Filip Kral – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2020 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS – ORGANIZATIONAL RANK: 19

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 11:51:56 +0000

Toronto Maple Leafs

We can’t really discuss the state of the farm for the Toronto Maple Leafs without first noting the presence on the NHL roster of stars Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander. The three homegrown forwards were all relatively recent first round picks of the Original Six club and currently make up three-fourths of the core that is expected to drive the team past the first round of the NHL playoffs, and possible even all the way.

I mention these three – John Tavares, a free agent signing, is a different case – as they are all in the early stages of their respective primes, and they are the primary cause for General Manager Kyle Dubas’ willingness to trade future pieces, including prospects and high draft picks in the service of strengthening the current NHL roster.

Last year, he traded the team’s 2019 first round pick, in addition to prospects Carl Grundstrom and Sean Durzi to Los Angeles in exchange for solid blueliner Jake Muzzin, who the team has since signed to a long-term extension. Then, during the 2019 draft, he traded (lottery-protected) the team’s 2020 first rounder to offload the last season of Patrick Marleau’s contract onto the Carolina Hurricanes, as the team needed the salary cap space to ink Marner to his second contract.

To put those three talents, along with Tavares and a broader core including luminaries such as Morgan Rielly, Fredrik Andersen, and others, Toronto management had to maximize the organization in the service of now. What had been one of the stronger pipelines in the league is now one of the weakest.

The current trough is not only the result of future-for-present trades, as the truncated 2019-20 season has seen the graduations of Rasmus Sandin, Pierre Engvall, Ilya Mikheyev, and others from our pre-season top 20. Those three alone would have seen Toronto rank significantly higher on the organizational rankings.

Alas, their graduations are not the only reason for the team’s current fall from grace. The franchise has suffered close to as much from the negative regression of some of the players still in the system and still below the NHL level. As we assess player skill sets every season, we see many players make positive steps and improve their projections, and we see at least as many others fail to make those steps and respectively lower their potential ceilings.

Look even at the top five below. Just from these players, the cream of the remaining crop, we have two in Jeremy Bracco and Yegor Korshkov, who we would have said as recently as last summer have potential second line outcomes. Now both have been downgraded to third line upside as they are both one year older, yet not really any closer to deserving an extended NHL opportunity. You might say that those backwards steps were mitigated by bigger than expected steps forward from the likes of Nick Robertson and Abruzzese, and the improvements shown by former first rounder Timothy Liljegren in his second AHL campaign, but on balance, more players failed to live up to expectations in 2019-20 than exceeded them. Mac Hollowell and Joseph Woll both struggled in their first pro seasons. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev has still not been able to recapture the summer after his draft. Former second rounder Eemeli Rasanen has struggled to gain any traction in his return to Finland.

The books on the above players are not yet finished and any or all could still alter their trajectories, but to ensure a prolonged stretch as true Stanley Cup contenders, the Maple Leafs need to see improved development outcomes from more of their players next year and beyond – especially if they keep offloading top picks. - RW

Nick Robertson of the Peterborough Petes. Photo by Luke Durda/OHL Images

Nick Robertson, LW (53^rd overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 2)

Few players in junior hockey improved their status as prospects as much as Nick Robertson did this past season. Less a year removed from falling to the later part of the second round, Robertson exploded to lead the OHL in goals with 55 in only 46 games. His goals per game rate of nearly 1.2 was the 7th highest all time in the league, and the highest since John Tavares and Patrick Kane both bested that figure in the 2006-07 season.

As a draft eligible player, the physically immature Robertson had a tough time being a consistent contributor. This was especially true about his engagement level without the puck. At times, he would take over shifts with his tenaciousness, and at other times, he failed to be noticeable. This year, Robertson was able to maintain that high intensity level through every shift, likely by improving his conditioning. He has become one of the better forecheckers in the OHL, who seems to force multiple turnovers per game because of his energy and IQ combination.

Stronger on the puck, Robertson was also able to take his goal scoring ability to new heights. His shot is a weapon. He can score in so many different ways too. He can create his own shooting lanes with his hands and deception cutting through the middle. He can be a triggerman near the dot. His wrist shot release allows him to score from practically anywhere. Kyle Dubas has already stated that Robertson will be given every opportunity to make the Maple Leafs roster next year. However, he will need to continue to improve his top end speed, especially given his lack of size, and his strength both on and off the puck in order to be able to play his game effectively at the NHL level. Even if he is not ready yet next year, Robertson has emerged as one of the NHL’s best goal scoring prospects and has the potential to be an impact top 6 player within a few years. – BO

Filip Hallander, LW (58^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 4)

Hallander had a shortened season due to a leg injury that also held him back from playing at the WJC where he would have been one of the top forwards for Sweden. I see him as equally important and effective as top scorers Samuel Fagemo and Nils Hoglander were at that tournament.

Hallander may not be as flashy as those two to but he has good hands and an incredible competitiveness and awareness in his game. He can be creative on the rush, but he still needs to work on his game when the game is standing still. He needs more patience in his game at times. Still, I definitely consider Hallander to be a smart player. He reads the forecheck well and seem to know where to be on the ice to stop an attack.

He is useful on both a power play and the penalty kill. On the power play he is strong around the crease and in the slot and has been compared to Patric Hornqvist in that sense. He was fifth in ice-time per game by forwards on Lulea, the top team in the league. He will stay there for another season making it the third season in a row that he has been loaned there by the Penguins, who signed him to an ELC a few weeks after drafting him. I would say that he will be ready to step over in 2021-22.

Even though the Penguins’ system was pretty barren, Hallander was traded to Toronto in the Kasperi Kapanen deal, and he immediately becomes one of the better prospects in his new organization. He lacks elite tools but with strong poise, competitiveness and awareness on the ice combined with the ability to play various roles he is a good bet. - JH

Nick Abruzzese, C (124^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

Abruzzese led all freshmen in scoring nationally this season with Harvard. There is a catch, though, as he joined the Crimson as a 20-year-old, making him more mature than his counterparts like Trevor Zegras, who are true freshmen. Abruzzese spent two years playing junior hockey, both with the Chicago Steel, and his point total more than doubled in his second year. As a freshman, Abruzzese was named the ECAC Rookie of the Year as well as the Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

Age aside, he is an excellent player and could give the Maple Leafs far more value than their fourth-round pick. He appeared on the team’s first power play unit. He has an incredibly calm demeanor, be it on the forecheck or the backcheck. Abruzzese owns excellent vision and can make clean passes without turning the puck over under pressure. He is often the player leading the rush and tends to hang out around the blue line in his defensive zone and trails on the back check, suggesting he still has work to do on his game away from the puck. He is a good skater and glides effortlessly up and down the ice.

At 5-9”, 161 pounds he is on the smaller side, but you wouldn’t know it from the way he plays. He is not afraid to battle for the puck along the boards. While Abruzzese can score, he is fonder of dishing out the puck than of taking the shot himself. His development curve so far suggests that he will most likely continue to develop, whether in college hockey or at the pro level. - JS

Mikko Kokkonen, D (84^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 12)

Kokkonen had a decent 2019-20 season with Jukurit in the Liiga. He was overshadowed by some of the other young defensemen on the team, such as Jakub Galvas, Axel Rindell and Aleksandr Jakovenko. Kokkonen averaged sixth most ice-time among Jukurit defensemen and recorded ten points (3+7). Half of the points came in his last four games and overall his play improved as the season went on.

He is an effective distributor of the puck and can start offensive transitions with crisp and accurate long-range passes. He could be a bit more creative with the puck, but he shows poise and good offensive vision. He has a good wrist shot with a quick release and he has the ability to get pucks through traffic on a regular basis. He reads the game well and his positioning is solid in all three zones. He shows calculated movement as he rarely gets caught out of position. He plays a stable, if unspectacular two-way game.

However, an area of concern that remains is skating. It is somewhat clunky due to a lack of explosiveness. He will have to improve his foot speed and lateral mobility as well. One a more positive note, he is sturdy and has good balance. Kokkonen is physically strong for his age and therefore may be closer to a finished product than many other NHL prospects. He doesn’t have the highest ceiling, but he could develop into a dependable NHL defenseman on a moderate timetable. - MB

TORONTO, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 12: Egor Korshkov of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

Yegor Korshkov, RW (31^st overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 9)

Korshkov is a good fit as a top Leafs prospect at the moment. Not only is he a big body but he moves well, plays with a strong drive and makes his presence known on the ice. People count his size as one of his top attributes but his ability to carry the puck is actually what allows him such success in the goal scoring department. As a player coming from the KHL, Korshkov had few adjustments to make in order to keep up at top Marlies pace and earn a call up to the Leafs, even scoring in his debut.

That being said, Korshkov is a good defensive player, yet he tends to be a little too cautious in his own end and is prone to standing still too long. The only time he seems motivated is when he is breaking out or with the puck on his stick, and he needs to keep in mind that hockey is a two way game and to be a top level player he will have to be good in his own end as well.

Aside from that, he is both a physically and mentally mature enough player to find himself with a spot on the Leafs and frankly it would come as little surprise to see him up as an occasional second liner. The future is bright for a player as strong and hard working as Korshkov, with size, skill and a keen eye for playmaking. The Leafs would be smart to try him up more frequently this coming season. - SC

Jeremy Bracco, C/RW (61^st overall, 2015. 2019 Rank: 3)

The dark sheep of the Toronto organization, Bracco’s talent and hockey IQ are unquestionable but after a brief leave of absence from the team it is hard to determine where he fits in his return to play. From powerplay to odd man rushes, he takes the lead in capitalizing on breaks and has proven to be dangerous. He can skate and shoot, and he knows when to make a pass or when to hold onto it.

He has enough experience to earn an NHL callup, but the adjustment may be harder in terms of physicality and space. A weak spot seems to be knowing when to let go of the puck, oftentimes he gets himself into trouble by holding onto the puck too long and getting closed out and cut off.

Given the chance, Bracco could do well as a third liner but discipline on and off the ice will need to be established first. Regardless of personal matters, Bracco remains a top talent and a forward who is capable of putting up 30+ point seasons in the NHL, he will hopefully come back next season better than ever. - SC

Timothy Liljegren, D (17^th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 6)

With Liljegren approaching the end of his entry level contract and his best season in the with the Toronto Marlies yet, he is hopefully proving his worth when it will come to re-signing the first rounder. Although his career has not come without struggles and inconsistencies as well as a severe ankle injury that put him out for a long stretch last season, his turbulent career has proven his durability.

Liljegren has grown tremendously over last season and his offensive play has grown even more to the point where he was playing both penalty kill and powerplay. He continues to carry the puck with ease and has improved his scoring chances, and he is no longer afraid to shoot and does well at getting the puck to the net.

His weak spots continue to be in his own end and defending one on one during turnovers, where he desperately needs to work on his physicality in order to compete at the next level. He also needs to keep his feet moving and his eyes off the puck. Despite not making the main camp roster, look for Liljegren to show up as a bottom four defenseman should the Leafs call him up again. - SC

Mac Hollowell, D (118^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 8)

Hollowell has been a pleasant surprise for the organization. Sure, he is on the smaller side for a defenseman, measuring up at 5-10”, 170lbs, but can he ever skate. He is a dynamic skater whose smooth strides help him keep space between himself and his opponents and his passing skills help to keep him from entering danger zones with the puck or over carrying it.

Hollowell still has a lot left to learn, having just completed his rookie professional season, but with any luck he will be fit to aim for a debut with the big squad next season for a game or two. That being said, once he is physically mature, look for Hollowell to be a bottom four defenseman as he already has the skill to fit in at the NHL level. His work ethic and fearlessness alone will be what helps set him apart from the rest of his defensive cohort. - SC

Filip Kral, D (149^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Kral is a steady defensive player with limited offensive upside. This season he has shown more confidence with the puck and better decision making overall which has led to a bit of an offensive outburst. The hard shooting Czech had his best offensive production with his 12 goals and 36 assists as an overage player. He is a good skater who manages his own zone very well. He is a first pass guy but isn’t really a rush-leading defenseman. His vision and passing skills are both fine but he doesn’t ooze offensive skill.

Defensively he is sound with a good control of his gaps and spacing in his own zone. He manages the cycle well despite not being an overtly physical player. His production comes from making smart, safe, fundamental hockey plays while on the ice with some lethal offensive weapons such as he had this season with Spokane. Don’t expect him to flash big production at the next level but he could fit nicely into a bottom pairing. - VG

Joseph Woll, G (62^nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 7)

For a rookie goaltender in the AHL, Woll did fairly well considering the change of pace coming from the NCAA Boston College to the Toronto Marlies. As a younger goaltender he does tend to bite a little early when it comes to dekes but stays strong in two-on-one situations. As a big body, he moves well, and his rebound control is good as he stays strong in his crease.

The future is still bright though, for Woll, as he has the potential to be a starting goaltender for the Leafs in the future. He still needs to work on playing the puck better and positioning when it comes to finding ways to see past players and find the puck in scrum situations but overall he made a good adjustment to the harder shots and quicker pace of the AHL level. As far as Toronto’s system goes, Woll stands a good chance of seeing starting time in the future but as always keep in mind that goaltenders often take a longer time to develop. - SC

Adam Brooks, C (92^nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 19)

Despite being a hard worker and trying to keep a focused attitude, forward Brooks has yet to really differentiate himself from his other Toronto Marlies teammates. He plays a simple game, does well on the penalty kill and keeps attackers to the outside in his own end and there is nothing wrong with that or his skill level.

It simply comes down to the fact that Brooks has a good stride, can shoot and plays in a compact way where he does not get in the way and is aggressive enough to win puck battles but the details in his game are the loose ends that he needs to tie up. He does a lot of chasing of the puck and not enough anticipating of the play where he gets sloppy and ends up responsible for turnovers.

At this point, Brooks will have to fine tune his game in time for next season or run the risk of becoming a trade commodity if he wants a chance at returning with the Leafs again as a bottom six call up, to say nothing of securing a full-time role. - SC

Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, C (76^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 11)

A skilled playmaker, Der-Arguchintsev had his best season to date in the OHL that saw him finish third in the league in assists with 63. Playing alongside fellow Leafs’ prospect Nick Robertson, SDA (as he is affectionately known) showed some progress physically which helped him to utilize his creativity and puck skill more consistently.

