NHL 2013 Draft War Room Top 90 December Rankings

[ikelechien]

Originally Posted by ABjr

F joke this list. Lads played this year like 25-30 games with other juniors while barkov has 45-50 games until now, including men's league, eurotrophy games and now U20 championships near Siberia, as a 17 year old kid.
And the preseason games are not included.
Would love to see him playing in the QMJHL to give these guys making these rankings a bit aspect.

Hmm, 7 of 10 NHL scouts still say Nathan MacKinnon is No 1 (per Bob MacKenzie); maybe after the U20's things will change but for now the Q rules.

[ikelechien]

Part 8, 71 to 80, is now up at TheHockeyWriters.com

[ikelechien]

Here is round 2:

31 to 40
31. Fucale, Zach, G, Halifax QMJHL, L, 6 1, 181
32. Nichishkin, Valeri, LW C, Chelyabinsk MHL, L, 6 3, 176
33. Horvat, Bo, C, London OHL, L, 6 0, 203
34. De La Rose, Jacob, C, Leksand, Allsvenskan, L, 6 2, 183
35. Bailey, Justin, C, Kitchener OHL, R, 6 3, 190
36. Wennburg, Alexander, C, Djurgården Allsvenskan, L, 6 1, 174
37. McCoshen, Ian, D, Waterloo USHL, L, 6 3, 207
38. Comrie, Eric, G, Tri-City WHL, L, 6 1, 171
39. Kujawinski, Ryan, C, Kingston OHL, 6 2, 205
40. Thoedore, Shea, D, Seattle, R, 6 2, 182

41 to 50
41. Hartman, Ryan, RW, Plymouth OHL, R, 5 11, 182
42. Hurley, Connor, C, Edina HS MN, L, 6 1, 172
43. Bigras, Chris , D, Owen Sound OHL, L, 6 1, 189
44. Klimchuck, Morgan, LW, Regina WHL, L 5 11, 180
45. Sorensen, Nick, RW, Quebec QMJHL, R, 6 1, 175
46. Arnesson, Linus, D, Djurgården Allsvenskan, 6 2, 190
47. Martin, Spencer, G, Mississauga OHL, L, 6 2, 192
48. Buchnevich, Pavel, C, Cherepovets MHL, L, 6 0, 165
49. McAdam, Eamon, G, Waterloo USHL, 6 2, 185
50. Lipon, JC, RW, Kamloops WHL, R, 6 0 , 181

51 to 60
51. Kostalek, Jan, D, Rimouski QMJHL, R, 6 0, 179
52. Muller, Mirco, D, Everett WHL, L, 6 4, 182
53. Subban, Jordan, D, Belleville OHL, R, 5 9, 177
54. Slepyshev, Anton, LW, Novokuznetsk KHL, R, 6 2, 194
55. Moutrey, Nick, RW, Saginaw OHL, L, 6 2, 208
56. Downing, Michael, D, Dubuque USHL, L, 6 3, 190
57. Westlund, Wilhelm, D, Farjestad SWE J20, L, 6 0, 179
58. Dunn, Vincent, C, Val D Or QMJHL, L, 5 11, 175
59. Morin, Samuel, D, Rimouski, L, 6 7, 200
60. Oke, Scott, RW, Rimouski QMJHL, L, 6 3, 201

[ikelechien]

Part 9 of 9, 81 to 90, is now up at TheHockeyWriters.com

[ikelechien]

Here is round 3:

61 to 70

61. Heatherington, Dillon, Swift Current WHL – D, L, 6 4, 196
62. Geertsen, Mason, Vancouver WHL, D, L, 6 3, 199
63. Petan, Nicolas, Portland WHL, C, L, 5 9, 163
64. Bjorkstrand, Oliver, Portland WHL - RW, R, 5 11, 167
65. Dauphin, Laurent, Chicoutimi QWMJHL, C, L, 6 0, 166
66. Harper, Stephen, Guelph OHL, LW, L, 6 2, 200
67. McCarron, Michael, USA U18 USHL, RW, R, 6 5, 228
68. Murphy, Matt, Val d’Or QMJHL – D, L, 6 1, 200
69. Salminen, Saku, Jokerit FIN 1, C, L, 6 3, 198
70. Tambellini, Adam, Vernon BCHL, C/LW, L, 6 4, 177

