Me and Frenchie decided to put up two today, as we're both on a role. As always, I did the Top 5, and Frenchie did the Bottom. Direct the hate accordingly. Also note, Buffalo is one of the better teams at developing their young guns.
All of this, done with video scouting, by the way.
1.
Zack Kassian, Right Wing
Windsor Spitfires, OHL
13th Overall, 2009, 20 years old
6’3, 215 lbs
Kassian is the very description of what a power forward is. A big bodied winger with a nasty edge to his game, Kassian can often find himself crossing the line in physical play. He’ll drop the mitts at any given time and can man handle others at will. He’s got a powerful stride with good top speed, but needs to work on his initial stride to become more explosive. He’s an opportunistic scorer with a nose for the net. At times, he’s a real leader on the ice.
Upside: Top Six Power Forward
NHL Comparable? Milan Lucic
2.
Joel Armia, Center/Right Wing
Assat, SM-liiga
16th Overall, 2011, 18 years old
6’3, 190 lbs
A goal scorer by trade, Armia is a big kid with the mobility that most his size don’t have. He has a long stride with generates good speed. While not overly physical, he uses his size well to protect the puck. He has a good understanding of the game, and vision on the ice. He can make plays with solid passes, though he’s a finisher through and through. Scoring goals seems to come natural for Armia. He’ll need to bulk up over the next few years.
Upside: Top Six Scoring Forward
NHL Comparable? Jeff Carter
3.
Mark Pysyk, Defense
Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL
23rd Overall, 2010, 19 years old
6’1, 188 lbs
While not overly large, Pysyk is a defensive defender. He uses mobility in all four directions as a tool against opposing forwards to angle them to the perimeter. His positioning is fairly sound, and he uses an active stick well to break up plays. Pysyk shows vision on the ice in consistently breaking the play out of the defensive end, though he’s not much of an offensive defenseman. He’ll need to get much stronger, as he’s shown some struggles with forwards along the boards and in front of the net.
Upside: 3-4 Defensive Defenseman
NHL Comparable? Mark Edouard Vlasic
4.
Brayden McNabb, Defense
Kootenay Ice, WHL
66th Overall, 2009, 20 years old
6’4, 218 lbs
One term to represent McNabb: rugged. He’s the first one to throw a big open ice hit, and then start hacking and whacking away at forwards trying to get to the net. He plays a mean in your face game. He’s also shown a lot of vision and hockey sense, with an underrated puck moving ability. He gets it up the ice well, and can play a PP role because of it. He’s got a good shot from the point, to add to that PP ability. He’s not a great skater, however, and has some troubles with faster opponents, though it’s become much better since his draft year.
Upside: 3-5 Shutdown Defenseman
NHL Comparable? Shea Weber, without the awesome beard, and Norris-abilities
5.
Daniel Catenacci, Center
Soo Greyhounds, OHL
77th Overall, 2011, 18 years old
5’10, 185 lbs
The ‘Cat’ has speed to burn, and uses that quick nature to be a two-way threat. He handles the puck well, and has a quick shot. He can make crisp tape-to-tape passes, and has the vision to be a playmaking forward. At times, he tends to do things on his own, and get in trouble for it. Defensively he gets in lanes, and uses his stick well. He’ll need to get stronger, as he can often be outmuscled.
Upside: Second Line Playmaking Two-Way Forward
NHL Comparable? Mike Cammalleri
6.
Luke Adam, Center,
Portland Pirates, AHL,
44th overall, 2008, 21 years old,
6’2, 201.
Adam is a strong center that just understands how to finish, he has that innate ability to get into the position to score and pot it in. He’s not afraid to grind in the corners and is very good at coming away with the puck. While he doesn’t posses much creativity he still has a lot of offensive upside in the single-mindedness of the way he plays driving to the net hard and using his hard shot to great rebounds. His skating is still his problem and despite efforts to get to NHL ready status he is still slow at accelerating. His play in front of the net will help him in the pro’s as he is fearless.
Upside: 2nd Line Grinding Forward
NHL Comparable: Eric Cole
7.
Marc-Andre Gragnani, Defenseman,
Portland Pirates, AHL,
87th overall, 2005, 24 years old,
6’2, 201.
Strong in the offensive zone Gragnani has the creativity and skill to master a PP and be very effective at 5vs5. He has a very hard shot that is extremely accurate to go along with excellent awareness and pinpoint passing skills. Gragnani has spent a long time developing and has found a great balance to his game, at one point he was considered a two-way guy with some offensive pop but has taken the next step to offensive dynamo. He is a smooth skater and is very effective at rushing the puck. Where people will find fault with him are his bad pinches and penchant for giveaways as he loves to speed up the play. In his own zone he is good but not great and likely won’t change at his age, he does like to block shots and like to hit forecheckers.
Upside: Top-4 Offensive Defenseman
NHL Comparable: Mark Giordano
8.
T.J. Brennan, Defenseman,
Portland Pirates, AHL,
31st overall, 2007, 22 years old,
6’0, 204.
If I could describe Brennan in one word it would be “bomb.” His physical style and his explosive shot are just nasty and his slapper has been recorded at 104 MPH. His skating is good and he can close players well but struggles in close where quicker players can dodge him. He loves to go for the big hit and this can cause him to knock himself out of the play and get out of position. When he isn’t pinching he is solid in his own end and muscles people around on the boards with his stout frame, he could work on his passing skills as they can be sloppy. He likes to shoot at any chance he can get which can leave him to becoming predictable.
Upisde: 4-6 Scoring Defenseman
NHL Comparable: Dion Phaneuf-Lite
9.
Marcus Foligno, Left Wing,
Sudbury Wolves, OHL,
104th overall, 2009, 20 years old,
6’2, 201.
He will never wow anybody with his skill but Foligno is a hard working physical grinder. He has made long strides in his commitment to his defensive game but it still isn’t where it needs to be despite the game style he plays. He has a heavy shot but is not very accurate with it and really excels around the net where he can jam away using his big frame. His vision isn’t great but his soft hands receive passes very well, the biggest issue is getting to scoring areas as he is cumbersome on the first strides. He has worked on getting grittier and it shows, especially in his leadership department where he took a big step last year.
Upisde: 3rd Line Contributor
NHL Comparable: Troy Brouwer
10.
Jérôme Gauthier-Leduc, Defenseman,
Rimouski Océanic, QMJHL,
68th overall, 2010, 19 years old,
6’1, 179.
Often accused of being a fourth forward Leduc has shown amazing offensive skills and insane creativity. He is a great puck rusher and has the hands to dangle most players, he pinches often and recklessly throwing most of his game into the offensive zone. He has an immensely accurate shot that is very hard and that he gets off very quickly with little windup. He is very poor in his own end currently and can be muscled off the puck easily by stronger players. He needs to bulk up and find his own zone.
Upside: 4-6 Offensive PP Defenseman
NHL Comparable: Marc-André Bergeron
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