	Cgy	D	22	6-2/205	`17(16th)
49	Cam York	Phi	D	19	5-11/175	`19(14th)
50	Anton Lundell	Fla	C	19	6-1/185	`20(12th)
51	Morgan Frost	Phi	C	21	5-11/180	`17(27th)
52	Owen Tippett	Fla	RW	21	6-1/200	`17(10th)
53	Albert Johansson	Det	D	19	5-11/165	`19(60th)
54	Liam Foudy	CBJ	C	20	6-0/175	`18(18th)
55	Kieffer Bellows	NYI	LW	22	6-0/200	`16(19th)
56	Arthur Kaliyev	LA	RW	19	6-2/190	`19(33rd)
57	Oliver Wahlstrom	NYI	RW	20	6-1/205	`18(11th)
58	Nils Hoglander	Van	RW	20	5-9/185	`19(40th)
59	Matias Maccelli	Ari	LW	20	5-11/170	`19(98th)
60	Tobias Bjornfot	LA	D	19	6-0/200	`19(22nd)
61	Jacob Bernard-Docker	Ott	D	20	6-0/180	`18(26th)
62	Connor Zary	Cgy	C	19	6-0/180	`20(24th)
63	Dominik Bokk	Car	RW	20	6-1/180	T(StL-9/19)
64	Ryan Suzuki	Car	C	19	6-0/180	`19(28th)
65	Dylan Samberg	Wpg	D	21	6-3/190	`17(43rd)
66	Jake Bean	Car	D	22	6-1/175	`16(13th)
67	Josh Norris	Ott	C	21	6-1/195	T(SJ-9/18)
68	Rasmus Kupari	LA	C	20	6-1/185	`18(20th)
69	Jakob Pelletier	Cgy	LW	19	5-9/165	`19(26th)
70	Drake Batherson	Ott	RW	22	6-1/190	`17(121st)
71	Jan Jenik	Ari	RW	20	6-1/180	`18(65th)
72	John-Jason Peterka	Buf	LW	18	5-11/190	`20(34th)
73	Kirill Marchenko	CBJ	LW	20	6-3/190	`18(49th)
74	Bode Wilde	NYI	D	20	6-2/195	`18(41st)
75	John Beecher	Bos	C	19	6-3/210	`19(30th)
76	Tyler Madden	LA	C	21	5-10/155	T(Van-2/20)
77	Jack Studnicka	Bos	C	21	6-1/170	`17(53rd)
78	Jake Oettinger	Dal	G	22	6-4/210	`17(26th)
79	Alex Formenton	Ott	LW	21	6-2/165	`17(47th)
80	Matthew Robertson	NYR	D	19	6-3/200	`19(49th)
81	Calen Addison	Min	D	20	5-10/180	T(Pit-2/20)
82	Ty Dellandrea	Dal	C	20	6-0/185	`18(13th)
83	Akil Thomas	LA	C	20	5-11/170	`18(51st)
84	Mavrik Bourque	Dal	C	18	5-10/180	`20(30th)
85	Ian Mitchell	Chi	D	21	5-11/175	`17(57th)
86	Jason Robertson	Dal	LW	21	6-2/195	`17(39th)
87	Hendrix Lapierre	Wsh	C	18	5-11/180	`20(22nd)
88	Brendan Brisson	VGK	C	19	5-11/180	`20(29th)
89	Theodor Niederbach	Det	C	18	5-11/175	`20(51st)
90	Zac Jones	NYR	D	20	5-10/175	`19(68th)
91	Robert Mastrosimone	Det	LW	19	5-10/160	`19(54th)
92	Joe Veleno	Det	C	20	6-1/195	`18(30th)
93	Rodion Amirov	Tor	LW	19	6-0/170	`20(15th)
94	Jake Neighbours	StL	LW	18	5-11/195	`20(26th)
95	Julien Gauthier	NYR	RW	23	6-4/225	T(Car-2/20)
96	Justus Annunen	Col	G	20	6-4/215	`18(64th)
97	Egor Zamula	Phi	D	20	6-4/175	FA(9/18)
98	Shane Pinto	Ott	C	20	6-2/190	`19(32nd)
99	Noel Gunler	Car	RW	19	6-2/175	`20(41st)
100	Ridly Greig	Ott	C	18	5-11/165	`20(28th)
101	Jesse Ylonen	Mtl	RW	21	6-1/185	`18(35th)
102	Samuel Fagemo	LA	RW	20	6-0/195	`19(50th)
103	Mattias Norlinder	Mtl	D	20	5-11/180	`19(64th)
104	Olli Juolevi	Van	D	22	6-3/200	`16(5th)
105	Kristian Vesalainen	Wpg	LW	21	6-3/205	`17(24th)
106	Raphael Lavoie	Edm	RW	20	6-4/195	`19(38th)
107	Jan Mysak	Mtl	C	18	5-11/180	`20(49th)
108	Cayden Primeau	Mtl	G	21	6-3/180	`17(199th)
109	Pavel Dorofeyev	VGK	LW	20	6-1/170	`19(79th)
110	Morgan Barron	NYR	C	22	6-2/200	`17(174th)
111	Ville Heinola	Wpg	D	19	5-11/180	`19(20th)
112	Dylan Holloway	Edm	C	19	6-0/205	`20(14th)
113	Jack Dugan	VGK	RW	22	6-2/185	`17(142nd)
114	Alexander Khovanov	Min	C	20	5-11/195	`18(86th)
115	Jacob Perreault	Ana	RW	18	5-11/195	`20(27th)
116	Jake Evans	Mtl	C	24	6-0/185	`14(207th)
117	Adam Beckman	Min	LW	19	6-1/170	`19(75th)
118	Jett Woo	Van	D	20	6-0/205	`18(37th)
119	Nolan Foote	NJ	LW	20	6-3/190	T(TB-2/20)
120	Logan Brown	Ott	C	22	6-6/220	`16(11th)
121	Martin Kaut	Col	RW	21	6-1/175	`18(16th)
122	Jack Rathbone	Van	D	21	5-10/175	`17(95th)
123	Ozzy Wiesblatt	SJ	RW	18	5-10/185	`20(31st)
124	Ryan O'Rourke	Min	D	18	6-0/180	`20(39th)
125	Lukas Reichel	Chi	LW	18	6-0/170	`20(17th)
126	Jordan Harris	Mtl	D	20	5-11/180	`18(71st)
127	Lukas Dostal	Ana	G	20	6-1/170	`18(85th)
128	Egor Afanasyev	Nsh	RW	19	6-3/205	`19(45th)
129	Conor Timmins	Col	D	22	6-1/185	`17(32nd)
130	Lassi Thomson	Ott	D	20	6-0/190	`19(19th)
131	Eeli Tolvanen	Nsh	RW	21	5-10/175	`17(30th)
132	Kasper Simontaival	LA	RW	18	5-9/180	`20(66th)
133	Roni Hirvonen	Tor	C	18	5-9/165	`20(59th)
134	Thomas Bordeleau	SJ	C	18	5-9/180	`20(38th)
135	Benoit-Olivier Groulx	Ana	C	20	6-1/195	`18(54th)
136	Tyler Kleven	Ott	D	18	6-4/200	`20(44th)
137	Tyson Foerster	Phi	C	18	6-1/195	`20(23rd)
138	Helge Grans	LA	D	18	6-2/205	`20(35th)
139	Jonathan Dahlen	SJ	LW	23	5-11/185	T(Van-2/19)
140	Marat Khusnutdinov	Min	C	18	5-11/175	`20(37th)
141	Alexander Alexeyev	Wsh	D	21	6-3/200	`18(31st)
142	Pierre-Olivier Joseph	Pit	D	21	6-2/170	`17(23rd)
143	Topi Niemela	Tor	D	18	5-10/160	`20(64th)
144	Oskari Laaksonen	Buf	D	21	6-2/165	`17(89th)
145	Filip Hallander	Tor	LW	20	6-1/185	T(Pit-8/20)
146	Serron Noel	Fla	RW	20	6-5/205	`18(34th)
147	Martin Chromiak	LA	LW	18	6-0/185	`20(128th)
148	Shakir Mukhamadullin	NJ	D	18	6-3/180	`20(20th)
149	Mattias Samuelsson	Buf	D	20	6-3/215	`18(32nd)
150	Janne Kuokkanen	NJ	LW	22	6-1/190	T(Car-2/20)
151	Ryan Johnson	Buf	D	19	6-0/175	`19(31st)
152	Sean Farrell	Mtl	C	19	5-8/175	`20(124th)
153	Martin Fehervary	Wsh	D	21	6-1/190	`18(46th)
154	Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen	Buf	G	21	6-4/195	`17(54th)
155	Will Lockwood	Van	RW	22	5-11/175	`16(64th)
156	Isac Lundestrom	Ana	C	21	6-0/185	`18(23rd)
157	Michael DiPietro	Van	G	21	6-0/195	`17(64th)
158	Jonatan Berggren	Det	RW	20	5-10/185	`18(33rd)
159	Kevin Bahl	NJ	D	20	6-6/230	T(Ari-12/19)
160	Aliaksei Protas	Wsh	C	19	6-5/205	`19(91st)
161	Reilly Walsh	NJ	D	21	5-11/180	`17(81st)
162	Nick Abruzzese	Tor	C	21	5-9/160	`19(124th)
163	Tyler Tucker	StL	D	20	6-1/205	`18(200th)
164	Arseni Gritsyuk	NJ	RW	19	5-10/170	`19(129th)
165	Klim Kostin	StL	C	21	6-3/195	`17(31st)
166	Brayden Tracey	Ana	LW	19	6-0/175	`19(29th)
167	Joel Hofer	StL	G	20	6-3/160	`18(107th)
168	Joey Anderson	Tor	RW	22	6-0/195	T(NJ-10/20)
169	Yegor Spiridonov	SJ	C	19	6-2/195	`19(108th)
170	Sam Colangelo	Ana	RW	19	6-1/205	`20(36th)
171	Joey Keane	Car	D	21	6-0/185	T(NYR-2/20)
172	Jared McIsaac	Det	D	20	6-1/195	`18(36th)
173	Jamieson Rees	Car	C	19	5-10/175	`19(44th)
174	Ivan Morozov	VGK	C	20	6-1/180	`18(61st)
175	Rem Pitlick	Nsh	C	23	5-11/200	`16(76th)
176	Tyce Thompson	NJ	RW	21	6-0/170	`19(96th)
177	Michael McLeod	NJ	C	22	6-2/195	`16(12th)
178	Jaret Anderson-Dolan	LA	C	21	5-11/190	`17(41st)
179	Dustin Wolf	Cgy	G	19	6-0/165	`19(214th)
180	Antti Tuomisto	Det	D	19	6-4/190	`19(35th)
181	Brett Berard	NYR	LW	18	5-9/155	`20(134th)
182	Luke Evangelista	Nsh	RW	18	5-11/170	`20(42nd)
183	Joel Blomqvist	Pit	G	18	6-1/180	`20(52nd)
184	Joni Ikonen	Mtl	C	21	5-10/170	`17(58th)
185	Olivier Rodrigue	Edm	G	20	6-1/165	`18(62nd)
186	Lucas Elvenes	VGK	RW	21	6-0/175	`17(127th)
187	Anthony Angello	Pit	RW	24	6-5/205	`14(145th)
188	Tuukka Tieksola	Car	RW	19	5-10/160	`19(121st)
189	Declan Chisholm	Wpg	D	20	6-1/190	`18(150th)
190	Cole Koepke	TB	LW	22	6-1/195	`18(183rd)
191	Valtteri Puustinen	Pit	RW	21	5-9/185	`19(203rd)
192	Ty Smilanic	Fla	C	18	6-1/175	`20(74th)
193	Patrik Puistola	Car	LW	19	6-0/175	`19(73rd)
194	Justin Barron	Col	D	19	6-2/190	`20(25th)
195	Andrew Peeke	CBJ	D	22	6-3/210	`16(34th)
196	Michael Vukojevic	NJ	D	19	6-3/210	`19(82nd)
197	Alec Regula	Chi	D	20	6-3/200	T(Det-10/19)
198	Connor Corcoran	VGK	D	20	6-1/185	`18(154th)
199	Jeremy Swayman	Bos	G	22	6-1/190	`17(111th)
200	Pyotr Kochetkov	Car	G	21	6-1/175	`19(36th)
201	Mikey Anderson	LA	D	21	6-0/195	`17(103rd)
202	Carter Savoie	Edm	LW	18	5-9/190	`20(100th)
203	Samuel Walker	TB	C	21	5-11/160	`17(200th)
204	William Wallinder	Det	D	18	6-4/190	`20(32nd)
205	Jack Drury	Car	C	20	5-11/180	`18(42nd)
206	Emil Andrae	Phi	D	18	5-9/185	`20(54th)
207	Cal Petersen	LA	G	26	6-3/190	FA(7/17)
208	Jeremie Poirier	Cgy	D	18	6-0/200	`20(72nd)
209	Tarmo Reunanen	NYR	D	22	6-0/180	`16(98th)
210	Simon Holmstrom	NYI	RW	19	6-1/185	`19(23rd)
211	Aleksi Saarela	Fla	RW	23	5-11/200	T(Chi-10/19)
212	Anton Johannesson	Wpg	D	18	5-9/155	`20(133rd)
213	Lauri Pajuniemi	NYR	RW	21	6-0/185	`18(132nd)
214	Morgan Geekie	Car	C	22	6-2/180	`17(67th)
215	Shane Bowers	Col	C	21	6-2/190	T(Ott-11/17)
216	Sasha Chmelevski	SJ	C	21	5-11/190	`17(185th)
217	Ruslan Iskhakov	NYI	C	20	5-8/155	`18(43rd)
218	Cole Schwindt	Fla	RW	19	6-2/185	`19(81st)
219	Hugo Alnefelt	TB	G	19	6-3/195	`19(71st)
220	Nikita Okhotyuk	NJ	D	20	6-1/195	`19(61st)
221	Sampo Ranta	Col	LW	20	6-2/205	`18(78th)
222	Alexander Volkov	TB	LW	23	6-1/190	`17(48th)
223	Alexander True	SJ	C	23	6-5/205	FA(7/18)
224	John Leonard	SJ	C	22	5-11/190	`18(182nd)
225	Carl Grundstrom	LA	LW	23	6-0/195	T(Tor-1/19)
226	Dmitri Semykin	TB	D	20	6-3/200	`18(90th)
227	Cal Foote	TB	D	22	6-4/215	`17(14th)
228	Jean-Luc Foudy	Col	C	18	5-11/175	`20(75th)
229	Alex Barre-Boulet	TB	C	23	5-10/165	FA(3/18)
230	Tristen Robins	SJ	RW	19	5-10/175	`20(56th)
231	Max Gildon	Fla	D	21	6-3/190	`17(66th)
232	Nikita Alexandrov	StL	C	20	6-0/180	`19(62nd)
233	Michael Benning	Fla	D	18	5-9/180	`20(95th)
234	Justin Sourdif	Fla	RW	18	5-11/175	`20(87th)
235	Tanner Laczynski	Phi	C	23	6-1/200	`16(169th)
236	Eamon Powell	TB	D	18	5-11/165	`20(116th)
237	Kaedan Korczak	VGK	D	19	6-3/190	`19(41st)
238	Drew Commesso	Chi	G	18	6-1/180	`20(47th)
239	Nikolai Kovalenko	Col	RW	21	5-10/175	`18(171st)
240	Pius Suter	Chi	C	24	5-11/170	FA(7/20)
241	Wade Allison	Phi	RW	23	6-2/205	`16(52nd)
242	Bobby Brink	Phi	RW	19	5-10/165	`19(34th)
243	Lukas Cormier	VGK	D	18	5-10/180	`20(68th)
244	David Farrance	Nsh	D	21	5-11/190	`17(92nd)
245	Roby Jarventie	Ott	RW	18	6-2/185	`20(33rd)
246	Dmitri Voronkov	CBJ	LW	20	6-4/190	`19(114th)
247	German Rubtsov	Phi	C	22	6-2/190	`16(22nd)
248	Vitaly Abramov	Ott	RW	22	5-9/175	T(CBJ-2/19)
249	Alex Laferriere	LA	RW	19	6-0/175	`20(83rd)
250	Trey Fix-Wolansky	CBJ	RW	21	5-8/185	`18(204th)
251	Isaac Ratcliffe	Phi	LW	21	6-5/200	`17(35th)
252	Kale Clague	LA	D	22	6-0/180	`16(51st)
253	Landon Slaggert	Chi	LW	18	5-11/180	`20(79th)
254	Wyatt Kalynuk	Chi	D	23	6-1/180	FA(7/20)
255	Mikko Kokkonen	Tor	D	19	5-11/200	`19(84th)
256	Kevin Mandolese	Ott	G	20	6-4/180	`18(157th)
257	Daniil Tarasov	CBJ	G	21	6-5/185	`17(86th)
258	Evan Barratt	Chi	C	21	6-0/190	`17(90th)
259	Tyler Benson	Edm	LW	22	6-0/200	`16(32nd)
260	Yegor Korshkov	Tor	RW	24	6-4/215	`16(31st)
261	Hunter Skinner	NYR	D	19	6-2/175	`19(112th)
262	Riley Damiani	Dal	C	20	5-9/165	`18(137th)
263	Ryan McLeod	Edm	C	21	6-2/205	`18(40th)
264	Ilya Konovalov	Edm	G	22	6-0/195	`19(85th)
265	Will Cuylle	NYR	LW	18	6-3/205	`20(60th)
266	Evan Vierling	NYR	C	18	6-0/165	`20(127th)
267	Emil Heineman	Fla	LW	19	6-0/180	`20(43rd)
268	Zayde Wisdom	Phi	RW	18	5-10/195	`20(94th)
269	Hunter Jones	Min	G	20	6-4/195	`19(59th)
270	Ty Tullio	Edm	RW	18	5-10/165	`20(126th)
271	Jordan Spence	LA	D	19	5-10/165	`19(95th)
272	Dmitri Zavgorodny	Cgy	LW	20	5-9/175	`18(198th)
273	Alex Beaucage	Col	RW	19	6-1/195	`19(78th)
274	Matiss Kivlenieks	CBJ	G	24	6-2/190	FA(5/17)
275	Artyom Zub	Ott	D	25	6-2/200	FA(5/20)
276	Urho Vaakanainen	Bos	D	22	6-0/185	`17(18th)
277	Dmitri Samorukov	Edm	D	21	6-2/180	`17(84th)
278	Michal Teply	Chi	LW	19	6-3/185	`19(105th)
279	Colby Ambrosio	Col	C	18	5-8/170	`20(118th)
280	Mads Sogaard	Ott	G	20	6-7/195	`19(37th)
281	Jeremy Lauzon	Bos	D	23	6-3/205	`15(52nd)
282	Dennis Gilbert	Col	D	24	6-2/200	T(Chi-10/20)
283	Trent Frederic	Bos	C	22	6-4/215	`16(29th)
284	Lucas Carlsson	Chi	D	23	6-0/190	`16(110th)
285	Zack Macewen	Van	RW	24	6-3/205	FA(3/17)
286	Brandon Hagel	Chi	LW	22	6-1/175	FA(10/18)
287	Vasily Ponomarev	Car	C	18	5-10/180	`20(53rd)
288	Jakub Zboril	Bos	D	23	6-1/200	`15(13th)
289	Garrett Pilon	Wsh	RW	22	5-11/190	`16(87th)
290	Jeremy Bracco	Car	RW	23	5-9/180	FA(10/20)
291	Dylan Sikura	VGK	RW	25	6-0/170	T(Chi-9/20)
292	Kyle Capobianco	Ari	D	23	6-1/180	`15(63rd)
293	Sami Niku	Wpg	D	24	6-0/175	`15(198th)
294	John Farinacci	Ari	C	19	5-11/185	`19(76th)
295	Jackson Lacombe	Ana	D	19	6-1/170	`19(39th)
296	David Cotton	Car	LW	23	6-3/205	`15(169th)
297	Erik Portillo	Buf	G	20	6-6/210	`19(67th)
298	Jacob Truscott	Van	D	18	6-1/170	`20(144th)
299	Mikhail Berdin	Wpg	G	22	6-2/165	`16(157th)
300	Cam Hillis	Mtl	C	20	5-10/170	`18(66th)

