Prospect Info: The 2024-2025 Prospect Thread: Part 1: Skate or Die!

[credulous]

Brutal Loss for BU
3 losses in 4 games

They are gonna drop pretty big is my guess

michigan and nd are both probably frozen four participants but yeah they looked like trash in all four games. they have no forward depth and their third pairing is a disaster. their special teams are awful too considering the talent they have at the top of the lineup. they'll end up with a decent record though because hockey east is awful this year beyond the top 3 programs

 

[Lemmiwinks]

Willander had a nice cross-crease assist in BU’s overtime loss today.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1852880243452989529

 

[Vector]

Willander had a nice cross-crease assist in BU’s overtime loss today.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1852880243452989529

Willander being PPG would be a huge development.

 

[ManVanFan]

Vancouver Canucks - In the System - Elite Prospects

Statistical overview of all Vancouver Canucks prospects.

www.eliteprospects.com

This is disappointing from a points perspective.

Management has been subpar in creating capital.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Vancouver Canucks - In the System - Elite Prospects

Statistical overview of all Vancouver Canucks prospects.

www.eliteprospects.com

This is disappointing from a points perspective.

Management has been subpar in creating capital.

I don't know how they could have created capital while attempting to deal with the "legacy" of the previous regime and icing a competitive team.
Maybe in retrospect, they could have held onto OEL and tried other ways to cope with the cap?
Maybe they should have refrained from pushing their chips in last season with Lindholm and Zadarov?
Maybe keep the 2023 17th OA instead of landing Hronek?
How happy would we be with that alternate version of the Canucks? Unknowable, I guess.

 

[ManVanFan]

I don't know how they could have created capital while attempting to deal with the "legacy" of the previous regime and icing a competitive team.
Maybe in retrospect, they could have held onto OEL and tried other ways to cope with the cap?
Maybe they should have refrained from pushing their chips in last season with Lindholm and Zadarov?
Maybe keep the 2023 17th OA instead of landing Hronek?
How happy would we be with that alternate version of the Canucks? Unknowable, I guess.

Maybe a little overstated on my part. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is a lot of useless fat in there. 48 out of 50 contracts. The "depth" isn't real depth.

Previous regime still plays a part on it. By the end of this year, they should be rid of most of that.

Still not a fan of the Lindholm trade. Maybe necessary but didn't really work out and that continued into this year. Petey still with no winger since Kuzmenko.

Looking at the need for decent 3rd pair defenders considering how not good Forbort and VD have been. Unfortunate not to be able to keep Z at least but price and years were always gonna make it tough.

Only player they signed last year was Felton. He isn't even playing.

Not a lot of moving forward, just status quo.

 

[credulous]

Vancouver Canucks - In the System - Elite Prospects

Statistical overview of all Vancouver Canucks prospects.

www.eliteprospects.com

This is disappointing from a points perspective.

Management has been subpar in creating capital.

i know this is a prospect board but i think posters have wildly unrealistic expectations for prospects. if you can get 2-3 nhl hopefuls out of a typical draft you are doing very well

in 2022 the canucks got lekkerimaki, elias nils pettersson and kudryavtsev who are all tracking at or ahead of expectations relative to where they were drafted. in 2023 they got willander who is obviously a very good prospect as well as brzustewicz who they turned -- in part -- into lindholm. also mynio and mueller who both still have a shot at the nhl. 2024 was a rough year in part because they didn't pick until nearly the 100s but if they get one real prospect out of the draft they'll be ahead of (my) expectations

i'm more skeptical about this management group than most but they have done well at the draft so far. even if both lekkerimaki and willander bust they still have a pretty good group of players

 

