Prospect Draft Ranking--REP

[Doug Glatt]

Getting organized for my upcoming Prospect Draft. Thirty players will be selected, 3 rounds of 10 picks.

Have culled a somewhat short list of available prospects for my league's setup. Looking for the best long-term production in Multi-cat points scoring with the usual offensive stats and PMs Hits Blocks etc.

If there are players from this year's Entry Draft that you like better than someone on my list feel free to talk them up.

Have a top group of forwards already picked for the top 7:
Matthews
Laine
Puljujarvi
DuBois
Tkachuk
Keller
Alex Nylander

Need some input from you guys regarding the 8-20ish spots among this herd:
Aho
Reway
Nick Paul
Jost
Sprong
Logan Brown
Barbashev
Connor Brown
Hawryluk
Schmaltz
Labanc
Dickinson
McLeod
Tufte
Bellows

Also, have short list for D:
Chabot
Zaitsev
Juolevi
Lindell
Sergachev
Pokka
Ryan Graves

And, of course a few G:
Anton Forsberg
Stolarz
Hellberg
Gillies
Sorokin
Lars Johansson
Wedgewood


Thanks very much for taking the time for a considered response. I respect the opinions of this forum very much. REP will be handed out as gratitude for your participation.

[Eskimo Brother]

Top 7 look good.

Aho, Paul, Schmaltz and Jost jump out as the top guys in the 8-20 group. Everyone will have different rankings though.
I'm curious as to why Bellows isn't in your list. He could fall in about 15 in your draft.

If you're looking for immediate production on D, you want Zaitsev/Lindell/Sergeyachev.

Sorokin and Gillies are the top of the goalie prospects. Any reason you don't have this year's draft goalies listed?

[AngelicAssassin0]

Goalies first-numbers indicate rank with the 2 least likely to see the NHL this season at the top

3-Anton Forsberg-interchangeable with Hellberg who might actually be better long term

6-Stolarz-Just not high on him and can't pin point a reason but he's soon to be passed by Sandstrom if he comes over next season.
4-Hellberg-might make Raanta expendable by the end of the season.
1-Gillies-when he does step in in a year or 2 it will be with a group of young on the rise stars IMO so should provide good returns

2-Sorokin-by the time he is ready I'm not so sure how good the team around him will be but a definite talent

5-Lars Johansson-29 already and someone who i think is a 1 year experiment type of a guy who goes back to Sweden

7-Wedgewood-Blackwood is the NJ G prospect to own if you are going after one IMO.


As far as a long term investment depending on how many spots you will have to hang onto prospects one of my favorite darkhorse G prospects is Joseph Woll but he is just entering Boston College so a lot will depend on if he intends to stay in school for 4 years.

More later, will move on to the D

[donpaulo]

Agreed about Bellows being absent. I actually just made a trade dropping down in exchange for Scherbak and a later pick I hope will turn into Bellows.

Chabot, Juolevi and Lindell look most appealing to me on the blueline.

Aho looks to have an inside step at a roster spot so he also stands out.

Regarding the Hellberg Raanta situation, NY has drafted quite a few young netminders so there is a bit of a logjam at that position. Halverson, Skapski, Igor Shestyorkin, Tyler Wall, Adam Huska so it might be best to avoid that smogasbord altogther until the franchise decides what to do after the King retires. At least that is what I am doing. Although in my sim league I have managed to acquire most of the Rangers kids in the hope 1 of them will develop into the next franchise netminder.

[AngelicAssassin0]

And now the case for the Defence. Took awhile to get back to this but I'm sick as a dog.


5-Chabot
3-Zaitsev
1-Juolevi
4-Lindell
2-Sergachev
6-Pokka
7-Ryan Graves


Even though Zaitsev is a lock to play this season I have him on my "show me" list in terms of how he is going to produce.

Juolevi is my pick for best long term success in part because once he makes the Canucks there is very little there in the way of him getting as much PP time as he can handle and offensive zone starts, outside of maybe Hutton.

Sergachev will have to contend with a bit more competition for PP time in Montreal but will still be very good long term and a selection of either won't steer you wrong.

Anxiously waiting to see what Lindell can do as he could to me anyways be one of those D that can score 20.

Chabot for me is the equivalent of Stolarz from the G list. Not even taking into account the bad rap he got in development camp for whatever reason I'm stuck thinking that his game won't translate to the NHL offensively anyways as much as expected. He winds up being a good middle pairing D who I think gets a lot of minutes but won't show much on the scoreboard.

Is this the year for Pokka-kind of in a holding pattern on him a little as I'm not sure where he is next season, if he gets traded or exposed to the expansion draft, those factors may weigh on what his production will be down the road.

Will admit to not knowing mucking fuch about Graves so will reserve judgement but by any metric I would say he is at the bottom of this list.

Again depending on how deep you go in your prospect draft a couple names to consider as longer term investments would be IMO anyways Tarmo Reunanen(interestingly enough a Rags draft pick who dropped due to injury but in an organization that needs D) and Filip Berglund another D drafted by a D deficient organization(Oilers). These 2 are 3 or 4 year down the road guys but if the roster allows the investment may be well worth it.

Forwards, later.

[havanablast21]

Top 7 look good.

Aho, Paul, Schmaltz and Jost jump out as the top guys in the 8-20 group. Everyone will have different rankings though.
I'm curious as to why Bellows isn't in your list. He could fall in about 15 in your draft.

If you're looking for immediate production on D, you want Zaitsev/Lindell/Sergeyachev.

Sorokin and Gillies are the top of the goalie prospects. Any reason you don't have this year's draft goalies listed?

