Generally if a Russian/Swedish/Finnish kid is coming over, they're probably decently high-end and would clear the "2 per team" threshold pretty easily. I expect with a 3 per-team threshold, you'll see a lot more players from the other European countries where kids will be happy to come over even if they are only a marginal CHL-level player because it's still going to be a better development opportunity than what they'd face domestically.
The opposite is the case. From those countries, and especially from Sweden, prospects coming over are often times not really high profile prospects because the real top prospects mostly aren't interested in heading overseas. For example, Filip Ekberg was an absolute exception last season. Kids with his kinda standing usually stay in Sweden. I wouldn't be surprised to see CHL teams pick more of those sleeper picks from the countries you mentioned and not just more kids from smaller hockey markets. A bit of both maybe, mixed in with the occasional high profile prospect they hope they can convince to come over eventually.
Good point. Official statement says "reassigned" not "released". Seadogs also haven't added any imports so you're most certainly right. In this case it will be interesting to see if they're interested in bringing Schenk back (and if the player wants to return to NA) or if they decide to use all picks instead.
Important to note that not everyone is going to ice 3 imports. Some will but other will likely use 2 picks on decent players and the 3rd will be a home run swing for big name players. If a team does a really good job of recruiting Americans, they won't have as many open spots to fill so they might fall into the second group. Teams that are still having a hard time recruiting could use all 3 spots on so-so imports to fill out lineups.
The opposite is the case. From those countries, and especially from Sweden, prospects coming over are often times not really high profile prospects because the real top prospects mostly aren't interested in heading overseas. For example, Filip Ekberg was an absolute exception last season. Kids with his kinda standing usually stay in Sweden. I wouldn't be surprised to see CHL teams pick more of those sleeper picks from the countries you mentioned and not just kids from smaller hockey markets.
I see what you're saying as I dive in to Swedish kids, basically kids not prioritized domestically looking for a grass is greener scenario. I was admittedly mostly thinking of Russia where it's generally NHL-level prospects looking to come over to acclimate into North America whereas your typical "KHL prospect" will stick around the MHL and stay in the orbit of their KHL teams, and then extrapolating how Swedish prospects mostly stay domestic and made some incorrect assumptions.
If Tobias Tomik reports to the Vancouver Giants, that should be a big boost for them.
It was interesting seeing the Saskatoon Blades pick up Dominik Petr last week. They had a open OA spot so rather then take a gamble in the second round, they went with a proven import player. Not bad.
Have predicted for half the season about the fronts picking Tuomas Uronens twin brothers Anttoni and Eelis. Hope I’m right. Forward and d out of Finland (08’s)
If there’s a 3rd pick not sure they might just hold onto Tuomas’ rights and hope for the family affair but I think he gets signed by the golden knights and plays for silver knights
Oh shit. That's rough. I expected something like this though because he disappeared some time mid game and never played again all WJC18 long. That explains it. Poor kid. Was definitely a tough loss for an already poor forward group.
These are all players on my watchlist that are eligible to be picked. Most of the players on this list have no intentions of playing in the CHL, and are thus unlikely to be picked. Regardless, I'll list them, as they would certainly be picked if there was mutual interest (e.g. Frondell).
