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

[Ignite111]

Why is he better?

Sick name. As a Russian you may know whos better

 

[Ignite111]

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

Ranger fans coming from the woodworks as per usual. Oh, you say Shestyorkin is better. Do you play with them? There is zero chance you know anything more that what you are reading on HF. Clear from this post haha. Can you send me the link/clip/article where their coach said he's better? I would like to see it. Good to know that NHL writers and other professionals think one way but you know the truth. Should leave high school and become a hockey analyst.

https://thehockeywriters.com/the-top-10-goalie-prospects-in-the-nhl/
https://www.tsn.ca/russian-wingers-top-tsn-s-ranking-of-nhl-affiliated-prospects-1.1241872
Islanders Prospect Report: Sorokin Wins KHL Title, Playoff MVP

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Ranger fans coming from the woodworks as per usual. Oh, you say Shestyorkin is better. Do you play with them? There is zero chance you know anything more that what you are reading on HF. Clear from this post haha. Can you send me the link/clip/article where their coach said he's better? I would like to see it. Good to know that NHL writers and other professionals think one way but you know the truth. Should leave high school and become a hockey analyst.

https://thehockeywriters.com/the-top-10-goalie-prospects-in-the-nhl/
https://www.tsn.ca/russian-wingers-top-tsn-s-ranking-of-nhl-affiliated-prospects-1.1241872
Islanders Prospect Report: Sorokin Wins KHL Title, Playoff MVP

Why are you acting so abrasive about it? And I can guarantee you that that @Lays knows more than what he reads in this section, whether you agree with his post or not. He definitely puts in the time to keep track of prospects, and isn't someone who only is in this section to pump the tires of their prospects.

There was a poll in the Poll Section of the best goalie prospect, and it was won by Shestyorkin. I was the one that found the interview from the Russian National Team goalie coach. It's in Russian. I'd find it for you, but you are acting so abrasive that I see no need to go out of my way to do that. Search for it, if you want to see it.

I also don't think anyone criticized Sorokin. I think he's a very good prospect and I rank the Islanders prospect pool very high compared to most people, but you are the one here who seems to be taking this "my team's prospect is better because I say so" mindset instead of those who are saying Shestyorkin is better.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

Kravstov at 5?!?

 

[Ignite111]

Why are you acting so abrasive about it? And I can guarantee you that that @Lays knows more than what he reads in this section, whether you agree with his post or not. He definitely puts in the time to keep track of prospects, and isn't someone who only is in this section to pump the tires of their prospects.

There was a poll in the Poll Section of the best goalie prospect, and it was won by Shestyorkin. I was the one that found the interview from the Russian National Team goalie coach. It's in Russian. I'd find it for you, but you are acting so abrasive that I see no need to go out of my way to do that. Search for it, if you want to see it.

I also don't think anyone criticized Sorokin. I think he's a very good prospect and I rank the Islanders prospect pool very high compared to most people, but you are the one here who seems to be taking this "my team's prospect is better because I say so" mindset instead of those who are saying Shestyorkin is better.

@Lays said Shestyorkin is better than Sorkin. That's it. So am I not able to say he is not? Nowhere did I criticize Shestyorkin. Look at my follow up post to Michoulicious's. In fact, I said it was very close but today there are more writers and analysts think Sorokin is better. Which is actually the case. Nowhere do I even come close to criticizing him. Nothing about one team vs the other team. Non-bias writers with no ties to either team are picking Sorkin over Shestyorkin.

So now we are relying on a poll in HF to decide who is better? Let's be completely honest here. The ratio of Rangers to islander fans on here 10 to 1? Most likely way more. Just as it is in real life. That is a losing poll for the islander player every single time even if they are better. That is not a non-bias poll and you should understand that. Just like how there are all these ranger fans coming after me anytime I say one of our players may be better.

I would like to see this interview. How old is it? Please send it when you get it. Hopefully, it's not a few years back as players/prospects develop over time. I know 2 years ago Shestyorkin was higher rated. Sorokin's raw still is def better and may he not be as consistent at times his skill and upside is why he is currently showing up higher on boards/lists. If you have many updated lists outside of a ranger blog or a HF poll that has Shestyorkin higher up please send with the interview.

 

[Ignite111]

Kravstov at 5?!?

Its a rangers list

 

[Ignite111]

Why are you acting so abrasive about it? And I can guarantee you that that @Lays knows more than what he reads in this section, whether you agree with his post or not. He definitely puts in the time to keep track of prospects, and isn't someone who only is in this section to pump the tires of their prospects.

There was a poll in the Poll Section of the best goalie prospect, and it was won by Shestyorkin. I was the one that found the interview from the Russian National Team goalie coach. It's in Russian. I'd find it for you, but you are acting so abrasive that I see no need to go out of my way to do that. Search for it, if you want to see it.