[Andy Dufresne]

i know this is a prospect board but i think posters have wildly unrealistic expectations for prospects. if you can get 2-3 nhl hopefuls out of a typical draft you are doing very well

in 2022 the canucks got lekkerimaki, elias nils pettersson and kudryavtsev who are all tracking at or ahead of expectations relative to where they were drafted. in 2023 they got willander who is obviously a very good prospect as well as brzustewicz who they turned -- in part -- into lindholm and mynio and mueller who both still have a shot at the nhl. 2024 was a rough year in part because they didn't pick until nearly the 100s but if they get one real prospect out of the draft they'll be ahead of (my) expectations

i'm more skeptical about this management group than most but they have done well at the draft so far. even if both lekkerimaki and willander bust they still have a pretty good group of players

I was with you 100%, right until that last part. Having top 15 picks bust just destroys everything else you got right.
Benning would have a decent/good draft record if it weren't for Virtanen and Juolevi. He takes Nylander and Tkachuk and his entire legacy probably looks different. Certainly the draft part does.

 

[credulous]

I was with you 100%, right until that last part. Having top 15 picks bust just destroys everything else you got right.
Benning would have a decent/good draft record if it weren't for Virtanen and Juolevi. He takes Nylander and Tkachuk and his entire legacy probably looks different. Certainly the draft part does.

sometimes players just bust though. i don't think it's necessarily an indictment of the scouting and drafting process

juolevi and virtanen were both physically capable of being nhlers and both had nothing obvious holding them back. both were maybe taken too high but if benning hadn't selected them some other team would have taken them shortly after. that they didn't succeed comes down to the post-draft development

virtanen had a poor work ethic and maybe relied too much on his physical attributes to ever really develop his skills and juolevi seemingly just had no headroom to grow his game and injuries derailed him. those aren't things you can easily scout

lekkerimaki and willander could miss the nhl just as easily for reasons that were hard or impossible to forsee. that doesn't mean the process that led to drafting them was bad however

 

[Jerry the great]

what's the deal with Jacob Truscott? wasn't he supposed to be a free agent in the summer? he's back at big blue for a 5th year (how is that even possible?)

 

[credulous]

what's the deal with Jacob Truscott? wasn't he supposed to be a free agent in the summer? he's back at big blue for a 5th year (how is that even possible?)

he is a free agent he just really likes ann arbor or he didn't get any offers. unless he was fast tracked to the nhl he's giving up ~$70k in ahl salary to play his 5th year at michigan. he probably thinks he can make it up in signing bonuses if he has a good year and signs in april or he doesn't expect to turn pro

 

[Andy Dufresne]

sometimes players just bust though. i don't think it's necessarily an indictment of the scouting and drafting process

juolevi and virtanen were both physically capable of being nhlers and both had nothing obvious holding them back. both were maybe taken too high but if benning hadn't selected them some other team would have taken them shortly after. that they didn't succeed comes down to the post-draft development

virtanen had a poor work ethic and maybe relied too much on his physical attributes to ever really develop his skills and juolevi seemingly just had no headroom to grow his game and injuries derailed him. those aren't things you can easily scout

lekkerimaki and willander could miss the nhl just as easily for reasons that were hard or impossible to forsee. that doesn't mean the process that led to drafting them was bad however

Yeah I completely agree. At the end of the day, the results are still the results though. Juolevi was the consensus #1 d-man in that draft, Virtanen was ranked around where we took him.
If you get hit by a bus, no matter who was at fault, if you did nothing wrong and were just unlucky. You still got hit by a bus.

 

[ManVanFan]

i know this is a prospect board but i think posters have wildly unrealistic expectations for prospects. if you can get 2-3 nhl hopefuls out of a typical draft you are doing very well

in 2022 the canucks got lekkerimaki, elias nils pettersson and kudryavtsev who are all tracking at or ahead of expectations relative to where they were drafted. in 2023 they got willander who is obviously a very good prospect as well as brzustewicz who they turned -- in part -- into lindholm. also mynio and mueller who both still have a shot at the nhl. 2024 was a rough year in part because they didn't pick until nearly the 100s but if they get one real prospect out of the draft they'll be ahead of (my) expectations

i'm more skeptical about this management group than most but they have done well at the draft so far. even if both lekkerimaki and willander bust they still have a pretty good group of players

I'd say management has been pretty average in drafting so far. At this point, Lekkerimaki, D-Petey, Willander, Mynio you could put in tracking to be an NHL player. Maybe you could include Kudryavstev if you are going to include players that project as 7/8 D. That's if they top out.

