2020 Draft & Undrafted Free Agent Thread

[Lion Hound]

Craig Button just updated his rankings now that the tournament is over. Stutze and Rossi have climbed.


https://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-stutzle-rossi-climb-draft-rankings-1.1427813

1 Alexis Lafreniere
2 Tim Stützle
2 Quinton Byfield
4 Cole Perfetti
5 Marco Rossi
6 Jamie Drysdale
7 Yaroslav Askarov
8 Lucas Raymond
9 Hendrix Lapierre
10 Connor Zary
11 Alexander Holtz
12 William Wallinder
13 Dylan Holloway
14 Anton Lundell
15 Dawson Mercer
16 Braden Schneider
17 Brendan Brisson
18 Jeremie Poirier
19 Justin Barron
20 Jack Quinn
21 Noel Gunler
22 Yan Kuznetsov
23 Rodion Amirov
24 Mavrik Bourque
25 Tyson Foerster
26 Eemil Viro
27 Shakir Mukhamadullin
28 Jake Neighbours
29 John-Jason Paterka
30 Ozzy Wiesblatt
31 Kaiden Guhle

 

[Joey Bones]

I really like Holloway as a pick in the 11-20 range. My only concern is that he reminds me a little bit of Steve Kelly in 1995.

Similar builds, both guys were slightly older birthdays and were praised as guys who had a number of very interesting tools.

But Kelly was another guy who never could quite figure out what type of pro player he was going to be. Was he scorer? What type of support player was he? How much sandpaper was needed to make up the difference, etc. I see some of that in Holloway.

A more recent example, and a mixed bag success story, might by Eric Nystrom in 2002. Carved out a very nice 10 year pro career that was somewhat cut short by injuries, but he never quite became the player Calgary envisioned, nor did the offense ever get to that next level.

Damn, good comparison with Nystrom. I see a lot of that too. Yeah that might’ve made me think twice about him now. It’s honestly really hard to tell with him.

 

[Joey Bones]

Let 'em drop all the way to NYR.

BTW, the Rangers pick is now building for the future. I doubt they get the top 2 so anyone they take is really looking 4-5 years down the line.

Yeah, I could see this. Not sure if they take this year to move up, though. Grabbing a center, like Rossi, would be ideal.

General question.... have the Rangers ever traded back from a 1st round pick before?

 

[Joey Bones]

A few Notable Forwards;



Dylan Holloway fits the mold. He’s not a giant, but he is 6’0 192. Maybe has some growing too still do. He’s playing with Wisconsin so if you have cable you can catch a few games on TV of him. Played for Canada on the U-18 TEAM. Scott Wheeler from the Athletic had some good words to say about him. "There isn’t a coach in the NHL who doesn’t want a powerful, talented, heavy, physical winger who can push tempo and play with an edge. That’s what Holloway brings." Wheeler called him a winger, and he may play there but he is a natural center. So, Holloway will potentially be in striking distance when the Rangers take the podium.




I like Jake Neighbors. Kid is full of piss and vinegar when he plays, yet sounds like a solid guy in his interviews, etc. They love him in Edmonton. Prototypical Western Canadien kid. A lot of places will have him positioned as a 2nd rounder but I think he could go 1st round of the draft. If the clubs lands an additional pick with a trade in the late first I wouldn’t be disappointed if he was the pick. There’s a thread in the prospect board on him going back to 2018. Some were comparing him to Landeskog, others to Myles Wood.

Brandon Colangelo has some size to him. Strong kid, who is strong on his skates. Not an overly physical player, but he is a good combo of size, power and skill. He recently won USHL player of the week.
Plays wing for Chicago Steel. 34 points in 23 appearances. He scored 18 goals and assisted 16 goals this season. Late 1st round to mid 2nd round potential.


A couple notable defenders;

Camaryn Baber vs Ryan O'Rourke Dec 28, 2018

Ryan O’Rourke is a Left Defenseman in the OHL with the Greyhounds. Kid can shoot the puck. He’s also a little bit of an old school guy, tough to play against. He’s from PA. A physical specimen. Has the size, and trains crossfit. Likes to drop the mitts ans he’s pretty good at it too. He’s Ranked #32 Central Scouting NA skaters. Has too much of what certain coaches are looking for. I think he can go in the first round, or maybe an early 2nd rounder.