MCKEENS 2020 NHL PROSPECTS REPORT – TOP 250 PROSPECTS

McKeens Hockey; Article by Ryan Wagman — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 11:50:55 +0000

I write these words less than 24 hours after the Dallas Stars took game one of the Stanley Cup Finals against the heavily favored Tampa Bay Lightning. Unlike most seasons wherein the end of the Stanley Cup marks the beginning of off-season player movement, this year teams have taken an early start to the transactional Ferris wheel as many expect the upcoming offseason (from the awarding of the Cup, through to the draft in the first week of October to the start of the 2020-21 season perhaps as soon as early December, pending COVID trends in North America) to be especially turbulent.

We have seen a few trades of NHL pieces, one deal which impacted this guidebook, as Toronto sent Kasperi Kapanen to Pittsburgh and Swedish winger Filip Hallander was among those coming back to Toronto. Hallander was our selection for the second-best prospect in the Penguins system and now holds that title for the Maple Leafs. That trade knocked the Penguins down a few slots on our organizational rankings and allowed Toronto to go the other way accordingly.

Of course, with the draft roughly 17 days away, and with it a complete re-shuffling of the organizational rankings, this is just a snapshot in time of how every team’s system shakes up. We will re-run this list, incorporating the drafted players, in our pre-season fantasy guide, where we will expand the lists up to 20.

What you are about to dive into is a comprehensive list of all prospect eligible players on all 31 teams. To hold prospect eligibility, a player needs to 25 or younger, as of September 15, 2020. All skaters need to have played less than 60 career games, with no more than 35 of those games coming in a single season (or 25 for this past shortened season). For goalies, the age criteria remain the same, but the games played benchmark drops to 30 career games and 20 in a given season (or 15 last year). Any cutoff that does not hew exactly to the Calder Trophy award criteria is, by nature, arbitrary, but we aim to be inclusive for all players who have not yet cemented NHL jobs and/or have not had a prolonged chance to prove himself capable – or incapable.

We rank 15 per team, as depth is as important as the high end. Our goal is to identify players who could – if they have an advocate for them within the team’s braintrust – play a role in the NHL. These players were identified through our thorough vetting of each prospect across the globe, assigning scores, or grades, to five areas for skaters (skating, shot, puck skills, smarts, physicality) and six for netminders (athleticism/speed/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, positioning/technique, rebound control, and puck handling). Depending on the position, the grades are run through an algorithm to come up with an overall future projection (OFP).

The OFP, if the scout is being honest, measures the future role we anticipate the prospect being able to hold. A 50 score is the lower threshold to be a regular 4^th line forward, or bottom pairing defender. Grades over 56 are potential top line/pairing skaters. The grades in between, obviously project to the middle of the lineup.

As we are reminded every year, development is not linear. Some players take unexpected sudden leaps forward (see Marino, John), and others stagnate (see Ho-Sang, Josh), and many do exactly what we expect of them when they are given the chance. As much as I trust the analysts in our team, I can also tell you that this exercise is always humbling. There will be at least one player who we rate highly who bombs. There will be at least one player who did not feature on his team’s top 15 who becomes an NHL regular next year. We accept those errors in judgment and promise you, our faithful subscriber, that we will learn from them and refine our work for next year, as we learn just as NHL teams learn.

Until then, please enjoy this snapshot view of the future of the beautiful, frozen game. Putting this together has provided at least some sense of normalcy during this crazy summer.

