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

[Olderfan]

Ramblings:
Afanasyev has shown very well in the last 2 camps and pre-season yet has not yet been rewarded with a fair NHL trial because of the”numbers game”. I know this has resulted in mediocre AHL years but he needs a fair chance. He showed very well in the playoff run.
Also, in my opinion, this is a put up or so long type year for Tomasino. He has been given chances with a big yawn performance so far. May be able to play up here but doesn’t yet look like the star Preds hoped for.

As for comparing L’Heureux’s potential to Scott Walker(one of my favorite players), I sure hope he has significantly more production than Scott. I mean, we liked Scott because he was tough, aggressive, could back it up, had his teammates back, and put people in the seats. Other than a couple of pretty good offensive years he was challenged offensively. No, Preds need more production from L’Heureux. But, boy, I sure wish a young Scott was available for the 3rd/4th lines.
To me Wood is just a name called at the draft. I know he’s got potential. I know he’s a good prospect. But, let’s face it, he’s just new. Probably showing up too high until he actually does more. But I like him, too. Just more reserved.

 

[herzausstein]

Ramblings:
Afanasyev has shown very well in the last 2 camps and pre-season yet has not yet been rewarded with a fair NHL trial because of the”numbers game”. I know this has resulted in mediocre AHL years but he needs a fair chance. He showed very well in the playoff run.
Also, in my opinion, this is a put up or so long type year for Tomasino. He has been given chances with a big yawn performance so far. May be able to play up here but doesn’t yet look like the star Preds hoped for.

As for comparing L’Heureux’s potential to Scott Walker(one of my favorite players), I sure hope he has significantly more production than Scott. I mean, we liked Scott because he was tough, aggressive, could back it up, had his teammates back, and put people in the seats. Other than a couple of pretty good offensive years he was challenged offensively. No, Preds need more production from L’Heureux. But, boy, I sure wish a young Scott was available for the 3rd/4th lines.
To me Wood is just a name called at the draft. I know he’s got potential. I know he’s a good prospect. But, let’s face it, he’s just new. Probably showing up too high until he actually does more. But I like him, too. Just more reserved.

Maybe im missing something

Afanaseyev - 22 years old will be 23 in jan. 1 point in 17 nhl games, shows good in camp, doesnt do much in the ahl, needs a fair shake at the nhl

Tomasino - 21 years old will be 22 in a couple days. 50 points in 107 nhl games (18 in 31 last season). Put up or move on.

Maybe you should temper your expectations some on Tomasino but for a late 1st round pick he is doing really well. Hes ahead or on par with several of the 1st round picks taken infront of him (dach, turcotte, podkolzin, york, newhook, krebs, poulin, holmstrom). 12 forwards drafted before tomasino by my count - thats 8 of them

 

[herzausstein]

Maybe im missing something

Afanaseyev - 22 years old will be 23 in jan. 1 point in 17 nhl games, shows good in camp, doesnt do much in the ahl, needs a fair shake at the nhl

Tomasino - 21 years old will be 22 in a couple days. 50 points in 107 nhl games (18 in 31 last season). Put up or move on.

Maybe you should temper your expectations some on Tomasino but for a late 1st round pick he is doing really well. Hes ahead or on par with several of the 1st round picks taken infront of him (dach, turcotte, podkolzin, york, newhook, krebs, poulin, holmstrom). 12 forwards drafted before tomasino by my count - thats 8 of them

Crud i misidentified york as a forward.. my bad. None the less 7 of 13 forwards (missed one during my count). Regardless point stands.

 

[superdeluxe]

I would probably do a prospects ranking in a series of "tiers" first. One could debate within those tiers based on various factors (upside, risk vs. proximity to NHL, etc). I will quasi-list them in my order even within the tiers, but could easily order them differently on a different day.

Tier 1: Guys who we hope have some potential upside to be "NHL Star Players". These are our 3 most recent highest picks. But if we are going to get a "breakthrough" star player, even though the odds still aren't that great, these might be our best hopes for that?
Wood - best total package... except there is that skating issue
Askarov - franchise goalie? but still so much to work on
Kemell - 40-goal driver and volume shooter... or Arvidsson?