Camaryn Baber vs Ryan O'Rourke Dec 28, 2018

Brayden Schneider is another. Dman for the Brandon Wheat Kings. Likely a 1st rounder. Likes to throw the body, and play a physical. Likes likes to join the rush. Schneider reminds me of Jacob Trouba. I think he can go in the first round. Checks a lot of boxes. Right Handed dman, with size that can join the rush and play physical.

Good finds, forgot about Neighbours. I doubt he goes in the 1st, but definitely a good candidate for a faller (Rangers don’t have a 2nd due to the Fox deal).

 

[Joey Bones]

Craig Button just updated his rankings now that the tournament is over. Stutze and Rossi have climbed.


https://www.tsn.ca/craig-s-list-stutzle-rossi-climb-draft-rankings-1.1427813

1 Alexis Lafreniere
2 Tim Stützle
2 Quinton Byfield
4 Cole Perfetti
5 Marco Rossi
6 Jamie Drysdale
7 Yaroslav Askarov
8 Lucas Raymond
9 Hendrix Lapierre
10 Connor Zary
11 Alexander Holtz
12 William Wallinder
13 Dylan Holloway
14 Anton Lundell
15 Dawson Mercer
16 Braden Schneider
17 Brendan Brisson
18 Jeremie Poirier
19 Justin Barron
20 Jack Quinn
21 Noel Gunler
22 Yan Kuznetsov
23 Rodion Amirov
24 Mavrik Bourque
25 Tyson Foerster
26 Eemil Viro
27 Shakir Mukhamadullin
28 Jake Neighbours
29 John-Jason Paterka
30 Ozzy Wiesblatt
31 Kaiden Guhle

Good to see a Wiesblatt make the list, even as a 1st rounder. I remember years ago these boards hyping up all three of the brothers!!

FWIW, their names are Ozzy, Ocean & Orca

 

[Joey Bones]

Mock 2020 NHL Draft: Lafreniere consensus No. 1 pick

Midterm mocks by NHL writers. At No. 11, Rangers select....

Kimelman: Dylan Holloway
Morreale: Jake Sanderson
Lepage: Marco Rossi

 

[Edge]

Damn, good comparison with Nystrom. I see a lot of that too. Yeah that might’ve made me think twice about him now. It’s honestly really hard to tell with him.

Holloway is a kid I feel increasingly comfortable with as the draft progresses.

In many ways, what he brings is what the Rangers are looking for, and there will come a point where he’s the best player on the board. Just don’t think that point is going to be in the top 10.

But I am really interested in him as a prospect, in the right context.

 

[Mac n Gs]

What about a kid like Perreault? He's obviously on a bad team, but he's been lighting the lamp like crazy in his OHL career. From the few times I've seen him, he's a decent skater with room for improvement, but he has really good playmaking ability and has a dangerous shot in tight areas.

Maybe he could switch back to C as he grows and gets stronger, but as of now, he seems like a solid bet to be a pretty good W.

 

[True Blue]

General question.... have the Rangers ever traded back from a 1st round pick before?

As in out of the first round? Not sure. Cannot think of a time

 

[Edge]

Mock 2020 NHL Draft: Lafreniere consensus No. 1 pick

Midterm mocks by NHL writers. At No. 11, Rangers select....

Kimelman: Dylan Holloway
Morreale: Jake Sanderson
Lepage: Marco Rossi

I like two of those three names. Probably wouldn't consider Sanderson at 11.

Yeah, I could see this. Not sure if they take this year to move up, though. Grabbing a center, like Rossi, would be ideal.

General question.... have the Rangers ever traded back from a 1st round pick before?

I cannot find an instance in the last 40 years where they traded back in the first round.

For better or worse, they always go with the guy they want, and don't mess around.

 

[Crease]

With Andersson and Kravtsov (to a lesser degree) having disappointing seasons, I'd feel a lot better with another bluechip forward in the system. I get that Chytil and Kakko are still very young too but you can't build an offense around those two alone.

