I’m very, very high on Osmanis. He’s one of my top under the radar breakout picks and I could see him going early first round or late second round if his season goes well.
He may be undersized but his hockey IQ and speed leave him with a tremendous upside.
Have You seen him play? I admit - I haven't seen him a lot. But just by statwatching, I'm not as optimistic.
First of all, he is December - born. Which means that he will be significantly older than most other draftees, and, while it may give him an edge during the season, more will be expected from him.
This also means that he will not be able to participate in the upcoming U18 worlds - that's one less highly scouted tournament for him to participate in.
His last U18 worlds were this spring, and it wasn't anything special - 2 points in 5 games is even less, that Murnieks's 3 points, who is
actually a projected middle first round pick. But Murnieks is 1.5 years younger.
His size also may also be a concern.
On the other hand, he already sniffed Allsvenskan, and if he is able to build on this success, spend a full season there and score come points, this will definitely help. Allsvenskan is a really good and highly scouted league, and, lets say, 0.25 ppg might get him in to top 3 rounds in the draft.
Its also good that his U20 team, apparently, got promoted to J20 Nationel. Which means that even if something does not click in the main team, he will still play in one of the best, and also highly scouted junior league.
Dont get me wrong, he is a really good prospect by Latvian standards. We had only two top 100 selections in the last 10 years, and he definitely has top 100 potential, especially if he puts on some weight and scores some points in Allsvenskan. But first - second round? Doubt that.