New notable mentions for the upcoming draft 2024
Didnt See Ficenec or seidl comming
Sumpf as an overager is interesting
Didnt See Ficenec or seidl comming
Sumpf as an overager is interesting
German Prospects for the NHL Draft
- Thread starter Maverick41
- Start date
GermanSpitfire
EU Video Scout for McKeen’s | Rest Easy #13
There are advantages to selecting Oswald this year. It won’t be until the later rounds, and if a team selects him they have a two years to sign him I believe, so rather than drafting an 18 year old and lose his rights when he turns 20 - drafting a kid like Oswald at 20 you don’t have to sign him until he is 22/23 where theoretically he is closer to the NHL at that age.
Invites to camps are great, but they rarely amount to anything because there is only 50 avaliable contract slots every given season. If you draft Oswald you can just hold onto his rights for a few years and follow his progress instead.
I haven’t been the biggest fan of Späth, for reasons you listed plus his compete level isn’t always there. Sometimes he just floats there and waits for the offense to come to him. There has been more intensity this year and responsible play and the NT seems to really like him.
Kechter is another option like Oswald and I like his game too, and I agree without a doubt at minimum Kechter/Oswald/Hauf I feel will be main stays in the DEL and the German NT’s.
Just a quick question for those who check out my rankings.
Should I integrate the still draft eligible overagers in the ranking for the current draft?
If some of you are in favor of this I would do so with the next ranking in March, and add the deserving overagers like Oswald, to the ranking for the 2024 draft.
Should I integrate the still draft eligible overagers in the ranking for the current draft?
If some of you are in favor of this I would do so with the next ranking in March, and add the deserving overagers like Oswald, to the ranking for the 2024 draft.
Surprised you don’t like Bleicher’s offensive potential. I haven’t seen him play much, so I don’t know. But his point totals at every level including Oberliga look excellent.
GermanSpitfire
EU Video Scout for McKeen’s | Rest Easy #13
I’m always pretty reluctant with point totals on defenders especially levels I’m not overly familiar with because they can be easily taken out of context. I have only seen one full game of him this year, and he looked similar as he did from what I had seen to this point. Strong skating, good outlets, responsible play at both ends of the ice.
This is spot on.
I would add to the bolded part that I am aware that several teams in the NHL pay a little bit more attention to Munich and the ongoings of the whole Red Bull program than others.
One of those clubs is quite obvious.
And for teams watching his DEL play as well, I think they'll see him in a favorable light. He has done quite a bit to keep himself recognized, going above and beyond his continued contributions in what has become basically a top 9 role - or at least spot duty in a top 9 role.
And although a DY+2 at this point, he'll be 19 right on through the draft (AUG 31st BDay).
Just adore your lists @Maverick41
They are by far the most comprehensive of anything regarding the German market.
As for your question, I think it's just fine the way it is, with a list of 1st time eligibles and then one with overagers. Helps to keep a good eye on everything.
I guess you'll be looking to update them in March. There has surely been some shifting since the fall.
This is spot on.
I would add to the bolded part that I am aware that several teams in the NHL pay a little bit more attention to Munich and the ongoings of the whole Red Bull program than others.
One of those clubs is quite obvious.
And for teams watching his DEL play as well, I think they'll see him in a favorable light. He has done quite a bit to keep himself recognized, going above and beyond his continued contributions in what has become basically a top 9 role - or at least spot duty in a top 9 role.
And although a DY+2 at this point, he'll be 19 right on through the draft (AUG 31st BDay).
From what I have seen Oswald, who had been playing pretty well all season, has stepped up his game even more since the World Juniors. Sometimes young players like him will have stretches where they get on the scoreboard somewhat regularly, but when you watch them they are still looking like junior players in a pro league. Oswald is different. He looks comfortable out there and like just another player on the team (I mean that in a good way). I really think he would be on the team even if there was no rule forcing teams to dress U23 players.
Thanks. I think I will keep my list for overagers separate on here, but I will also post a link to a combined ranking on eliteprospects.