I also don't think anyone criticized Sorokin. I think he's a very good prospect and I rank the Islanders prospect pool very high compared to most people, but you are the one here who seems to be taking this "my team's prospect is better because I say so" mindset instead of those who are saying Shestyorkin is better.

To be honest this was completely my fault. looking at the list seeing 5 rangers in the top 35 and wahlstrom, Wilde, Sorokin not even making honorable mentions I should have just went to the next post. My apologies there.

I did want to ask one thing to you. You said you rank the isles prospect pool very high. Where would you put wahlstrom, Wilde and Sorokin in a top 100?

 

[UnSandvich]

To be honest this was completely my fault. looking at the list seeing 5 rangers in the top 35 and wahlstrom, Wilde, Sorokin not even making honorable mentions I should have just went to the next post. My apologies there.

I did want to ask one thing to you. You said you rank the isles prospect pool very high. Where would you put wahlstrom, Wilde and Sorokin in a top 100?

Pretty sure he thinks Wilde should've gone Top 10, so...

 

[Fourier]

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.

Are you sure that a lot of 20 year old rookies put up the kind of numbers Benson did. His 66 points is tied for 25th all time for a 20 year old, rookie or not. He's also a 98 born player and the vast majority of players who have had more points as a 20 year old were born in the 70's. The youngest player above him is Artem Anisimov who was born in 1988.

20-Year Old AHL Players - Regular Season Stats

I am not going to suggest where Benson should be on this list but I would most definitely bet on him being an NHL'er. He was a #1 pick in the WHL draft and was considered one of the best players of his age group until he was sidelined by injuries.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

@Lays said Shestyorkin is better than Sorkin. That's it. So am I not able to say he is not? Nowhere did I criticize Shestyorkin. Look at my follow up post to Michoulicious's. In fact, I said it was very close but today there are more writers and analysts think Sorokin is better. Which is actually the case. Nowhere do I even come close to criticizing him. Nothing about one team vs the other team. Non-bias writers with no ties to either team are picking Sorkin over Shestyorkin.

So now we are relying on a poll in HF to decide who is better? Let's be completely honest here. The ratio of Rangers to islander fans on here 10 to 1? Most likely way more. Just as it is in real life. That is a losing poll for the islander player every single time even if they are better. That is not a non-bias poll and you should understand that. Just like how there are all these ranger fans coming after me anytime I say one of our players may be better.

I would like to see this interview. How old is it? Please send it when you get it. Hopefully, it's not a few years back as players/prospects develop over time. I know 2 years ago Shestyorkin was higher rated. Sorokin's raw still is def better and may he not be as consistent at times his skill and upside is why he is currently showing up higher on boards/lists. If you have many updated lists outside of a ranger blog or a HF poll that has Shestyorkin higher up please send with the interview.

Here's the interview. It's from a year ago. I suspect he has a more favorable opinion of Sorokin because he had a much better season than the few prior, but Shestyorkin also had his best season of his career, so I wouldn't suspect he now prefers Sorokin, although its a year old, so who knows what he thinks now?

It's a little hard to follow, but you can understand enough. I copied and pasted what google translate has for the translation.

At what stage did Shesterkin begin to replay Sorokin? -

You see who played in the championship a year ago or this season. Shesterkin in my hands every day, and Sorokin only in the national team. Honestly, every time Illya came to my national team, I saw the problems that he had and have. They were obvious. It took a couple of days for everything to return to normal. Sorokin lacked everyday work. I would not say that everything is very bad there, but nevertheless ... In my opinion, Shesterkin is much more interesting, technically equipped in a different way. In the regular season it was clearly felt. Why in the playoffs did not appear? Because when the club has a pronounced first number with a big contract, it will play. Remember how Koskinen got injured last year, and Shesterkin played two matches with Lokomotiv, and then began the final with Magnitogorsk. Nevertheless, finished the series all the same Koskinen. People subscribed to number one should play. The situation in the club was very difficult. Shesterkin coped with his work, he could continue playing, but Mikko raised the cup.

- At the Olympics, Sorokin was number two.

- In November, Shesterkin was injured, did not even have time to recover to the First Channel Cup. But that hockey, which he showed until November, was the best in the KHL. With all due respect to everyone else. But what happened happened. Appeared Basil, who managed. Although the balance of power could be completely different.

Chesterkin could be the first already at the Olympics?

