Draft 2021 NHL Draft and Undrafted Free Agent Thread

[Joey Bones]

Not imo. He's a terrific kid, and one that I think is one of those utility forwards that can slot in anywhere on the top nine. Great situational awareness, but I see a playoff caliber middle six center, or top six complimentary winger. But he is not a franchise level talent imo. Just does his job well. I would think that fair value in a draft for his athletic talent would be in the mid-late 20s, but that brain, motor, and character gets you a very good pick in the 8-13 range cause he's probably one of the safest bets and there's some good upside to a guy that knows how to play winning hockey.

Great analysis, couldn't have said it better myself!!

 

[Joey Bones]

One kid I could see climbing the charts once his season gets underway is Mason McTavish. Goal scorer for sure and I know NYR watched him a ton last year. Will be interesting to see how he'll do in a shortened season (and the rest of the OHL/WHL prospects).

 

[mti79]

I know nothing about any of these kids but I really want stankoven on the team

 

[Joey Bones]

Another thought if NYR start to win some games... Raty is dropping, but really doesn't deserve much of the hate on him. Still a solid center prospect!!

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Another thought if NYR start to win some games... Raty is dropping, but really doesn't deserve much of the hate on him. Still a solid center prospect!!

Yeah, when it comes to center prospects, I would rank him 4th behind Johnson, Eklund and Beniers, and ahead of Sillinger

 

[True Blue]

Another thought if NYR start to win some games... Raty is dropping, but really doesn't deserve much of the hate on him. Still a solid center prospect!!

Landing him would be fantastic

 

[Heckler81]

People see this draft not being that strong. I wonder if that will help our chances getting 1st round picks at the trade deadline?

I would love to pickup a 1st around 10ish and another around 20.

It would be a home run if we can draft the following 3 players.

Beniers
Raty
McTavish

 

[Joey Bones]

People see this draft not being that strong. I wonder if that will help our chances getting 1st round picks at the trade deadline?

I would love to pickup a 1st around 10ish and another around 20.

It would be a home run if we can draft the following 3 players.

Beniers
Raty
McTavish

Think that it may be wiser to grab picks for the 2022 draft. It has a deeper pool than this one. Not much top-end talent in this draft.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Man if we end up with Beniers I would be a happy lad.

 

[Synergy27]

Beniers has a chance to fill the Farabee sized hole in my heart.

 

[Leetch3]

Not imo. He's a terrific kid, and one that I think is one of those utility forwards that can slot in anywhere on the top nine. Great situational awareness, but I see a playoff caliber middle six center, or top six complimentary winger. But he is not a franchise level talent imo. Just does his job well. I would think that fair value in a draft for his athletic talent would be in the mid-late 20s, but that brain, motor, and character gets you a very good pick in the 8-13 range cause he's probably one of the safest bets and there's some good upside to a guy that knows how to play winning hockey.

isn't beniers expected to go alot higher than 8?

thoughts on the other michigan center, Kent Johnson?

 

[Mikos87]

isn't beniers expected to go alot higher than 8?

thoughts on the other michigan center, Kent Johnson?

I have the other Michigan product as the top prospect in Owen Power, and that's based off of last year's play and his upside. Haven't followed prospects this season, so I don't have much to go on.

 

[Savant]

isn't beniers expected to go alot higher than 8?

thoughts on the other michigan center, Kent Johnson?

Beniers is 1 on my board honestly

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Beniers is looking like a top 5.

 

[QJL]

Kent Johnson reminds me of Mitch Marner. He’s my #1 right now. Hughes, Power, and Beniers right behind.

 

[JayAB81]

Could someone kindly point out the best draft websites for the NHL entry draft? I want to read up on the top Centers, if we end bad enough we could end up with an NHL ready center. Thanks, and it’s much appreciated

 

[NYRFANMANI]

Think that it may be wiser to grab picks for the 2022 draft. It has a deeper pool than this one. Not much top-end talent in this draft.

As much as I agree, I fear teams value their 2022 1st rounders a lot, and thus the price is gonna be very high.

 

[Joey Bones]

As much as I agree, I fear teams value their 2022 1st rounders a lot, and thus the price is gonna be very high.

I mean, I'm in the realm where hopefully the Rangers can get consistent play/offense and use some of these draft assets to create a scary team soon. But with covid's prominence and teams/leagues having been offline for so long, these next couple of drafts (2021, 2022, and possibly 2023) will have a lot of development time lost for these kids.

We'll see how it goes. Teams might want talent now or shore up on their future...

 

[Synergy27]

I mean, I'm in the realm where hopefully the Rangers can get consistent play/offense and use some of these draft assets to create a scary team soon. But with covid's prominence and teams/leagues having been offline for so long, these next couple of drafts (2021, 2022, and possibly 2023) will have a lot of development time lost for these kids.

We'll see how it goes. Teams might want talent now or shore up on their future...

Lots of opportunity there. You’d hope that a deep pocketed team with many off ice resources like the Rangers will be well positioned to take advantage.

