Prospect Info: Prospect Thread (Overseas, College, Junior, etc)

[jumb0]

Scott Wheeler updated his top 100 drafted prospects ranking.

Tier 4
52: Matthew Wood
54: Tanner Molendyk

Tier 5
78: Joakim Kemell

 

[PredsV82]

Scott Wheeler updated his top 100 drafted prospects ranking.

Tier 4
52: Matthew Wood
54: Tanner Molendyk

Tier 5
78: Joakim Kemell

Kemmell certainly didn't explode like we hoped he would this past year. He didn't have a bad year, but he's almost certainly going to spend another season in Milwaukee, barring injury

 

[Scoresberg]

Scott Wheeler updated his top 100 drafted prospects ranking.

Tier 4
52: Matthew Wood
54: Tanner Molendyk

Tier 5
78: Joakim Kemell

For a "top-10" prospect pool in the league.. that's not overly encouraging..

 

[PredsV82]

For a "top-10" prospect pool in the league.. that's not overly encouraging..

Yeah I'm not sure what his cutoff is for age but Askarov not being on there skews it.

 

[herzausstein]

Yeah I'm not sure what his cutoff is for age but Askarov not being on there skews it.

He does goalies separate. He will have a top 20 goalies tomorrow. I really dont understand the lack of L'Heureux when he includes Riley Heidt at the end of his list but it comes down to personal preference.

 

[nine_inch_fang]

One big difference with the Preds prospects compared to years past is that the "new guy" isn't going to get top billing anymore. One can argue whether the Preds have a "top 10 prospect pool" but it's hard to argue that it isn't light years from just 3 summers ago.

Looking back at the summer prospect rankings on this board it was always the new guy at the top because that's all there really was to be excited about.

 

[herzausstein]

Thing that will separate us from some of the teams that stay infront of us in prospect rankings is that we lack that Michkov, Clarke, Stankoven level player. Not often you get them later but Stankoven is proof it can be done (#14 on wheelers top 100) but typically there is a bias towards high picks (#15 on wheelers top 100 is Catton who just got picked 8th overall in 2024).

We have a collection of really nice prosects.... just there arent that many that appear to have any game breaking potential. I personally think L'Heureux, Kemell, Molendyk, and Askarov are probably at the top right now.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

We have NHL'ers, but we still lack the elite talent. I don't think we have a top line forward in our pool and I really don't think we have a top pair defenseman. I am not surprised by the rankings.

 

[triggrman]

We have NHL'ers, but we still lack the elite talent. I don't think we have a top line forward in our pool and I really don't think we have a top pair defenseman. I am not surprised by the rankings.

I'll bet money Molendyk will be a top pairing defender.

 

[PredsV82]

We have NHL'ers, but we still lack the elite talent. I don't think we have a top line forward in our pool and I really don't think we have a top pair defenseman. I am not surprised by the rankings.

I'm not ready to say Kemell can't be a 1st liner. I think he's our next Forsberg

 

[herzausstein]

Askarov #2 prospect goalie behind Wallstedt.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

I'll bet money Molendyk will be a top pairing defender.

He skates well enough, but he's going to have an uphill battle to take heavy minutes as a top pair guy at his size.... especially when the playoffs come around.

I'm not ready to say Kemell can't be a 1st liner. I think he's our next Forsberg

Potential is there, but just looking at things for most likely outcomes. I would say he's most likely an average 2nd liner.

 

[herzausstein]

He skates well enough, but he's going to have an uphill battle to take heavy minutes as a top pair guy at his size.... especially when the playoffs come around.


Potential is there, but just looking at things for most likely outcomes. I would say he's most likely an average 2nd liner.

Cale Makar - 5'11" 187 lbs Puckpedia - 6'0 187 lbs Avalanche roster

Tanner Moldenyk - 6'0" 181 lbs Puckpedia- 6'1" 180 lbs Predators Roster

Roman Josi - 6'2" 201 lbs Puckpedia - 6'1" 201 lbs Predators Roster

He isnt a 5'10" 170 lbs Samuel Girard. He has has pretty decent size. If he is good enough, he will do it.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

He skates well enough, but he's going to have an uphill battle to take heavy minutes as a top pair guy at his size.... especially when the playoffs come around.


