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Top-10 Prospects : Predators (1-10) |
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The Nashville Predators after several seasons of promising progression as a tough to play hardnosed playoff contender lost Ryan Suter to Free Agency and had one of their worst seasons in a long time. They did however make some excellent moves like parlaying veteran winger Martin Erat for promising prospect Filip Forsberg, as well as continuing the idea of defense winning championships by drafting Seth Jones who dropped into their lap. They have a pretty strong prospect pool, though I would say that it is filled more with potential grinders and excellent bottom-6 players after the cream of the crop.
As per usual this list doesn’t include players with 50+ NHL game experience or a player who played the vast majority of this shortened year and became a “legitimate NHLer.” So Ryan Ellis, Craig Smith, Gabriel Bourque and Roman Josi are understandably not on here. Just covering my bases.
1. Seth Jones : Defenseman, 4th Overall, 2013, 18 years old, 6’4 209lbs, Portland Winterhawks in the WHL
It’s sort of pointless to really list all of Jones accomplishments; needless to say he fell in favour of forwards this past draft and might someday make people regret those decisions. The WHL Rookie of the Year and CHL Top Prospect Award winner has done nothing but win in his career so far. Be it the two U18 Gold’s, the U20 Gold or the WHL Championship. He’s been a captain at almost every level he has played and his mix of size and skill are phenomenal for a defenseman. Great mobility and two-way ability make him a threat as a potential number one defenseman. I think most would be hard pressed at the moment to name a better defensive prospect in the game. Expectations are high for him and many think that not only was he the most NHL ready of all the top 2013 picks, he’ll step into the Preds top-four.
Potential : Top-Pairing Two-Way Defenseman
2. Filip Forsberg : Right Wing, 11th Overall, 2012, 19 years old, 6’2 194lbs, Leksand in the Allsvenskan
Forsberg fell in his draft year from the top-5ish range he was normally ranked at and was picked up by the Capitals, as mentioned later he was the key component of the Erat deal and most believe that is something that will haunt the Caps later on. He’s a puck possession player first and foremost, being extremely difficult to take off the disk. He had a very strong final season in the Allsvenskan finishing as the second highest U20 scorer after another guy on this list with the highest PPG. He’s captained the U18 and just recently the U20 squad for Sweden being named a top-3 player on his team both times and winning the U18 Best Forward award during that tournament. He’s a high-end playmaker and creative forward with a lot of tools. While he is a two-way forward, he’s known for some terrible errors caused by forcing plays and holding on to the puck too long at ill-advised times. I’m personally not a big fan, I was convinced he would fall in his draft year especially after he was gifted top PP time for Sweden yet squandered it all tournament long…but that’s an aside, plus I’m an idiot. Next season he’s expected to play in the NHL.
Potential : Top-Six Winger (Top-liner for Nashville)
3. Mattias Ekholm : Defenseman, 102nd Overall, 2009, 23 years old, 6’4 210lbs, Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL
Ekholm is more of an offensive defender than anything else, though his defensive game isn’t terrible…just worrying at times. He had a very good chance of winning the AHL Rookie of the Year had he not suffered a minor injury which hampered his play for 10 or so games. He’s a very mobile player for his large size and is always complemented for his side to side skating ability. He has a good first pass and an excellent shot which makes him very effective on the PP. Physically he leaves you wanting more, I mean anybody at that size that isn’t some kind of wrecking ball does, but it’s an area he could improve. Oddly enough he looks better and more comfortable on the smaller ice than he did in Sweden, at least in the case of defensive reads and awareness. He won some hardware back in Sweden being named the Elitserien Rookie of the Year and the next season the Best Defenseman of the Year. Next season the hope is he will make the team out of camp, but the AHL is always an option.
