Michoulicious's top 50 NHL drafted prospects (July 2019)

[Bevans]

Like someone said, Frost/Suzuki/Frost are similar in the way they are forwards that were drafted high in 2017 and produced well throughout their junior careers.

Things Suzuki/Frost have over Robertson are mainly position (C vs W) and playoff performance. Otherwise, the 3 of them are solid prospects. Difference between #25 and #50 is not that huge, and mainly a matter of personnal preference.

As for Comtois, there is not many players I ranked below him I would pick before, but that's me. Ceiling IMO is a guy like Josh Anderson, but I think he ends up a good pest/3rd liner that can pitch in the 2nd line/2nd powerplay if needed (Tyler Bertuzzi/Andrew Shaw type of player).

If he becomes Josh Anderson then he should still be higher on this list. Very few of these guys will get 27 goals and 230 shots before their 25th bday, especially without significant powerplay time.

In addition, Comtois has destroyed Anderson at every level so far. Even though Anderson is a great NHL player, development wise, Comtois is well ahead of the curve.

I don't generally have a big issue with anyone on your list. I just think you underrated Josh Anderson with that comment.

 

[HabsForHire]

Definitely one of the better lists, obviously as a habs fan i think poehling should be a tad higher and no sandin or wahlstrom but understandably you cant please everyone with these lists. Well done

 

[Michoulicious]

Lol Shestyorkin 29 and the better Sorokin doesn’t even make the list? Krav 5? Miller 34? I get it you like the rangers but come on now

Did Wilde or wahlstrom crack your top 200?

I prefer Shestyorkin and Knight to Sorokin, but it is a close call. They are the top 3 goalie prospect IMO. It does not mean because they are not in my top 50 that they suck!

As for Wilde/Walhstrom, they are not in my top 50, but they would be in the top 100 for sure. Are you a NYI fan by any chance?

 

[Michoulicious]

If he becomes Josh Anderson then he should still be higher on this list. Very few of these guys will get 27 goals and 230 shots before their 25th bday, especially without significant powerplay time.

In addition, Comtois has destroyed Anderson at every level so far. So even though Anderson is a great NHL player, development wise Comtois is well ahead of the curve.

I don't generally have a big issue with anyone on your list. I just think you underrated Josh Anderson with that comment.

Thing is IF he becomes Anderson, which I don't think is that likely (absolute ceiling). A Shaw/Bertuzzi type is more realistic, hence the ranking. Making the top 50 is great in itself. Like I said, difference between #25-50 is not that big.

 

[Bevans]

Thing is IF he becomes Anderson, which I don't think is that likely (absolute ceiling). A Shaw/Bertuzzi type is more realistic, hence the ranking. Making the top 50 is great in itself. Like I said, difference between #25-50 is not that big.

Fair enough. I suppose you're talking more stylistically than development wise- since Comtois has far surpassed what those three did by same age.

Given that Comtois will likely get more 1st line 1st pp time this year than Anderson ever has, I'd be more confident saying Comtois' floor is Anderson (than I would cieling).

That being said I recognize I'm significantly higher on Comtois than the consensus. He'd be top 5-10 on my list.

 

[Michoulicious]

Man Sandin is underrated

Yeah, I like him a lot. Should be at least in HM, even around Miller/Soderstrom ranking. I see a top 4 D for sure, and he was great with the Marlies.

Made a mistake not ranking him, he should be there. A lot of good players here.

I edited to put him in HM.

 

[Chainshot]

Minor edit: Jokiharju is now with Buffalo.

 

[Michoulicious]

Great list! I think it's a lot more fair than some of the others. Some of my own opinions:
- Batherson could be higher, he put up great AHL numbers compared to some of the guys you have ahead of him who only played CHL
- What makes you rank Caufield 5th out of this year's draftees? I personally would rank him a little lower
- Also if you're going to include Josh Norris in the HM you have to include alot of other guys. Norris is basically one of those guys who is a guarenteed 3rd/4th liner, but I have a hard time seeing him do any better than that. He just doesn't have much offensive upside at all, but there's a lot of guys off the top of my head that should have a higher potential than him.

I like Batherson a lot, and what he did is impressive, especially as a 4th round pick. However, was not really a fan of his play in the NHL when he was not with top players, which is understandable given his age, but I'm not sure he'll be able to drive play on his own. Still, top 35 ranking is pretty strong.

With Stone/Duchene/Dzingel departures, he'll have to do it all this year by himself, and should have ample opportunities to do so. I expect a rough year for him and Tkachuk because of the tough match-ups these young Ottawa forwards will have to face.

I have a sweet spot for scorers like Caufield/Kaliyev (#5 and 17 on my list), but I really feel Caufield will be the steal of that first round, especially at #15. If he becomes a DeBrincat like I think he will, many head scouts will look very bad. His performance at U18 was something to behold.

As for Norris as HM, I agree I could have put more players there, but at some point I had to stop because its a top 50, not a top 60. I happen to like Norris a lot, I feel he had a really strong showing at the U20 this year, like Poeling. He's shown he can complement talented players really well, so I give him a 2nd C potential.

 

[Favin]

46. Alexei Alexeyev (WSH)

Did you mean Alexander Alexeyev?

23. Dylan Cozen (BUF)

Dylan Cozens' Cousin

Notable notable omission: (Caleb??) Jones

I meant Max Jones. Caleb is good too, but not top-50

That being said I recognize I'm significantly higher on Comtois than the consensus. He'd be top 5-10 on my list.