However, it is important to note that while Der-Arguchintsev was near the top in total assists, the majority of those were either secondary or powerplay assists. His 18 primary assists at even strength were tied for 21st in the OHL, and his 42 total primary points were tied for 68th in the circuit.

Additionally, he saw a shift to the wing later in the year, with his projection as an NHL center looking bleak. Maple Leaf fans will need to be patient with SDA as he continues to mature physically. His upside remains high, but with each passing year, it seems less likely that he reaches it. - BO

Mikhail Abramov, C (115^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

While Abramov’s point totals may not look totally impressive at first glance this season, his 35 goals alone nearly bested any teammate’s point totals. To say Abramov was on an island with Victoriaville this season is more or less accurate; the team took a step back from the previous season and teammate Yegor Serdyuk missed significant time.

Despite this, Abramov still put on a clinic as the team’s primary option in terms of offence. He is slight of build but a great skater and confident puckhandler. At 161 pounds, he is hardly a finished product, but he has some potential as a scoring option down the line. It is a commendation to his hockey sense and skating that he can play some center at that size. However, due to his sight build, it is likely scoring lines or bust for the Russian forward. - MS

Pontus Holmberg, LW/C (156^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 17)

Holmberg has shown steady progression as a player since he was drafted in 2018. He is a puck skilled winger with good hockey sense who can make creative plays. He plays a quick-thinking game and controls the puck well. His skating is good, and while he is not the fastest player, he has strong lower body-balance and is quite agile.

His production is still inconsistent, and he still takes too many nights off. He is the type of player that can have five brilliant games and then not show up on the scoreboard for ten straight games. He finished the season on a high note though, which hopefully is promising. He has a good wrist shot but has averaged fewer than one shot on goal per game.

He has not earned the coaches trust to play top line minutes in the SHL, but he has signed a two-year extension with the team. His NHL projection is long-term, and the 21-year-old will need more time to develop before he can compete for a spot in the NHL. - JH

Michael Koster, D (146^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 13)

Koster might be the player furthest from his projection of any in not only the top 15, but anywhere in the Toronto system. Drafted out of high school, the undersized defenseman spent the entirety of last year with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL, on the road to the University of Minnesota.

As productive as he was for Chaska High in Minnesota, earning a spot on the All-USA Hockey First Team in his draft year, his role with the Storm is closer to what we should expect from him going forward. Koster is an above average skater who is at his best carrying the puck out of his own zone and up the ice.

He is poised in his own zone, both with and without the puck. He is generally on the right side of the puck and consistently makes the right decisions. He still lacks any real physical presence, without the bulk to be very effective along the boards and without the shot to have much of an impact from the point. His strengths are enticing enough to have hope that he could be the puck carrying half of a decent third pairing given additional physical growth. - RW

WHL 2019-2020 Season Preview – Western Conference

Vince Gibbons — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 15:58:20 +0000

One of the joys of junior hockey is that the age limitations force roster turnover of top teams in 3-4-year cycles creating a new league every couple of seasons. This ensures that no team stays at the top of the league for too long. The class of the league last season was the Prince Albert Raiders. Wire to wire the top team in the WHL with three lines of scoring, three defenders with over 40 points each, and an NHL-drafted goalie prospect in Ian Scott, they ticked all the boxes of a team that was able to dominate the league.

This year they will be without three graduated top overage forwards in Dante Hannoun, Noah Gregor, and Sean Montgomery, who combined for an impressive 101 goals. Top scorer from last year Brett Leason is still in pro camp and could play in the AHL this season if he continues to show well. If he does that is another 36 goals no longer with the roster. Does this leave the door open to another team in the WHL to dominate the 2019-2020 regular season? Does Prince Albert have the staying power to remain at the top? These articles will try to answer those questions months in advance. (Teams are listed in their projected divisional rankings). Today we look at the Western Conference. The Eastern Conference article can be found here:

Nolan Foote #29 of the Kelowna Rockets (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Shoot the Breeze

B.C. Division

Vancouver Giants (1^st)

Having come within an overtime goal of a trip to the Memorial Cup, the Giants are fortunate to return some outstanding players including top defender Bowen Byram (Colorado, 1^st 2019). He can handle all the minutes he is given and is able to generate offense as well as anyone from the back end. Tristen Nielsen and Milos Roman (Calgary, 4^th 2018) give them experienced center play while draft eligible Justin Sourdif has picked up where he left off last season and might be their most productive forward this season. Another 2020 potential draft pick is Lukas Svejkovsky, a talented right shot winger with very good playmaking skills. That balance of youthful skill and solid veterans can be seen across their lineup and is a big part of why they are favorites to win the division this season. Returning 20 year old David Tendeck (Arizona 6^th, 2018), along with the younger Trent Miner (Colorado, 7^th 2019) certainly helps their cause as a team looking to come out of the West.

Kelowna Rockets (2^nd)

Hosting the Memorial Cup comes with enormous pressure to have an outstanding season. Both Regina and Red Deer have been good but not the elite teams in the league in their respective host years and Kelowna will be trying to break the WHL curse of late at the Memorial Cup. Defensively, the roster is pretty strong with Kaedan Korczak (Vegas, 2^nd 2019) and Jake Lee leading the way. Up front they have a couple of elite wingers in Nolan Foote (Tampa Bay, 1^st 2019), and Dillon Hamaliuk (San Jose, 2^nd 2019) that play a bruising power forward style of game. Draft eligible Pavel Novak showed great hands in the preseason but will have to continue that play once the games start to matter to hear his name mentioned at this season’s draft. A lot of their offense is going to come from overage players Kyle Topping and Leif Mattson, both of whom were near the 1 point per game pace last season and both look like they can shoulder even more of the heavy lifting in the early part of this season.

Kamloops Blazers (3^rd)

Last season the Blazers made the playoffs without winning half their regular season games. This year’s team has a load of potential but are likely one more season away from challenging for the top of the division. Not many teams are able to return the top three scorers from last season but the Blazers are able to do so this year. Offensively, this team has Zane Franklin who has nearly doubled his point production season over season each of the past three seasons. That steady improvement bodes well for the 20 year old who will lead a team with a number of young dynamic offensive players. Connor Zary was over one point per game last season but as a late 2001 was not eligible for last season’s NHL Entry draft. expect him to be even more prolific this year. Orrin Centazzo was the third member of that trio with 51 points last year. Add in ’03 born Logan Stankoven and Kamloops is developing some excellent forward depth that should sustain them the next couple of seasons. Defensively they possess a number of puck movers although none really appear to have the dynamic quality of a number one defender. Dylan Garand had a strong season last year and the starting job is his to lose. There is a lot of quality within this roster and they could surprise this season but it may be one year too early. Look for them to emerge as a strong contender over the next few seasons.

Victoria Royals (4^th)

The Royals have seen years of stable playoff hockey and this year looks to be a bit of a struggle. They have been battling with Vancouver the past few seasons at the top of the division but it will be tough for them to compete against the top teams now. They have less scoring than last season and a review of their roster doesn’t breed a ton of confidence. Keanu Derungs, their recent import selection, will be relied upon to generate offense playing on the wing with established center Kaid Oliver upon the latter’s return from injury. The rest of the Victoria roster is really made up of depth players that will struggle against top lines across the league. There is a lot of experience in the crease for this team with 120 WHL games between Brock Gould and Shane Farkas, which should keep the team competitive but likely is not enough to ensure them a playoff spot.

Prince George Cougars (5^th)

The Cougars have struggled the past couple of seasons and don’t look like a team that will be turning the corner this year either. Josh Maser led the team in goals last season with 30 and will be counted on as their top producing forward. Goal scoring will be an issue again for them as import player Matej Toman has not found his offensive game since coming over from the Czech Republic. Tyson Upper is the top draft eligible forward on the roster but the best draft prospect might be Rhett Rhinehart who is a towering 6-4” defender with a bit of an old school ruggedness to his game. Taylor Gauthier has the pedigree of a top goalie but with the team in front of him has put up pretty pedestrian numbers. With goalie of the future Tyler Brennan on the roster expect this to be a 1A and 1B scenario unless they are able to move Gauthier to a contender as the season moves along.

Ty Smith

U.S. Division

Portland Winterhawks (1^st)

Portland has to be the model franchise in terms of drafting players, developing them and producing the highest quality product on the ice. This year again speaks volumes about the organization. Both of the import players selected provide instant offensive talent to help replace the losses of Cody Glass, Joachim Blichfeld up front, and Jared Freadrich on the back end. This year Simon Knak and Jonas Brondberg (both 2020 draft eligible) step in and have both shown they are excellent playmakers. Cross Hanas looks ready to take a step up in responsibility after playing in the bottom six for most of last season. This year he plays the wing for Seth Jarvis who is also working his way up draft boards early. John Ludvig (Florida, 3^rd 2019) sets the tone in the defensive zone with his physical, no non-sense approach to defending. This team consistently rebuilds on the fly and look to have successfully backfilled roles with a combination of internal progression and astute import draft selections. The crease is held down by Joel Hofer (St. Louis, 4^th 2018), a behemoth of a man at 6-5” brought in last year to solidify the only perceived weakness on the roster. He may start 60 games this year and should finally start piling up some wins after his first 70 starts in the league.

Spokane Chiefs (2^nd)

In a division where goaltending dictates so much, the addition of import Lukas Parik (Los Angeles, 3^rd 2019) could be enough to push Spokane to a clear top two finish in the division but more importantly, it provides a chance to get out of the US division in the playoffs. In front of him they have a strong group of defenders led by Filip Kral (Toronto, 5^th 2018). He has a good shot and has more offensive potential than most late round picks. Up front, scoring will be by committee but Adam Beckman (Minnesota, 3^rd 2019) will be counted on to improve his 32 goal season from a year ago. Somewhat surprisingly undrafted winger Luke Toporowski has something to prove this season and will be a big part of any team success that Spokane has. Jack Finley had solid numbers in a depth role last season but the 2020 draft eligible player should be able to carve out a top six role this season. Spokane’s biggest “X” factor comes from diminutive defender Ty Smith (New Jersey, 1^st 2018) and how he responds to not making the Devils’ opening day roster. At his best, he is a dynamic puck mover and playmaker that can dictate the pace of play like few others can in this league.

Everett Silvertips (3^rd)

Defensively, Everett is consistently a top team in terms of goals against. Since 2016 they have given up the fewest goals and it hasn’t even been close. In 2016-17, they led in that department by 29 goals, by 46 in 2017-18, and by 26 in 2018-19. That is domination. It is also coaching. Dennis Williams has consistently brought something to the league that other coaches have struggled to contend with and that is a tenacious, physical team defense. It hasn’t hurt that the crease has been held down very well by Carter Hart (Philadelphia, 2^nd 2016), and now Dustin Wolf (Calgary, 7^th 2019). Everett relies on overage and import scoring talent and Bryce Kindopp and Michal Gut will be looking to provide that this season.

Seattle Thunderbirds (4^th)

Five of the top dozen teams in the entire WHL usually come from this division and it is entirely possible that all five of these teams again make the playoffs. Top scorer from last year Matthew Wedman (Florida, 7^th 2019) is back in the fold targeting another career year after reaching 40 goals last season. He will have to do so with new linemates this year. Henrik Rybinski (Florida, 5^th 2019), Payton Mount, and Michael Horon will all take more prominent roles within the offense this season which should give NHL scouts plenty to ponder. Defensively they will be anchored by Simon Kubicek a late ’01 who is much more than a big frame on the back end. Between the pipes they have Roddy Ross (Philadelphia, 6^th 2019) perhaps the best named player in the league. He has the pro frame that NHL teams covet and has been solid in his first 25 WHL games.

Tri-City Americans (5^th)

Tri-City is a difficult team to bet against. Each year they seem to find a way to be more than the sum of their parts. Sasha Mutala (Colorado 5^th, 2019) has grown up in this organization and carries the expectations forward with this younger roster. He and Samuel Huo will lead the next generation of Tri-City players through the 2019-20 season. The difference may come in the form of Beck Warm, a 20 year old netminder who played a league high 61 games last year with a well earned 2.94 GAA and a .916 save percentage. He led the league in shots and saves last year and that will have to continue along that path if Tri-Cities are expected to compete for the Wild Card.

***

This year the US division is again the most competitive in the WHL with the possibility of all five teams making the playoffs. Out East, the rebranded Winnipeg ICE have done a lot to reinvent the club after several struggling seasons in Cranbrook and have started strong. Saskatchewan has two teams in Saskatoon and Prince Albert that met in 2^nd round of last season’s playoffs and it could easily play out that way again this season. The Central Division boils down to a Battle of Highway 2, as both Calgary and Edmonton have mature and deep rosters that can match up against anyone. There are always a few surprises as the season chugs along and it could be a Medicine Hat or an Everett who ride top end goaltending right through the playoffs. Perhaps an upstart Kamloops team is ready to compete this year. Regardless of how it all plays out, it is an exciting time to get into the local barns and watch these young players develop into future pros. Below is a top 10 of draft eligible players

Top 10 (Alphabetical Order)

Braden Schneider, Brandon

Connor McClennon, Winnipeg

Connor Zary, Kamloops

Jake Neighbours, Edmonton

Justin Sourdif, Vancouver

Kaiden Guhle, Prince Albert

Kyle Crnkovic, Saskatoon

Kasper Puutio, Swift Current

Seth Jarvis, Portland

Honorable Mentions:

Ben King, Swift Current

Carter Savoie, Sherwood Park (AJHL)

Christoffer Sedoff, Red Deer

Cross Hanas, Portland

Michael Benning, Sherwood Park (AJHL)

Pavel Novak, Kelowna

Ridly Greig, Brandon

Simon Knak, Portland

WHL Playoff Preview (Western Conference): Prince Albert dominates but Vancouver hot down the stretch

Kevin Olexson — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 18:12:49 +0000

After another exciting season in the Dub it took one final game to finalize this year’s playoffs. The Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers finish the season tied forcing a one-game playoff, the seventh in WHL history, to move on and play the Victoria Royals.

