Most of the mid-season rankings are out. Time for another iteration of the Canes 2020 draft. The good news is entering the break Toronto is outside the playoff cut line.
1st (Toronto) 12-15 range: Connor Zary. If this pick remains in this range the choice seems to come down to Zary, Jack Quinn, and Dylan Holloway.
Zary gets high marks for his playmaking and work ethic. So he gets the nod.
Though if Quinn continues to play like he has in the past month he could pass Zary. Quinn is a goal-scorer who is known as a tenacious player in all zones and a quality penalty-killer.
Holloway is the best skater of the three and has been a top-15 prospect longer.
All there turned 18 in September so are among the oldest first-year eligibles (more on that later).
1st 25 or so: If the TML pick remains 12-15, then this pick should be a real swing-for-the-fences selection. Of course, it is difficult to say who will be available in this range. I prefer two strong skaters. Jan Mysak or John-Jason Peterka. Mysak is my choice. He played in the Czech men's league as a 16 and 17-year-old. This season his numbers were similar to Necas' draft year numbers. He played in the WJC20 and then transferred to the CHL, it will be informative how well he performs on NA ice.
Peterka is one of the quickest forwards in the draft with a knack for scoring.
2nd (NYR): Joni Jurmo. Jurmo remains where I had him earlier. A big (6'3") defenseman whose speed is rated as "excellent" by HockeyProspect.com.
2nd: Another choice based on upside—Brett Berard. He is on the smaller side (5'9", 155) but wows scouts who see him. He is just beginning to show up on lists around 80. But I think it makes sense to pick him around 60. He is another excellent skater who is one of the top point producers on this year's USNTDP U18 team. As one of the younger players available (Sept. 9 birthday), he likely has more developmental upside than many older players.
3rd (Buffalo): Another young player with high upside is also one of the tallest players in the draft—Jack Finley. He has more than doubled his production from 18-19 and is strong in the face-off circle.
3rd: As Vagrant mentioned in another thread, it makes sense to limit penalties, especially from defensemen. In 96 junior games, Ronan Seeley has taken 4 penalties. Seeley has an August birthday. This year he has almost tripled his scoring (9 points in 52 games last year, 22 in 44 this year).
4th: Since Jurmo and Seeley are left-shot defenders it makes sense to draft a right-shot defender. Axel Kumlin is another highly disciplined defender—only 4 penalties in 51 SuperElit games the past two seasons.
7th: Waiting to take the obligatory goalie. Koen MacKinnes has been used mostly as a backup this season, but outside of one poor outing, has been well above average. He has good size and, according to those who have watched him, has decent NHL potential.
7th: Oops, need an over-ager. I liked Thomas Pelletier last season and the Canes thought enough of him to invite him to prospect camp. He has signficantly increased his goal-scoring. Since he is big (6'3', 194) and a right-shot D, this picks has tons of value.