Aatu Raty is on the same projection pace as Nils Aman has been. Aman just cleared waivers.

Ty Mueller does not project to be an NHL player at all. He would have to make a massive leap.

 

[bandwagonesque]

he is a free agent he just really likes ann arbor or he didn't get any offers. unless he was fast tracked to the nhl he's giving up ~$70k in ahl salary to play his 5th year at michigan. he probably thinks he can make it up in signing bonuses if he has a good year and signs in april or he doesn't expect to turn pro

Michigan is also an extremely marketable alma mater and it's nowhere near certain Truscott will ever make more playing hockey than 70-150k/year in the AHL or Europe.

 

[LemonSauceD]

I’m very high on Mynio and to a slighter lesser extent Romani.

Mynio in particular projects as an NHL’er imo. Skating, iq, puck moving and defense pretty much guarantees him an eventual shot. Idk if it will be here or elsewhere but I’m pretty damn confident he plays 400-500 games at least.

 

[Breakers]

Super surprised BU stayed in the top 10

Probably the most undisciplined team in the NCAA
Garbage PK

4-3 record
SOS kept them in there

 

[Jerry the great]

sometimes players just bust though. i don't think it's necessarily an indictment of the scouting and drafting process

juolevi and virtanen were both physically capable of being nhlers and both had nothing obvious holding them back. both were maybe taken too high but if benning hadn't selected them some other team would have taken them shortly after. that they didn't succeed comes down to the post-draft development

virtanen had a poor work ethic and maybe relied too much on his physical attributes to ever really develop his skills and juolevi seemingly just had no headroom to grow his game and injuries derailed him. those aren't things you can easily scout

lekkerimaki and willander could miss the nhl just as easily for reasons that were hard or impossible to forsee. that doesn't mean the process that led to drafting them was bad however

D+1 seasons were a massive red flag for both. Trajectory was flat for Juolevi and down significantly for Virtanen. Both were on bust watch early. Juolevi's skating and timid play were major concerns that were identified early and became glaring deficiencies in his 2nd camp.

Players picked in the top quarter of the first round who don't dominate junior or whatever non NHL pro league they play in are immediate bust watch candidates. a second year of stagnation is a very worrying sign.

Lekkerimaki was also on bust watch early because of his poor D+1 season, but bounced back significantly in D+2 and his ability to generate offense in the AHL is encouraging.

Willander has tracked well out of the gate and if he busts it will likely be a serious injury that robs him of his mobility. If he stays healthy he's a lock to play hard minutes at ES and PK with some offensive upside. If the offense develops, he's a 25 min all sits stud IMO.

 

[Raistlin]

I was with you 100%, right until that last part. Having top 15 picks bust just destroys everything else you got right.
Benning would have a decent/good draft record if it weren't for Virtanen and Juolevi. He takes Nylander and Tkachuk and his entire legacy probably looks different. Certainly the draft part does.

Podkolzin is considered a bust for this regime right? Esp when most was expecting/pining for Boldy. Was doing nothing up until he was paired with McDavid-less Draisaitl. the return of a mid 4th is not necessarily value recouped. I dont know what to make of D+1 in the KHL.... they never get enough ice time to flourish immediately.

 

[Raistlin]

in 8 years, he messed up 3 of 5 top 10 picks. and traded away the rest while the team wasnt competitive. no. in hindsight, he wasnt even good with the one thing he was credited with being above average at.

 

[ManVanFan]

I’m very high on Mynio and to a slighter lesser extent Romani.

