The Never Too Early 2021 NHL Entry Draft Discussion

[horner]

Tsn draft rankings 59
Matthew Knies lw 6'3 200 lbs
Strength
Size
Shot
Goes to the tough areas

Needs to work on his first step

Your thoughts

 

[LaPlante94]

Tsn draft rankings 56
Roman Schmidt D 6'5" 200 lbs
Strengths
Skating , strength and hockey sense
What's your thoughts

Don't know anything about him but if Skating and hockey sense are 2 of his 3 strengths then I think he's definitely on our radar in some capacity since those are the main 2 things Dubas looks for in prospects. Strength is a huge bonus because we do lack that in our prospect pool.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Tsn draft rankings 56
Roman Schmidt D 6'5" 200 lbs
Strengths
Skating , strength and hockey sense
What's your thoughts

Lack of production is a concern but I think he has more to offer than Tyler Kleven offensively. Maybe even more than Alex Vlasic.

I think you can easily project Schmidt onto those two guys though, so it gives you a nice reference point of what he can be.

I'd probably put him in the top 75 more than the top 50 for me personally, just like I did with Kleven, but I wouldn't be surprised if he goes somewhere in the 30s by a team who loves defensemen with size.

Could just be me but I think Logan Mailloux has more offensive upside and while he may be a little bit more raw in certain areas (i.e. skating), he could yield a better reward. Probably more physical than Schmidt too if that is your fancy.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

A couple of recent draft rankings.

DRAFTPRO – SPRING 2021 NHL DRAFT RANKINGS – DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY

Owen Power the unanimous No. 1 in TSN’s mid-season draft rankings - TSN.ca

Interesting side effect of this weird Covid year.... the top OHL prospects all seem to have played overseas. This will mean that they can go straight to the AHL next year, if their drafting team believes that is what's best for their development, where normally they'd have to go back to the OHL.

***It's been suggested that the above might not be the case, as players were "loaned" by the OHL teams, who still retain their rights....

I really don't know.

I think it is a little bit premature for these rankings when the U18 tournament, which starts in less than a week, is going to determine a lot for these guys.

 

[Fogelhund]

 

[Mickey Marner]

Damn.

Shane Wright will be almost (if not) 18 when he plays his next OHL game.

 

[diehardleafsfan9878]

Any bets on the Leafs drafting Justin Robidas? Stephane Robidas son. Anyone have any insight on him?

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Any bets on the Leafs drafting Justin Robidas? Stephane Robidas son. Anyone have any insight on him?

His size is a major issue. He plays hard, and he should grow a little bit as he gets older (his father was 5'11") but 5'7" limits your effectiveness. Defensive effort/skill is poor, and I doubt he plays center in the pros.

Excellent skater, great IQ, but I don't think his offensive skills are elite. Very good, but not elite.

He is definitely a top 125 prospect. Probably even a top 100 guy. Not convinced he is a clear cut top 75 and he is definitely not top 50. We saw Nybeck fall to 115 last year. Miettinen fell even further. Gushchin went 76 and Simontaival went 66. Not sure he is any better than the latter two, so I think mid-late 3rd round is his peak. That pretty much takes him off our list unless we acquire a 3rd or 4th round pick.

 

[Fogelhund]

His size is a major issue. He plays hard, and he should grow a little bit as he gets older (his father was 5'11") but 5'7" limits your effectiveness. Defensive effort/skill is poor, and I doubt he plays center in the pros.

Excellent skater, great IQ, but I don't think his offensive skills are elite. Very good, but not elite.

He is definitely a top 125 prospect. Probably even a top 100 guy. Not convinced he is a clear cut top 75 and he is definitely not top 50. We saw Nybeck fall to 115 last year. Miettinen fell even further. Gushchin went 76 and Simontaival went 66. Not sure he is any better than the latter two, so I think mid-late 3rd round is his peak. That pretty much takes him off our list unless we acquire a 3rd or 4th round pick.

What's your thoughts on Martino? Likely out of our reach with our current second round pick though.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

What's your thoughts on Martino? Likely out of our reach with our current second round pick though.

Surprisingly haven't seen him much, even though I have been tracking him since last year when he was the 3rd most productive OJHLer. He is one of the oldest guys in this draft and he is going to Clarkson, which is not exactly a place which produces a ton of NHL talent.

He is not top 25, but he should be top 50... and likely taken before the 40's too. People will like his speed, IQ, and creativity combination even if he doesn't have an elite shot and size. I also doubt he is a center and he needs to work more on his structured defensive commitment (most reports say he just runs around and uses his speed to break up lanes).

 

[SeaOfBlue]

What's your thoughts on Martino? Likely out of our reach with our current second round pick though.