NHL	RNK	PLAYER	POS	AGE	HT/WT	TM	Acquired
Ana	1	Trevor Zegras	C	19	6-0/170	Boston University (HE)	`19(9th)
Min	2	Kirill Kaprizov	LW	23	5-10/200	CSKA (KHL)	`15(135th)
Col	3	Bowen Byram	D	19	6-0/195	Vancouver (WHL)	`19(4th)
Buf	4	Dylan Cozens	C	19	6-3/185	Lethbridge (WHL)	`19(7th)
Fla	5	Spencer Knight	G	19	6-3/195	Boston College (HE)	`19(13th)
VGK	6	Peyton Krebs	C	19	5-11/180	Winnipeg (WHL)	`19(17th)
Ari	7	Victor Soderstrom	D	19	5-11/180	Brynas (Swe)	`19(11th)
Mtl	8	Cole Caufield	RW	19	5-7/165	Wisconsin (B1G)	`19(15th)
Van	9	Vasili Podkolzin	RW	19	6-1/190	SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)	`19(10th)
Edm	10	Philip Broberg	D	19	6-3/200	Skelleftea AIK (Swe)	`19(8th)
Tor	11	Nick Robertson	LW	19	5-9/160	Peterborough (OHL)	`19(53rd)
Col	12	Alex Newhook	C	19	5-10/195	Boston College (HE)	`19(16th)
Det	13	Moritz Seider	D	19	6-3/185	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`19(6th)
Fla	14	Grigori Denisenko	LW	20	5-11/185	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)	`18(15th)
Min	15	Matthew Boldy	LW	19	6-1/190	Boston College (HE)	`19(12th)
NJ	16	Ty Smith	D	20	5-10/180	Spokane (WHL)	`18(17th)
LA	17	Alex Turcotte	C	19	5-11/185	Wisconsin (B1G)	`19(5th)
Nsh	18	Philip Tomasino	C	19	5-11/180	Nia-Osh (OHL)	`19(24th)
Pit	19	Samuel Poulin	LW	19	6-1/205	Sherbrooke (QMJHL)	`19(21st)
Wsh	20	Connor McMichael	C	19	5-11/175	London (OHL)	`19(25th)
LA	21	Gabriel Vilardi	RW	21	6-3/200	Ontario (AHL)	`17(11th)
NYR	22	Igor Shesterkin	G	24	6-1/190	Hartford (AHL)	`14(118th)
Dal	23	Thomas Harley	D	19	6-3/190	Mississauga (OHL)	`19(18th)
Ari	24	Barrett Hayton	C	20	6-1/190	Arizona (NHL)	`18(5th)
NYR	25	Nils Lundkvist	D	20	5-11/180	Lulea (Swe)	`18(28th)
LA	26	Arthur Kaliyev	RW	19	6-2/190	Hamilton (OHL)	`19(33rd)
Cgy	27	Juuso Valimaki	D	21	6-2/205	DNP - Injured	`17(16th)
Det	28	Jared McIsaac	D	20	6-1/195	Hal-Mon (QMJHL)	`18(36th)
NYR	29	Vitali Kravtsov	RW	20	6-3/185	Hartford (AHL)	`18(9th)
Edm	30	Evan Bouchard	D	20	6-2/195	Bakersfield (AHL)	`18(10th)
NYR	31	K'Andre Miller	D	20	6-3/205	Wisconsin (B1G)	`18(22nd)
Edm	32	Raphael Lavoie	RW	19	6-4/195	Hal-Chi (QMJHL)	`19(38th)
NYI	33	Ilya Sorokin	G	25	6-2/180	CSKA (KHL)	`14(78th)
Det	34	Albert Johansson	D	19	5-11/165	Farjestads (Swe)	`19(60th)
Ari	35	Matias Maccelli	LW	19	5-11/170	Ilves Tampere (Fin)	`19(98th)
Van	36	Nils Hoglander	RW	19	5-9/185	Rogle (Swe)	`19(40th)
Ari	37	Jan Jenik	RW	20	6-1/180	Hamilton (OHL)	`18(65th)
Phi	38	Cam York	D	19	5-11/175	Michigan (B1G)	`19(14th)
Phi	39	Morgan Frost	C	21	5-11/180	Lehigh Valley (AHL)	`17(27th)
Ana	40	Lukas Dostal	G	20	6-1/170	Ilves Tampere (Fin)	`18(85th)
LA	41	Tobias Bjornfot	D	19	6-0/200	Ontario (AHL)	`19(22nd)
SJ	42	Ryan Merkley	D	20	5-11/170	London (OHL)	`18(21st)
NYI	43	Kieffer Bellows	LW	22	6-0/200	Bridgeport (AHL)	`16(19th)
NYI	44	Oliver Wahlstrom	RW	20	6-1/205	Bridgeport (AHL)	`18(11th)
LA	45	Rasmus Kupari	C	20	6-1/185	Ontario (AHL)	`18(20th)
CBJ	46	Liam Foudy	C	20	6-0/175	London (OHL)	`18(18th)
LA	47	Tyler Madden	C	20	5-10/155	Northeastern (HE)	T(Van-2/20)
Mtl	48	Alexander Romanov	D	20	5-11/185	CSKA (KHL)	`18(38th)
NYI	49	Bode Wilde	D	20	6-2/195	Bridgeport (AHL)	`18(41st)
Ott	50	Jacob Bernard-Docker	D	20	6-0/180	North Dakota (NCHC)	`18(26th)
Cgy	51	Jakob Pelletier	LW	19	5-9/165	Moncton (QMJHL)	`19(26th)
LA	52	Akil Thomas	C	20	5-11/170	Nia-Pbo (OHL)	`18(51st)
Wpg	53	Dylan Samberg	D	21	6-3/190	Minn-Duluth (NCHC)	`17(43rd)
Chi	54	Ian Mitchell	D	21	5-11/175	Denver (NCHC)	`17(57th)
Ott	55	Josh Norris	C	21	6-1/195	Belleville (AHL)	T(SJ-9/18)
NYR	56	Matthew Robertson	D	19	6-3/200	Edmonton (WHL)	`19(49th)
VGK	57	Pavel Dorofeyev	LW	19	6-1/170	Magnitogorsk (KHL)	`19(79th)
Dal	58	Jake Oettinger	G	21	6-4/210	Texas (AHL)	`17(26th)
Ott	59	Drake Batherson	RW	22	6-1/190	Belleville (AHL)	`17(121st)
LA	60	Samuel Fagemo	RW	20	6-0/195	Frolunda (Swe)	`19(50th)
Col	61	Justus Annunen	G	20	6-4/215	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	`18(64th)
Bos	62	John Beecher	C	19	6-3/210	Michigan (B1G)	`19(30th)
Phi	63	Egor Zamula	D	20	6-4/175	Calgary (WHL)	FA(9/18)
NYR	64	Zac Jones	D	19	5-10/175	Massachusetts (HE)	`19(68th)
CBJ	65	Kirill Marchenko	LW	20	6-3/190	SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)	`18(49th)
VGK	66	Jack Dugan	RW	22	6-2/185	Providence (HE)	`17(142nd)
StL	67	Scott Perunovich	D	22	5-10/175	Minn-Duluth (NCHC)	`18(45th)
Bos	68	Jack Studnicka	C	21	6-1/170	Providence (AHL)	`17(53rd)
Dal	69	Ty Dellandrea	C	20	6-0/185	Flint (OHL)	`18(13th)
Min	70	Calen Addison	D	20	5-10/180	Lethbridge (WHL)	T(Pit-2/20)
NYR	71	Julien Gauthier	RW	22	6-4/225	Charlotte (AHL)	T(Car-2/20)
Van	72	Olli Juolevi	D	22	6-3/200	Utica (AHL)	`16(5th)
NJ	73	Nolan Foote	LW	19	6-3/190	Kelowna (WHL)	T(TB-2/20)
NJ	74	Janne Kuokkanen	LW	22	6-1/190	Cha-Bng (AHL)	T(Car-2/20)
Ott	75	Alex Formenton	LW	21	6-2/165	Belleville (AHL)	`17(47th)
Det	76	Robert Mastrosimone	LW	19	5-10/160	Boston University (HE)	`19(54th)
NYR	77	Morgan Barron	C	21	6-2/200	Cornell (ECAC)	`17(174th)
Mtl	78	Jesse Ylonen	RW	20	6-1/185	Pelicans (Fin)	`18(35th)
Car	79	Dominik Bokk	RW	20	6-1/180	Rogle (Swe)	T(StL-9/19)
Nsh	80	Egor Afanasyev	RW	19	6-3/205	Windsor (OHL)	`19(45th)
Ana	81	Benoit-Olivier Groulx	C	20	6-1/195	Hal-Mon (QMJHL)	`18(54th)
Min	82	Alexander Khovanov	C	20	5-11/195	Moncton (QMJHL)	`18(86th)
Det	83	Joe Veleno	C	20	6-1/195	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`18(30th)
NJ	84	Kevin Bahl	D	20	6-6/230	Ottawa (OHL)	T(Ari-12/19)
Car	85	Ryan Suzuki	C	19	6-0/180	Bar-Sag (OHL)	`19(28th)
Van	86	Jett Woo	D	20	6-0/205	Calgary (WHL)	`18(37th)
Mtl	87	Mattias Norlinder	D	20	5-11/180	MODO (Swe 2)	`19(64th)
Min	88	Adam Beckman	LW	19	6-1/170	Spokane (WHL)	`19(75th)
Bos	89	Jeremy Swayman	G	21	6-1/190	Maine (HE)	`17(111th)
Wpg	90	Kristian Vesalainen	LW	21	6-3/205	Manitoba (AHL)	`17(24th)
Tor	91	Filip Hallander	LW	20	6-1/185	Lulea (Swe)	T(Pit-8/20)
Fla	92	Owen Tippett	RW	21	6-1/200	Springfield (AHL)	`17(10th)
Car	93	Jake Bean	D	22	6-1/175	Charlotte (AHL)	`16(13th)
Ott	94	Shane Pinto	C	19	6-2/190	North Dakota (NCHC)	`19(32nd)
Col	95	Martin Kaut	RW	20	6-1/175	Colorado (AHL)	`18(16th)
Van	96	Jack Rathbone	D	21	5-10/175	Harvard (ECAC)	`17(95th)
Tor	97	Nick Abruzzese	C	21	5-9/160	Harvard (ECAC)	`19(124th)
Bos	98	Urho Vaakanainen	D	21	6-0/185	Providence (AHL)	`17(18th)
Wsh	99	Alexander Alexeyev	D	20	6-3/200	Hershey (AHL)	`18(31st)
NYI	100	Simon Holmstrom	RW	19	6-1/185	Bridgeport (AHL)	`19(23rd)
LA	101	Jaret Anderson-Dolan	C	21	5-11/190	Ontario (AHL)	`17(41st)
Car	102	Joey Keane	D	21	6-0/185	Hfd-Cha (AHL)	T(NYR-2/20)
Wsh	103	Martin Fehervary	D	20	6-1/190	Hershey (AHL)	`18(46th)
StL	104	Tyler Tucker	D	20	6-1/205	Bar-Fnt (OHL)	`18(200th)
SJ	105	Yegor Spiridonov	C	19	6-2/195	Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk (MHL)	`19(108th)
NJ	106	Joey Anderson	RW	22	6-0/195	Binghamton (AHL)	`16(73rd)
Col	107	Conor Timmins	D	21	6-1/185	Colorado (AHL)	`17(32nd)
StL	108	Klim Kostin	C	21	6-3/195	San Antonio (AHL)	`17(31st)
Mtl	109	Cayden Primeau	G	21	6-3/180	Laval (AHL)	`17(199th)
SJ	110	Jonathan Dahlen	LW	22	5-11/185	Timra IK (Swe 2)	T(Van-2/19)
NJ	111	Reilly Walsh	D	21	5-11/180	Harvard (ECAC)	`17(81st)
Buf	112	Oskari Laaksonen	D	21	6-2/165	Ilves Tampere (Fin)	`17(89th)
NJ	113	Arseni Gritsyuk	RW	19	5-10/170	Omskie Yastreby (MHL)	`19(129th)
Wsh	114	Aliaksei Protas	C	19	6-5/205	Prince Albert (WHL)	`19(91st)
Cgy	115	Dustin Wolf	G	19	6-0/165	Everett (WHL)	`19(214th)
StL	116	Joel Hofer	G	20	6-3/160	Portland (WHL)	`18(107th)
VGK	117	Ivan Morozov	C	20	6-1/180	SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)	`18(61st)
Mtl	118	Jake Evans	C	24	6-0/185	Laval (AHL)	`14(207th)
Nsh	119	Eeli Tolvanen	RW	21	5-10/175	Milwaukee (AHL)	`17(30th)
Wpg	120	Ville Heinola	D	19	5-11/180	Lukko Rauma (Fin)	`19(20th)
VGK	121	Lucas Elvenes	RW	21	6-0/175	Chicago (AHL)	`17(127th)
TB	122	Cole Koepke	LW	22	6-1/195	Minn-Duluth (NCHC)	`18(183rd)
Ana	123	Isac Lundestrom	C	20	6-0/185	San Diego (AHL)	`18(23rd)
NYR	124	Tarmo Reunanen	D	22	6-0/180	Lukko Rauma (Fin)	`16(98th)
Mtl	125	Jordan Harris	D	20	5-11/180	Northeastern (HE)	`18(71st)
Ana	126	Brayden Tracey	LW	19	6-0/175	MJ-Vic (WHL)	`19(29th)
Phi	127	Tanner Laczynski	C	23	6-1/200	Ohio State (B1G)	`16(169th)
Chi	128	Alec Regula	D	20	6-3/200	London (OHL)	T(Det-10/19)
Buf	129	Mattias Samuelsson	D	20	6-3/215	Western Michigan (NCHC)	`18(32nd)
Car	130	Jamieson Rees	C	19	5-10/175	Sarnia (OHL)	`19(44th)
Edm	131	Olivier Rodrigue	G	20	6-1/165	Moncton (QMJHL)	`18(62nd)
Fla	132	Serron Noel	RW	20	6-5/205	Osh-Kit (OHL)	`18(34th)
Det	133	Antti Tuomisto	D	19	6-4/190	Assat Pori (Fin Jr)	`19(35th)
Dal	134	Jason Robertson	LW	21	6-2/195	Texas (AHL)	`17(39th)
Mtl	135	Joni Ikonen	C	21	5-10/170	DNP - Injured	`17(58th)
Nsh	136	Rem Pitlick	C	23	5-11/200	Milwaukee (AHL)	`16(76th)
Ott	137	Logan Brown	C	22	6-6/220	Belleville (AHL)	`16(11th)
TB	138	Samuel Walker	C	21	5-11/160	Minnesota (B1G)	`17(200th)
Phi	139	Wade Allison	RW	22	6-2/205	Western Michigan (NCHC)	`16(52nd)
Wpg	140	Declan Chisholm	D	20	6-1/190	Peterborough (OHL)	`18(150th)
NJ	141	Tyce Thompson	RW	21	6-1/180	Providence (HE)	`19(96th)
VGK	142	Connor Corcoran	D	20	6-1/185	Windsor (OHL)	`18(154th)
Ana	143	Jackson Lacombe	D	19	6-1/170	Minnesota (B1G)	`19(39th)
NYR	144	Lauri Pajuniemi	RW	21	6-0/185	TPS Turku (Fin)	`18(132nd)
Car	145	Tuukka Tieksola	RW	19	5-10/160	Karpat Oulu (Fin Jr)	`19(121st)
CBJ	146	Andrew Peeke	D	22	6-3/210	Cleveland (AHL)	`16(34th)
Ana	147	Axel Andersson	D	20	6-0/180	Moncton (QMJHL)	T(Bos-2/20)
Car	148	Patrik Puistola	LW	19	6-0/175	Tap-Juk-Koo (Fin)	`19(73rd)
NJ	149	Michael McLeod	C	22	6-2/195	Binghamton (AHL)	`16(12th)
Car	150	Pyotr Kochetkov	G	21	6-1/175	SKA-VIT (KHL)	`19(36th)
NJ	151	Michael Vukojevic	D	19	6-3/210	Kitchener (OHL)	`19(82nd)
NYI	152	Ruslan Iskhakov	C	20	5-8/155	UConn (HE)	`18(43rd)
Wpg	153	Sami Niku	D	23	6-0/175	Manitoba (AHL)	`15(198th)
TB	154	Hugo Alnefelt	G	19	6-3/195	HV 71 (Swe)	`19(71st)
NJ	155	Nikita Okhotyuk	D	19	6-1/195	Ottawa (OHL)	`19(61st)
NYR	156	Hunter Skinner	D	19	6-2/175	London (OHL)	`19(112th)
LA	157	Mikey Anderson	D	21	6-0/195	Ontario (AHL)	`17(103rd)
Col	158	Shane Bowers	C	21	6-2/190	Colorado (AHL)	T(Ott-11/17)
NYI	159	Joshua Ho-Sang	RW	24	6-0/175	Bri-SA (AHL)	`14(28th)
LA	160	Cal Petersen	G	25	6-3/190	Ontario (AHL)	FA(7/17)
Col	161	Sampo Ranta	LW	20	6-2/205	Minnesota (B1G)	`18(78th)
Wpg	162	Mikhail Berdin	G	22	6-2/165	Manitoba (AHL)	`16(157th)
Bos	163	Jeremy Lauzon	D	23	6-3/205	Providence (AHL)	`15(52nd)
Nsh	164	David Farrance	D	21	5-11/190	Boston University (HE)	`17(92nd)
Van	165	Will Lockwood	RW	22	5-11/175	Michigan (B1G)	`16(64th)
NYI	166	Sebastian Aho	D	24	5-10/175	Bridgeport (AHL)	`17(139th)
Wpg	167	Logan Stanley	D	22	6-7/225	Manitoba (AHL)	`16(18th)
Buf	168	Ryan Johnson	D	19	6-0/175	Minnesota (B1G)	`19(31st)
Van	169	Michael DiPietro	G	21	6-0/195	Utica (AHL)	`17(64th)
VGK	170	Kaedan Korczak	D	19	6-3/190	Kelowna (WHL)	`19(41st)
Car	171	Jack Drury	C	20	5-11/180	Harvard (ECAC)	`18(42nd)
StL	172	Nikita Alexandrov	C	19	6-0/180	Charlottetown (QMJHL)	`19(62nd)
Col	173	Nikolai Kovalenko	RW	20	5-10/175	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)	`18(171st)
Nsh	174	Juuso Parssinen	C	19	6-2/205	TPS Turku (Fin)	`19(210th)
Chi	175	Pius Suter	C	24	5-11/170	ZSC Lions (NLA)	FA(7/20)
Fla	176	Aleksi Saarela	RW	23	5-11/200	Rfd-Spr (AHL)	T(Chi-10/19)
Bos	177	Trent Frederic	C	22	6-4/215	Providence (AHL)	`16(29th)
CBJ	178	Dmitri Voronkov	LW	20	6-4/190	Ak Bars Kazan (KHL)	`19(114th)
Ott	179	Lassi Thomson	D	19	6-0/190	Ilves Tampere (Fin)	`19(19th)
Car	180	Morgan Geekie	C	22	6-2/180	Charlotte (AHL)	`17(67th)
CBJ	181	Trey Fix-Wolansky	RW	21	5-8/185	Cleveland (AHL)	`18(204th)
Ott	182	Vitaly Abramov	RW	22	5-9/175	Belleville (AHL)	T(CBJ-2/19)
TB	183	Alexander Volkov	LW	23	6-1/190	Syracuse (AHL)	`17(48th)
Tor	184	Mikko Kokkonen	D	19	5-11/200	Jukurit (Fin)	`19(84th)
Ott	185	Kevin Mandolese	G	20	6-4/180	Cape Breton (QMJHL)	`18(157th)
CBJ	186	Daniil Tarasov	G	21	6-5/185	Assat Pori (Fin)	`17(86th)
LA	187	Carl Grundstrom	LW	22	6-0/195	Ontario (AHL)	T(Tor-1/19)
LA	188	Kale Clague	D	22	6-0/180	Ontario (AHL)	`16(51st)
Ott	189	Artyom Zub	D	24	6-2/200	SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)	FA(5/20)
Edm	190	Tyler Benson	LW	22	6-0/200	Bakersfield (AHL)	`16(32nd)
Det	191	Jonatan Berggren	RW	20	5-10/185	Skelleftea AIK (Swe)	`18(33rd)
Tor	192	Yegor Korshkov	RW	24	6-4/215	Toronto (AHL)	`16(31st)
Dal	193	Riley Damiani	C	20	5-9/165	Kitchener (OHL)	`18(137th)
VGK	194	Zach Whitecloud	D	23	6-2/210	Chicago (AHL)	FA(3/18)
Buf	195	Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen	G	21	6-4/195	Cincinnati (ECHL)	`17(54th)
Car	196	David Cotton	LW	23	6-3/205	Boston College (HE)	`15(169th)
Chi	197	Wyatt Kalynuk	D	23	6-1/180	Wisconsin (B1G)	FA(7/20)
Min	198	Hunter Jones	G	19	6-4/195	Peterborough (OHL)	`19(59th)
LA	199	Jordan Spence	D	19	5-10/165	Moncton (QMJHL)	`19(95th)
Cgy	200	Dmitri Zavgorodny	LW	20	5-9/175	Rimouski (QMJHL)	`18(198th)
Col	201	Alex Beaucage	RW	19	6-1/195	Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)	`19(78th)
TB	202	Dmitri Semykin	D	20	6-3/200	SKA-1946 St. Petersburg (MHL)	`18(90th)
CBJ	203	Matiss Kivlenieks	G	24	6-2/190	Cleveland (AHL)	FA(5/17)
StL	204	Ville Husso	G	25	6-3/205	San Antonio (AHL)	`14(94th)
Phi	205	Bobby Brink	RW	19	5-10/165	Denver (NCHC)	`19(34th)
NYI	206	Otto Koivula	C	22	6-4/220	Bridgeport (AHL)	`16(120th)
Car	207	Eetu Makiniemi	G	21	6-2/180	KOOVEE (Fin 2)	`17(104th)
NYI	208	Anatoli Golyshev	RW	25	5-8/180	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (KHL)	`16(95th)
Chi	209	Evan Barratt	C	21	6-0/190	Penn State (B1G)	`17(90th)
Buf	210	Erik Portillo	G	20	6-6/210	Dubuque (USHL)	`19(67th)
Fla	211	Cole Schwindt	RW	19	6-2/185	Mississauga (OHL)	`19(81st)
Chi	212	Michal Teply	LW	19	6-3/185	Winnipeg (WHL)	`19(105th)
Ott	213	Mads Sogaard	G	19	6-7/195	Medicine Hat (WHL)	`19(37th)
Buf	214	Jonas Johansson	G	24	6-4/205	Rochester (AHL)	`14(61st)
TB	215	Cal Foote	D	21	6-4/215	Syracuse (AHL)	`17(14th)
StL	216	Niko Mikkola	D	24	6-5/200	San Antonio (AHL)	`15(127th)
NYI	217	Robin Salo	D	21	6-1/190	SaiPa (Fin)	`17(46th)
Bos	218	Jakub Zboril	D	23	6-1/200	Providence (AHL)	`15(13th)
Buf	219	Will Borgen	D	23	6-2/200	Rochester (AHL)	`15(92nd)
Pit	220	Pierre-Olivier Joseph	D	21	6-2/170	Wilkes-Barre (AHL)	`17(23rd)
SJ	221	Sasha Chmelevski	C	21	5-11/190	San Jose (AHL)	`17(185th)
Ari	222	Kyle Capobianco	D	23	6-1/180	Tucson (AHL)	`15(63rd)
Det	223	Keith Petruzzelli	G	21	6-5/180	Quinnipiac (ECAC)	`17(88th)
Wsh	224	Garrett Pilon	RW	22	5-11/190	Hershey (AHL)	`16(87th)
NJ	225	Nikola Pasic	RW	19	5-10/185	Karlskoga (Swe 2)	`19(189th)
TB	226	Alex Barre-Boulet	C	23	5-10/165	Syracuse (AHL)	FA(3/18)
Edm	227	Ryan McLeod	C	20	6-2/205	Bakersfield (AHL)	`18(40th)
NYI	228	Samuel Bolduc	D	19	6-3/210	BLB-She (QMJHL)	`19(57th)
Ott	229	Joey Daccord	G	24	6-2/195	Belleville (AHL)	`15(199th)
StL	230	Hugh McGing	C	22	5-9/180	Western Michigan (NCHC)	`18(138th)
Edm	231	Cooper Marody	C	23	6-0/180	Bakersfield (AHL)	T(Phi-3/18)
Tor	232	Jeremy Bracco	RW	23	5-9/180	Toronto (AHL)	`15(61st)
Phi	233	German Rubtsov	C	22	6-2/190	Lehigh Valley (AHL)	`16(22nd)
Wsh	234	Brian Pinho	C	25	6-1/195	Hershey (AHL)	`13(174th)
Col	235	Logan O'Connor	RW	24	6-0/170	Colorado (AHL)	FA(7/18)
Buf	236	Casey Fitzgerald	D	23	5-11/190	Rochester (AHL)	`16(86th)
NJ	237	Daniil Misyul	D	19	6-3/180	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)	`19(70th)
Ari	238	John Farinacci	C	19	5-11/185	Harvard (ECAC)	`19(76th)
Edm	239	Aapeli Rasanen	C	22	6-0/195	Boston College (HE)	`16(153rd)
Pit	240	Anthony Angello	RW	24	6-5/205	Wilkes-Barre (AHL)	`14(145th)
Mtl	241	Cam Hillis	C	20	5-10/170	Guelph (OHL)	`18(66th)
Cgy	242	Mathias Emilio Pettersen	RW	20	5-9/170	Denver (NCHC)	`18(167th)
SJ	243	Alexander True	C	23	6-5/205	San Jose (AHL)	FA(7/18)
NYI	244	Reece Newkirk	C	19	5-11/175	Portland (WHL)	`19(147th)
Dal	245	Dawson Barteaux	D	20	6-0/180	RD-Wpg (WHL)	`18(168th)
Bos	246	Jack Ahcan	D	23	5-8/185	St. Cloud State (NCHC)	FA(3/20)
Det	247	Seth Barton	D	21	6-2/175	Mass-Lowell (HE)	`18(81st)
Fla	248	Max Gildon	D	21	6-3/190	New Hampshire (HE)	`17(66th)
Ari	249	Aku Raty	RW	19	6-0/175	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	`19(151st)
Wpg	250	David Gustafsson	C	20	6-1/195	Winnipeg (NHL)	`18(60th)

