McKeens Hockey releases its preliminary 2014 NHL Draft list

McKeen's Staff — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 14:09:03 +0000

Fresh off the heels of an exciting 2013 NHL Draft, McKeens Hockey releases its first look at the top names for the 2014 NHL Draft in our preliminary list. This will change and come into focus as the season gets underway in September and our first official ranking will follow once we have had a chance to do more scouting.

Unlike the 2013 draft, where the focus was on Seth Jones and Nathan MacKinnon, there are a 5 or 6 names to consider for the 1st overall ranking. Players like William Nylander and Jakub Vrana will make the push from overseas, while the CHL will have a significant impact as well, with players like Sam Reinhart, Aaron Ekbald and Leon Draisaitl also in the mix for the first overall slot. The OHL has the potential to be one of the heaviest scouted areas in 2014, with 10 players in McKeens players in the initial rankings, which puts them tops among all development leagues.

The 2014 NHL Draft scouting season starts early for scouts, with the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Tournament and U20 camps starting up in Lake Placid next week, scouts are already preparing to get early looks at the top names available.

RANK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	HT/WT	DOB
1	William Nylander Altelius	C	Sodertalje (Swe)	5-10/170	01-May-96
2	Sam Reinhart	C	Kootenay (WHL)	6-0/185	06-Nov-95
3	Nick Ritchie	LW	Peterborough (OHL)	6-1/210	05-Dec-95
4	Leon Draisaitl	C	Prince Albert (WHL)	6-1/195	27-Oct-95
5	Roland McKeown	D	Kingston (OHL)	6-1/185	20-Jan-96
6	Ryan MacInnis	C	NTDP (USA)	6-3/170	14-Feb-96
7	Aaron Ekblad	D	Barrie (OHL)	6-3/210	07-Feb-96
8	Jakub Vrana	RW	Linkopings (Swe)	6-0/180	28-Feb-96
9	Haydn Fleury	D	Red Deer (WHL)	6-3/205	08-Jul-96
10	Anton Karlsson	LW	Frolunda (Swe)	6-1/190	03-Aug-96
11	Jared McCann	C	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	6-0/175	31-May-96
12	Michael Dal Colle	LW	Oshawa (OHL)	6-2/175	20-Jun-96
13	Brycen Martin	D	Swift Current (WHL)	6-1/180	09-May-96
14	Nick Schmaltz	C	Green Bay (USHL)	5-11/170	23-Feb-96
15	Jake Virtanen	LW	Calgary (WHL)	6-0/190	17-Aug-96
16	Alexis Pepin	C	PEI (QMJHL)	6-2/195	24-Apr-96
17	Sam Bennett	C	Kingston (OHL)	6-0/170	20-Jun-96
18	Jack Glover	D	NTDP (USA)	6-3/185	17-May-96
19	Joshua Jacobs	D	Indiana (USHL)	6-2/195	15-Feb-96
20	Blake Clarke	LW	Brampton (OHL)	6-1/190	24-Jan-96
21	Kaapo Kahkonen	G	Blues (Fin)	6-1/195	16-Aug-96
22	Sonny Milano	C	NTDP (USA)	5-10/170	12-May-96
23	Adrian Kempe	C	MoDo (Swe)	6-1/170	13-Sep-96
24	Alex Tuch	C	NTDP (USA)	6-3/225	10-May-96
25	Mason McDonald	G	Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)	6-3/175	23-Apr-96
26	Jacob Middleton	D	Ottawa (OHL)	6-3/195	02-Jan-96
27	Oskar Lindblom	RW	Brynas (Swe)	6-0/185	15-Aug-96
28	Kasperi Kapanen	LW	KalPa (Fin)	5-10/165	23-Jul-96
29	Joshua Ho-Sang	C	Windsor (OHL)	5-11/160	22-Jan-96
30	Matt Schmalz	LW	Sudbury (OHL)	6-5/190	21-Mar-96

Nylander family tree branching off

Joakim Grundberg — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:08:07 +0000

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree for former NHLer Michael Nylander’s sons, William and Alexander Nylander-Altelius.

PHOTO: WWW.HOCKEYMEDMARIEHALLMAN.SE

Older son William enjoys the guidance and mentorship of not only having his father on his team in Sodertalje, but as his line-mate. William is a confident and skilled player who excels in one-on-one situations. He will play on Sweden’s top line at the under-18 tournament alongside Lucas Wallmark and Jacob de la Rose.

The 2014 NHL draft-eligible is a projected top-3 pick given his blend of top-notch skill and skating abilities. William Nylander-Altelius’ game revolves around his offensive creativity and imagination. With added strength and weight, he could be the cornerstone of an NHL team’s future.