Code:
POS NAME BIRTH YEAR LEAGUE TEAM
--------------------------------------------------------------
F Ilia Morozov b. 2008 USHL Tri-City Storm
F Alexei Vlasov b. 2008 USHL Sioux Falls Stampede
F Rudolfs Berzkalns b. 2008 USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks
F Yegor Shilov b. 2008 USHL Green Bay Gamblers
F Nikita Klyopov b. 2008 USHL Sioux City Musketeers
F Olivers Murnieks b. 2008 USHL Sioux City Musketeers
F Timothy Kazda b. 2008 USHL Chicago Steel
F Adam Benak b. 2007 USHL Youngstown Phantoms
F Alex Misiak b. 2007 USHL Waterloo Black Hawks
F Ivan Ryabkin b. 2007 USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks
F Viktor Fyodorov b. 2008 MHL Chaika Nizhny Novgorod
F Matvei Kotkov b. 2008 MHL Loko Yaroslavl
F Boris Borin b. 2008 MHL AKM Tula
F Nikita Ovcharov b. 2008 MHL Krasnaya Armiya Moskva
D Alexander Grunin b. 2008 MHL Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk
D Alexander Morozov b. 2008 MHL Ladia Togliatti
F Kirill Yemelyanov b. 2007 MHL Loko Yaroslav
F Dmitri Isayev b. 2007 MHL Avto Yekaterinburg
F Alexander Zharovsky b. 2007 MHL Tolpar Ufa
F Daniil Prokhorov b. 2007 MHL MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg
F Lavr Gashilov b. 2007 MHL Avto Yekaterinaburg
D Maxim Agafonov b. 2007 MHL Tolpar Ufa
D Roman Bausov b. 2007 MHL MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg
D Kurban Limatov b. 2007 MHL MHK Dynamo Moskva
G Pyotr Andreyanov b. 2007 MHL Krasnaya Armiya Moskva
G Semyon Frolov b. 2007 MHL MHK Spartak Moskva
F Alexander Pershakov b. 2006 MHL Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk
D Makar Fomin b. 2006 MHL Almaz Cherepovets
D Artyom Vilchinsky b. 2006 MHL SKA 1946 St. Petersburg
D Lasse Boelius b. 2007 Liiga Assat
F Doman Szongoth b. 2008 U20SM KooKoo
F Viljo Kahkonen b. 2008 U20SM HIFK
F Wilmer Kalio b. 2008 U20SM TPS
D Juho Piiparinen b. 2008 U20SM Tappara
D Samu Alalauri b. 2008 U20SM Pelicans
F Jere Somervuori b. 2007 U20SM HIFK
D Jesper Kotajarvi b. 2007 U20SM Tappara
F Jasper Kuhta b. 2006 U20SM HIFK
F Simon Katolicky b. 2008 U18SM Tappara
F Oiva Juntunen b. 2008 U18SM HIFK
F Rasmus Rinne b. 2008 U18SM Ilves
F Viggo Bjorck b. 2008 J20N Djurgardens
F Oscar Holmertz b. 2008 J20N Linkoping HC
F Elton Hermansson b. 2008 J20N Orebro
F Niklas Aaram Olsen b. 2008 J20N Orebro
F Nils Bartholdsson b. 2008 J20N Rogle BK
D Ola Palme b. 2008 J20N Vaxjo Lakers
D Malte Gustafsson b. 2008 J20N HV71
D Axel Elofsson b. 2008 J20N Orebro
F Eric Nilson b. 2007 J20N Djurgardens
F Anton Frondell b. 2007 J20N Djurgardens
F Theo Stockselius b. 2007 J20N Djurgardens
F Max Westergard b. 2007 J20N Frolunda
F Mikkel Eriksen b. 2007 J20N Farjestad
F Jakob Ihs Wozniak b. 2007 J20N Lulea
F Melvin Novotny b. 2007 J20N Leksands IF
F Eddie Genborg b. 2007 J20N Linkoping HC
F Viktor Klingsell b. 2007 J20N Skelleftea
F Milton Gastrin b. 2007 J20N MoDo Hockey
F Michal Svrcek b. 2007 J20N Brynas IF
F Ivar Stenberg b. 2007 J20N Frolunda
D Karl Annborn b. 2007 J20N HV71
D Theodore Hallquisth b. 2007 J20N Orebro HK
D Oliwer Sjorstrom b. 2007 J20N Lulea
D Vladimir Dravecky b. 2007 J20N Rogle BK
G Love Harenstam b. 2007 J20N Lulea
F Bruno Osmanis b. 2006 J20N IF Bjorkloven
F Victor Eklund b. 2006 J20N Djurgardens
F Marcus Nordmark b. 2008 J18R Djurgardens
F Leo Tjallden b. 2008 J18R Malmo Redhawks
D Dennis Lindberg b. 2008 J18R Djurgardens
F Filip Novak b. 2008 Czechia HC Sparta Praha U20
F Matous Kucharcik b. 2007 Czechia HC Slavia Praha
F David Rozsival b. 2007 Czechia Bili Tygri Liberec
D Jan Skok b. 2006 Czechia HC Plzen
F Adam Klaus b. 2008 Swiss Lausanne HC U20
F Simas Ignatavicius b. 2007 Swiss Geneve-Servette HC U20
D Patryk Zubek b. 2007 Slovakia Barani Banska Bystrica
Have predicted for half the season about the fronts picking Tuomas Uronens twin brothers Anttoni and Eelis. Hope I’m right. Forward and d out of Finland (08’s)
If there’s a 3rd pick not sure they might just hold onto Tuomas’ rights and hope for the family affair but I think he gets signed by the golden knights and plays for silver knights
That's a good shout, Tuomas has certainly done well for himself and moving to OHL was a great move for him as I don't think he would have gotten a big role in Liiga. Both Eelis and Anttoni are interesting players, at the moment Eelis is the most promising LHD out of the 08 Finns (and 4th most promising D overall) and Anttoni is a promising two way center
Having a look at some German prospects.........