Two guys to keep an eye out for in the U18 tournament would be Ryan Winterton and Wyatt Johnston. Winterton is more of a mid-late 3rd round pick prospect right now, but I think a strong tournament puts him in our range. Johnston is right in our range right now as a late 2nd/early 3rd round guy.

Both are very similar prospects. Fleet-footed two-way playmaking right-handed centers who project to be strong faceoff guys (~50% as OHL rookies is impressive). Need work on their shots and need to bulk up. I think they end up as solid late 2nd round prospects and better than any center we have in our pool right now.

 

[Fogelhund]

Surprisingly haven't seen him much, even though I have been tracking him since last year when he was the 3rd most productive OJHLer. He is one of the oldest guys in this draft and he is going to Clarkson, which is not exactly a place which produces a ton of NHL talent.

He is not top 25, but he should be top 50... and likely taken before the 40's too. People will like his speed, IQ, and creativity combination even if he doesn't have an elite shot and size. I also doubt he is a center and he needs to work more on his structured defensive commitment (most reports say he just runs around and uses his speed to break up lanes).

He played in the USHL this year I believe.

2020-21

Omaha Lancers

USHL

36

18

36

54

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[SeaOfBlue]

He played in the USHL this year I believe.

2020-21

Omaha Lancers

USHL

36

18

36

54

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

I was talking about 2019-2020 when he was in the OJHL.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Top Guys
LD Simon Edvinsson (Sweden)
LD Anton Olsson (Sweden)
C Liam Dower Nilsson (Sweden)
LW/RW Isak Rosen (Sweden)
RW Simon Robertsson (Sweden)
RW Fabien Lysell (Sweden)
LW William Stromgren (Sweden)
RD Corson Ceulemans (Canada)
LD Olen Zellweger (Canada)
LD Carson Lambos (Canada)
RD Brandt Clarke (Canada)
LW/RW Dylan Guenther (Canada)
LW Connor Roulette (Canada)
C Cole Sillinger (Canada)
LW Logan Stankoven (Canada)
LD Sean Behrens (USA)
RD Ty Gallagher (USA)
LD Aidan Hreschuk (USA)
RD Roman Schmidt (USA)
LD Aleksi Malinen (Finland)
LD Topias Vilen (Finland)
C/LW Samu Salminen (Finland)
LD Stanislav Svozil (Czechia)
C Dmitri Katelevsky (Russia)
C/RW Fedor Svechkov (Russia)
RW Nikita Chibrikov (Russia)

Need Big Tournaments
RW Ilya Ivantsov (Russia)
LW Matvei Petrov (Russia)
RW Prokhor Poltapov (Russia)
G Kirill Gerasimyuk (Russia)
C Vsevolod Gaidamak (Russia)
C Daniil Lazutin (Russia)
G Braden Holt (USA)
G Aku Koskenvuo (Finland)
C Oliver Kapanen (Finland)
RW/LW Ville Koivunen (Finland)
RW Samu Tuomaala (Finland)
C Brett Harrison (Canada)
G Ben Gaudreau (Canada)
C Wyatt Johnson (Canada)
C Mason McTavish (Canada)
LW Brennan Othmann (Canada)
C Francesco Pinelli (Canada)
G Thomas Milic (Canada) * if given a chance
LD Ethan Del Mastro (Canada)
RD Jack Matier (Canada)
LD Guillaume Richard (Canada)
RW Chase Stillman (Canada)
C Ryan Winterton (Canada)
LD Dmitri Kuzmin (Belarus)
RD Victor Sjoholm (Sweden)
RW Oliver Moberg (Sweden)
G Carl Lindbom/G Viggo Andren (Sweden) *Depends who is starting; likely the former.
C Arvid Eljas (Sweden)
C Jakub Brabenec (Czechia)
LW Martin Rysavy (Czechia)
G Patrik Hamrla/G Tomas Suchanek (Czechia) *Depends who is starting
LD Nikolai Makarov (Russia)
LD Nikita Novikov (Russia)
LW Dmitri Buchelnikov (Russia)
G Nikita Quapp (Germany)
LD Jimi Suomi (Finland)
LW Kalle Vaisanen (Finland)

