Logan Brown – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Player Profiles + Team Preview – Scott Cullen, Goaltending – Catherine Silverman — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 19:01:32 +0000

Review: For the first time since 2018-2019, the Lightning did not reach the Stanley Cup Final, losing in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tampa Bay had 98 points and was better than average in terms of possession, controlling 51.7% of score-and-venue-adjusted shot attempts and 52.2% of expected goals, but better than average also revealed signs of vulnerability. Even so, the Lightning averaged 3.45 goals per game, which ranked eighth, and they allowed 3.10 goals against per game, which ranked 14^th. None of this indicates massive problems, but it does reflect a team that might not be at the same level as when they were making annual trips to the Stanley Cup Final.

What’s Changed? Keeping the Stanley Cup core gets increasingly difficult over time and the Lightning have been forced to make roster decisions based on salary cap commitments. This summer, that meant watching Alex Killorn, Corey Perry, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare leave as free agents while trading Ross Colton and Pat Maroon. Trying to fill those holes inexpensively, Tampa Bay brought in Conor Sheary, Josh Archibald, Luke Glendening, and Logan Brown, which would seem to be a downgrade, but it might also open the door for some prospects to challenge for regular roles, something that has not happened a lot with the Lightning in recent seasons. On defense, veteran Calvin de Haan adds solid depth to a unit that has much more continuity.

What would success look like? After reaching three straight Stanley Cup Finals, winning two, the Lightning are hardly going to settle for something less than a Cup Finals appearance, even if that is increasingly less likely. They still have elite talent, and the core pieces of those Stanley Cup teams. However, every loss of supporting players like Killorn, Colton, and Ondrej Palat the previous summer makes it that much harder for the Lightning to stay on top. The stars are the ones that drive results, but Cup winners have a strong supporting cast and it’s fair to wonder if the Lightning even warrant legitimate Stanley Cup hopes given the quality of their current supporting cast.

What could go wrong? While Tampa Bay appears to have too much talent to flop entirely, with a lot of key players on the north side of 30, there is the possibility that injuries could loom large for Tampa Bay. Certainly, any injury to goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy would be a concern because the Lightning continue the shop the bargain bin for backup goaltenders, landing on Jonas Johansson this season, but if injuries hit Nikita Kucherov, or Steven Stamkos, or Victor Hedman – core players who are all over 30 – that could present a significant challenge. These are first-world hockey problems, worrying about what might happen if more than one of your superstars gets injured.

Top Breakout Candidate: The Lightning do not have unproven players in prime positions so any breakout expectations should be tempered. However, winger Michael Eyssimont is worth watching. He split last season between Winnipeg, San Jose, and Tampa Bay, managing 15 points in 54 games, but he also had 107 hits and 124 shots on goal. That physical play is likely going to earn Eyssimont a regular spot in Tampa Bay’s top nine, but if he starts scoring on more than four percent of his shots, he could really start to provide some value. The opportunity is there for Eyssimont to not only secure a full-time NHL job, but for him to play a substantial role.

Forwards

Nikita Kucherov

Coming off his third career season with more than 100 points, Kucherov is a premier scoring winger, an elite setup man in every respect. His creativity and vision are special, and he plays with a confidence that allows him to make plays that are only possible at the very top end of the league. He also plays with a nastiness that gives him a competitive edge. Since 2017-2018, Kucherov has 495 points in 359 games, his 1.38 points per game ranking second behind only Connor McDavid. He has scored 160 points in 142 career playoff games, so he does not shrink away when the games matter most. As great as Kucherov is, his 11.1% shooting percentage last season was his lowest since his rookie season in 2013-2014 and his defensive play is not exactly going to earn him Selke Trophy votes. When he is firing on all cylinders, though, Kucherov is too much for most defenders to handle. For example, from November 17th through December 17th last season, he tallied 24 points (5 G, 19 A) in just 14 games. While Connor McDavid has to be the favorite to lead the league in scoring in 2023-2024, Kucherov is as worthy of consideration as any other contender for the Art Ross Trophy.

Brayden Point

An established star who has been an integral part of Tampa Bay’s playoff success, Point erupted for the most productive season of his career, scoring 51 goals and 95 points, both of which were career highs. He scored on a career high 21.7% of his shots, while registering a career high 2.87 shots per game, so it is not as though Point is a high-volume shooter, but he has always been a high percentage finisher, scoring on better than 15.0% of his shots in each of the past five seasons. Point has a quick release and makes the most of his role in the bumper position on the Tampa Bay power play, scoring 20 of his 51 goals last season with the man advantage. Playing with Kucherov is obviously a great spot to be for a player who can pull the trigger like Point, and he finished last season with 53 points (28 G, 25 A) in his last 42 games. It is fascinating to see how productive Point has been in the playoffs, with 82 points (40 G, 42 A) in 82 playoff games, and how he has had two seasons with 90-plus points, but then has seasons with point totals in the 50s and 60s. That does suggest some caution when looking ahead for Point, but an 80-point season should be well within his grasp.

Steven Stamkos

At 33 years old, Stamkos continues to churn out points, putting up 84 points (34 G, 50 A) in 81 games last season. He did record 35 points on the power play and his possession numbers during five-on-five play showed signs of slipping. His shot release is one of the most dangerous in the league, but it is reasonable to wonder if there might be some decline on the way given his age and the injuries that he has endured during a career of more than 1,003 games during which he has scored 515 goals. Stamkos had an 11-game point streak in January, during which he had 15 points (7 G, 8 A) and 46 shots on goal. If he would keep generating shots like that, the goals would never stop. However, he is still in a position to contribute big offensive numbers and that means that 35 goals and 80-plus points is within a reasonable range. The supporting cast in Tampa Bay is part of the calculation, too. It would be easier for Stamkos to keep producing at an elite level if he always played with Kucherov and Point, but he spent significant time with Alex Killorn and Nick Paul, and Anthony Cirelli, too.

Brandon Hagel

An energy winger in Chicago who has thrived since arriving in Tampa Bay where he has been playing in a scoring role, Hagel set career highs with 30 goals and 64 points last season, and he makes the most of the great opportunity to play with Kucherov and Point. Hagel has good speed in transition and is not shy about getting to the front of the net when the Lightning have control of the puck in the offensive zone. Considering the way that Kucherov distributes the puck, that is a good idea. Because he is not necessarily the play driver on that number one line, Hagel’s production can fluctuate. In the last 16 games of the regular season, he had 14 points (7 G, 7 A), even though he had a seven-game scoreless streak in the midst of that span of games. Hagel is an interesting player to project because he has scored on 16.1% of his shots in his career, which is rather high, but he has played 211 games, which is not a huge sample. On the other hand, he plays mostly with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, so that could contribute to creating better chances and higher shooting percentages. He may not match last season’s output, but 25-30 goals and 55-60 points should still be within range for Hagel.

Anthony Cirelli

At his best, Cirelli is a premier defensive center who can contribute on the offensive end, too. He missed the start of the season due to shoulder surgery and had a 20-game stretch during which he managed just four points, but he also had six points (3 G, 3 A) in six playoff games. Even with some ups and downs during the season, the Lightning outscored opponents 35-22 with Cirelli on the ice for five-on-five play. Cirelli has twice finished in the top five in Selke voting and, when healthy, the 26-year-old is a legitimate contender for the award as the league’s top defensive forward. Strangely enough, given his earned reputation, Cirelli was at least as effective offensively as he was defensively last season, which is not the case when he is giving his peak defensive performance, but starting the season late likely didn’t help matters. Cirelli can reasonably be expected to put up 35-40 points, though there is potential for more. If he is healthy for a full season and play a lot with Stamkos, for example, that might offer better scoring potential.

Nick Paul

Anchoring Tampa Bay’s third line, Paul scored a career high 17 goals and tied his career high with 32 points. He has good size and plays a physical game in addition to winning 53.7% of his faceoffs. While he is a strong defensive presence, Paul’s offensive game is limited, and that puts a ceiling on what kind of impact he can have overall. At the same time, Paul is exactly the kind of big-body physically strong player that the Lightning want on their third line and has played more than 16 minutes per game for three straight seasons, so he has established himself firmly in this role. Paul got off to a sensational start last season, producing 18 points (11 G, 7 A) in his first 23 games, but he followed that up with eight points (5 G, 3 A) in his next 30 games. His straight-ahead game has definite benefits, but it does contribute to his uninspiring offensive numbers. Paul should continue in the same range as his recent seasons, so somewhere between 30 and 35 points is a reasonable expectation.

Tanner Jeannot

After an impressive rookie season in 2021-2022, when he scored 24 goals, Jeannot was one of the most snakebit players in the league last season, finishing with six goals on 107 shots in 76 games. The Lightning paid a steep price to acquire Jeannot and while he managed just four points (1 G, 3 A) in 20 games for Tampa Bay, he also suffered a high ankle sprain late in the season and tried to play through it. He is as strong as an ox and that powerful base is the cornerstone of his game. The 26-year-old winger has recorded 608 hits in the past two seasons, 90 more than any other forward over that period. Jeannot is probably a decent buy-low option going into 2023-2024, because it would be difficult to struggle to that degree again – he had a 38-game goalless drought! – and he is due for percentages to swing back in his favor. A bounce-back season for Jeannot could still mean as few as 30-35 points, which would be a big jump from the 18 points he had in 76 games in 2022-2023, but maybe with good health, he could climb the depth chart and offer more than that.

Conor Sheary

An undersized winger who filled a secondary scoring role in Washington the past two seasons, Sheary could have an opportunity to play a quality complementary role in Tampa Bay. Playing more than 15 minutes per game, Sheary has put up 80 points (34 G, 46 A) in 153 games across the past two years, but his possession numbers have been on the wrong side of the ledger, too. He somehow finished with 37 points despite a massive slump. In a 29-game span from January 8 through March19, Sheary had three points (1 G, 2 A). There may be an opportunity for Sheary to fit in a top-six role in Tampa Bay, which would provide a path to continued offensive production. With quality forwards in Tampa Bay, Sheary should still be able to find his way into the range of 35 to 40 points.

Michael Eyssimont

By the time the puck drops on the 2023-2024 season, Eyssimont will be 27 years old and will have 55 NHL games under his belt, 54 of which came last season when he played for Winnipeg, San Jose, and Tampa Bay, so he is a late bloomer to be sure. What makes Eyssimont more interesting than the typical 15-point winger is that, in his small sample of NHL games, he has shown that he can generate shots. Among players that appeared in at least 500 five-on-five minutes Eyssimont ranked ninth with 11.06 shots per 60 minutes. He scored on just 4.0% of those shots, but generating the shots in the first place creates the possibility that his production could get a boost merely with better luck around the net. While he does not have notable size, he plays a physical game and recorded 107 hits in 54 games, so he has a way to earn his spot in the lineup. Although Eyssimont does not have a lot of NHL experience, he has a legit chance to stick in Tampa Bay’s top nine. He has 51 points in 67 AHL games over the past two seasons and could have a chance to produce 25-30 points as a full-time NHLer.

Defense

Victor Hedman

For the first time since 2015-2016, Hedman was not a finalist for the Norris Trophy, and it was justified because his defensive play had slipped compared to previous years. Hedman was still a positive influence on the Lightning but was not the dominant play driving force that had been. He has such rare physical tools, to be able to skate and handle the puck at his size, that Hedman could very easily return to Norris Trophy form, but it bears watching. He is 32 years old and while he is far from finished, it is possible that there is some decline from the top tier elite status that he has been occupying for so long. 2022-2023 was the first time in Hedman’s career that the Lightning fared better in terms of shot attempts when he was off the ice. It was the second time in the past three seasons that the Lightning were better when judged by expected goals with Hedman off the ice. For all of those questions, it can’t be ignored that Hedman has been an elite defender for a long time, so it would be premature to write him off. Losing power play time to Mikhail Sergachev doesn’t help Hedman’s output, but he remains capable of producing 55-60 points.

Mikhail Sergachev

With Hedman’s production slipping, Sergachev stepped up and became the quarterback on the first power play unit for Tampa Bay, scoring 27 of his career-high 64 points with the man advantage. At 25 years old, Sergachev is in his prime, and played a career-high 23:49 per game last season. Not only is he a strong skater who can handle the puck and unleash a heavy shot from the point, but he is sturdy and physical. Sergachev was one of 22 defensemen to record more than 125 hits and 125 blocked shots last season. From that group, Darnell Nurse and Moritz Seider were the only ones with more than 40 points and Sergachev was 20 points clear of both. He finished the season with a scoring flourish, producing 22 points (3 G, 19 A) with 45 shots on goal in his last 18 games. If he is going to put up those numbers, he will continue to hold greater responsibility on the Tampa Bay blueline. Since he is in his prime and did not benefit from lofty percentages last season, another 60-point campaign is a reasonable target for Sergachev.

Nick Perbix

A sixth-round pick who played at St. Cloud State, Perbix was not highly touted, and the right-shot defender landed in the NHL as a 24-year-old rookie last season. From the moment he arrived, though, he did not look out of place and delivered quality third-pair minutes. He is a strong passer who moves the puck up the ice and, generally, the Lightning had success with Perbix on the ice, out-shooting and outscoring the opposition during five-on-five play. The next step is to see if he can handle more responsibility, potentially into a top-four role on the Tampa Bay blueline. With more ice time, in a full season, Perbix could see his point production jump to the range of 25 to 30 points, but he has such a limited track record that he might end up on the third pairing and unlikely to even match last season’s production.

Erik Cernak

A 26-year-old thumper on the Tampa Bay defense, Cernak recorded a career-high 209 hits then got knocked out in the first game of the playoffs thanks to a high hit by Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting. Cernak has limitations with the puck on his stick, but he is a strong skater and plays such a hard, competitive game that he still offers plenty of value in a top-four shutdown role and has consistently played more than 19 minutes per game throughout his career. One other thing that has been a consistent factor in Cernak’s career is injuries. He played a career-high 70 games last season, so his hard play comes with a price, and while that tends to happen to most physical defensemen, it is not so common for a defenseman in his mid-20s to be sidelined as frequently as Cernak. While he has yet to record a 20-point season in the NHL, Cernak has a chance to get there if he stays healthy. Hits and, to a lesser degree, blocked shots are the counting stats that are going to enhance Cernak’s value.