Really like EB's break down here. On my phone so typing ins a frig'n challenge (is at the best of time lol). To add to his analysis, I really have a good feeling about Riley Tufte, a kid I targeted with my 20th pick but lost out on 2 picks earlier. 6'5" NOW, over 200lbs and a nice skilled player at that, rarely find that kind of skill wrapped up into that frame. I really feel good about this cat fella. I'd star him Aswell.

[Doug Glatt]

Top 7 look good.

Aho, Paul, Schmaltz and Jost jump out as the top guys in the 8-20 group. Everyone will have different rankings though.
I'm curious as to why Bellows isn't in your list. He could fall in about 15 in your draft.

If you're looking for immediate production on D, you want Zaitsev/Lindell/Sergeyachev.

Sorokin and Gillies are the top of the goalie prospects. Any reason you don't have this year's draft goalies listed?

Will edit my list immediately to add Bellows. Have been reading up on him a bit and agree he should be on my watch list. His dad was a fine multi-cat producer for his day so lets hope the kid is a chip off the old block. He could slide for a while in my draft, guys who go NCAA are often overlooked in this league.

Not in need of immediate production from D, already have a great young top 6 on my roster and Parayko still farm eligible. I might not even take a D this year, but if I do I would like to get the best long-term top tier talent.

I usually dont take 18 year old Gs. I like to see at least one year in a legit pro league, AHL, KHL, SEL, Liiga, NLA before committing. Hart looks like top guy this year but he was drafted into a Flyers organization that already has a pile of touted prospects at that position and makes no secret of wanting to hoard up a lot of talent there. Stolarz, Soderstrom and Lyon are all presumably in his way, at least. I dont want to hold a guy that is five years away.

Great stuff so far guys. Definitely pointing me in all sorts of good directions. Keep it flowing.

[AngelicAssassin0]

And now for the F's while i'm still on the right side of the green. I'll try for brevity so as not to have anyone slip into a coma reading.

Aho
Reway
Nick Paul
Jost
Sprong
Logan Brown
Barbashev
Connor Brown
Hawryluk
Schmaltz
Labanc
Dickinson
McLeod
Tufte
Bellows

Aho, Paul and Schmaltz as mentioned are the go to guys for some production now and down the road as mentioned. Like Paul but unlike the other 2 not sure he ever ascends beyond a bottom 6 role.

Agree with everything said about Tufte and bellows and Jost is as mentioned as well the other name to look at for down the road production. I personally really like Hawryluk myself as well.

Reway might be a lost in the shuffle guy in MTL as so many seem to be competing for limited spots. He conceivably could spend his entire ELC in the AHL with limited short term callups and then choose to take his puck and go home.

There is so much youth in TOR that even though Connor Brown should probably be in the NHL now he may stew in the AHL some more as there appears to be no great rush to introduce a bunch peach fuzzed faces to the main roster.

Barbashev is in the AHL for one more season at least and has to show more this season to maintain any interest I may have in him.

Logan Brown I would say does not have much stopping him from claiming a C spot in OTT right now but even so he's a couple years away at best and will need to be able to claim a top 6 role IMO as despite his size he's not very physical so may not be suited for a prototypical bottom 6 role.

As much of a revelation as Kevin Labanc has been there are surer things on this list and is a deeper league sleepr though of course I'm gonna list a couple shortly for you to at least put on your watch list.

McLeod I think will be finishing his junior eligibility and then a year in the A before making the jump.

Sprong is my F to avoid from this list and maybe just personal bias by I see nothing I like.

Couple guys you won't draft or won't drafted to keep an eye on are Aapeli Rasanen and Max Zimmer.

Good Luck in your draft.

So much for brevity.

[Doug Glatt]

Great stuff AA. Really appreciate you taking the time and giving a full run-down on each player. Very happy with the contributions everyone is making here. REP for all!

[Doug Glatt]

Draft is underway.

Got Laine at 2. I love it when a plan comes together.
Now its time for my pick at 10. Keller and Aho are still on the board. Which of these two is the best long-term upside pick? Who should I take?

[StuntMan12]

If youre looking long term and don't need the offense right away = Keller
If you need the points right away = Aho

But I would go with Aho since he is already in the show.

[Doug Glatt]

I debated and went with Keller since I feel he is the best long-term guy and I can afford to wait. Aho went with the very next pick, no surprise there. Got Ilya Sorokin in the 2nd round like I was hoping so really pleased with how it turned out. Thanks a lot guys, I love this place.

P.S. Just flipped Keller for Kyle Connor who I have been going after all year.

[Hollywood]

F

Aho
Jost
...
L.Brown
Schmalz
Mcleod
Bellows

D

Sergachev
Juolevi
Lindell

G

Sorokin
Gillies

[Jouko-Pouko]

I debated and went with Keller since I feel he is the best long-term guy and I can afford to wait. Aho went with the very next pick, no surprise there. Got Ilya Sorokin in the 2nd round like I was hoping so really pleased with how it turned out. Thanks a lot guys, I love this place.

P.S. Just flipped Keller for Kyle Connor who I have been going after all year.

Great work. Sorokin in the 2nd is pretty good, and getting Keller at #10 and then flipping him for Kyle Connor is amazing. Connor would be ranked somewhere around #5, so that's great value.

[Doug Glatt]

Great work. Sorokin in the 2nd is pretty good, and getting Keller at #10 and then flipping him for Kyle Connor is amazing. Connor would be ranked somewhere around #5, so that's great value.

Thanks a lot J-P. Means a lot coming from you--I feel that you are one of the most astute judges of prospect talent on the Dobber platform and I always stop and read your posts when you have something to contribute.