The 2021 WHL Prospects Draft Pre-Show begins with co-hosts Chris Wahl and Taylor Rocca at 9:30 a.m. MT, with live draft coverage beginning at 10 a.m. MT. It will be followed by my midseason top 64 (released in February), an updated top 32 following U18 Worlds. This had many drawbacks including the need for extensive scouting systems along with the related expense, as well the added pressure on peewee-aged players (12-13 year-olds). He has the potential to change the trajectory of an NHL franchise and will likely score a ton of goals along the way. He was theNo. Oliver Moore is one of the best skaters in this draft class with blazing speed and solid agility. Then you add in instincts off the puck to get open even when hes a marked man, an improved physical engagement (hes really quite feisty and competitive), some underrated skill as a puck thief, and youve got a superstar prospect. Barlows size, strength, and maturity as a teenager lead me to believe he could have a real shot at making the NHL out of training camp for whichever team selects him, hes that talented and reliable. Smith has turned the top-four of this draft into a top-five. This year, he has already broken past both of those marks and sits top 10 in the WHL in scoring (though he has regressed a little after a hot start). Scott Wheeler. He can run the wall or the point on the PP, effortlessly picking coverage apart and feathering pucks through seams. He has been utterly dominant at the J20 level, played big minutes when things mattered most as an underager at the world juniors (including in three overtimes) and looked himself in spot usage in the SHL. And he always seems to be around it. I think its only a matter of time until he starts to produce more consistently. Ive said it before and Ill say it again: Bedard can do things with the puck that nobody else in the sport can replicate. One of the USHLs most talented players, Perron got off to a hot start, was briefly halted by an eight-game December stretch that saw him register justone assist, and has really turned it back on to play his best hockey of late. There has been souring on him as a top-10 candidate because of the point-per-game clip he has played at (though in saying that scouts still have a lot of respect for his game) but I expect his production to take a big leap next season. hes patient under pressure and can find his way out of trouble weaving and swerving through holes or away from sticks. Last season was certainly a strange one for WHL scouts as they anticipated the task of two drafts in one calendar year. His strength complements a competitive, physical, forechecking, middle-lane style that makes good use of his length and hard wrister from midrange. Moores game is defined by his skating (both in straight lines, where he turns defenders with ease out wide, and in quick bursts from explosive stops and starts) and presence on the ice. I have questions about his talent level, though. He has a great shot, but more often than not he scores goals because he slipped his defender and managed to find the space and time necessary to score a goal. Hes got good tools all around with solid speed, stick skills, and defensive play. Jesse Nurmi, LW, KooKoo U20 (U20 SM-sarja), 58. He wants to hang onto the puck and make plays but hell also hurry it up and dominate in and out of give-and-goes. He hasnt looked out of place against men and looks very comfortable dictating play from the flanks at even strength and on the power play. He has added a ton of strength since arriving at the program so that he can overwhelm junior level players with his power and speed. . Im a big fan of his and hes still my top ranked defenseman in this draft, it has just become harder to rank him above certain forward prospects who have really begun to establish themselves. He can pick apart opposing defenses with pin-point passes and sly fakes, and his effort level is admirable. While hes got some work to do to get a little quicker from the jump in the games 10-foot races, he does have some power and balance through his stride to build upon and skates pretty well for his size and age. But after looking like one of the most talented players in Germany for U18 worlds, and then in Red Deer for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and now producing in the Czech Extraliga, he looks closer to a special Czech talent with real top-10 aspirations than he does to interesting prospect-who-torched-a-bad-league. Hes a smooth skater. Some scorers tunnel-vision the net and even though the goalie is his focus, theres a lot to his game between the offensive-zone blue line and the shot he takes thats inventive. 2023-2024 playoffs qc player stats for Poland, including top goal scorers, most games played, PPG leaders and more. 2023-2024 relegation player stats for Erste Liga, including top goal scorers, most games played, PPG leaders and more. Ryan Leonard is a high energy winger who never takes his foot off the gas in terms of both speed and effort. It was tricky evaluating and contextualizing Sale last season, when he was above two points per game (99 in 44) in Czechias top junior league, doing things that had never been done and smashing (and even doubling in some cases) the production of recent top Czech players at the same age (including first-rounders like Jakub Voracek and Tomas Hertl). Hes one of the older players on this list (October 2004) but was also one of the most productive under-18 players at the J20 level last year, a top performer on the second line (with Dvorsky) as one of the younger players at his Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and Slovakias leading scorer in their promotion win in the Division 1A U18 world championship (his 12 points were one more than Dvorsky). He has scored some highlight-reel goals in the WHL but he also excels at finding pockets of space off of coverage and remaining involved on offence and defence. His release is lightning-quick. He can push into space. He is so difficult for defenders to pin down because of the way he manipulates defenders movements (like waiting for