Potential is there, but just looking at things for most likely outcomes. I would say he's most likely an average 2nd liner.

At this point, I don't have any concrete "expectations" where these guys will ultimately top out. Things are still very much "in the works" for both Molendyk and Kemell (and for that matter Wood also). We'll see.

So far we've seen good signs and good progress from Molendyk. He has gone from a surprise late-1st pick who wasn't a top-pair guy in junior into The Guy on his junior team, but still not really viewed as an overall Top Prospect amongst the current wider family of defense prospects around the league. So let's see what his final junior season brings. Another step up like last year should bring him into that wider grouping of overall top guys, which would then put him in better standing to eventually emerge as an NHL top pairing guy. So things are "on track" anyway. But just "on track"... he hasn't exploded into a surefire top guy yet from the perspective of neutral outside observers. Hopefully that is coming.

No reason to be overly pessimistic on any of these guys yet IMO. At the same time, none of them has really opened eyes around the league or garnered any extra levels of excitement either. So we just have to wait and see.

 

[Armourboy]

He skates well enough, but he's going to have an uphill battle to take heavy minutes as a top pair guy at his size.... especially when the playoffs come around.

Ryan Ellis did it and he couldn't even skate. If a guy has the skill they can figure it out.

 

[herzausstein]

Ryan Ellis did it and he couldn't even skate. If a guy has the skill they can figure it out.

Molendyk is basically the exact size of Makar and Josi... two top defensemen in the NHL. Size wont be what stops him. NHL is currently bordering on fetishistic with respect to size right now. Moldenyk has plenty of time to put on mass/muscle.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

Cale Makar - 5'11" 187 lbs Puckpedia - 6'0 187 lbs Avalanche roster

Tanner Moldenyk - 6'0" 181 lbs Puckpedia- 6'1" 180 lbs Predators Roster

Roman Josi - 6'2" 201 lbs Puckpedia - 6'1" 201 lbs Predators Roster

He isnt a 5'10" 170 lbs Samuel Girard. He has has pretty decent size. If he is good enough, he will do it.

If he grows it probably helps, but your listing 2 potential HOF players as your comparison. There are a lot more good 6 ft skating NHL dman who aren't 25 minute a night guys including playoffs. I would say again, the most likely chance is he is a good player but probably not going to be a top pairing for the next 10 year type guy.

I hope that's wrong and he's a another Makar or Josi, but history says that is unlikely.

At this point, I don't have any concrete "expectations" where these guys will ultimately top out. Things are still very much "in the works" for both Molendyk and Kemell (and for that matter Wood also). We'll see.

So far we've seen good signs and good progress from Molendyk. He has gone from a surprise late-1st pick who wasn't a top-pair guy in junior into The Guy on his junior team, but still not really viewed as an overall Top Prospect amongst the current wider family of defense prospects around the league. So let's see what his final junior season brings. Another step up like last year should bring him into that wider grouping of overall top guys, which would then put him in better standing to eventually emerge as an NHL top pairing guy. So things are "on track" anyway. But just "on track"... he hasn't exploded into a surefire top guy yet from the perspective of neutral outside observers. Hopefully that is coming.

No reason to be overly pessimistic on any of these guys yet IMO. At the same time, none of them has really opened eyes around the league or garnered any extra levels of excitement either. So we just have to wait and see.

I don't really see it as being pessimistic...I'm just making a prediction that in my eyes is the most likely outcome. I think both players are 2nd pairing, 2nd line type guys for the majority of their careers. That's a great thing but is probably also the reason they aren't ranked higher in the prospect rankings.

 

[triggrman]

He skates well enough, but he's going to have an uphill battle to take heavy minutes as a top pair guy at his size.... especially when the playoffs come around.


Potential is there, but just looking at things for most likely outcomes. I would say he's most likely an average 2nd liner.

He's listed as 6'1" 181 on Nashville's NHL website.
Quinn Hughes is listed at 5'10" 180 lbs
Cale Makar is listed at 6' 187lbs
Adam Fox is 5'11" 185lbs
Elite skaters don't have to be that big.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

He's listed as 6'1" 181 on Nashville's NHL website.
Quinn Hughes is listed at 5'10" 180 lbs
Cale Makar is listed at 6' 187lbs
Adam Fox is 5'11" 185lbs
Elite skaters don't have to be that big.

