Forwards:
I'd have McGroarty and Cooley 1 and 2. I see it as pretty close and I'm probably way higher on McGroarty than most and slightly lower than Cooley. I'd opt for McGroarty first because I think he's a potential 100 point player, if he hits his ceiling. After them, next two would be Nazar and Gauthier. They are completely different types of players. Nazar is really skilled, but small forward, not sure he's a center, skating is not bad but how good is it for 5'10, two-way game also isn't bad but how good is it for 5'10. Tough player to get a read on, but the upside is high. Gauthier is a really safe bet to be a 2C. He's like a Christian Dvorak. For me this comes down to do you buy into Nazar hitting his ceiling. I probably lean against it, so I'd have Gauthier ahead, but it's really close.
Then I think Howard is next in his own tier. He's like a late first. He'll score goals, but what else? Probably not much. After them, I'd have a tier of Snuggerud and Kaplan somewhere in the early/mid second. Snuggerud has been used as a sniping winger this year and he does have a good shot and some underrated offensive upside, but I think he ends up as like a defensive minded 3C. Potentially he ends up a 2C, if the offensive game really pops at higher levels. Kaplan has scoring ability as a talented 1v1 winger, but consistency, hockey sense, compete level questions. Cole Spicer is next as maybe a late 2/early 3. Swiss army knife. Can play anywhere in the lineup and do some of everything. Brady Berard is probably a round 4 guy. Has size, compete-level, and physicality. Also a little offense. Different type of player than Brett. He'll be a fourth liner, if he makes it. Hejduk maybe a round 6 or 7 guy. Won't be any more than a fourth liner, and I'm not convinced he makes it as that.
Tier 1:
McGroarty
Cooley
Tier 2:
Gauthier
Nazar
Tier 3:
Howard
Tier 4:
Snuggerud
Kaplan
Tier 5:
Spicer
Berard
Hejduk
Defensemen:
I have Chesley first in his own tier. I have him top 5, which be a minority opinion, but thats my opinion. I think he projects really well to the pro game. He hasn't had the greatest scoring year, but he's not been a regular PP guy for a lot of the year, he's asked to play a more defensive role due to the composition of the defense, and also a season of bad puck luck. After that, probably Hutson over Casey, but they are in the same tier. I feel like Casey is the toughest player on this team to get a good read on. There's some things to really like between his skating, underrated defensive ability, and that he's an offensive defenseman, but I question if he's tangibly as good as we think he should be. Hutson's like the opposite. He's really good, but people are going to question his size, and some question his skating. You are going to have to have a babysitter for him due to his offensive aggressiveness, although when he's not forcing the issue offensively I think he defends well for his size. Both of these guys for me are late first round picks.
Next guy for me is probably Leddy. He's going to play NHL games because he has size, can defend, skate, and move the puck well enough. It's possible there's some untapped offensive upside, but probably not. He'll be picked earlier than people think. Potentially late second, but at least third round. After him, I like Tyler Duke, but I worry how he projects. Only like 5'10 and not much offense. Skates very well, physical, defensive defenseman type, but how many players are there with that playing style? Probably round 3, but potentially round 4. Then you have Seamus Powell in round 4. He's a boring player. Doesn't really do much thats noticeable in any regard, but also not bad at anything. Could make it as like a low-event 6 or 7 defenseman. Muir is last. I think he's gotten a little bit of a raw deal as the only U18 to be demoted to the U17's. He's a draftable player, in my opinion. I like him more than Hejduk and potentially Muszelik. He's similar to Leddy, but not as good. Probably like round 6 for me.
Tier 1:
Chesley
Tier 2:
Hutson
Casey
Tier 3:
Leddy
Powell
Muir
Goalies:
Silverstein is really tough to place. I'm a fan, but he's now had two season ending injuries in back to back years. He completely lost his form after mid-season this year, which may have been due to the injury. He's also small. He's probably only 6'0. Possible he measures at 6'1, but thats still considered small. Could he make it in the NHL? Yes because he's talented. He's very quick, he battles well, technically he's pretty good, and reads plays well. My main concern with his game coming into this year, aside from size, was some small concentration issues, which looked better. So it became just a player lacking size. But he was awful after midseason, so what do you do with that? Was it only the injury? I'd probably say he's a late third rounder, but I think he may get picked later. Potentially like round 5 or 6. Muszelik, he's just the regular backup goalie. He's improved this year. I think he'll get drafted, but later rounds.
Tier 1:
Silverstein
Muszelik
Combined
Tier 1:
Chesley
McGroarty
Cooley
Tier 2:
Gauthier
Nazar
Tier 3:
Howard
Hutson
Casey
Tier 4:
Snuggerud
Kaplan
Leddy
Spicer
Silverstein
Tier 5:
Powell
Berard
Muir
Muszelik
Hejduk