Younger brother Alexander lacks some size but inherited the athletic and skilled genes. Like his brother, Alexander is an exceptional skater blessed with offensive imagination and the ability to dominate a game with his puck skills. He’s a game-breaking talent with the ability to blow the top off a defence and turn the game wide-open.

Although not eligible for the draft until 2016, Alexander Nylander-Altelius projects as a top-5 or 10 pick in his class.

Date: March 26, 2013

Venue: Behrn Arena

League: Swedish Elite League. Qualifying Playoffs

Game: Orebro HC vs Sodertalje SK

Result: 3-0

The Game

This is a tough road game against Orebro in the sixth round of the Swedish Elite League Qualification Playoffs. Sodertalje has nothing to play for as they do not have a theoretical chance of reaching first or second place – needed to qualify to the Swedish Elite League. For Orebro the game is one of the most important games in recent memory – as they need a win to stay at the number one spot in the standings. Consequently Orebro is more motivated and is clearly the better team in this game. Sodertalje is able to stay in the game in the first period but when Orebro scores their second goal midway through the second period then the game is all but over. Orebro outshoots Sodertalje 38 - 20 in the end and registers a 3-0 win in front of a packed home building.

William Nylander-Altelius (W/C, 2014), Sodertalje (May 1-96)

William plays a solid game .. starts the game at right wing on the second line together with his father, Michael Nylander, on the left wing .. the chemistry between father and son is noticeable .. they’re constantly communicating with each other after whistles, and are able to create a couple scoring chances early in the game .. exudes confidence in his abilities .. exhibits excellent vision and offensive imagination and is exceptionally-skilled with the puck on his stick .. equipped with very quick hands and feet, can easily pivot away from opponents to get a step and make a play.. crafty and slippery to defend against one-on-one .. by far the most skilled one-on-one player on the ice in this viewing and he virtually always gets a step on a defender when challenging him .. so quick laterally and controls the puck in an excellent way at top speed and in tight areas .. good skater .. skates with his legs far apart and generates good speed up ice from a well-developed stride .. wants to come down deep, receive the puck in speed and skate his way up the ice .. tends to cheat defensively though .. doesn’t play his position strict and is soft on the puck at times, which was evident on the second Orebro goal where he tries to make a play just inside the offensive blue line, but instead turns the puck over which creates an odd man rush the other way .. back-checked hard on the play but wasn’t able to get back in time .. hesitates going in to the boards and seems like he doesn’t trust his strength going in to the corners with players bigger and stronger than him .. an argument could be made that he’s doing so with self-preservation in mind .. going forward, he has to continue adding weight and strength to his thin frame which would make him even quicker and tougher to contain, in addition to making him confident handling the physical play at the pro level .. a tremendous talent with an uncanny ability to make plays offensively.

The Game

A report from a evaluation camp - part of the preparation for the annual national tournament, TV-Pucken. Players born 98’ and later will participate in the tournament in 2013. Alexander plays on Team Stockholm North (Nord) and the scouting report is from one of the intra squad games that were played during the camp.

Alexander Nylander-Altelius (W, 2016), SDE (March 2 -98)

A thin right-shooting forward listed at 5'7" and 134 pounds .. what he loses in size, he makes up for in talent .. a threat offensively on almost every shift .. has the puck on a string and only surrenders it at will .. an accomplished skater with a smooth, comfortable stride .. does lack some power and explosiveness at this stage in his development but he’s very agile and strong on his skates .. he possesses quick feet, can pivot, turn and change direction without losing momentum .. displays impressive skills offensively throughout the game as he tears the opposing defense wide-open several times with his quick stick, razor-sharp instincts and ability to create plays .. so crafty and skilled with the puck and his vision and offensive imagination is top of the chart in this age group .. excellent hands and control of the puck both in tight and at top speed .. very slippery and tough to contain .. weasels his way through traffic and holds onto the puck for long stretches of a shift while stick-handling and spinning away from pressure to make plays .. almost impossible to get a hold on.. very shifty and hard to get a read on as he is a threat both with his shot and playmaking skills .. scores an impressive goal during the game when he cleanly beats a defender with a beautiful toe-drag move before deking the goalie to the ice and roofing the puck .. a very young kid that oozes raw skill and talent .. it will be imperative for him to add strength and muscle to his slight frame while continuing developing his offensive skill set, which will, above all things, improve his skating and ability to handle the physical play while taking the next steps in his career.

William Nylander-Altelius – McKeen's Hockey

McKeens Hockey releases its preliminary 2014 NHL Draft list

Nylander family tree branching off