2020 CHL Import Draft

[SeaOfBlue]

What are your thoughts on Bennet Rossmy? Came across his name while looking at some Czech prospects.

Out of all of the 03' Germans, he is probably one of the only ones who may have benefitted from coming to the CHL. Cimmermann and Niedenz are the other two. Had it not been for Covid-19, I think we could have seen those three get selected but they likely had no interest in coming over. Maks Szuber may have also benefitted as an August 02' similar to Krutil, Fatul, etc.

However as it stands right now, Haakon Hanelt and Max Glotzl (since I feel like he is going to be undrafted this year) are probably the only Germans with a good shot at getting drafted in 2021, assuming they can do well in the DEL, and are likely the only Germans with any kind of good shot at making a larger impact than many of the CHLers that were selected.

Switzerland did not have a huge contingent selected either; only 4 guys were selected: Noah Delemont (getting a 2nd chance in the CHL, this time with Owen Sound in the OHL), Attila Biasca, Lorenzo Canonica and Brian Zanetti. Biasca, Canonica and Zanetti are 3 of the 4 first year eligible Swiss players with any kind of good shot at getting drafted next year, and I expect all three to come over to the CHL next year. Noah Meier is the 4th, however unlike the other three, the chances of him were coming over were essentially zero since he has a good shot at a full time NLA role as a late 02' next year. Delemont has a chance as a D+1 if he does much better with Owen Sound. Those 5 is pretty much what Switzerland is putting out there for the 2021 NHL draft though, and 4 of them are likely going to be CHLers.

 

[passive voice]

If you mean Jeremi Tammela he signed with Rauman Lukko.
His older brother Jonne plays in Lukko so Jeremi decided to join with his brother.

Yep, him. Just number-scouting from Canada but....the numbers are very good.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I expect all of the goalies to commit.

Jan Bednar has been linked to Acadie-Bathurst for months. Plus I imagine if they were going to spend a 2nd overall pick on him, they a guarantee as long as the season starts.

Tomas Suchanek is likely also going to Tri-City. I don't think Suchanek will be playing pro next year, so the WHL is definitely his best option. Tri-City has 2021-eligible Talyn Boyko, but I imagine they can find a way for both Boyko and Suchanek to have plenty of playing time to show NHL teams why they should be selected next year.

I am a little bit iffy on Alexei Kolosov. Erie has Dan Murphy as a potential OA, but he may be traded to another team or just let go (he was good enough to be a cheap starting option for a team, but hardly the best option around). Aidan Campbell was their goalie of the future but he was hardly impressive last year, so perhaps they expect him and Kolosov to compete for the net, with the winner getting to split the net with 2020 3rd round OHL pick Nolan Lalonde in 2021-2022. I do like Kolosov as a prospect though, and he may be a candidate as an OA selection next year with more exposure.

Pavel Cajan can be given the starting job in Kitchener outright with 2020 3rd round OHL pick Jackson Parsons as the likely backup. That has to be pretty enticing considering Kitchener should still be a fairly good team and he'll get a lot more exposure in his draft year with a heavy workload in the OHL over whatever he may get in the Czech2 league.

Eugen Rabcan and Val Usnik seem more like stop gaps for teams that lack quality goalies of any kind and just need someone half capable to be a starter while they develop/find their goalies of the future. All of the good ones were pretty much already taken but these guys did well in really obscure leagues (Slovakia2 and Slovenia respectively), so perhaps if they can show to be semi-capable starters in the CHL for a year, they can get more interest from higher-tier European teams. So there is an incentive for them to come over themselves.

 

[wetcoast]

I really wonder how the CHL season will even unfold as it is a primary gate driven league and travel costs are huge.

 

[Wooren]

I expect all of the goalies to commit.

Jan Bednar has been linked to Acadie-Bathurst for months. Plus I imagine if they were going to spend a 2nd overall pick on him, they a guarantee as long as the season starts.

Tomas Suchanek is likely also going to Tri-City. I don't think Suchanek will be playing pro next year, so the WHL is definitely his best option. Tri-City has 2021-eligible Talyn Boyko, but I imagine they can find a way for both Boyko and Suchanek to have plenty of playing time to show NHL teams why they should be selected next year.