MCKEEN’S 2020 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHT – ORGANIZATIONAL RANK: 26

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 19:40:06 +0000

Vegas Golden Knights

If you were to tell me that an expansion team, after only three draft classes, had a middle of the pack system, a ranking which is as much about depth as about the upper echelon, you would think that they had selected high each year and perhaps had drafted young in the expansion draft to boot.

Of course you, the McKeen’s Hockey reader know that not to be the case. You know, as do I, that while the Golden Knights had three first rounders in their inaugural draft in 2017, two of the players selected (Nick Suzuki and Erik Brannstrom) are no longer in the organization, while the third (Cody Glass) has lost his prospect eligibility with Vegas. You also likely remember that Vegas dealt away their 2018 first round pick in the service of that first, magical playoff run, as part of the package surrendered for Tomas Tatar.

As our organizational rankings are based on cumulative quality among a team’s top 18 prospects, Vegas has earned their standing due to depth. Even with the picks traded away before or after making them, Vegas has drafted 28 players in four years. In other words, they crammed four draft classes into three.

Naturally, not every pick has panned out. Even when we get past their almost mythical first draft class. The three first rounders all look like hits, as does their first second rounder, in Nicolas Hague, who like Glass has played too much in the NHL to maintain prospect eligibility. After Hague, their next three picks are all trending towards bust, as Jake Leschyshyn and Jonas Rondbjerg struggled mightily as rookie pros and Maxim Zhukov was never signed. All that is left from that class in terms of prospect expectations are the two fifth rounders Lucas Elvenes and Jack Dugan, and sixth rounder Jiri Patera, who had a big final season in the WHL to reclaim some luster.

The Golden Knights again spread their scouting nets wide in 2018, selecting players from around the hockey globe. Even without picks in the first or third rounds, half of their eight picks are still trending in the right direction. It is likely that none of them end up as top-half-of-roster players, but winning teams need strength up and down their lines, and all the better if those contributions come on entry level contracts.

Another interesting tactic employed by Vegas which helps keep their prospect rankings respectable has been mixing CHLers and European and college-bound players. What that does is stagger their expected graduations. CHLers need to be signed within two years, while the latter two groups have more time on their sides, depending on their actual path. Effectively, this has given the Golden Knights multiple tracks for development. They have fast trackers picked out of the CHL like the graduated draft picks Glass, and Hague, and current top prospect Peyton Krebs. They have prospects on slower paths like collegians Jack Dugan, Isaiah Saville, and Peter Diliberatore, and they have the indefinite path Russians in Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Morozov.

Finally, the Golden Knights have not been shy about supplementing their prospect depth with free talent. There are three undrafted free agents in the top 15 and a few more sprinkled throughout the system including the organization’s first ever player, Reid Duke. Vegas has been equally likely to sign a free agent out of the CHL as they have out of college. This hybrid approach has allowed the expansion team to ramp up quickly and sustainably. Seattle should be taking notes.

Peyton Krebs

Peyton Krebs, C (17^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 2)

Krebs is one of the top playmakers outside of the NHL right now. He has elite level vision coupled with elite passing skills that enable him to make plays and passes that few others can. He is also a cerebral player who can slow the game down or push the pace to generate offense. His high hockey IQ enables him to be a solid defensive player who wins draws, leads play through the neutral zone, and effectively plays across all 200 feet of the ice.

There are two things that prevent him from being mentioned as among the top drafted prospects right now. His shot is only average. He gets over three shots per game off but his shot is not a weapon at the same level as the rest of his game. He projects to a similar stat line to former NHLer Adam Oates where his assists will be triple or even quadruple his goals. He needs to have a finisher on his line for him to reach his full potential.

The second is his size. His size will not prevent him from having an NHL career in any way, but his lack of size has added some doubts to his future projection. He is a very quick player, both in processing the game and in how he moves around the ice. He has separation speed and high agility enabling him to attack defenders’ multiple ways. He is a great puck carrier and has the potential to be a true top line player. 50 assist seasons seem like a possibility in the not too distant future. – VG

Pavel Dorofeyev, LW (79^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 3)

Playing under 10 minutes per game, Dorofeyev did not muster up big numbers in the KHL this season. He is still an interesting offensive prospect with some strong offensive assets. His skating is technically solid. His edgework and efficient stride help him to be effective on the ice even though he lacks the natural explosiveness needed for elite speed. He is good on the power play and can be both a setup-player as well as a shooter. He can one-time slap shots with precision and can release hard wrist shots quickly.

His most impressive asset is his strong puck skills. He is a strong puck carrier and passer. He can skate smoothly with the puck which could help him to be a good zone entry player. There are some concerns about the consistency of his decision-making in the sense that he seems to prefer an east-west game rather than a north-south. This means that he slows the game down seeking cross passes rather than moving the puck forward. His game away from the puck is inconsistent and can lack intensity.

His offensive instincts are good, though, and if he can learn to use his assets more efficiently, he can become a top six forward in the NHL. There still are some ifs to that projection. He needs to play in a top six role to reach his full potential as a player. He has a contract in the KHL for two more years and will need that time to show that he can take steps and produce in a top six role there before stepping over. - JH

BUFFALO, NY - APRIL 11: Providence Friars Forward Jack Dugan (12) skates up ice during the NCAA Frozen Four men's hockey game between Providence Friars and Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on April 11, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. (Photo by Jerome Davis/Icon Sportswire)

Jack Dugan, LW (142^nd overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 11)

A fifth-round draft pick, Dugan has grown into one of the top college hockey prospects. He has faced his share of adversity - after winning a championship with McQuaid Jesuit High in New York he transferred to Northwood, a Massachusetts prep school. He was struggling and missed his home, but his coach helped him, convincing him to stay. It paid off in the form of an impressive senior year, followed by a season with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, where he was a USHL First Team All-Star and played for USA in the WJAC in 2017-18.

After having a good freshman year with Providence, he had a breakout season for the Friars as a sophomore, leading the nation in scoring for which he was named a Hobey Baker finalist and New England’s best forward. Dugan is recognized as a bigger scoring threat, but he has also become more patient and has learned to look for more options. There are many aspects of his game to like — he has excellent vision and his ability to see the ice plus his creativity makes him an exceptional playmaker. The top-line forward likes to hang out around the net and can feed his teammates from that position.

At 6-2”, Dugan could put more weight to his frame so he doesn’t get pushed off the puck so easily. He has to pump his legs to skate but he cycles smoothly in the zone. He has an ability to set his teammates up, but that’s also his weakness - he needs to pass the puck less and shoot more to take that next step in his development. - JS

Ivan Morozov, C (61^st overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 5)

A 6-1” and nearly 200lbs power center, like many young Russian players have to do, he lived out of a suitcase this year, playing across three different leagues, on top of playing internationally for Russia at several events (including the World Junior Championships). While he has yet to truly establish himself as a full time KHL player, he had a strong second half with SKA, playing alongside fellow prospects, Vasily Podkolzin (VAN) and Kirill Marchenko (CBJ).

Playing more of a power game, Morozov is more likely to try to plow through you rather than deke around you. He combines strong skating ability, great puck protection, and a heavy wrist shot to be an impact offensive player. However, Morozov is also a strong two-way player who uses his size effectively to win challenges for the puck and who can play in any situation asked of him. The knock on Morozov is simply consistency. Part of that could be from having to play across many different teams in the Russian junior leagues. However, he needs to find a way to be an impact player from shift to shift, using his size effectively to dominate down the middle of the ice.

After signing a contract extension with SKA through 2021-22, Morozov will look to establish himself as a KHL star before crossing the pond. That means Vegas fans will not be seeing Morozov for a few years yet. Once he does come over, he projects as a potential middle six center who can potentially make an impact the year after his KHL contract expires. - BO

Lucas Elvenes, C/RW (127^th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 17)

I was going to start off by saying that Lucas Elvenes was one of the AHL’s preeminent rookies last season, but that would undersell him; he was one of the league’s best players, bar none. Exploding onto the scene from literally his first AHL game onward, with a goal and three assists, Elvenes won AHL Rookie of the Month honors in October while steaming through an 11-game point streak and leading the league in scoring until early December.