- One hundred percent. If you go back to the comparison of Igor and Ilya, then they go together with the youth team nostril to nostril. Sorokin was more fortunate that he hit CSKA and after the first difficult year he became number one. Ilya was sent to the youth team, and we called him to the Karjal Cup, especially wanted to support him. After that, he began to consistently play in CSKA. But for some reason no one wants to remember this. Still, there is the role of the national team. Sorokin went ahead and developed, but, unfortunately, at a certain moment they noticed that there was a halt in development, a few passive hockey appeared in his performance.

- Maybe he should change the league?

- Ilya still has a two-year contract with CSKA. League change is not a solution. In order to move to the NHL, you need to perform daily work. I will say more, in order to be competitive in our league, you need to do daily work.

«Шестёркин с Канадой – правильное решение». Вся правда о вратарях России

As for the comparison between the two, I don't think linking two articles from experts proves that more experts prefer Sorokin. I can probably find you more than two articles from experts who prefer Shestyorkin. The poll on this website was for all goalie prospects for all fans to comment on. I guess its possible that in a close race between a few goalies the Rangers fan base got Shestyorkin into first, but the poll results weren't even close between Shestyorkin and Sorokin. Sorokin was in 4th place 24 votes behind with 17 votes. Shestyorkin had 41, Samsonov and Knight tied with 34.

I'm not partisan when it comes to ranking prospects around the league. If another team has better prospects, I'll say it. I've always liked Sorokin's game, but I think Shestyorkin is considerably more well-rounded, and Sorokin doesn't have any big advantages. Sorokin is more-aggressive in how he challenges shooters, but his positioning is all over the place too often and I still think he needs to improve in that regard before reaching the NHL. He improved a lot in this regard this past season, but still lags behind Shestyorkin in how ready his game is for the NHL.

Shestyorkin is just as athletic, but doesn't use it as much because he doesn't need to use it. I think its close between both goalies in pure ability, as you said, but when you talk about the advantages the two goalies have over each other, Sorokin is an inch taller, while Shestyorkin is more well-rounded and currently better. I don't see where any other advantage would go to Sorokin. Shestyorkin also has put forth more consistent performances, if you want to disregard an individual evaluation of their games.

As for how I'd rank the Islander prospects, I think Sorokin is somewhere in that top five of goalie prospects. I think I would probably have Demko 5th, Knight 4th, Sorokin 3rd, Samsonov 2nd, Shestyorkin 1st. I think Samsonov has the most potential, but Shestyorkin had a much better season and is currently a lot better. I'm not big on Wahlstrom's game, never was. I ranked him 11th at the draft, although that was definitely low on his game as he fell from where he was projected to go, which was about five spots higher. I think he's probably top 20 in a re-draft. Not a great season, but I think it was over-criticized. I had Wilde 7th at the time of the draft and Dobson 6th. After the seasons they had, I don't see why they wouldn't be in that same range in a re-draft, although with all these rankings, but I don't like re-drafts a year after the draft. It's too hard to tell so soon after the draft.

 

[Ignite111]

Appreciate the honesty. I’ll bow out of the chat here. It’s clear we both see different sides here on who the better goalie is. Only time will tell. Good luck to yours

 

[PWJunior]

Here's the interview. It's from a year ago. I suspect he has a more favorable opinion of Sorokin because he had a much better season than the few prior, but Shestyorkin also had his best season of his career, so I wouldn't suspect he now prefers Sorokin, although its a year old, so who knows what he thinks now?

It's a little hard to follow, but you can understand enough. I copied and pasted what google translate has for the translation.



«Шестёркин с Канадой – правильное решение». Вся правда о вратарях России

As for the comparison between the two, I don't think linking two articles from experts proves that more experts prefer Sorokin. I can probably find you more than two articles from experts who prefer Shestyorkin. The poll on this website was for all goalie prospects for all fans to comment on. I guess its possible that in a close race between a few goalies the Rangers fan base got Shestyorkin into first, but the poll results weren't even close between Shestyorkin and Sorokin. Sorokin was in 4th place 24 votes behind with 17 votes. Shestyorkin had 41, Samsonov and Knight tied with 34.

I'm not partisan when it comes to ranking prospects around the league. If another team has better prospects, I'll say it. I've always liked Sorokin's game, but I think Shestyorkin is considerably more well-rounded, and Sorokin doesn't have any big advantages. Sorokin is more-aggressive in how he challenges shooters, but his positioning is all over the place too often and I still think he needs to improve in that regard before reaching the NHL. He improved a lot in this regard this past season, but still lags behind Shestyorkin in how ready his game is for the NHL.

Shestyorkin is just as athletic, but doesn't use it as much because he doesn't need to use it. I think its close between both goalies in pure ability, as you said, but when you talk about the advantages the two goalies have over each other, Sorokin is an inch taller, while Shestyorkin is more well-rounded and currently better. I don't see where any other advantage would go to Sorokin. Shestyorkin also has put forth more consistent performances, if you want to disregard an individual evaluation of their games.