For 2022 or 2023
C Connor Bedard (Canada; 2023)
C Shane Wright (Canada; 2022)
C Danny Zhilkin (Canada; 2022)
G Tyler Brennan (Canada; 2022) *Likely not playing however.
LD Oskar Asplund (Sweden; 2022)
LD Simon Forsmark (Sweden; 2022)
RD Mattias Havelid (Sweden; 2022)
RD Elias Salomonsson (Sweden; 2022)
C Noah Ostlund (Sweden; 2022)
C/LW Ludwig Persson (Sweden; 2022)
C/LW Gabriel Kangas (Sweden; 2022)
C Julian Lutz (Germany; 2022)
LD Adrian Klein (Germany; 2022)
LD Lane Hutson (USA; 2022)
C Logan Cooley (USA; 2022)
RW Jack Devine (USA; 2022)
LW Isaac Howard (USA; 2022)
LW Jack Hughes (USA; 2022)
C Rutger McGroarty (USA; 2022)
RW Charlie Stramel (USA; 2023)
RD Kasper Kulonummi (Finland; 2022)
C Brad Lambert (Finland; 2022)
RW Joakim Kemell (Finland; 2022)
RW Miko Matikka (Finland; 2022)
LW Rasmus Ruusunen (Finland; 2022)
LD Tomas Hamara (Czechia; 2022)
RD David Jiricek (Czechia; 2022)
RD Vlad Sapunov (Russia; 2022)
LD Artyom Duda (Russia; 2022)
LD Arseni Koromyslov (Russia; 2022)
C Ilya Kvochko (Russia; 2022)
RW Matvei Michkov (Russia; 2023)
LW Ivan Miroshnichenko (Russia; 2022)
RW Danila Yurov (Russia; 2022)

To clarify one thing: Just because you are in the first tier does not mean you are better than the second tier. I have not finalized my rankings yet. The second tier is reserved for guys who I think are either fringe guys who are fighting to get drafted or could have their lofty stock seriously drop if they struggle. I don't think the first tier guys have their stock drop nearly as severely if they don't meet expectations, but obviously anyone on these lists can have their stock go up if exceed expectations.

 

[diehardleafsfan9878]

Top Guys
LD Simon Edvinsson (Sweden)
LD Anton Olsson (Sweden)
C Liam Dower Nilsson (Sweden)
LW/RW Isak Rosen (Sweden)
RW Simon Robertsson (Sweden)
RW Fabien Lysell (Sweden)
LW William Stromgren (Sweden)
RD Corson Ceulemans (Canada)
LD Olen Zellweger (Canada)
LD Carson Lambos (Canada)
RD Brandt Clarke (Canada)
LW/RW Dylan Guenther (Canada)
LW Connor Roulette (Canada)
C Cole Sillinger (Canada)
LW Logan Stankoven (Canada)
LD Sean Behrens (USA)
RD Ty Gallagher (USA)
LD Aidan Hreschuk (USA)
RD Roman Schmidt (USA)
LD Aleksi Malinen (Finland)
LD Topias Vilen (Finland)
C/LW Samu Salminen (Finland)
LD Stanislav Svozil (Czechia)
C Dmitri Katelevsky (Russia)
C/RW Fedor Svechkov (Russia)
RW Nikita Chibrikov (Russia)

Need Big Tournaments
RW Ilya Ivantsov (Russia)
LW Matvei Petrov (Russia)
RW Prokhor Poltapov (Russia)
G Kirill Gerasimyuk (Russia)
C Vsevolod Gaidamak (Russia)
C Daniil Lazutin (Russia)
G Braden Holt (USA)
G Aku Koskenvuo (Finland)
C Oliver Kapanen (Finland)
RW/LW Ville Koivunen (Finland)
RW Samu Tuomaala (Finland)
C Brett Harrison (Canada)
G Ben Gaudreau (Canada)
C Wyatt Johnson (Canada)
C Mason McTavish (Canada)
LW Brennan Othmann (Canada)
C Francesco Pinelli (Canada)
G Thomas Milic (Canada) * if given a chance
LD Ethan Del Mastro (Canada)
RD Jack Matier (Canada)
LD Guillaume Richard (Canada)
RW Chase Stillman (Canada)
C Ryan Winterton (Canada)
LD Dmitri Kuzmin (Belarus)
RD Victor Sjoholm (Sweden)
RW Oliver Moberg (Sweden)
G Carl Lindbom/G Viggo Andren (Sweden) *Depends who is starting; likely the former.
C Arvid Eljas (Sweden)
C Jakub Brabenec (Czechia)
LW Martin Rysavy (Czechia)
G Patrik Hamrla/G Tomas Suchanek (Czechia) *Depends who is starting
LD Nikolai Makarov (Russia)
LD Nikita Novikov (Russia)
LW Dmitri Buchelnikov (Russia)
G Nikita Quapp (Germany)
LD Jimi Suomi (Finland)
LW Kalle Vaisanen (Finland)