I am a little bit iffy on Alexei Kolosov. Erie has Dan Murphy as a potential OA, but he may be traded to another team or just let go (he was good enough to be a cheap starting option for a team, but hardly the best option around). Aidan Campbell was their goalie of the future but he was hardly impressive last year, so perhaps they expect him and Kolosov to compete for the net, with the winner getting to split the net with 2020 3rd round OHL pick Nolan Lalonde in 2021-2022. I do like Kolosov as a prospect though, and he may be a candidate as an OA selection next year with more exposure.

Pavel Cajan can be given the starting job in Kitchener outright with 2020 3rd round OHL pick Jackson Parsons as the likely backup. That has to be pretty enticing considering Kitchener should still be a fairly good team and he'll get a lot more exposure in his draft year with a heavy workload in the OHL over whatever he may get in the Czech2 league.

Eugen Rabcan and Val Usnik seem more like stop gaps for teams that lack quality goalies of any kind and just need someone half capable to be a starter while they develop/find their goalies of the future. All of the good ones were pretty much already taken but these guys did well in really obscure leagues (Slovakia2 and Slovenia respectively), so perhaps if they can show to be semi-capable starters in the CHL for a year, they can get more interest from higher-tier European teams. So there is an incentive for them to come over themselves.

Suchanek played pro this year already and would have likely continue to do so next season. It has already been confirmed he is leaving though. Wrong decision in my opinion.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Suchanek played pro this year already and would have likely continue to do so next season. It has already been confirmed he is leaving though. Wrong decision in my opinion.

Would he have been playing pro full time though?

It really is a matter of how well he does. The WHL is great competition, and it will help him adjust to North American ice if he has serious NHL aspirations. However, if he struggles, it won't be good for him, just like it wasn't great for Malik. That would be no different if he struggled in the Czech league though.

 

[PanniniClaus]

Would he have been playing pro full time though?

It really is a matter of how well he does. The WHL is great competition, and it will help him adjust to North American ice if he has serious NHL aspirations. However, if he struggles, it won't be good for him, just like it wasn't great for Malik. That would be no different if he struggled in the Czech league though.

The Czech league, like the Swedish league, are not big on playing youngsters. I think it is a good decision to get a year or two in North America.

 

[alko]

Just ask Chromiak. He was a top prospect before the 2019-2020 season because he dominated in the Slovakian U20 league, and decided to stay home to play for Dukla Trencin himself. He did not stand out enough and kind of fell to being a mid-round prospect before he decided to come over to Kingston mid-season and (partially due to playing with the next McDavid in Shane Wright), worked his way back into 1st round consideration. Stacha can be one of the better defensemen on Vancouver but still play for a pretty decent team.

Stacha is in better position, as Chromiak was. And with new season it will be even better. But im not saying, it is impossible, he will come to WHL.

 

[pgfan66]

Out of all of the 03' Germans, he is probably one of the only ones who may have benefitted from coming to the CHL. Cimmermann and Niedenz are the other two. Had it not been for Covid-19, I think we could have seen those three get selected but they likely had no interest in coming over. Maks Szuber may have also benefitted as an August 02' similar to Krutil, Fatul, etc.

However as it stands right now, Haakon Hanelt and Max Glotzl (since I feel like he is going to be undrafted this year) are probably the only Germans with a good shot at getting drafted in 2021, assuming they can do well in the DEL, and are likely the only Germans with any kind of good shot at making a larger impact than many of the CHLers that were selected.

I think the problem here is what I said earlier. Would these players benefit from playing in the CHL? Maybe/probably. But are they actually good enough? I don't really think so.

CHL teams have huge North American draft classes each year, they have 50 (in the WHL, not sure if the others are the same) players on their protected lists. So when they have the chance to bring in just 2 import players, they want to get real impact players. There are hundreds of players each year whose agents bring their names up to CHL teams for the import draft but most of them would be below average at the CHL level. Does it really make sense to bring those players over?

Szuber is a guy that's been interested in playing in the CHL for two years now but he still hasn't been identified as good enough and I think that makes sense. Cimmerman and Niedenz aren't good enough either. Yannik Valenti and Tim Fleischer were two of the very best players in the DNL in 2017-18 and combined for 118 points. In 2018-19, they combined for 30 in the WHL/OHL. Cimmerman and Niedenz wouldn't even be the best players in the DNL right now.

I really think Glotzl and maybe Hanelt are the only ones that could've made an impact. And they are the ones who also have pro deals and want to try to make it there.

Stacha is in better position, as Chromiak was. And with new season it will be even better. But im not saying, it is impossible, he will come to WHL.