Potential : Top-Four Two-Way Defenseman
4. Pontus Åberg : Left Wing, 37th Overall, 2012, 19 years old, 5’11 197lbs, Djurgården in the Allsvenskan
As mentioned in the Forsberg part, he finished second in Allsvenskan scoring by an U20 player, Åberg ended up being the top scorer with 12 goals 28 assists and 40 points in 52 games ending up being in 15th overall. He’s an extremely fast skating sniper that loves to burst down the wing, cut to the middle and fire. He proved a lot last season after being cut by his own coach who happened to be the U20 Swedish coach, after that his production skyrocketed. He needs to work on his defensive game and the fact that he tends to be a bit too much of a one trick shooter that needs to develop the rest of his game. Sometimes he’s physical and that’s when he’s at his best, when he isn’t afraid and getting into the play. This upcoming season he’s already playing in Färjestad in the Elitserien and has 1 goal and 3 points in the European Trophy tournament.
Potential : Top-Six Sniper
5. Miikka Salomäki : Centre/Left Wing, 52nd Overall, 2011, 20 years old, 5’11 203lbs, Kärpät in the SM-liiga
The Brad Marchand of Finland, Salomäki is a fast skating, two-way player that excels on the penalty kill that can move up and down the lineup playing in any situation, but has issues with discipline issues and the odd cheap shot. Some don’t think he’s very quick, but watching him in the European Trophy, he’s either hired a new skating coach or people were watching another guy, he’s fast and drives the net like a maniac. I really like him, I know he hasn’t had much ice-time in the SM-liiga thus far in his career, but he’s consistently a strong performer for Finland and compliments high skill extremely well with his style of play. Expectations are that this will be his final season in the SM-liiga before moving to North America.
Potential : Second/Third Line Agitating Scorer
6. Taylor Beck : Left Wing, 70th Overall, 2009, 22 years old, 6’2 207lbs, Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL
Despite having the size and strength to be a power forward, Beck is more of a scoring forward who plays well in the high percentage areas. He has been very good for the low scoring Admirals the past two seasons playing both seasons on the top line first coming in 3rd overall in scoring and this past season leading the team in points. He had a 16 game stint with the Preds and had a very solid showing with 7 points. He’s solid in both ends of the ice and isn’t one to skimp on his backchecks. The primary issue is that he isn’t exactly creative or skilled enough to be a really strong top-6 forward, yet he isn’t really a player designed for being the ideal bottom-6 guy, his skating is very average and grinders + speed is becoming more and more necessary as a combination. At the moment he is a tweener as it were. Obviously at only 22 he has done very well and improved his game to game consistency which was an issue when he was first drafted. Next season he will either make the Preds or start in the AHL and be the first call-up.
Potential : Second/Third Line Winger
7. Magnus Hellberg : Goalie, 38th Overall, 2011, 22 years old, 6’5 190lbs, Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL
The Predators have done a good job pulling random goalies out of nowhere to be very solid to great players and it looks like they have hit the mark again with their overage selection of Hellberg. When drafted he was known as a very raw goalie with massive size, amazing reflexes and movement, but a lack of anything close to a real “style.” He moved to North America this past season and was one of the best goalies in the league posting a 2.14GAA and a .924SV% in 39 games stealing the starting position by the end of the year from Jeremy Smith who was their starter last season. He’s ranked as the 11th best goalie prospect in the league by the Goalie Guild. Next season he will again play in the AHL and probably get the brunt of the starts if this isn’t simply a flash in the pan.
Potential : Starting Goalie
8. Austin Watson : Right Wing, 18th Overall, 2010, 21 years old, 6’3 190lbs, Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL
I don’t know if Watson will ever be able to live up to his draft position, but he’s still a strong prospect. He has the size and strength, plus the do it all kind of game that will carve him out a career. He’s a great penalty killer and the kind of player that you send out to try and shutdown the opponents best players. He’s a strong skater with good top-end speed which is key going with his defensive instincts. His offensive game isn’t really that great, he has a good shot and likes to go to the net, but he doesn’t create a lot. He did end up leading the Admirals in goals scored with 20 and at the next level he’s expected to be the kind of all-purpose player that can play extremely tough minutes while providing 13-20 goals like a bigger Lauri Korpikoski. Next season he should start in the AHL.