Goaltending

Andrei Vasilevskiy

The Andrei Vasilevskiy story, by this point in his career, is very much rinse-and-repeat. Vasilevskiy might not be the league’s hottest topic anymore, with shiny new names circulating the Vezina conversation alongside him each year and younger franchises (including one just downstate from Tampa in metro Miami) contending for the cup, but he remains one of the top ten goaltenders year-over-year with no signs of slowing down. It’s not a matter of if he’ll do well, but how well he’ll do; he might not win the Vezina or the Cup, but he’ll make the playoffs and keep his team in games with very little evidence that he’ll do anything to disappoint.

The Lightning almost certainly know that they’ll need to do something about their goaltending situation at some point in the coming years, but they also seem to know that there’s no rush – so they seem content to ride with Vasilevskiy while prospect Hugo Alnefelt develops in the AHL. Their only change this off-season was to move on from a now-underperforming Brian Elliott as the rarely-used number two, instead signing Jonas Johansson as their number two. That could be a sign that Alnefelt is being prepped to get his NHL look, given how poorly Johansson has performed at the NHL level in the past few seasons. But ultimately, there’s not much about Tampa’s upcoming season that warrants discussion beyond reiterating that Vasilevskiy is still their best shot at success; with his dynamic drives and quick hands, the only thing that could slow the starter down is physical fatigue. At some point, he has to hit a wall – but he hasn’t yet, so Tampa seems content to address that problem when it pops up down the road.

Projected starts: 65-70

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – ST. LOUIS BLUES – NHL Player Profiles

Corey Sznajder – Forwards and Defense, Catherine Silverman - Goaltending — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 21:19:49 +0000

ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 09: St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas (18) with the puck during a NHL game between the New York Islanders and the St. Louis Blues on April 09, 2022, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire),

FORWARDS

Robert Thomas

A new offensive approach from the Blues and a wonderful connection with Vladimir Tarasenko paved the way for Robert Thomas emerging as one of the league’s top playmakers. Only Johnny Gaudreau produced more assists at five-on-five than him and being the new focus of the Blues offense along with Jordan Kyrou. It’s a not a new development, as he’s been a good playmaker for most of his career and he’s been especially good at finding lanes that most players wouldn’t notice. He also moves the puck with such velocity, almost like he’s shooting it, that he can make those tough plays through the slot or from behind the net. Linking up with Buchnevich and Tarasenko took his game to another level, giving him linemates to work the give-and-go game, Tarasenko being an elite shooter to boot. Their tendency to play catch in the slot or off the rush also made Thomas a better goal-scorer, giving him plenty of lay-up scoring chances where he just had to tap the puck across the line. He’s also a unique player because he can make such accurate plays from awkward positions or when he’s looking in the opposite direction. Linemates don’t necessarily need to be “open” for him to make a play because of how hard he passes the puck. He doesn’t have a blazing speed either, so defenses will usually converge on him before he gets rid of the puck to the guy they just left open. He injected some life into a stagnating Blues offense last year and will be their focal point going forward.

Jordan Kyrou

Sometimes it takes a couple of years for a player to harness a gifted skillset into something that works in game situations. This was the case for Jordan Kyrou, who was first called up in 2018 and didn’t establish himself as an NHLer until 2021. His speed combined with a more direct approach with the puck made him a lethal player off the rush and injected some new life into the Blues forward corps. Last year was just another step in that development, playing consistent second line minutes and always a threat to when the puck started going north. The biggest development with Kyrou is that he doesn’t always need to be the one leading the rush to be effective. While he still made those beautiful coast-to-coast rushes, you saw more goals where he was trailing the play or finding creative ways to get himself open. His shot is just as good of a weapon as his skating, and he was most effective as a shooter when he put the brakes on to get a better shot instead of flying downhill with the puck. It made linemates sort of irrelevant because he created so much quick-strike offense and just needed someone to get him the puck. His skill would take over after that and his speed gave him a lot of space to make the final play for a scoring chance. St. Louis also utilized him as a shooting option more on the power play, becoming the triggerman from the left circle. The non-scoring side of the game is still a work in progress for him and where the inconsistent linemates. He’s a very smart player with the puck, but his lines struggled defensively and had to outscore most of their problems. He is skilled enough to get away with it, but it is one area of the game that can be cleaned up.

Ryan O’Reilly

The Blues will remain a good team for as long as Ryan O’Reilly can lace up a pair of skates. He is the foundation of their entire structure and allows the Thomas’ and Kyrous to create with so much freedom. He has the least desirable role on the team as the top matchup and defensive center, his workload being more than other with how deep he plays in the defensive zone to cover up some of the weaknesses on their blue line. O’Reilly often acts like a third defenseman with how much space he takes up below the faceoff dots and retrieves the puck to help with breakouts. He could have a 20-point season and still bring value to St. Louis with the shutdown game he brings. Fortunately, he can still produce offensively even though he’s more of a power play specialist now. His combo of strength and working so much on his backhand made his line a threat for goal-line plays. On the power play he does a great job of directing traffic from the bumper position, not expending much energy while still making himself an option for quick plays. He will often get himself open without having to move. Thomas’ emergence also took some pressure off him to play 22-24 minutes a night, playing in the 17–19-minute range instead. It’s an encouraging development as O’Reilly enters his 30’s and possibly slides into more of a pure shutdown role with David Perron going out the door.

Pavel Buchnevich

Coming to the right team at the right time, Buchnevich had the type of season the Rangers always knew he had in him, scoring a career-high 76 points. He played a Swiss Army type of role on the Blues top line, reading off what Robert Thomas was doing with the puck and quickly making the next play. His instincts on offense were always on another level and it makes up for not having burning speed or a lethal wrist shot. He takes smart routes to pucks, reads his linemates well and has a deceptively good release on his shot, especially off-one-timers. He has an awkward, “sweeping” motion on his shot and it’s very tough for goalies to track where the puck is going. It was a perfect combination with the skill the Blues paired him with. Thomas and Tarasenko drew much attention from the defense that Buchnevich ended up being left open in coverage and let his skill take over from there. It was a little different than the role he played in New York with two goal-scorers (Kreider and Zibanejad) but similar in that he just needed to read off his linemates and be more of a shooting option when necessary. This could make him a good replacement for Perron on the O’Reilly line, although he would be tough to mess with the chemistry he had with Thomas.

Vladimir Tarasenko

It was common thought that Tarasenko would start the 2021-22 season on another team. He spent the previous two years injured and frustrated with where he was at in St. Louis and the writing was on the wall that he was likely getting traded. Nothing materialized and Tarasenko ended up having the best season of his career statistically. The 30-year-old was one of the most productive forwards in the league with only four players scoring more points per 60 minutes at even strength. He went about it a little differently than years past. Tarasenko was a “power forward” in his prime, using his strength to beat defenders and muscle his way to the front of the net. Last year, he was more of an opportunistic player, staying high in the zone and reading off his linemates and focused on making himself a passing option instead of attacking the puck. It was a huge part of Robert Thomas’ breakout year. There needs to be a great shooter to go with a great playmaker, a void Tarasenko filled wonderfully, and the Blues needed to put their former star in a position to succeed while he was still on the team. It turned what looked like an ugly situation into one of the most dangerous lines in hockey.

Brayden Schenn

Spending most of the year stapled to Jordan Kyrou, the former fifth overall pick added another 20 goal/50+ point season to his resume. He is one of the longest tenure players on the Blues and has had a knack for goal-scoring since entering the league, possessing one of the more unorthodox looking wrist shots you’ll see. Schenn’s concerns lie away from the puck, as his line struggled to keep the puck in the offensive zone when he was on the ice. The Blues hoped that pairing him with Kyrou could help them outscore their problems, namely on counterattacks. It worked to an extent, as Schenn created most of his offense off the rush and had one of his best seasons in terms of finishing at even strength. It worked to a point, but Schenn didn’t create the offense in volume like he could in past years, so he was prone to some scoring droughts which caused the Blues to switch up their lines. A trip to Ryan O’Reilly’s wing didn’t help and they eventually reverted to the feast-or-famine approach with hoping Schenn’s line could finish most of their shifts with a faceoff at center ice. Oblique and knee injuries limit how much physical play he can take, but next year should be another decent-scoring year for him if his puck skills don’t drop off.

Brandon Saad

It says something about a team’s forward depth when a guy with 49 points is 9^th on the entire team, but it was just another year at the office for Brandon Saad. The veteran forward is known for consistency, always getting himself to at least 20 goals and having a positive impact when he’s on the ice. Last year was a little different. Whether it was the ankle injury or the return to a top-line role, Saad wasn’t the same play-driver he was in years past. Part of that comes with the territory when you’re Ryan O’Reilly’s winger, but he seemed to struggle with some of the added defensive responsibility, especially with getting pucks out of the zone smoothly. His offense was also a little more one-and-done, looking for more of a perfect shot than playing a straight-line game like in his heyday with the Blackhawks. Ankle injuries are tough when you’re a player that relies on speed for so many years, so a clean bill of healthy could be what he needs to get back on track in 2022. That or he might be more suited for a scoring line role because the quick-strike offense is still there, but the all-around game isn’t what it was before.

Ivan Barbashev

The most surprising member of the Blues 20+ goal scorer club, Barbashev saw a huge reward for the Blues newfound love for playing off the rush. Stuck in depth forward purgatory for a few years, he was a guy who had obvious skill but had trouble making an impact on a consistent basis. If he wasn’t scoring, he was invisible and while he still has some issues away from the puck, his points explosion this year glossed over it a little. He would take a lot of risks with flying the zone and being puck vulture off turnovers to strike in transition. With how well the Blues moved the puck around last year, it worked and Barbashev was a nice utility piece they could move around on every line. It also made him a threat to go the other way shorthanded. Repeating this will be a tall task. The 26 goals he scored was over half of his previous career goal total and his tendency to fly the zone made it tough for him to stick on one line because he played such a one-man game. He summarized the Blues boom-or-bust offense approach and while it was great when it worked, it’s a style that’s not exactly repeatable. He is a very tough player to project for the Blues with his previous career numbers being so low and him likely playing a utility role next year.

Logan Brown

Acquired in a preseason trade for Zach Sanford, the former Ottawa first round pick played sparingly with the Blues. He got the “leftovers” as far as linemates are concerned, with the top-nine already established. Possessing a frame like an NFL Linebacker, Brown uses his size well to protect the puck down low and keep cycles going, His hands and vision are his best skills and while some of the finesse plays he made in the AHL aren’t open at this level, he does well at making the simple plays with getting the puck up high to relieve pressure or making plays from behind the net. It might not lead to a lot of goals, but it got the job done in a fourth line role with newcomer Alexei Toropchenko on his wing. That said, he was a healthy scratch for the entire playoffs in favor of veteran Tyler Bozak. Brown should have the inside track for a roster spot with the 4C job up for grabs and St. Louis having some familiarity with him. Newcomer Noel Acciari and rookies Zachary Buldoc and Jake Neighbours could have something to say about that, though.

Klim Kostin

With Perron leaving having a trickle-down effect on the rest of the lineup, the door could be open for Klim Kostin to get a chance to stick in the lineup. Bouncing between the minors and the NHL for most of his career, the 23-year-old has yet to leave much of a mark at either level. He spent most of last season with the Blues, posting only 9 points looking like a shoot-first type of player in his 40-game stint. He struggled to keep up with the pace the Blues were playing at, always needing to survey the rink before he moved the puck and having a lot of plays die on his stick because of it. That could just be part of never having a consistent role or the trust of the coaching staff, but this year figures to be his last chance with the Blues. A former first round pick, the Blues will likely give him a chance to find a role, especially with Toropchenko on the shelf for six months, but he might need to find a niche as a forechecker or a grinder instead of the player he was drafted to be.

DEFENSE

Torey Krug

It isn’t a coincidence that the Blues went to more of a run-and-gun style after signing Torey Krug. He is the best playmaker on the St. Louis blue line, both in transition and with making east-west plays in the offensive zone. It’s a skillset that has meshed well with the Blues recent youth movement, giving guys like Kyrou and Thomas the puck in space. Krug is also still one of the better power play quarterbacks in the league, very deceptive with how he runs the top of the umbrella and a master of the fake-shot pass. You can always count on him to put up decent numbers as long as the Blues power play is clicking. The downside to Krug’s game is the level of give-and-take. He has to play aggressive and stay up in the play to be effective and sometimes it burns against tougher matchups. While still agile, Krug doesn’t recover after getting beat at the line as smoothly as he used to, which leads to a lot of back-and-forth play while he is on the ice. It’s why the Blues rotated a safer option like Nikko Miikola or Marco Scandella in on the top pair with Faulk late in games. Krug’s skill is hard to find anywhere else, but his overall game is much more feast-famine than it used to be.

Justin Faulk

Justin Faulk’s three years in St. Louis is proof of how random player development can be because they’ve gotten a different version of Faulk in all three years. His first year was frustrating, as he was stuck in a depth role on his offside on a crowded blue line. The following year he was cast in a shutdown role and had maybe his best season defensively, giving them a Kirkland version of Alex Pietrangelo. Last year, he was more of the high-risk defenseman we remember from Carolina. Playing the puck retriever role alongside Krug, Faulk was a steadying presence on the Blues top pair. He would pick his spots more than the other defensemen instead of going for the home run play on every shift and he could pitch in offensively when needed. He never looks like the type who will join the rush because of his stocky bodytype, but he covers a lot of ground in his first couple of strides. He also has a great wrist shot, scoring 16 goals with minimal power play time. Faulk is a nice player to have because he has the tools to slide into any role you need and give you at least adequate minutes. The only concern is that his play seems to vary year-to-year, but the Blues are hoping a third year with the same defense partner can give the team some level of consistency.

Colton Parayko

The Blues were thrilled to get 80 games from Parayko last year. He played almost all of the previous year with an injured back and a bulging disc, ailments that are known to shorten careers and especially bad news for a defenseman. He played in almost every game for the Blues, averaging almost 24 minutes a night with heavy penalty killing duty. He plays more of a pure shutdown role than he used to, not relied on much for offense and focusing more on patrolling the front of the net instead of trying to lead the rush. He adapted well to this new conservative style, even if it’s a bit of a styles clash with the rest of the Blues team. Parayko used to be very aggressive at defending his blue line and now he’s a little more conservative, using his size and reach to skate forwards into a corner instead of standing them up when they enter the zone. The offense is still there, as he could create off the rush when he needed to but more in splash plays than in volume. Part of that is because his line wasn’t deployed much in the offensive zone, and he was on the ice to stop plays rather than start them. It’s hard to say what he is now and if this is the “new normal” for Parayko. He still has the motor to play the big minutes, but if he can’t help tilt the ice like he used to, his new eight-year contract might be a problem for St. Louis in a couple of seasons. We will see how a full year with a clean bill of health goes for him and if he can get some of that explosiveness back.