71 to 80

71. Ikonen, Juuso, Blues, FIN 1 – LW, R, 5 9, 170
72. Wallmark, Lucas, Skelleftea SWE J20 – C, L, 5 10, 172
73. Crus-Rydberg, Viktor, Linkoping SWE J20 – C, L, 5 11, 187
74. Jarry, Tristen, Edmonton WHL – G, L, 6 2, 181
75. Roy, Eric, Brandon WHL – D, L, 6 3, 190
76. Dano, Marko, HC Slovan Bratislava KHL – C, L, 5 11, 183
77. Laplante, Yan-Pavel, PEI QMJHL – LW/C, L, 6 1, 170 (injured)
78. Nastasiuk, Zach, Owen Sound OHL, RW, R, 6 1, 191
79. Wheaton, Mitchell, Kelowna WHL, D, R, 6 5, 225
80. Poirier, Emile, Gatineau QMJHL, LW, L, 6 1, 183

81 to 90

81. Motte, Tyler, USA U18 USHL – LW, L, 5 10, 190
82. Cassels, Cole, Oshawa OHL – C, L, 6 0, 178
83. Maletta, Jordan, Windsor OHL – RW, R, 6 3, 215
84. DeKort, Jordan, Windsor OHL – G, R, 6 4, 182
85. Vanelli, Tommy, Minnetonka HS MN – D, R, 6 2, 175
86. Johnson, Luke, Lincoln USHL – C, L, 5 11, 178
87. Burnside, Josh, Mississauga OHL - LW, L, 5 11, 176
88. DeJong, Nolan, Victoria BCHL – D, L, 6 2, 180
89. Desrosiers, Philippe, Rimouski QMJHL – G, R, 6 1, 187
90. Malone, Sean – USA U18 USHL, C, L, 5 11, 185

Honourable Mentions:
1. Gravel, Maxime, Rimouski QMJHL – D, R, 6 0, 182
2. Etchegary, Kurt, Quebec QMJHL – C, L, 5,11, 185 (injured)
3. Harpur, Ben, Guelph OHL – D, L, 6 5, 208
4. Houck, Jackson, Vancouver WHL – RW, R, 6 0, 184
5. Burke, Brian, Portland WHL – G, L, 6 3, 174
6. Hendricksson, Alexander, Farjestad SWE J20 – W, R, 6 2, 190
7. Cederholm, Anton, Rogle SWE J20 - D, L, 6 2, 203
8. Kokes, Martin, HC Litvinov CZE U20 - D, L, 6 2, 189
9. Aaltonen, Miro, Blues FIN 1 – C, L, 5 10, 169 (injured)
10. Hill, Tyler, Hotchkiss HS CT – LW, L, 6 6, 225

[chrisralph007]

DeJong, Nolan - nickname updated in Part 9.

What's your fav nickname of 2013 eligibles?

[Henkine]

Originally Posted by ikelechien

Here is round 3:

71. Ikonen, Juuso, Blues, FIN 1 – LW, R, 5 9, 170

Woah, that's as low as I've ever seen Ikonen. Might happen, not saying that but considering what he has done in a top six role in FEL, I have to wonder how for example Burakovsky is this much ahead (11th vs Ikonen's 71st) in the rankings. The other (Burakovsky) plays in 2nd tier league with 20% of the point production of the other (Ikonen) in a top professional league.

[ikelechien]

Originally Posted by Henkine

Woah, that's as low as I've ever seen Ikonen. Might happen, not saying that but considering what he has done in a top six role in FEL, I have to wonder how for example Burakovsky is this much ahead (11th vs Ikonen's 71st) in the rankings. The other (Burakovsky) plays in 2nd tier league with 20% of the point production of the other (Ikonen) in a top professional league.

