[Sandman]

Originally Posted by stemit14

@Sandman - at this point, is there a forward prospect (besides Bjorck) ranked outside the top 15 that you would consider more offensively skilled than most of the forwards in the top 15 but he is ranked lower because he has a flaw (real or perceived) in his game that keeps him ranked lower?

Here's a few to keep an eye on:

-C Yegor Shilov: For some reson, he doesn't seem to be cracking the top-15 on most lists, despite putting up 43 points in 34 games for the 14th-place Victoriaville Tigres. He and Alexei Vlasov (44 points) are the heart of the team's offense, with the next-highest scorer behind Shilov having only 29 points. Though he needs more pace in his game, and his skating could use another gear, he has high-end puck skill, a solid 200-ft game, as well as excellent vision and creativity.

-C Tomas Chrenko: He's not all that big (5'11",172lbs), but he has put up great numbers everywhere he's been, and he's currently dominating the WJC, with 5 goals and 6 points in 3 games for Team Slovakia. He's a bit older too, with a November.2nd, 2007 birthday, but his 17 points in 27 games in Slovakia's men's league are already tied for the 21st-best all-time for a player 18-and-under; his 0.63 ppg are 16th-best (5 games or more). Chrenko can play a physical game, and doesn't shy away from battling in the greasy areas of the ice. He owns high-end puck-skill for escapability in tight spaces, plays a tight two-way game (as you would expect of a center), skates well, and is balanced nicely between his playmaking and scoring. He could be a huge steal.

-RW Elton Hermansson: A favorite of mine from the Hlinka, where he was tied for 2nd in the tournament, with 11 points in 5 games, his numbers are sometimes overlooked, because he's playing in Sweden's second-tier league, the Allsvenskan- posting 10 points in 20 games with MoDo. He is already tied for 16th all-time for points by a U-18 player, and his 0.50 ppg are tied for 10th all-time (3 games or more)- he doesn't turn 18 until Feb.5th. Hermey oozes skill, and high-end instincts, with the hands to deke and dangle around defenders, and he owns a high-end shooting arsenal. He also drives play with keen awareness, and heightened vision. The knock is that he's mostly finesse, and needs to pay a bit more attention to the defensive side of the puck.

-RW Marcus Nordmark: Don't be surprised if he goes top-10, this kid is a true stud. He's 6'2",and gallops around the ice with speed, power, and finesse. He led the Hlinka in scoring, with 7 goals and 12 points in 5 games, and is currently 14th in scoring in the U20 league, with 25 points in 17 games (and he's racked up 38 PIM). Speed, sniper's hands, playmaker's vision, and can deke and dangle through traffic. Absolute beauty.

-C Alexander Command: 26 points in 18 U20 games, good enough for 10th in the U20 league. He's 6'1", plays a solid all-around game, and brings energy, grit, and constant physicality to winning battles along the boards. He plays at a break-neck pace, but his skating is closer to average than it should be. He has a powerful shot, but leans more towards his playmaking, and has top-flight IQ and awareness all over the ice. Like Genborg last year, he should be a riser, and is one of my early faves.


-I'm a massive fan of LW Chase Harrington (6'1",201lbs), but like his teammate Mathis Preston from the Spokane Chiefs, he has massively underperformed offensively, with 31 points in 35 games; I would have expected much more, especially after posting 50 points in 68 games in 2024-25. He's a little older, with an October 30th, 2007 birthdate, and plays a rambunctious power game, with a robust physical style (59 PIM), and a bit of a mean streak. The reason he's rated so high though, and why he was rated a "B" by CS, is that he's actually quite skilled, skates very well, and is a balanced, two-way competitor who can drive play. I would easily take him in the final-third of the first-round. Spokane is 15th in the standings, and 17th in goals-for. Watch out for this kid.

-LW Niklas Aaram-Olsen (6'1",184lbs) may get into the first-round. He's a shoot-first power-forward, with a laser-shot, a nose for the net, and an eye for open space. So far, he's got 14 goals and 24 points in 18 U20 games, and has earned 8 games in the SHL (no points). He's better than his numbers, as he had 41 points in 42 U20 games last season.

-LW Adam Novotny (6'1",205lbs) started his rookie season in North America slowly, but he's coming around, with 22 points in his last 14 games, for 19 goals and 35 points in 29 games. He plays with power, attacks the net, and has a sniper's mentality of finding open space to unleash his laser shot. He's a powerful skater, and employs a sound two-way game.

-C Oscar Holmertz (6'0",192lbs) is way better than his numbers- only 17 points in 20 games for the 14th-best team in the U20 (out of 20 teams). I would've expected much better numbers, as he put up 30 points in 32 games last season, and was tied for 5th in scoring at the Hlinka (7 points in 5 games). He's a speedster who works hard, can play in all situations, employs a pro-style 200-ft game, and is well-balanced offensively. While he's not elite in any one area, he's good at everything, and has no true weaknesses.

-LW Adam Nemec (6'1",176) is playing in Slovakia's men's league, with 15 points in 28 games- which is just behind Tomas Chrenko, for 30th all-time by a player 18 and-under. This comes in the season after posting the 27th-best season of all time in the Slovakian U20 league, with 57 points in 43 games, as a 16 year-old. Nemec is a little older, with an October birthday, but he plays a pro-style, displaying a hard-working, and detailed defensive game- so much so, that it may be costing him points. He's a superb playmaker with vision and creativity, but needs a bit of work on his boots, though his pace and work-ethic make up for his deficiencies.

-RW Lars Steiner (5'10",175lbs) may be small, but he plays like a pocket-sized power-forward, with a surprisingly robust physical style, an agressive nature, and a willingness to battle in the greasy areas. He's short, but stocky, and uncommonly strong, with a low center of gravity and balance on his skates. In 2024-25, he posted 60 points in 57 games for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, but only has 14 points in 15 games thus far; he actually started well, with 8 points in his first 7 contests, but was injured for 13 games thereafter.