Mynio in particular projects as an NHL’er imo. Skating, iq, puck moving and defense pretty much guarantees him an eventual shot. Idk if it will be here or elsewhere but I’m pretty damn confident he plays 400-500 games at least.

TSN's director of scouting Craig Button has him as the 7th defencemen on Team Canada for the upcoming World Juniors.

 

[ManVanFan]

Super surprised BU stayed in the top 10

Probably the most undisciplined team in the NCAA
Garbage PK

4-3 record
SOS kept them in there

The forwards are lacking any top end talent really.

 

[credulous]

The forwards are lacking any top end talent really.

yeah they have no scoring depth and they really miss celebrini and luke tuch. eiserman has been underwhelming so far

 

[1440]

D+1 seasons were a massive red flag for both. Trajectory was flat for Juolevi and down significantly for Virtanen. Both were on bust watch early. Juolevi's skating and timid play were major concerns that were identified early and became glaring deficiencies in his 2nd camp.

Players picked in the top quarter of the first round who don't dominate junior or whatever non NHL pro league they play in are immediate bust watch candidates. a second year of stagnation is a very worrying sign.

Lekkerimaki was also on bust watch early because of his poor D+1 season, but bounced back significantly in D+2 and his ability to generate offense in the AHL is encouraging.

Willander has tracked well out of the gate and if he busts it will likely be a serious injury that robs him of his mobility. If he stays healthy he's a lock to play hard minutes at ES and PK with some offensive upside. If the offense develops, he's a 25 min all sits stud IMO.

Juolevi had a poor D+1, but a solid D+2 in Finland. I still think if he had managed to stay healthy he would have been an NHL player. Basically lost the ability to pivot in 1 direction and that was enough of a flaw to expose him at the NHL level.

Lekkerimaki's D+1 was poor entirely because of Mono and injuries. This was pretty obvious at the time because he got better and better as the season went on. When he returned to full health for the second round of the playoffs he put up 14 points (4 G 10 A) in the final 13 games against Bjorkloven and MODO. These were the top two teams in the Allsvenskan that year by a good margin and MODO was certainly better than the bottom feeders in the SHL at the time (which they proved by avoiding relegation with a similar team the next year), so this was essentially point per game play against SHL competition when the stakes were highest with promotion on the line. He was criticized for his showing at the WJC that year, but his underlying chance creation and scoring numbers were still among the best on the team despite him looking obviously not up to game speed and not getting much ice-time.

I watched most of his SHL games last year, and though he had a good season, finishing 7th in goal scoring with 19 goals in 46 games (first among U24 players as a 19 year old), he was also unlucky to only pick up 12 assists to go with his goals. You can check my post history on Lekkerimaki for more details, but basically he is a much better passer than these stats suggest, it was just that his linemates couldn't finish their opportunities and he played on a low scoring team overall.

All that said, he needed to come in to the AHL and put up close to PPG (>0.8 PPG) if he was going to have any likelihood of becoming a scorer at the NHL level. If he can continue to do so, which sure looks plausible based on his shot volume, then the Canucks likely have a bonafide top 6 calibre talent on their hands.

 

[Raistlin]

TSN's director of scouting Craig Button has him as the 7th defencemen on Team Canada for the upcoming World Juniors.

Please tell me we finally have a prospect that plays for TC. its been forever......since??? Gadjovich???

 

[ManVanFan]

yeah they have no scoring depth and they really miss celebrini and luke tuch. eiserman has been underwhelming so far

Ryan Greene is the teams top line center. I have liked his game since Chicago took him in the 2nd round but I see him topping out as a bottom 6 center. If that's your top center on most college teams, probably going to struggle a bit.

Really liked Sacha Boisvert's game when BU played UND. 18oa last season to Chicago as well. Chicago has taken a lot of centers over the past few drafts. One might fall through the cracks and become available later on for a little.

Please tell me we finally have a prospect that plays for TC. its been forever......since??? Gadjovich???

I honestly don't know. Mikey D, might be the last one. Can't believe Gadjovich is a SC champ.