I like Stacha. Does a lot of very smart things defensively but also has a lot of untapped potential even though the numbers aren't showing that. I also know that, if there's a season without major complications, he will report.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Finns Viljami Marjala and Aapo Siivonen both confirmed they will play in Quebec.

Source please.

 

[SergeConstantin74]

Source please.

On a phone call with Quebec media shortly after the draft, Marjala and Siivonen did not hide their delight at the idea of wearing the Remparts jersey this fall.

"We are excited, this is a great opportunity for us," admitted Marjala, speaking for both.

"I'm going to be a better player by going to Quebec, I talked to a few friends of mine who played in the CHL, it helped me take my decision. My goal is to be drafted in the NHL, but this is not the only reason for my decision, the presence of Patrick Roy as a head coach also has something to do with it, "he added.

Repêchage international : les Remparts pigent pour la première fois en Finlande [VIDÉO]

 

[Fonzieleaf]

Aatu Räty's chances to even report to CHL was 0% already before 2020 import draft.
Räty is getting TOP9 role in Oulun Kärpät SM liiga team this coming season ( 2020-2021 ).

Oh okay makes sense thanks.

 

[S E P H]

I am a little bit iffy on Alexei Kolosov. Erie has Dan Murphy as a potential OA, but he may be traded to another team or just let go (he was good enough to be a cheap starting option for a team, but hardly the best option around). Aidan Campbell was their goalie of the future but he was hardly impressive last year, so perhaps they expect him and Kolosov to compete for the net, with the winner getting to split the net with 2020 3rd round OHL pick Nolan Lalonde in 2021-2022. I do like Kolosov as a prospect though, and he may be a candidate as an OA selection next year with more exposure.

IMHO, Kolosov is one of the most underrated goaler prospects in the world. I'm not saying he will ever be in the NHL, but it also would never surprise me if he ever became a starter either. Size holds him back, but his athleticism and intelligence for the game is quite outstanding.

 

[alko]

Watch closely Eugen Rabcan. Many here in Slovakia will say you, he is a great goalie prospect.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

IMHO, Kolosov is one of the most underrated goaler prospects in the world. I'm not saying he will ever be in the NHL, but it also would never surprise me if he ever became a starter either. Size holds him back, but his athleticism and intelligence for the game is quite outstanding.

He was someone who did impress me, but I never thought he would actually come over, so I never thought he would get drafted.

I am not sure about being any kind of NHL goalie, but I bet he can do well in the CHL and then have a nice career in Europe... Same for Usnik, Rabcan, and Hlavaj.

Bednar, Cajan and Suchanek are the main goalies to watch for me. Bednar is almost certainly getting selected, while Cajan and Suchanek can easily gain the kind of exposure which could make them mid-round picks in their own right.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

 

[Outofbodyinhungary]

Watch closely Eugen Rabcan. Many here in Slovakia will say you, he is a great goalie prospect.

I agree, I think he looked really good with Zvolen and Spisska Nova Ves.

 

[Ambisextrous]

Anyone know anything about Attilio Biasca?
Attilio Biasca at eliteprospects.com

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Anyone know anything about Attilio Biasca?
Attilio Biasca at eliteprospects.com

Pretty good write up on him on the previous page of this thread...

 

[Brock]

My annual review of the OHL portion of this draft: OHL Prospects: 2020 CHL Import Draft Review

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

LISTEN: CHL Import Draft Selection Jonni Kärkkäinen – Prince George Cougars
Jonni Kärkkäinen reports to Prince George Cougars.

 

[ozo]

Am I the only one noticing that QMJHL is starting to shed Euro players just before the season is about to start? Will there actually be Euro players in CHL this season? I have not seen any official statements about this anywhere, but it feels like it will be the case.

 

[Speyer]

Am I the only one noticing that QMJHL is starting to shed Euro players just before the season is about to start? Will there actually be Euro players in CHL this season? I have not seen any official statements about this anywhere, but it feels like it will be the case.

Apparently there is a visa issue at play that correlates to the whole Covid-19 situation.

Here is an article I found who adresses this toppic from the point of view of the Halifax Mooseheads.

 

[alko]

Am I the only one noticing that QMJHL is starting to shed Euro players just before the season is about to start? Will there actually be Euro players in CHL this season? I have not seen any official statements about this anywhere, but it feels like it will be the case.

Me too. And not only me. What are actual restrictions in Canada? Nobody could travel to Canada, or what is it? How long should it stay?