Prospect Info: The 2021 Entry NHL Draft Thread

[S E P H]

2021 NHL Draft will take place somewhere and sometime
Date, 2021

NHL Draft Lottery
2021 NHL Mock Draft & Simulator | Tankathon

Mock Drafts
2021 NHL Mock Draft - NHL - DraftSite.com
2021 NHL Mock Draft | 2021 NHL Draft | NHL Draft

Bob McKenzie's Rankings
Preliminary: Blueliner Owen Power tops McKenzie's first 2021 Draft Ranking
Midseason: Owen Power the unanimous No. 1 in TSN’s mid-season draft rankings - TSN.ca
Final: Owen Power pulls away from crowded NHL Draft field - TSN.ca

Craig Button's Rankings
November 2019: Defencemen dominate Craig Button's early look at 2021 NHL draft class - TSN.ca
May 2021: Craig’s List: Defencemen dominate top of NHL draft prospect rankings - TSN.ca.
June 2021: Michigan Mock: Button has Power to Sabres; Beniers to Seattle, Johnson a Canuck
Final List: Craig Button List Owen Power NHL Draft - TSN.ca
Final Mock: McTavish rises, Sens go goalie in Button’s final mock draft

Players:
Database: Elite Prospects - NHL Draft Center
CSS - Preliminary: https://cms.nhl.bamgrid.com/images/assets/binary/319517996/binary-file/file.pdf
CSS - Final: NHL.com Media Site

Colorado Avalanche Draft Picks
2021 NHL Draft - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps
1st Round: Kept
2nd Round: Gone [to NYI]
2nd Round: Acquired [From NJD via NYI]
3rd Round: Kept
4th Round: Gone [to NSH]
5th Round: Gone [to SJS]
6th Round: Gone [to BUF]
7th Round: Kept
​

Click to read more...

 

[Balthazar]

@henchman24's mail-in ballot just got in. +1 vote for Luke Hughes.

 

[S E P H]

Wallstedt is another very interesting name to watch for goalers...which makes me light the goaler signal for @Gigantor The Goalie . Posting fantastic stats as a 17 year old in the SHL!!! If Askarov was all about athleticism and IQ, Wallstedt is all about positioning and IQ from what I've seen. Hard to see where he goes since there isn't necessarily a clear-cut 1st overall player but just a lot of defenders and centres bunching together. I personally have him somewhere between 17 and 25th, but not sure where the consensus is. Some very good players at the top and some solid depth, but not a big fan of this draft as of now. I see a lot of mid-tier forwards and besides a couple of top-end defenders, a lot of 2/3 tweeners in the first round.

 

[henchman21]

@henchman24's mail-in ballot just got in. +1 vote for Luke Hughes.

He’s a guy in the 10-15 range... so I’ll probably hype him. Significantly bigger (6’1”-6’2”
with a 200+ frame) than his brothers with 98% of the skating. I question how much offense is really in his game. Is it 40-50 or more around 25-30... that is the major difference to me on him moving into the top 6-7 or him falling to the late teens.

Now I’ll also hype Jack Hughes 2.0.

 

[henchman21]

Wallstedt is another very interesting name to watch for goalers...which makes me light the goaler signal for @Gigantor The Goalie . Posting fantastic stats as a 17 year old in the SHL!!! If Askarov was all about athleticism and IQ, Wallstedt is all about positioning and IQ from what I've seen. Hard to see where he goes since there isn't necessarily a clear-cut 1st overall player but just a lot of defenders and centres bunching together. I personally have him somewhere between 17 and 25th, but not sure where the consensus is. Some very good players at the top and some solid depth, but not a big fan of this draft as of now. I see a lot of mid-tier forwards and besides a couple of top-end defenders, a lot of 2/3 tweeners in the first round.

I still love his goal scoring stat that might never be broken.

 

[henchman21]

Junior hockey paused in Sweden for the rest of 2020... evaluations are going to be really tricky...

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Junior hockey paused in Sweden... evaluations are going to be really tricky...

Teams that stock up on mid round picks in the 2021 draft are going to benefit so much from hidden gems.

 

[henchman21]

Teams that stock up on mid round picks in the 2021 draft are going to benefit so much from hidden gems.

It is going to be really interesting to watch... a quarter of the season gone from last year and now another quarter gone with the potential for upto 3/4ths. It is going to be very difficult to evaluate players and quantity might be a way to overcome that. With the way cases are rising and a vaccine still a couple months off for the high risk, 6+ off of widespread adoption (if it is even possible), a real cancelation danger is going to creep into junior leagues across the world. They aren't profitable enough to continue to play games with no sponsorship money or fans.