Tier 2: Could still be "NHL Star Players"... we saw some great things from these guys in the NHL already, but is there sort of a "cap" on their upside? Like, are they more Forsberg/Duchene/Johansen types if things keep going well? 60-80 pts is still great, they can still be key players. Sometimes I'm tempted to push a couple of them into Tier 1 (Parssinen and Evangelista) but then I try to check my enthusiasm... it would be a lot to ask. Not impossible though that these guys will end up better than the Tier 1 guys, these two tiers are VERY close!
Evangelista - so surprising in Year 1
Parssinen - he's going to be good regardless of the offense
Tomasino - bit of a fall based on last season (hopefully that was just Hynes)

Tier 3: I think the main thing that separates them so far is just exposure... I may end up putting them at #7/8 in these rankings today, but as soon as we see them next season they could easily jump a tier quickly (especially Svechov I'm thinking).
Svechkov
Molendyk

Tier 4: Two late first rounders but who project more likely as grinders/middle-6 players as opposed to top players? But one never knows... if they can bring 20-30 goals to go with grit that's hugely valuable also.
L'Heureux
Schaeffer

(marks the end of the "Top 10")

Tier 5: Sort of a grab-bag of our most-ready D plus almost-ready Afanaseyev. But I rate this tier above the ones below it because while it may be fair to question the maximum upside of some of these players, I think they are all coming from backgrounds with just as much accomplishment at younger ages as some of the less experienced prospects, but have built on that with successful professional seasons as well, and could fill in at the NHL level today and not be embarrassed which I think is a big accomplishment on its own. I probably diverge from many posters' opinions here because I value this "demonstrated progression" more highly while consciously trying to "restrain my enthusiasm" on the younger and less experienced prospects.
Chistyakov
Livingstone
Stastney
Afanaseyev
Del Gaizo
Wilsby

Tier 6: Here are some younger prospects and recent draft picks who have done good things at their various junior/lesser levels, but are going to need to carry that forward in their journey - really hardly any ordering at all here. Some of course may have higher "upside" than the tier above them, but I need to see them progress further towards reaching that upside before I bump them up.
Lind
Nilsson
Ufko
Kulonummi
Jatkola
Kiiskanen
MacKinnon
Olsson
Ingram
Burke
Matier
Prokop

(now we're a few players past the "Top 20"... 28 down to be exact!)

Tier 7: These guys are "interesting" in some fashion, maybe they are newer late picks, or guys who are we're just not that familiar with and might jump a couple tiers with great seasons, who knows... I could probably have divided Tier 6 and 7 a little better to level out the numbers in each... hmmm.... ok, true!
Fink
Willis
Roest
Knak
Haider

(that's 33 done)

Tier 8: I'm guessing "probably not gonna happen" for these guys? But maybe they have some hidden super power, who knows.
Fontaine
Campbell
Kondelik
Sward
Muzzatti
Walther
Mutter
O'Hara
Strinden
Reid
McLane

(the end of the "Top 44" )

(I didn't even put Volkov or Yeryomenko even though they are technically on our Reserve List still).

I think with a few exceptions it's pretty close to maplepreds list.

That’s a really good list and honestly a pretty accurate assessment of Schaefer

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Afanasyev is the most overrated preds prospect of all time, he is a bust.

$100 says Knak has a more succesful nhl career

 

[wmupreds]

Afanasyev is the most overrated preds prospect of all time, he is a bust.

$100 says Knak has a more succesful nhl career

What if neither make a significant mark at the NHL level, because that's by far the likely outcome at this point

 

[Rock Paper Sissons]

Ramblings:
Afanasyev has shown very well in the last 2 camps and pre-season yet has not yet been rewarded with a fair NHL trial because of the”numbers game”. I know this has resulted in mediocre AHL years but he needs a fair chance. He showed very well in the playoff run.
Also, in my opinion, this is a put up or so long type year for Tomasino. He has been given chances with a big yawn performance so far. May be able to play up here but doesn’t yet look like the star Preds hoped for.