Bursting with speed and high-level passing ability, the Swedish hybrid forward loves to play a perimeter game that is predicated upon his ability to facilitate the puck and his man-to-man game at top speed. That kind of game needed no adjustment from the wider European ice, allowing him to compress his skillset and make faster passes and take advantage of his speed against the walls. With soft hands and a smooth set of skates, he was as effective as any AHL winger at establishing possession in the offensive zone. With length and mature anticipation of what is happening on the ice, he can more than hold his own on defense.

His shot could be more of a weapon, and with its speed and quick delivery, Elvenes should use it more than the mere 70 shots on goal he recorded in 59 games last season. To think the 20-year-old can be a future top-six winger, disregarding for a moment the absurd forward depth Vegas possesses in the NHL, is not hyperbole. And as a fifth-round pick in Vegas’ inaugural draft back in 2017, what a story that would be. - TD

Connor Corcoran, D (154^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Corcoran excels most in the defensive end where he understands how to use his quickness and mobility to play a suffocating, shutdown role. Not an overtly physical player, he shows poise and restraint, exhibiting great gap control to shut down the transition game, but also a good stick to excel in coverage.

Offensively, his confidence soared this year as he took that next step in being able to lead the charge at even strength, and quarterback the powerplay effectively. While his offensive skill set is not dynamic enough to be a significant point producer at the next level, he definitely has the potential to develop into a quality #4-6 defender who can provide a reliable presence, following a few years of seasoning at the AHL level. - BO

Kaedan Korczak, D (41^st overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 10)

There was always a lot to like about his size, skating and overall defensive game but his ability to sneak in from the point to make a play, coupled with his development on the powerplay where he sets the table for his teammates, have been two very important and noticeable improvements. He has an excellent one timer and moves well laterally along the blue line which also adds another layer to his offensive game. He has always shown excellent gap and wall control where he uses both his reach and physical presence to disrupt his opponent’s game. - VG

Zach Whitecloud, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Mar. 8, 2018. 2019 Rank: 6)

While he is not the most impressive player to behold, the undrafted Bemidji State alum has no real flaws and can expertly slip into any role needed from him. A hard-nosed physical player, he plays deep, tight gaps and uses his 6-2” frame to close down any inside position against opposing forwards. He routinely shuts down plays below the goal line with his body, eliminating cycle play and high danger net-front chances.

He has shown an underrated puck-moving ability to pair with his fairly respectable mobility, but I don’t expect him to be a two-way force of any kind in the NHL. Polished and ready for a permanent job on the Knights’ blueline, Whitecloud will likely stay put in the big league from this point on. - TD

Keegar Kolesar, RW (Trade: Jun. 24, 2017. Originally: 69^th overall, 2015 [Columbus]. 2019 Rank: 19)

With nifty and elusive hands as well as a dangerous, albeit inconsistent shot, Kolesar is capable of racking up points, while pressuring opposing defenses and goaltenders as a depth option. His puck-protection skills against the boards and tenacious forechecking could make him one of the peskiest players to play against in a deep Vegas forward lineup. He is capable of taking on heavier defensive minutes with AHL Chicago, where he has been one of the top penalty-killing forwards on the club. He is becoming more of a certain future NHLer, but it looks like his ceiling is as a fourth-liner with a grinder’s scoring output. - TD

Isaiah Saville, G (135^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 9)

Team USA’s third string netminder at this year’s WJC (he never played) Saville still has the highest upside of any goalie in the Vegas system. The freshman had some hiccups in adjusting to life in college, playing for a minnow in a top-heavy NCHC conference no less, but he still was able to demonstrate a number of the traits that made him an exciting draft prospect one year earlier.

A southpaw on the smaller side for a modern goaltender, the Alaskan is very athletic with impressive lateral agility, yet he plays a very calm game, keeping his feet steady and generally playing with an abundance of composure. Going forward, he could stand to be a tad more assertive, especially when it comes to handling the puck. He should also work on tightening his five hole to be a less attractive target for shooters. More than anything, though, he needs to be more consistent from game to game. As with all goalies, there is boom-or-bust potential here, but the shine has not yet come off Saville. - RW

Gage Quinney, C/LW (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Jun. 1, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Quinney became the first Las Vegas-born player to appear in an NHL game earlier this season, and he absolutely earned that big-league debut. Signed as a free agent in July of 2018, the winger has been quietly superb in the AHL with seasons of 33, 43, and 36 points (the last of which came in just 46 contests) since coming over from the Pittsburgh organization.

Playing with more pace than ever, Quinney makes great reads of the ice and knows exactly where to the put the puck, whether that is utilizing his well-placed and heavy wrist shot or drawing defenders to him before dishing it out. An excellent puck-handler, he does not lose it often when attempting to move through traffic.

He is not the biggest forward, but he competes well for pucks and can kill penalties with effectiveness. What hurts his potential is that the lefty does not have great speed and at 25, this might be the plateau of what he can provide. If the Knights truly value the former WHL role player, he can suit up for a bottom-six PK role in the near future. - TD

Jiri Patera, G (161^st overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: UR)

Patera has shown continued progression this season bringing his GAA down from 3.31 to 2.55 and his save % up from .906 to .921, both of which metrics are significant season over season improvements. The strengths of his game are his control and positioning. He is able to stay pretty compact without a lot of stray movements which keeps him square to the puck and in control of his body. He isn’t a great lateral mover but he gets across fine.

His glove hand is pretty strong and he does well tracking the puck through traffic. His rebound control is pretty good and he directs pucks to the corners well. Occasionally, these are off target and end up in the slot but overall his game is solid. He protects the bottom of the net extremely well. The only concern with his overall game is he tends to go down a bit early to protect the lower half of the net and his save % drops dramatically (per Instatscouts.com) the more the puck is elevated. - VG

Peter Diliberatore, D (180^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

While his skating, hockey sense and his skills range more on the average side, his big assets are his shot and physicality, even though he measures in at a slender 6-0” and 170 pounds. While he could certainly add more weight to his frame, he still uses what he has well. His shot is also exceptional, and it is one of the reasons why Diliberatore is an effective offensive defenseman. He has a blistering slapshot from the point, and he likes to use it, leading all Quinnipiac blueliners by more than 20 shots on the season. He will need at least one more collegiate season before turning pro. - JS

Dylan Coghlan, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Sep. 20, 2017. 2019 Rank: 20)

A solid skater capable of carrying his heavy 6-2” frame to an impressive top speed, Coghlan is a rush-oriented defender who likes to carry the puck into the zone, allowing him to use his plus vision to defer to a teammate or his booming slapshot for a chance from the line. His defensive decision-making still needs some work, and his absence on the Chicago penalty kill is not a good sign, but he is a depth puck-rushing defender at the NHL level with potential on the power play with a bit more work. - TD

Brandon Kruse, LW (135^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

His stature will always be a concern, even if he plays tougher than one might expect, but his quick feet have thus far helped him avoid hits even as he regularly wins races for the puck. He also demonstrates great vision for passes, stickhandling the puck into the clear and finding an open man in a more dangerous spot. Those are skills which can help to mitigate his size concern, although not the concern that he can be one-dimensional, relying on the same tricks again and again to escape danger. That he has not yet signed is indicative that he will return to school for a senior season and that Vegas would like to see more progress before extending a contract. It’s hard to expect more out of a fifth rounder. - RW

2018 NHL Draft Review: Pacific Division

Ryan Wagman — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 12:13:32 +0000

The draft is over and 217 young players are newly affiliated with 31 different NHL organizations. Outside of three to six of those players, who could jump right into NHL lineups in the fall, we will not know whether the vast majority of those players are draft successes for two, three, four, or five years.

The lack of clear foresight aside, we should still be able to judge draft classes at least in terms of expected value. In some cases, we can look at strategy as well, although the way the board shakes out based on the picks that came before, we can rarely truly discern what a club was trying to do, but only what they were able to do.

I had hoped that we would be able to provide an average Overall Future Projection of the various draft classes, but there are a few picks from the high school ranks, the NAHL and a few European junior leagues for whom we lack enough information to give a full grade, so we will focus on where we had players ranked as we assess the draft haul of each team, as we run division-by-division through the NHL.

Here is the Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks

Anaheim Ducks
1 (23) Isac Lundestrom, C, Lulea (SHL) - ranked 19
2 (54) Benoit-Olivier Groulx, C, Halifax (QMJHL) - ranked 38th
3 (79) Blake McLaughlin, LW, Chicago (USHL) - ranked 40th
3 (85) Lukas Dostal, G, Slavia Trebic (Czech 2) - ranked 63rd
4 (116) Jackson Perbix, RW, Elk River HS (USHS - MN) - ranked 150th
5 (147) Roman Durny, G, Des Moines (USHL) - ranked Honorable Mention
6 (178) Hunter Drew, D, Charlottetown (QMJHL) - unranked

Two Euros, two from the Q, and three who spent a significant portion of their draft year in the USHL. One thing that we can say without hesitation is that the Ducks did not go out of their way to draft blueliners, nor did they make a point of reaching on younger, more projectable players. In fact, the opposite is true on the latter point. Lundestrom, their first rounder, has a late ’99 birthdate, while their last two selections were both born in 1998.

With only three netminders under the age of 26 in the system prior to draft day, one of whom is seemingly stalling out in the NCAA ranks, it makes sense that the team would seek to fortify that area. Goaltenders are notoriously tough to forecast, but we certainly liked Dostal, ranking him tops among all netminders eligible for the 2018 draft. Durny was more of a wildcard, spending the first half of his year with the Slovakia U20 team and coming over to play for Des Moines in the USHL after a promising showing at the WJC. He remained strong with the Buccaneers after coming stateside.

With their first two picks, the Ducks went with 200 foot centers with mature games. While neither projects as a first liner in the future, both could grow up to fill the middle six pivot roles. Blake McLaughlin is a personal favorite. In his first full USHL season, he was fantastic with the Steel in the early going, before hitting a rut around the same time that his team underwent a coaching change near mid-season. His playmaking chops are very impressive. Jackson Perbix, whose older brother Nick is a Colorado pick, was one of the younger players eligible and excelled with his high school team before struggling to make an impact in the USHL with Green Bay. He is raw, but is a good skater and has promising puck skills. After ignoring defensemen with their first six picks, the Ducks selected Hunter Drew, a second year eligible blueliners from the Charlottetown Islanders in the sixth round. He has a decent shot and plays a physical brand of hockey, but his selection raised eyebrows. Overall, the Ducks got strong value with their first four picks, with three potential top nine forwards and getting one of the better goalies in the draft class. As we can endorse two of the last three picks as worthwhile gambles makes this a strong all-around influx to the Anaheim organization.

OFP – 53.25

Arizona Coyotes

Arizona Coyotes
1 (5) Barrett Hayton, C, Sault Ste Marie (OHL) - ranked 11th
2 (55) Kevin Bahl, D, Ottawa (OHL) - ranked 58th
3 (65) Jan Jenik, RW, Benatky and Jizerou (Czech 2) - ranked 72nd
3 (73) Ty Emberson, D, USNTDP (UDHL) - ranked 45th
4 (114) Ivan Prosvetov, G, Youngstown (USHL) - ranked 103rd
5 (142) Michael Callahan, D, Youngstown (USHL) - ranked 194th
5 (145) Dennis Busby, D, Flint (OHL) - ranked 188th
6 (158) David Tendeck, G, Vancouver (WHL) - unranked
7 (189) Liam Kirk, LW, Sheffield (EIHL) - ranked 177th

Like Anaheim, the Arizona Coyotes added two netminders to the team in the 2018 draft. Unlike the Ducks, the Coyotes came away with greater positional balance in their draft haul. On top of their two new netminders, Arizona drafted four defenders, one center, one left winger and one right winger. Perhaps coincidentally, Coyotes draft picks skewed towards the younger end of the class, at least among position players. Six of the seven skaters were born in 2000 (both goalies had ’99 birthdates) and Jan Jenik was born on the last day of eligibility for the 2018 draft class. It is feasible to assume that the more projectable players somewhat offsets the fact that the team did not draft anyone who was widely considered to have any elite characteristics among their essential scouting attributes. Even fifth overall pick Barrett Hayton was largely thought of as offering better value in the 10-15 range than as a top five player. He is certainly skilled and his upside may have been masked somewhat by playing a third line role for much of the season with the powerhouse Greyhounds. He does everything at an above average level, but did not consistently show anything truly high end. Those who really like him see a second line player, but clearly Arizona sees some first line potential.

Looking at the other forwards, Jenik was sometimes overmatched playing with adults in the second Czech league. He has good hands, and showed promising playmaking touch at the WU18s, but needs to show more ability to drive the offense to truly profile as having top six potential. Their last forward taken, Liam Kirk, is one of the big wild card of the draft, as one of the only players drafted out of the British league in NHL draft history. Both he and Jenik are posed to move to the OHL next year, to Peterborough and Flint, respectively. The four defensemen selected by Arizona are also lacking in ceiling, although second rounder Kevin Bahl is so tall, it is too ironic to consider a low ceiling player. To have taken him as high as they did, the Coyotes must believe his showings in the Top Prospect Game and the WU18s are more indicative of what he might become than his regular season production with the 67s was.

Ty Emberson lacks great offensive game, but is one of the bigger hitters in the draft class. Michael Callahan is pretty much a stay at home, first pass defender. Like Liam Kirk, the last blueliner taken by Arizona, Dennis Busby, is a wild card. As injuries limited him to a mere two games this season, they are banking on previous displays carrying through to his return to health. Of the two goalies selected, Ivan Prosvetov was a second year eligible netminder, who had some big games for Youngstown in the USHL as he carried the club to the Clark Cup finals. Davide Tendeck was one of the few first time eligible goalies to see regular action in the WHL and was consistently strong for Vancouver. On the whole, the Coyotes picked up a lot of solid prospects, but they mostly look like role players going forward. On the heels of last year’s defense-heavy class, including Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Michael Karow, Filip Westerlund, and others, I sense a trend. Hayton could clearly be much better than that, but taking him fifth overall, considerably higher than expectations, means that the Coyotes are staking their scouting reputation on his hidden upside and that all eyes will be on his development.