them to turn their skates in one direction before darting in the other), and him being a right-handed centerman doesnt hurt either. There were also five more goalies who were among the final cuts for this list and I fully expect each will be on my final draft board. Ziemmer is a December 2004 who was selected with the No. Selected first overall in the WHL bantam draft that year, he played 22 games with the Winnipeg Ice in 2019-20 when he became . Get access to our unique free agency lists and many more premium features. Axel Sandin Pellikka is a right-handed offensive defenseman who has put up points at a remarkable rate in J20 Nationell, the top Swedish junior league. And while he may not be a driver on a top-six line, its not hard to imagine him as a first- or second-line playmaker who makes finishing plays off of a drivers work and does damage on PP1. His actual statistical profile is good without being great, though. The 2023 draft is led by three maybe four A-plus (or close) prospects at the very top, a superb collection of high-end talents at forward behind them that will run deep into the first round and produce additional stars, and better depth on defence and in net than I anticipated when the year started. 2022 NHL Draft Tracker: Matthew Seminoff Matthew Seminoff has made quite the name for himself on a talented Kamloops Blazers roster that boasts three potential draft picks at the 2022 NHL draft. as a small but highly-involved forward who plays the game with energy and pace, making little skill plays between coverage. I think the bigger question is whether hes going to be more of a middle-six or a top-six one? He does a good job maintaining gaps and matching opposing forwards step-for-step skating backwards. After playing on Russias Hlinka Gretzky team twosummers ago, But played to a point-per-game level in the MHL as one of its top 2005s last season and began his draft year on a tear in the MHL, scoring 11 goals in his first 15 games of the season before earning a mid-October promotion to the KHL for the first time (he has since scored his first two pro goals and has bounced between the KHL and MHL). Not Logan Cooley. Catton is the early front runner for 1st overall in next years WHL bantam draft and has recently been granted exceptional player status to play up in Midget AAA next year for the Saskatoon Contacts as a underage player. 3 pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft. The way he patrolled the blue line for Sweden on the powerplay was very impressive and the trust that he earned from his coaches as a 17-year-old spoke volumes. During the bantam draft (typically held in early May), players from the four Western Provinces and the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming are eligible to be selected. He goes to the front of the net and will bail out to make effort plays. Early results are extremely positive with Wood being one of the top rookie point scorers and one of the top scorers on his team despite being the youngest player in all of mens NCAA hockey. When you package all of that skill with a dogged work ethic that keeps him around pucks all the time, and youve gota tremendous player. The top pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection, Musty is one the focal points of the Wolves offence and would be their leader in shots on goal, assists and points were it not for a few weeks lost in January to a hand injury (following up on a strong showing at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup this summer). Thank you for your interest in our network of websites, newsletters, and other services. The show will also include the unveiling of WHL Divisional Award Winners and All-Star Teams for the 2021-22 WHL season. But for now, here are my top-64 prospects for the 2022 Draft. The top 50 drafted NHL prospects ranking, 2023 edition:1. Hes got some of the quickest hands in the draft. Scouts are drawn to him because of his size-skill combo and while he can look a little uncoordinated out there at times, that draw is real and theres some definite tools there. His skating also continues to improve (hes not fast, but hes an above-average skater for his size by my measure and it shouldnt be preventative in him reaching his NHL upside). Ondrej Molnar, LW (Erie) After scoring 30 goals as a rookie in the OHL last season, Colby Barlow has been on my radar as a pro-sized winger with a legit NHL-caliber shot. Last season, I didnt start viewing the 2022 WHL Draft class closely until after Christmas time and Ive thought about that quite a bit when getting used to viewing this 2023 class of players in comparison. Scouts are having a tough time slotting him due primarily to so-so production this season (though staff with Frolunda insist he has been better than his numbers at the J20 level and that has been reflected in several stints with the SHL. Hes got quick hands one-on-one, he drops pucks back into his shooting stance effortlessly, and hes got a beautiful curl-and-drag motion. Hes a first-round talent. Honzek has played and succeeded on both special teams this year and his size and strength have made him too much for opposing defenders to handle on more than a few occasions. Though hes currently still nursing a lower-body injury he suffered in early January, before that, it didnt take long watching this years Kelowna Rockets to realize just how much offence he creates for himself and his teammates. I dont see a lot to nitpick in either his tools or his approach. 2 pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection and an OHL First All-Rookie Team member. Narrowly my top-ranked defenceman in the draft at this stage, Gulyayev put together the most productive 16-year-old season by a defenceman in the MHLs modern history (13 seasons dating back to 2009) when he posted 35 points in 54 games last year, regularly playing 20 minutes per game in a league famous for typically relying on older players.
How Many Tanks Does Ukraine Have?,
Haydn, Symphony No 97 Analysis,
How Much Does A Timeshare Cost In Florida,
Seven Lakes High School Bell Schedule,
Articles W