As for comparing L’Heureux’s potential to Scott Walker(one of my favorite players), I sure hope he has significantly more production than Scott. I mean, we liked Scott because he was tough, aggressive, could back it up, had his teammates back, and put people in the seats. Other than a couple of pretty good offensive years he was challenged offensively. No, Preds need more production from L’Heureux. But, boy, I sure wish a young Scott was available for the 3rd/4th lines.
To me Wood is just a name called at the draft. I know he’s got potential. I know he’s a good prospect. But, let’s face it, he’s just new. Probably showing up too high until he actually does more. But I like him, too. Just more reserved.

Tomasino is doing really and should have been a full time NHLer last season but for some reason Hynes sent him down to start the year. He earned a spot, I remember being quite annoyed about that. I boycotted until they called him up. That kid has a bright future, definitely not a “put up or so long” season for him at all.

I agree about L’Heureux. I would love more offense than walker provided out of him, but I mean… if he had a career like walker I would not be disappointed at all.

Wood…. This kid is something to be excited about. Book that.

 

[herzausstein]

Tomasino is doing really and should have been a full time NHLer last season but for some reason Hynes sent him down to start the year. He earned a spot, I remember being quite annoyed about that. I boycotted until they called him up. That kid has a bright future, definitely not a “put up or so long” season for him at all.

I agree about L’Heureux. I would love more offense than walker provided out of him, but I mean… if he had a career like walker I would not be disappointed at all.

Wood…. This kid is something to be excited about. Book that.

Wood doing what he did in the NCAA as one if the if not THE youngest player in the league is quite big. I didnt realize he was that young when we drafted him.

WRT Tomasino: i dont understand why people are so down on him. I know he was sent back down to the AHL last season (which was a coaches decision), but when he came back up he looked pretty good. His first season was 11G 21A in 76 games playing sheltered minutes. In his time up this season, 5G 13A in 31 games playing heavy minutes on a severely depleted roster (forsberg, josi, joey, and duchene for a large chunk). 4G 2A were on a bad powerplay as well. So a 35 point pace season 1 and a 48 point pace season 2. In a more offensive system, he could really blossom in the next season or two.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Ramblings:
Afanasyev has shown very well in the last 2 camps and pre-season yet has not yet been rewarded with a fair NHL trial because of the”numbers game”. I know this has resulted in mediocre AHL years but he needs a fair chance. He showed very well in the playoff run.
Also, in my opinion, this is a put up or so long type year for Tomasino. He has been given chances with a big yawn performance so far. May be able to play up here but doesn’t yet look like the star Preds hoped for.

As for comparing L’Heureux’s potential to Scott Walker(one of my favorite players), I sure hope he has significantly more production than Scott. I mean, we liked Scott because he was tough, aggressive, could back it up, had his teammates back, and put people in the seats. Other than a couple of pretty good offensive years he was challenged offensively. No, Preds need more production from L’Heureux. But, boy, I sure wish a young Scott was available for the 3rd/4th lines.
To me Wood is just a name called at the draft. I know he’s got potential. I know he’s a good prospect. But, let’s face it, he’s just new. Probably showing up too high until he actually does more. But I like him, too. Just more reserved.

I guess I disagree on basically all of those ramblings.

Afanaseyev has had ample fair opportunity. He simply hasn't found a way to score as a pro yet. And we're giving him the chance to see if he can do that or not. If he can't, fair enough, but then your typical 4th line player does play out his ELC in the minors before getting to the NHL. So he's right on track. He has this year to show if he can score at the pro level, and... whether he can or whether he can't... I still expect him to be on our roster full time at the end of the coming season or the start of the next season. Which is exactly where he should be based on his performances and his age.

Whereas Tomasino was really jerked around terribly by Hynes. Sure, it would have been a little nice if Tomasino had stood up to that with somewhat more authority last season, but he still played decently overall, all things considered. His great 1st season in limited usage was a LOT more than "a yawn". He's definitely one guy I hope to see blossom anew under Brunette. But at the same time, who ever thought he would be a "star"? Where he was picked, we're just lucky if he makes the NHL at all and chips in on a 2nd line. Anything past that is a bonus, but look elsewhere if you are hoping for a "star", that's just an unrealistic hope.

