2018 NHL Draft Prospects

[CanadienShark]

Blade Jenkins? What a name.

Damn. That's bold.

 

[J17 Vs Proclamation]

That's not true. I don't remember ever thinking the 2016 draft was strong. Two years ago, Auston Matthews was barely on anyone's radar (except mine ).

I doubt you knew much about the draft outside of the top names at the time. 2 years out, very few people have any strong idea of the strength/development of an entire age group.

Matthews was an extremely known commodity within his age group and region. He isn't on the general radar of NHL fans because by and large, they don't care/don't follow 15 year old players.

 

[J17 Vs Proclamation]

Atleast these two were barely on no one's radar three years back. Think Puljujärvi was 13 or 14yo when I first heard about him but wasn't much of a commodity amongst HF'ers due to Finnish factor. Laine emerged much later and the actual hype started maybe year or two ago or so. Sokolov and Abramov were "big" names already though amongst european skaters.

Laine and Puljujarvi excelled at 13/14 relative to both historical and current competition. People in the know within the Finnish community knew about them at an early age, but it doesn't get to a wider fan audience because at 13/14 it's way too far out.

It's really strange to see people thinking these prospects "came out of nowhere" or relative obscurity. Most if not all have been at the top of their domestic age groups since a fairly young age. Fan awareness comes much later, and along with it comes general ignorance.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Fair enough, I definitely did though. Sokolov was seen as the next Malkin. Tyler Benson broke AMBHL scoring record, Kale Clague did the same but for defensemen. Puljujärvi and Laine had hype. Then there was Sean Day, Logan Brown and Luke Kirwan. Huge kids who were all seen as potential top10 picks. Chad Krys and Abramov were quite hyped as well. Evan Fitzpatrick was seen as the "Next Great Goalie". That was actually three years ago now. Then as time went on you had guys like Chychrun, Fabbro, Jost get hype too. And yeah, Matthews wasn't even on anyones radar at that point. Just tells you how much things can change in a few years.

There is a huge difference between hype and people who have actually seen these players play. The YOG is providing an opportunity to watch these players. The U17 in ten months will be an excellent barometer.

I just don't think 2011, 2012, or 2014 had much hype at all. Bennett came on to the scene late, as well as Ehlers, but Nylander fell from a top-3 pick to barely top-10, McKeown fell the the late 2nd, etc. I think it would be fair to say that main stream media goes through predictably-timed hype and downplay cycles for every draft, but I think the hard core prospect guys on this forum like you and me and a lot of other people in this thread aren't really affected by that.

RNH supposedly had the best vision since Gretzky, so obviously he was crazy overhyped. So were Couturier and Larsson. But I don't think anyone was claiming 2011 was a great draft (although it did have solid depth through the late-1st and early-2nd). For 2012, yeah, I guess Yakupov and Grigorenko (and Teravainen, and Reinhart, and maybe even Murray) were overhyped, but even if we didn't know it would be that awful a draft, in that four years later and there's still a legitimate debate for four or five guys being the best from that draft, no one was calling it a great draft.

I think 2018 will be a GREAT draft, and that will be particularly emphasized since it will follow 2017, which IMO will be very weak.

I doubt you knew much about the draft outside of the top names at the time. 2 years out, very few people have any strong idea of the strength/development of an entire age group.

Matthews was an extremely known commodity within his age group and region. He isn't on the general radar of NHL fans because by and large, they don't care/don't follow 15 year old players.

Look, I follow prospects from very early ages. You don't need to talk down to me. I knew Luke Kirwan and Sean Day weren't really top prospects as early as anyone.

If you tell me that you knew that Matthews was going to be the consensus 1st overall before December 2013/January 2014, then props to you. But I doubt you or anyone else did.

 

[FLYLine27*]

I'm so excited, Rangers still have their first round pick that year!!

 

[nanzenkills]

I remember people going crazy about Yakupov and Grigorenko the year before their draft. Same with Sean Couturier & Adam Larsson before their draft year. They were all supposed to become superstars.

