HFBoards TOP 50 Prospects Ranking #2 (closed)

[HabzSauce]

Ya he’ll def get super hyped now that he’s a hab, but prior to draft I didn’t think they got the same type of hype.

I could be off, but I felt like michkov was hyped as the best Russian prospect since ovie…. Didn’t feel that way about Demidov hype

Ya Michkov was more hyped I remember as well.

But ask me who the better player will be? I say the DEMIGOD

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Ya Michkov was more hyped I remember as well.

But ask me who the better player will be? I say the DEMIGOD

Possibly, I think we’ll get a more clear idea at the end of this year

 

[HabzSauce]

Possibly, I think we’ll get a more clear idea at the end of this year

This year It will be all about Michkov. Id say we won't know until after next year when they've both had at least 1 NHL season under their belt.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

I voted Will Smith but I forgot about Michkov.

 

[amnesiac]

Because the other guys dominated other leagues too. Michkov and Nikishin put up numbers in the KHL (obviously a superior league), Smith lead NCAA in points, and Gauthier lead in goals. They were the top prospects left over from last years rankings and all had dominant years.

You can look at the highlights of any top-5/10 pick and they look amazing. Just because Demidov is flashy doesn't mean he's the next coming of Christ.

Was he a consensus next best talent? Alot of rankings had him 3-5 as well, and heck he even went 5th overall.

Either way, he's a great prospect and will go 3rd overall in this poll (due to being flashy and drafted by the habs) but I think the top-5 prospects in the NHL are obvious.

its not a question of being flashy, its what pretty much every prospect/draft expert have said about him in the past 12+ months, and thats that hes flat out the 2nd best talent of the draft (possibly better offensive skill than Celebrini).... Just like Michkov, he was the consensus #2 all year long, but dropped in the draft probably also due to "Russian factor" reasons. If the kid was Canadian/American do you really think he wouldve dropped to 5? of course not.

I mean the kid had 62P in 41GP at age 17/18 in the MHL. For comparison Michkov had 38 in 22, Kucherov had 43 in 23, and Pararin had 44 in 38 (was a year older). Proving in the K (or any pro league) will definitely be more telling, but you can say that about any junior player.

Granted that: Smith, Gauthier, and Nikishin had great seasons.... but in terms of who has the highest ceiling of the bunch? For me its clearly Demidov by what all the experts have said.

 

[amnesiac]

Lane Hutson isn't on your list? Better than more than 50% of your options

no he isnt, and Im a big Hutson fan

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Michkov had a lot of off-ice questions about him and was 5’10”. There are a lot of reasons that Michkov fell unrelated to his quality as a prospect.

Demidov is 6’0.5”, speaks English, was adamant that he would come to NA after this season, and does have the supposed character concerns that Michkov had or the ‘drama’ around the death of his father.

Demidov fell because of the russian risk, because he played against low level competition, and because the teams ahead of him picked for need (Anaheim needed a right shot forward or dman, Columbus needed a center).

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Too bad they didn’t keep their word and actually quit.

If Demidov was such a good prospect that he is better than Michkov and Smith, then he wouldn’t have gone 5th overall this year. Habs fans claiming “he was in contention for 1st overall with Celebrini” are literally crazy.

Michkov went 7th and Smith went 4th

Cool that Demidov sucks now just because the Habs drafted him lmfao

Pathetic

 

[Juxtaposer]

Demidov fell because of the russian risk, because he played against low level competition, and because the teams ahead of him picked for need (Anaheim needed a right shot forward or dman, Columbus needed a center).

And those are all reasons why he isn’t as good a prospect as Michkov at this point. If Michkov didn’t have any of the off-ice concerns (valid or not) like his contract, character, etc. then he would have gone over Demidov in this draft. If Demidov were as good as Habs fans are claiming, then teams wouldn’t be drafting for need over him.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Demidov a lot and would have drafted him 2nd overall this year. I think this ranking should go 2/Michkov, 3/Smith, and 4/Demidov. But I don’t see any justification for Demidov over Michkov or Smith given what they’ve accomplished this year. While it’s not Demidov’s fault that he didn’t get KHL minutes, you can’t assume he would have excelled to the point that Michkov did. And I think Smith’s 1.73 PPG in the NCAA as an 18 year old is getting crazy underrated.

 

[Xirik]

After this vote is actually starts getting hard.

Lindstrom
Smith
Nikishin
Demidov


all have good claim.

 

[dgibb10]

yet Michkov was a consensus #2 last year before his KHL season.... Demidov has/had the same hype going into the draft, I dont think you can argue that. Hes a different player than Michkov, but the numbers pre-draft are very similar in the same league.

Except for Michkov having double the goals per game, sure, basically the same stats in the MHL.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

And those are all reasons why he isn’t as good a prospect as Michkov at this point. If Michkov didn’t have any of the off-ice concerns (valid or not) like his contract, character, etc. then he would have gone over Demidov in this draft. If Demidov were as good as Habs fans are claiming, then teams wouldn’t be drafting for need over him.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Demidov a lot and would have drafted him 2nd overall this year. I think this ranking should go 2/Michkov, 3/Smith, and 4/Demidov. But I don’t see any justification for Demidov over Michkov or Smith given what they’ve accomplished this year. While it’s not Demidov’s fault that he didn’t get KHL minutes, you can’t assume he would have excelled to the point that Michkov did. And I think Smith’s 1.73 PPG in the NCAA as an 18 year old is getting crazy underrated.

If Michkov was as good as people said he was (i.e same level to Bedard), then he wouldn't fallen to 7th despite the off ice issues.

