Most overhyped prospects in recent memory?

[Craig Ludwig]

Oh man the Leafs hype for Mathew Knies last year, he was the next big power forward since prime Eric Lindros.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

I was recently wondering what that big forward Detroit played at the beginning of last year that got a ton of hype was up to, only to see Elmer Soderblom was having a middling season in the AHL after playing 20 games in the NHL last season while garnering a ton of media attention in the process.

Those damn overhyped 6th round picks...

 

[TheDoldrums]

Oh man the Leafs hype for Mathew Knies last year, he was the next big power forward since prime Eric Lindros.

idk where you guys get this stuff, he was always going to be a complimentary winger in the top 6 which is what he has been. Bigger guys usually don't hit the ground running and take more time, he's been fine as a rookie.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Oh man the Leafs hype for Mathew Knies last year, he was the next big power forward since prime Eric Lindros.

You said that not me

 

[MS]

Dominant or record-setting draft seasons deserve hype. End of story

Zach Senyshyn was overhyped. Logan Stanley was overhyped. Liam Foudy definitely was overhyped. Philip Broberg was overhyped and he still is overhyped. Helge Grans was completely underserving of his draft-year rankings and his landing spot. Noel Gunler was loved by the stat nerds and they would not shut up about him, so mainstream rankings fell for it even though his SHL play was Tiger Woods soft. I drank the Jan Mysak Kool-Aid because Litvinov stunk and his P/60 was close to Necas’ in 2017, but clearly no longer a potential star as we assumed.

Nick Robertson was overhyped by Leafs fans after getting picked but he had a very good draft year for a mediocre team.

Broberg is the only guy there who was overhyped.

The rest are guys that nobody except die-hard draft watchers had even heard of.

Scouting Combine.

He literally went 15th overall after not being on Central Scouting’s watch list.

Also, keep in mind the 2015 class was correctly considered near-historic in terms of depth.

Senyshyn got little hype before the draft, one team lost their minds and took him 15th overall, and he’s universally been considered a terrible pick ever since.

There was a tiny bit of ‘oooh, maybe a dark horse very late 1st rounder’ there.

 

[Craig Ludwig]

idk where you guys get this stuff, he was always going to be a complimentary winger in the top 6 which is what he has been. Bigger guys usually don't hit the ground running and take more time, he's been fine as a rookie.

Listen, I'm a Habs fan but am not here to just bash the Leafs. The hype was huge last year regarding him being the next great NHL Power Forward. Many a fan were saying that Power Forwards are a dying breed in the NHL, and he was going to be the next really good one. Deep down I think Leafs fans are disappointed by his play this year based on the hype, heck Bobby McMann has 9 goals while Knies has 10...

 

[TheDoldrums]

Listen, I'm a Habs fan but am not here to just bash the Leafs. The hype was huge last year regarding him being the next great NHL Power Forward. Many a fan were saying that Power Forwards are a dying breed in the NHL, and he was going to be the next really good one. Deep down I think Leafs fans are disappointed by his play this year based on the hype, heck Bobby McMann has 9 goals while Knies has 10...

I think it's fair to comment that fans could've hoped for a more explosive start but I don't think that makes him a candidate for a most overhyped prospect thread when he hasn't even finished his rookie year. And comparisons like prime Eric Lindros are obviously made up.

 

[PullHard]

Using Elmer Soderblom as a jumping off point for this thread is insane. He was drafted 159th overall in his draft year and I don't think even the most rose tinted glasses wearing Wings homer thought he'd ever be more than a middle 6 level player in the NHL. And he's only 22 years old.

 

[Jukurit]

Kaapo Kakko. Some people were saying that he's as good as Hughes. Kakko 11 points in 39 games, Hughes 55 points in 43 games.

 

[oooooooooohCanada]

I can't imagine Nick Robertson's hype was actually anything special unless you spent your time digging for Nick Robertson news and Leafs prospect depth. Not a high draft pick, not an ideal pro build.

Just compare him to how much Leafs Nation actually hyped up Matthew Knies.

Going to call bull on this one.

