The 'Not ranked' update
To be honest it's been plain boring waiting for the draft this year. No, really: a lot of different rankings (sometimes really extravagant ones), not a lot of news or rumors, even at Hfboards team forums I've noticed that this year almost everyone isn't discussing anything deeper than 1st round... and probably it will be this way until BobMcKenzie's rankings are released. So yeah, to fight that boredom and also to get rid of that weird '61' number of prospects, I decided to add 9 guys, who I would describe as 'Not ranked', which means that I have considered those at some point of getting my rankings done, but for different reasons couldn't decide where to rank them and if they should be in my rankings at all. So, here is my 'Not ranked' list (in order of them popping out in my memory):
Alexander Georgiyev (GK; 6'1" 176 lbs; TPS, Liiga; 3 year overage)
I was pretty surprised that no one noticed Georgiyev's omission after he posted such impressive numbers in the Liiga. I really wanted to put him somewhere in my rankings, but I wasn't able to make a decision here because he was pretty bad last season and this season I simply didn't see him (as I've mentioned, I had encountered a pretty serious lack of time resources this season and non-Russian leagues "suffered" from that). Stats are good, but TPS team is also a really strong one and Georgiyev is still a back-up there, so all that combined resulted in the omission from my rankings.
Mikhail Denisov (GK; 6'0" 188 lbs; Shawinigan Cataractes, QMJHL; 1 year overage)
Denisov's numbers might seem not excellent at first sight, but for the QMJHL those actually are excellent, as it is kind of a high-scoring league. But again, as in Georgiyev's case, limited views and also Denisov's modest size gets him to the non-ranked part of my rankings.
Daniil Miromanov (RW; 6'4" 193 lbs; Acadie-Bathurst Titan, QMJHL; 2 year overage)
Miromanov has got the size and is willing to play a two-way game, but similarly to last year, he is still raw and I failed to see much progress in his game during this season.
Yegor Babenko (RW; 5'9" 157 lbs; Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL; 2 year overage)
Babenko is a skilled undersized winger, who is yet to convince that he got what it takes to play pro hockey. Didn't have a good season, but was noticeable in WHL play-offs, so maybe he reminded about himself to someone.
German Poddubnyi (C/W; 6'1" 183 lbs; Erie Otters, OHL)
Every time I saw Poddubnyi in OHL, he was getting 4th line responsibilities, yet he is still getting some good press, so I'm not exactly sure what even to think of him.
Semyon Perelyayev (LHD; 6'2" 176 lbs; Ladia Togliatti, MHL)
Perelyayev had a good 5 Nations tournament and got some attention there, but at the U18 WJC he was looking far from his best. Physically gifted kid, but with mobility issues and kind of an error prone.
Maksim Marushev (C/W; 6'0" 165 lbs; Irbis Kazan,MHL)
Marushev's case is interesting, as I actually seen quite a lot of him, yet I couldn't make up my mind: I mean, he is a good skater, got more or less decent size and works hard, but is he any better than just 'not bad'?
Kirill Popov (C/W; 6'0" 168 lbs; Mamonty Yugry, MHL)
Basically the same what I wrote about Marushev applies to Popov too (at least in my eyes): he is fine, but is there anything special?
Shamil Shmakov (GK; 6'5" 176 lbs; Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk, MHL)
Shmakov is a young 6'5" tall goalie which makes him a potential draft candidate, but he was basically a third goalie in Novosibirsk MHL team this season, so I'm not sure how to rate him.
So... when do the Bob McKenzie's rankings come out?