I can fully understand picking Michkov and Smith over Demidov in a prospects ranking because they are also extremely skilled and they've produced at a high level against much better competition. However, if Demidov ends up the best of the 3 in the nhl, it shouldn't surprise anyone.

Interesting to note that the last time we saw Demidov vs Michkov on the ice, Demidov was better.

From Pronman's article:
"One of the biggest arguments in Demidov’s favor is the latest time both he and Michkov were on the same team was during SKA’s preseason leading into this season. Both were competing for a job on the main roster. Demidov won the job and scouts at those games said it was in convincing fashion. Michkov was loaned out to Sochi in the KHL shortly after. Demidov started with SKA for a couple of games but lost the job shortly. While it was only a couple of games, it gave arguments to Demidov’s camp that the way he plays translates better to pro hockey than the way Michkov plays."

 

[hamzarocks]

If it includes undrafted guys

Hagens and Mckenna are probably pretty high

Tough for #2.

I would go Mitchkov, then will Smith and then Demidov

 

[Juxtaposer]

If Michkov was as good as people said he was (i.e same level to Bedard), then he wouldn't fallen to 7th despite the off ice issues.

I can fully understand picking Michkov and Smith over Demidov in a prospects ranking because they are also extremely skilled and they've produced at a high level against much better competition. However, if Demidov ends up the best of the 3 in the nhl, it shouldn't surprise anyone.

Interesting to note that the last time we saw Demidov vs Michkov on the ice, Demidov was better.

From Pronman's article:
"One of the biggest arguments in Demidov’s favor is the latest time both he and Michkov were on the same team was during SKA’s preseason leading into this season. Both were competing for a job on the main roster. Demidov won the job and scouts at those games said it was in convincing fashion. Michkov was loaned out to Sochi in the KHL shortly after. Demidov started with SKA for a couple of games but lost the job shortly. While it was only a couple of games, it gave arguments to Demidov’s camp that the way he plays translates better to pro hockey than the way Michkov plays."

Well, I personally was never thinking of Michkov quite in Bedard’s tier. I actually probably am not as high on Bedard himself as many people—I just tend to value two-way game and centerman highly and I’m not convinced Bedard is a true centerman.

It absolutely wouldn’t shock me by any means if Demidov ended up better than Michkov or Smith, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna rank him higher than two guys who are more proven and have just as high upside.

In the end, we’re splitting hairs. The 2-4 group for me is definitively Michkov, Smith, Demidov in some order. I’m was mostly just poking fun at how Demidov is gonna run away with #3 simply because there’s so many Habs fans voting.

 

[amnesiac]

Except for Michkov having double the goals per game, sure, basically the same stats in the MHL.

Michkov is definitely the better goalscorer, Demidov is definitely the better playmaker

Defense will be the big question between the 2, although I doubt either will be future Selke candidates

If it includes undrafted guys

Hagens and Mckenna are probably pretty high

Tough for #2.

I would go Mitchkov, then will Smith and then Demidov

no

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Michkov

 

[dgibb10]

Michkov is definitely the better goalscorer, Demidov is definitely the better playmaker

Defense will be the big question between the 2, although I doubt either will be future Selke candidates


no

The value difference of the defensive impact of 2 below average defensive wingers is not particularly meaningful at all.

Kucherov is absolutely atrocious defensively. It does not matter, because defensive winger impact is minimal

 

[majormajor]

And those are all reasons why he isn’t as good a prospect as Michkov at this point. If Michkov didn’t have any of the off-ice concerns (valid or not) like his contract, character, etc. then he would have gone over Demidov in this draft.

That's not something we know, not at all. Demidov might have gone ahead of Michkov purely for on-ice reasons. Demidov is much stronger and healthier. He's a more competitive kid and more versatile in how he is used. Michkov has his selling points but these are all areas that can put Demidov ahead of Michkov, depending on the scout.

Perhaps you missed it, I linked this on the first page, Pronman interviewed scouts on Michkov vs Demidov. They were evenly split. The big concerns they had with Michkov were mostly on ice.

“I’d be concerned on Demidov for the same reason I was concerned on Michkov. He’s a small, slow Russian winger who we didn’t get to scout live all season. We all see the skill, he’s stupid talented, but in the top five you need to be sure, and I don’t see how teams can be that sure.”

“Demidov’s game is way more direct. His habits are much better than Michkov’s. Mickov is extremely talented and a heck of a hockey player, but I know who my coach is going to prefer to lean on come playoff time and it’s Demidov.”

“Michkov was in the conversation with Connor Bedard for us. That should tell you how highly we think of the player. It’s not even a conversation. His hockey sense and skill are off the charts.”

“Demidov is an excellent player, but he’s only played against junior players and I don’t love the quality of competition of that league. Michkov did it versus men in his draft year. He was great at the U20 level, the U18 level, even with the senior Russian team. He displayed consistency across high levels of competition.”

“I think with Michkov you always know he’s going to score, but his game can give you some headaches. He lacks pace, he doesn’t play very hard. Demidov has less of those issues even if he’s not an amazing skater. He also seems to have less drama around him. I’d feel more comfortable picking Demidov.”

Notice that they're not talking about off-ice stuff (that stuff is overblown in my opinion).

Defense will be the big question between the 2, although I doubt either will be future Selke candidates

I don't have any questions about who is the better defensive player. Demidov is a very strong kid with good off puck hockey sense who plays with high energy all over the ice. Michkov just can't keep up defensively, the hope for him is that he scores so much it doesn't matter.

The value difference of the defensive impact of 2 below average defensive wingers is not particularly meaningful at all.

Demidov isn't below average at defense as a prospect and I think he projects to be a good defensive forward in the NHL.