I see that the Kose brothers have signed to play in the DEL with Löwen Frankfurt next season.
Looks like Maxim Schäfer and Elias Schneider are in the same boat signing with Eisbären Berlin.
Does this mean that they are not interested in playing in the CHL?
With CHL teams allowed to have 3 imports there is a decent chance that the Kose brothers could go as a package deal to the same team.
I see that Dustin Willhöft and the Grivas brothers are not signed to play anywhere yet so I'm assuming they would be interested in the CHL.
Having a look at some German prospects.........
I see that the Kose brothers have signed to play in the DEL with Löwen Frankfurt next season.
Looks like Maxim Schäfer and Elias Schneider are in the same boat signing with Eisbären Berlin.
Does this mean that they are not interested in playing in the CHL?
With CHL teams allowed to have 3 imports there is a decent chance that the Kose brothers could go as a package deal to the same team.
I see that Dustin Willhöft and the Grivas brothers are not signed to play anywhere yet so I'm assuming they would be interested in the CHL.
Not necessarily. Especially since they both signed multi year deals those could be signings just to have a fallback option or preparation for the time after the CHL.
Basile Sansonnens signed a four year deal with Lausanne last summer just to get loaned to the Rimouski Océanic a few weeks later.
I don't know about the plans of the Kose brothers but the fact that they just signed a new contract doesn't necessarily mean they're not interested in playing CHL.
Also, NHL teams often times try to get their European prospects from smaller markets to come over to NA. So even existing plans of those kids can still change. I'm not sure if they already talked about it in hearings prior to the NHL draft or only afterwards but I'm under the impression that it was the Vancouver Canucks that convinced Sansonnens to commit and play for Rimouski. Thankfully for him it worked out since he's playing top4 for the QMJHL finalist and Memorial Cup host team.
These are all players on my watchlist that are eligible to be picked. Most of the players on this list have no intentions of playing in the CHL, and are thus unlikely to be picked. Regardless, I'll list them, as they would certainly be picked if there was mutual interest (e.g. Frondell).
Code:
POS NAME BIRTH YEAR LEAGUE TEAM
--------------------------------------------------------------
F Ilia Morozov b. 2008 USHL Tri-City Storm
F Alexei Vlasov b. 2008 USHL Sioux Falls Stampede
F Rudolfs Berzkalns b. 2008 USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks
F Yegor Shilov b. 2008 USHL Green Bay Gamblers
F Nikita Klyopov b. 2008 USHL Sioux City Musketeers
F Olivers Murnieks b. 2008 USHL Sioux City Musketeers
F Timothy Kazda b. 2008 USHL Chicago Steel
F Adam Benak b. 2007 USHL Youngstown Phantoms
F Alex Misiak b. 2007 USHL Waterloo Black Hawks
F Ivan Ryabkin b. 2007 USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks
F Viktor Fyodorov b. 2008 MHL Chaika Nizhny Novgorod
F Matvei Kotkov b. 2008 MHL Loko Yaroslavl
F Boris Borin b. 2008 MHL AKM Tula
F Nikita Ovcharov b. 2008 MHL Krasnaya Armiya Moskva
D Alexander Grunin b. 2008 MHL Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk
D Alexander Morozov b. 2008 MHL Ladia Togliatti
F Kirill Yemelyanov b. 2007 MHL Loko Yaroslav
F Dmitri Isayev b. 2007 MHL Avto Yekaterinburg
F Alexander Zharovsky b. 2007 MHL Tolpar Ufa
