Prospects in the News/On the Rise
We look to a pair of 2019 second rounders currently playing the OHL for some of the hottest 2019-20 starts among all NHL prospects.
Arthur Kaliyev, LW (LA) (
33rd overall, 2019. McKeen’s Last Year: Draft Eligible)
2019 Stats – 14 goals and 11 assists in 12 games with Hamilton (OHL)
It is not often that a player who pots 50 goals in his draft year in the OHL escapes the first round unclaimed, but Kaliyev was left to dangle overnight last June in Vancouver. Many, ourselves included, attributed his relative fall to his general indifference away from the puck. As much as he was the complete package in the offensive zone, his pace and commitment waned in his own end. Perhaps that failing has weighed on him this summer, or perhaps he is simply too gifted a goal scorer for the OHL, but Kaliyev has already scored 14 times in the season’s first 12 games. According to our OHL analysts, the bulky winger has great chemistry with linemate Jan Jenik (an Arizona draft pick), in a case where the line is more productive than the sum of its parts. The goals don’t negate the warts noted above, but they make them easier to overlook. –
Ryan Wagman, McKeen’s Prospect Director
‘One of the most polarizing prospects from the 2019 NHL Draft class, Kaliyev ended up sliding to the second round where the Kings selected him. Yes, there are some concerns over both his pace of play and his eagerness to involve himself physically and without the puck. That said, he is nearly the complete package on the offensive side of the puck. He possesses both a booming slapshot and a quick release wrist shot, which he can use while cutting in or driving wide. He operates best as a triggerman in the slot, but he can create his own chances. He is also an underrated playmaker whose poise and patience with the puck has improved greatly through his time in the OHL. There are warts, but there is also massive potential for Kaliyev to develop into a consistent 30 goal scorer in a top six role for the LA Kings.’ –
Brock Otten, McKeen’s 2019-20 Yearbook
https://www.rotoworld.com/article/prospects-report/prospects-report-kings-high-kaliyev