OFP – 52.75

Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames
4 (105) Martin Pospisil, RW, Sioux City (USHL) - unranked
4 (108) Demetrios Koumontzis, LW, Edina HS (MN HS) - ranked Honorable Mention
4 (122) Milos Roman, C, Vancouver (WHL) - ranked 70th
6 (167) Mathias Emilio Pettersen, C, Muskegon (USHL) - ranked 198th
7 (198) Dmitri Zavgorodny, C/LW, Rimouski (QMJHL) - ranked 94th

Five forwards. None that you would want to write about to your mother in a postcard from Dallas. Calgary surrendered its first two picks to the Islanders in the Travis Hamonic trade while the third rounder moved to Arizona as part of the Mike Smith package. They did not pick until the fourth round, the 30^th of 31 teams to get to test their microphones in anger. In fairness to the Calgary scouting staff, after 100 picks are off the board, you can only get what you can. The differences between players at that point is relatively minimal. That said, to use that first pick on a player like Martin Pospisil is head-scratching, to be polite. With a player like that, one would think Brian Burke’s truculent ideal was still the order of the day. Pospisil is nothing if not a dirty player. His 253 penalty minutes for Sioux City led the USHL by 77 over the runner up. Demetrious Koumontzis is an intriguing player, who flashed nice offensive tools in the Minnesota high ranks but has only appeared in one game at a higher level. He will be tested with Arizona State next season.

Milos Roman generated interest in the first half with Vancouver and had his moments with Slovakia at the WJC, but missed much of the second half with a high ankle sprain. A healthy season could make this pick look like a value find down the road. Mathias Emilio Pettersen was the only player of Norwegian origin selected this year. He was a good middle six player at the USHL level, so his ceiling is suitably limited, but he is not without his merits. Finally, the Flames saved their home run swing for the end, taking the prototypical enigmatic Russian in Dmitri Zavgorodny. He was stellar at the Ivan Hlinka (10 points in five games) but struggled for long stretches during the regular season in the ‘Q’. If there is an interesting note about the Flames’ picks this year is that they went hard on players taking the college route after largely ignoring that class in recent years. Also, and this last point must be a coincidence, even though all five forwards were selected from North American programs, four of them crossed the pond as import players, with only the high schooler Koumontzos being North American by birth. There is not much upside in this draft class, nor much variety.

OFP - 50.25

Edmonton Oilers

Los Angeles Kings
1 (20) Rasmus Kupari, C, Karpat (Liiga) - ranked 21st
2 (51) Akil Thomas, C, Niagara (OHL) - ranked 26th
3 (82) Bulat Shafigullin, LW/C, Reaktor Nizhnekamsk (MHL) - ranked Honorable Mention
4 (113) Aidan Dudas, C, Owen Sound (OHL) - ranked 52nd
5 (144) David Hrenak, G, St. Cloud State (NCHC) - ranked Honorable Mention
6 (165) Johan Sodergran, C/LW, Linkoping J20 (SuperElit) - ranked Honorable Mention
6 (175) Jacob Ingham, G, Mississauga (OHL) - ranked 126th

Like their provincial rivals in Calgary, the Oilers only made five selections on draft day. Unlike the Flames, the Oilers made them count. That is the difference between not picking until the fourth round and making three selections in the first two rounds. After being heavily rumored to be trying to trade up, when certain picks in the top ten played out as they did (I’m looking at you, Arizona), Edmonton stuck with their appointed tenth overall pick and snapped up Evan Bouchard, a natural puck moving defenseman who more than makes up in puck skills and IQ what he lacks in skating (he doesn’t really lack skating, although his wheels are not dynamic). He is perhaps one more season dominating the OHL away from claiming a spot on the Edmonton blueliner. The Oilers were opportunistic again in the second round, with Ryan McLeod falling into their laps even as many saw him as a probably first rounder going into the season and throughout his draft season. Like his older brother, New Jersey prospect Mikey, Ryan McLeod is a fantastic skater with a strong hockey mind, but may not be the most creative.

Later in the second, the Oilers added to their growing collection of talented young puck stoppers with Drummondville’s Olivier Rodrigue the second ranked goalie by our projections. He is mildly undersized by modern netminding standards, but has proven his ability to be a workhorse and succeed. After sitting out for three rounds and change, the Oilers took a flyer on New Hampshire prepster Michael Kesselring, a lanky blueliner who defends well and seems to be able to move the puck. He is expected to spend this coming season in the USHL with Des Moines, before attending Merrimack. They ended their draft class with a foray into Europe, taking winger Patrik Siikanen from the Junior ranks. Although he has limited international experience, Siikanen’s boosters appreciate his offensive tools, seeing an above average shot and strong puck skills. He needs to improve his skating to have a chance in North America. With only five picks, the Oilers seem to have done well to get three players with high end upside. Even their two flyers have reasons for optimism.

OFP – 53.75

Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles Kings
1 (20) Rasmus Kupari, C, Karpat (Liiga) - ranked 21st
2 (51) Akil Thomas, C, Niagara (OHL) - ranked 26th
3 (82) Bulat Shafigullin, LW/C, Reaktor Nizhnekamsk (MHL) - ranked Honorable Mention
4 (113) Aidan Dudas, C, Owen Sound (OHL) - ranked 52nd
5 (144) David Hrenak, G, St. Cloud State (NCHC) - ranked Honorable Mention
6 (165) Johan Sodergran, C/LW, Linkoping J20 (SuperElit) - ranked Honorable Mention
6 (175) Jacob Ingham, G, Mississauga (OHL) - ranked 126th

Who needs wingers? Who needs defensemen? Apparently, the LA Kings did not, at least not on draft day. Of their seen selections, two are netminders (another odd trend so far in the Pacific Division) and the other five all are listed at least dually as centers. Unlike some teams, who we feel may have reached to draft centers where they did, the Kings got some pretty good value in getting both Rasmus Kupari and Akil Thomas where they did. We had both players ranked as first round talents, with Kupari bringing near-elite skating speed to the game along with tools that grade out as average to above elsewhere across the board. Thomas is a very good skater, too (although not as blinding as Kupari) and plays a more cerebral, playmaking, responsible game. His style, which has the optics of lacking in intensity, may have allowed him to drop as far as he did. We were not as high on Shafigullin as some, but his production in the Russian junior leagues was undeniably impressive and his tool collection can shine. His decision making may hold him back for a while, but there is home run potential, provided patience. That said, if we could quibble about that pick, we wholeheartedly support the taking of the undersized Aidan Dudas in the fourth round. A 5-7”, 165 offensive force, he may not be Alex DeBrincat redux, but he is as close as we are going to get in this draft class. He also serves as another point of evidence that the Kings under Rob Blake are different that the Kings under Dean Lombardi.

The final forward selected, Johan Sodergran, has the biggest frame of any of their skating picks and his physical game is his most advanced characteristic, but his production in the Swedish top junior league (SuperElit) was impressive enough and Linkoping played him for a good chunk of the season in the SHL as well. His upside is lowest among their forwards selected, but he has a reasonable floor to bank on. Moving to the goalies, the first one chosen, David Hrenak, has a fair bit of international experience under his belt with Slovakia and spent last year – his second of draft eligibility – playing with the Kings’ favorite NCAA program, at St. Cloud State. Other prospects, current and recent in the Kings’ organization who spent their college years playing for the Huskies include Jonny Brodzinski, Mikey Eyssimont, Kevin Gravel, and Nic Dowd. Hrenak is an even-keeled netminder who does a good job of limiting second chances. The final goalie selected, Jacob Ingham, saw his stock drop precipitously over his draft year, as his save percentage dropped from .907 in 2016-17 to a very disappointing .880 this year. On the other hand, he is very big and has all the tools, so while he is a gamble, in a major sense, all goalies are. We could knock the Kings a touch for eschewing defensemen altogether in their draft class, but would prefer to applaud their approach in drafting for upside. I am not completely on board with taking two netminders, but there was a clear organizational lack going into the draft, and as both were late round picks, the risk is at least mitigated.

OFP – 53.75

San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks
1 (21) Ryan Merkley, D, Guelph (OHL) - ranked 31st
3 (87) Linus Karlsson, C, Karlskrona J20 (SuperElit) - ranked 125th
4 (102) Jasper Weatherby, C, Wenatchee (BCHL) - unranked
6 (176) Zacharie Emond, G, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) - unranked
6 (182) John Leonard, LW, U. Mass-Amherst (Hockey East) - unranked

To mix metaphors horribly here, the San Jose Sharks swung for the fences on day one of the 2018 draft, ultimately hitting a double, and then spent day two trying to bunt the baserunner over. As far as skilled are concerned, Ryan Merkley is much better than his slot in either our rankings (31) or even where he was selected by the Sharks (21). He is a fantastic skater and puck mover, the epitome of the modern defensive quarterback. His game away from the puck is raw enough that he might not project as a first pairing blueliner, but he could be a strong #3 if paired up with a more responsible type. He could also manage the power play. The reason he was ranked where he was and was drafted where he was, was due to persistent questions about his maturity and commitment to playing a team game. Late interviews with Merkley, including one with our own Scott Crawford (embed link here: https://www.mckeenshockey.com/nhl-blog/nhl-scouting-combine-2018-notes-results/), indicate that he understands the concern and is eager to put in the effort to put it in the past. The Sharks believe that he can.

After sitting out the second round, the Sharks took a bet on the two way game of Swedish teenager Linus Karlsson, who despite putting up fantastic numbers in the SuperElit, projects as a middle six, 200 foot center at maturity. Fourth rounder Jasper Weatherby is an intriguing late bloomer. In his first year of draft eligibility, the Oregon native was playing AAA 18U hockey in the Omaha area. In his second year of eligibility, the big forward moved to the BCHL and held his own with Wenatchee in a depth role. In his third year of eligibility, he committed to North Dakota, led the BCHL in scoring, helped the Wild to the BCHL and RBC Cup championships and heard his name called in the fourth round by San Jose. Zacharie Emond was the backup goalie for Rouyn-Noranda in the QMJHL and struggled throughout the season. He has good size and hints at technique, but we remain skeptical. Finally, the Sharks drafted another third year eligible forward in John Leonard of the Mass-Amherst Minutemen. Leonard was a solid (not standout) player in two years with Green Bay in the USHL, but seemed to blossom as a freshman, leading his team in scoring. He has a solid shot. If Merkley pans out, it will not matter at all how the other four do. If Merkley cannot find the maturity, on and off the ice, that he needs, the Sharks might find themselves shut out from this draft class.

OFP – 49.75

Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver Canucks
1 (7) Quinn Hughes, D, Michigan (Big 10) - ranked 6th
2 (37) Jett Woo, D, Moose Jaw (WHL) - ranked 41st
3 (68) Tyler Madden, C, Tri-City (USHL) - ranked 60th
5 (130) Toni Utunen, D, LeKi (Mestis) - ranked 145th
6 (186) Artyom Manukyan, RW, Avangard Omsk (KHL) - unranked
7 (192) Matthew Thiessen, G, Steinbach (MJHL) - ranked 119th

The Vancouver Canucks would be wise to allow Quinn Hughes one more ear to develop with the Michigan Wolverines, but they have just drafted a future first pairing defending with immense offensive upside and an overall dynamic game. He is a pleasure to watch skate and manage the puck. From the WJC to the end of the season, Hughes improved his game as much as any draft eligible prospect. He will never be a big, muscular defender, but he has enough strength and understanding of positioning to make do. With their second rounder, the Canucks took a player whose skillset is nearly an exact inverse to that of Hughes, at least style-wise. Where Hughes is the epitome of the modern day defender, Woo is a throw-back. While he can handle the puck well enough, he sticks out for his physical style away from the puck. A little Yin, a little Yang. He might have been a first rounder had he not dealt with some long term injuries this season. In third rounder Tyler Madden, the Canucks get another player who is as valuable off the puck as he is on. Unlike Woo, though, Madden is a forward, like his father, Selke Winner John Madden. He is small and slight, but skates well and has a very advanced hockey mind.

In the fifth and sixth rounds, the Canucks continued to eschew size. Utunen, from Finland, is listed at 5-11”, 170, and Russian forward Manukyan is listed at 5-7”, 139. Utunen lacks anything above average in the way of his skills, but reads the game very well and makes up for his shortcomings with high hockey IQ. Manukyan, as noted, is tiny, but he is shifty, and spent half of this season, his third of draft eligibility, playing in the KHL. Looking at the five skaters as a group, Woo, listed at 6-0”, 201 is the only skater from the Vancouver draft class whose height starts with a “6” or whose weight starts with a “2”. For an organization with a reputation for building for toughness at the NHL level, it is interesting to see them going with skill over size with their amateur scouts. Finally, the Canucks tabbed netminder Matthew Thiessen with their last pick, after a very impressive showing with Steinbach at the RBC Cup. He is a relatively athletic goaltender, he reads the play well and plays a composed game. He will move to Dubuque of the USHL next season before attending the University of Maine beginning in the 2019-20 season. All told, the Canucks added a lot of strong pieces to their organization. Their emphasis on skill bodes well for the future of the team.

OFP – 53.5

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas Golden Knights
2 (61) Ivan D. Morozov, C, Mamonty Yugry (MHL) - ranked 76th
4 (99) Stanislav Demin, D, Wenatchee (BCHL) - ranked 86th
4 (115) Paul Cotter, C, Lincoln (USHL) - ranked 184th
5 (135) Brandon Kruse, LW, Bowling Green State (WCHA) - unranked
5 (154) Connor Corcoran, D, Windsor (OHL) - ranked 202nd
6 (180) Peter Diliberatore, D, Salisbury School (USHS - CT) - unranked
6 (185) Xavier Bouchard, D, Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) - ranked 129th
7 (208) Jordan Kooy, G, London (OHL) - ranked Honorable Mention

With both their first and third round draft picks sent to Detroit in the Tomas Tatar trade, the expansion Golden Knights (this should be the last time they are referred to as an “expansion” team) had only one pick in the first three rounds. As a direct consequence, they were severely limited in the upside of the players available to them in Dallas. Accordingly, they struck upon a tactic of drafting less from the CHL then they had in their first draft. After taking six players from the Canadian Junior ranks last year, only three of the Golden Knights’ eight picks this year were CHLers. That would usually mean a European heavy sled, but in Vegas’ case this year, they went heavy on the NCAA route, selecting one current collegian and three who should get there within a year or two. All told, the Golden Knights will have three or more years to decide on most of their 2018 draft class, and that is not a bad thing.

Their first pick, Ivan Morozov, had a strong season with the Mamonty Yugry junior team in the MHL, and is the type of player who lacks weaknesses, but also lacks any one standout area to his game. In May he was dealt to the powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg organization and we are a few years away from learning if he has upside potential beyond decent middle six forward. While their next pick, Slava Demin, also has a Russian name and heritage, Demin was actually born and raised in California, and spent the last two years developing with Wenatchee in the BCHL. He has a strong point shot and plays a relatively physical game. The level of competition he will see at the University of Denver will be a good test for him. Keeping it collegiate, both of their next two picks will also be in the NCAA next season. Paul Cotter is a high energy scoring type who will be moving from Lincoln in the USHL to Western Michigan where he might have to prove he can contribute to his team even if he is not playing a top six role, while Brandon Kruse is returning to Bowling Green State for his sophomore season. He did not garner much attention in his first year of eligibility playing in the NAHL, but he earned a selection as an all-rookie player in the WCHA thanks to his playmaking acumen and may be a late bloomer, even if he has yet to fill out his smallish frame.