The Blazers made up a seven-point deficit in the last week and a half of the season, going 5-0-1 to tie Kelowna and earn a home tie-breaker game. They came in riding some momentum and sported a 6-3-1 record against the visiting Rockets this season. The Blazers were led by 16-year-old rookie goaltender Dylan Garand, who put aside 27 out of 28 shots, and forwards Connor Zary, Zane Franklin, Brody Stuart, and Captain Jermaine Loewen to earn their biggest win of the season. Next year’s Memorial Cup hosts have some work to do, as this is only the second time in the Rockets tenure that they have missed the playoffs.

The Prince Albert Raiders were far and away the top team in the Dub this year finishing with a 54-10-2-2 record for a league leading 112 points. The Vancouver Giants finished with the second-best record after going on a real tear in the last quarter of the season, as they surpassed the Everett Silvertips for the best record out of the BC and US divisions erasing a 16-point deficit. The Edmonton Oil Kings finished the season as the hottest team down the stretch winning their last 10 games to edge out the Lethbridge Hurricanes by two points for the division title.

As the quest to represent the WHL in this year’s MasterCard Memorial Cup begins, the Western Conference matchups look like this:

Western Conference

Kyle Olson, Tri-City Americans

Now, to the US division, which has really stepped up the past few years, as these clubs have much huge strides are now one of the best divisions in the WHL. Let’s start with the division leading Everett Silvertips, who finished with a record of 47-16-2-3, good for 99 points and another division win. They face off against the Tri-City Americans, who have been dismal down the stretch, going 1-6-3 to finish off the season.

Despite the 12-point differential between these two teams, and the rough finish by Tri-City, the Silvertips bested the Americans by winning five of the eight meetings against them in relatively close games. Everett is hoping that Washington Capitals pick Riley Sutter (14-27-41) will be ready to go for the playoff, after sustaining a lower body injury back in December, keeping him off the ice for most of the season. He has recently been skating on his own accord and getting ready. If he won’t be able to go, the Silvertips will be led by the Minnesota Wild draft pick Conor Dewar (36-45-81), who led the team in scoring and has been great all season for Everett. He will be helped out by Bryce Kindopp (39-34-73), Zack Andrusiak (38-26-64) who was acquired midway through the season from the Seattle Thunderbirds and had 25 points in 29 games, and Max Patterson (14-25-39) who was also picked up halfway through the season from the Swift Current Broncos.

Tri-City will rely on Parker AuCoin (42-42-84) who has been their offensive workhorse this season, along with Anaheim Ducks pick Kyle Olson (21-49-70), Nolan Yaremko (28-38-66), Riley Sawchuk (21-33-54) , and rookie Krystof Harabik (21-30-51) to crack the tough Silvertips defence and put some pucks in the net.

Defensively, the Silvertips are almost a blueprint or model for success, as they once again had the fewest goals against them. The blue line is bolstered by Philadelphia Flyers prospect Wyatte Wylie (11-36-47), Jake Christianson (12-32-44), and draft-eligible Gianni Fairbrother (10-26-36). Tri-City picked up Aaron Hyman (10-40-50) in a trade earlier this season with the Regina Pats, and he will log most of the minutes for them. Alongside of him will be rookie Samuel Stewart (0-18-18), and Domm Schmiemann (3-12-15) who will be relied upon to keep things organized in their own end.

We have a good matchup in goal between Dustin Wolf (41-15-2-2) of the Silvertips, and Beck Warm (32-23-5) of the Americans. Wolf replaced parting goaltender Carter Hart as he made his way to the Philadelphia Flyers, and in all honesty, has stepped in and has not missed a beat. The Silvertips have a really good system going, and the numbers that Wolf has put up, are equally impressive if not better than those of Hart. Wolf boast a fabulous 1.69 GAA, and a whopping save percentage of 0.936%, and adding seven shutouts to the process.

Warm on the other end, put up a goals against of 2.94 and a save percentage of 0.916%. Both goaltenders have played well against the other this season and were equally impressive. Wolf shutout the Americans twice in the last three games against Tri-City and allowed only one goal in the other game. While Warm has been more than shelled by the Silvertips this season, as he was peppered over and over the 8-game series against Everett, posting a 2.41 GAA and a smoking hot 0.941 save percentage.

This should be a low scoring series in which the goaltenders do battle to put their team over the top. The Silvertips should have their top centre back in the fold as Sutter gets closer and closer to a return. They also went out and added an abundance of experience, as they added Max Patterson, Sahvan Chair, Artyum Minulin, from last year’s WHL Championship Swift Current Broncos team, and Robbie Holmes of the Regina Pats, all who have played in last year’s Memorial Cup. The Silvertips are really working hard as they keep getting closer and closer to winning the WHL’s Ed Chynoweth Cup. Will this be the year? The Americans seem to have trouble putting the puck in the net against Everett and will have to overcome that to have a chance in this series as Everett is a stingy club who doesn't allow many goals.

Pick - Silvertips in 6

Joachin Blichfield of the Portland Winterhawks. Photo by Gary Peterson/Portland Winterhawks

We have one of the best matchups in this year’s playoffs as the Spokane Chiefs and Portland Winter Hawks square off in an evenly matched series, and the regular season proves just that. Spokane took the regular season series 3-2-0-1 outscoring the Hawks by a 29-27 margin. Spokane enters the playoffs on a 3-game win streak, and an 8-2 run at the end, while Portland lost their last two games, and went four and six down the stretch.

Spokane has more balanced scoring in their lineup as Riley Woods (29-46-75) led them. He will be joined up front by LA Kings prospect Jaret Anderson-Dolan (20-23-43), who only played in 32 games for the Chiefs. Eli Zummack (15-53-68), Jake McGrew (31-23-54), draft eligible Luke Toporowski (21-28-49), and rookie Adam Beckman (32-30-62) who has been more than impressive this season, will round out the attack for Spokane.

Portland has the dynamic duo of Joachim Blichfeld (53-61-114), and Cody Glass (15-54-69) to lead their charge. Blichfeld, who went undrafted but inked a deal with the San Jose Sharks, led the league in both scoring (with 114 points) and goals (53), as he tied Tristan Langan of the Moose Jaw Warriors for the goal lead. Vegas Golden Knights selection Glass, helped Blichfeld, as they were more than dominate this season when together, and dangerous every time they stepped on the ice. Glass has missed a substantial part of the season with an injury, and the Hawks hope that he will be back and ready to play as they are going to need him. Alongside of them, Jake Gricius (27-34-61), draft-eligible Reece Newkirk (23-36-59), and Josh Paterson (24-30-54), acquired in a trade with the Saskatoon Blades, will provide support and secondary scoring.

The Chiefs have the WHL’s top defensemen this season in Ty Smith (7-62-69) to lead them. Maple Leafs prospect Filip Kral (10-26-36), and Nolan Reid (17-34-51) will be counted on to keep Blichfeld and Glass in check. Jared Freadrich (15-33-48) was the top producing defencemen on this team this year, and draft eligible players in Clay Hanus (8-19-27) , and Brendan DeJong (7-20-27) playing well, this should be a close one.

In goal, Bailey Brkin (27-11-1) backstops the Chiefs with his 2.75 GAA and 0.914 save percentage, while it looks like Joel Hofer who went 9-8 for Portland with a 3.18 GAA and 0.911 save percentage will lead the Hawks.

This will be one of those series that can go either way, as these teams are evenly matched in most aspects. With only a one point difference in the standings, and the even record between them this season, you could almost flip a coin to see. Both teams can score, both have NHL quality players in Anderson-Dolan and Glass, both have a nice balanced scoring system, and whichever team can withstand the least amount penalties, should get the edge.

There are game breakers on both sides, but I expect Ty Smith to have a big impact on this series and help his team to the next round. If Playmaking centre Cody Glass can’t lace them up, that would be a big blow to his team, as he is a difference maker. If the Chiefs defence and goaltending can keep Blichfeld and Glass at bay, then the Chiefs should have no problems. Goaltending will be another key in this series, as will who wins the special teams battle.

Pick - Chiefs in 7

Bowen Byram

Down to the BC Division where we were graced with a tie breaking play in game to kick off the playoffs between Kamloops and Kelowna. But let’s start with the division leading Vancouver Giants, who went on a run in 2019 to erase a 16-point Silvertips lead to overtake them as the Western Conference Champions, finishing second overall in the WHL standings. They now get ready to face the Seattle Thunderbirds in their first-round matchup. The season series between these two teams looks fairly equal on paper and stats; 2-2 records, both teams scoring 11 goals, and everything that should set you up to believe there is an upset story in the making.

Seattle finished with a 7-1-1-1 record while riding a winning streak of three games. The Giants go in to this year’s playoffs with an 8-1-1 record to finish, while sporting a 3-0-1 streak. So yes, we look even again. The T-birds and Giants finished 9th and 11th respectively in goals scored, but that’s where things seem to end in similarities.

The Giants finished second overall and boast a very good hockey club. Their forward group is led by Davis Koch (28-50-78), Calgary Flames prospect Milos Roman (27-33-60), recent acquisition Jadon Joseph (22-31-53) who came over from Lethbridge and managed to carve out 28 points in 32 games, and rookie Justin Sourdif (23-23-46). Seattle’s forward group is led by Matthew Wedman (40-37-77), Noah Philp (26-49-75), Nolan Volcan (27-30-57), Andrej Kukuca (25-32-57), Henrik Rybinski (8-32-40) who came over from the Medicine Hat tigers and put up 35 points in 33 games.

Defensively, the Giants have a phenomenal blue line, led by arguably the best draft eligible defender for this year Byram Bowen (26-45-71) who scored 26 goals, and will be sure to see his name go early at this year’s draft right there in his back yard of Vancouver. Dylan Plouffe (8-27-35), and Washington Capitals prospect Alex Kannok Leipert (5-14-19) will help anchor up the blue line and support their tight system and goaltenders. Seattle also has some nice defenders, Montreal selection Jarrett Tyszka (8-22-30), draft eligible prospect Jake Lee (3-21-24), and rookie Simon Kubicek (9-19-28) will be by their goalies’ side.

In net, the Giants have arguably the best tandem going in David Tendeck (24-10-2-1), and Trent Miner (24-5-1-1). Both goalies finished near the top in most categories, and basically split games all season. Miner shows a GAA at 1.98 with a save percentage of 0.924% with three shutouts, while Tendeck has a 2.48 and a 0.911 save percentage. Seattle has two rookie goalies that they have been relying on. Roddy Ross (16-5-1-2) has a 2.76 GAA and a 0.919 save percentage, and his counterpart Cole Scweibius had a 3.89 GAA and 88.6 % save percentage.

The offence provided by both clubs are pretty close, but Vancouver has dominated with special teams, and seem to have much more depth than the T-Birds. Their defence and goaltending are outstanding, and they seem to have more difference makers. The Giants also lost twice to Seattle, both early in the season, and seemed to have turned it on after Christmas in which they defeated Seattle twice in that span, most recently a 5-1 drubbing near the end of the season. There is no reason to think that this dominance won’t continue, as the Giants seem primed and ready to roll.

Pick - Giants in 5

Finally……let’s get to the Victoria Royals and Kamloops Blazers, which should be another fun series to watch. These teams come in to this playoff matchup with Victoria taking the regular season series 5-3-0-1, with most of the games being close. That saying……the Blazers did play playoff hockey down the stretch as they battled their way in to the last playoff spot and just refused to be denied. The Royals have been in a comfortable spot for some time now, as they were well below the Giants yet far enough above Kelowna and Kamloops not to worry, so they have been in coast mode for a bit.

The Royals have been without some of their key players and leaders for a period of time now as they have missed leading scorer Kaid Oliver (27-22-49), and power forward Kody McDonald (20-22-42) who are both out indefinitely with upper body injuriesand would be welcome additions to the roster. Meanwhile, the Royals are led by D-Jay Jerome (23-19-42), import player Igor Martynov (11-31-42) to provide offence.

Kamloops has been carried by Zane Franklin (28-40-68), and Connor Zary (24-43-67). Orren Centazzo (18-33-51), and Dallas Stars prospect and Captain Jermaine Loewen (28-18-46) have also been contributing to help this club with its push. Scott Walford (9-38-47), Ralph Jarrett (6-9-15), Mitchell Prowse (3-18-21), and Jameson Murray (3-16-19) will all have to pitch in to make life easier for net minder Griffin Outhouse with the lack scoring up front the Royals. Rookie Quinn Schmeimann (5-23-28), Luke Zazula (3-24-27), and Montana Onyebuchi (5-15-20) will all be very active and get lots of play in this series.

In goal, Griffin Outhouse (27-16-1) has been great for the Royals, with a 2.81 GAA and a 0.913 save percentage. He has only played two-thirds of a season for the Royals, and they hope that he is well rested for they playoff push. He will have to come up big for them to move on especially without two of their leading scorers. Blazers starting goalie, and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Dylan Ferguson (17-24-4) has been out injured for much of this playoff run, but has received a clean bill of health to return. A tough decision will have to be made as the Blazers have ridden the coat tail of 16-year-old rookie (and Victoria native) goalie Dylan Garand (11-7-2-1), who has been lights out for them. Garand played down the stretch as a clutch performer going 6-0-1, with an excellent 1.93 GAA and a 0.930 save percentage.

This series will be close to the end and will ultimately comedown to a goaltending duel once again. Which goalie will get the nod for the Blazers? Will they ride the hot hand? Injuries will play a big part in this, especially if Victoria does not get their leaders back. The Blazers come in to this with confidence and swagger after finishing the season 5-0-1, and then defeating the Kelowna Rockets in the tie breaker game. They also defeated the Royals in the last three meetings they had, including 6-1 and 8-0 drubbings. They will come out with lots of energy, and really push the Royals, who come in to these playoffs going 4-5-1. Outhouse and the Royals defence will be pressed and will need a complete effort to withstand the push from the resilient Blazers, who are riding a wave of momentum.