And yes, I will update the lists again in March, but it will be more towards the middle or end of the month, since I missed a full week of watching games in mid February due to illness.
I am also tinkering with a new rating system. I might be going for a 0 to 5 star system instead of the A-D tier ranking, but at this point I think I'll wait until next season or at least until the June rankings before I make that switch.
Agreed on the above. Checked the rankings out again because of your "surely been some shifting" comment and I came to the shitty conclusion that yes, my list would probably look completely different but who even f-ing cares because none of these guys will be drafted anyway.
2025 looks a lot more interesting, but at the same time, I still have major question marks about all of them.
Anyway, just for funsies, here's where I'm currently at with 2024 (I think...?):
1. Pul – One of the few Germans who know how to skate, along with some skill and compete
2. Mayer – Based on size+skating alone, but I really don't like him
3. Tropmann – Love the player, but he's probably too small to ever even make it to the AHL
4. Merkl – Excellent skater, not enough skill
5. Sager – The most pro-ready on his line with Schneider and Schäfer, but at the same time those 07s are outscoring him
6. Schwarz – I like the complete package, good two-way player, but not exactly exciting
7. Seidl – Has more exciting flashes than Schwarz but is less complete and nothing exciting overall
8. Vinzens – Meh
9. Kretzschmar – Like the skill and skating, hate the hockey sense
Call this my Do Not Draft list. Everyone beyond isn't even worth mentioning.
Sound list.
My personal belief is that after next season, Tropmann is going to be at the top of the list for this year's crop. It'll be a year later, of course, but I think next year at this time he'll be looking like a draft-worthy player as an overager.
Of the players on this list, if any actually get drafted, it'll likely be Mayer in one of the final two rounds and, like @GermanSpitfire said, it'll be because of the slight media attention he's been given (whether deserving or not) along the way. For Pul to get drafted at this point, he's going to have to head up to Denmark for the D1A U18 Worlds and basically put up 15+ points. Tools be damned, he's just done too little this season, so even that may not do it.
Ironically, the guy you write "meh" about is the one who has peaked my curiosity the most in recent months when it comes to 1st year draft eligibles. Not being at the WJC prolly took him out of the drafting equation altogether (especially with a comparable in Schreiner having slid into that line-up), but Paul Vinzenz has been looking really good for the RB Juniors the past 6 weeks. He's been a tank out there and he's one who bears watching as an overage option in the coming years. I love how he protects the puck while moving in from the boards and corners like a tank to attack the goal.
As a sidenote, I've seen things I like and don't like about all these young men (as prospects) but I do think Sager possesses some traits that are going to make him more quickly capable and perhaps quite effective at the pro level. I don't know if the DEL is the best league he's ever going to be able to play in (might be), but as I told someone in the Eisbären organization after his Hlinka Cup performance last summer, I'd be force-feeding him with videos of Nico Sturm if it were up to me. Just tell him to do all that, because that's what he should concentrate on becoming.
I strongly disagree. I love the player and think he'll have a good DEL career and would be a great junior in the CHL. But he's not a good enough skater and doesn't have any dynamic skill, which usually kills those undersized D-men. He might one day become a Troy Stecher type, but those tend to be signed as undrafted free agents.
Ok, with a bit of a delay I am starting to update the rankings for March (even if it's April now). No idea how quickly I'll be able to get through them, so bear with me.
The new rating system is still a work in progress and for now I am not including the ratings in the rankings, because I am just not finished thinking things through for most of the prospects.
Over next couple of weeks I hope to be able to add the ratings, but I can't make any promises.
The ratings for the prospects in the rankings of the later drafts will be based to a greater extent on potential than on what they are right now. So, if they end up with higher ratings it doesn't automatically mean that I think those draft classes are better. For example, I would have ranked many prospects for the 2024 draft a fair bit higher 2 or 3 years ago.
I have also left off the stats, because I did not have the time to update them and with my job being really busy right now, I am sort of running on fumes. Hopefully the final rankings in June will go smoother.