Short answer: Size matters in player projections – even more so when they have not yet been acclimatized to North American sized ice surfaces. And to be honest, many in North America are wary of projecting small Finnish players to NHL careers after Toni Rajala (who has had great success in Finland and in tournaments but so far has not been able to move those results to North American success).

Longer answer: In the top 90, I have the following players 5’10 or less.

Round 1:
19 – Domi, Max – 5’10, 194 lb. – Short squat guy with low center of gravity kinda like Marcel Dionne, plays game with the feistiness of his Dad without as many fisticuffs. Good offensive results. Size will not be an issue with him and I see him climbing on my and other lists before the draft.
22 – Lehkonen, Artturi – 5,10, 163 lb. – Debated with myself a long time before I put this guy in the 1st round. The results of that debate are part of the 21 to 30 post in the series.

Round 2:
53 – Subban, Jordan – 5’9, 177 lb. – He is a Subban with all the Subban qualities. As PK himself is a relatively short, stocky guy I see Jordan to be a similar guy, albeit a bit smaller which is why he is only in the 2nd round. I fail to believe that there is not a team out there that will not pay 2nd round for a talented Subban brother, even one of modest proportions.

Round 3 –
63 – Petan, Nicolas – 5’9, 163 lb. – Worried about this guy, great results, great effort, great skills but does not appear to have the body to fill out to anything approaching NHL proportions. Could he make it anyways is a good question, the desire is there which is why I have him rated as high as he is.
71 – Ikonen, Juuso – 5’9, 165 lb. – Almost identical debate as with Lehkonen, different result because of slightly less talent and a lot less information than with Lehkonen. If I came to the same conclusion as with Lehkonen, he could go early 2nd round, in my opinion. So, the answer to why he is so low on my list is size and not having enough information to date to say that he will succeed in spite of his size. The fact that he is having decent success in the top Finnish league is a good sign.
81 – Motte, Tyler – 5’10, 165 lb. – Size again is the issue – like his effort though.

[rockinghockey]

Great reading thanks.

[chrisralph007]

With HMs from E-Mac, guess we could've called this a Top 100.
Appreciate all the comments.

[chrisralph007]

Question for ikelechien:

At this point of the WJCs, any stocks rising and falling for you, keeping in mind that this is just one aspect of a prospect's "body of work"?

[Henkine]

Originally Posted by ikelechien

And to be honest, many in North America are wary of projecting small Finnish players to NHL careers after Toni Rajala (who has had great success in Finland and in tournaments but so far has not been able to move those results to North American success).

Longer answer:
71 – Ikonen, Juuso – 5’9, 165 lb. – Almost identical debate as with Lehkonen, different result because of slightly less talent and a lot less information than with Lehkonen. If I came to the same conclusion as with Lehkonen, he could go early 2nd round, in my opinion. So, the answer to why he is so low on my list is size and not having enough information to date to say that he will succeed in spite of his size. The fact that he is having decent success in the top Finnish league is a good sign.

Toni Rajala never had success in FEL, even as a 20 year old, Ikonen is now 17. Even if Rajala had 5 points in FEL as an 18 year old (as opposed to 20 points for Ikonen and the season is young), he was point per game in both Finnish Junior A and WHL while Ikonen has always been the better point producer outside of Rajala's U18WC stats which were skewed by Mikael Granlund (Minnesota Wild draft pick) by making a new assist record to the tournament. Granlund obviosly was and is the better player than Rajala, and a lot of his assists where such that any player would have produced. Of course it needed the goal scoring ability from Rajala to score at a high sh%, but still I feel like if Ikonen would get that kind of center to his side in this years U18, he could do a lot of damage. Also short tournaments are never a good place to start evaluating players and Ikonen has outproduced Rajala in full season every stage they've played in.

To the longer answer I'm happy with. It's obviously a good ranking you have there, couldn't ever do one my self but I just had to ask about Ikonen, I see him almost on par with Lehkonen and also because I have a limited knowledge of all the guys above.

[ikelechien]

Originally Posted by chrisralph007

Question for ikelechien:

At this point of the WJCs, any stocks rising and falling for you, keeping in mind that this is just one aspect of a prospect's "body of work"?