 

[Edge]

With Andersson and Kravtsov (to a lesser degree) having disappointing seasons, I'd feel a lot better with another bluechip forward in the system. I get that Chytil and Kakko are still very young too but you can't build an offense around those two alone.

I think just about all of us would really love to add a blue chip offensive forward in this draft.

In order to do that, we probably need to pick in the top 7 of this draft, maybe the top 9 --- with Drysdale and Askarov possibly helping a forward slide just a smidgen.

Right now, I see a top 9 with elite ceilings --- 7 forwards, 1 defenseman and 1 goalie. Considering that I don't think anyone here is pining for a goalie, or another RHD, I see 7 forwards with varying degrees of potential to be bluechip offensive talents:

1. Lafreniere
2. Byfield
3. Stutzle
4. Raymond
5. Holtz
6. Perfetti
7. Rossi

 

[Leetch3]

With Andersson and Kravtsov (to a lesser degree) having disappointing seasons, I'd feel a lot better with another bluechip forward in the system. I get that Chytil and Kakko are still very young too but you can't build an offense around those two alone.

even if those 2 were having good years, the need for another blue chip forward prospect would still be there

 

[Lion Hound]

Yeah, I could see this. Not sure if they take this year to move up, though. Grabbing a center, like Rossi, would be ideal.

General question.... have the Rangers ever traded back from a 1st round pick before?

Good question. I cant remember them ever trading back.

 

[Fitzy]

If we don't win the lottery Rossi is the player I want.

Has the tools to be an elite playmaker.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

I think just about all of us would really love to add a blue chip offensive forward in this draft.

In order to do that, we probably need to pick in the top 7 of this draft, maybe the top 9 --- with Drysdale and Askarov possibly helping a forward slide just a smidgen.

Right now, I see a top 9 with elite ceilings --- 7 forwards, 1 defenseman and 1 goalie. Considering that I don't think anyone here is pining for a goalie, or another RHD, I see 7 forwards with varying degrees of potential to be bluechip offensive talents:

1. Lafreniere
2. Byfield
3. Stutzle
4. Raymond
5. Holtz
6. Perfetti
7. Rossi

Where do you see players like Gunler and Mysak?

 

[Edge]

Where do you see players like Gunler and Mysak?

Gunler to me is the kid who could be one of the best players to come out of this draft, or be the guy everyone keeps hoping to "unlock" until he finally leaves North America.

The goal scoring ability is there, he can almost will the puck where he wants it to go. Great shot, great instincts on how to read the offensive flow of the game, he's got a little swagger to his play.

There are three concerns most people seem to bring up with him:

1. His attitude

2. His consistency with utilizing his skills.

3. What he can do outside of scoring pretty goals.

To those points, I think he plays a somewhat immature game and is going to have adjust as he faces stiffer competition. Thus far, there's a feeling that he hasn't always done that, and things only get more difficult from here. His ability to grasp the concept of putting forth a more consistent effort and understanding that playing against adults is going to require work will make or break his career moving forward. I don't think he has a bad attitude, so much as the game has always come somewhat easy for him and now he has to start putting in some work and adapting.

I don't see him cracking the top 10, but he's pretty easily a candidate for the next 10 picks or so.

Mysak is a kid who is going to have a lot of eyes upon him in the OHL. He needed a fresh start and his situation overseas wasn't doing him an favors, nor was he necessarily doing himself any favors in that situation.

The offensive ability is there, but we haven't really seen it manifest itself so far this season --- at least not like was originally anticipated. Some would argue that his former team was tire fire, others would argue that Mysak was another kid who didn't necessarily how to put in the work against tougher competition. I would argue that he needs to be an in environment where he's competing against his peers. But at some point, he can't keep underwhelming in multiple situations. If he lights up the OHL through the remainder of the season, he could climb in to the upper teens. However, if he's still not grabbing the bull by the horns, I think people are going to combine those observations with a mediocre Hlinka tournament, and a less than stellar performance in the Czech league, and he's going to be a guy who could slip into the second round. His placement is really going to depend on the next three months.