Pick - Blazers in 6

LINK TO EASTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW HERE

2019 IIHF World Junior Tournament Review: Switzerland, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Czech Republic

McKeen's Hockey — Sun, 20 Jan 2019 19:04:13 +0000

McKeen’s Hockey’s review of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships has already covered medal finalists Finland (Gold), USA (Silver) and Russia (Bronze) along with Sweden (5^th) and Canada (6^th) in prior posts. We now wrap up our coverage with the remaining five teams in order of finish, Switzerland (4^th), Czech Republich (7^th), Slovakia (8^th), Kazakhstan (9^th) and Denmark (10^th).

Switzerland – By Jimmy Hamrin

Switzerland had one of their best tournaments ever at this stage. They didn’t just beat Sweden in the quarterfinal, they pushed the Czechs to overtime, only losing to Canada by a 3-2 final score and were tied 3-3 vs Russia after 40 minutes in the preliminary games. If you look at the quality of the team and how they performed in all aspects in this tournament, they weren’t a top four competitor, but they came together as a team and played well. They played with good structure, good speed and they battled hard. I wouldn’t say that Switzerland has come close to the top nations, but they certainly can compete with them, and at times even beat one or two of them.

Individually (outside of a charismatic head coach), Philipp Kurashev (CHI) really stood out and was one of the best players in the tournament. He led the Swiss first line with his speed, hand skills and scored an impressive six goals. It wasn’t hard to see why he is producing well in the QMJHL this season. He looks like he can become an NHLer in the future, making him a good 4^th round pick by the Blackhawks. In this tournament, he had the same big impact as Nino Niederreiter had last time Switzerland ended up in the top four.

Another great individual performance came from goalie Luca Hollenstein. A smaller goalie with good athleticism and hockey sense. He had a rough semifinal but really came up in big in that quarterfinal versus Sweden. In the third period Sweden pounded 19 shots at him but Hollenstein shut out the Swedes. Since smaller size goalies rarely get drafted these days, he may not get picked by an NHL team. A tournament like this is a small sample size of a prospect’s full potential, but he is still young enough to play again in next year’s tournament and continue to make his case.

Czech Republic – By Shaiyena Cote

The Czechs fell short despite the power they had on their roster compared to previous years, with 12 drafted players and three players currently playing in the AHL with forward talent being led by veteran Martin Necas (CAR), Martin Kaut (COL) and 2018’s sixth overall selection Filip Zadina (DET). Their systems did not gel very well in the tournament and the lines seemed to struggle for consistency leading to fatigued penalty killing and turnovers. Zadina did not have the showing he had the year before where he managed seven goals and an assist through seven games. This year he struggled and managed only a single assist over five games. For a shooter with his skills, that is simply disappointing and unfortunately the Czech Republic definitely felt it throughout the tournament.

Martin Kaut, who is typically very dominant on the forecheck and creative during rushes was also kept quiet with only two assists throughout the tournament despite playing powerplay and top line minutes at even strength. Fellow AHLer Martin Necas of the Charlotte Checkers was left as the only player who played up to his AHL status with four points in five games (only one goal) and a surprisingly high number of penalty minutes as a result of frustration shown towards the team’s poor performance and slow transitional play.

Along with the Czech’s transitional play being a problem, their defensive positioning in both 5-on-5 play and the penalty kill was difficult to watch and often left their goalies (all of whom are drafted) out to dry. Thankfully, their top goaltender Lukas Dostal (ANA) came up big in the four games he played, keeping his team in the game and demonstrating his ability to track the puck and flash his glove to make really solid saves. Efforts made by Jakub Lauko (BOS), Matej Pekar (BUF) and defenceman Filip Kral (TOR) were noticeable but did little to help the team where standings were concerned. All three players added valuable contributions to the team including goals scored, special team performances and gritty play.

Being eliminated in the quarter final this year by Team USA and last year losing the bronze medal game to the US did not help soften Czech feelings towards the Americans That being said, the Czechs will hope to avoid further elimination games against the USA and better prepare themselves for next year’s World Junior Hockey Championship as host nation. As a forerunner in developing hockey nations in Europe with growing recognition on NHL draft boards, and one of the teams with extensive NHL/AHL representation, expectations will be high and they will be motivated to be ready.

Slovakia – By Ryan Wagman

For the fourth year in a row, and for the fifth time in six years, Slovakia avoided the relegation round of the WJC, but not much more, with a quarterfinal elimination. One the one hand, with only one victory in the round-robin portion of the tournament – just like in three of those five similar endings – the tournament was not much to write home about. On the other hand, for the first time since they had to be saved in the relegation round in 2007-08, Slovakia scored more goals at the WJCs than they allowed.

During that old event, in which the relegation round was played between four teams, allowing Slovakia to beat up on Switzerland (5-2) and Kazakhstan (8-0), it was easy to see how they managed to end the tournament on a positive note. Once more, this time, despite losing four times in five games, their goal differential was salvaged through a romp against Kazakhstan. Slovakia beat the present-day minnows by an 11-2 score and were shut down by a combined 4-12 differential against Sweden, the United States, and Finland. And of course, the quarterfinal match was a laugher, as Russia romped to an 8-3 victory. In fairness, that proved to be a tough road, having faced each of the three medal winners. But it would have been nice for Slovakia’s future prospects if they could have played close in more than one game, the honorable 2-1 defeat in the opener to the U.S.

When an underdog goes far at the WJC, it is generally the case that one or two players played above their previous levels. When Slovakia won the bronze in 2015, Martin Reway was a force up force, and Denis Godla was unbeatable at the back. No one stepped up in a similar fashion this year. Adam Ruzicka had a third disappointing WJC, with all three of his points coming in the Kazakh blowout. Undrafted Adam Liska had a few moments of grace, showing nice offensive touch and so-called stay-at-home defenseman Martin Fehervary surprisingly tied for the team lead in scoring with five points (none against Kazakhstan!). But with inconsistent goaltending and a scattershot offensive attack, Slovakia left British Columbia as quietly as they had arrived around two weeks earlier.

Kazakhstan – By Alessandro Seren Rosso

Starting the tournament as the underdogs, the Kazakhs had a decent round robin then played above their head as they defeated Denmark to negate the forecasts and keep their spot in the Elite Division. To achieve this result, the Kazakhs leveraged their strong qualities such as skating and puck skills, dispatching Denmark after losing all the round robin games.

A few players stood out for Kazakhstan. The best player was probably defenseman Valeri Orekhov. It’s not a surprise, since the blue liner already has two KHL seasons under his belt and is a veteran of three U20 WJC (only one at the elite level). He also represented Kazakhstan at two lower tier U18 WJC. His experience on the ice was visible by the way he played, with more than enough calmness and confidence, and he ended the tournament as one of the top-scoring defensemen, with five assists in six games. Considering his size (6-1”, 190 pounds), skills and WJC performance, it would not be a huge surprise if someone takes a flyer on him next June. Orekhov is having a strong season with Barys in the KHL and is outscoring drafted players of his same age such as, for example, Nikolai Kovalenko. Of course, points aren’t everything, especially when it comes to defensemen, but Orekhov showed a lot of good things at the WJC and he is expected to develop into an NHL-caliber player in the future.

Forward Artur Gatiyatov was one of the top scorers of the tournament, with eight points in six games. He scored five goals through the WJC and was a threat even against the top teams. However, his diminutive size will likely play against him this spring. That said, based on his skating and puck skills alone, Gatiyatov is certainly a draft-worthy player.

More or less, the same considerations apply to the cousins Sayan (forward) and Samat (defenseman) Daniyar. Samat Daniyar posted five points like Orekhov, but in spite of his good performance, he didn’t look to be on the same level as him. Sayan Daniyar had a slow start, but once he picked up pace, he started delivering and finished the tournament with two points. Both players are gifted with excellent skating and soft hands, but they are both unlikely to be picked next spring because of their size.

It will be hard for the Kazakhs to stay up next year, especially considering that their best player will have graduated from the level by December, but didn’t everyone just say the same this year?

Denmark – By Jimmy Hamrin

Well, this wasn’t pretty. Denmark had a weak team to start and they failed to meet the bar of those low expectations, losing all six games. Next season, we won’t see Denmark in this tournament. Denmark scored the fewest goals, let in the most goals, had the worst power play and the worst penalty kill of the tournament. They ranked 10^th in every statistical category.

Prior to the start of the tournament, they had three interesting players with NHL potential. Draft eligible goalie Mads Sogaard, defenseman Malte Setkov (DET) and forward Jonas Rondbjerg (VGK). Large 6’7” goalie Sogaard probably didn’t have much fun in the five games he played with a 6.16 goals against average and an .802 save percentage. Luckily, no one in their right mind blames him for Denmark’s departure. He didn’t have near enough help in front of him and when it comes to the draft, it is unlikely this tournament is what scouts will remember most when they evaluate his potential.

Setkov and Rondbjerg were both in on 67% of Denmark’s goals which is an impressive number. The thing is though, that Denmark only scored three goals in the entire tournament and all three of them came in one of the relegation games against Kazakhstan. Denmark were shut out offensively in five of six games. Rondbjerg, who played in his fourth WJC, had some creative plays but also showed that he doesn’t have that electrifying offensive potential that older Danish talents have shown over the years. Setkov is a player I really like as a very big defenseman that moves his feet and the puck well. He stood out as the best player on this Danish team, even though he had some tough times along with everyone else on the team.

2018 NHL Draft Review: Atlantic Division

Ryan Wagman — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 12:35:46 +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 Atlantic Division

Boston Bruins
2 (57) Axel Andersson, D, Djurgarden J20 (SuperElit) - ranked 88th
3 (77) Jakub Lauko, C/LW, Pirati Chomutov (Czech) - ranked 83rd
4 (119) Curtis Hall, C Youngstown (USHL) - ranked 158th
6 (181) Dustin McFaul, D, Pickering (OJHL) - ranked Honorable Mention
7 (212) Pavel Shen, C, Mamonty Yugry (MHL) - ranked Honorable Mention

While the Boston Bruins 2018 draft class will not go down in infamy like their 2015 first round which saw them draft Jakub Zboril, Jake DeBrusk, and Zach Senyshyn with consecutive picks, leaving players like Mathew Barzal and Kyle Connor on the board for others, that is only because the Bruins only had five picks all told this year, and none in the first round. In other words, if none of these five guys pan out, don’t expect to hear/read too much bad press about it. Now, I am not saying that none of these guys will pan out, but even if they do, none will have top half of roster roles. Second rounder Axel Andersson is mostly a stay-at-home type. He positions himself well and can kickstart the transition with smart and precise passes. A solid asset, but a #4 at best. The Bruins have already signed him to an ELC, but have seemingly loaned him back to Djurgarden for another year.

Third rounder Jakub Lauko turned some heads with an energetic performance for the Czechs at the WJC, and was productive for his country at the WU18, but was a bit player for most of the year among men in the Czech ExtraLiga. He is a fine skater and plays bigger than his measurables, at least when playing against peers. If he can continue to play a strong forechecking game and grow his offense just a touch, he could be a good fourth line fit. Fourth rounder Curtis Hall has a similar projection, but as a more natural center. Hall is big, can skate, and seems to understand the game, but his hands are very stiff. There are enough parts that he could find a niche role killing penalties and playing 7-9 minutes of 5-on-5 per game, but his offensive upside is pretty minimal. As he is heading to Yale, it is probably four years until the Bruins have to make a decision on him.

Sixth rounder Dustyn McFaul is more of a project, having performed admirably in his first year in the OJHL with Pickering. He has solid puck skills for a blueliner and no obvious glaring holes in his game. He might spend a season in the USHL before going to Clarkson. Finally, the Bruins picked up Russian forward Pavel Shen in his second year of draft eligibility with one of the last selections of the draft. He has been just shy of one point per game in the past two season in the MHL, Russia’s top junior level, although was ineffective in his first taste of the KHL last year. He has some playmaking skills, but needs to prove himself at higher levels first. With a system as stacked as the Bruins’ is, they can stomach a low upside draft haul such as this. Not too many of those, but one won’t hurt them too badly.

OFP - 52

Buffalo Sabres
1 (1) Rasmus Dahlin, D, Frolunda (SHL) - ranked 1st
2 (32) Mattias Samuelsson, D, USNTDP (USHL) - ranked 39th
4 (94) Matej Pekar, C/RW, Muskegon (USHL) - ranked 106th
4 (117) Linus Lindstrand Kronholm, D, Malmo J20 (SuperElit) - unranked
5 (125) Miska Kukkonen, D, Ilves U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga) - unranked
7 (187) William Worge Kreu, D, Linkoping J20 (SuperElit) - unranked

The Buffalo Sabres won the draft well before the teams congregated in Dallas. They won it when the bouncing balls came up in their favor. By winning the lottery, they got to draft a defenseman in Rasmus Dahlin who is not only a future star in the mold of a Drew Doughty, who is not only ready to play a critical role right now, but who also happens to fit a need on this team that would not otherwise be filled. Dahlin will be among the favorites to win the Calder Trophy this year, and among the favorites to win many Norris Trophies down the line. Defensemen who can skate and stickhandle like Dahlin are few and far between. Those who also have high end hockey IQ are basically unicorns.

With the first pick of day two, the Sabres drafted another NHL defender in Mattias Samuelsson, son of Kjell and a monster on the ice. While he will never be fleet of foot, Samuelsson moves well enough for his size, and uses his size very effectively, whether to box out opponents, or to scare the hell out of them in the corners. He is not offensively gifted, but can add enough to the attack to not be a pure stay-at-home type. He is heading to Western Michigan, but I would expect his stay on campus to max out at two years. After sitting out the third round, the Sabres kicked off the fourth with Muskegon center Matej Pekar a Czech native who has been playing in the US since he was 15. Pekar is a versatile forward – which is good as he was the forward chosen by Buffalo in the draft this year – who skates well and creates nicely for others. He is heading to Miami (Ohio) this season.

With their last three picks, the Sabres went off the board to pick up three projectable young Scandinavian defenders who have mostly snuck under the radar due to injury and/or lack of international experience. Fourth rounder Linus Lindstrand Kronholm impresses with his hockey IQ, but does not for any physical attributes. He skates well enough and holds his own in the corners, but lack of skill with the puck gives him a low ceiling. Finnish defender Miska Kukkonen was limited to 12 games this year due to injury, but also has solid hockey sense and plays a simple, yet effective game with the puck. William Worge Kreu similarly lacks much in the way of hockey skills, but understands the game well enough and is a gigantic physical presence. He is taller, yet much, much slighter (6-6”, 172) than Mattias Samuelsson. Between Lindstrand Kronholm, Kukkonen, and Worge Kreu, the Sabres would be lucky to get one player who gets 200 games in the NHL in a third pairing role. Even if all three meet expectations though, none projects above that level, so there would be some redundancy. Then again, Rasmus Dahlin, so who cares what else happens, right?