Nick Leddy

Nick Leddy has been the same player for his entire career with varying degrees of results. He can play a lot of minutes, be a one-man breakout and bring a mobile option to your top-four. His play away from the puck also hasn’t change much, as he doesn’t always have the best feel for where the puck is going and will chase often. He also has trouble making plays under pressure if he can’t just skate it out, which leads to a lot of prolonged shifts in the defensive zone and his strengths as a skater are kind of a moot point in those situations. What is nice about Leddy, though is he is the type who recovers well and doesn’t let one mistake affect the rest of his game. He doesn’t “chase” a lot of mistakes and will go to protect the house if he turns the puck over and he plays a very even-keel game even if his last shift was a disaster. We saw a lot of this in the Colorado series where he had a very tough Game 5 against the Avs and still had the composure to make a great play to keep the puck win on St. Louis’ overtime winning goal. On a team that trades chances like the Blues, it’s a quality that might be overlooked even if he doesn’t post the best numbers. If anything, he adds some mobility to the Blues backend and secondary powerplay option.

GOALTENDING

Jordan Binnington

There might not be another goaltender in the NHL that has the same track record of inconsistency that Jordan Binnington does. While his St. Louis predecessor Jake Allen has struggled throughout his career with up-and-down weeks during each season, Binnington’s rises and falls seem to follow entire seasons as he goes; he’s either an unstoppable force or an easy-to-goad replacement-level netminder with a hot head and a trigger-esque temper that throws his game into a tailspin. That makes it hard to tell just what St. Louis is gambling on this year; he’ll either be the underdog capable of playing to prove his doubters wrong, or he’ll be the former Stanley Cup Champion who insisted he had an unflappable personality but was all too easy to coax into costly mistakes after just a bad goal or two.

From a technical standpoint, Binnington has the ability to play a game that preaches crisp edgework and an almost bored-looking depth management style designed to rattle his opponents and prevent him from overcommitting to bad shots. But over the last two seasons, he’s also shown a side to his game that exaggerates his technique and pushes him out of position, allowing baffling goals that seem to rattle him more than they should. His game doesn’t rely on a smooth rhythm nearly as much as Allen’s does, so it’s a different problem in St. Louis right now – but as yet another year approaches, it’s hard not to wonder just why the Central Division club’s starters seem to be so easy to throw off their games.

Projected starts: 60-65

2021-22 TOP 15 PROSPECTS: OTTAWA SENATORS – RANK: #4- TIER II

McKeen's Hockey — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 16:35:31 +0000

Ottawa Senators

#4 Ottawa - Graduations are thinning out the upper tier, and will continue to hollow out the system this year as a few more top guys look ready for the NHL.

VANCOUVER, BC - APRIL 22: Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto (57) skates up ice during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on April 22, 2021 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire)

Jake Sanderson

One of the most powerful skating defensemen on the planet, Sanderson – son of similarly fast former Hartford Whaler Geoff Sanderson – could probably find his way into the Ottawa lineup now, but he prefers a second season in Grand Forks, North Dakota, playing workhorse minutes with a chance at glory (NCAA title) over fighting for third pairing minutes on the Senators with the chance at being demoted to Belleville for the sake of more playing time. This decision is understandable and will not harm his long-term prospects in the least.

In addition to Sanderson’s wheels, he also plays with a clear physical edge, ready, willing, and able to lay an opponent flat at the hint of an opportunity. His off-puck game is more than just looking for checking chances, though, as he is more than capable of ending a rush with a well-times stick check, and good luck trying to catch him out cheating his own-zone responsibilities for a fast break opportunity. For all of his speed and defensive abilities, Sanderson is also rather capable with the puck. He has a strong point shot and the touch to make plays with the puck, both handling the puck himself, and dishing it off to better-positioned teammates. Ottawa has a good number of high-end talents coming down the defensive pipeline, but more than any of them, Sanderson projects as a future #1, all-situations, game changer. - RW

Shane Pinto

Another Senators prospect who we were not as high on as the Senators at the time of his draft selection, Pinto was not so much a late bloomer as he was a multi-sport athlete who committed later than most to hockey. He emerged practically out of nowhere in his draft year, playing first for Lincoln, and then for Tri-City in the USHL, bringing a two-way, heavy game with enough skill to imagine a middle-six outcome. The Senators saw him as more of a top six center, and after two years at the University of North Dakota, they might have been correct.

Pinto brings great size, a strong skating stride, and the type of offensive zone skill set that works best when he has at least one other highly skilled player on his line that he can work in support of. He is hard to play against without being overly physically aggressive. He is very hard to dislodge from his preferred stomping grounds between the dots, and more often than not, between the hash marks. Pinto signed his ELC at the conclusion of his sophomore season, finishing his collegiate career one point shy of a point-per-game average, and then moved right into the NHL where he fit right in, at both ends. In addition to the point accumulation, Pinto is even stronger off the puck, holding things in check in his own end and doing the ‘little things’ reliably, such as his strength on faceoffs. He may or may not begin this year in the NHL, but if not, it won’t be long before he is a regular. - RW

Jacob Bernard-Docker

We were definitely wrong to not rank Bernard-Docker as a first round talent in 2018. In fact, were it not for the presence of Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot in the Ottawa system, we would say right now that JBD has the makings of a future top pairing defender in the NHL. That assessment starts with his ability to eat up a huge number of minutes on the blueline without any tangible degradation in the quality of his play. When we look at his skill set, on an individual skill basis, nothing there sticks out, for good, nor bad. He does everything at a solid, if unspectacular level. But it all ties together in his head, so the totality of his game is clearly better than the sum of his parts.

He can hold the line against the best the opposition has to offer. He can help make sure that the puck is moving in the right direction more often than not, even against those opposing first lines. He can be trusted to defend tight leads late in games. His right-handed shot is solid enough to deserve some time on a second power play unit. It would be preferential to see him spend one year in the AHL to work on his confidence playing the puck, as he can be prone to the safe play when he has enough time for something a little more daring, but his time in the AHL shouldn’t be long. He will be up soon, and to stay, and if not as a #1, the second pairing is his floor. - RW

Alex Formenton

After a strong rookie pro season with Belleville that saw Formenton make the 2019/20 AHL All Rookie team, the expectations were very high for him coming into last year. While his offensive production at both the AHL and NHL level did leave a little to be desired, Formenton did manage to establish himself as an NHL player in the second half. Playing a checking line role, Formenton managed to score four goals (in 20 games) and excelled as a penalty killer, utilizing his speed to the best of his capabilities.

Of course, speed is the highlight of Formenton’s game and is what put him on the NHL radar in the first place. An aggressive forechecker and attacker, there have never been any doubts about his ability to play a checking line role at the NHL level. It would appear that he has locked himself into that role for Ottawa this coming year. However, his upside as a scorer and someone who can play higher up in the lineup does remain a question mark. The next two seasons will be crucial for Formention, first to establish himself as a high-end checker, but then to build up confidence in his offensive abilities (specifically as a goal scorer) so that he can earn more responsibility from DJ Smith and the Ottawa coaching staff. - BO

Tyler Boucher

The son of longtime NHL goalie Brian Boucher, Tyler was adding a much-appreciated offensive component to his game this year, showing the potential to play higher up the lineup than he had in the past, before being struck with a season-ending knee injury in January. The result is a projection based on less ice time than most. Given the questions surrounding his high-end offensive upside, it was a surprise to see the Senators select him inside the Top 10 in 2021.

To his credit, in the short period of time that Boucher was able to take the ice this year, he took on a more offensively active role and was flourishing in it. Beyond just using his clear size and strength advantage to play a physical game, he was more effective at using physicality for puck possession, both gaining the puck and keeping it away from opponents. If not fending off checkers, he also showed some budding creativity with the puck, both in terms of what he could do with and passing with good touch. Boucher also showed strong enough skating ability to be able to play on a skill line. He has good edges, his stride is smooth, and he reaches top speed fairly quickly through crossovers. For all that he has seemingly added to his offensive game, the Senators are hoping that he can be a modern-day power forward (closer to a young Wayne Simmonds or a Tom Wilson than Ryan Reaves) after he finishes his stint at Boston University. Of course, he will have to prove that he is fully recovered from his knee injury to reach that projection. - McKeen’s Draft Guide 2021

Ridly Greig

Ridly Greig is one of the most intense players on the ice during his games. He is a relentless forechecker, back checker and physical presence. He doesn’t take a shift off, and makes his opponents take notice when he is on the ice. He is a player you would describe as “in the fabric of the game.” His game is more than just straight effort though. Greig isn’t just a wrecking ball. He is an intelligent player and is helpful in the transition game even if he isn’t the fleetest of foot. His skating lets him down a bit as his edges and tight turns are not as effective as they could be when trying to maintain speed during dynamic directional changes. His speed in the north/south style of game is fine which suits his style of play though.

His shot is a good weapon for Greig as he has velocity and accuracy. His playmaking is good, but not elite. Greig makes a living working hard on puck retrievals and driving to the net with and without the puck. He has a bit of Kris Draper in him, where you know exactly what he will give you and where you can line him up. He will be able to handle difficult line assignments, provide energy and could be a 20-goal support player. He plays a brand of hockey that old school hockey people will love and despite not being a physical monster (in terms of his physical size), it has not prevented him from playing like one. - VG

Tyler Kleven

One of the beneficiaries of the COVID-forced absences of players from Michigan and Boston University from the WJC, Kleven actually only appeared in two games for the Gold Medal winning American side but made his mark when he had the opportunity. Tall, strong, and rangy, he is first and foremost a defensive-minded defender. He keeps tight gaps, and closes them effectively and efficiently, shutting down opposing rushes with ease. A strong, swift skater, his legs greatly assist in his at-home duties. Kleven also occasionally attempts to put his feet to use in the offensive zone, although any fleeting success he has there is at least as much a function of the timing of his foray as it is about his inherent skillset.

He has the booming shot you might expect given his size, although he doesn’t give it the full wind-up treatment all that often. His hands, lacking much suppleness, hold back his ability to produce offense, and limit his puck carrying to 2-3 steps, and his passing game to mostly D-to-D type movement. I would expect Kleven to spend another two years on campus, emerging at the end as half of a reliable shutdown pair, adding time on the penalty kill to his duties at even strength. More of a coach’s favorite than a player sought after in fantasy hockey, Kleven should develop into a solid pro. - RW

Egor Sokolov

Sokolov is the personification of perseverance. A former highly touted young prospect, he went through the draft twice after two decent seasons in the QMJHL. However, entering his final year of draft eligibility, Sokolov dedicated himself to improving his conditioning and the results were extraordinary. He transformed himself into one of the best players in the QMJHL and was rewarded with a second-round selection by the Senators.

The biggest takeaway from that final QMJHL season was that by improving his conditioning, Sokolov was also able to improve his skating considerably. A big, strong power winger, Sokolov’s hands and finishing ability are excellent. By improving his overall quickness and elusiveness, everything else fell into place. As a first-year pro in Belleville last year, Sokolov continued his incredible progression by leading the AHL in rookie goal scoring with 15. At this point, he should begin to push for a roster spot in Ottawa as early as this season, given the rebuilding nature of the Senators. He has the potential to be a top six forward for Ottawa and someone who figures into their long-term plans despite the incredible forward depth that they have accrued. - BO

Logan Brown

It is clear that the Ottawa Senators still believe in Logan Brown as a potential NHL forward, as they protected him from the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft. But it is also clear that the opportunity window for the former 11th overall pick is slowly closing. Now eligible for waivers, Brown has seen the likes of Tim Stutzle, Colin White, and Drake Batherson pass him on the depth chart. This coming season may be his final opportunity to earn a permanent spot on the Senators.

A massive center, Brown has always been lauded for his playmaking ability, vision, and puck protection talents. He can drive time of possession in the offensive end. His play away from the puck has certainly come a long way from his time in the OHL, but consistency has remained an issue. Brown has become a high end first line player in the AHL, but at the NHL level, he has looked a step behind the play and has been unable to dominate down low and near the net the way that he has shown at other levels. Knowing that this may be his last training camp to make a positive impression, Brown has to come into training camp this year and earn that permanent spot. It is not too late for him to live up to his potential as a top six center. - BO

Roby Jarventie

For as much as Jarventie’s disappointing showing at the last WJC can be seen as concerning, his consistently strong domestic play should be seen as more telling of the positive developmental steps taken in the year since the Senators made him a second-round pick. A big, bodied winger with a very strong shot and a good skating stride, the most likely case is that his shutout at the WJC (no points in six games) was the exception and his impressive work in Liiga (top goal scorer among rookies in that circuit) and in a late-season short stint in the AHL were the rule.

The question that Ottawa will be trying to answer this year as Jarventie (likely) spends the season with AHL Belleville, is can he be anything more than a sniping winger who has to be shielded from defensive situations? He has never been one to spend time on the penalty kill, and that is unlikely to change going forward, but he has at least shown in his past that he can play in the dirty areas and do well enough when it comes to fighting for loose pucks. Likely he will need at least two full(ish) seasons in the AHL to both acclimate to the North American game and establish how he can fit in productively. The best-case scenario is a top six NHL power play specialist who puts the puck in the net. Worst case is a quickish return to Finland, where he plays the same role. - RW

Leevi Merilainen

Ottawa Senators and Kingston Frontenac fans alike wait with bated breath to see how Merilainen performs in his first season in North America, as he will backstop the Shane Wright led Fronts in the OHL this year. Fresh off a strong performance for Finland at the World Junior summer showcase, Merilainen is rising quickly up the Ottawa prospect depth chart.

Mads Sogaard

The massive (6’7) Danish netminder was undefeated, a perfect 7-0, in his first pro season on a Belleville team with a bit of a logjam in net. The loss of Joey Daccord to Seattle should open up more opportunity for him this coming season and with another good year, he could really put himself in a grouping among the best goaltending prospects on the planet.

Filip Gustavsson

Yes, yes...another goalie. Really, these three could be ranked in any order, with Gustavsson being the closest to making an impact. Formerly acquired as part of the Derick Brassard deal to Pittsburgh, Gustavsson was solid in a cup of coffee at the NHL level last season and will push Anton Forsberg for the back-up gig behind Matt Murray this season.

Lassi Thomson

2020/21 was perhaps a year to forget for the former first-round selection. The smooth skating two-way defender took a step backwards in Liiga to start the year, then had a tough time with the pace and physicality of the AHL to finish the year. Entering his second pro season, he will look to bounce back before he gets passed on the depth chart by other prospects in a deep system.