If I was a GM I'd be trying to load up on 4th-7th rounders over the next two drafts to take shots. 2022 is probably going to be a record overage selection year.

 

[Hasbro]

It'll be Cameron Whynot.

 

[milehigh11]

Wallstedt is another very interesting name to watch for goalers...which makes me light the goaler signal for @Gigantor The Goalie . Posting fantastic stats as a 17 year old in the SHL!!! If Askarov was all about athleticism and IQ, Wallstedt is all about positioning and IQ from what I've seen. Hard to see where he goes since there isn't necessarily a clear-cut 1st overall player but just a lot of defenders and centres bunching together. I personally have him somewhere between 17 and 25th, but not sure where the consensus is. Some very good players at the top and some solid depth, but not a big fan of this draft as of now. I see a lot of mid-tier forwards and besides a couple of top-end defenders, a lot of 2/3 tweeners in the first round.

I dont follow any prospect hockey but looking at this kids stats they look fabulous for that age. Is he a better prospect than Spencer Knight? equal to Askorov? Wouldnt mind us start taking top rated goalies and fill the cupboard like we have with defenders.

 

[tigervixxxen]

I dont follow any prospect hockey but looking at this kids stats they look fabulous for that age. Is he a better prospect than Spencer Knight? equal to Askorov? Wouldnt mind us start taking top rated goalies and fill the cupboard like we have with defenders.

Id say so which means he’s long off the board before our pick.

 

[Hasbro]

Outside Whynott who are the best Nova Scotians available?

 

[Pokecheque]

I'm curious as to who will be the #1 pick come draft time. Most appear to have Raty (is that pronounced "Rah-too?") at the top, which would make him the first Finn to ever be picked #1, but I think teams just won't be able to help themselves with a specimen like Power.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Raty hasn’t had the best start to his season and some wonder if he’s plateaued. I’m sure he’ll still be a high pick but first overall isn’t looking it. Will be interesting to see what ends up as the hype catalyst for whoever does get it. With the NCAA starting soon I wonder if one of those guys, especially the Michigan trio of Power, Kent Johnson and Beniers get the hype rolling early.

 

[Balthazar]

Raty (is that pronounced "Rah-too?")

No. I don't think the sound exists in English. In French it's pronounced Rattu which is pretty close.

 

[henchman21]

Some real slacking going on here...

Blueliner Owen Power tops McKenzie's first 2021 Draft Ranking

Love Edvinsson getting some love here. Power is the better prospect to me, but Edvinsson has a lot of Seth Jones' qualities in his game. I think Johnson could be a bit higher too. He's not as well rounded as his teammate teammate in Beniers, but has immense offensive upside.

 

[S E P H]

Some real slacking going on here...

Blueliner Owen Power tops McKenzie's first 2021 Draft Ranking

Love Edvinsson getting some love here. Power is the better prospect to me, but Edvinsson has a lot of Seth Jones' qualities in his game. I think Johnson could be a bit higher too. He's not as well rounded as his teammate teammate in Beniers, but has immense offensive upside.

It should be said though, that this is a draft that does not have a true 1st overall prospect in it. I highly doubt anybody in the top ten or Power himself would go first overall in any draft within the last five or so years...and you could make the argument any draft since Yakupov.

 

[The Abusement Park]

All I know is that Carson Lambos balled out for me in one of my NHL saves. So we should draft him.

 

[henchman21]

It should be said though, that this is a draft that does not have a true 1st overall prospect in it. I highly doubt anybody in the top ten or Power himself would go first overall in any draft within the last five or so years...and you could make the argument any draft since Yakupov.

I like Power more than I ever liked Ekblad too. Definitely not to the levels of 15-20 drafts at the top though. I think the defense overall in the first round is as strong as it has been in a while though. I see 5-6 guys who have legit top pairing upside and ~3-4 of those have #1 sort of upside. Ceulemans is probably a late 1st guy right now... but I absolutely love his skill set if he can apply it at higher levels. Center has some real depth to it, but I don't think many #1C types are in this draft. Johnson and Beniers are the real big names at center. The rest I'm not real comfortable projecting high or at center. I wanna see how Lucius comes back from his injury, but he might change my mind a bit at center.