As for how I'd rank the Islander prospects, I think Sorokin is somewhere in that top five of goalie prospects. I think I would probably have Demko 5th, Knight 4th, Sorokin 3rd, Samsonov 2nd, Shestyorkin 1st. I think Samsonov has the most potential, but Shestyorkin had a much better season and is currently a lot better. I'm not big on Wahlstrom's game, never was. I ranked him 11th at the draft, although that was definitely low on his game as he fell from where he was projected to go, which was about five spots higher. I think he's probably top 20 in a re-draft. Not a great season, but I think it was over-criticized. I had Wilde 7th at the time of the draft and Dobson 6th. After the seasons they had, I don't see why they wouldn't be in that same range in a re-draft, although with all these rankings, but I don't like re-drafts a year after the draft. It's too hard to tell so soon after the draft.

Good post PB, I can't argue with any of it as an Isles fan. You are always consistent with your arguments and I respect that about you.

 

[HanSolo]

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.

Yeah Max Jones isn't even a top 5 Ducks prospect.

 

[bl02]

Kravstov at 5?!?

I think he is a tad bit high but considering he was recently ranked the number 1 prospect by tsn it's probably not too far off.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

I think he is a tad bit high but considering he was recently ranked the number 1 prospect by tsn it's probably not too far off.

By Button, not TSN as a whole

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

Kaliyev is at best the Kings fourth best prospect, Kupari and Vilardi are being underrated here

 

[Bevans]

Kaliyev is at best the Kings fourth best prospect, Kupari and Vilardi are being underrated here

I would not put Vilardi on any top 50 list until he gets a clean bill of health and a dominant season under his belt.

Missing an entire year, with a chronic back injury, at his age is a kiss of death as far as I'm concerned.

Kailyev is a divisive figure. I'm not surprised someone would put him about Kupari, even though the latter has a much higher floor.

 

[Bevans]

Not sure why OP would put in goalies at all if you're only going to put 2.

Just guaranteed yourself a fight. I'd take them out, add two skaters and say no goalies allowed.

 

[snipes]

One of the better lists

 

[jj cale]

Good post PB, I can't argue with any of it as an Isles fan. You are always consistent with your arguments and I respect that about you.

I like his take on prospects too. As you mention, he is consistent with his arguments and I don't feel he says them with the intention to start wars, it is just how he sees things, it's too bad in so many prospects concerning the top young players in here it's a no go zone for people that question parts of the players game and how it will translate to the N.H.L.The Kakko/Hughes threads are basically off limits for talking about any areas of those two players games that you think might be worth questioning.

You should be able to do that here as long as as it's done in good faith and I feel he does that.

 

[Michoulicious]

Kravstov at 5?!?

I see him as really strong prospect, certainly deserving of a top 10 spot. He had an excellent season as a 18-19 y old in the KHL, and he was pretty dominant at the U20. I think his stock rose substantially since he was drafted.

He's big, physically mature and ready to take the next step.

I think he'll be among contenders for the Calder with Kakko/Hugues/etc. if he can get a spot somewhere in the top 6 with the Rangers.

 

[Michoulicious]

Kaliyev is at best the Kings fourth best prospect, Kupari and Vilardi are being underrated here

Like I said in my post, I would have put players like Vilardi and Timmins in the top 50 talent-wise, but there is too much injury concern for them to get a spot at this time.

I'm pretty high on Kaliyev, because I think his ceiling is really high. I agree he has a lot of bust potential, but he reminds me of Vanek (with less hand/eye/redirecting skills but a better one-timer/shot). If he ends up half as good as prime Vanek, he will be the steal of that draft (had him ranked #17).

Kupari is a safer bet to make it, but he does not possess a unique elite set of skill like Kaliyev.

 

[RedWingzz]

Valimaki, Caufield, Kravtsov are too high.

Zadina at 26 is way too low. Cozens is too low, and Sandin is...not there?

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

Pretty quality list.

I've got to ask, as a biased Wings fan, what you see in Caufield to rate him significantly higher than Zadina.

I feel like they have similar goal scoring acumen, while Zadina is a stronger player and better skater. Where Zadina put up solid points in his D+1 year in the AHL, Caufield will be playing his D+1 in the NCAA (for a great program in Wisco, tbf). It seems like ceiling is similar, whereas Zadina has less physical obstacles than Caufield.

I feel like perception of Zadina has fell largely because he was willing to make a larger jump. Had he stayed in Halifax and scored for fun, I imagine most would still consider him a top 10 drafter prospect.

 

[Lebowski]

What people call a good list is what tends to look the most like the general consensus, ergo a hype ranking.

It never turns out that way. I appreciate the effort though.