Angus Crookshank

After a solid, but unspectacular three years at the University of New Hampshire (a low scoring, balanced team), Crookshank turned pro after his junior season and had a terrific pro debut to close out last year with Belleville. A pest with skill, Crookshank looks the part of a future elite third liner for the Sens and could move quickly through the system with another solid pro year.

SEATTLE KRAKEN EXPANSION DRAFT: Prospects to Target – Part Two – Forwards

Brock Otten — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 20:49:20 +0000

It has been four years since the Vegas Golden Knights joined the National Hockey League through expansion. Through the expansion draft process, the Golden Knights balanced their initial lineup by selecting both veterans and youth, with a focus on team speed and competitiveness. Masterfully constructed, Vegas ended up winning the Pacific division and reaching the Stanley Cup finals in their inaugural season (2017-18).

Later this year, the Seattle Kraken will officially become the 32nd NHL franchise when they select their team through their expansion draft. July 17 is the date set for NHL teams to submit their protected lists (with Vegas being exempt) and July 21 is the date set for the expansion draft itself. Of course, these dates could change depending on how the NHL season finishes up in the midst of a global pandemic. However, as of right now, that is when we will find out who will be wearing that Kraken jersey to start the 2021-22 season.

Naturally, Seattle general manager Ron Francis, assistant general manager Jason Botterill, and director of player personnel Norm Maciver will be aiming to replicate the success that Vegas had (and has continued to have). They have to reach the salary floor with their selections, so they will be choosing some veterans (or trading for/signing some) to lead this group. However, much like Vegas, they will be looking to swing for the fences with some selections, by opting for a few young, unestablished players. This article aims to highlight some of the prospects who could be (and are likely to be) left unprotected by their NHL teams come July. The focus is on players who have yet to truly establish themselves as NHL players. The list will be organized by position and published in two parts. This is the second feature on the forwards. Part one can be found by linking here.

FORWARDS

Rasmus Asplund - Buffalo Sabres

A strong two-way center, Asplund has had a hard time breaking through with the Sabres to become a full time NHL player. Even this year, he has seen time on the Sabres roster, on the taxi squad, and in the AHL with Rochester. He could certainly be a potential bottom six center target for the Kraken.

Morgan Geekie - Carolina Hurricanes

A big forward, Geekie has broken through as a full time NHL player to start the 2021 season after a successful cup of coffee last year. Playing on the fourth line and the powerplay, Geekie has yet to hit the score sheet this year. However, given Carolina’s forward depth, it seems unlikely that they will be able to protect him.

Kevin Stenlund - Columbus Blue Jackets

If there is one forward on this list that I see possibly being protected, it is Stenlund. He has proven himself to be a quality NHL forward after a half a season last year and a hot start this year. The question is, if Stenlund is protected, it means someone like Max Domi, Boone Jenner, or the injured Gustav Nyquist will not be. Columbus could also try to work out a deal with Seattle to make sure that they leave Stenlund be.

Henrik Borgstrom - Florida Panthers

At this point, Borgstrom is probably a candidate for a change of scenery. The former University of Denver star got off to a good start in his pro career, but he has been unable to take that next step, with last year being a clear step backwards. As such, the Panthers loaned him to HIFK for the year. A talented playmaker, Borgstrom could be a great candidate for Seattle to select in hopes of unlocking his offensive potential.

Nathan Bastian - New Jersey Devils

A heavy winger, Bastian has improved every year as a pro thus far, finally making the Devils this season. He has played extremely well in a third line role and as a penalty killer. However, the Devils have a heck of a decision ahead of them for the expansion draft. Do they sacrifice Pavel Zacha in order to protect someone like Bastian or the others on this list?

Yegor Sharangovich - New Jersey Devils

Sharangovich got off to a hot start to the NHL season playing alongside Jack Hughes. While the offensive production hasn’t been consistent, he has certainly impressed in his first NHL season after starting the year in the KHL. An explosive goal scorer, the Devils may be reluctant to let him go given the energy and pace he plays with.

Janne Kuokkanen - New Jersey Devils

Like Bastian, Kuokkanen has emerged as a legitimate NHL player in his fourth pro season, excelling in the bottom six. The former London Knights standout and the key acquisition in the Sami Vatanen deal to Carolina, Kuokkanen is certainly someone who could draw the interest of Seattle.

Nick Merkley - New Jersey Devils

Merkley, an intelligent and hard working playmaker, seems to be behind Bastian, Sharangovich, Kuokkanen, and Mikey McLeod (who I assumed the Devils would be protecting) in the pecking order. However, that does not mean that he lacks talent or NHL potential. Look for the Devils to try to rotate the above players in and out of the lineup in order to truly evaluate who they could be willing to lose.

Kieffer Bellows - New York Islanders

Keiffer, the son of former NHL’er Brian Bellows, is a former high NHL draft pick whose high end goal scoring ability has yet to truly translate to terrific results at the pro level. Playing on the fourth line this year for the Isles, Bellows has yet to score this season. Given the forward depth that the Islanders have, it seems unlikely that Bellows will be able to be protected. If New York truly believes in his potential, they may try to look at a way to convince Seattle not to select him.

Julien Gauthier - New York Rangers

In the rare one for one prospect trade, the Rangers shipped Joey Keane to Carolina for Gauthier last season. The big, quick, physical winger has been a fixture on the Rangers’ fourth line to start this season, however it seems unlikely that he gets protected given the others New York must protect. One of Brendan Lemieux, Brett Howden, or Gauthier will likely get the nod with the other two being unprotected. How they finish the year will dictate who that is.

Vitaly Abramov - Ottawa Senators

A dynamic offensive player, Abramov had a breakout season in Belleville last year that really gave management hope that his skill set could translate to the NHL level. However, it seems unlikely that Ottawa will be able to protect him and how he plays in the AHL this season will dictate whether Seattle has interest in him.

Filip Chlapik - Ottawa Senators

Chlapik split last season between Ottawa and Belleville, performing only adequately in a depth role. This season, he has bounced between the main roster, the taxi squad, and the AHL. A good sized playmaking center, Chlapik may not get his chance in Ottawa, but he could be a target of Seattle.

Logan Brown - Ottawa Senators

It is certainly possible that the Senators protect Brown. The former 11th overall pick has performed admirably in the AHL, but his play at the NHL level has been uninspiring thus far. A hulking center at 6’6, Brown needs to play more between the dots and use his size; a criticism dating back to his draft year.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel - Philadelphia Flyers

A competitive and feisty forward, Aube-Kubel is a versatile player for the Flyers with the ability to play in any situation and any forward position. He has been in the Flyers system forever and is finally getting a chance to be a full time NHL player this season. However, it is unlikely that the Flyers will be able to protect him. He could be the perfect bottom six player for Seattle.

Alex Barre Boulet - Tampa Bay Lightning

The first two seasons of Barre-Boulet’s pro career probably couldn’t have gone better considering he was an undrafted free agent acquisition by Tampa. He was the AHL rookie of the year two years ago and an AHL all star last year. But due to Tampa’s depth he remains buried in the minors again this year (where he has continued his torrid pace). The dilemma for Tampa Bay will be, do they protect a player who...as of now, has not shown an ability to translate his offensive skill set to the NHL?

Alex Volkov - Tampa Bay Lightning

Ahead of Barre-Boulet on the Tampa depth chart currently and the recipient of a roster spot thanks to the Kucherov injury, Volkov is a skilled winger that the Lightning have high hopes for. However, like many young players in their system, it is unlikely that they will be able to protect him.

Mitchell Stephens - Tampa Bay Lightning

A former high selection by the Lightning, Stephens was set to play full time this year as the Lightning’s fourth line center. However, he suffered a lower body injury early on and is sidelined for a few months. No longer waiver eligible, he likely will continue to have a spot when he returns but will it be enough for him to earn one of those valuable protection spots?

Mathieu Joseph - Tampa Bay Lightning

A high energy winger, Joseph was a standout as a rookie for the Lightning in 2018/19, however the acquisitions of players like Goodrow and Coleman pushed him to the minors for a large chunk of last season. Fast forward to this year and he has his place back in the Tampa lineup and is playing fantastic hockey. Does Tampa protect a younger player like Joseph (or others on this list) and risk a higher salaried player like Yanni Gourde, Alex Killorn, or Blake Coleman being selected?

Boris Katchouk - Tampa Bay Lightning

A star in the OHL, Katchouk’s game has not translated to the AHL level as well as Tampa would have hoped thus far. Now in his third pro season, Katchouk will have to show that he can take that next step in his development as an offensive player before the Lightning consider him for a checking line role. He is definitely a potential candidate to be lost in the expansion draft and is also waivers eligible next year.

Taylor Raddysh - Tampa Bay Lightning

Another former OHL star, Raddysh has had similar difficulties translating his game to the AHL level. He has not been terrible, but the average offensive production hasn’t yet warranted a callup for the former Erie Otter. Ultimately, his lack of dynamic skating ability may hold him back from becoming a quality NHL player. However, if he plays well in his third AHL season this year, he could certainly attract attention from Seattle.

Joey Anderson - Toronto Maple Leafs

Acquired from the New Jersey Devils last year in exchange for Andreas Johnsson, Anderson has bounced back and forth between the NHL and the AHL the last three seasons. The former U.S. captain at the World Juniors, Anderson is a high energy, two-way forward who could definitely be an attractive, cheap target for Seattle as it is unlikely that Toronto protects him.

Isac Lundestrom - Anaheim Ducks

Already in his third pro season in North America despite being only 21 years old, the former first round selection has finally cracked the Anaheim Ducks roster full time this season. The two-way forward excels in defensive situations and on the penalty kill and could be a quality checking line option for the Kraken, with a chance to still improve offensively. William Karlsson part deux anyone?

Matthew Phillips - Calgary Flames

His lack of size (5’7) is certainly a deterrent (even if the game has changed to accommodate smaller players), but Phillips is most definitely a talented offensive player. He was an AHL all star last season in his second AHL campaign. This year, he returns to the AHL with Stockton and should be among the league’s scoring leaders.

Adam Mascherin - Dallas Stars

A terrific goal scorer and former OHL standout, Mascherin is entering his third AHL season, undoubtedly a huge one for his development. Thus far, the results have been great as he is among the league’s scoring leaders. At some point this year, it is likely that Dallas gives him a look if he continues to play well, as not only do they have to decide on who to protect for the expansion draft, but Mascherin is waiver eligible next year too.

Tyler Benson - Edmonton Oilers

The former first overall selection in the WHL bantam draft by the Vancouver Giants, Benson has come a long way since then. With two strong AHL seasons under his belt, Benson enters his third year with the hope that he can play well enough to earn a longer look at the NHL level in the event of an Oilers’ injury. It does seem unlikely that the Oilers will protect him from Seattle though.

Rem Pitlick - Nashville Predators

A competitive, goal scoring center and the son of former NHL’er Lance Pitlick, Rem is expansion draft eligible even though he is only in his second professional season. This is due to the Predators burning a year of his ELC in 2019 when he signed out of Minnesota. He has started out the AHL season well and could earn a look from the Predators at some point this year to see if they will want to protect him.

Jonathan Dahlen - San Jose Sharks

Dahlen is a very interesting case. Acquired from Vancouver, Dahlen spent one year in the AHL before returning to Sweden where he has torched the Allsvenskan the last two seasons. The opinions vary about his standing as an NHL prospect, given he plays in the Swedish second league and not the SHL. Where he stands in the Sharks organization remains a mystery, but they will have to protect him from Seattle.

Alexander True - San Jose Sharks

A free agent signing by the Sharks out of the WHL, True has played well in the AHL over the last three years. The Danish forward has seen some limited action in the NHL with mixed results, however his start to this AHL season has been terrific. It seems unlikely that San Jose protects him, but would Seattle consider him as a high upside pick?

Maxim Letunov - San Jose Sharks

Widely considered as one of San Jose’s top forward prospects, Letunov is a huge center (6’4) and a former second round selection. He played very well in the AHL last season and has been on the San Jose taxi squad so far this season. At some point this year, San Jose is going to have to give him more than the three games they gave him last year, especially given their struggles as a team.

Rudolfs Balcers - San Jose Sharks

One of the players traded to Ottawa in the Erik Karlsson trade, Balcers was reacquired by the Sharks earlier this season off waivers. He has proven to be a capable offensive player in the AHL during his career but has not yet taken that step forward to become an NHL player. San Jose is going to give him a serious look this year, along with some other young forwards. It seems likely that Seattle could have more interest in the other Sharks on this list, but who knows how Balcers finishes the season.

Kole Lind - Vancouver Canucks

A former high selection of the Canucks, Lind has steadily improved in each of his AHL seasons thus far. The big, physical winger currently is among the AHL’s leading goal scorers this year and will likely earn a look from Vancouver at some point this season if he continues to play well. Do the Canucks protect him over disappointing talents like Jake Virtanen or Adam Gaudette?

*Special thanks to the capfriendly expansion draft tool which helped to identify those players who are eligible to be selected.