For sure, but those guys are all elite at many things besides skating. Look, I hope he's a top pairing guy and it is a possibility, but just to be clear, my argument remains the MOST likely scenario for Tanner Molendyk is that he is a 2nd pair dman long term. Are you arguing his most likely outcome is top pair for his career? If so, that's a great prediction that will be awesome, but it's ballsy based on what we know now.

 

[triggrman]

For sure, but those guys are all elite at many things besides skating. Look, I hope he's a top pairing guy and it is a possibility, but just to be clear, my argument remains the MOST likely scenario for Tanner Molendyk is that he is a 2nd pair dman long term. Are you arguing his most likely outcome is top pair for his career? If so, that's a great prediction that will be awesome, but it's ballsy based on what we know now.

yes, I'm betting he'll be a top pairing defender. Guys that have a defense first mentality, that can skate and provide offense are rare, extremely rare.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

He's listed as 6'1" 181 on Nashville's NHL website.
Quinn Hughes is listed at 5'10" 180 lbs
Cale Makar is listed at 6' 187lbs
Adam Fox is 5'11" 185lbs
Elite skaters don't have to be that big.

FWIW, Molendyk was officially measured at 5'11.0" and 181 at the Combine last year. That would have been at 18yrs+4mos age. It's not impossible to grow taller after 18. But NHL roster lists have been notoriously inaccurate over the years, so I'd be more inclined to believe the Combine measurement.

Not that either number really matters much to me. At 5'11" or at 6'1", it still falls into the "slightly undersized" category for the NHL, but he doesn't play the kind of game where a 2" difference matters the least bit. His strength is still his skating, his transition, his gap control, his willingness to engage despite being "slightly undersized" - at whichever number. I think the biggest thing most scouts seem to say about him is that he needs to work on his quickness. Explosiveness and short-distance speed/acceleration. Once he gets underway on one of his rushes and is cutting across the ice, he's very very fast. But if he had a first-step burst to add to that it'd be all the more impressive. For both offensive zone and defensive zone situations.

 

[triggrman]

FWIW, Molendyk was officially measured at 5'11.0" and 181 at the Combine last year. That would have been at 18yrs+4mos age. It's not impossible to grow taller after 18. But NHL roster lists have been notoriously inaccurate over the years, so I'd be more inclined to believe the Combine measurement.

Not that either number really matters much to me. At 5'11" or at 6'1", it still falls into the "slightly undersized" category for the NHL, but he doesn't play the kind of game where a 2" difference matters the least bit. His strength is still his skating, his transition, his gap control, his willingness to engage despite being "slightly undersized" - at whichever number. I think the biggest thing most scouts seem to say about him is that he needs to work on his quickness. Explosiveness and short-distance speed/acceleration. Once he gets underway on one of his rushes and is cutting across the ice, he's very very fast. But if he had a first-step burst to add to that it'd be all the more impressive. For both offensive zone and defensive zone situations.

I'm sure the NHL.com numbers are close but not 100%. As I'm also betting Makar's, Fox's and Hughes' numbers are also close but not 100%.

I've not seen anything about him needing to work on his first step. I just see so many people rave about how incredible of a skater he is.

You have any links that discuss what you've read? I'd be pretty interested in those.

 

[herzausstein]

I'm sure the NHL.com numbers are close but not 100%. As I'm also betting Makar's, Fox's and Hughes' numbers are also close but not 100%.

I've not seen anything about him needing to work on his first step. I just see so many people rave about how incredible of a skater he is.

You have any links that discuss what you've read? I'd be pretty interested in those.

I would assume whoever is measuring Josi also probably got Molendyk or methodology would be the same given they are working for the same team/staff.