 

[Joey Bones]

Lots of opportunity there. You’d hope that a deep pocketed team with many off ice resources like the Rangers will be well positioned to take advantage.

The Rangers certainly are not deep-pocketed (at least for a few years). I question how much they're going to fork over when these younger ELC's expire and what they'll have left to create a core around them.

The flat cap era will be tough...

 

[Synergy27]

The Rangers certainly are not deep-pocketed (at least for a few years). I question how much they're going to fork over when these younger ELC's expire and what they'll have left to create a core around them.

The flat cap era will be tough...

I mean organizationally. There is no reason why they shouldn't fund the absolute best, most thorough scouting department in the game. Use your wealth advantage where you can with the cap.

 

[Joey Bones]

I mean organizationally. There is no reason why they shouldn't fund the absolute best, most thorough scouting department in the game. Use your wealth advantage where you can with the cap.

Think we might disagree here, mate. I feel if they were wealthy enough, they would've funded that team. There could be an argument of what resources were around when the wealth was there, but for now... this is the team we fans got to watch.

Growing pains for sure, but this conversation is for a different thread...

 

[Synergy27]

Think we might disagree here, mate. I feel if they were wealthy enough, they would've funded that team. There could be an argument of what resources were around when the wealth was there, but for now... this is the team we fans got to watch.

Growing pains for sure, but this conversation is for a different thread...

All I’m saying is that, with the added uncertainty caused by the pandemic, there will likely be far less consensus on how to rank these next free classes and that that presents massive opportunity. I would hope that my team, which is one of the richest in the league, will position itself to take advantage.

Their success with late firsts gives me hope.

 

[Joey Bones]

All I’m saying is that, with the added uncertainty caused by the pandemic, there will likely be far less consensus on how to rank these next free classes and that that presents massive opportunity. I would hope that my team, which is one of the richest in the league, will position itself to take advantage.

Their success with late firsts gives me hope.

Okay, I can agree on that, albeit I don't think it'll be massive. Think all teams will be cautious and still go with their department's views rather than consensus.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

No more defensemen. Please. Having said that, you just know they’ll take the one I like least like Edvinsson or Ceulemans. Preparing myself for something they do that always pisses me off.

Beniers is exactly who the Rangers should target and he’s probably No. 1 on their board. He’s from Mass. so you know Gorton’s intrigued. He’s playing like a 1C at Michigan that’s for sure.

Johnson is a throwback. He is an excellent prospect — smart, skilled, good effort off the puck. People want him to be explosive but that’s overrated. He’s a freshman dominating the cycle with Beniers. He’s not all flash and finesse; there’s a lot of structure in his game.

Eklund is a stud. He’s a Euro version of Berard. Both play LW and buzz nonstop but Eklund is making mince meat out of the SHL. Incredible creativity with the puck. He plays on Holtz’s line and makes him look like a huge passenger. I know we’re loaded at wing but he has center traits. Just don’t know if he’s big enough to handle NHL centers.

Fyodor Svechkov is a center and my sleeper to be one of the best players from this draft. Sick puck skills, shot creation, stickhandling, and also a shutdown two-way type.

Simon Robertsson, Oskar Olausson, and Fabian Lysell are wingers we dont “need” but dynamic, energetic and at times explosive. Wouldn’t complain if we took any one of them, even in top five.

More wingers I’m OK with:

Cole Sillinger — mean, two-way type with good size but a real leader. Power skater. Mike’s kid. Manhandling USHL right now,

Dylan Guenther — plays like a center, kills penalties, but deadly playmaker. Kinda wiry but has an edge and can get in your face.

Nikita Chibrikov — Another skilled Russian with high IQ and very physical. Always hounds the puck and goes to dirty areas but playmaker as well.

Sasha Pastujov — Pure skill and strength from the wing. Also physical. Nasty shot. Don’t know why people knock his skating as I’ve seen him blow past defenders in H2H 50/50 foot races. Dual threat.

Samu Tuomaala — fast, hard-hitting, ridiculous hands and skill near the goal. Plays with a lot of energy and finishes his checks. Has been on Karpat U20’s top line all season. Decent size too.

Centers? Very thin. Raty is very good but getting beat up too much for a season that’s been better than most are making it out to be. He does look slower, which is odd since last year he looked like he was shot out of a cannon. But he’s big, physical, good in his own end, and loves to shoot.

Chaz Lucius is a goal-scoring center who blew me away last year but has missed this season with a LBI. Shame. Top-line center for NTDP with Pastujov and Dylan Duke. But again, another top center prospect with question marks.

Pinelli from Kitchener is pretty good. Some people I know and trust are obsessed with him. Really stood out on a veteran squad last year. Strong kid and two-way type.

I really like Zac Bolduc. This kid can be a star if he puts it all together. There were games I watched where every aspect of the game on the puck was clean and effortless. Rimouski blows this year and he was hurt but he’s looked great since coming back. Ideal center size as well but he’s been playing wing lately.