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Ottawa Senators Top 20 Prospects

Rachel Howard — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 20:17:21 +0000

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

Tim Stuetzle, LW/C (3^rd overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Stuetzle has seen a steady rise last year thanks to his strong play at all levels. What makes him so dangerous and dynamic is his combination of dazzling puck skill with high end skating, featuring an explosive first few steps with elite agility. He also has an effortless stride and can change direction on a dime. He can maintain possession of the puck while in full stride, or through sudden movements East/West. His hands are elite, he can corral passes while at full speed, or stickhandle through traffic without being touched. A pass first player, he creates for linemates and demonstrates excellent vision at a fast pace. While he commits the occasional turnover, he generally makes good decisions in the offensive zone, understanding when to push the pace and when to slow things down, when to take risks and when to play conservatively. He still needs to grow as a three-zone player, improving his engagement level in the defensive end. Stuetzle may still require additional strength for the NHL level, but things are moving in the right direction. He makes those around him better and has the high-end skating ability to dictate pace at the NHL level. – BO

Jake Sanderson, D (5^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Looking like a solid, if unspectacular, prospect entering the year, Sanderson exploded in the second half, playing at a very high pace, leading the rush more often, generating chaos in the offensive end. Instead of holding the puck passively at the point, or walking the blueline to seek out openings, he would zip up the wall and find a horizontal lane instead. He was also a physical force off the puck. The biggest difference from the first half to the second was in his acceleration. He now explodes out of a static position and reaches overdrive immediately. This brought explosiveness to every facet of his game. He was more comfortable shooting the puck. His passing game also played up, by activating more in the offensive zone, looking for horizontal and diagonal passing lanes. His hands played as fast as his feet. His physical game also went up a few notches, and he regularly laid opponents flat just by dropping a shoulder. Finally, Sanderson’s ability to read the game became more uncanny at his new top speed. He now looks like a potential number one as long as he keeps the gains he has made last season. – RW

Jacob Bernard-Docker, D (26^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 1)

Having continued to watch Bernard-Docker develop with the Fighting Hawks as well as with Team Canada at the WJC, we see a defender who reasonably projects as a first pairing blueliner at the NHL level, playing upwards of 25 minutes a minutes a night, in all situations, and shutting down the opposition’s finest. The native Albertan does everything at an above average level, but has high end hockey IQ, allowing the entire package to play better than the sum of his parts. Without being a dynamic skater, he moves his feet very well. He can be both safe and creative when he carries the puck out of his zone. He is not a blueline bomber, but he has a very impressive wrist shot from the point that he can use to pick out targets when he takes his time. His own zone play is remarkable for his mature positioning and tight gap control. As a right handed shot, there will soon be room for Bernard-Docker to line up alongside Thomas Chabot, giving the Senators a long term first pairing (not to mention the other great blueline prospects in the Ottawa system) that can play against anyone and excel. - RW

Josh Norris, C (Trade: Sep. 13, 2018. Originally: 19^th overall, 2017 [San Jose]. Previous ranking: 2)

Norris finished his rookie pro season leading Belleville in points and earning a brief three game stint with the big club. Although he is a great playmaker and team player, his shot, paired with his individual effort on the ice, are what make him a deadly player. The fact that he finished nearly even in both goals and assists is indicative of the versatility of his offensive contributions. Norris is a good-sized forward and a strong skater. He is agile, reads the play well, and possesses an NHL level skillset with hands and a shot to go alongside his skating abilities. He has a full bag of tricks with no real negatives in his game, all working together to make his transition from college to the pros practically seamless. He is approaching NHL readiness and will be seen again in an Ottawa Senators jersey as soon as next season, if not full time then at least as Ottawa’s first forward call up. He is a naturally good all-round player with a high ceiling and the potential to be a first line forward, top six at the very least, when his time comes back in the NHL. - SC

Drake Batherson, C (121^st overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 3)

Batherson still has a few small details to touch up and tighten up with his game, but overall he has grown tremendously as a player and his maturity has come a long way with time spent up with Ottawa as well as on the farm. As a hard-working forward who plays both wing and center, he is versatile and can also be relied upon to play both powerplay and penalty kill. He is a good two-way player but can still work to improve his defensive coverage and play with more patience in his own end. As a bigger forward, Batherson has the potential to be a very dominant force when it comes to getting to the net and finishing plays but he will have to be more confident on NHL ice, which will come with time. He is almost at the point now where he has outgrown the AHL and is ready for a bigger challenge. He should have no worries when it comes to making a full-time adjustment to the league and finding a spot in the Ottawa top six in the near future. - SC

Alex Formenton, LW (47^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 4)

Formenton is the type of forward that every team should have, fast and forechecks well, handles battles safely, keeps his feet moving, and has the offensive mindset of a natural goal scorer. He will need to find a way to better protect his own end and work on his two way mindset, but other than that, he simply needs to maintain the same performance level and high energy when he gets called back up. He stands out, which means he needs to find a way to up his confidence and force his way to a prominent role. This past season with Belleville there were issues with consistency of effort and speed and as he relies heavily on his high end top speed, he will need to bring consistent effort each game in order to fulfill his potential and be deserving of a full-time, permanent spot with Ottawa. Formenton has the skillset, the speed, and the potential to be a top six forward but he cannot simply coast. - SC

Shane Pinto, C (32^nd overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 5)

A very late bloomer, Pinto is now developing at a rapid clip. He has enough muscle on his 6-3” frame to play in a power role, hanging out near the opposition net and preventing defenders from dislodging him. Not only does he serve as a distraction for the netminder, but he also is an ace shot tipper, demonstrating high end hand-eye coordination to get his blade on point shots in mid-air and angling them just so to squeak past the goalie. He uses his body well when carrying the puck, to shield defenders off, and maintain possession of the puck. There is little fancy about his game, as he is most effective playing largely in straight, North-South lines, but he can be extremely effective as a foil for two more highly skilled linemates. Most comfortable below the hashmarks, Pinto still has many possible outcomes for his career. He can fit anywhere in the middle six, including both at center and at right wing, where I think he might ultimately be most effective. One more year of consistent performance, and possibly a little extra jam would prove that he is ready for the pros. - RW

Ridly Greig, C (28^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Always on the hunt, Greig looks to play through defenders on the forecheck to separate them from the puck. Occasionally he crosses the line and could stand to improve his discipline, however his tenacity provides a ton of value. He excels down low and along the wall, where he works hard to gain or prolong possession. He is also aggressive in driving through the middle, crashing the net for scoring opportunities. With his high energy level, he excels as a three-zone player and penalty killer. Greig is also a highly intelligent player, who maximizes his own skills while playing an effective two-way game. He impresses with his ability to play at his pace, how he uses space and how he can hold the puck for that extra second to create a passing seam. A high-volume shooter, he is aggressive in putting pucks on net with a quick release. He demonstrates good vision, with his head up working the half wall and the cycle. He keeps his feet moving, providing constant energy. Greig can impact the game in many different ways and is sure to become a fan favorite because of his intensity level on the ice. – BO

Logan Brown, C (11^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 6)

Despite being able to transfer all his skills and his game to the AHL, Brown, a former high first round pick, seemed to have trouble converting those same skills to the NHL, notwithstanding his offensive production. During the time spent up with Ottawa last season, he seemed to have difficulty adjusting to the pace of the NHL, meaning he will need to quicken the pace at which he moves the puck as well as his overall footspeed heading into next season. Brown is a strong player with a very big body and a lot of talent. If he can find a way to get to the net consistently and make faster plays, he will be a deadly playmaker and a forward who is a bear to stop. He has good hands, a hard shot, and a good eye during odd man rushes that would all be welcomed assets to Ottawa’s bottom six when he is up to speed with his game. - SC

Lassi Thomson, D (19^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 7)

Thomson’s first pro season was a somewhat difficult one. As a first round NHL Draft pick, he joined Ilves with high expectations, yet he struggled with consistency and decision making from time to time. He was the captain of the Finnish team at the World Juniors, but even there his play left a lot to be desired. He is a very physical defenseman who hits with authority when defending. He does not shy away from contact, plays the body and is tough to play against. He can close gaps quickly with his skating speed. His acceleration is very good, and he can carry the puck from his own end. Thomson has a hard, heavy slap shot and one-timer with good wind up. His wrist shot is accurate, and he can release it without much set up. His decision making, especially with the puck, was an occasional issue in the past season. The potential that he displayed in the WHL is still there, he just needs to put all the pieces of his game together. In the long run, Thomson projects as a top-four NHL defenseman with special teams’ assets. – MB

Tyler Kleven, D (44^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

While the game moves more and more towards speed and skill, Tyler Kleven is the epitome of the old school. The USNTDP grad has a frame and game that is very reminiscent of fellow Program alum Mattias Samuelsson. He is 6-4”, broad, and specializes working in his own zone. Rarely involved directly in the offensive game, he actually has some decent offensive tools, primarily his powerful point shot. Unfortunately, he rarely fires the puck. He moves the puck well, and can play with it, but prefers to make simple passes, either D-to-D in his own zone, or the occasional break-out pass crossing one or two lines. On the other hand, he frequently bangs the puck off the glass to exit the zone. On the other hand, Kleven is a shutdown defender using positioning, a smart stick, and his long frame. He reads the opposition very well and consistently gets himself into shooting and passing lanes to disrupt the attack. He has the strength and desire to stop opponents in a way they will remember. Not as exciting as Sanderson or Bernard-Docker, but Kleven can eat a lot of minutes at even strength and the PK. – RW

Roby Jarventie, RW (33^rd overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

A big winger who can skate, Jarventie is blessed with power in his stride that allows him to be an effective North/South attacker. He is a skilled goal scorer, possessing multiple weapons to find the back of the net. His inconsistent draft year could be tied to his physicality and moreover his play without the puck, which still need work. He doesn’t use his reach and frame to play through the middle enough, and he can be too easily pushed off the puck when unable to beat defenders wide with his speed. There is hope that these issues become rectified as he completes his physical maturing. His speed is an asset in transition, especially combined with his strong lateral mobility. Defenders have a difficult time minding their gaps and keeping him in front of them. Additionally, he has a great touch around the net and anticipates the play well as a shooter. His wrist shot is hard and accurate, and he can one-time pucks from the faceoff dot on the powerplay. Jarventie has middle six NHL potential and his early work this season in Liiga may be a hint of what is to come. – BO

Vitali Abramov, RW (Trade: Feb. 22, 2019. Originally: 65^th overall, 2016 [Columbus]. Previous ranking: 8)

Abramov is yet another positive example of a trade working out well for both the Ottawa organization and the player personally, and since moving from the Columbus organization to the Senators, he has seen much better results. Abramov finished fourth in points with AHL Belleville this past season amidst the tight prospect scoring race featuring a number of intriguing young talents in this system. He is a small forward, but he makes up for his lack of size by bringing a lot of skill and hockey sense to the game. He is well positioned, has good hands, and makes plays quickly and efficiently with few turnovers. His primary challenge will be to continue to push his physicality and better his strength when fighting for position in front of the opposing net. Expect to see Abramov called up again next season for a longer stint as part of the Ottawa bottom six as he strives for a bigger future role with the club. - SC

Kevin Mandolese, G (157^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 9)

Mandolese earned the top Q goalie honors last season by refining his game and using his frame to the best of his ability, putting together the best season so far in his career. While he is quick and athletic enough to make highlight reel saves every game, he has harnessed his fundamental skills to make repeatable saves much more consistently last year and was rewarded for it. He has the size scouts look for in a goalie and will be given time to marinate on the farm in the Sens system. The Senators rewarded him with an entry-level deal this offseason, and Mandolese will look to start his pro career this coming season, likely as a backup at the AHL level or as a starter at a lower level. He will take a while, but Ottawa could be rewarded with a cat-like goalie that uses his size efficiently. - MS

Artyom Zub, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed May 1, 2020. Previous ranking: 10)

In his fifth full season in the KHL, Zub more than doubled his previous career high in points, putting up 22 for the perennially contending SKA St. Petersburg club. The right-handed shot with good size, Zub does a lot of things well, suggesting a high floor, and near term NHL readiness, but there is conversely little about his game that sticks out as well above average, thus seemingly putting a cap on his ceiling. The Olympic Gold Medalist skates well but is not a burner. He has a decent wrist shot and solid puck handling ability, capable of carrying the puck from the blueline to the slot, but nothing dynamic. He is reliable and tends to make the right decision but is not a shutdown defender. He is big enough but not overly physical. There were 10 Russian blueliners in the NHL last year, four of which came over as free agents. Of those free agent imports, only new Ottawa teammate Nikita Zaitsev is a full-fledged regular. If he can be more Zaitsev than Ilya Lubushkin, Alexander Yelesin, or Nikolai Knyzhov, the Senators will rightly be pleased. - RW

Mads Sogaard, G (37^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 11)

Sogaard has the prototypical body type that pro teams covet. He is long and lean, and his 6-7” frame makes him an intimidating presence in the net for even the best shooters. His GAA dropped a from an outstanding .921 in his draft year to a still respectable .908 last season. Overall, he didn’t show much improvement in his deficient areas last season which was a bit disappointing. His five hole is still a problem and if opponents get him moving laterally there is room to get pucks through. He is still a bit leaky where a puck will hit him and he loses control of it, either leading to a tap-in, or the puck trickling by him. The positives are certainly still there, though. He is a true puck stopper with good ability to track the puck. His butterfly is solid and when he goes down his shoulders still cover the top of the net. This allows him to cover his post top to bottom while still being in position to protect the lower part of the net laterally. His deficiencies all have coachable fixes, so he still holds a lot of promise. - VG

Joey Daccord, G (199^th overall, 2015. Previous ranking: 12)

Despite the fact that Daccord spent the start of last season back down in the ECHL, he quickly proved that he was much better suited for the AHL. He ended up splitting the Belleville Senators starts pretty evenly over the second half with fellow goaltender prospect Filip Gustavsson. Daccord plays a structured and calm game, bringing focus and good puck tracking skills to the table. He reads plays well and gets into good position. As a rookie goaltender last year, he adjusted well and is still continuing to make the necessary adjustments needed to continue improving. Daccord needs to make sure to not overplay the puck too much or bite too soon on certain plays and when facing dekes, but the more he plays, the more he will familiarize himself with players and situations and improve his reactions. He has not been the quickest to develop and it is tough to say when he will reach starting level but with the way the Ottawa goaltending situation looks, look for Daccord to at least get one call up next season and even a few starts. - SC

Maxence Guenette, D (187^thoverall, 2019. Previous ranking: 14)

Guénette is very good at some aspects of the game and even his worst skills grade out as decent. His best asset is his skating ability. He doesn’t overstep his skillset and try to make plays he can’t finish, and he stays within himself to be a reliable rearguard. His plus-minus, while a controversial stat, was a -11 last season, which is a marked improvement over his previous two campaigns, and he was the highest scoring defenseman on his team. The biggest plus for Guénette last season is the alternate captain A on his sweater in Val-d’Or, as that shows that not only is he a good defenseman in all facets of the game, but he shows character and leadership as well. He will return to the QMJHL next season, where he will look to dominate at times, as he is fighting for an entry level contract. If his trajectory continues, he could become a dependable defender for an NHL team someday, but it will be an uphill climb. - MS

Mark Kastelic, C (125^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 15)

Kastelic has the size that teams covet down the middle. He is a meat and potatoes player who does his best offensive work by using his body on the forecheck. Once in the offensive zone he is a cycle machine who can protect the puck and drive the net, creating sustained offensive pressure that leads to mistakes and scoring opportunities for his team. At 6-3” 220 pounds he isn’t the best skater, but he has improved enough that he should be able to keep up with play at the pro level. Physically he is a dominating player and controls the net front on the power play with his body and frame. He makes good sound decisions and can keep his hands free to jump on rebounds or move pucks out of the scrum to an open man. 25 of his 37 goals last season came from below the dots. He plays in the hard areas of the ice and is able to make plays when he is there. He does a nice job defensively down low supporting his defenseman and was a top faceoff guy in the entire WHL, where he took the fourth most draws in the league and won an impressive 61.5% of them. – VG

Filip Gustavsson, G (Trade Feb. 23, 2017. Originally: 55^th overall, 2016 [Pittsburgh]. Previous ranking: 16)

Once a junior aged wunderkind in Sweden, Gustavsson has struggled mightily since coming over to North America, shortly after Pittsburgh dealt him to Ottawa in a deadline trade in 2017. He can still flash some of the tools that made him a highly touted teenager, starring for Team Sweden at multiple youth tournaments. He has moderate size and decent athleticism. His technical game is sound, and he has a knack for playing the puck more than many other Swedish netminders. Looking at his production this year in Sweden’s second division while he waits out the pandemic, we can see that he still has the potential to overcome his rough North American beginnings, and there really isn’t much separating Gustavsson from the three other goalies who are higher on this list. He specifically needs to improve his play reading and rebound control in North America, but what separates him from being a standout once again is one extra stop every second game. Now that the Senators have traded for – and extended - Matt Murray, perhaps the pressure to be a savior will drop from Gustavsson’s shoulders and he can play more relaxed once he returns to the AHL. - RW

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

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

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

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

PROSPECT CRITERIA

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

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

MCKEEN’S 2020 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – OTTAWA SENATORS – ORGANIZATIONAL RANK: 10

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 16:13:41 +0000

Ottawa Senators

As one of the most abject organizations in hockey, Senators’ fans can at least take some solace in the steps taken under GM Pierre Dorion who has done an admirable job of restocking the cupboard. This despite starting off with a large, self-inflicted handicap resulting from the ill-fated trade acquisition of Matt Duchene, which cost the Sens their ‘natural’ first round pick last year, which the Colorado Avalanche converted into Bowen Byram, currently one of the top prospects in the sport.

