Prospect Info: HFWild Prospect Ranking #16

[Digitalbooya]

Rank the prospects how you see fit!

1. Danila Yurov (55.1%)
2. Jesper Wallstedt (52.8%)
3. Zeev Buium (94.6%)
4. Liam Ohgren (85.4%)
5. Riley Heidt (69.4%)
6. Marat Khusnutdinov (52.9%)
7. Ryder Ritchie (44.8%)
8. Jack Peart (33.3%)
9. Daemon Hunt (19.4%)
10. Caedan Bankier (26.1%)
11. Hunter Haight (23.1%)
12. Rasmus Kumpulainen (20%)
13. Rieger Lorenz (30.8%)
14. Ryan Healey (35.3%)
15. David Spacek (52.6% of tiebreaker poll)
16.

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[TaLoN]

Going with Kiviharju here

 

[BagHead]

In regard to Lambos, he's got the skills, but doesn't seem to know how and when to use them. In short, he doesn't "get it". Most guys who don't get it don't suddenly start to get it (unless it's a learning curve thing, but you would expect to see improvement over the course of the season if that were the case).

I'm going to go with Kiviharju here. He has a similar skill level, but smaller size. The difference is, he gets it, which at least gives him a chance if he can stay healthy.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Going Lambos and then Stramel.

 

[JiricekSaveUs]

Stramel and Lambos are hated

 

[AKL]

Lambos are hated

I don't know if I've ever seen a fanbase turn on a prospect so quickly outside of off-ice incidents

 

[Digitalbooya]

Reminder for myself to add Samuel Hlavaj to the next poll.

I don't know if I've ever seen a fanbase turn on a prospect so quickly outside of off-ice incidents

Stramel was #7 and Lambos #8 in last year's poll. Both did not have good seasons.

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Went Lambos, I think there is a chance, however slim, that we see him in the NHL at points this season, pending injuries. I will say that I have seen YoY progress from him at the camps, so its not like he has fully stagnated, at least in my viewings.

A lot of progress can be made in the off-season, he is only 21 and his physicality is not bad. He does need to get faster in pretty much everything he does if he wants to actually unlock his tools, so I definitely understand the question marks, but I do see a path to a him becoming a positive player.

 

[Wabit]

I don't know if I've ever seen a fanbase turn on a prospect so quickly outside of off-ice incidents

Lambos was riding his draft position, and the trust in Judd is/was very high on these forums. There wasn't much for reasons given other than that when I asked. His last CHL season was on par with what Hunt/ROR did in theirs. He wasn't a standout on the Canada U20 team. His lack of progress in the AHL last season and plethora of other LD prospects really tanked his stock.

Stramel was a disliked pick but draft position got him ranked high. Then he had an awful/injured season last year and has dropped like a rock. I still have him in my top-10 for prospects, because I think he'll at least turn into a bottom-6 NHL FWD.

 

[BagHead]

Stramel and Lambos are hated

There's a difference between hating them and thinking they aren't going to pan out. I hope they prove me wrong, but I fear Lambos's hockey sense may be too low. That's not as much a concern for me with Stramel, I just think Stramel was picked too high and now that's showing up in the voting here.

 

[Jbcraig1883]

There's a difference between hating them and thinking they aren't going to pan out. I hope they prove me wrong, but I fear Lambos's hockey sense may be too low. That's not as much a concern for me with Stramel, I just think Stramel was picked too high and now that's showing up in the voting here.

This. I don't hate prospects. Just was not a fan with what I saw last year of Lambos.

Anywho, going with Milne again since he will likely play more NHL games than 1/3 of the guys already ranked, IMHO.

 

[AKL]

In regard to Lambos, he's got the skills, but doesn't seem to know how and when to use them. In short, he doesn't "get it". Most guys who don't get it don't suddenly start to get it (unless it's a learning curve thing, but you would expect to see improvement over the course of the season if that were the case).

I'm going to go with Kiviharju here. He has a similar skill level, but smaller size. The difference is, he gets it, which at least gives him a chance if he can stay healthy.

I am curious what the basis for Kiviharju getting it and Lambos not being capable of getting it in the future is. I mean I'd understand it if last season was Lambos' third in the AHL, or if Kiviharju had proven himself at a higher level of play than Lambos, but neither of those are true to my eyes.

 

[BagHead]

I am curious what the basis for Kiviharju getting it and Lambos not being capable of getting it in the future is. I mean I'd understand it if last season was Lambos' third in the AHL, or if Kiviharju had proven himself at a higher level of play than Lambos, but neither of those are true to my eyes.

I will openly admit it's not from direct viewings, it's based off of scouting reports and second hand information from those who viewed them. I already had growing concerns about Lambos after his last year in the CHL, and his AHL seasonal results, plus those reports, confirmed my concerns.
With Kiviharju, he began playing against men the year before his draft year, and was not overwhelmed. His most noted skill in scouting reports is his hockey sense and ability to read the play and keep calm as it develops.