Potential : Third Line All-Purpose Winger
9. Zach Budish : Right Wing, 41st Overall, 2009, 22 years old, 6’3 219lbs, University of Minnesota in the NCAA
To avoid sounding like a broken record, Budish is yet another defensively strong big winger that brings a little offense, but ultimately leaves you wanting more in that regard. He captained the Golden Gophers and was a part of that ridiculous top-6 though he didn’t produce as much as he had the previous season. He plays a lot in front of the net and plays a strong complimentary role as the grinder of his line that can cause trouble for defensemen. The make or break point will be his skating as he’s slow, something that might limit him going forward. He has yet to really show that he can be “the guy” at least in his four years of NCAA time. Next season he will play his first full pro season in the AHL.
Potential : Third Line Two-Way Scorer
10. Brendan Leipsic : Left Wing, 89th Overall, 2012, 19 years old, 5’8 167lbs, Portland Winterhawks in the WHL
Leipsic gained a lot of notoriety as he and linemate Nicolas Petan of the Jets led the WHL in goals and CHL in scoring with 120 points, Leipsic technically getting the edge as he had 49 goals to Petan’s 46 in 3 less games played. He did more than double his points in what can only be called a perfect season for the diminutive forward. The interesting thing is that he is a chippy player and isn’t afraid to mouth off and be a pest against bigger opponents, nor take some selfish retaliation penalties. Size mixed with that kind of fire is a tricky thing to manage, sometimes it works out very well, others…ya. He needs to work on his defensive game, and prove that playing on the best line in the CHL with two guys generally considered better prospects than him along with an All-Star cast on defense has not inflated his numbers beyond reasonable levels as this is a massive leap in production. It will be interesting to see how he does against pros, which is something he will do after next season as he will finish his WHL career with Portland.
Potential : Top-Six Scorer (A lot of questions)
Notables :
Chet Pickard (Drafted 18th overall in 2008 as their future number one…well he’s been brutal in the ECHL and fled to the Allsvenskan, the 23 year old winner of two WHL Best Goalie and one CHL Best Goalie Awards is not a complete write off…but he’s getting there)
Colton Sissons (He’s a leader and a grinder, he plays every shift like it’s his last and is a heart and soul kind of guy, he’s a shooter first and doesn’t have much in the way of offensive creativity, at the next level he could be a physical grinder that can pot home 10-15 goals while providing a two-way spark)
Zach Stepan (The cousin of Derek, Stepan is a longterm project player and is still 4 years away at least…unless he changes his plan, he was a member of the best line in the USHL last season and despite his lanky frame at 6’0 162lbs he plays hard and goes to the hard areas, it will be interesting to see his development)
Jonathan Ismael-Diaby (Massive defensive defender, loves to play physical and pay attention to his own zone, offers pretty much no offensive ability, could be a bottom-pairing shutdown player)
Juuse Saros (Top ranked European Goalie in the 2013 draft fell far because he’s only 5’11, he’s tiny for a modern day goalie and will need to prove that his excellent skills can translate in a bigger man’s game, he won the U18 Best Goaltender en route to leading Finland to a Bronze Medal finish, also won a large amount of awards in the Jr. A level of Finland)
Jimmy Vesey (Talented scorer on one of the lowest scoring teams in the NCAA, had a solid showing in this past U20’s for the Gold Winning Americans, issue is that he’s a slow skating sniper…something rare in the NHL these days, amazing shot and very deadly on the PP, but skating is make or break)
Max Görtz (Now playing on a line with Åberg, the 20 year old big winger is a shoot first player with nice puck possession skills, loves to get to the net and screen goalies to frustration on the PP, having a really strong showing in the European Trophy Tournament with 3 goals and 4 points already)
Thanks for reading.
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