F Daniil Prokhorov b. 2007 MHL MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg
F Lavr Gashilov b. 2007 MHL Avto Yekaterinaburg
D Maxim Agafonov b. 2007 MHL Tolpar Ufa
D Roman Bausov b. 2007 MHL MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg
D Kurban Limatov b. 2007 MHL MHK Dynamo Moskva
G Pyotr Andreyanov b. 2007 MHL Krasnaya Armiya Moskva
G Semyon Frolov b. 2007 MHL MHK Spartak Moskva
F Alexander Pershakov b. 2006 MHL Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk
D Makar Fomin b. 2006 MHL Almaz Cherepovets
D Artyom Vilchinsky b. 2006 MHL SKA 1946 St. Petersburg
D Lasse Boelius b. 2007 Liiga Assat
F Doman Szongoth b. 2008 U20SM KooKoo
F Viljo Kahkonen b. 2008 U20SM HIFK
F Wilmer Kalio b. 2008 U20SM TPS
D Juho Piiparinen b. 2008 U20SM Tappara
D Samu Alalauri b. 2008 U20SM Pelicans
F Jere Somervuori b. 2007 U20SM HIFK
D Jesper Kotajarvi b. 2007 U20SM Tappara
F Jasper Kuhta b. 2006 U20SM HIFK
F Simon Katolicky b. 2008 U18SM Tappara
F Oiva Juntunen b. 2008 U18SM HIFK
F Rasmus Rinne b. 2008 U18SM Ilves
F Viggo Bjorck b. 2008 J20N Djurgardens
F Oscar Holmertz b. 2008 J20N Linkoping HC
F Elton Hermansson b. 2008 J20N Orebro
F Niklas Aaram Olsen b. 2008 J20N Orebro
F Nils Bartholdsson b. 2008 J20N Rogle BK
D Ola Palme b. 2008 J20N Vaxjo Lakers
D Malte Gustafsson b. 2008 J20N HV71
D Axel Elofsson b. 2008 J20N Orebro
F Eric Nilson b. 2007 J20N Djurgardens
F Anton Frondell b. 2007 J20N Djurgardens
F Theo Stockselius b. 2007 J20N Djurgardens
F Max Westergard b. 2007 J20N Frolunda
F Mikkel Eriksen b. 2007 J20N Farjestad
F Jakob Ihs Wozniak b. 2007 J20N Lulea
F Melvin Novotny b. 2007 J20N Leksands IF
F Eddie Genborg b. 2007 J20N Linkoping HC
F Viktor Klingsell b. 2007 J20N Skelleftea
F Milton Gastrin b. 2007 J20N MoDo Hockey
F Michal Svrcek b. 2007 J20N Brynas IF
F Ivar Stenberg b. 2007 J20N Frolunda
D Karl Annborn b. 2007 J20N HV71
D Theodore Hallquisth b. 2007 J20N Orebro HK
D Oliwer Sjorstrom b. 2007 J20N Lulea
D Vladimir Dravecky b. 2007 J20N Rogle BK
G Love Harenstam b. 2007 J20N Lulea
F Bruno Osmanis b. 2006 J20N IF Bjorkloven
F Victor Eklund b. 2006 J20N Djurgardens
F Marcus Nordmark b. 2008 J18R Djurgardens
F Leo Tjallden b. 2008 J18R Malmo Redhawks
D Dennis Lindberg b. 2008 J18R Djurgardens
F Filip Novak b. 2008 Czechia HC Sparta Praha U20
F Matous Kucharcik b. 2007 Czechia HC Slavia Praha
F David Rozsival b. 2007 Czechia Bili Tygri Liberec
D Jan Skok b. 2006 Czechia HC Plzen
F Adam Klaus b. 2008 Swiss Lausanne HC U20
F Simas Ignatavicius b. 2007 Swiss Geneve-Servette HC U20
D Patryk Zubek b. 2007 Slovakia Barani Banska Bystrica
Thanks for this info - very insightful for those of us who do not know all of these players very well.
I wonder how many of these players will consider playing in the CHL if they are drafted by an NHL team in June and that team prefers that they play in North America to adjust to the size of the ice surface as well as the style of play.
A player like David Rozsival might prefer top line and special team minutes with a CHL team instead of playing fewer minutes on the 4th line with Bili Tygri Liberec. I'm sure there are preliminary conversations occurring now but it will be especially busy for GMs, agents and all players eligible for the CHL import draft between June 27th and July 2nd especially with the increase to 3 imports per team.
I really hope you are wrong about Adam Benak and Simon Katolicky.......they would look great playing with Adam Novotny in Peterborough.
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