I guess it’s time to reveal my final top-50. In the last 7 months I have mainly watched and focused on WHL, OHL and international tournaments, so the effect of that bias might be prominent in this list.
Names with no color coding are players I’ve seen in 0-5 games this season.
Reds: 6-10 games.
Blues: 10+ games.
1. Simon Nemec RD
2. Juraj Slafkovsky LW
3. Shane Wright C
4. Logan Cooley C
5. David Jiricek RD
I have Nemec ranked 1OA but honestly it could be anyone of this group. There’s no clear #1 in this draft class for me. Jiricek and Slafkovsky may have greater upsides than the rest but Slaf is kind of a slow skater and isn’t showing exceptionally high hockey IQ in every game, and Jiricek’s skillset is very raw and his understanding of the game has left me unimpressed many times. There is some recklessness in the ways he approaches some puck battles and races that have made me worry if his career may end a lot sooner than it should. I think he has to learn to be smarter in that regard to avoid Klesla-like, injury-filled career.
6. Denton Mateychuk LD
7. Cutter Gauthier C/LW
8. Frank Nazar C/RW
I have already written quite a bit about Mateychuk, he’s probably my favorite player of this draft. Anticipates most plays very quickly, and is constantly looking for ways to make an impact on the ice. Particular skill I value very high in defensemen is puck retrievals in DZ, and he might be the best draft eligible D I’ve seen in that particular area of DZ game. I was tempted to leave Nazar out of my top-10 thanks to underwhelming performances in the U18 final rounds, but at the end of the day I’m still a huge fan of his potential.
9. Pavel Mintyukov LD
10. Marco Kasper C
11. Noah Ostlund C
12. Rutger McGroarty C
13. Danila Yurov RW
14. Jimmy Snuggerud C
Mintyukov is obviously really gifted, a few years down the road he may have become the best D of this class. I’ve been concerned of his D zone play and risky decisions he’s done on offense. OZ off-puck movement looks very smart at times, but sometimes it seemed as if he wasn’t prepared for the type of plays that are most likely going to occur. It’s like he has one kind of offensive play in mind that could actualise and which would look nice if it happened, and then he just goes for the play he visualizes but which doesn’t have the greatest chance of happening. This is one of the reasons Mateychuk is higher on my list, he seems more attuned and mature in these situations, makes better reads in general and is also more focused in DZ trying to cover and box out opposing players, rather than spend time puck watching and hoping for some low-percentage outcome from the play.
Ostlund is my favorite Swede this year. Elusive skater with slick hands and super high hockey IQ, could be a steal in the 2nd round if he falls that far. Snuggerud might be a tad too high here according to many experts, maybe there isn’t enough flash and speed to impress most people. I think his 200ft game and skillset are underappreciated, smart 6’2 two-way forward with a hard shot should carve himself a long NHL career.
15. Connor Geekie C
16. Matthew Savoie C
17. Jiri Kulich C
18. Liam Ohgren LW
Kulich and Ohgren seem to be most NHL-ready players of these 4 forwards. I put Geekie ahead of other 3 mainly because of size difference. I don’t see any of them as a future top line player. All may become great middle-6 wingers or centers, they have enough tools and willingness to play a responsible two-way game.
19. Jonathan Lekkerimaki RW
20. Owen Pickering LD
21. Brad Lambert C/RW
22. Gleb Trikozov C
23. Owen Beck C
24. Joakim Kemell RW
Yeah, Kemell and Lekkerimaki are rather low in my list in contrast to consensus. Haven’t watched them a lot, and in the very little I saw (U18s) either one was making enough high end skill/vision plays which I expect from 5’11 or shorter players to earn a top-18 ranking on my list.
I’m not a big believer in Pickering’s offensive abilities at NHL level - doesn’t have very smooth hands, slow release, lacks high end vision. I can see him settle for mid or bottom pair shut-down role and be really solid at it. Chesley and Bichsel are both great at defending as well, Chesley’s shorter frame caused him to drop to a lower position than Pickering. Bichsel could be a lot higher if I had seen full games of him during the year. I really don’t know what to think of his potential, at least seems mobile for a big guy who likes to get physical.
