2013 NHL Draft Guides

[Jack]

There are a few options out there for those who are interested:

Future Considerations just released their guide and I bought it. It is set up in a straight forward format; the first 30 prospects get a page each with it broken down into strengths, weaknesses, a scout's quote and NHL potential. Prospects 31 to 125 get half a page each, which is one paragraph. The final prospects get a short blurb each. There are 210 prospects in total. They also have a section on sleepers and a mock draft.

The guide sells at $20. I thought the guide was very good value for the money. It would be more interesting to me if they livened up the format a bit. Perhaps with season split stats and scoring the players on a selection of skills.

The Hockey News released theirs about a month back and obviously doesn't have the most up to date info. There information is not nearly as thorough, but if you are looking for a quick snap shot of the top 100 prospects it is not a bad way to go.

Costs $6 I think.

I have yet to purchase Hockey Prospect's draft guide as it is not out yet. Their very detailed black book has been released and I will purchase it tonight and give it a read.

McKeen's will release their guide on the 3rd of this month.

Am I missing any others?

What are your impressions of the guides so far?

[PeteLFan]

Isn't there a CP discount for the FC draft guide ?

[Flames Draft Watcher]

I often buy Redline Report. It's about $50.

I bought FC this year, its decent.

[JiriHrdina]

FC is great value even if there is no CP discount. They do a bang-up job for what you pay.
I typically also buy McKeens but I think they have had staffing changes the last couple of years - the main guy whose opinion I value (some dude named Max) is no longer there.

But I'll make a decision between one of McKeens and Redline - I like the fact that Redline often offers a dramatically different view of players than other sources - but one that is still credible.

[McG]

i also want to shout out the FC guide; and he is a heck of a nice guy.

the guide that i really want is either a copy of the flames "we rated the entire hockey world in our weekend in california" guide, or a future copy of "gray's sports almanac" (the magazine that spawned a movie franchise in "back to the future").

[cral12]

ISS also produces a guide - $59
- haven't purchased yet this year, but heard one of the best in terms of pure scouting reports. They are not so much about esthetics and thoroughness, as they commonly have spelling/grammatical errors, for what that's worth.

Of course, for free in depth profiles check out The Next Ones series and Draft Guide at THW:

[FCAV]

For those curious, we did do a CP Discount on our season pass in the thread in the other forum. I discounted the Season Pass to approximately the same cost of the single draft guide issue, giving CPers all three releases for the price of one.

This includes our Introduction and Midterm as well as our 2013 NHL Draft Guide. It's kind of interesting to go back and see who was where during the course of the season, starting from November (Intro) and into February (Midterm) before seeing our final product.

For those interested in that, use this link: https://www.paypal.com/ca/cgi-bin/we...49896030ab926d

If you're a CPer and have already purchased, just send me a PM with the email you used to purchase and I'll fire you over the Intro and Midterm at no charge so you don't feel left out!

Now, as for our 2013 NHL Draft Guide, I'm always interested to hear feedback. There have been things that have worked in the past and there have been things we've adjusted. It's a constant evolution that we take pride in. One of our critiques last year was that it was difficult to print because the design was so graphic heavy. This year, you get both out graphic layout and a text-only version included without bumping up the subscription rate.

Overall, the reviews have been fantastic for us thus far and it's been a pretty hot seller this season. I'm not sure I recall selling so many so quickly, so it's definitely a positive step for us.

I urge you to try it. In terms of layout, none match us. I'll also put our content up against any other agency, including ISS. We had one NHL scout who picked it up reach out to us:

"I have been reading (the FC Guide) now for a good hour while having some coffee. It's a great read! The depth of your guide is exceptional. What's most impressive about your product is that the reports on players 100-200 are VERY ACCURATE. It's obvious your group takes the time to really see the players and not just the high-end guys. So overall great work in properly scouting the players and not being afraid to say what you guys are seeing out there."

If you do pick it up, let us know what you think!

http://futureconsiderations.ca/fc-re...l-draft-guide/

[TurnedTheCorner]

The THN draft preview is a glossy quick-read that doesn't have much content.

[PeteLFan]

I bought the FC guide how do I get it?

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by PeteLFan

I bought the FC guide how do I get it?

Should come in your email in a few hours.

Bought ISS and FC so far and will be buying Redline as well. We've never had three 1sts so I'm pretty stoked.

[FCAV]

Originally Posted by PeteLFan

I bought the FC guide how do I get it?

Should've arrived by now. If it hasn't, send me a PM and we'll get it tackled!

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Is there a place where I can buy a physical copy of these draft previews? Maybe a magazine store that might carry them?

I'm only asking because I don't have a credit card or PayPal or any of that. I already have THN's draft preview and it's not very in-depth.

[GreenLantern]

If I buy the FC guide can I open it up through my iphone?

[FCAV]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

If I buy the FC guide can I open it up through my iphone?

Yep. It's actually designed to be used on smart phones and tablets. It's a bit bigger file size but I have no problems with it on my iPhone. As I mentioned before, there's a text-driven pdf that comes with it as well. Both work well on my phone (I'm running an old iPhone 4, too!)

[FCAV]

Thanks to the CPers who have picked up FC's 2013 NHL Draft Guide! Hope you're enjoying!

[jschick88]

Originally Posted by FCAV

Thanks to the CPers who have picked up FC's 2013 NHL Draft Guide! Hope you're enjoying!

It's definitely worth picking up. Spent my whole afternoon reading about each prospect. Blows the hockey news draft preview out of the water.

[GreenLantern]

I picked up the FC and am very impressed, nice that I can read it on my phone on the go as well. I just keep it open in the background and go through a couple prospects while I wait in line or am in the elevator. I really like the format, easy to navigate.

[Freeway]

I highly recommend FC's guide.

[FCAV]

Thanks for the kind words guys. As you can tell by the finished product, a lot of work (and heart!) goes into the production.

[PeteLFan]

Thanks. Sick guide recommend to anyone to pickup.