For 2022 or 2023
C Connor Bedard (Canada; 2023)
C Shane Wright (Canada; 2022)
C Danny Zhilkin (Canada; 2022)
G Tyler Brennan (Canada; 2022) *Likely not playing however.
LD Oskar Asplund (Sweden; 2022)
LD Simon Forsmark (Sweden; 2022)
RD Mattias Havelid (Sweden; 2022)
RD Elias Salomonsson (Sweden; 2022)
C Noah Ostlund (Sweden; 2022)
C/LW Ludwig Persson (Sweden; 2022)
C/LW Gabriel Kangas (Sweden; 2022)
C Julian Lutz (Germany; 2022)
LD Adrian Klein (Germany; 2022)
LD Lane Hutson (USA; 2022)
C Logan Cooley (USA; 2022)
RW Jack Devine (USA; 2022)
LW Isaac Howard (USA; 2022)
LW Jack Hughes (USA; 2022)
C Rutger McGroarty (USA; 2022)
RW Charlie Stramel (USA; 2023)
RD Kasper Kulonummi (Finland; 2022)
C Brad Lambert (Finland; 2022)
RW Joakim Kemell (Finland; 2022)
RW Miko Matikka (Finland; 2022)
LW Rasmus Ruusunen (Finland; 2022)
LD Tomas Hamara (Czechia; 2022)
RD David Jiricek (Czechia; 2022)
RD Vlad Sapunov (Russia; 2022)
LD Artyom Duda (Russia; 2022)
LD Arseni Koromyslov (Russia; 2022)
C Ilya Kvochko (Russia; 2022)
RW Matvei Michkov (Russia; 2023)
LW Ivan Miroshnichenko (Russia; 2022)
RW Danila Yurov (Russia; 2022)

To clarify one thing: Just because you are in the first tier does not mean you are better than the second tier. I have not finalized my rankings yet. The second tier is reserved for guys who I think are either fringe guys who are fighting to get drafted or could have their lofty stock seriously drop if they struggle. I don't think the first tier guys have their stock drop nearly as severely if they don't meet expectations, but obviously anyone on these lists can have their stock go up if exceed expectations.

Just like to point out the shear volume of defenders at the top of this years draft. The last time this happened, the majority of them busted (2012)

 

[Stephen]

His size is a major issue. He plays hard, and he should grow a little bit as he gets older (his father was 5'11") but 5'7" limits your effectiveness. Defensive effort/skill is poor, and I doubt he plays center in the pros.

Excellent skater, great IQ, but I don't think his offensive skills are elite. Very good, but not elite.

He is definitely a top 125 prospect. Probably even a top 100 guy. Not convinced he is a clear cut top 75 and he is definitely not top 50. We saw Nybeck fall to 115 last year. Miettinen fell even further. Gushchin went 76 and Simontaival went 66. Not sure he is any better than the latter two, so I think mid-late 3rd round is his peak. That pretty much takes him off our list unless we acquire a 3rd or 4th round pick.

Any similarities to Samuel Girard at the same age? That guy's a smurf too but so good. Robidas' numbers look like they're in the same ballpark.

 

[Stephen]

Would be interested to see if the Leafs can recoup a volume of mid round picks and hope they have some lottery tickets for such a unique draft.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Any similarities to Samuel Girard at the same age? That guy's a smurf too but so good. Robidas' numbers look like they're in the same ballpark.

Well Samuel Girard is a defenseman and Justin Robidas is a forward so it would be a major stretch to compare them.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Just like to point out the shear volume of defenders at the top of this years draft. The last time this happened, the majority of them busted (2012)

Rielly, Lindholm, Dumba, and Trouba did not bust.

 

[Stephen]

Well Samuel Girard is a defenseman and Justin Robidas is a forward so it would be a major stretch to compare them.

For some reason I thought he was a defenseman like his dad. Scratch that!

 

[diehardleafsfan9878]

Rielly, Lindholm, Dumba, and Trouba did not bust.

Bust was maybe to strong of a word, but rather haven't lived up to potention. Rielly had the 1 year, but I am convinced now he is nothing more than a #3 offensive guy. People talk about Dumba as a top end guy but nobody really believes it. And then you have Murray, maatta, ceci, koekkoek, matheson, (under achieved not busts), Reinhart, pouliot, schmaltz. Trouba, lindholm, skjei, are the 3 that have lived up to or surpassed their draft expectation. I guess that's fine and normal, but the expectation of that draft for the defenders was insane.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

If you want to know how the top Belarusian prospect in the 2021 draft is doing in the U18's...



EDIT: And he is a defenseman. Not a big one, but a defenseman nonetheless.

 

[Fogelhund]

Tsn draft rankings 56
Roman Schmidt D 6'5" 200 lbs
Strengths
Skating , strength and hockey sense
What's your thoughts

Hockey, Not Figure Skating, Worked Out for Roman Schmidt

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Prominence]

If you want to know how the top Belarusian prospect in the 2021 draft is doing in the U18's...



EDIT: And he is a defenseman. Not a big one, but a defenseman nonetheless.

He’s who i want the leafs to draft with a late pick, but if he keeps tearing it up, he may be drafted too high.