|
Top-10 Prospects : Blues (1-10) |
|
|
|
|
|
Wow it's finally over...
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 for this list Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko and Ian Cole are off…the first two really would help this list.
1. Ty Rattie : Right Wing, 32nd Overall, 2011, 20 years old, 6’0 181lbs, Portland Winterhawks in the WHL
The past two seasons it would be hard to argue for a more dominant offensive player in the WHL other than Rattie, especially with the way he has elevated his game in the playoffs. He’s a high octane scorer with an excellent shot and seemingly increasing creativity in his playmaking abilities. Though he’s still lanky, his size isn’t an issue and shouldn’t be down the road after another year or so of development. The past two playoffs in the WHL he has gone almost a goal per game first with 19 in 21 then 20 in 21 winning the Playoffs MVP this past season. His skating is ever improving but he certainly isn’t a speedster of note, it’s one of the things he needs to continue to work on. Defensively he’s been described as solid at his current level and that his hard work and production outweighs any negatives in that regard. After torching the WHL it will be interesting to see if he can bring that same scoring prowess to the next level at the AHL.
Potential : Top-Six Sniper
2. Jordan Schmaltz : Defenseman, 25th Overall, 2012, 19 years old, 6’2 186lbs, University of North Dakota in the NCAA
Playing bottom pairing minutes in his rookie season behind a pretty strong group of defenders (Simpson of Edmonton, Gleason of Chicago, Forbort of LA, Mattson of Chicago and MacWilliam of Toronto) didn’t really help showcase the very talented offensive prowess that Schmaltz brings, yet he still managed to have a very successful year for an 18-19 year old. Though his play in his draft year was viewed as “stagnation” from the previous one which had him getting early hype for a top-10 pick, he has added more defensive awareness to his game which he will need later on. He’s a really strong skater and loves to rush the puck forward and lead the attack. Though he wasn’t tasked with it this season he is an excellent PP QB (as he showed in the USHL) providing slick passes and offering a quick and accurate shot. He’s still slight of build and a bit easy to muscle off the puck so he will need to work on that. There is a lot of talent in this guy, just needs the minutes to prove it…which he should get as Gleason, MacWilliam and Forbort are all gone.
Potential : Top-Four Offensive Defenseman
3. Dmitrij Jaskin : Right Wing, 41st Overall, 2011, 20 years old, 6’3 203lbs, Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL
After a really poor season after his draft year in the Czech Extraliga, he made the move to the QMJHL and had the kind of dominant year he really needed to prove that he is still a very strong prospect. He ended the year with an impressive 46 goals in 51 games which was good for fourth in the league…though he was on pace for far more than the others. He also had a strong showing in the U20’s and was arguably the best player for them. He plays a power forward game and is willing to engage physically, he also brings an amazing snap shot and nose for the net. He’s shown a lot of offensive creativity and works well one on one against defenders. His skating is the only blip on the radar and it is still an area he needs to improve as like a lot of bigger forwards he takes a bit more time to get to full speed. Next season he will play in the AHL and hope to continue this trend…I like that he looks a lot better in the North American game than he did back in the Czech Republic.
Potential : Second Line Power Forward
4. Jani Hakanpää : Defenseman, 104th Overall, 2010, 21 years old, 6’5 221lbs, Blues in the SM-liiga
The big physical defender has come a long way since he was drafted. His skating which was glacial at best has improved to the point where he’s still vulnerable, but can usually catch his man with his size before they go around him. As mentioned, he’s big and mean and logs a lot of penalty kill time. His offensive upside is not very high, but he’s shown that he can make some intelligent passes and that he has a very hard…but unpredictable shot. He definitely isn’t the sexiest player out there, but he has the looks of a guy who will have a long NHL career as a smart defensive defender. Next season he will play again in the AHL, last season he only played 14 games before being injured after leaving Blues.
Potential : Four-Six Shutdown Defenseman
5. Jake Allen : Goalie, 34th Overall, 2008, 23 years old, 6’1 192lbs, St. Louis Blues in the NHL
Allen had an impressive junior career and while he has been a bit inconsistent in the AHL, his brief stint in the NHL has given some hope back to him being a valid goalie prospect…especially with that save of the year. He was ranked as the 8th best goalie prospect by the Goalie Guild. He’s the solid butterfly goalie who likes to cover the low parts of the net and push side to side with speed. His rebound control is still a bit of an issue. Consistency will be the key for Allen as he goes through some Brian Boucher levels of streaks, being unbeatable for 10-15 games then being less than ordinary for the next…something that separates a backup goalie from a starter in the NHL. Next season will be interesting for Allen as this is the last year on the contracts of both Halak and Elliot…he could find his way on the team at some point.
Potential : Starting Goalie (still iffy)
6. William Carrier : Left Wing, 57th Overall, 2013, 18 years old, 6’2 196lbs, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the QMJHL
Carrier is a personal favourite and was on pace to fight with the top scorers of the Q (MacKinnon/Drouin/Mantha/Zykov and so on) if not for an ankle injury. He played on the extremely weak Eagles where he and later traded Lavoie were the only two players really doing anything. Carrier has shown some solid defensive ability to go with his scoring upside. He’s got solid skating and excellent acceleration. One area people wonder about is that can he maintain consistency? He has been known to disappear for 4 games before a 3 point night and a string of points, only to go another few games sans points. He engages physically as well so that is a major plus with his size. He’s had two excellent seasons in the Q on a garbage team and he’s really impressed me…I think he’s going to be a steal at 57 and never would have gone so low had he not been shut down for the season so early. This season he is playing again for the Screaming Eagles and already has 3 points in 2 games.