That might sting one day, but the Senators are looking at a plethora of future riches ascending to the top. In fact, quite a lot of those riches are already at the top. Outside of a few notable veterans dotting the NHL roster, much of the team is young. It is very easy to envision under-25s including Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk, Colin White, and Anthony Duclair playing key roles on the next playoff team from Ottawa. Those were just the 2019-20 regulars. Additional critical pieces Drake Batherson, Logan Brown, and Erik Brannstrom also played up with the Senators for large chunks of this past season. The latter played enough to lose his prospect eligibility, even if he didn’t play well enough, consistently enough to cement his status for 2020-21.

Outside of the NHL, the Sens have a second tier of probable NHL’ers who have spent all, or at least the bulk of last season in the AHL. That crew incudes Josh Norris, Vitali Abramov, Alex Formenton, and Joey Daccord. Many teams largely skip their top prospects over the AHL entirely, but with Ottawa’s NHL projections for the last two years being so low, there was little reason to push these players right into the NHL, not counting a cup of coffee or three. Additionally, when so many of the players expected to suit up for the team by 2022 are currently this young, it really makes no sense to debut them all at once, never mind the cap implications that would entail. Better to stagger their respective arrivals, bringing up a few each year until they are ready to strike fear into all opponents.

Finally, we have the group who are at least one full season away, considering their current development stage, and/or contract status. Here I am talking about players such as 2018 first rounder Jacob Bernard-Docker, Shane Pinto, Lassi Thomson, Jonathan Gruden, and whoever the Senators draft with the third and fifth overall picks in the upcoming draft. One of the latter pair could feasibly join next year’s crew, but definitely not both, and considering the philosophy the Senators seem to practice, and the players likely available, neither are likely to spend all of 2020-21 in the NHL.

Another way to gauge how the Senator’s future is shaping up is to look at the system, position by position. Without knowing who the Senators will draft in October, the strength of the organization seems to be up front. One could easily envision a quartet down the middle consisting of Colin White, Josh Norris, Logan Brown, and Shane Pinto. That allows the flanks to include the likes of Tkachuk, Duclair, Batherson, Formenton, Abramov, Gruden, and at least two others. Even if we don’t yet know who the Senators will draft, knowing the strength of the draft class (wingers), it is likely that at least one of their top two picks will be used on a player who can fortify the wings, possibly as soon as 2021-22.

On the blueline, the discussion starts with Chabot, one of the best handful of young defensemen leaguewide. Regularly eating up 30 minutes per game, the load is lessened on the rest of the defense-corps. But I will also include Brannstrom, who has a lot more in the tank than he showed at the NHL level last year. Thomson and Bernard-Docker round out an intriguing top four, while the third pairing possibilities are currently a bit light within the system. There are options of course, but none that stick out as sure things.

Finally, in the crease, the Senators have built up a nice reservoir of four youngsters who each have a decent shot to matriculate into long-time NHLers, in addition to 25-year-old Marcus Hogberg, who may be good enough to start while the team waits for the cavalry to arrive. Goalies are notoriously hard to predict, but all of Daccord (7^th round), Kevin Mandolese (6^th round), Mads Sogaard (2^nd round), and Filip Gustavsson (trade) have their fans within the organization and without.

The present is dark, but the future is very bright in Ottawa.

Jacob Bernard Docker. Photo by Avid Photography.

Jacob Bernard-Docker, D (26^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 4)

The best way to start this profile is with a mea culpa. We were wrong about Bernard-Docker. Two years ago, with the draft in Dallas, we thought of the AJHL blueliner as a decent late second round pick, ranking him 56^th in the draft class. Not only was that wrong, but the way that the University of North Dakota blueliner is trending, at least 10, if not 15, of the teams that picked before Ottawa in that class were also wrong. I will go so far as to say that, when all is said and done, there will be little to separate Bernard-Docker from Noah Dobson, who was drafted 12^th by the Islanders earlier that same day.

Having continued to watch him develop with the Fighting Hawks and with Team Canada at the WJC, I now see a defender who reasonably projects as a first pairing blueliner at the NHL level, playing upwards of 25 minutes a minutes a night, in all situations, and shutting down the opposition’s finest. The native Albertan does everything at an above average level, but has high end hockey IQ, allowing the entire package to play better than the sum of his parts.

Without being a dynamic skater, he moves is feet very well. He has the rare ability to be both safe and creative when he carries the puck out of his zone. He is not a blueline bomber, but he has a very impressive wrist shot from the point that he can use to pick out targets when he takes his time. His own zone play is remarkable for his mature positioning and tight gap control.

As a right-handed shot, there will soon be room for Bernard-Docker to line up alongside Thomas Chabot, giving the Senators a long term first pairing that can play against anyone and excel. - RW

Josh Norris, C (Trade: Sep. 13, 2018. Originally: 19^th overall, 2017 [San Jose]. 2019 Rank: 2)

It is an understatement to say that the acquisition of Norris, a former San Jose first round pick, was a steal of a trade for the Senators. In his rookie season after coming over from the Michigan Wolverines, Norris finished the year leading AHL Belleville in points and earning a brief three game stint with the big club where his performance was good albeit a little shaky at times, indicating that he may still need time in the AHL to start next season.

Although he is a great playmaker and team player, his shot, paired with his individual efforts on the ice, are what make him a deadly player. The fact that he finished nearly even in both goals and assists is indicative of the versatility of his offensive contributions. Norris is a good-sized forward and a strong skater, he is agile, reads the play well, and possesses an NHL level skillset with hands and a shot to go alongside his skating abilities.

He has a full bag of tricks with no real negatives in his game, all working together to make his transition from college to the pros practically seamless. Norris is approaching NHL readiness and will be seen again in an Ottawa Senators jersey as soon as next season, if not full time at least as Ottawa’s first forward call up. He is a naturally good all-round player with a high ceiling and the potential to be a first line forward, top six at the very least, when his time comes back in the NHL. - SC

Drake Batherson, C (121^st overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 6)

For a small-town boy, who before the 2018 World Juniors was largely unknown, Batherson has made his climb as one of the Senators’ top prospects with ease and determination. He still has a few small details to touch up and tighten up with his game, but overall he has grown tremendously as a player and his maturity has come a long way with time spent up with Ottawa as well as on the farm.

As a hard-working forward who plays both wing and center, he is versatile and can also be relied upon to play both powerplay and penalty kill. He is a good two-way player but can still work to improve his defensive coverage and play with more patience in his own end. As a bigger forward, Batherson has the potential to be a very dominant force when it comes to getting to the net and finishing plays but he will have to be more confident on NHL ice and that will come with more time spent up with the Senators.

He is almost at the point now where he has outgrown the AHL and is ready for a bigger challenge in the NHL. He should have no worries when it comes to making a full-time adjustment to the league and finding a spot in the Ottawa top six at some point in the near future. With such a tight race between the club’s forward prospects it will be up to Batherson to maintain his high compete level going into next season and earn his spot permanently. - SC

Alex Formenton, LW (47^th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 3)

The Senators want Formenton to succeed and that is evident in the way they tried to start him up with the NHL club last season. However, he was not quite ready for the NHL game and instead spent the bulk of his season with Belleville in AHL, where he finished third in team scoring.

Formenton is the type of forward that every team should have, as he is fast and forechecks well, handles battles safely, keeps his feet moving, and has the offensive mindset of a natural goal scorer. He will need to find a way to protect his own end better and work on his two-way mindset and other than that he simply needs to maintain the same performance level and same high energy when he gets called back up. He enjoys being on a team where he stands out, which means he needs to find a way to up his confidence and force his way to a prominent role at the next level.

This past season with Belleville there were issues with consistency regarding effort and speed and for a player who relies heavily on his high end top speed, he will need to bring consistent effort each game in order to fulfill his potential and be deserving of a full-time, permanent spot with Ottawa. Formenton has the skillset, the speed, and the potential to be a top six forward but he cannot simply coast around because while he may be fast enough to afford playing at less than his top speed, playing at the next level requires constant effort and he will need an adjustment to his mindset before getting there. - SC

Shane Pinto, C (32^nd overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 11)

Another player here that we had underrated in his draft year. A very late bloomer, Pinto was not drafted into the USHL until the 21^st round of 2017, and spent another year playing AAA hockey in Connecticut before reporting to Lincoln, Nebraska. Pinto’s transition from AAA to the USHL was seamless, but as a player without dynamic skills backing up his impressive point totals, we were non-plussed.

As a freshman at North Dakota, teaming up with Bernard-Docker, Pinto’s game has continued to develop at a rapid clip. He has enough muscle on his 6-3” frame to play in a power role, hanging out near the opposition net and preventing the defenders from dislodging him. In fact, not only does Pinto serve as a distraction for the netminder, but he also is an ace shot tipper, demonstrating high end hand eye coordination to get his blade on point shots in mid-air and angling them just so to squeak past the goalie.

He also uses his body well when carrying the puck, to shield defenders off, and maintain possession of the puck. There is little fancy about his game, as he is most effective playing largely in straight, north-south lines, but he can be extremely effective as a foil for two more highly skilled linemates.

Most comfortable below the hashmarks, Pinto still has many possible outcomes for his career. He can fit anywhere in the middle six, including both at center and at right wing, where I think he might ultimately be most effective. One more year of consistent performance, and possibly a little extra jam would prove that he is ready for the pros. - RW

Logan Brown, C (11^th overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 5)

Brown is a strong player with a very big body and a lot of talent. If he can find a way to get to the net consistently and make faster plays, he will be a deadly playmaker and a forward who is a bear to stop. He has good hands, a hard shot, and a good eye during odd man rushes that would all be welcomed assets to Ottawa’s bottom six when he is up to speed with his game. - SC

Lassi Thomson, D (19^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 7)

He is a very physical defenseman who hits with authority when defending. He does not shy away from contact, plays the body and is tough to play against. He can close gaps quickly with his skating speed. His acceleration is very good, and he can carry the puck from his own end.

Thomson has a hard, heavy slap shot and one-timer with good wind up. His wrist shot is accurate, and he can release it without much set up. His decision making, especially with the puck, was an occasional issue in the past season.

The potential that he displayed in the WHL is still there, he just needs to put all the pieces of his game together. In the long run, Thomson projects as a top-four NHL defenseman with special teams assets. - MB

Vitali Abramov, RW (Trade: Feb. 22, 2019. Originally: 65^th overall, 2016 [Columbus]. 2019 Rank: 9)

He is a small forward, but he makes up for his lack of size by bringing a lot of skill and hockey sense to the game. He is well positioned, has good hands, and makes plays quickly and efficiently with few turnovers. His primary challenge will be to continue to push his physicality and better his strength when fighting for position in front of the opposing net.

Expect to see Abramov called up again next season for a longer stint as part of the Ottawa bottom six as he strives for a bigger future role with the club. - SC

Kevin Mandolese, G (157^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Mandolese earned the top Q goalie honors this season by refining his game and using his frame to the best of his ability, putting together the best season so far in his career. While he is quick and athletic enough to make highlight reel saves every game, he has harnessed his fundamental skills to make repeatable saves much more consistently this year and was rewarded for it.

He has the size scouts look for in a goalie, and will be given time to marinate on the farm in the Sens system. The Senators rewarded him with an entry-level deal this offseason, and Mandolese will look to start his pro career this coming season, likely as a backup at the AHL level or as a starter at a lower level. He will take a while, but Ottawa could be rewarded with a cat-like goalie that uses his size efficiently. - MS

Artyom Zub, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed May 1, 2020. 2019 Rank: IE)

The Olympic Gold Medalist skates well but is not a burner. He has a decent wrist shot and solid puck handling ability, capable of carrying the puck from the blueline to the slot, but nothing dynamic. He is reliable and tends to make the right decision but is not a shutdown defender. He is big enough but not overly physical.

There were 10 Russian blueliners in the NHL last year, four of which came over as free agents. Of those free agent imports, only new Ottawa teammate Nikita Zaitsev is a full-fledged regular. If he can be more Zaitsev than Ilya Lubushkin, Alexander Yelesin, or Nikolai Knyzhov, the Senators will rightly be pleased. - RW

Mads Sogaard, G (37^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 10)

Overall, he didn’t show much improvement in his deficient areas this season which was a bit disappointing. His five hole is still a problem and if opponents get him moving laterally there is room to get pucks through. He is still a bit leaky where a puck will hit him and he loses control of it, either leading to a tap-in, or the puck trickling by him.

The positives are certainly still there, though. He is a true puck stopper with good ability to track the puck. His butterfly is solid and when he goes down his shoulders still cover the top of the net. This allows him to cover his post top to bottom while still being in position to protect the lower part of the net laterally. His deficiencies all have coachable fixes, so he still holds a lot of promise. - VG

Joey Daccord, G (199^th overall, 2015. 2019 Rank: 8)

Daccord plays a structured and calm game, bringing focus and good puck tracking skills to the table. He reads plays well and gets into good position. As a rookie goaltender last year, he adjusted well and is still continuing to make the necessary adjustments needed to continue improving. Daccord needs to make sure to not overplay the puck too much or bite too soon on certain plays and when facing dekes, but the more he plays, the more he will familiarize himself with players and situations and improve his reactions.