OFP – 54

Detroit Red Wings
1 (6) Filip Zadina, LW, Halifax (QMJHL) - ranked 3rd
1 (30) Joe Veleno, C, Drummondville (QMJHL) - ranked 10th
2 (33) Jonatan Berggren, LW/RW, Skelleftea J20 (SuperElit) - ranked 28th
2 (36) Jared McIsaac, D, Halifax (QMJHL) - ranked 24th
3 (67) Alec Regula, D, London (OHL) - ranked 102nd
3 (81) Seth Barton, D, Trail (BCHL) - ranked 147th
3 (84) Jesper Eliasson, G, Troja-Ljungby J20 (J20 Elit)
4 (98) Ryan O'Reilly, C/RW, Madison (USHL) - ranked 84th
6 (160) Victor Brattstrom, G, Timra (Allsvenskan)
7 (191) Otto Kivenmaki, C, Assat U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga) - ranked 211th

For many years, the Red Wings were known for having a Midas touch with the draft, regularly picking gems in the late round that grew up to be pivotal players on Stanley Cup championship teams. Think Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, and more. And then the Wings fell into a stretch where they seemingly believed that they were magical and anyone they drafted would turn up a winner. They were wrong. In the last 12 years, they have only drafted three players in the fifth round or later who have racked up 100 NHL games: Petr Mrazek, Nick Jensen and Alexei Marchenko. While it is too early to judge their last three draft classes, the other years in this time span seem very unlikely to add to that total. I can’t promise that either of the Wings’ last two picks here will break that trend, but I would be very surprised if this group as a whole does not have at least five players eclipsing 200 NHL games when all is said and done.

Common thought had the Red Wings focusing on Quinn Hughes with their first pick, a very talented blueliner who played under Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill at the World Championships prior to the draft. But when high scoring winger Filip Zadina was passed over by the Canadiens, Senators and Coyotes, the Red Wings did not hesitate to add a potential 35 goal winger. He grades out as high end for his skating, shooting (near elite there), puck skills, and hockey IQ. He is no shrinking violet, either, always up to battle for loose pucks and giving as good as he gets. Zadina is likely ready to play in the NHL this year, although he may get some brief interludes in the AHL first. He has clear star potential. It’s hard to get value in the top six, but the Wings did it. And then they did it again with their second first rounder, acquired from Vegas in the Tomas Tatar trade. Joe Veleno, the first and thus far the only player granted exceptional player status in the QMJHL was widely thought of as a mid-first round caliber player. Even more inexplicably then Zadina falling to #6, Veleno was still on the board at #30. The Red Wings were there to ensure that he would not fall to #31. A gifted skater with strong playmaking skills and high hockey IQ, he will be competing for a middle six within 12 months. Two first round picks, two speedy players with a knack for generating offense. Why not add a third? With the second pick of the second round, the Red Wings gobbled up Jonatan Berggren, a late riser up draft boards thanks to his electric wheels and goal scoring exploits in the SuperElit, but mostly due to a scintillating performance at the WU18s, as he put up five goals and 10 points in 7 games. He needs to bulk up and gain more experience playing against men, but his upside is clear top six.

Finally ready to draft a blueliner, the Red Wings once again struck gold, grabbing Zadina’s teammate with the Mooseheads, Jared McIsaac, once thought of as a sure-fire first rounder. Like the forwards taken, McIsaac is a very strong skater and all of his other attributes also project as above average. He can sometimes blend in, but he plays a strong 200 foot game and projects as high as a number three defender. Finally, the Red Wings were done taking top half of the lineup players, but they were not taken picking up talented players. With their first of three third rounders, they took another blueliner in Alec Regula, who helped the Chicago Steel win a USHL title in 2016-17, and moved to the OHL for his draft year, earning a regular role with the London Knights. He lacks a single stand-out trait, but does everything at a solid level, playing a quiet, poised game.

Finally, with the second of three third rounders, the Red Wings took a flier on a prospect, in the form of Seth Barton, a puck moving defender from Trail in the BCHL, in his second year of draft eligibility. He was easy to ignore in his first go-round, as he was still playing in Major Midget in BC. His instincts need to be honed, but there are some raw tools here in the UMass-Lowell commit. Detroit gambled again with their final third rounder, taking goaltender Jesper Eliasson, who was player in a second tier U18 league in Sweden. That league can be hard to scout due to the generally lower level of competition, but he has ideal size, and seems to read the play at an above average level.

The Red Wings found fantastic value again in the fourth round, with Ryan O’Reilly, a true Texan who showed high end goal scoring ability with Madison of the USHL. He is a strong skater with an NHL shot, but needs to smooth out the rougher spots in his game, such as eliminating the brain freezes that prevent him from fully earning the trust of his coaches. From a player in his first year out of Tier 1 hockey in Dallas, he was come a very long way and it looks like there is plenty more to come. The Wings added another goalie in the sixth, also the sixth netminder added to the organization in the last 24 months in fourth time eligible Swedish pro Victor Brattstrom. A towering figure in the crease, Brattstrom was near unbeatable in his first extended action in Swedish men’s hockey, helping Timra gain re-entry to the SHL. He lacks any true standout tools, but is gigantic and does most things (puck handling excluded) fairly well. With their tenth and final pick, the Red Wings selected Finnish forward Otto Kivenmaki. Raw like sushi and untested at the international level, Kivenmaki showed solid playmaking skills in the Finnish junior leagues and is a very good skater. In fact, taken as a whole, not only did the Red Wings obtain fantastic value up and down the draft class, but they also mostly drafted above average (or better) skaters, indicating that the franchise understands the direction the game is heading and is embracing the need for speed. Top to bottom, this is about as ideal a draft outcome as I could imagine in the 2018 draft class.

OFP - 55

Florida Panthers
1 (15) Grigori Denisenko, LW, Loko Yaroslavl (MHL) - ranked 27th
2 (34) Serron Noel, RW/LW, Oshawa (OHL) - ranked 22nd
3 (89) Logan Hutsko, C/RW, Boston College (Hockey East) - ranked 116th
6 (170) Justin Schutz, LW, Red Bull Hockey Akademie (Czech U18) - unranked
7 (201) Cole Krygier, D, Lincoln (USHL) - ranked 190th
7 (207) Santtu Kinnunen, D, Pelicans U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga) - unranked

Not only did the Florida Panthers not take anything other than forwards until the seventh round – where they used both of their final round picks on blueliners – but all four of their earlier picks were used on wingers. Organizationally, this may hurt, as the system is not deep in centers after Henrik Borgstrom. That said, I do not, as a rule, advocate for drafting for positional need, but for talent, and on that front, the Panthers did alright considering the picks they had. Grigori Denisenko’s draft stock fluctuated a fair bit over the course of the year, but between his high end speed, and his near elite puck skills, he seemed a pretty safe bet to be selected in the back half of the first round at worst. At 15^th overall, he made sense. Although he was not always chosen by the Russian brain trust to represent his country at high-profile international events, much of that is down to politics. He can play a bit out of control and spend too much time in the box as a result, but his offensive tools are electrifying. He is expected to spend more time this year at the KHL level, but may not be too far removed from a chance to play in the NHL, presuming he bulks up a bit.

Bulking up a bit will not be a problem for the Panthers’ second rounder, OHL winger Serron Noel, who already measures in at 6-5”, 205 lbs. He would be nearly a prototypical power forward, but he has very soft hands and is unselfish with the puck, preferring to set up a linemate than to take a speculative shot himself. Looking at recent early round power forwards in the draft, he fits closer to Alex Tuch’s mold at this stage of his development than any other. He could easily have been gone on day one. Florida’s third rounder, Logan Hutsko, is one of the feel-good stories of the draft. After missing the bulk of his first draft eligible year due to a broken neck, he played with Boston College as a true freshman and led the team in scoring. He is slight, but has a lot of talent, and a full year removed from rehab, there should be more in store. Of the four forwards drafted by the Panthers, Hutsko is the only one with significant experience in the middle.

Sixth rounder Justin Schutz was mostly under the radar, playing with Red Bull Hockey Akademie in Austria, although competing in the Czech U20 league. Schutz, a German native, was their second leading scorer and tied for tenth in the league. He was drafted by Sioux Falls in the USHL, but at present is expected to spend next season playing for Salzburg in the Alps Hockey League, which combines organizations from Austria, Italy and Slovenia. Although twin brother Christian was selected a few slots higher, it says here that Cole is the more talented Krygier brother. He combines above average projections for hockey IQ and physicality with moderate mobility, although like his brother, his expected offensive output is minimal. The Panthers completed their draft class with the selection of Santtu Kinnunen, a rail-thin defender from the Finnish junior ranks. He moves the puck very well for a blueliner and projects for above average smarts as well but there is a question about how well his averagish mobility will hold up once he puts on much-needed weight. While the back half of their draft class comes with its share of question marks, the Panthers drafted enough upside in the first three rounds to ensure that they come away with a few NHL contributors out of their trip to Dallas.

OFP – 52.75

Montreal Canadiens
1 (3) Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C, Assat (Liiga) - ranked 13th
2 (35) Jesse Ylonen, RW, Espoo United (Mestis) - ranked 36th
2 (38) Alexander Romanov, D, Krasnaya Armiya Moskva (MHL) - unranked
3 (56) Jacob Olofsson, C, Timra (Allsvenskan) - ranked 33rd
3 (66) Cameron Hillis, C, Guelph (OHL) - ranked 73rd
3 (71) Jordan Harris, D, Kimball Union Academy (USHS - CT) - ranked 123rd
4 (97) Allan McShane, C, Oshawa (OHL) - ranked 43rd
4 (123) Jack Gorniak, LW, West Salem HS (USHS - WI) - ranked 144th
5 (128) Cole Fonstad, C/LW, Prince Albert (WHL) - ranked 89th
5 (133) Samuel Houde, C, Chicoutimi (QMJHL) - unranked
7 (190) Brett Stapley, C/RW, Vernon (BCHL) - unranked

One of the benefits of having 11 picks, as the Canadiens did this year, is that you have the luxury of blending your approach, going with your gut for some picks and selecting conservatively on others. The Canadiens did just that, and while I do not support every pick, on balance, this draft class has the potential to be a direction changer for the franchise. Let’s start with picks that combined both talent and draft value. Of their three second rounders, the first one, Jesse Ylonen put up very impressive numbers in the second men’s league in Finland. Equipped with high end skating and puck handling ability, and an above average shot, he projects as a top six scoring winger. Their third of three second rounder, Swedish center Jacob Olofsson, has a very advanced hockey IQ and is strong enough as skater, shooter or literally, in terms of effective hockey strength, that he could play anywhere in the middle six. His high motor will also make him a fan favorite in Montreal.

After taking European based players with each of their four picks in the first two rounds, Montreal’s first North American selection was Guelph center Cameron Hillis. Although undersized, Hillis is an excellent skater and a burgeoning playmaker. In terms of pure value, the best pick Montreal made at the draft was the fourth round pickup of Oshawa center Allan McShane. More a playmaker than a shooter, McShane is a 200 foot player and can be effective in all three zones. With even a half-grade improvement on his skating projections, he could be a real solid professional. After a solid performance for Team Canada at the WU18s (stronger than teammate Hillis managed), it is somewhat surprising he lasted until the fourth round. Finally, I like the thinking that went into taking Cole Fonstad, another CHL center, with an early fifth round pick. Fonstad fills a similar role as Hillis and McShane, as a slightly undersized center who excels at setting up linemates for scoring opportunities. His skating, puck skills and hockey IQ are all very good for his age peers, but he lacks any one standout skill. Still, he is great value in the fifth round.

With the value picks taken care of, let’s now look at picks where the Habs picked up good talent, but perhaps took them higher than their core talent suggested. With that, we start right at the top. With the third overall pick, Montreal ended the most suspenseful moment of the draft by selecting Jesperi Kotkaniemi, a big center who has near elite hockey IQ and excellent hands. He already has man strength and a strong shot to boot. Those who like him a lot (i.e. Montreal’s head scouts) see a first line center. Those who, like us, are more lukewarm, see a second line center. Where we see daylight between Kotkaniemi and a first line outcome is in his middling pace. He can get started well enough, but his top speed is only average at best. You can be a first line center with average speed, but for every Joe Thornton, there are countless AHLers. Kotkaniemi will probably be ready to play in the NHL by 2019-20, but I could say the same about more than a few players that Montreal passed over.

Jordan Harris is a talented, yet undersized, puck moving defender. He skated at a strong level and plays a much more physical game than his size suggests. He showed good reads at the prep school level, but his lack of high level experience adds some risk to his profile. He is expected to play at Northeastern next year, where he will be tested. Montreal took a second prepster one round later in Jack Gorniak from Wisconsin. The Wisconsin commit was one of the top scorers in the state, but like Harris, he has very limited experience (two games at the USHL level) at a higher level.

So far we have covered eight picks, a decent draft class in and of itself, but Montreal made three more picks, one in an early round, that we simply did not and do not think will provide any value to the organization, or at least as much value as they are hoping for. With the 38^th overall pick, Montreal selected Russian blueliner Alexander Romanov. He is small, but skates well and has a solid point shot. But there is nothing here better than solid, and many facets of his game fail to reach that moderate height. Montreal will give him chances to play, but he will be hard-pressed to be more than a third pairing defender at the highest level. The other two “contentious” picks were, at least, late rounders of less consequence. Fifth rounder Samuel Houde was a top pick as a bantam player, but never really met expectations with Chicoutimi, topping out at 32 points last year. He is an OK skater, and understands the game well enough, but lacks much in the way of tools. With their final selection, the Canadiens went to the BCHL for second year eligible forward Brett Stapley, who has been around or above one point per game for the past two seasons, increasing his output by close to 20% this year. He will be headed to Denver next season. Montreal does not everyone from this class to pan out to call the 2018 class a huge success, but they do need Kotkaniemi to be, at minimum, a very good second line center. They have baked in some redundancy among their picks, such as the similar styles played by Hillis, McShane and Fonstad, or even between Romanov and Harris. So even if they are successful, there will not be room for all of them down the line.