The new rating system is still a work in progress and for now I am not including the ratings in the rankings, because I am just not finished thinking things through for most of the prospects.
Over next couple of weeks I hope to be able to add the ratings, but I can't make any promises.
The ratings for the prospects in the rankings of the later drafts will be based to a greater extent on potential than on what they are right now. So, if they end up with higher ratings it doesn't automatically mean that I think those draft classes are better. For example, I would have ranked many prospects for the 2024 draft a fair bit higher 2 or 3 years ago.
I have also left off the stats, because I did not have the time to update them and with my job being really busy right now, I am sort of running on fumes. Hopefully the final rankings in June will go smoother.
Stützle maybe, if a DE comparison is being sought out?
Next season will be much more telling. Should have a good read on where his prospect status is leading by then.
I'd say Stützle level is the absolute best case scenario.
There is still a lot of development ahead of him, but at this point I rate him higher than any prospect since that 02 group with Stützle, Peterka and Reichel.
I was very high on several of our 07s, and they have all come down to earth a bit (or I have come down to earth a bit) but Penkin is better than any of them were at that age.
Really excited to see how he does next season, and also keeping an eye on his younger brother.
Do you believe he will play in the under-17s league again or under-20s at 15 next season?
And what are your expectations for his season?
I am not exactly sure what the rules are about underage players in the U20 leagues are. I believe in the past a player as young as Penkin would need parental consent to play at the U20 level this season. But I am not entirely sure if that is still a thing, or if it is the only restriction. Also, not sure how Mannheim will handle the situation.
Personally, I think he has little left to prove at the U17 league and should be able to handle playing in the under-20 league.
So, purely based on skill I would expect him to play U20 next season (maybe not exclusively but for the most part), but I don't know if there are any rules or concerns from club or parents that will keep im at the U17 level.
If he does play another year of U17 hockey, I expect truly ridiculous numbers from him.
Something along the Elias Schneider mold? Eclipsing 100 points, maybe 3ppg pace?
Could be something in that ballpark. Maybe not quite 100 points. Schneider was a whole year older when he did it, after all. And point totals in junior are really hard to predict for numerous reasons. The strength of any team can vary a lot from season to season, they also like to change how the schedules for the leagues work, so from one year to another it can become either easier or more difficult to score points because the competition level may be vastly different.
Also, considering what I have seen from both Schneider and Penkin, I feel that Penkin has a much bigger impact on the game aside from the scoresheet.
So, I won't be just looking at the points he gets in the end even if I expect a lot in that area, but I also hope to see even more of all the other little things I have seen him do well, in the admittedly few viewings I got of him this past season.
But considering all that I still would expect a huge season points wise from Penkin if he stays with the U17.
In the 100-point season Schneider was 15 years old, the same age as Penkin will be in the 24/25 season. For the rest I agree, the little I saw of him excited me.
You're right about the age. I forgot that Schneider went straight from 7 points in 9 games to 101 points in 37 games. For some reason I thought there was another season in between, where he scored along the same lines as Penkin did this season.
On one side I cannot wait for September, because I want to watch junior hockey again, on the other side I'll be another year older in September and I could do without that.
Sombastate
Registered User
I'm in a fantasy hockey league where I molded my team after my Dachsunds, so I drafted all the Germans - Seider, Drai, Stutzle, Peterka, Reichel, Sturm, with Bicker and Szuber in my prospects.
Who should I take in this draft, and in what round?
Who should I take in this draft, and in what round?
Honestly, nobody comes to mind. This is a horrible draft for Germans.
My favourites among first time draft eligibles are Elias Pul, Tobias Schwarz, Paul Mayer and Simon Seidl, but I don't see any of them getting even remotely close becoming an NHL player.
Among overagers I like Julius Sumpf (2005) and Veit Oswald (2004). Both may have the tiniest of chances to make it to the NHL one day, but even they are extremely long shots.
If you pick anyone, I would use my very last pick, because I don't see anyone else picking them.
Next year should be far more interesting.