He has not been the quickest to develop and it is tough to say when he will reach starting level but with the way the Ottawa goaltending situation looks, look for Daccord to at least get one call up next season and even a few starts. - SC

Jonathan Gruden, RW (95^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 18)

A former NTDP member, Gruden left Miami University after his freshman season in order to join the London Knights this year. Gruden operates well as an offensive support player. He controls the wall well, keeps his feet moving in the offensive zone, and possesses the vision and awareness to find those soft spots in coverage.

While his skating ability, skill level, and physical skill set would be deemed average, he is successful at the OHL level due to his high-end IQ. As such, Gruden projects best as a bottom six forward at the NHL level. At the pro level, there may certainly be an adjustment period as his skating and strength improve to the level that they need to in order for him to succeed in a “grind it out” role against men. - BO

Maxence Guenette, D (187^thoverall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

The biggest plus for Guénette last season is the alternate captain A on his sweater in Val-d’Or, as that shows that not only is he a good defenseman in all facets of the game, but he shows character and leadership as well.

He will return to the QMJHL next season, where he will look to dominate at times, as he is fighting for an entry level contract. If his trajectory continues, he could become a dependable defender for an NHL team someday, but it will be an uphill climb. - MS

Mark Kastelic, C (125^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

At 6-3” 220 pounds he isn’t the best skater, but he has improved enough that he should be able to keep up with play at the pro level. Physically he is a dominating player and controls the net front on the power play with his body and frame. He makes good sound decisions and can keep his hands free to jump on rebounds or move pucks out of the scrum to an open man. 25 of his 37 goals last season came from below the dots. He plays in the hard areas of the ice and is able to make plays when he is there.

He does a nice job defensively down low supporting his defenseman and was a top faceoff guy in the entire WHL, where he took the fourth most draws in the league and won an impressive 61.5% of them. - VG

MCKEENS 2020 NHL PROSPECTS REPORT – TOP 250 PROSPECTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ottawa Senators 2019-20 Prospect Review: Top 20

Sat, 14 Sep 2019 12:41:50 +0000

The overdue rebuild that was stunted when the Senators traded away a future first round pick along with a few other quality assets for around 18 months of Matt Duchene, finally reached the bottom last season. We think. As bad as the post-Duchene Senators were in 2017-18, finishing as one of the worst teams in the league, with Duchene, Mark Stone, and of course Erik Karlsson, they were even worse last year, trading all three of those men, and a few other strong performers besides, before the trade deadline.

It isn’t that the Senators couldn’t be worse than last season, but the rebuild has (must have) hit its nadir as the team no longer has valuable assets that could be dealt for meaningful returns, unless they start trading entry-level and second contract players, like budding stars Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk, or Colin White, or find a way to unload an anchor contract or two, such as those of Bobby Ryan or Craig Anderson.

The official rumor that kicked off the sell-off was that Eugene Melnyk’s Senators had offered Erik Karlsson a large contract extension last offseason, which he turned down. Whether it was due to friction in the dressing room (see the Mike Hoffman incident) or distaste with the direction of the franchise, stuck in a suburban arena that rarely fills up and with a team owner who is in the news for the wrong reasons all too often, Karlsson was ready to go. So before the season started, he was traded to San Jose, along with AHLer Francis Perron for a package that included Josh Norris, Chris Tierney, Rudolfs Balcers, Dylan DeMelo and up to four draft picks, three of which had conditions attached. (We now know that those picks will be the Sharks’ second rounders in 2019 and 2021 and their first rounder in 2020. The fourth pick’s condition was not met.) So that is three NHLers, one of whom would have made the below list near the middle had he played in two fewer NHL games last year. They also got their current number two prospect in Norris, and used their 2019 second rounder (along with an additional later pick) to trade up to select Mads Sogaard (#10 below) and will see two more high picks in the next two seasons.

As the season proceeded and the Senators couldn’t stay out of the negative headlines for both on and off-ice reasons, the cleaned house in the week leading up to the trade deadline. In the space of 24 hours, they sent both Duchene and Ryan Dzingel to Columbus, picking up three high picks, including the 19^th pick this June (Lassi Thomson, #7 below), as well as Vitali Abramov (#9) and Jonathan Davidsson (#15).

Finally, on deadline day, they sent Mark Stone and his expiring contract to Vegas (they had also apparently tried to re-sign him first) for a package headlined by the new Ottawa number one prospect, Erik Brannstrom. While it is far too early to know whether the rebuild was a success, the results are all over their top 20 list, with six players, including the top two coming directly or indirectly from the tear down. I suppose it could always have been worse.

-Ryan Wagman

Ottawa Senators Defenceman Erik Brannstrom (26) . (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire)

1 Erik Brannstrom, D (15^th overall, 2017 [Vegas]. Last Year: 3 [Vegas]) As of this writing, we have yet to decide if Brannstrom is the best defenseman prospect in hockey. If he is not, he’s really close though. We are talking about a player with all of the traits we usually look for when describing the epitome of the modern blueliner. He doesn’t skate as much as he flies. He has sublime puck skills. He is a consummate playmaker from the blueline and his lack of great size is not an impediment when he is trying to protect the puck from opposing defenders. His vision is elite and he has the defensive acumen to play in defensive situations and get the puck where it needs to go. It would be nice if he had a bigger bomb from the point, but he has a knack for getting himself into good shooting positions and hitting the mark anyway. Ottawa is in a bad way as an organization, but between Brannstrom and young Thomas Chabot, they have the makings of a top first defensive pairing for many years to come. - RW

2 Josh Norris, C (19^thoverall, 2017 [San Jose]. Last Year: 1[San Jose]) We don’t yet know what will come of the picks the Senators acquired from San Jose in the Erik Karlsson, but as far as flesh and blood players are concerned, they have to be pleased with Josh Norris and the steps he took before he hurt his shoulder late in the WJC and had to sit out the rest of the season. A high IQ center with a standout two-way game, the former USNTDP standout is a strong play driver, with a fantastic shot and strong playmaking abilities. Norris signed an ELC with Ottawa shortly after Michigan’s season ended and he will have a good chance of making the NHL roster right off the hop next season. He was the hockey wherewithal to play a bottom six role right away, but he projects as a clear top six center at his best, presuming full health in the shoulder. - RW

3 Alex Formenton, LW (47^th overall, 2017. Last Year: 5) The foundation of Formenton’s game is his elite skating ability. He has an effortless, yet powerful stride that allows him to be such an effective high-energy winger. Additionally, Formenton is a physical player who is aggressive on the forecheck, making him a terrific penalty killer. As an offensive player, his best asset is a quick release. His offensive potential may be limited due to only average puck skill and vision. In particular, his decision making with the puck will need to improve should he want to be more than a 3rd line winger. Short term, he should be able to jump right into Ottawa’s lineup next year as a 4th liner and penalty killer, especially after a cup of coffee last season. Long term, he profiles as a middle six goal scoring winger. - BO

4 Jacob Bernard-Docker, D (26^th overall, 2018. Last Year: 8) There is always some element of doubt when a player makes the jump from Junior A hockey to a big-time NCAA program. For as highly touted as Bernard-Docker was for Okotoks, he managed the transition to the collegiate game at North Dakota with aplomb. His tools all grade out as average to good, but his heightened hockey sense helps everything to play up. In short order, he was playing in all situations at UND. He is a strong transitional defender, excelling at retrieving the puck in his own zone and making the right play to move it out sustainably. He is built strong and he makes it very difficult to get past him in one-on-one situations. He has also proven to be proficient in the offensive end, although he projects as more of a steady two-way type at the highest level instead of a first power play unit type of player. He should spend another year on campus before considering the start of a professional career. - RW

5 Logan Brown, C (11^th overall, 2016. Last Year: 2) Brown saw only two games up with the Sens this season. That said, he had a successful inaugural professional season with 42 points in 56 games with Belleville of the AHL. Using his physical stature and size to his advantage he managed to keep his penalty minutes on the low and his offensive play on a high. Brown matured a lot over the course of the season as he became more comfortable with the speed of the game. His defensive game improved and with his on-ice intelligence and skillset he should only become harder to stop as he plays more pro games. A forward of Brown’s size may not have the jump in their stride that smaller and more agile players do, but that being said, he would do well to find a faster gear. With all else rounded out, he should see much more time up with the Ottawa Senators this coming season. - SC

6 Drake Batherson, C (121^st overall, 2017. Last Year: 6) As a fourth rounder, Drake Batherson may have seemed like an unlikely prospect but ever since his energetic 2018 World Junior performance Batherson has been on fire. He is an elusive player that slips under the radar and is quiet on the ice until the puck is found in the net as a result of his strong playmaking ability. In the 20 games spent up with the Ottawa Senators this season he only managed 9 points, however he certainly made up for it in his AHL debut as he led Belleville with 62 points in 59 games and earned a spot on the AHL All-Rookie Team. He is a highly adaptable and entertaining player to watch in both even strength and special team situations, his adjustment to the AHL level has been tremendous and a player with his hockey IQ and natural skill set should definitely see a more promising NHL performance this season. - SC

7 Lassi Thomson, D (19^th overall, 2019. Last Year: IE) In his first campaign North America, Thomson put up an impressive 17 goals and 41 points in 63 games for the Rockets. The smooth skating defender carries a big shot, is very mobile, and brings a nice physical element to his game. He has adapted very nicely to the North American style game, and should only improve on his play and his numbers. Thomson has openly come out and said that he would like to return to Finland to play next season, but would have a more dominant role sticking it out with the Rockets, especially with Kelowna hosting the Memorial Cup, in which he will be able to showcase his skills on a bigger stage. Thomson projects to be a top four defender who will play lots of minutes, anchor the power play, and can be utilized everywhere. He has good offensive instincts, plays a nice two way game, but could further work at honing his skills on the defensive side of the puck. - KO

8 Joey Daccord, G (199^th overall, 2015. Last Year: Not ranked) Goalies mature later than most players and now at the age of 22, late bloomer Joey Daccord is turning into a top-flight goalie prospect. In 2017-18 there were murmurs that he was getting better, as his Arizona State squad was improving as well. His .926 save percentage last season was excellent. So good, that he was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award. He was also on the second all-American team in the West and he had a nice run in the NCAA playoffs. Senators GM Pierre Dorian scouted him personally with members of his staff and signed him soon after his run ended. His athleticism, rebound control, and stickwork are his strengths along with his goalie I.Q., thanks to his father Brian, who is a goalie consultant for Toronto. While he still needs work on tracking the puck, especially from distance, he has a chance to be a starter in Ottawa someday, but must first battle Filip Gustavsson for the starters' job in Belleville this season. - RC

9 Vitaly Abramov, RW (65^th overall, 2016 [Columbus]. Last Year: 2 [Columbus]) With massive numbers in the QMJHL, expectations would have it that Abramov would have a good start as a pro, however that was not exactly the case as he had an average start in the AHL with Cleveland before being traded from Columbus to Ottawa in the Matt Duchene deal, where he finished the season with seven points in 18 games with Belleville. Hope would be that Abramov continues to get stronger and learns to play better at a pro pace. At this point a full season spent in the Ottawa Senators organization would be beneficial for his confidence to grow along with the chance of getting more than a one game callup to the NHL. Abramov keeps his feet moving at all times and is a good two-way player, who has the potential for a longer call up next season as he continues to stand out for his work ethic. - SC

10 Mads Sogaard, G (37^th overall, 2019. Last Year: IE) Sogaard is a very intriguing combination of size and athleticism. At 6-7” he fills the net in the typical large goalie frame but there are many other things to like about his game as well. He moves well laterally and tracks the puck very well. He can shake off a bad goal, period, or game and come back ready for the next one. After the World Junior’s, where he was under siege the entire tournament on an outmanned Denmark squad, he posted back to back solid outings in Medicine Hat. In the playoffs against Edmonton he was main reason the series was close. His mental make-up includes a great blend of relaxed, take it as it comes, with a fiery competitiveness bubbling just under the surface. His rebound control needs to keep on improving as he tends to leave pucks around the net that he can’t always cover up. He has a ways to go, but his upside is immense. Like him. - VG

11 Shane Pinto, C (32^nd overall, 2019. Last Year: IE) Although I was underwhelmed seeing Pinto’s name called out first on Day Two of the 2019 draft, that doesn’t mean that I don’t think he is a viable NHL prospect. Pinto is a late bloomer, who was not considered a real prospect in any sense until he was almost 17. He moved from local midget hockey to the USHL to play for Lincoln. The Stars were no good, but Pinto stood out an Tri-City, the top team in the league, traded for him. As a USHL rookie, his numbers were outstanding, topping the point-per-game mark. But while he has the overall game to contribute, none of his tools stands out as better than pretty solid, making me question his ability to keep it up at the higher levels. He also doesn’t do too much when he isn’t scoring. If he learns to play at both ends, he could work his way to a middle six role down the line. - RW

12 Michael Carcone, LW (Undrafted free agent, signed Jul. 15, 2016 [Vancouver]. Last Year: Not ranked [Vancouver]) Having played last season strictly with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, Carcone is a new addition to Ottawa’s system. It will be interesting to see where he fits in his new organization as he moved many times up and down the lineup with the Marlies. However, if there is one thing to be said about Carcone it is his ability to score overtime and even strength goals despite his overall stats this season sitting around average. His stamina on the ice is an asset and his aggressiveness and ability to win puck battles make up for his small size. His passing needs to become more dependable if he is to nab a spot on Belleville’s middle six. That being said, Carcone may find more opportunity for a call up with Ottawa than with Toronto. - SC

13 Andreas Englund, D (40^th overall, 2014. Last Year: 12) For a player who was drafted from one of the top clubs in the SHL, Djurgardens IF, Englund's development has been a slow process. In his first two North American professional seasons he has seen a few highlight reel goals and many fights. His big frame and tough style of play are key assets that highlight his game but the question remains, does Ottawa need a physical stay at home defenceman in their lineup or a smooth skating, offensive defenseman in the likes of Erik Brannstrom? Englund needs to raise his ceiling more and develop a more three dimensional style of play before being called up to Ottawa for more than the nine games he has already clocked in the NHL. If he can incorporate a better offensive side to his game, with his size and hockey sense he may see a potential second pairing spot with Belleville and more games spent with Ottawa. - SC