The Golden Knights finally went to the CHL with their late fifth round pick, taking a low ceiling blueliner in Connor Corcoran, a player who watched the Windsor Spitfires win the Memorial Cup from the press box, but took on a regular role this year and is a plus skater, if none of his other attributes grade out more than average. With an August 2000 birth date, he may yet have untapped upside. Of their two sixth rounders, New England prep school blueliner Peter Diliberatore was not really on our radar, but the undersized Quinnipiac commit has great nickname potential with that last name. Their other sixth rounder was squarely on our radar and is the top value selection made by Vegas in this draft class. Xavier Bouchard will never play on the power play as a pro, but between his high hockey IQ, plus size, and his strong physical game, he has an NHL ceiling, which is pretty good in and of itself in this sixth round. To wrap up their second draft class, the Golden Knights added a netminder (after coming away with three in their inaugural draft). Jordan Kooy was the backup for the London Knights last year, but may have the inside track on the starting job for 2018-19. He has solid athleticism and his technical game is relatively mature. Although there are no high end players in this draft class along the lines of the Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki, Erik Brannstrom trio from last year, the Golden Knights should be satisfied that they left Dallas with a lot of player who have NHL upside.

OFP – 51.5

OHL Playoff Preview: Greyhounds pacing the pack

Brock Otten — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 20:51:07 +0000

The 2018 Ontario Hockey League playoffs kick off this week after the regular season wrapped up this past weekend. Heading into the playoffs, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are the clear favorites to come out of the OHL and represent the league at the Memorial Cup in Regina. They have spent the vast majority of the season as the top ranked team in the CHL, one of only two teams to chart the entire season (along with Blainville-Boisbriand of the QMJHL). But competition is always fierce and there are no sure bets in the OHL. Let us now take a look at each first round match-up.

Eastern Conference

#1 - Hamilton Bulldogs vs. #8 - Ottawa 67’s

Season Series: Hamilton leads 5-0

Will Bitten of the Hamilton Bulldogs. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Analysis: The Conference Champion Bulldogs face off against the 67’s after the Steelheads won on the final Sunday, securing the number 7 seed. Hamilton has been the cream of the crop of the Eastern Conference for the vast majority of the season. They have been extremely active in trades this year to give them the best chance of coming out of the East. The Bulldogs added Robert Thomas (St. Louis), Riley Stillman (Florida), Nic Caamano (Dallas), Ryan Moore, and Nic Mattinen (Toronto) to an already stacked lineup, giving Ottawa an extremely daunting challenge in round one. This team rolls three powerhouse offensive lines with Matthew Strome (Philadelphia), Will Bitten (Montreal), Mackenzie Entwistle (Arizona), Marian Studenic (New Jersey), and Brandon Saigeon being other top options. Forward Arthur Kaliyev (2019) is another name to watch. He is the first 16 year old to score 30 goals in the OHL since Alex Galchenyuk and he is a potential lottery pick next year as a power winger. In net, the Bulldogs boast one of the OHL’s most improved players this year in Kaden Fulcher (Detroit).

Kevin Bahl of the Ottawa 67's. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Ottawa, on the other hand, is a very young team. In a few years’ time, they could be Memorial Cup contenders. They could have five players drafted in the first three rounds this year (Kody Clark, Mitchell Hoelscher, Merrick Rippon, Kevin Bahl, and Carter Robertson). Offensively, they are paced by Sasha Chmelevski (San Jose), Travis Barron (Colorado), Austen Keating (2018) and Tye Felhaber. Chmelevski was a much hyped prospect who fell hard at last year’s draft (all the way to the 6th), but he has returned much stronger this season. His play away from the puck has greatly improved and it has taken his game to another level. But for all their talent offensively, the 67’s have had a very difficult time keeping the puck out of their own net this year. Overager Olivier Tremblay has not provided the stability that the team had hoped for when they brought him in early this year.

This one has all the makings of a quick series. This Ottawa team, as talented as they are young, is not yet ready for this type of challenge. The Bulldogs are one of the deepest teams in the OHL and their offensive firepower is likely to overwhelm an inexperienced defense and inconsistent netminder. One particular thing worth watching is the 67’s struggling penalty kill going up against one of the league’s best powerplay units from Hamilton. This has to be troubling for Ottawa because they also happen to be one of the league’s most undisciplined teams. And while Ottawa does have some great young offensive talent, the Bulldogs have one of the oldest defensive units in the league and are likely to limit the offensive chances of the 67’s. I look for Robert Thomas to have a big series here (and a big playoff performance overall). His points per game has taken a big dip since joining the Bulldogs, but I think he explodes this postseason.

Prediction: This Hamilton team is just too experienced and too talented for the 67’s. They have the advantage in nearly every area and should dominate. If Ottawa was getting better goaltending, I would say that they might be able to steal a game or two, but I do not even see that happening. Hamilton in 4.

#2 - Barrie Colts vs. #7 - Mississauga Steelheads

Season Series: Mississauga leads 4-2

Michael McLeod of the Mississauga Steelheads. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Analysis: If I was a betting man, I would bet that this is the match-up that Barrie wanted to avoid in the opening round. In fact, it was probably the match-up every team wanted to avoid in the first round. Mississauga has underachieved all season long, but they have shown some signs of finally coming to life the last month or so. Offensive talent is not to be questioned. Their first two lines include names like Michael McLeod (New Jersey), Ryan McLeod (2018), Owen Tippett (Florida), Trent Fox, Albert Michnac (2018), and Mathieu Foget. This group of six matches up well against any top six in the Eastern Conference and it helps to explain why the Steelheads are the third highest scoring team in the Conference. And this excludes their leading scorer, defenseman Nic Hague (Vegas), who was the first OHL defender to score 30+ since Allan Rourke. But keeping the puck out has been a challenge at times. Swedish import and defensive stalwart Jacob Moverare (Los Angeles) has been injured and that has really challenged their younger defensive players to play more minutes than they are ready for. Furthermore, young netminder Jacob Ingham (2018) has had an awful sophomore season that has seen him essentially lose the starting job to Emanuel Vella.

Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

This is potentially trouble because Barrie is the highest scoring team in the Conference and the 3rd highest scoring in the OHL. Their first line of Andrei Svechnikov (2018), Aaron Luchuk (Ottawa), and Dmitry Sokolov (Minnesota) has been absolutely shredding teams of late. The supporting offensive cast includes guys like Ryan Suzuki (2019), Jason Willms (2018), and Zach Magwood who work extremely hard in all three zones and bring energy that exhausts the opposition so that the first line can go to work. The Colts do not have any stars on the blueline, but they are a tight knit unit who work well with Barrie’s forwards to play a terrific team defense. In net, overager Leo Lazerev starts and while he does not necessarily win any games outright for the Colts, he is a mostly reliable presence. It should be noted that he has yet to win an OHL playoff series in his career and probably goes into this match-up with just as many question marks as Mississauga’s tenders.

There is no question that this is not your average #2 versus #7 seed match-up. This is especially true when you consider the fact that Mississauga largely dominated the season series, winning all three games in the new year by a combined score of 18-10. For whatever reason, the speed of Mississauga’s forwards gives the defense of Barrie a tough time and Lazerev has an .840 save percentage against the Fish this season. This is complicated even more by the fact that Andrei Svechnikov has been suspended for the first four games of the series for a head check. But I admit, I have a tough time picking Mississauga to win this series. I do not trust their defense to be able to handle Barrie’s depth up front. And if these games go to an offensive shootout like they did in the regular season, I think Barrie ends up coming out on top this time. Mississauga’s Mathieu Foget has also been suspended for the first four games of the series and his loss might actually be felt more because of Mississauga’s lack of depth. His acquisition really triggered the turnaround for the team. Barrie also needs to stay out of the box. In the regular season, they gave Mississauga almost double the amount of powerplays that they received and it cost them dearly with the Steelheads clicking at over 30% with the man advantage. If they can stay out of the box, and Lazerev can make a few saves, I still like Barrie to come out on top.

Prediction: The result of this series would not surprise me either way, even with the difference in seeding. But depth is critical in the playoffs and Barrie has the advantage there. I am excited to see how the Svechnikov/Luchuk/Sokolov unit handles the pressure of the playoffs. Svechnikov, in particular, can really cement himself as the #2 prospect available in the draft with a strong postseason performance once he returns from suspension (as long as Barrie does not get swept). Barrie in 7.

#3 - Kingston Frontenacs vs. #6 - North Bay Battalion

Season Series: Kingston leads 3-1

Gabriel Vilardi of the Kingston Frontenacs. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Analysis: This is an intriguing match-up because of how differently these two teams approached the OHL season. Kingston brought in Gabe Vilardi (Los Angeles), Max Jones (Anaheim), Cliff Pu (Buffalo), Sean Day (New York Rangers), and Mitchell Byrne at the deadline to bolster an already solid line-up and make them contenders to come out of the East. While they failed to secure a division banner, the results post deadline have been mostly extremely positive. A healthy and re-invigorated Vilardi has provided the biggest boost, as his 1.87 points per game in Kingston is second to only Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis) in the OHL. His strength, on and off the puck, makes him a dominant force in all three zones and the type of player who works to tire and grind out opposing defenses.

Justin Brazeau of the North Bay Battalion. Photo by Terry Wilson /OHL Images,

The North Bay Battalion were sellers at the deadline this year, shipping out veterans Cam Dineen (Arizona), and Brett McKenzie (Vancouver). Those moves only worked to light a fire under the Battalion roster and the team actually improved their record in the New Year thanks to the play of new acquisitions Matthew Struthers (2018), and Jake Henderson, as well as veterans Justin Brazeau (2018), and Adam Thilander (2018). Brazeau, in particular, is a player to watch. The 6-5” winger finished just inside the Top 20 of league scoring and was named as the East’s most underrated player in the recent coaches poll that was released.

If we are measuring up these two teams, we need to give the edge to Kingston in nearly every area. The Fronts lead the season series 3-1, winning the three most recent games (February on). The biggest advantage Kingston has is in net with Jeremy Helvig (Carolina) manning the crease. The overager and veteran netminder has 19 OHL playoff games under his belt and is unquestionably one of the league’s top netminders. Meanwhile, the Battalion will rely on either Christian Propp (2018) or Julian Sime, who have a combined zero OHL playoff appearances. Kingston also has a heavy advantage on special teams, with their powerplay and penalty killing units operating at a higher level. With Robertson and Vilardi operating down low on the powerplay, North Bay is going to need to stay out of the box to have any chance in this series. One wild card to keep an eye on is the health of Max Jones. Jones has been out since the end of January after undergoing surgery on a broken finger. It is likely he returns at some point in these playoffs and he can be a major x-factor.

Prediction: Ultimately, Kingston’s experience and leadership should carry them to a relatively easy victory in this match-up. Gabe Vilardi and Sean Day won a Memorial Cup together last year. Mitchell Byrne won an OHL Championship last year. And Cliff Pu and Max Jones won an OHL Title and Memorial Cup in 2016. Kingston in 5.

#4 - Niagara IceDogs vs. #5 - Oshawa Generals

Season Series: Tied at 1 game apiece

Akil Thomas of the Niagara IceDogs. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Analysis: Two teams that do not see a ton of each other match-up in round one. Niagara and Oshawa also happen to be two of the hotter teams in the OHL heading into the playoffs. The IceDogs are a team that rely on speed and energy to play an up tempo and offensively oriented style of game. They get after it on the forecheck and have a powerplay that has been much improved since the acquisition of overager Sam Miletic (Pittsburgh) from London. On top of Miletic, Niagara has a trio of offensive weapons that they rely on in Kirill Maksimov (Edmonton), Akil Thomas (2018), and Ben Jones (Vegas).

Jack Studnicka of the Oshawa Generals. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Oshawa, on the other hand, prefers to slow things down and grind it out in the offensive end. Their fearless leader is Jack Studnicka (Boston), an excellent two-way center who makes an impact in so many different ways. A pair of first time draft eligible forwards support Studnicka; Serron Noel (2018), and Allan McShane (2018). Defenseman Matt Brassard (Vancouver) is also critical to their offensive success. He was one of the highest scoring defenders in the league in the second half and finished the year 7th in defensive scoring.

If we are truly comparing these two teams, it is difficult to determine who has a clear advantage. In goal, the nod should be given to Oshawa and their starter Kyle Keyser (Boston). Keyser has been a stable presence in net this year, definitely more so than Stephen Dhillon who has struggled for Niagara this year, or the inexperienced Colton Incze. Up front, I give the slight edge to Niagara because of their explosiveness and depth. On defense, the two teams boast slightly inexperienced units who are mobile, but can be mistake prone. Ultimately, I see two things possibly tipping the favor in Niagara’s direction. The first is special teams play. As mentioned, Niagara’s powerplay has been performing at a high level lately and Oshawa has one of the league’s worst penalty killing units. The second is home ice advantage, which Niagara owns after finishing the regular season on a 7 game winning streak.

Prediction: With home ice advantage, better special teams play, and a slightly more explosive offense, I like Niagara to win this series. Their goaltending concerns me slightly, but between Dhillon or Incze, they should be able to make enough big saves to at least get the IceDogs into the second round. But this one will be close. Niagara in 7.

Western Conference

#1 - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. #8 - Saginaw Spirit

Season Series: SSM leads 7-1

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. Photo by Terry Wilson

Analysis: The juggernaut Greyhounds kick off their Memorial Cup push against the Saginaw Spirit, whose five game losing streak to end the season forced them down the standings and into this first round match-up. Sault Ste. Marie has nine NHL draft picks on their roster and two more potential first rounders for 2018. Up front, Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay), Taylor Raddysh (Tampa Bay), Jack Kopacka (Anaheim), Tim Gettinger (New York Rangers), Barrett Hayton (2018), and the underrated Hayden Verbeek pace the attack. But the real star is OHL 2nd leading scorer Morgan Frost (Philadelphia), one of the breakout stars of this season. On the backend, the Hounds are equally strong, led by Conor Timmins (Colorado), and Rasmus Sandin (2018). Neither seem to make a mistake with the puck and both are just as good in their own end as they are offensively. In net, Matthew Villalta (Los Angeles) has been a steady presence who makes the saves when he needs to.