OFP – 52.75

Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators
1 (4) Brady Tkachuk, LW, Boston University (Hockey East) - ranked 4th
1 (26) Jacob Bernard-Docker, D, Okotoks (AJHL) - ranked 56th
2 (48) Jonny Tychonick, D, Penticton (BCHL) - ranked 44th
4 (95) Johnny Gruden, LW, USNTDP (USHL) - ranked 53rd
5 (126) Angus Crookshank, LW, Langley (BCHL) - ranked Honorable Mention
6 (157) Kevin Mandolese, G, Cape Breton (QMJHL) - ranked 115th
7 (188) Jacob Novak, LW/C, Janesville (NAHL) - unranked
7 (194) Luke Loheit, RW, Minnetonka HS (USHS - MN) - unranked

You would be hard pressed to find a prospect analyst more sympathetic to the NCAA route than this author. For those young players who are later bloomers, especially in the physical sense, the collegiate path can be extremely beneficial. So I am understanding of the fact that of the Senators eight draft picks this year, only one came from the traditional CHL path. For their other seven picks, including both first rounders, they drafted players from the AJHL, BCHL, USHL, NAHL, Minnesota High School hockey and one prominent player who has already spent a season in the NCAA. The Senators draft class strayed so far from the beaten path, they must have been pandering only to the prospect hipsters.

With the fourth overall pick, the Senators could have surrendered to the Colorado Avalanche, to close off the Matt Duchene trade. Instead the Sens wisely chose to hold on to it, and surrender next year’s instead (it will probably be a high pick again, but odds are a few slots lower than 4^th). After Montreal selected Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the Senators could have taken the high end scorer in Filip Zadina, but I cannot fault them for taking Brady Tkachuk instead. Tkachuk is basically NHL ready and a touch more advanced now than his brother Matthew was in his draft year – and Matthew went right to the NHL as well. He is a strong skater for his size, and his offensive gifts and hockey IQ are all high end. His physical game is even better. Tkachuk should be able to take on a middle six role with the Senators right away and only continue to grow from there.

After this pick, things got funky for Ottawa. With a later first round pick, they selected Jacob Bernard-Docker, from Okotoks in the AJHL. After the success of Cale Makar and Ian Mitchell from the AJHL last year, that historically undervalued league has hit the spotlight. Bernard-Docker made himself the clear top dog in that league, particularly after a star turn in the WJAC for Canada West. He does everything well and profiles as a solid second pairing blueliner down the road. An overdraft, in our esteem, but a talented player nonetheless. So for an encore, the Senators drafted Bernard-Docker’s blueline partner from that WJAC tournament, Jonny Tychonick from Penticton in the BCHL. Tychonick is a better skater than Bernard-Docker, and maybe less of a threat from the point, but he is very skilled when his team has the puck. Tychonick also needs more beef on his bones than the more solidly built Bernard-Docker. Funny enough, both young blueliners will be heading to North Dakota in the fall, to get a head start on developing chemistry.

In the fourth round, Ottawa went to a more ell-worn path to the NCAA by drafting a player out of the hothouse USNTDP program in Johnny Gruden, whose father had recently coached the Hamilton Bulldogs to the OHL championship. Gruden has decent offensive tools, but plays a very smart, quick and energetic game and seems primed for a future middle six role after spending some time at Miami. When it came time for their fifth round pick, it seemed that Ottawa wanted to return to that fertile ground of the Canada West WJAC team, and drafted Angus Crookshank of Langley in the BCHL. A speedy winger with smooth hands and a quick release, Crookshank will play at the University of New Hampshire. The sole CHLer among Senators’ draft picks came next in the form of Cape Breton netminder Kevin Mandolese. He has great size and competes hard, but the results have not been there yet. If the performance can match the tools, he could be a keeper.

The NAHL is generally seen as a feeder league to the USHL and lower tier NCAA schools. Every year, one or two goalies of note are selected from that league and this year was no exception, but once in a while, an NAHL position player is also picked up. And that is just what the Senators did with their first of two seventh rounders, drafting NAHL leading scorer and MVP Jakov Novak from Janesville. Heading to the college coldbed of Bentley, he is a long shot, but he is big and gritty. Finally, the Sens ended their draft with a pick from the Minnesota high school ranks in Luke Loheit from Minnetonka. Although his name was bandied about in deep draft world, his numbers were not very impressive for a prepster and he was not a prioritized watch. He is expected to spend next season in Penticton in the BCHL before going to Minnesota-Duluth. A can applaud Ottawa for taking the slow road prospects over the more immediate gratification that usually comes from CHL picks, but a draft class so full of long(er) shots, after Tkachuk may end up hampering the organization’s future goals.

OFP – 52.75

Tampa Bay Lightning
2 (59) Gabriel Fortier, LW, Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) - ranked 81st
3 (90) Dmitri Semykin, D, Kapitan Stupino (MHL) - ranked 215th
4 (121) Alex Green, D, Cornell (ECAC) - ranked Honorable Mention
5 (152) Magnus Chrona, G, Nacka J18 (J18 Elit) - unranked
6 (183) Cole Koepke, LW, Sioux City (USHL) - unranked
7 (206) Radim Salda, D, Saint John (QMJHL) - unranked
7 (214) Ty Taylor, G, Vernon (BCHL) - unranked

Earlier, in discussing the Detroit Red Wings draft class, I mentioned a period where the team believed that they were magical and saw very little success outside of the top half of the draft for a prolonged stretch. The Tampa Bay Lightning, a team with deep ties to the Red Wings organization, may be following that path. For a few years, the Lightning added high end, talented players deep into the draft. Think Brayden Point or Anthony Cirelli in the third round, Ondrej Palat in the seventh, and a number of others whose profiles are not as high. Between the last draft and this one, the Lightning have made a number of odd picks. It doesn’t help that the Lightning did not have a first round pick, but the picks that they did have did not move the needle much.

At the back end of the second round, Tampa drafted Gabriel Fortier of Baie-Comeau. He is a very good skater with some finishing touch and good energy, but he is small and his best case scenario is as a third line winger. Next up was two way Russian (can play on the blueline or the wing) Dmitri Semykin. If you like him, you see a solid shot, a good hockey mind, and a very physical game. Basically, you see a poor man’s Russian Brent Burns. If you are not a fan, you see a player without the skills to play either position. In the fourth round, Tampa drafted third year eligible collegian defender Alex Green, from Cornell. After two nondescript USHL seasons, Green was an afterthought, but showed a mature game as a freshman in Ithaca and what he lacks in ceiling, he makes up for in floor.

I am not sure I can make that claim for any of Tampa’s final four picks. Magnus Chrona is a very big and very young Swedish netminder who was playing at a fairly low level. He has a sound technical game, but has never really been tested against top flight competition. Cole Koepke is another third time eligible pick, who led the mediocre Sioux City team in scoring this year. He is a decent finisher, but is very much a bottom six player at best. Seventh rounder Radim Salda has a lot of international experience for the Czech Republic, but has never stood out at that level. He offers a solid work rate and some positional attributes, but has little in the way of tools and suffers from untimely lapses in concentration. Finally, in Ty Taylor, they took a second goalie, one who led the BCHL in GAA in the regular season, and led in save percentage in the postseason, in his second year of draft eligibility. He has solid size and is committed to play at the University of New Hampshire. Organizational depth is important, especially after trading away a number of their best prospects for Ryan McDonagh and JT Miller, but I would hope to get more than good soldiers in the draft.

OFP - 50

Toronto Maple Leafs
1 (29) Rasmus Sandin, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) - ranked 23rd
2 (52) Sean Durzi, D, Owen Sound (OHL) - ranked 57th
3 (76) Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, C, Peterborough (OHL) - ranked 90th
3 (83) Riley Stotts, C, Calgary (WHL) - ranked 170th
4 (118 ) Mac Hollowell, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) - ranked 172nd
5 (149) Filip Kral, D, Spokane (WHL) - ranked 216th
6 (156) Pontus Holmberg, LW/C, VIK Vasteras (Swe. Div. 1) - ranked 154th
7 (209) Zachary Bouthillier, G, Chicoutimi (QMJHL) - ranked 175th
7 (211) Semyon Kizimov, RW, Lada Togliatti (MHL) - ranked Honorable Mention

The question going into the draft for Toronto was how much would be different with Lou Lamoriello gone and Kyle Dubas finally in charge. Based on the nine players taken, it looks like upside is the order of the day. They took some players who were very young and others in their second year of eligibility. Size was absolutely not a factor with no skaters listed above 6-1”. Also, as many expected, Dubas would not hesitate to trade down to get an additional pick. In fact, that was his first order of business, trading the 25^th pick for the 29^th pick and an extra third rounder. When they finally stepped to podium towards the end of day one, Dubas called out the name of Rasmus Sandin, the third Rasmus of the day and one he would have been very familiar with his roots in Sault Ste. Marie much discussed. Although not big, he is a bit stocky and excels in the role of puck mover. He plays a very mature game and can execute very tricky passes to set up teammates for scoring chances. As he was on loan with the Greyhounds, the Leafs can assign him to the AHL, or more likely, back to Sweden for a year.

In the second round, the Leafs drafted another puck moving blueliner from the OHL in Owen Sound’s Sean Durzi. The second year eligible defender battled injuries in two of his last three years with the Attack, but puts up a lot of points from the blueline. He sees the ice well and tends to make the right decision. Third rounder Semyon Der-Arguchintsev is the youngest player (tied with Jan Jenik) eligible for the draft, one day too old to be a 2019 draft pick. He is a very strong skater and a fantastic puck handler but needs to gain in mass and in consistency before he would be ready to turn pro. Seven picks later, the Leafs finally selected someone from outside of the OHL, going west for Calgary Hitman Riley Stotts. A former top ten bantam draft player, Stotts struggled to get out of a depth role with Moose Jaw, but took on a central offensive role after being traded to Calgary around midseason and produced close to a point per game the rest of the way. He skates well, and is a good playmaker with plus vision.

In the fourth round, Toronto went back to the Soo for another blueliner, taking Sandin’s teammate Mac Hollowell. Whereas Sandin was undersized, Hollowell is flat out small. But he is an excellent skater and has a fairly high hockey IQ. Like Sandin, his best role is as a puck mover. Toronto drafted a fourth defender in the fifth round in Filip Kral, from the Czech Republic, by way of Spokane in the WHL. Another plus skater, Kral has decent offensive tools, although or near the level of Sandin or Durzi. At present, he is better with the puck than without, although he is not a liability in his own zone at the junior level. With their seventh pick, the Leafs finally drafted a player from a non-North American league, taking Swedish winger Pontus Holmberg. A second year eligible skater who spent most of last year playing against me in Sweden’s third tier, he is another plus skater with above average puck skills. Moved to Vaxjo in the offseason, he will have the chance to play in the SHL next year.

Considering the long running success the Maple Leafs have had drafting out of Sweden, I would keep an eye on Holmberg. With two seventh rounder, the Leafs went back to the CHL, this time to Quebec, to add a goalie to the system. Zachary Bouthillier split the crease with Alexis Shank in Chicoutimi this year, but took over in the postseason and had a nice run before the Sagueneens were eliminated. He is a bit of a long shot, but he reads the ice well and moves decently. With their final selection, the Maple Leafs added a Russian prospect in winger Semyon Kizimov, yet another plus skater who also brings a fine shooting game to the ice. He is signed for two more years with the Togliatti franchise, so it will be a while before we can decide on his future in the North America game. If there are two things we can learn from the first year of the Dubas regime, it is that the Maple Leafs will scout the CHL heavily and slower players need not apply. There are a lot of pieces here with middle of the lineup upside and if even a few pan out, this draft will be a success.

OFP – 52.75

2018 NHL Draft – McKeen’s Mid Season Rankings – Top 100 plus Honourable Mentions

Ryan Wagman — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 16:00:33 +0000

One of the first lessons I learned when I began scouting a number of years ago was that draft eligible prospects generally start to make their marks after Christmas of their draft year.

Around two months ago (Dec. 8), we released a snapshot of the 2018 draft class, walking through the 62 strongest prospects at the time. Since then, all of the 62 have had plenty of chances to make their marks. In addition to the weeks and weeks of regular season action they all had, some were also afforded the showcase of appearing in the World Junior Championships, while others fought to be included in the CHL and USHL Top Prospect Games or the World Junior A Challenge.

Some of the WJC combatants were already considered to be at or around the top of the draft class, including each of the top four of our Mid-Season ranking. Others found themselves in the spotlight by virtue of holding nationalities that do not have the depth of talent in their age 19 class as we found with the Gold Medal winners from Canada, from which the entire roster consisted of previously drafted players.

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JANUARY 4: Sweden's Axel Fjallby Jonsson #22 and Isac Lundestrom #20 have words during semifinal round action against the U.S. at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. (Photo by Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

While an appearance at the WJC will only go so far for most of the prospects of Denmark, Switzerland, or Belarus, for players like the Czech Republic’s Martin Kaut (#31) and Kristian Reichel (#83), Slovakia’s Milos Roman (#57), Sweden’s Isac Lundestrom (#14), and others, players who came into the tournament with some expectations and managed to exceed them, they were able to ensure that they will be front of mind for scouting staffs through the end of the season. In fact, three of those players have seen their respective places in our rankings rise between December and now. The fourth, Milos Roman, did not fall all that much, and that can be explained largely with an injury that has limited him to a single game played since the tournament ended.

Speaking of movement in the lists, we can report that each member of the previous version of this list, which went 62 deep, is still in the mid-season top 100. Only four of those 62, Nando Eggenberger (#76), Olivier Rodrigue (#78), Marcus Westfalt (#86), and Adam Samuelsson (#95) are now lower than 75. Even though Eggenberger had a poor WJC and Rodrigue failed to impress in the CHL’s Top Prospect game, the midseason marquee event of Canadian Junior hockey, the current rankings of those four is more a reflection of other players making bigger moves than they have. All still profile as draftable prospects of note. If anything, they still have more to prove before late June in Dallas.