People forget quickly how hyped some of these earlier drafts were.

Fans, maybe, but I'm referring more to what the scouting community was saying publicly about those drafts at the time.

 

[VictorLustig]

Fans, maybe, but I'm referring more to what the scouting community was saying publicly about those drafts at the time.

So is the scouting community raving over the 2018 draft then?

 

[Daneurism]

I don't remember any of those drafts being hyped, beyond the top couples of players who you cited, but that's EVERY draft. Guys like Sean Couturier were never hyped as superstars. A star, sure, and he's fallen short of that.

2008, 2013, 2015 have been the hyped drafts

 

[Thebesthockey]

ahhh the 2000 birth year
craziest parent group alive
the beginning of the batch of birth years where they opened up summer AAA leagues AND super AAA leagues to anyone who had money irrelative of ability
almost 10 years ago , this is the offspring of this business and everyone now thinks junior is the next great one...this is going to get crazier for 2001, 2002, 2003..etc,...

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

bold prediction for kids that haven't even worn a visor yet or played in a league that allows fights.

Id wait till these kids actually play a junior game or whatever league they choose to play in before making any predictions. Its a different world going from midget hockey to playing against kids up to 5 years older

 

[Plastic Joseph]

bold prediction for kids that haven't even worn a visor yet or played in a league that allows fights.

Id wait till these kids actually play a junior game or whatever league they choose to play in before making any predictions. Its a different world going from midget hockey to playing against kids up to 5 years older

Levin and Veleno, the #1 OA picks in the 2015 OHL and QMJHL drafts respectively are playing the in the CHL this season. They are both 2018 prospects. Ty Smith in the west who was the 1st OA pick has 2 assists in 2 games.

Not to say a lot will not change but some of the top prospects for this draft are already playing Major Junior level hockey, wearing visors too!

 

[FinPanda]

well one Finnish guy (Jesperi Kotkaniemi) is already playing at the U20 level and has produced well.

Rasmus Dahlin from Sweden has already played one SuperElit game.

 

[DSuttersface]

ahhh the 2000 birth year
craziest parent group alive
the beginning of the batch of birth years where they opened up summer AAA leagues AND super AAA leagues to anyone who had money irrelative of ability
almost 10 years ago , this is the offspring of this business and everyone now thinks junior is the next great one...this is going to get crazier for 2001, 2002, 2003..etc,...

Can someone explain this a bit? I'm not all that familiar with how AAA or juniors work, or at least the process by which kids get selected and all that stuff. What is a super AAA league?

 

[Wooren]

Top Czech prospects seem to be Filip Zadina (Already played two games in Czech Extraliga), Libor Zabransky (Plays in U20 league) and Jakub Skarek (Plays in Czech WSM league, a tier bellow Extraliga)

That's pretty much all I can say though.

 

[nanzenkills]

So is the scouting community raving over the 2018 draft then?

No, but I never said they were. My point is that not all drafts are equal, and not all of them are perceived as being better just because they are newer. Scouts did rave over 2003, 2013, and 2015 IIRC. They did not over 2011, 2012, and 2014, as examples.

 

[kelsier]

Those posts were from May 2013, almost 3 years ago. So they were already being mentioned back then. I think the hype didn't start until after the 13/14 season though, but that's still around 2 years ago, which was my original point.

Yeah what I meant was that Puljujärvi especially was rather well known domestically and even Laine to some extent (but not nothing like today), with Puljujärvi being likely first round pick and Laine just a very promising prospect without much outside exposure. Seeing early 2016 lists I doubt many even had Puljujärvi in the top 10, far less Laine. Feel free to enlighten me if false.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

As of right now, it is hard to project, but it definitely seems like it will be a special group of players. Others that I've heard/seen are very high potential prospects:
Linus Skager (Swedish)
Lukas Wernblom (Swedish)
Ryan Savage (American, but playing in Austria)
Joel Farabee (American)
Emilio Pettersen (Norwegen, but playing in the US)

Pettersen in particular is a stud. So impressed by him every time I see him play.