Meanwhile, Scott Walker had two 25-goal seasons. He wasn't JUST a tough guy. There is not even a 50/50 chance that L'Heureux can live up to Walker's play or production. I was being "optimistic" in that comparison, like that is his absolute top-end upside. Maybe you need to re-calibrate expectations for late 1st round picks? There are a lot more Austin Watsons and Jon Blums in that range of the draft than guys who ever become star players.

You'll hear lots more about Wood. He may also not pan out. But to me he's the only forward in our system who still has a chance of being a "star". He also may never reach that level. But since it's early days, there's still time to hope with him, if things go well. We probably won't be so lucky, of course, but we might as well enjoy this period of hopefulness while we can!

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Afanasyev is the most overrated preds prospect of all time, he is a bust.

$100 says Knak has a more succesful nhl career

Nobody here even has him in their top-10. He's rated as most likely being a 4th liner at best. I know for sure we have vastly overrated many many prospects more than him. In 2013 we had Taylor Beck, Brendan Leipsic, and Pontus Aberg as our #4,5,6-ranked prospects!

Can we all take your $100? If 50 people here each take $100, are you down for that? I probably won't live 10 more years to be able to collect, but count me in. My ghost will haunt you in lieu of payment.

 

[herzausstein]

Nobody here even has him in their top-10. He's rated as most likely being a 4th liner at best. I know for sure we have vastly overrated many many prospects more than him. In 2013 we had Taylor Beck, Brendan Leipsic, and Pontus Aberg as our #4,5,6-ranked prospects!

Can we all take your $100? If 50 people here each take $100, are you down for that? I probably won't live 10 more years to be able to collect, but count me in. My ghost will haunt you in lieu of payment.

I think under the right circumstances, he may be a trenin replacement as trenin seems to of plateaued in the 10g 10a area but that may be a bit of a stretch tbh.

 

[Byrddog]

@herzausstein
How’s this?

Preds Top Prospects
1. Askarov franchise goalie
2. Wood top 3 forward
3. Kemmel top 3 forward
4. Evangelista top 3 forward
5. Tomasino top 3/6 forward
6. Parssinen top 6 forward
7. Svechkov top 6 forward
8. Schaefer middle 6 forward
9. L’Heureux top 9 forward
10. Molendyk top 4 D
11. Matier top 4 D
12. Chistyakov top 4 D
13. Ufko 4/5 D
14. Lind middle 6 forward
15. Kiiskinen top 9 forward
16. Mackinnon 4/5 D
17. Kulonummi top 6 D
18. Stastney 4/5 D
19. Afanasyev bottom 6 forward
20. Burke middle 6 forward
21. Nilsson third line forward
22. Wilsby top 6/tweener D
23. Jatkola nhl backup goalie
24. Sward top 6 D
25. Ingram third line centre
26. Del Gaizo tweener D
27. Olsson tweener D/top 6 potential
28. Prokop top 6/7 D
29. Willis tweener/rotational forward
30. Fink tweener/rotational forward
31. Roest tweener/rotational forward
32. O’Hara top line ahl forward
33. Knak top 6 ahl forward
34. Walther bottom 6 forward/tweener
35. Strinden middle 6 ahl forward
36. Haider AHL head goalie/tweener
37. Campbell top 9 ahl forward
38. Muzzatti top 9 ahl forward
39. Fontaine ahl forward with cool name

If all those guys are too 6 and top four defensemen it will be a dynasty. Thing is out of all of them there may be 3 or 4 pan out to the hype. Picking mid pack has yet to really work out here. Now there have been some gems picked in later rounds but not really lately. Trotz does have a real chance to use the picks and some of the young guys on the roster to upgrade. 60 point guys that we have always cherished need to be closer to ppg guys consistently. For Trotz it is a tall order to get this done timely.

 

[Predsanddead24]

I think under the right circumstances, he may be a trenin replacement as trenin seems to of plateaued in the 10g 10a area but that may be a bit of a stretch tbh.