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

One of the two biggest jumps in the past two months belong to the aforementioned Kaut, who was fantastic at the WJC, showing a wide range of skills, plus hockey IQ and even a bit of a physical game to boot. He jumped up from 55 in December to 31 now and some in our scouting team felt that we may still be underrating him. Climbing only 21 spots, but more impressive as he started off at a higher level in December than Kaut is now, is London blueliner Evan Bouchard (#7). At the time, there were some concerns about his foot speed. Not only has he put those concerns to rest with steady displays of solid top end velocity, showing his ability to defend against rushes from some of the players long considered to be among the quickest in the OHL, but between his plus shot, advanced hockey brain and quarterbacking style, it is no real surprise that he is currently seven points clear as the highest scoring blueliner in the OHL.

The highest ranked newcomer to the list is Swedish defenseman Nils Lundkvist (#40), who had a scouting report from our own Jimmy Hamrin posted just last week. Although undersized, Lundkvist is mobile, moves the puck ably and has exceptional hockey IQ. Others debuting in the top 50 include Jakub Lauko (#44) a teammate of Kaut’s from the Czech WJC squad, Stanislav Demin (#45) a blueliner from the BCHL who impressed in the WJAC, and Niklas Nordgren (#49) an undersized, yet silky skilled winger who has been tearing up the Finnish junior ranks.

When I mentioned above that draft eligible prospects begin to make their marks after Christmas, that does not mean to suggest that we feel this present snapshot will be an accurate representation of how things ultimately shake out in June. There are some players who start the year hot and then slowly peter out. We may think we are viewing a rough mid-season patch and for some, they will never recover. Eggenberger is one. Xavier Bouchard (#62), who looked like a strong second tier draft prospect from the QMJHL two months ago, has contributed only two points since the calendar flipped to 2018. He is not an offensive blueliner, but more is expected.

Liam Foudy of the London Knights. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Other players started off very slowly and have been hot of late, getting themselves some mid-season recognition. One such player we debated at length was Liam Foudy (#82). When we released our December rankings, he had played 27 games and had put up a mere five points. Since then, in 23 games, he has 19 points, a period highlit by a strong showing at the CHL Top Prospect Game. In his case, it seems that London’s decision to sell off a large number of their regular top six forward options has given Foudy the chance to play in an offensive role and he has thus far flourished, to the extent that he was just named the OHL Player of the Week on the morning of this writing. He is a great skater and if he can keep this level of offensive production up for a few more weeks, showing that his recent play has not just been a flash in the pan, he will likely rocket up the list.

As we continue to scout the junior aged prospects of the world, this draft list will change again and again. In addition to extending our list to 100 as we pass the mid-season point for all leagues, we have also included a group of 25 others who had some fans about the McKeens scouting squad. As the intensity of the season rises with many teams and players jockeying for a post-season berth, some of the 125 players listed here will see their respective stocks go up and others will go down. Players who we may have skipped over in November and January will force us to pay attention in March and April. From now until draft weekend, we will continue to post scouting reports of the players you need to know about for the 2018 draft. We welcome your questions and comments and hope you enjoy the ride with us.

To link to a player page, use the tags at the bottom of the page, or from our McKeen's Draft Ranking found here It is also downloadable to an excel file.

RANK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	HT/WT	DOB
1	Rasmus Dahlin	D	Frolunda (Swe)	6-2/185	13-Apr-00
2	Filip Zadina	RW	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-0/200	27-Nov-99
3	Andrei Svechnikov	RW	Barrie (OHL)	6-2/185	26-Mar-00
4	Brady Tkachuk	LW	Boston University (HE)	6-3/195	16-Sep-99
5	Adam Boqvist	D	Brynas (Swe Jr)	5-11/170	15-Aug-00
6	Oliver Wahlstrom	RW	NTDP (USA)	6-1/205	13-Jun-00
7	Evan Bouchard	D	London (OHL)	6-2/195	20-Oct-99
8	Noah Dobson	D	Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)	6-3/180	7-Jan-00
9	Quinn Hughes	D	Michigan (B1G)	5-10/175	14-Oct-99
10	Ty Smith	D	Spokane (WHL)	5-10/180	24-Mar-00
11	Joe Veleno	C	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-1/195	13-Jan-00
12	Joel Farabee	LW	NTDP (USA)	5-11/165	25-Feb-00
13	Bode Wilde	D	NTDP (USA)	6-2/195	24-Jan-00
14	Isac Lundestrom	C	Lulea (Swe)	6-0/185	6-Nov-99
15	Grigori Denisenko	LW	Loko Yaroslavl (Rus Jr)	5-11/165	24-Jun-00
16	K'Andre Miller	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/205	21-Jan-00
17	Barrett Hayton	C	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	6-1/190	9-Jun-00
18	Jared McIsaac	D	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-1/195	27-Mar-00
19	Akil Thomas	RW	Niagara (OHL)	5-11/170	2-Jan-00
20	Ryan McLeod	C	Mississauga (OHL)	6-2/200	21-Sep-99
21	Jesperi Kotkaniemi	C	Assat Pori (Fin)	6-1/190	6-Jul-00
22	Serron Noel	RW	Oshawa (OHL)	6-5/200	8-Aug-00
23	Rasmus Kupari	C	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	6-1/185	15-Mar-00
24	Jacob Olofsson	C	Timra (Swe 2)	6-2/190	8-Feb-00
25	Ryan Merkley	D	Guelph (OHL)	5-11/170	14-Aug-00
26	Jett Woo	D	Moose Jaw (WHL)	6-0/205	27-Jul-00
27	Benoit-Olivier Groulx	C	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-1/195	6-Feb-00
28	Alexander Alexeyev	D	Red Deer (WHL)	6-3/200	15-Nov-99
29	Mattias Samuelsson	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/215	14-Mar-00
30	Jack McBain	C	Toronto Jr Canadiens (OJHL)	6-3/195	6-Jan-00
31	Martin Kaut	RW	Pardubice (Cze)	6-1/175	2-Oct-99
32	Calen Addison	D	Lethbridge (WHL)	5-10/180	11-Apr-00
33	Jonny Tychonick	D	Penticton (BCHL)	5-11/175	3-Mar-00
34	Jesse Ylonen	RW	Espoo United (Fin 2)	6-0/165	3-Oct-99
35	Dominik Bokk	LW	Vaxjo Lakers (Swe Jr)	6-1/180	3-Feb-00
36	Blake McLaughlin	LW	Chicago (USHL)	6-0/165	14-Feb-00
37	Kevin Bahl	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-6/230	27-Jun-00
38	Vitali Kravtsov	RW	Traktor Chelyabinsk (Rus)	6-2/170	23-Dec-99
39	Ty Dellandrea	C	Flint (OHL)	6-0/190	21-Jul-00
40	Nils Lundkvist	D	Lulea (Swe)	5-11/180	27-Jul-00
41	Rasmus Sandin	D	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	5-11/190	7-Mar-00
42	Adam Ginning	D	Linkopings (Swe)	6-3/195	13-Jan-00
43	Allan McShane	C	Oshawa (OHL)	5-11/190	14-Feb-00
44	Jakub Lauko	C	Chomutov (Cze)	6-0/175	28-Mar-00
45	Stanislav Demin	D	Wenatchee (BCHL)	6-1/190	4-Apr-00
46	Filip Hallander	C	Timra (Swe 2)	6-1/185	29-Jun-00
47	Xavier Bernard	D	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-2/210	6-Jan-00
48	Ty Emberson	D	NTDP (USA)	6-0/195	24-May-00
49	Niklas Nordgren	RW	HIFK Helsinki (Fin Jr)	5-9/170	4-May-00
50	Sampo Ranta	LW	Sioux City (USHL)	6-1/195	31-May-00
51	Jay O'Brien	C	Thayer Academy (USHS-MA)	5-10/185	4-Nov-99
52	Jonatan Berggren	C	Skelleftea (Swe Jr)	5-10/185	6-Jul-00
53	Kody Clark	RW	Ottawa (OHL)	6-1/180	13-Oct-99
54	David Gustafsson	C	HV 71 (Swe)	6-1/195	11-Apr-00
55	Nicolas Beaudin	D	Drummondville (QMJHL)	5-11/175	7-Oct-99
56	Cam Hillis	C	Guelph (OHL)	5-10/170	24-Jun-00
57	Milos Roman	C	Vancouver (WHL)	6-0/190	6-Nov-99
58	Gabriel Fortier	C	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)	5-10/190	6-Feb-00
59	Riley Sutter	C	Everett (WHL)	6-3/205	25-Oct-99
60	Martin Fehervary	D	Oskarshamn (Swe 2)	6-1/190	6-Oct-99
61	Philipp Kurashev	C	Quebec (QMJHL)	6-0/190	12-Oct-99
62	Xavier Bouchard	D	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)	6-3/190	28-Feb-00
63	Giovanni Vallati	D	Kitchener (OHL)	6-1/185	21-Feb-00
64	Alexander Khovanov	C	Moncton (QMJHL)	5-11/190	12-Apr-00
65	Blade Jenkins	LW	Saginaw (OHL)	6-1/195	11-Aug-00
66	Filip Johansson	D	Leksands (Swe 2)	6-1/185	23-Mar-00
67	Alec Regula	D	London (OHL)	6-3/200	6-Aug-00
68	Jakub Skarek	G	Dukla Jihlava (Cze)	6-3/200	10-Nov-99
69	Nico Gross	D	Oshawa (OHL)	6-1/185	26-Jan-00
70	Anderson MacDonald	LW	Moncton (QMJHL)	6-2/205	16-May-00
71	Kyle Topping	C	Kelowna (WHL)	5-11/185	18-Nov-99
72	Oskar Back	C	Farjestads (Swe Jr)	6-2/200	12-Mar-00
73	Nathan Dunkley	C	London (OHL)	5-11/195	3-May-00
74	Patrick Giles	RW	NTDP (USA)	6-4/205	3-Jan-00
75	Jake Wise	C	NTDP (USA)	5-10/190	28-Feb-00
76	Nando Eggenberger	LW	Davos (Sui)	6-2/185	7-Oct-99
77	Alexis Gravel	G	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-2/225	21-Mar-00
78	Olivier Rodrigue	G	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-0/160	6-Jul-00
79	Tyler Madden	C	Central Illinois (USHL)	5-10/155	9-Nov-99
80	Lenni Killinen	LW	Blues (Fin Jr)	6-2/185	15-Jun-00
81	Filip Kral	D	Spokane (WHL)	6-0/170	20-Oct-99
82	Liam Foudy	C	London (OHL)	6-1/185	4-Feb-00
83	Kristian Reichel	C	Red Deer (WHL)	6-1/170	11-Jun-98
84	Danila Galenyuk	D	Mamonty Yurgy (Rus Jr)	6-1/200	10-Feb-00
85	Aidan Dudas	C	Owen Sound (OHL)	5-8/170	15-Jun-00
86	Marcus Westfalt	C	Brynas (Swe)	6-3/205	12-Mar-00
87	Jachym Kondelik	C	Muskegon (USHL)	6-6/225	21-Dec-99
88	Jacob Bernard-Docker	D	Okotoks (AJHL)	6-0/180	30-Jun-00
89	Carter Robertson	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-2/180	15-Jan-00
90	Kevin Mandolese	G	Cape Breton (QMJHL)	6-3/180	22-Aug-00
91	Ryan O'Reilly (2000)	RW	Madison (USHL)	6-1/205	21-Mar-00
92	Merrick Rippon	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-0/190	27-Apr-00
93	David Lilja	C	Karlskoga (Swe 2)	5-11/175	23-Jan-00
94	Alex Steeves	C	Dubuque (USHL)	6-0/185	10-Dec-99
95	Adam Samuelsson	D	NTDP (USA)	6-6/240	21-Jun-00
96	Linus Karlsson	C	Karlskrona (Swe Jr)	6-1/180	16-Nov-99
97	Jack Drury	C	Waterloo (USHL)	5-11/180	3-Feb-00
98	Albin Eriksson	LW	Skelleftea (Swe Jr)	6-4/205	20-Jul-00
99	Sean Durzi	D	Owen Sound (OHL)	6-0/195	21-Oct-98
100	Jacob Ingham	G	Mississauga (OHL)	6-3/185	10-Jun-00
HM	Curtis Hall	C	Youngstown (USHL)	6-2/195	26-Apr-00
HM	Toni Utunen	D	LeKi (Fin 2)	5-11/175	27-Apr-00
HM	Riley Damiani	C	Kitchener (OHL)	5-10/165	20-Mar-00
HM	Cole Fonstad	C	Prince Albert (WHL)	5-10/160	24-Apr-00
HM	Pavel Gogolev	RW	Peterborough (OHL)	6-0/175	19-Feb-00
HM	Jan Jenik	RW	Benatky nad Jizerou (Cze 2)	6-1/165	15-Sep-00
HM	Daniel Kurovsky	LW	Vitkovice (Cze)	6-4/200	4-Mar-98
HM	Luka Burzan	C	Brandon (WHL)	6-0/185	7-Jan-00
HM	Eric Florchuk	C	Saskatoon (WHL)	6-1/175	10-Jan-00
HM	David Levin	C	Sudbury (OHL)	5-10/180	16-Sep-99
HM	Chase Wouters	C	Saskatoon (WHL)	5-11/180	8-Feb-00
HM	Justus Annunen	G	Karpat Oulu (Fin Jr)	6-4/215	11-Mar-00
HM	Seth Barton	D	Trail (BCHL)	6-2/175	18-Aug-99
HM	Declan Chisholm	D	Peterborough (OHL)	6-1/185	12-Jan-00
HM	Paul Cotter	C	Lincoln (USHL)	6-0/190	16-Nov-99
HM	Caleb Everett	D	Saginaw (OHL)	6-2/185	20-Jan-00
HM	Johnny Gruden	C	NTDP (USA)	5-11/175	4-May-00
HM	Jordan Harris	D	Kimball Union (USHS-NH)	5-11/175	7-Jul-00
HM	Michael Kesselring	D	New Hampton School (USHS-NH)	6-4/185	13-Jan-00
HM	Juuso Ketola	D	Assat Pori (Fin Jr)	5-11/210	18-Mar-00
HM	Jackson Leppard	LW	Prince George (WHL)	6-1/200	18-Jan-00
HM	Scott Perunovich	D	Minn-Duluth (NCHC)	5-10/170	18-Aug-98
HM	Ivan Prosvetov	G	Youngstown (USHL)	6-4/175	5-Mar-99
HM	Tyler Weiss	LW	NTDP (USA)	5-10/160	3-Jan-00
HM	Dmitri Zavgorodny	LW	Rimouski (QMJHL)	5-9/175	11-Aug-00

2018 NHL Draft – McKeen’s Mid-Season Rankings

Ryan Wagman — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 15:53:52 +0000

One of the first lessons I learned when I began scouting a number of years ago was that draft eligible prospects generally start to make their marks after Christmas of their draft year.