Chris, in response to your Q, the players who I believe will move up are:

1. Canada – Jonathan Drouin – 4g, 4pts, +5 – Can’t go too much higher as he almost at the top now but I am guessing that he will move up on most lists – for me likely from 4 to 3. Will he make number 1, let’s wait till the smoke clears. Love the guy!!!

2. Russia – Albert Yarullin – 5g, 3pts, +0 – When teams arrange their defenses to accommodate a particular player, you know that player has something going for him. I had him 3rd round when he was first eligible in 2011 and I only had him that low because of the Russian factor. Not aware of him being signed by anyone so I can’t believe NHL teams will pass him up a 3rd time – where he goes is a game for Russian roulette aficionados.

3. Slovakia, Marko Dano – 4g, 5pts, -1 – The pest of Slovakia is finally getting a chance to show his stuff against his age group to North American fans. I currently have him mid-third (76) and he could go to late 2nd. And he will start to appear on other lists as well.

4. USA – Ryan Hartman – 5g, 3pts, +4 – Liked the guy before the big stage, like him even more now. I still see him as 2nd round (currently 41 on my list) as the 1st round is mainly for scorers but he is likely to move up for sure.

5. Sweden – Alexander Wennberg – 4g, 3pts, +4 – Getting some needed exposure to North American audiences so he is unlikely to remain under the radar. I think the secret is out and we may start to see him late 1st round on some lists. He is currently 36 on my list.

6. Switzerland – I haven’t seen much of them so maybe someone else can add who could go in the first three rounds from their team – Given their impressive performance, there should be one or two from them.

7. Others – I am sure there are others I have missed but the above would be first thoughts.

As for players who will go down, I don’t think anyone will really go down based on the U20’s – however, they may be surpassed by players on the way up.

[YARR123]

Originally Posted by ikelechien

Short answer: And to be honest, many in North America are wary of projecting small Finnish players to NHL careers after Toni Rajala (who has had great success in Finland and in tournaments but so far has not been able to move those results to North American success).

Not every short player is afraid of contact like Rajala. How can you even make that kind of a generalization? It makes no sense to me, that anyone would think that drafting short guys from Finland is a bad idea because of one Toni Rajala. Rajala is a perimiter player, who is small and weak, and seemingly has very little interest in bulking up. It doesn't mean that the next short guy from Finland is exactly like him.

[Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Henkine

Woah, that's as low as I've ever seen Ikonen. Might happen, not saying that but considering what he has done in a top six role in FEL, I have to wonder how for example Burakovsky is this much ahead (11th vs Ikonen's 71st) in the rankings. The other (Burakovsky) plays in 2nd tier league with 20% of the point production of the other (Ikonen) in a top professional league.

Opinions differ but for me top-60 is out of the question for Ikonen, might be a 3rd rounder if someone really likes him but could also drop much further than that. ~5'7'' tall player needs to be extra special to make it.

[chrisralph007]

Originally Posted by Tormentor

Opinions differ but for me top-60 is out of the question for Ikonen, might be a 3rd rounder if someone really likes him but could also drop much further than that. ~5'7'' tall player needs to be extra special to make it.

Johnny "B." GOODreau (Gadreau) helping the little guys' cause with his performance in the last 3 games at WJCs.

[Flying High]

But its really saying something when gaudreau, who is tiny, is still two inches taller than a prospect...

[chrisralph007]

Originally Posted by Flying High

But its really saying something when gaudreau, who is tiny, is still two inches taller than a prospect...

Gaudreau not 2 inches taller than many hockey prospects!

[chrisralph007]

Originally Posted by ikelechien

Hmm, 7 of 10 NHL scouts still say Nathan MacKinnon is No 1 (per Bob MacKenzie); maybe after the U20's things will change but for now the Q rules.

Tough to definitely change #1 overall status from one tournament, but getting to see the best of the best, it'll be interesting to see scout's views going forward.

[chrisralph007]

FYI:

For those who have asked:

*E-Mac is working on his January rankings.

*The Next Ones mid-term rankings also to be released in January.

Stay tuned...