Linus Skager might be shaping up as the most intriguing prospect for this draft thus far for me. I'm really interested to see how he turns out.

 

[L13]

I thought Groulx was going to the NCAA?

 

[Plastic Joseph]

I thought Groulx was going to the NCAA?

His mother wanted him to but he wants to play in the Q according to his father.

 

[J17 Vs Proclamation]

Look, I follow prospects from very early ages. You don't need to talk down to me. I knew Luke Kirwan and Sean Day weren't really top prospects as early as anyone.

If you tell me that you knew that Matthews was going to be the consensus 1st overall before December 2013/January 2014, then props to you. But I doubt you or anyone else did.

Why are you turning this into some sort of contest? I freely admit i have no handle on anentire age group at 18, nevermind 14/15.

People within the developmental range/region of Matthews knew he was a gifted player within his range. In alarge scope of the NHL draft? It's too far out, and most people stick to what they know i.e where they reside. No person on earth has a strong and reliable grip on an entire age group at 14/15. All you can do is note promising players and watch their progress, and as the draft gets closer, it gets a little more relevant for casual fans.

If you're someone who gets to see all the top players of an age group regularly (at such a youngage), congratulations, you're one of a very very very few select people.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Why are you turning this into some sort of contest? I freely admit i have no handle on anentire age group at 18, nevermind 14/15.

People within the developmental range/region of Matthews knew he was a gifted player within his range. In alarge scope of the NHL draft? It's too far out, and most people stick to what they know i.e where they reside. No person on earth has a strong and reliable grip on an entire age group at 14/15. All you can do is note promising players and watch their progress, and as the draft gets closer, it gets a little more relevant for casual fans.

If you're someone who gets to see all the top players of an age group regularly (at such a youngage), congratulations, you're one of a very very very few select people.

It's not a contest. You just changed the point. I'm saying that folks who follow prospects have a pretty decent handle on how good a draft is going to be even two years out. That's all.

 

[kunekune]

Yeah what I meant was that Puljujärvi especially was rather well known domestically and even Laine to some extent (but not nothing like today), with Puljujärvi being likely first round pick and Laine just a very promising prospect without much outside exposure. Seeing early 2016 lists I doubt many even had Puljujärvi in the top 10, far less Laine. Feel free to enlighten me if false.

You are wrong. Laine and Pulju have been superhyped in Finland since they were 9-11.

Laine changed from Ilves to Tappara at a age of 9 and started playing instantly with 11 years old. There were big buzz about him during that time and people came to see his games from different cities. His point production between 9-14 years is the best ever in Finland and he is hands down the best finnish junior between those 9-14 years.

As a junior player Barkov cant be even compared to Laine.

 

[KingBrian]

Scary injury for Wahlstrom

 

[nbwingsfan]

Well this is just way, way too early to say. Most of the guys you mentioned probably won't even be picked in the 1st or 2nd Rd.

 

[kelsier]

You are wrong. Laine and Pulju have been superhyped in Finland since they were 9-11.

Laine changed from Ilves to Tappara at a age of 9 and started playing instantly with 11 years old. There were big buzz about him during that time and people came to see his games from different cities. His point production between 9-14 years is the best ever in Finland and he is hands down the best finnish junior between those 9-14 years.

As a junior player Barkov cant be even compared to Laine.

Oh please, your saying that a 9 year old kid can be a rock star in Finland if he's better than his peers in hockey?

If a few people knew about him when he was 9 that does not by any standards make him a future super star. There are plenty of peewees out there who are showing superiority by being physically more mature compared to their average age class. It really means nothing at all at that age. Can you point me one article about Laine that's been published country wide while he was in the age range of 9-11? I also live in the same city as Laine and know a guy that publishes articles in "Jatkoaika" (a Finnish hockey magazine). I can assure you that neither he nor his colleagues knew this kid was going to be drafted in top 3 at 2016 draft class years back from today. In general sense, making comments about kids being superhyped in their pre-teen years is ludicrous.