 

[S E P H]

I like Power more than I ever liked Ekblad too. Definitely not to the levels of 15-20 drafts at the top though. I think the defense overall in the first round is as strong as it has been in a while though. I see 5-6 guys who have legit top pairing upside and ~3-4 of those have #1 sort of upside. Ceulemans is probably a late 1st guy right now... but I absolutely love his skill set if he can apply it at higher levels. Center has some real depth to it, but I don't think many #1C types are in this draft. Johnson and Beniers are the real big names at center. The rest I'm not real comfortable projecting high or at center. I wanna see how Lucius comes back from his injury, but he might change my mind a bit at center.

I think if Draisaitl wasn't German, he probably would've went 1st overall considering Talon seems like he's part of the "old boys gang" (or what I am saying is Leon will be the better player in regards to him versus Owen, unfair comparison though). I quite like Power, but I still think this draft is pretty awful even though the depth of it is quite strong with players I quite like. I am a big Beniers fan though and I think he could have Patrice Bergeron potential if he can show more elite level in his skills. However, I see a lot of these lads topping off as #2-#4 defenders and mid-tier forwards except the high ones which obviously have a higher ceiling.

E: This might be a hottake, but I am not sure if I would draft Power over Clarke from what I've seen from both of them last season. And that's why I don't like this draft, anybody in the top five could be at 1st overall and this has nothing to do with covid impacting the playing field for me.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Let’s keep the wagon going and draft Zach Dean. K thanks.

 

[henchman21]

I think if Draisaitl wasn't German, he probably would've went 1st overall considering Talon seems like he's part of the "old boys gang" (or what I am saying is Leon will be the better player in regards to him versus Owen, unfair comparison though). I quite like Power, but I still think this draft is pretty awful even though the depth of it is quite strong with players I quite like. I am a big Beniers fan though and I think he could have Patrice Bergeron potential if he can show more elite level in his skills. However, I see a lot of these lads topping off as #2-#4 defenders and mid-tier forwards except the high ones which obviously have a higher ceiling.

Beniers' skill is the only question to me and that is more around his he more of a high end #2 guy who teams try to make a #1 or can he hold his own as a #1. Johnson doesn't have the all around game, but to me, the offensive question isn't there. He looks every bit the 70-80+ point guy... you just may need a good defensive 2nd line guy to build around him. I don't think there are a ton of first line type forwards overall in the draft. There are some good risks to take, but outside the top 10 it flattens out into a lot of middle 6 sorts.

On defense I really like the class... quite simply, none of the top defensive prospects have major red flags. There aren't the 5'10"-5'11" highly skilled guys that you worry about how their skill translates playing bigger players. They are all quite good skaters, and some of them are elite. They all have a good amount of offensive skill, but you may wonder if they are more 40-50 point types than true high end offensive guys. Chakya is probably the guy that most are in love with that I have the most questions on... I'm not sure the offense exists in his game in the NHL. I'd probably push him down my personal list, but at 6'3" and skating like he does, he will have a lot of scouts after him. The guys like Power, Hughes, Edvinsson, Clarke etc are more centered around exactly how much offense is really there... not that they won't have good ~40 point upside, but are any of them the high end drivers on that end of the ice.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Sounds like it’s a good year to be a bad team in need of a defenceman. Anywhere in the top-10 you can probably get a guy with some good upside.

Maybe there will be a run on D in the first and the Avs can get one of the better forwards later in the round. Providing they still have their 1st round pick.

 

[UncleRisto]

No. I don't think the sound exists in English. In French it's pronounced Rattu which is pretty close.

Excellent video in that Räty is said 40 times in the first minute.

But y'all can say it whatever way you want. I'd rather not hear Pierre say it.

Of course there are insane people like @Murzu who prefer that.

 

[tigervixxxen]

I like Power more than I ever liked Ekblad too. Definitely not to the levels of 15-20 drafts at the top though. I think the defense overall in the first round is as strong as it has been in a while though. I see 5-6 guys who have legit top pairing upside and ~3-4 of those have #1 sort of upside. Ceulemans is probably a late 1st guy right now... but I absolutely love his skill set if he can apply it at higher levels. Center has some real depth to it, but I don't think many #1C types are in this draft. Johnson and Beniers are the real big names at center. The rest I'm not real comfortable projecting high or at center. I wanna see how Lucius comes back from his injury, but he might change my mind a bit at center.

What’s the Lucius injury anyway?

I don’t have any favorites in this draft class yet. I’d lean Johnson perhaps, he gives good effort on the defensive end, he just needs strength and polishing.