14 Max Veronneau, RW (Undrafted free agent, signed Mar. 12, 2019. Last Year: IE) Max Veronneau had been getting better every season for Princeton. For the past two seasons, he had been heavily scouted and even turned down contract offers after his junior campaign to keep the band together. He finally signed with Ottawa, giving his hometown team a pro-caliber winger who is fast, smart, and shoots the puck from anywhere on the ice. He is defensively responsible and even though Princeton had an off-year, he didn’t, with 37 points in 31 collegiate games, was an early Hobey nominee and finished out the season playing 12 NHL games getting an even two goals and two assists. At 23, with a lot of opportunity with the Senators, he can play a third-line role and could also be used on the penalty kill as he gains more confidence. He needs to get stronger so he can have more push back at the next level. - RC

15 Jonathan Davidsson, RW (170^th overall, 2017 [Columbus]. Last Year: 10 [Columbus]) A 22-year-old winger who has a couple of seasons of pro hockey under his belt, Davidsson has put up good numbers in the SHL without being a topline player. He had 31 points in a full 2017-18 season and an additional 21 points last season before his campaign was cut short in February due to a concussion. Davidsson is an offensive player with nice puck skills, a quick shot release and good vision. He is an agile, quick skater who accelerates well. His best asset is his ability to read the game fast. He isn’t physically strong and struggles with consistency. His chances to reach the NHL as a top six forward are limited. He will need to show progress in the AHL for a season or two before reachig the NHL for good. That said, with the team Ottawa has right now, he might get to see some NHL games the upcoming season regardless of his readiness. - JH

16 Jonny Tychonik, D (48^th overall, 2018. Last Year: 7) We were not alone last year in rating Tychonik ahead of fellow Canadian Jr A standout and North Dakota recruit Jacob Bernard-Docker. If one year is anything to go by, the Senators were wise to see JBD as the better prospect. While their first round pick stepped right into a top pairing role as a freshman, Tychonik really struggled to make an impact. Struggled to the tune of four assists in 28 games. To his credit, he is an above average skater. He also flashes puck skills when carrying, but the things that worked in the BCHL did not work in the NCHC. He needs to show better ability to process the game quickly to have a more positive impact. His pedigree ensures that we won’t give up on him yet, but to reach even a third pairing upside, he needs to take a step or two forward. - RW

17 Nick Ebert, D (211^th overall, 2012 [Los Angeles]. Last Year: Not Ranked [unaffiliated]) A 7th round pick of the LA Kings in 2012 with 157 career AHL games under his belt was one of the best defensemen in the SHL last season. Ebert has puck skills and can dominate in the offensive zone, joining the rush and using his dangerous shot. He played on a weak team in Sweden but scored an impressive 11 goals and 33 points from the blueline and was the top point getter on his team. He had strong possession numbers and was by far the best player for Orebro. As for his NHL potential he needs to play in the top four although he lacks some agility in his skating and his hockey sense is not elite. At 25 years of age, his room for improvement is limited as well. He will probably start in the AHL and if he can dominate there as well as he did in the SHL, chances are that he will get a shot in big league also. - JH

18 Jonathan Gruden, LW (95^th overall, 2018. Last Year: 9) College isn’t for everyone. Nor is college hockey. Gruden did not struggle with a poor Miami program as badly as Jonny Tychonik did with North Dakota, but 15 points in 38 games did not make the impact either he or the Senators had hoped. While it was good enough to play on a second line for the RedHawks, the former USNTDP stud left the program after his freshman year, signing an ELC with Ottawa and moving to London of the OHL for the next stage of his development. The Knights have had a good run of refining the games of former collegians in a pro-like atmosphere and Gruden could easily jump up this list next year with a smooth transition. He thinks the game very well and has a solid enough tool collection to not laugh at a middle six projection. But he has a ways to go to get there. - RW

19 Christian Wolanin, D (107^th overall, 2015. Last Year: 10) Wolanin sits at an undeserving 19th spot in Ottawa’s prospects rankings but his skills and maturity when playing the game put him amongst some of Ottawa’s top prospects. The way Wolanin plays the game with poise and the way he shoots the puck can be attributed to defensemen like Ottawa’s newly acquired Nikita Zaitsev. Wolanin is an excellent shot and a mature passer which makes him a highly dependable defenseman with a moderate ceiling. Having already played 40 games in the NHL throughout two seasons, his most recent stint included 12 points as a third pairing defenseman. Wolanin’s development seems to be heading in the right direction with him starting in the NHL next season, nevertheless look for him to spend more time at the back of Ottawa's roster. - SC

20 Filip Chlapik, C (48^th overall, 2015. Last Year: 17) Despite having 25 NHL appearances under his belt, Chlapik continues to play a young game and finds more success at the AHL level with Belleville than with the NHL. Playing 57 games this season and coming out with 34 points is not too bad for a forward in his second professional season. However many aspects of Chlapik’s game need to be tightened up if he expects to be given any further chances. He wins his draws, plays a good defensive game but occasionally gets lost in the neutral zone. There are certainly positives to his style of play but Chlapik still needs to develop more fluidity to his game and better his play with the puck. Expect Chlapik to start the season in Belleville’s top six and work for a call up to Ottawa during the season as he aims to prove he belong on a NHL bottom six. - SC

Sens-Less – Ottawa Senators 2018-19 Season Preview

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 17:50:53 +0000

REVIEW / STATE OF PLAY – The Ottawa Senators are perhaps a team that could be best described with a long sigh. The worst part is that it wasn’t so long-ago things looked alright for the Senators. They were a single win away from the Stanley Cup Final in 2017 and while you could easily argue that they over performed, at least they went into 2017-18 looking like a franchise that was trending in the right direction.

Everything that could have gone wrong for the Senators last season, did go wrong, including some things that you would have never even considered. The team finished with a 28-43-11 record and instead of being on the brink of contending, are now in a position where they need to rebuild. To make matters worse, just before the Senators’ collapse, they traded an unprotected first round pick for Matt Duchene, so no matter how badly they do in 2018-19, the Colorado Avalanche will control the Senators’ 2019 first round draft pick.

AND IT GETS WORSE – The Ottawa Senators began their rebuild before the 2017-18 campaign ended by trading Derick Brassard to the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of a three-way trade to get, among other things, Pittsburgh’s 2018 first-round pick. Brassard’s contract extends through 2018-19, so trading him away was about more than just Ottawa’s position last season.

After the campaign, the Ottawa Senators dealt away another top-six forward in Mike Hoffman. The reasons for trading Hoffman was due to off-ice matters that are probably best not discussed here, but the consequence of Ottawa being in a position where it had to trade Hoffman was that the Senators got far less than normal market value for him.

Although at the time of writing there hasn’t been another trade by the Senators since they dealt Hoffman, that might not be the end of it. Goaltender Craig Anderson reportedly requested a trade, though he said in late August that he’s fine staying in Ottawa so long as there isn’t any drama. Of more pressing importance is the matter of Erik Karlsson, who can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019. If the Senators aren’t confident in their ability to re-sign him, then it’s important that he be dealt before the trade deadline to avoid suffering a fate similar to the New York Islanders’ with John Tavares.

Speaking of pending UFAs, Mark Stone and Matt Duchene also fall into that category. So, the Senators’ front office has a lot of work ahead of them.

IS THERE A SILVER LINING? – There’s not much of one in the near-term, but no franchise is without hope and that is true of the Ottawa Senators as well. First off, you could work out a scenario where the Senators end up exceeding their low expectations this season with Karlsson and Duchene leading the charge, Marian Gaborik staying healthy, and one of Anderson or Mike Condon bouncing back to provide the team with solid goaltending. However, rather than trying to envision an unlikely, albeit not impossible, set of circumstances where the Senators might have a passable season, it’s probably better to think about their future.

Not having control of their first-round pick in 2019 is embarrassing for the Senators given their circumstances. The upside though is that they do have some promising prospects already in their franchise with two of the most notable ones being Logan Brown and Brady Tkachuk. Both might end up as members of the 2018-19 squad and provide a silver lining in what might be an otherwise difficult season.

The Senators also could potentially turn Karlsson and Duchene into significant prospects/picks through trades that would meaningfully push forward their rebuilding efforts. A trade involving Stone would certainly serve that purpose as well, but the ideal would be to re-sign him to serve as a leader for the next generation given that he’s still just 26-years-old.

Ottawa also only has three players under one-way contracts beyond 2019-20 in Bobby Ryan, Gaborik, and Zack Smith. While in one respect that’s part of the problem, that also gives the Senators a lot of flexibility with how they shape their team going forward and opens the door to Ottawa potentially engaging in trades that involve them taking on some cap burden in exchange for more picks/prospects.

OUTLOOK – This is likely going to be a difficult season for Ottawa on the ice, but an interesting one on the trade front. The moves that are made in the next few months could define the Senators for years to come and for that reason, the Senators are a franchise to keep an eye on even if not much is expected of them right now.

Logan Brown – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Forwards

Nikita Kucherov

Brayden Point

Steven Stamkos

Brandon Hagel

Anthony Cirelli

Nick Paul

Tanner Jeannot

Conor Sheary

Michael Eyssimont

Defense

Victor Hedman

Mikhail Sergachev

Nick Perbix

Erik Cernak

Goaltending

Andrei Vasilevskiy

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – ST. LOUIS BLUES – NHL Player Profiles

FORWARDS

DEFENSE

GOALTENDING

2021-22 TOP 15 PROSPECTS: OTTAWA SENATORS – RANK: #4- TIER II

SEATTLE KRAKEN EXPANSION DRAFT: Prospects to Target – Part Two – Forwards

Rasmus Asplund - Buffalo Sabres

Morgan Geekie - Carolina Hurricanes

Kevin Stenlund - Columbus Blue Jackets

Henrik Borgstrom - Florida Panthers

Nathan Bastian - New Jersey Devils

Yegor Sharangovich - New Jersey Devils

Janne Kuokkanen - New Jersey Devils

Nick Merkley - New Jersey Devils

Kieffer Bellows - New York Islanders

Julien Gauthier - New York Rangers

Vitaly Abramov - Ottawa Senators

Filip Chlapik - Ottawa Senators

Logan Brown - Ottawa Senators

Nicolas Aube-Kubel - Philadelphia Flyers

Alex Barre Boulet - Tampa Bay Lightning

Alex Volkov - Tampa Bay Lightning

Mitchell Stephens - Tampa Bay Lightning

Mathieu Joseph - Tampa Bay Lightning

Boris Katchouk - Tampa Bay Lightning

Taylor Raddysh - Tampa Bay Lightning

Joey Anderson - Toronto Maple Leafs

Isac Lundestrom - Anaheim Ducks

Matthew Phillips - Calgary Flames

Adam Mascherin - Dallas Stars

Tyler Benson - Edmonton Oilers

Rem Pitlick - Nashville Predators

Jonathan Dahlen - San Jose Sharks

Alexander True - San Jose Sharks

Maxim Letunov - San Jose Sharks

Rudolfs Balcers - San Jose Sharks

Kole Lind - Vancouver Canucks

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: Ottawa Senators Top 20 Prospects

Tim Stuetzle, LW/C (3rd overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Jake Sanderson, D (5th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Jacob Bernard-Docker, D (26th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 1)

Josh Norris, C (Trade: Sep. 13, 2018. Originally: 19th overall, 2017 [San Jose]. Previous ranking: 2)

Drake Batherson, C (121st overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 3)

Alex Formenton, LW (47th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 4)

Shane Pinto, C (32nd overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 5)

Ridly Greig, C (28th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Logan Brown, C (11th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 6)

Lassi Thomson, D (19th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 7)

Tyler Kleven, D (44th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Roby Jarventie, RW (33rd overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Vitali Abramov, RW (Trade: Feb. 22, 2019. Originally: 65th overall, 2016 [Columbus]. Previous ranking: 8)

Kevin Mandolese, G (157th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 9)

Artyom Zub, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed May 1, 2020. Previous ranking: 10)

Mads Sogaard, G (37th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 11)

Joey Daccord, G (199th overall, 2015. Previous ranking: 12)

Maxence Guenette, D (187th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 14)

Mark Kastelic, C (125th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 15)

Filip Gustavsson, G (Trade Feb. 23, 2017. Originally: 55th overall, 2016 [Pittsburgh]. Previous ranking: 16)

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

MCKEEN’S 2020 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – OTTAWA SENATORS – ORGANIZATIONAL RANK: 10

Ottawa Senators

Tim Stuetzle, LW/C (3^rd overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Jake Sanderson, D (5^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Jacob Bernard-Docker, D (26^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 1)

Josh Norris, C (Trade: Sep. 13, 2018. Originally: 19^th overall, 2017 [San Jose]. Previous ranking: 2)

Drake Batherson, C (121^st overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 3)

Alex Formenton, LW (47^th overall, 2017. Previous ranking: 4)

Shane Pinto, C (32^nd overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 5)

Ridly Greig, C (28^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Logan Brown, C (11^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 6)

Lassi Thomson, D (19^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 7)

Tyler Kleven, D (44^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Roby Jarventie, RW (33^rd overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Vitali Abramov, RW (Trade: Feb. 22, 2019. Originally: 65^th overall, 2016 [Columbus]. Previous ranking: 8)

Kevin Mandolese, G (157^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 9)

Mads Sogaard, G (37^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 11)

Joey Daccord, G (199^th overall, 2015. Previous ranking: 12)

Maxence Guenette, D (187^thoverall, 2019. Previous ranking: 14)

Mark Kastelic, C (125^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 15)

Filip Gustavsson, G (Trade Feb. 23, 2017. Originally: 55^th overall, 2016 [Pittsburgh]. Previous ranking: 16)

Jacob Bernard-Docker, D (26^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 4)

Josh Norris, C (Trade: Sep. 13, 2018. Originally: 19^th overall, 2017 [San Jose]. 2019 Rank: 2)

Drake Batherson, C (121^st overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 6)

Alex Formenton, LW (47^th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 3)

Shane Pinto, C (32^nd overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 11)

Logan Brown, C (11^th overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 5)

Lassi Thomson, D (19^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 7)

Vitali Abramov, RW (Trade: Feb. 22, 2019. Originally: 65^th overall, 2016 [Columbus]. 2019 Rank: 9)

Kevin Mandolese, G (157^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: UR)

Mads Sogaard, G (37^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 10)

Joey Daccord, G (199^th overall, 2015. 2019 Rank: 8)

Jonathan Gruden, RW (95^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 18)

Maxence Guenette, D (187^thoverall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

Mark Kastelic, C (125^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)