To me, they seem like a little mirror opposites of each other. One has limited tools but uses them wisely and against strong competition, and was drafted because of that. The other has some really great tools, but doesn't use them very effectively, and was drafted because he still excelled, even though it was against weaker competition. Both had extremely shortened draft years, which limited scouts from being able to analyze them deeply.

 

[AKL]

I will openly admit it's not from direct viewings, it's based off of scouting reports and second hand information from those who viewed them. I already had growing concerns about Lambos after his last year in the CHL, and his AHL seasonal results, plus those reports, confirmed my concerns.
With Kiviharju, he began playing against men the year before his draft year, and was not overwhelmed. His most noted skill in scouting reports is his hockey sense and ability to read the play and keep calm as it develops.

To me, they seem like a little mirror opposites of each other. One has limited tools but uses them wisely and against strong competition, and was drafted because of that. The other has some really great tools, but doesn't use them very effectively, and was drafted because he still excelled, even though it was against weaker competition. Both had extremely shortened draft years, which limited scouts from being able to analyze them deeply.

I would like to see more from both. Lambos will be in his second year in the AHL, he needs to make it a good one. I'm not really going to drag a guy too much for having a rough transition from CHL to the AHL, especially a bad AHL team. That's a massive jump. Would like to see management actually build a good AHL team for a change.

Liiga isn't as good as it used to be, even from the days Granlund was there. It is a league full of men, so it does have that going for it, and that's about it. I'm not really expecting a whole lot from Kiviharu next year given his age and coming off a season of injuries, but if he's going to stay in Liiga for more than a couple years I want to see him really start to dominate it by the end of the 2025-26 season.

I think they both have top four potential. Of course Lambos is running out of runway faster, but I won't be ready to write him off until next summer. They may not happen often but I think there are enough instances of it just finally clicking for guys after a bit. I think Dumba was a good example of that.

 

[BagHead]

I would like to see more from both. Lambos will be in his second year in the AHL, he needs to make it a good one. I'm not really going to drag a guy too much for having a rough transition from CHL to the AHL, especially a bad AHL team. That's a massive jump. Would like to see management actually build a good AHL team for a change.

Liiga isn't as good as it used to be, even from the days Granlund was there. It is a league full of men, so it does have that going for it, and that's about it. I'm not really expecting a whole lot from Kiviharu next year given his age and coming off a season of injuries, but if he's going to stay in Liiga for more than a couple years I want to see him really start to dominate it by the end of the 2025-26 season.

I think they both have top four potential. Of course Lambos is running out of runway faster, but I won't be ready to write him off until next summer. They may not happen often but I think there are enough instances of it just finally clicking for guys after a bit. I think Dumba was a good example of that.

I would like very much to be wrong about Lambos. The interviews I've watched of him have revealed a pretty nice kid. I just need to see obvious progression from him.

 

[AKL]

I would like very much to be wrong about Lambos. The interviews I've watched of him have revealed a pretty nice kid. I just need to see obvious progression from him.

I 100% agree with this. I need to see him separate himself from most of what Iowa has this year.

 

[Puhis]

Liiga isn't as good as it used to be, even from the days Granlund was there. It is a league full of men, so it does have that going for it, and that's about it. I'm not really expecting a whole lot from Kiviharu next year given his age and coming off a season of injuries, but if he's going to stay in Liiga for more than a couple years I want to see him really start to dominate it by the end of the 2025-26 season.

Large ice plays a big factor for Kiviharju, too - in a good way. Sure, defending against men is still defending against men, but I'd like to see him play one full year in Liiga, then make the jump. I don't necessarily need him to dominate, I just want him as an established top-4 presence in a good team. To me, that'd be plenty in D+1.

Great thing here is that Aron can get small ice experience during training camps. No, it's not the real thing, but there's plenty of those around him willing to tell what he needs to do in order to not only make it but thrive in the NHL. He's undersized, but that also means a low centre of gravity, something Spurgeon has used to his advantage throughout his career in muscling off bigger guys. Yes, I see you balk there, usual suspects. He's done that well, especially along the boards.

As for Liiga? I'd say your assumption is correct. It should've gotten a boost from lots of Finnish players that returned from KHL (for obvious reasons), yet I just don't see that so far. The level is also brought down by the # of teams. Squeeze it down to 12 or so, make it open again - and not just with cabinet decisions. Bottom one relegated, top Mestis team promoted, next two go to playoffs with Mestis 2 & 3 for league spots. Unlikely to happen, but that's how I'd like to see it. Right now the best Liiga players tend to be bought by SHL (Sweden) or NL (Switzerland) teams, and while top Liiga rosters are still elite European teams, the league as a whole has taken a step down. However, that's beyond the scope of this thread and frankly, I'm not qualified to elaborate further on the why's or, in terms of fixing, how's - beyond my opinion regarding bloated # of teams at least.