Higher end 6'0" and under dmen:
Montour
Weegar
E. Karlsson
Letang
York
Makar
Hronek
Fox
Q. Hughes

6'1" includes such names as
Namec
Moser
McAvoy
Andersson
Toews
McDonagh
Rielly
Josi
Doughty
Suter

If Molendyk is an even 5'11 to 6'1, i dont think it matters. There are other good players in there like Girard and Carrier. He may not reach the heights that some of the players above have but it wont be because of his size.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I'm sure the NHL.com numbers are close but not 100%. As I'm also betting Makar's, Fox's and Hughes' numbers are also close but not 100%.

I've not seen anything about him needing to work on his first step. I just see so many people rave about how incredible of a skater he is.

You have any links that discuss what you've read? I'd be pretty interested in those.

Here is one that mentions it... I just remember it coming up during the draft last year also, I'm sure there must be other links. The link below does touch on a lot of what I was thinking when just watching his highlight videos, that sort of crossover-fueled long-track transitional speed being the key element of his skating hype, whereas some of the shorter bursts aren't so evident. Not that a PMD really has huge need for those most of the time, because it really is the longer-track speed that matters more to his game anyway. I think the people rave because the highlight videos tend to be those end-to-end rushes most of the time, and the kind of blurb-driven prospect-summary style of reporting likes to find a Super Power for a given prospect and then "rave" about it.

2023 NHL Scouting Report #42: Tanner Molendyk

The WHL features some key names in the 2023 NHL draft class. One of those names is Saskatoon Blades defender, Tanner Molendyk.

lastwordonsports.com

 

[triggrman]

Here is one that mentions it... I just remember it coming up during the draft last year also, I'm sure there must be other links. The link below does touch on a lot of what I was thinking when just watching his highlight videos, that sort of crossover-fueled long-track transitional speed being the key element of his skating hype, whereas some of the shorter bursts aren't so evident. Not that a PMD really has huge need for those most of the time, because it really is the longer-track speed that matters more to his game anyway. I think the people rave because the highlight videos tend to be those end-to-end rushes most of the time, and the kind of blurb-driven prospect-summary style of reporting likes to find a Super Power for a given prospect and then "rave" about it.

2023 NHL Scouting Report #42: Tanner Molendyk

The WHL features some key names in the 2023 NHL draft class. One of those names is Saskatoon Blades defender, Tanner Molendyk.

lastwordonsports.com

LOL, that article says he needs to work on his straight line speed, which is opposite of what your post argued.

Tanner Molendyk’s Skating​

Molendyk is an excellent skater. With the larger focus on defenders who can really skate well, like the Cale Makar’s and Adam Fox’s of today, this is a big plus for Molendyk. At this time, he does not possess elite straight-line speed. But it’s not because he’s a bad skater; he just doesn’t really skate in a straight line. As a matter of fact, Smaht Scouting said it best: “Molendyk uses a lot of crossovers to build up speed when driving the puck up ice. Even though he’s heavily reliant on his crossovers, he does a good job of leveraging them to shift around pressure…”

​

What Smaht Scouting’s Josh Tessler is touching on is Molendyk’s habit of using crossovers while moving up ice almost constantly. That takes away from what his top speed could be if he could come off those crossovers and skate in a straight line. But that does not make him a bad skater. He’s amongst the best defenders in the class when it comes to his edges, and that’s what allows him to be such a good skater. So, while he over-uses his crossovers, they’re efficient and allow him to beat defenders up ice. It also allows him to create more with the puck on his stick, such as walking the blue line and opening passing or shooting lanes.

Here's more from the same scouting staff.

Scouting Report: Tanner Molendyk - Smaht Scouting

Smaht Scouting’s Josh Tessler takes an in-depth look at 2023 NHL Draft prospect Tanner Molendyk (LHD, Saskatoon).

smahtscouting.com

Skating​

Molendyk uses a lot of crossovers to build up speed when driving the puck up the ice. Even though he’s heavily reliant on his crossovers, he does a good job of leveraging them to shift around pressure and gain the separation that he needs to continue pushing the puck up the ice. Molendyk’s mobility makes him an excellent puck moving defensive prospect, but I do want to see him work on lengthening his forward stride. If he can lengthen his stride and leverage his crossovers in conjunction with a power stride, he will be tough to slow down and neutralize.

While he needs to work on a power stride, he’s got excellent mobility, great pivoting and excellent puck control off of his edges. He will use those tools nicely every shift.