Evan Cormier of the Saginaw Spirit. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Saginaw’s strength actually starts in net where overager Evan Cormier (New Jersey) keeps the Spirit in a lot of games that they do not deserve to be in. This is important because the Spirit struggle to score goals. They were only one of three teams in the OHL to not score 200 goals on the season and the other two finished dead last in their conferences (Flint and Sudbury). Furthermore, their powerplay was a league worst 14.7%. There is definitely some offensive talent on this team, but the team’s best days are ahead of them as guys like Blade Jenkins (2018), Nicholas Porco (2019), Ryan Stepien (2020), Aidan Prueter (2020), and Damien Giroux (2018) gain experience. In fact, the team’s only NHL drafted forward, Brady Gilmour (Detroit) finished 9th in team scoring.

In all honesty, this series should not be close and is not likely to be close. The Spirit have a talented young roster, but they are not currently an equal to the Greyhounds. Sault Ste. Marie has the advantage in nearly every area except maybe goaltending. Even then, Evan Cormier can only do so much. Heck, we might see the Greyhounds score more shorthanded goals than the Spirit score powerplay goals in the series.

Prediction: I want to say that Evan Cormier can do enough to steal a game for the Spirit in this series, but I cannot even see the Spirit winning a game. The Greyhounds are just too strong. SSM in 4.

#2 - Kitchener Rangers vs. #7 - Guelph Storm

Season Series: Kitchener leads 5-3

Logan Brown of the Kitchener Rangers. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Analysis: This is an interesting first round match-up between two teams that did not end the regular season the way they wanted to. Kitchener, a strong team all season, struggled down the stretch, although managed to hang on to their Division crown. Meanwhile, the Guelph Storm were one of the league’s worst teams in the last few months that saw them lose their grip on the #6 spot in the West. Kitchener loaded up at the deadline by bringing in Logan Brown (Ottawa), Givani Smith (Detroit), Mario Culina, and Austin McEneny. I think it would be fair to say that Kitchener is still waiting to see the best out of three of those four, with Culina playing well so far as a starter. It has been the guys around all season like Adam Mascherin (Florida), Kole Sherwood (Columbus), Joseph Gareffa, Logan Stanley (Winnipeg), and Riley Damiani (2018) that have been driving the team’s success. Moving into the playoffs, it will be about whether the newer faces can finally find chemistry or not. The health of defensive stalwart Connor Hall (Pittsburgh) could also impact the series.

Ryan Merkley of the Guelph Storm. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Guelph, as mentioned, has also struggled down the stretch, especially when it comes to preventing goals. Goaltender Anthony Popovich (2018) appeared to tire of late after seeing a huge jump in workload this season. The defensive group, led by Ryan Merkley (2018), and Dmitri Samorukov (Edmonton) also struggled, to the point where Merkley was a healthy scratch at times down the stretch. The Storm do have a hard working forward group who is capable of icing multiple scoring lines. The offensive leaders are unquestionably Isaac Ratcliffe (Philadelphia) and Cam Hillis (2018), who along with Alexei Toropchenko (St. Louis) form a quality first line.

Looking at this series a little more under the microscope, it is probably closer than people are making it out to be. The special teams match-up pretty well. Neither team has a dominant goaltender that one would qualify as a game-changer (no offense meant to Culina or Popovich). Both teams struggled down the stretch with team chemistry issues. The tipping point for me is experience. The Rangers have the clear advantage there, especially on the defensive end. Guys like Logan Stanley and Austin McEneny, who won a Memorial Cup together with Windsor last year, should really help to stabilize things, even without Connor Hall. I also look for longtime Rangers like Mascherin or Connor Bunnaman (Philadelphia) to really step up offensively to get this team over the first round hump.

Prediction: As mentioned, I feel like Kitchener’s experience advantage will help them come out on top in this series. I also feel that they have a much better team defense approach that likely plays out better for success in the playoffs. Guelph has talent, but they play a very high risk game that, without a ton of playoff experience, could be their undoing. It will be close, but Kitchener in 6.

#3 - Sarnia Sting vs. #6 - Windsor Spitfires

Season Series: Sarnia leads 5-1

Michael DiPietro of the Windsor Spitfires. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Analysis: No offense meant to the rest of the Windsor Spitfires, but this match-up is about two things. The Sarnia offense (2nd best in the OHL) versus the goaltending of Michael DiPietro (Vancouver). The dynamic DiPietro is one of the few goaltenders in the OHL who is capable of stealing a series victory for his team. The Spitfires rebuilt, dealing off the majority of their veterans held over from their Memorial Cup victory last year, but decided to hang on to their star netminder for this reason. They battle hard in the offensive end behind the likes of Curtis Douglas (2018), Cole Purboo (2018), Cody Morgan (2019), Luke Boka, and Matthew MacDougall (2018). And they play smart in their own end thanks to Connor Corcoran (2018), Nathan Staios (2019), Grayson Ladd (2019), and Zach Shankar. But this team has zero NHL drafted players outside of DiPietro and are incredibly inexperienced.

Jordan Kyrou of the Sarnia Sting. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

The Sting, conversely, were one of the biggest buyers throughout this OHL season, bringing in talented veterans like Cam Dineen (Arizona), Jonathan Ang (Florida), and Michael Pezzetta (Montreal). The lifeblood of the team is Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis), the league’s leader in points per game this year and possibly the best offensive player in the OHL. He is currently zero for three in first round appearances and is likely to do everything in his power to finally reach the second round (and beyond). You could likely argue that overager Justin Fazio is the team’s second most important player in the series, especially considering that he has to match-up against DiPietro. The margin for error is slim.

One of Sarnia’s biggest strengths is on the powerplay where Kyrou, Adam Ruzicka (Calgary), and Drake Rymsha (Los Angeles) have a combined 34 powerplay goals this year. Problem is, Windsor takes among the least amount of penalties in the OHL so as long as Windsor can continue to stay out of the box, Sarnia is going to need to beat DiPietro 5 on 5. The question I have is, how will Windsor manage to score goals, at least enough goals to win this 7 game series? It will not be with the man advantage either (likely) as the Sting have the league’s top penalty killing unit. I am slightly worried about Sarnia’s inexperienced defense though, but that concern is more directed towards round two or three (if the Sting advance that far). Sarnia will need big guys like Ruzicka, Pezzetta, Jordan Ernst, and Hugo Leufvenius (2018) to crowd DiPietro’s space as much as possible and really make him uncomfortable. Shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. Windsor fans can tell you, sometimes the best way to beat Michael DiPietro is through sheer luck and bad bounces.

Prediction: As much as I want to predict a Windsor victory, I do not see it in the cards. DiPietro will steal a few games and he will make Sarnia sweat. But the offensive firepower of Sarnia, combined with the inexperience of Windsor’s defense is likely to give the Sting too many scoring chances for the Spitfires’ star netminder to handle. Sarnia in 6.

#4 - Owen Sound Attack vs. #5 - London Knights

Season Series: London leads 4-2

Evan Bouchard of the London Knights. Photo by Terry Wilson/OHL Images.

Analysis: As is usually the case, the 4/5 matchup in the Western Conference looks to be the closest match-up of the first round, and subsequently the most difficult to prognosticate. London traded off the vast majority of their big guns to retool to fight another day. Instead, the team played inspired hockey down the stretch led by a host of younger players eager to make their mark. When talking about London, we have to start with defenseman Evan Bouchard (2018), the lifeblood of the Knights. His 87 points are the highest by a blueliner since Ryan Ellis hit the 100 point mark in 2011. The speedy Alex Formenton (Ottawa) is also playing the best hockey of his OHL career thus far with 12 goals in 14 games to close out the regular season. And you cannot talk about London without mentioning how good the “kid” line of Liam Foudy (2018), Billy Moskal (2018), and Nathan Dunkley (2018) has been since the trade deadline. This trio was challenged to step up their games with increased ice time and they all responded accordingly.

Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Owen Sound, on the other hand, was expected to be one of the top teams in the OHL this year but struggled to keep their star players healthy all year and subsequently struggled to perform consistently. That is, until the last few months when they have been, arguably, the OHL’s best. This team is scary good when healthy and they are now finally healthy. They roll three outstanding scoring lines, including a top unit of Jonah Gadjovich (Vancouver), Kevin Hancock (2018), and Nick Suzuki (Vegas) that has been one of the OHL’s best over the last two seasons. They also have one of the OHL’s top offensive blueliners in Sean Durzi (2018), who if he did not get injured, likely could have challenged Bouchard for the defenceman scoring title. It is in net where Owen Sound has struggled this season as Olivier Lafreniere and Mack Guzda (2019) have battled to find consistency. No question, Owen Sound has to have their offense rolling to win because they are not going to win many 2-1 games.

So who has the advantage going into this match-up? Experience wise, the nod has to be given to Owen Sound...and by a wide margin. The Attack are returning the vast majority of a roster that lost in the Conference finals last season. The Knights are an extremely well coached team, but they are relying on a lot of rookies and sophomores in key roles and that can often prove to be a recipe for disaster in the postseason. The deciding factor in this series probably comes down to the goaltending. So long as Owen Sound can get at least adequate goaltending from one of Lafreniere or Guzda, they should win this series. But if their goaltending struggles and team is forced to constantly play catch-up, the series tips in London’s favor, a team with nothing to lose.

Prediction: I have to give the nod to Owen Sound here because now that they are fully healthy, they look like a tough team to stop. This is especially true for a team as inexperienced as London; even if they are extremely talented. The Attack can get the saves they need to win this one, even if London pushes them and makes them sweat. Owen Sound in 6

OHL Finals Prediction

When the field is finally narrowed down to two teams who battle it out for OHL supremacy, I expect those two teams to be the Kingston Frontenacs and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

From the East I like Kingston for a couple reasons. The first is experience. As I already alluded to, they have a lot of players on that roster who have already won a Memorial Cup or OHL Championship (or both). That type of leadership goes a long way in the playoffs. The second is special teams play. The great Scotty Bowman always said combined special teams play was a great indicator of postseason success. Well the Fronts have the best powerplay in the league and the second best penalty kill. The third is goaltending. Jeremy Helvig is a veteran netminder who is about as consistent as they come. I have a ton of confidence in his ability to make saves when he needs to.

From the West, I like the Soo Greyhounds as they have looked about as dominant as anyone in the OHL has over the last few years. Their 116 points is the most since Barrie put up 116 in 2010. This team has it all. Special teams success. Good goaltending. Speed. Physicality. But most of all...depth. Drew Bannister’s players rarely seem to take a shift off and they rarely make mistakes with the puck. That composure at both ends of the ice makes them the favorite.

For the OHL Title, I am taking the Soo Greyhounds to win their first J. Ross Robertson Cup since they won back to back championships in the early 90ś.

Connor Corcoran – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS – Top 20 Prospects

2021-22 TOP 15 PROSPECTS: VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS – RANK: #9 – TIER II

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Vegas Golden Knights Top 20 Prospects

Peyton Krebs, C (17th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 1)

Brendan Brisson, C (29th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Pavel Dorofeyev, LW (79th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 2)

Jack Dugan, LW (142nd overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 3)

Ivan Morozov, C (61st overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 4)

Lucas Elvenes, C/RW (127th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 5)

Connor Corcoran, D (154th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 6)

Kaedan Korczak, D (41st overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 7)

Lukas Cormier, D (68th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Dylan Sikura, C (178th overall, 2014. Previous ranking: 14 [Chicago])

Zach Whitecloud, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Mar. 8, 2018. Previous ranking: 8)

Keegar Kolesar, RW (Trade: Jun. 24, 2017. Originally: 69th overall, 2015 [Columbus]. Previous ranking: 9)

Isaiah Saville, G (135th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 10)

Gage Quinney, C/LW (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Jun. 1, 2018. Previous ranking: 11)

Jiri Patera, G (161st overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 12)

Peter Diliberatore, D (180th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 13)

Dylan Coghlan, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Sep. 20, 2017. Previous ranking: 14)

Brandon Kruse, LW (135th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 15)

Marcus Kallionkieli, LW (139th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 16)

Jesper Vikman, G (125th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Top 300 Prospect Rankings

MCKEENS 2020 NHL PROSPECTS REPORT – TOP 250 PROSPECTS

MCKEEN’S 2020 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHT – ORGANIZATIONAL RANK: 26

Vegas Golden Knights

Peyton Krebs, C (17th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 2)

Pavel Dorofeyev, LW (79th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 3)

Jack Dugan, LW (142nd overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 11)

Ivan Morozov, C (61st overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 5)

Lucas Elvenes, C/RW (127th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 17)

Connor Corcoran, D (154th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Kaedan Korczak, D (41st overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 10)

Zach Whitecloud, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Mar. 8, 2018. 2019 Rank: 6)

Keegar Kolesar, RW (Trade: Jun. 24, 2017. Originally: 69th overall, 2015 [Columbus]. 2019 Rank: 19)

Isaiah Saville, G (135th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 9)

Gage Quinney, C/LW (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Jun. 1, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Jiri Patera, G (161st overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: UR)

Peter Diliberatore, D (180th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Dylan Coghlan, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Sep. 20, 2017. 2019 Rank: 20)

Brandon Kruse, LW (135th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

2018 NHL Draft Review: Pacific Division

OHL Playoff Preview: Greyhounds pacing the pack

Peyton Krebs, C (17^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 1)

Brendan Brisson, C (29^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Pavel Dorofeyev, LW (79^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 2)

Jack Dugan, LW (142^nd overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 3)

Ivan Morozov, C (61^st overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 4)

Lucas Elvenes, C/RW (127^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 5)

Connor Corcoran, D (154^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 6)

Kaedan Korczak, D (41^st overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 7)

Lukas Cormier, D (68^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Dylan Sikura, C (178^thoverall, 2014. Previous ranking: 14 [Chicago])

Keegar Kolesar, RW (Trade: Jun. 24, 2017. Originally: 69^th overall, 2015 [Columbus]. Previous ranking: 9)

Isaiah Saville, G (135^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 10)

Jiri Patera, G (161^st overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 12)

Peter Diliberatore, D (180^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 13)

Brandon Kruse, LW (135^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 15)

Marcus Kallionkieli, LW (139^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 16)

Jesper Vikman, G (125^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Peyton Krebs, C (17^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 2)

Pavel Dorofeyev, LW (79^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 3)

Jack Dugan, LW (142^nd overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 11)

Ivan Morozov, C (61^st overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 5)

Lucas Elvenes, C/RW (127^th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 17)

Connor Corcoran, D (154^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Kaedan Korczak, D (41^st overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 10)

Keegar Kolesar, RW (Trade: Jun. 24, 2017. Originally: 69^th overall, 2015 [Columbus]. 2019 Rank: 19)

Isaiah Saville, G (135^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 9)

Jiri Patera, G (161^st overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: UR)

Peter Diliberatore, D (180^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Brandon Kruse, LW (135^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)