Yeah the insane Robertson takes were only there if you were looking for them. Everyone saw high upside goal scoring but he was also small.. His brother Jason wasn't as hyped.. because he didnt have crazy numbers. Jason took big steps and became a star immediately.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Yeah the insane Robertson takes were only there if you were looking for them. Everyone saw high upside goal scoring but he was also small.. His brother Jason wasn't as hyped.. because he didnt have crazy numbers. Jason took big steps and became a star immediately.

I see what you did there

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Broberg is the only guy there who was overhyped.

The rest are guys that nobody except die-hard draft watchers had even heard of.



Senyshyn got little hype before the draft, one team lost their minds and took him 15th overall, and he’s universally been considered a terrible pick ever since.

There was a tiny bit of ‘oooh, maybe a dark horse very late 1st rounder’ there.

Most prospect writers are considered media and do these things called rankings and mock drafts as early as July or August and they'll write about draft prospects so the general public has an idea of who'll go where at the annual draft. Sometimes they rank players based on scouts they quote, which can create a hype train (surprise, surprise).

The OP was asking "what other prospects have gotten unjust media attention, or hype in recent years"

Guess you're busy most of the year, but this is a prospect board with over a million posts and a snazzy search function if you feel the need to catch up.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Gotta be Filip Zadina. Late birthday who was very good but not franchise elite in the shitty Q. Go back and look at his Czech u20 production in his 17 year old season: 20 GP, 18 PTS. I don't know why this wasn't advertised more at the time.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Seeing Knies mentioned in here multiple times is fun.

 

[Kingpin794]

Gotta be Filip Zadina. Late birthday who was very good but not franchise elite in the shitty Q. Go back and look at his Czech u20 production in his 17 year old season: 20 GP, 18 PTS. I don't know why this wasn't advertised more at the time.

Yes and no. I feel like the Wings royally messed up his development. Should have went back to the Q in his 19 year old season. And they rushed him through the AHL once they brought him there. Never gave him a chance to thrive. But yeah. probably shouldn't have gone as high as he did.

 

[Siidekik]

Lafreniere. The hype behind him from 2017-2020 was unreal, seen as the best Canadian player to be drafted since McDavid and the best player from the Q to be drafted since Sid (even over MacKinnon).

 

[Peasy]

Seeing Knies mentioned in here multiple times is fun.

People really assumed dude was gunna be a 4th liner at best and zero chance he could become a 30-30 guy

"His production didnt increase year over year so hes not even good "

 

[Hockeyville USA]

People really assumed dude was gunna be a 4th liner at best and zero chance he could become a 30-30 guy

"His production didnt increase year over year so hes not even good "

Knies had a range of outcomes in the Saad/Kreider range. Now it helps that he's playing with a Patrick Kane and Evgeni Malkin/Alex Ovechkin level talent on his line, but he makes that line even better. He's living up to the "elite complementary player" type hype.

 

[Mitch nylander]

Joshua Brook lol. One fella on here ranked him the 13th best prospect in the NHL

 

[Peasy]

Knies had a range of outcomes in the Saad/Kreider range. Now it helps that he's playing with a Patrick Kane and Evgeni Malkin/Alex Ovechkin level talent on his line, but he makes that line even better. He's living up to the "elite complementary player" type hype.

Justin Abdelkader was another comparison people loved to staple to him on this site.

No one expected him to be some super elite, play driving all star power forward. But if you just watched his college play, I dont know how you dont see he had everything needed to be a great top line complementary forward that teams would love to have. Dude was showing elite forechecking and board play in college, while having great hands in tight and showed the ability to play with other top line talents like Cooley. He was already playing a style in college that would translate extremely well into the NHL. The guy knows his role and sticks to that game.

I dont often feel "certain" about prospects, but Knies was a guy I was pretty certain early on about hitting and being successful in the NHL. Hell, I think he has a good chance of making the olympic team next year in a 3rd/4th line role. If current day Kreider could make the 4 nations, then why wouldnt Knies be able to make the olympic team next season.