Yeah I think that's best case. Salomaki may be a more realistic projection where he's more of a rotation guy depending on who's healthy.

For what it's worth in the Afansyev vs. Knak debate they were both on the roster for the Ads postseason run and Afansyev put up a solid showing while Knak was a healthy scratch. Maybe that was just because Knak was new to the team so he didn't really get an opportunity but does provide a bit of direct comparison.

 

[glenngineer]

It’s definitely the off-season.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Yeah I think that's best case. Salomaki may be a more realistic projection where he's more of a rotation guy depending on who's healthy.

For what it's worth in the Afansyev vs. Knak debate they were both on the roster for the Ads postseason run and Afansyev put up a solid showing while Knak was a healthy scratch. Maybe that was just because Knak was new to the team so he didn't really get an opportunity but does provide a bit of direct comparison.

Yeah, I don't know 100% for sure if Knak on a PTO deal would have been eligible for the playoffs anyway, but usually they allow ATOs and PTOs to play, right? When teams hit injury troubles in the playoffs, they bring in replacements on ATOs or PTOs, it's just guys coming down from the NHL that the Clear Day requirements are about? So assuming he was eligible to play, it wasn't just that he wasn't considered ready to bump Afanaseyev, who was one of the Ads best forwards in the playoffs, he also couldn't bump any of the lesser guys like Angello, Huntington, who aren't even prospects. Still a nice taste of life in Milwaukee for Knak, but I mean, if he was THAT good right now - like Kemell was straight out of the gate - then he could force them to take note. And Kemell was the only guy to score more goals for the Ads in the playoffs than Afanaseyev did. If Knak is better than Afanaseyev, then how come he wasn't in the lineup and outscoring him like Kemell did?

 

[herzausstein]

Knak doesnt have a contract right now. Is he coming over this season or staying overseas?

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Knak doesnt have a contract right now. Is he coming over this season or staying overseas?

He is signed through the 2025-26 season in Switzerland. Preds have his unsigned rights until June 1, 2025.

 

[herzausstein]

He is signed through the 2025-26 season in Switzerland. Preds have his unsigned rights until June 1, 2025.

So can we even sign him? Unsure how the agreements work between leagues

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

So can we even sign him? Unsure how the agreements work between leagues

It's harder than ever to keep track of because they have separate agreements with all the different leagues now. But the one in 2020 with Switzerland anyway didn't require any specific out clauses for a drafted player like Knak. They just have until August 15th each summer to sign him. So we could still sign him. But I would presume that's not the plan, and he'll play in Davos again next season. Then revisit the question next summer depending on how his season goes.

Preds are probably hedging their bets, because with all the picks we have, there is eventually going to be a little traffic jam in terms of contract slots and lineup spots in Milwaukee. For guys who are fringe prospects like Knak, better to let him continue to develop on his Swiss club's dime, then only offer him a contract *if* he ever reaches the point where he looks like he becomes a legit prospect. It will probably be a similar story for the later-round players going the college route... let them play as many years as possible in college, then only offer some of them contracts *if* they are looking good after 4 years.

 

[Kat Predator]

Simon Knak is a 6'1" 195# 6th round pick. I think he was drafted for his size given the direction of the team at the time. A fever dream he might turn into another Cole Smith. He didn't stand out in any way in juniors. Honestly, there were other kids on that team that went undrafted that looked like more complete players. BTW, he did nothing in the playoffs for Davos or Milwaukee.

 

[herzausstein]

Knak has the 3rd best name of the prospects behind Gunnarwolfe and Wood

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Knak has the 3rd best name of the prospects behind Gunnarwolfe and Wood

His name is a lot better if you know any colloquial French.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Tomasino is def the most mid of the "Big 5"

I think he never hits a 20g season

He don't have that dawg in him

 

[PredsV82]

Knak has the 3rd best name of the prospects behind Gunnarwolfe and Wood

Molendyk says hi

 

[Rock Paper Sissons]

Tomasino is def the most mid of the "Big 5"

I think he never hits a 20g season

He don't have that dawg in him

I hope you just have a really dry sense of humour…
Tomasino is a really good hockey player and I see many 20 plus goal seasons.