I’m having trouble at ranking all Russian forwards this year, Trikozov may have the most complete skillset of them all so I placed him second after Yurov. Beck should be an excellent defensive center in the NHL. He was probably the best player at the faceoff dot in OHL this year, already a good skater, really sound positionally, strong on the puck.
25. Ryan Chesley RD
26. Kevin Korchinski LD
27. Nathan Gaucher C
28. Lian Bichsel LD
29. Jagger Firkus RW
30. Viktor Neuchev F
31. Isaac Howard LW
32. Artyom Duda LD
Duda is a late riser here. I really liked some of his puck plays in MHL games. 6’1 LD has promising-looking hands, shot, vision and skating skills. I see something unique in his offensive game, I can’t explain it well and put it into words yet but I feel quite confident that people will start to notice his special qualities eventually once he’s taken his first shifts on NA ice.
I’m definitely not a fan of Gaucher’s hands and vision, but a center of his size and physical, effective, north-south playing style is a valuable piece to any NHL forward group.
Firkus is the player I’ve watched the most this year along with Mateychuk. I’d say he’s got near-elite offensive IQ. Crazy wrist shot. Unpredictable, versatile and skilled passer. Certainly a risky pick - if you pick him you gotta hope and pray he starts to bulk up and work on his skating, especially on acceleration.
Neuchev reminds me of Kucherov with his elegant puck poise. Vision and passing skills however are nowhere close to Kucherov, he’s definitely a offensive player with shoot-first mentality. Don’t get me wrong, I think he can recognize patterns on the play while having puck on his stick, and then deke through defense and do a skillful pass, but IMO it hasn’t looked like he was able to do really quick reads on passing opportunities when time and space were more limited. Still a very intriguing F prospect with unique talent, there’s massive steal potential with this pick.
33. Filip Mesar RW
34. Tristan Luneau RD
35. Alexander Perevalov LW
36. Reid Schaefer LW
37. Mattias Havelid RD
38. Lane Hutson LD
39. Ivan Miroshnichenko RW
40. Seamus Casey RD
Some may argue that Mesar and Luneau should be ranked higher, and maybe they’re right. I just haven’t seen them enough to realize their greatness as prospects. Luneau seems to play solid all-around game without really shining at any part of the game. To me, Mesar is one of those small and fast wingers who most likely will never play in the top-6 of an NHL team’s forward lines but will excel at lower levels. I wonder what he’s able to do with the puck in smaller rinks where he has less time and space to make plays. Perevalov is decent sized two-way winger with noticeable skillset, including an excellent shooting ability. Schaefer is less skilled but plays more physical game, seems he’s still very underrated in the internet scouting communities. I didn’t know where to throw Miro’s name on this list, in my view he has looked too talented in the games prior to his cancer diagnosis to be left out of this list so I thought he should deserve at least a 2nd round ranking.
41. Paul Ludwinski C
42. Adam Sykora LW
43. Calle Odelius LD
44. David Goyette C
45. Sam Rinzel RD
Ludwinski is another late riser. I really liked his speed and energy in the games I have rewatched lately. Odelius strikes to me as a tad smaller, left-handed Luneau. Great two-way D but puck skills and skating aren’t great enough to see a first round ranking. Goyette was originally much higher on my list but after a disappointing U18 tournament I started to discover more players in this same late 1st/early 2nd range who seemed to be more ready for the next level, physically and mentally. That said, there’s still significant upside in him, his production may explode next year in Sudbury.
46. Logan Morrison C
47. Isaiah George LD
48. Julian Lutz LW
49. Matthew Seminoff RW
50. Noah Warren
OHL playoffs MVP Morrison should hear his name called in the first two rounds this year despite being ’02 born overager. Plays both ways, pass-first mentality, can be at center or wing, high end hockey IQ. Not the strongest or fastest skater though, so needs to work on it. Has swagger and playmaking skills that reminds me a little of Johansen and Giroux.
If George learns to play a bit smarter and calmer game with the puck, he should be a great two-way top-6 D on an NHL team, has tools and is physically quite developed. Coaching might be crucial with his development. Seminoff is slightly more skilled, Calvert/Dorsett-esque warrior without proper fighting skills. I’m sure he’ll be a fan favorite for the team that drafts him. He displays that unreal ”never quit” mindset and competitiveness on every shift which will get everybody in the building fired up.