I'm sure a lot of the backlash was from people just assuming once again a Leafs spec is getting overhyped though. But he was the one case that actually deserved it unlike dudes like Robertson who would obviously have a very difficult time translating their game to the pros.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

I think our perception of prospects changes year to year so I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to list a prospect who had a good season or was promising at one point only to turn out to be a disappointment. A true overhyped prospect is a prospect that was hyped up with nothing to really back that hype up

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Justin Abdelkader was another comparison people loved to staple to him on this site.

No one expected him to be some super elite, play driving all star power forward. But if you just watched his college play, I dont know how you dont see he had everything needed to be a great top line complementary forward that teams would love to have. Dude was showing elite forechecking and board play in college, while having great hands in tight and showed the ability to play with other top line talents like Cooley. He was already playing a style in college that would translate extremely well into the NHL. The guy knows his role and sticks to that game.

I dont often feel "certain" about prospects, but Knies was a guy I was pretty certain early on about hitting and being successful in the NHL. Hell, I think he has a good chance of making the olympic team next year in a 3rd/4th line role. If current day Kreider could make the 4 nations, then why wouldnt Knies be able to make the olympic team next season.

I'm sure a lot of the backlash was from people just assuming once again a Leafs spec is getting overhyped though. But he was the one case that actually deserved it unlike dudes like Robertson who would obviously have a very difficult time translating their game to the pros.

Knies was significantly underhyped/underscouted prior to being drafted by the Leafs. He went from playing his 16 year old season in AAA minor hockey with the Phoenix Jr Coyotes to point per game in the USHL in his 17 year old season. That's extremely hard to do since the non NTDP USHL teams don't play 16 and 17 year olds much, that league is full of 19 year olds (many of whom aren't very good IMHO). He should have been in the same range as Sillinger, Lambos, Othmann, Stankoven, Lysell, Lucius were going into the 2020-21 season in everyone's 2021 Mock Draft.

Knies had a really poor start to his 18 year old season DY, where he had COVID. Then ended the season strong, just under point per game for the whole season. Probably should have picked in the 10-20 range based on the body type and what he did in his 17 year old season.

 

[Peasy]

Knies was significantly underhyped/underscouted prior to being drafted by the Leafs. He went from playing his 16 year old season in AAA minor hockey with the Phoenix Jr Coyotes to point per game in the USHL in his 17 year old season. That's extremely hard to do since the non NTDP USHL teams don't play 16 and 17 year olds much, that league is full of 19 year olds (many of whom aren't very good IMHO). He should have been in the same range as Sillinger, Lambos, Othmann, Stankoven, Lysell, Lucius were going into the 2020-21 season in everyone's 2021 Mock Draft.

Knies had a really poor start to his 18 year old season DY, where he had COVID. Then ended the season strong, just under point per game for the whole season. Probably should have picked in the 10-20 range based on the body type and what he did in his 17 year old season.

Yeah, the slightly weaker numbers in his second USHL season definitely spooked some teams I think.

The more I follow prospects, the less and less I put into raw stat totals. So many indirect things can have an influence on someone's season, especially for younger guys. Hell top dudes in the NHL even have one off years sometimes.

 

[CowbellConray]

A few from the 2022 draft:
Topias Leinonen was the first goalie taken by Buffalo, a reach when they had just traded for Levi. I wanted Del Bel Belluz, who went a few picks later. Wouldv'e been a nice addition to the pool.

Jiricek - I know he was very athletic, but I always saw more Ristolainen IQ. I thought he wouldve been fine closer to the end of the first, but top 6 was a reach

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Yeah, the slightly weaker numbers in his second USHL season definitely spooked some teams I think.

He also didn't have a hype train behind him pre draft for several reasons:

1. Non NTDP player, those guys get less hype in the States/hockey world by default (see Kyle Connor prior to the 2015 Draft)

2. From Arizona, fewer people in the hockey world with direct ties to Arizona minor hockey who would hype up Knies. If Knies were from Minnesota or even Massachusetts, Michigan, or New York to a lesser extent, there would be voices in the media or posters who would have been bringing him up more often to make his hype train bigger. And thus, he fell under the radar.

3. COVID for him personally and in the world brought less attention to what he had done in his 17 year old season. EXTREMELY hard to go from minor hockey at 16 to point per game USHLer at 17.