My list of rookies that are dark horses to score 25+ goals next year:
Comtois
Olofsson
Tippett

We could all be undervaluing Comtois...

 

[Bevans]

Did you mean Alexander Alexeyev?



Dylan Cozens' Cousin



I meant Max Jones. Caleb is good too, but not top-50



My list of rookies that are dark horses to score 25+ goals next year:
Comtois
Olofsson
Tippett

We could all be undervaluing Comtois...

I don't think Max or Caleb Jones deserve to be anywhere near this list. But I'd be tempted to put Caleb above him.

Like your picks of Comtois and Olofsson for 25 goals.

 

[Gardner McKay]

I'd probably switch Frost and Caufield but other than that... really good list.

 

[MitchMurphy]

Nice list. What's your thoughts on Jesper Boqvist?

 

[Ignite111]

I prefer Shestyorkin and Knight to Sorokin, but it is a close call. They are the top 3 goalie prospect IMO. It does not mean because they are not in my top 50 that they suck!

As for Wilde/Walhstrom, they are not in my top 50, but they would be in the top 100 for sure. Are you a NYI fan by any chance?

Could you tell? haha. I mean I get the goalies but it's just so close between Sorokin and Shestyorkin and even if you did put Shestoyorkin first, Sorokin shouldn't be 20+ players behind him. Even with my islander's bias aside I think more at this point have him ranked higher.

As for the other two, Wahlhstrom did take some steps back I can see him falling a little out of the top 50. Anywhere from 45-60 to tell you the truth I think would be fair. As for Wilde he is so talented and a great skillset for a bigger guy. Mentally he needs to grow and his decision making has to continue to develop but I think he is underrated in a lot of these rankings and I think he is a low 40 guy def cracking the top 50.

To each their own! Appreciate the list either way def took some time to put together

 

[bert]

Batherson is way too low

I think he seems to be right where he should be. The middle round guys from 50 to 20 could all be interchangeable over the next 5 years.

 

[edmbrotha]

Caufield too high for me but this is a solid list.

 

[bsu]

Nice

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Good list. I think Tyler Benson at least deserves an HM after the season he had in the AHL but otherwise one of the better ones I've seen.

I do think Caufield is too high. Down in the 30's would be more appropriate IMO.

 

[Michoulicious]

Nice list. What's your thoughts on Jesper Boqvist?

To be honest, it's not a player I'm too familiar with. He has not left me with a particularly lasting impression at U20... His production in his D+1 and D+2 seems decent; guess we'll see where he is at at camp. Won't lie and say I saw him much outside of the World Juniors last year.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Can you explain your rationale for where you put Terry and Kyrou? Both hit a PPG and .915 PPG in their first years as AHL players. While we're at it, Benson should get some props as well for breaking 60 points in the same league.

I'm just curious as to what you think of them.

 

[tony d]

Always appreciate the effort put into doing these, many thanks for posting it.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Lol Shestyorkin 29 and the better Sorokin doesn’t even make the list?

Why is he better?

 

[Mrb1p]

Generic list, theres not one hot take in there. Im not sure I like the approach. You can't see eye to eye with every other consensus, its just not possible.

 

[Michoulicious]

Can you explain your rationale for where you put Terry and Kyrou? Both hit a PPG and .915 PPG in their first years as AHL players. While we're at it, Benson should get some props as well for breaking 60 points in the same league.

I'm just curious as to what you think of them.

The fact they all made (but Benson) the top 50 should tell you I think they are quite good prospects.

However, I ranked them where I ranked them because I tend not to get too excited about 20-21 y old forward prospects who go around PPG as "rookies" in the AHL in their D+3/D+4 years because it does not mean that much IMO. So many players do that and then fail at the next level. If we consider all the "overager" rookies of the AHL, I was more impressed by a smaller guy like Barré-Boulet than Benson since he managed to score 34 goals in 74 games, which is pretty impressive. I would not be willing to bet money that either Barré-Boulet/Marody/Benson make the NHL, so that is why I kept them out. But one of them could end up doing it and not Kyrou/Terry and then I'd be proved wrong, but I feel Terry/Kyrou have better odds. It probably helps they looked good in their short stints in the bigs last year.

I'm more impressed by the rookie seasons of guys like Zadina (19 y old D+1) even if it looks at first glance like they had pretty tough D+1 by some standards. Still, they managed produce at more than 0,5 PPG in the AHL against more physically mature players, and that is more significant in my humble opinion.

Even if guys like Frost/Suzuki end up putting around PPG in the AHL next year, it won't make them look more promising to me because that is what should be expected of prime offensive prospects at that age. However, if they fail to do so that as 20-21 y old, it will raise a significant red flag. At that point, the only thing that would rise their stock more is if they make the big team and perform well doing so... But then they would probably not be considered prospects anymore.

 

[Michoulicious]

Generic list, theres not one hot take in there. Im not sure I like the approach. You can't see eye to eye with every other consensus, its just not possible.

Sorry to disappoint you. Next time I'll try to slip a recent late 3rd rounder in my top 25 to elicit more outraged reactions!

 

[Lays]

Lol Shestyorkin 29 and the better Sorokin doesn’t even make the list? Krav 5? Miller 34? I get it you like the rangers but come on now

Did Wilde or wahlstrom crack your top 200?

Miller is probably too low at 34. HF’s poll has him at like late 20s. Shestyorkin is also better than Sorokin. I think Russia’s NT coach even said that when he had both of them.

I think this is a pretty good list though