I snapped Fiala up late in our draft after reading Corey Pronman from ESPN's top 100 prospects for 2014 article that had him 6th overall behind Ekblad, Bennett, Nylander, Reinhart and Ehlers and ahead of Draisaitl, Dal Colle, Kapanen and Fleury for the top 10. Here was the write-up:
6. Kevin Fiala | LW | HV71 (SHL)
DOB: 7/22/96 | 2013-14 stats: 17 GP, 3 G, 8 A, 10 PIM
The next great Swiss prospect, Fiala really started to turn heads from about December on. He had a strong World Junior Championship and under-18 World Championship, started playing top-six minutes in the SHL, putting up a ton of points in the process. In terms of points per game, he had the second-highest rate in the SHL among under-18 players in modern history, behind Peter Forsberg. He can make highlight-reel plays with the puck, and he's also a really good passer with great hockey IQ, and doesn't seem to turn the puck over. On the power play, Fiala is the kind of player you want controlling the puck and starting the puck movement. He's 5-11, and while that isn't ideal, he does battle hard and has a lot of drive to his game. Fiala needs to improve his defensive positioning.
Ranking explanation: Fiala is a better if not much better skater than Draisaitl, with better pure skill and hands. They're close in terms of hockey sense and vision, with Draisaitl having a massive advantage in terms of size and physical game. All decisions within a tier are tough, but what made me lean toward Fiala is how he differentiated himself: He looks unique on the ice and had a unique season. That stands out to me since one of the main purposes of the draft for teams is obtaining stars as opposed to good/very good players who can be more easily gained through free agency. I'm not saying Leon can't be the former -- he very well could be -- but Fiala looks like that possibility is greater for him, even if he carries more risk. Draisaitl looks like a standard top-end 18-year-old prospect.