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

Liam Foudy of the London Knights. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Here is our mid-season top 31 ranking for the 2018 NHL Draft. For subscribers the full list of 100 plus honourable mentions can be found here - Top 100 2018 NHL Draft - Mid Season. If you are interested in a subscription, you can learn more here - $9.99 for three months access, plus any downloads we release. We publish a 2018 NHL Draft Guide on June 1st, 2018 and our 24th anniversary of the McKeen's Hockey Pool Yearbook on September 1st, 2018.

RK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	HT/WT	DOB	GP-G-A-PTS
1	Rasmus Dahlin	D	Frolunda (Swe)	6-2/185	13-Apr-00	35-6-11-17
2	Filip Zadina	RW	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-0/200	27-Nov-99	44-35-28-63
3	Andrei Svechnikov	RW	Barrie (OHL)	6-2/185	26-Mar-00	32-30-18-48
4	Brady Tkachuk	LW	Boston University (HE)	6-3/195	16-Sep-99	29-7-16-23
5	Adam Boqvist	D	Brynas (Swe Jr)	5-11/170	15-Aug-00	23-14-7-21
6	Oliver Wahlstrom	RW	NTDP (USA)	6-1/205	13-Jun-00	38-31-22-53
7	Evan Bouchard	D	London (OHL)	6-2/195	20-Oct-99	52-18-48-66
8	Noah Dobson	D	Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)	6-3/180	7-Jan-00	53-13-42-55
9	Quinn Hughes	D	Michigan (B1G)	5-10/175	14-Oct-99	27-3-15-18
10	Ty Smith	D	Spokane (WHL)	5-10/180	24-Mar-00	53-9-47-56
11	Joe Veleno	C	Drummondville (QMJHL)	6-1/195	13-Jan-00	49-14-48-62
12	Joel Farabee	LW	NTDP (USA)	5-11/165	25-Feb-00	38-19-25-44
13	Bode Wilde	D	NTDP (USA)	6-2/195	24-Jan-00	38-7-17-24
14	Isac Lundestrom	C	Lulea (Swe)	6-0/185	6-Nov-99	35-6-9-15
15	Grigori Denisenko	LW	Loko Yaroslavl (Rus Jr)	5-11/165	24-Jun-00	23-4-10-14
16	K'Andre Miller	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/205	21-Jan-00	38-6-12-18
17	Barrett Hayton	C	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	6-1/190	9-Jun-00	52-18-31-49
18	Jared McIsaac	D	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-1/195	27-Mar-00	53-7-30-37
19	Akil Thomas	RW	Niagara (OHL)	5-11/170	2-Jan-00	53-15-47-62
20	Ryan McLeod	C	Mississauga (OHL)	6-2/200	21-Sep-99	52-18-36-54
21	Jesperi Kotkaniemi	C	Assat Pori (Fin)	6-1/190	6-Jul-00	52-8-17-25
22	Serron Noel	RW	Oshawa (OHL)	6-5/200	8-Aug-00	48-21-19-40
23	Rasmus Kupari	C	Karpat Oulu (Fin)	6-1/185	15-Mar-00	31-5-5-10
24	Jacob Olofsson	C	Timra (Swe 2)	6-2/190	8-Feb-00	38-9-11-20
25	Ryan Merkley	D	Guelph (OHL)	5-11/170	14-Aug-00	50-12-44-56
26	Jett Woo	D	Moose Jaw (WHL)	6-0/205	27-Jul-00	30-8-15-23
27	Benoit-Olivier Groulx	C	Halifax (QMJHL)	6-1/195	6-Feb-00	55-21-20-41
28	Alexander Alexeyev	D	Red Deer (WHL)	6-3/200	15-Nov-99	37-6-25-31
29	Mattias Samuelsson	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/215	14-Mar-00	34-6-13-19
30	Jack McBain	C	Toronto Jr Canadiens (OJHL)	6-3/195	6-Jan-00	44-19-33-52
31	Martin Kaut	RW	Pardubice (Cze)	6-1/175	2-Oct-99	35-5-6-11

2018 WJC in Review: The Czech Republic

Ryan Wagman — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 22:04:35 +0000

It was whispered in some quarters (hint: here ß https://www.mckeenshockey.com/nhl-blog/wjc-2018-team-preview-czech-republic/) that the Czechs might be on the upswing. In hindsight, it should not have been hard to spot. Even though the nation had not been able to escape the quarterfinals of the year-end WU18 tournament since 2013-14 (and all of those players have since aged out of junior level hockey) the nation did medal in four of the past five Ivan Hlinka tourneys, including a 2016 gold.

That gold medal squad was well represented on this iteration of the Czech U20, including stars Martin Necas, Filip Chytil and supporting players Jakub Skarek, Jakub Galvas, Filip Kral, Radim Salda, Martin Kaut, Ostap Safin, and Filip Zadina.

With the more “proven” players listed above being offensively talented forwards, it should have come as no real surprise that the team had a very potent offense. Their 18 goals in the preliminary round was second only to Sweden in Group B, and fourth among all competing nations.

On the other hand, what proved to be their downfall was also relatively easy to spot. They surrendered 15 goals in those same four games, ranking seventh out of ten teams, ahead of only one squad that finished out of the relegation round. Their netminding was so unsteady that head coach Filip Pesan called for his backup in four of their seven overall games.

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JANUARY 5: The Czech Republic's Jakub Skarek #1 looks on during bronze medal game action against the U.S. at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. (Photo by Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

On the other hand, that type of quick trigger finger may have hurt as much as it helped, with both main goalies, the aforementioned Skarek – perhaps the top netminding prospect for the 2018 NHL draft – and Josef Korenar - signed as an undrafted free agent to an ELC by the San Jose Sharks after a solitary strong season with Lincoln of the USHL – anticipating a spot on the bench every time the opposition gained the zone with numbers. Skarek had moments were he looked like the real deal, especially early in the tournament. He moves around the crease very well, and is able to cover the net from post to post. But he fought the puck all too often. Korenar showed some scramble ability and comfort moving to get to second chances, but traffic was a bugbear and there were simply too many second chances for anyone’s comfort. Skarek will get another chance to redeem himself on the world’s greatest U20 stage next year in Vancouver.

The blueline also did its part in lighting fires. Despite having a broad range of NHL-affiliated young defensemen to play with, they could rarely keep their opponents from threatening the Czech netminder. Even relegated Belarus scored five of their 10 total goals in a thrilling game against the Czech side. Outside of clear number one blueliner Libor Hajek, a Tampa Bay second rounder, each member of their rearguard stumbled more than one. Hajek was awesome. A workhorse, he played a minimum of 20:22 in every game, including a staggering 30:46 in the quarterfinal upset win over Finland. He was a key cog at both ends, using positioning and a good stick to help sweep away danger in the defensive end and swiftly carrying the puck up the ice to help in the quick strike attack that was so effective at times for the Czechs.

Buffalo prospect Vojtech Budik, generally Hajek’s partner on the first pairing, did some nice things when he had the puck, but all too often avoided confrontation when defending, giving his opponent too much room in which to maneuver. Chicago prospect Jakub Galvas was reliable, but prone to own zone giveaways that saw him relegated to third pairing duties more often than not. Dallas prospect Ondrej Vala rarely did enough to escape the third pairing and was more often than not invisible, despite finishing second among Czech blueliners with 10 shots on goal. If there was a second defender after Hajek who escaped the tournament with passing grades it was draft eligible Filip Kral, now in his first North American season playing in the WHL with Spokane. Although he needs to add bulk, he impressed with his positional play and high panic threshold. His decent shot and above average puck moving ability should see him hear his name called on draft day this year.

If I wanted to nitpick the Czech attack, I would point out that I expected more from Rangers first rounder Filip Chytil. He was fine, scoring twice, and every now and then having a dominant shift highlighting his quick feet and hands. He even showed some toughness, playing with a broken nose. But I am selfish and wanted more. So for more I could turn to Martin Necas, who tied for the overall tournament lead in scoring with USA’s Casey Mittlestadt with 11 points, or Filip Zadina, one of the top prospects for the upcoming draft, who consistently demonstrated every type of offensive skill one could want in a forward prospect. His skating, shot, and puck skills all grade out as high end. He could stand to improve on his recognition and decision making in his own zone, but nothing about his game suggests that he is merely a one-way player. Zadina has superstar potential (Necas already is a superstar for this age-level) and is not far from reaching those heights. Among all players in the tournament, only American Kieffer Bellows took more than Zadina’s 37 shots on net.

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 28: The Czech Republic's Martin Kaut #16 skates with the puck while Sweden's Jacob Moverare #27 chases him down during preliminary round action at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. (Photo by Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

The next three most effective Czech forwards in the tournament were all as yet undrafted, although one has not yet been eligible for those honors. The youngest of the second trio was Martin Kaut, who will challenge Skarek for the title of highest drafted player in 2018 playing in the Czech Republic. Although lean, he plays a heavy game, making his presence felt in a physical way game in and game out. He plays a strong possession game, and shows solid passing skills. He finished the tournament with seven points in seven games. Radovan Pavlik and Kristian Reichel have both already been passed over in the draft twice each, but their respective performances in Buffalo might push their luck to change in their third go-round. It was the undersized Pavlik’s first appearance in the WJC and he made the wait worth it, with six points in the seven games. He is a nice skater with good edges, has good offensive vision and works hard for rebounds. He will have to improve his Czech league production to maintain his WJC momentum through draft day, but the last few weeks are certainly a mark in his favor. Kristian Reichel, whose father Robert had a long NHL career in the 90s, has been acclimatizing to the NHL game with a poor Red Deer squad and seemed to get better as the WJC progressed. A dogged player, he featured heavily on both Czech special teams’ units. He is an above average skater, which plays up due to his great hustle, can dangle with the puck and can score with both a slap shot and a wrist shot. His frame looks wide enough to carry more weight as he matures. I expect him to be drafted if his WHL play keeps up.

Of the players mentioned above, only Reichel, Pavlik, Hajek, Budik, Vala, and Korenar will have aged out by next year. If at least two of Zadina, Necas, and Chytil are not in the NHL and are thus available to represent their country once more, the Czech squad could be even stronger in 2019. Then again, with as talented as those three are, I would not bet on it. Still, even without them, there was enough production from the 18 year old cohort this year to expect the Czech Republic to show well again next year.

Filip Kral – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2020 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS – ORGANIZATIONAL RANK: 19

Toronto Maple Leafs

Nick Robertson, LW (53rd overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 2)

Filip Hallander, LW (58th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 4)

Nick Abruzzese, C (124th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

Mikko Kokkonen, D (84th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 12)

Yegor Korshkov, RW (31st overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 9)

Jeremy Bracco, C/RW (61st overall, 2015. 2019 Rank: 3)

Timothy Liljegren, D (17th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 6)

Mac Hollowell, D (118th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 8)

Filip Kral, D (149th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Joseph Woll, G (62nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 7)

Adam Brooks, C (92nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 19)

Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, C (76th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 11)

Mikhail Abramov, C (115th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

Pontus Holmberg, LW/C (156th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 17)

Michael Koster, D (146th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 13)

WHL 2019-2020 Season Preview – Western Conference

B.C. Division

Vancouver Giants (1st)

Kelowna Rockets (2nd)

Kamloops Blazers (3rd)

Victoria Royals (4th)

Prince George Cougars (5th)

U.S. Division

Portland Winterhawks (1st)

Spokane Chiefs (2nd)

Everett Silvertips (3rd)

Seattle Thunderbirds (4th)

Tri-City Americans (5th)

WHL Playoff Preview (Western Conference): Prince Albert dominates but Vancouver hot down the stretch

2019 IIHF World Junior Tournament Review: Switzerland, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Czech Republic

Switzerland – By Jimmy Hamrin

Czech Republic – By Shaiyena Cote

Slovakia – By Ryan Wagman

Kazakhstan – By Alessandro Seren Rosso

Denmark – By Jimmy Hamrin

2018 NHL Draft Review: Atlantic Division

2018 NHL Draft – McKeen’s Mid Season Rankings – Top 100 plus Honourable Mentions

2018 NHL Draft – McKeen’s Mid-Season Rankings

2018 WJC in Review: The Czech Republic

Nick Robertson, LW (53^rd overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 2)

Filip Hallander, LW (58^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 4)

Nick Abruzzese, C (124^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

Mikko Kokkonen, D (84^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 12)

Yegor Korshkov, RW (31^st overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 9)

Jeremy Bracco, C/RW (61^st overall, 2015. 2019 Rank: 3)

Timothy Liljegren, D (17^th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 6)

Mac Hollowell, D (118^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 8)

Filip Kral, D (149^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Joseph Woll, G (62^nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 7)

Adam Brooks, C (92^nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 19)

Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, C (76^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 11)

Mikhail Abramov, C (115^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

Pontus Holmberg, LW/C (156^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 17)

Michael Koster, D (146^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 13)

Vancouver Giants (1^st)

Kelowna Rockets (2^nd)

Kamloops Blazers (3^rd)

Victoria Royals (4^th)

Prince George Cougars (5^th)

Portland Winterhawks (1^st)

Spokane Chiefs (2^nd)

Everett Silvertips (3^rd)

Seattle Thunderbirds (4^th)

Tri-City Americans (5^th)