Potential : Top-Six Scorer
7. Jordan Binnington : Goalie, 88th Overall, 2011, 20 years old, 6’1 163lbs, Owen Sound Attack in the OHL
Binnington had a big year and was a serious candidate for CHL Goaltender of the Year, in the end however he only won the OHL Goaltender of the Year and was named to the First All-Star Team. He had a fantastic final season in the OHL and improved the one thing that seemed to really hold him back…consistency. Between his Memorial Cup Most Outstanding Goaltender winning year to now he was extremely hot/cold never being able to put his string of amazing performances together from the seemingly inevitable fall. He’s very athletic and most extremely quickly, he’s known for making some highlight reel saves. He’s got a bit of a bad reputation for letting in that “stinker” usually when he’s trying too hard to go down into the butterfly. Regardless, he had a great season and will hope to continue his upward trend in the AHL if he can stick as the backup.
Potential : Starting Goalie
8. Joel Edmundson : Defenseman, 46th Overall, 2011, 20 years old, 6’4 206lbs, Kamloops Blazers in the WHL
Edmundson is the poster boy for WHL defensemen. He’s big, strong, plays with an edge and will drop the gloves whenever he feels it necessary. He’s a mobile defender and is an above-average skater which helps him in his shutdown duties. While after his trade to the Blazers his production took a crazy step (scored as many goals in Kamloops than he did in the previous two season in Moose Jaw), it’s a really small sample size to say definitively that he has added some offense to his game. His ceiling isn’t all that high, but his play style and mobility should land him an NHL job as a tough stay at home defender. There is very little risk to him which is why he’s so high. Next season he will play in the AHL.
Potential : Bottom-Pairing Shutdown Defenseman
9. Niklas Lundström : Goalie, 132nd Overall, 2011, 20 years old, 6’2 187lbs, AIK in the Elitserien
Lundström was one of the best goalies in the U20’s and helped the Swedes get to the finals and eventually get the Silver. Domestically he had a strong season, especially for a 20 year old, first dominating the SuperElit and getting promoted to the Elitserien to play as their backup. He’s a very athletic goalie who has an amazing glove hand. He’s known to be weak blocker side and that like most Euro goalies he likes to kick out his rebounds with those quick feet. So far this season he is on loan in what once was the Allsvenskan but is now called “Olympics” (ya what?) with Södertälje, in his 5 starts he has been phenomenal posting a 1.75 GAA and .936sv%. Small sample size, but AIK might want to give him a call back as their two goalies are struggling.
Potential : Starting Goalie
10. Tommy Vannelli : Defenseman, 47th Overall, 2013, 18 years old, 6’2 170lbs, Minnetonka High in the USHS
Raw is the term used most often when Vannelli is discussed. He skates very well and closes off gaps and forwards with ease. He’s shown that he is solid in his own end with some hints of good offensive potential and puck moving. He had a solid year in the USHL making a seamless jump from High School, though his rapid rise in the draft rankings came with an excellent showing in the U18’s where he had a strong showing on the Silver winning Americans playing on the PP unit and doing a good job at both ends of the ice, though he’s been known to make some poor decisions and force plays. He has a lot of raw offensive upside, but like almost every player coming out of the High School it’s really early to tell just how good he can be. He made an interesting move and has decided to commit to the WHL playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Potential : Top-Four Offensive Defenseman (Still too early to tell)
Notables :
Philip McRae (Two-way centre with bottom-six upside was developing fairly well in the AHL, but now his future is very much in doubt as he has moved to Europe to play in the SM-liiga, does it mean he’s done with the Blues or perhaps more specifically the NHL? No…but it certainly is the kind of move that would spell the end of any 23 year old who was from Europe)
Yevgeni Grachyov (Aka Evgeny Grachev who was acquired from the Rangers, inconsistency in his game to game play has been the story for the big ultra-talented winger, he has fled to the KHL and it might be the end of his career in North America after showing so much promise when he was young (OHL Rookie of the Year))
Petteri Lindbohm (Big defensive defender who plays a very physical game for a Finn, he captained the Finnish U20 squad this past season and was one of their best players, his offensive upside is practically zero and his speed still needs work, but overall he’s a pretty decent prospect and somebody that will probably fight for a 5-6 spot down the road)
Yannick Veilleux (The big power forward had a very strong final season in the QMJHL, he upped his goals to 34 and was a big part of Moncton’s top-6, he’s a tough player who likes to drop the gloves and despite some major questions about his offensive upside, he’s still a guy who is expected to be a solid player in a bottom-6 role in the NHL)
Colton Parayko (Big defender had an impressive year in the University of Alaska posting 17 points in 34 games, he’s a raw defender who projects as an offensive defender despite some “meh” skating, has a lot of developing to do)
Thanks for reading and following along this massive series. It took a while and I got a bit fed up with it especially near the end with the work vs payoff ratio…but whatever. For those who followed along since the beginning I want to thank you (you know who you are…and not you Sean).
Join the Discussion:
»