If the season were ending today, based on what he's done, and now what people thought he could do, Mysak is a second round pick.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Gunler to me is the kid who could be one of the best players to come out of this draft, or be the guy everyone keeps hoping to "unlock" until he finally leaves North America.

The goal scoring ability is there, he can almost will the puck where he wants it to go. Great shot, great instincts on how to read the offensive flow of the game, he's got a little swagger to his play.

There are three concerns most people seem to bring up with him:

1. His attitude

2. His consistency with utilizing his skills.

3. What he can do outside of scoring pretty goals.

To those points, I think he plays a somewhat immature game and is going to have adjust as he faces stiffer competition. Thus far, there's a feeling that he hasn't always done that, and things only get more difficult from here. His ability to grasp the concept of putting forth a more consistent effort and understanding that playing against adults is going to require work will make or break his career moving forward. I don't think he has a bad attitude, so much as the game has always come somewhat easy for him and now he has to start putting in some work and adapting.

I don't see him cracking the top 10, but he's pretty easily a candidate for the next 10 picks or so.

Mysak is a kid who is going to have a lot of eyes upon him in the OHL. He needed a fresh start and his situation overseas wasn't doing him an favors, nor was he necessarily doing himself any favors in that situation.

The offensive ability is there, but we haven't really seen it manifest itself so far this season --- at least not like was originally anticipated. Some would argue that his former team was tire fire, others would argue that Mysak was another kid who didn't necessarily how to put in the work against tougher competition. I would argue that he needs to be an in environment where he's competing against his peers. But at some point, he can't keep underwhelming in multiple situations. If he lights up the OHL through the remainder of the season, he could climb in to the upper teens. However, if he's still not grabbing the bull by the horns, I think people are going to combine those observations with a mediocre Hlinka tournament, and a less than stellar performance in the Czech league, and he's going to be a guy who could slip into the second round. His placement is really going to depend on the next three months.

If the season were ending today, based on what he's done, and now what people thought he could do, Mysak is a second round pick.

Fantastic analysis. Thanks.

 

[Edge]

So, I haven't time to put everything together, but my working list right now sees a drop after the 9th slot. That's when we start getting into guys who don't quite project as potential top talents for their teams, or have bigger question marks. So here's where I'm at right now for the top 20:

1. Lafreniere
2. Byfield
3. Stutzle
4. Drysdale
5. Holtz
6. Perfetti
7. Rossi
8. Askarov
9. Raymond
10. Lundell
11. Schneider
12. Guhle
13. Holloway
14. Wallinder
15. Gunler
16. Mercer
17. Sanderson
18. Zary
19. Perreault
20. Barron

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

So, I haven't time to put everything together, but my working list right now sees a drop after the 9th slot. That's when we start getting into guys who don't quite project as potential top talents for their teams, or have bigger question marks. So here's where I'm at right now for the top 20:

1. Lafreniere
2. Byfield
3. Stutzle
4. Drysdale
5. Holtz
6. Perfetti
7. Rossi
8. Askarov
9. Raymond
10. Lundell
11. Schneider
12. Guhle
13. Holloway
14. Wallinder
15. Gunler
16. Mercer
17. Sanderson
18. Zary
19. Guhle
20. Barron

Thanks for sharing.

(FYI, you've got Guhle at both 12 and 19.)

 

[Edge]

Thanks for sharing.

(FYI, you've got Guhle at both 12 and 19.)

Caught that right after I posted --- and that's what I get for trying to do it from memory.

 

[wafflepadsave]

Breaking: chl prospect game on nhl network. 12 minutes left in the 3rd

 

[BKGooner]

Mysack has Rangers late first round pick written all over him if they pick up another first.

 

[Lays]

Can anyone tell me a bit more about Viiro, Wallinder, and Sanderson? Who has the most upside and what’s their playstyles, they’re the only ones I’m not too familiar with. I have a feeling NYR might go LHD

 

[wafflepadsave]

For those of us who are hoping for a 1st for geo, Dorian was on nhl network last night and said the top 60-66 players are really good. If Gorton believes this, we may try to sell our guys yet re-sign whoever this summer.