2024 NHL Draft Thread

[Wastedyouth]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Disagree. Not a slight on Wolf and more that I feel Wallstedt may be the only truly A level goaltender prospect right now.

Nevermind that Wolf has outplayed Wallstedt every year I guess?

Wolf is, in my opinion, the BEST goalie prospect in the NHL. No other prospect has gotten the accolades he has at every level he's played at.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Nevermind that Wolf has outplayed Wallstedt every year I guess?

Wolf is, in my opinion, the BEST goalie prospect in the NHL. No other prospect has gotten the accolades he has at every level he's played at.

We will agree to disagree on this subject. I highly doubt that theres a team in the NHL that would take Wolf over Wallstedt.

[SuperMatt18]

It is quite funny that even in a "down year" that Wolf has the second best save percentage in the AHL for an U-23 goaltender behind only Devon Levi.

If you look at Wolf, Wallstedt, and Askaraov who tend to be mentioned as the three best goalie prospects.

Wolf: 127 GP - .927 Save Percentage
Askarov: 81 GP - .912 Save Percentage
Wallstedt: 73 GP - .907 Save Percentage

Doesn't guarantee anything of course...and his size will always be a knock against him at the NHL level...but the guy is the best performing U-23 goalie in the World. And I'm not sure there is much debate against that.

Maybe it doesn't translate to the NHL level, maybe it does, but he's absolutely an A Goalie Prospect.

[Arsenal14]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Sandman, what do you have on Marek Vanacker? Sorry if you posted a profile and I missed it.

He is leading his OHL team in scoring as a 17 year old (77 point in 63 games), and is 2 years younger than the player who is 2nd on the team with 61 points. Decent size for a player his age.

Yet I see him ranked as a late 2nd rounder or even early 3rd rounder. I am wondering what the knock on him is.

The latest rankings seem to have him moving up quickly. None of the rankings I had seen had him in the first round until the latest Pronman and Sportsnet rankings that put him at 32 and 27 respectively. I suspect he's just a late riser in this draft.

[Solstice]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

It is quite funny that even in a "down year" that Wolf has the second best save percentage in the AHL for an U-23 goaltender behind only Devon Levi.

If you look at Wolf, Wallstedt, and Askaraov who tend to be mentioned as the three best goalie prospects.

Wolf: 127 GP - .927 Save Percentage
Askarov: 81 GP - .912 Save Percentage
Wallstedt: 73 GP - .907 Save Percentage

Doesn't guarantee anything of course...and his size will always be a knock against him at the NHL level...but the guy is the best performing U-23 goalie in the World. And I'm not sure there is much debate against that.

Maybe it doesn't translate to the NHL level, maybe it does, but he's absolutely an A Goalie Prospect.

Great stats breakdown thank you.

Yeah I mean A should be ranked based on the team, not like only one “A” out of the entire league lol. Jesper could be an A+ while Wolf is an A, but we are splitting hairs here.

Wolf has won awards for every single league he’s played in. Can’t pretend like that doesn’t exist

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Arsenal14

The latest rankings seem to have him moving up quickly. None of the rankings I had seen had him in the first round until the latest Pronman and Sportsnet rankings that put him at 32 and 27 respectively. I suspect he's just a late riser in this draft.

He sounds like a player that would be awesome to get with the Vancouver 1st rounder.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

You are clearly being obtuse but I will throw you a bone.

You are clearly being rude and I don't need your damn bone. Other people have answered the question without being asses about it.

An A caliber prospect is considered a true star or elite prospect. Just because the Flames don't have one in their system it doesn't mean you have to discredit people like Wheeler that spend a lot of time analyzing young players. The reality is that people like him know these players far better than we do and if they say a team lacks A prospects it's because they really do compared to other prospect bases.

I'm not hearing it from Wheeler. I'm hearing it from jackasses like you on message boards, who throw around these letter grades without attribution.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

It is quite funny that even in a "down year" that Wolf has the second best save percentage in the AHL for an U-23 goaltender behind only Devon Levi.

If you look at Wolf, Wallstedt, and Askaraov who tend to be mentioned as the three best goalie prospects.

Wolf: 127 GP - .927 Save Percentage
Askarov: 81 GP - .912 Save Percentage
Wallstedt: 73 GP - .907 Save Percentage

Doesn't guarantee anything of course...and his size will always be a knock against him at the NHL level...but the guy is the best performing U-23 goalie in the World. And I'm not sure there is much debate against that.

Maybe it doesn't translate to the NHL level, maybe it does, but he's absolutely an A Goalie Prospect.

I don’t think that anyone can disagree that Wolf has better minor league stats than the other two.

But his size does raise questions if he can continue doing that at the NHL level. These days, there is little current history of goalies his size even playing in the NHL.

For that reason, the other two would be coveted more than Wolf by GM’s.

He’s not just small , he’s very small. He’s always adjusted to leagues as he’s gone along, this last step will be a huge step for him.

[Dan403]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

He’s not just small , he’s very small.

Six feet?

Same size as Hasek.
Only and inch shorter than Kiprusoff.

But yeah, very very small.

[HitterD]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

I don’t think that anyone can disagree that Wolf has better minor league stats than the other two.

But his size does raise questions if he can continue doing that at the NHL level. These days, there is little current history of goalies his size even playing in the NHL.

For that reason, the other two would be coveted more than Wolf by GM’s.

He’s not just small , he’s very small. He’s always adjusted to leagues as he’s gone along, this last step will be a huge step for him.

I mean....I get it, 6'0 is small for an NHL goalie these days, but is it "very small"? do we talk about 6'0'' like he's Mike Vernon in the current NHL?

Are NHL Gm's really worried about Wolf's frame vs Shesterkin at 6'1'', or Saros at 5'11''?

Goalies under 6'2'' are for sure the outliers currently. Seems to me a goalie needs to be outstanding to get a shot under this height, but Wolf has been outstanding at every level. I'm super curious to watch his progression compared to some of these other goalie prospects, and eventually compared to bigger current NHL goalies. I have a feeling he will continue to excel.

[dammage79]

Look, if Saros can be a legit 1 in this league, Wolf is gonna be just fine. I have zero concerns about his size any more.

Every single thing about the rest of him is elite.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by sch19lks

Blue chippers. Or elite prospects. Guys with really high ceilings

B prospects are guys like Pelletier. Middle six potential. Or guys like Poirier. Second pairing guys with PP abilities

THere is a very large gap between those 2 definitions.

If A refers to blue chippers and elite prospects, then B should refer to top 6ers, not middle 6ers.

[The Fonz]

Osgood 5'10"
Thomas 5'11"
Saros 5'11"
DeSmith 6'0"
Giguere 6'1"
Lundqvist 6'1"
Quick 6'1"
Holtby 6'1"
Ward 6'1"
Khabibulin 6'1"
Brodeur 6'2"
Bobrovsky 6'2"
Crawford 6'2"
Binnington 6'2"
Fleury 6'2"
Varlamov 6'2"

Lots of great, 6'2" and under goaltenders. I actually just looked at how many of the last 20 Stanley Cups have been won by a 6'2" or shorter netminder, and was shocked to find that it's 15 of them.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Look, if Saros can be a legit 1 in this league, Wolf is gonna be just fine. I have zero concerns about his size any more.

Every single thing about the rest of him is elite.

Yeah, this isn't a Phillips size issue. He is small for a goalie and can't rely on just getting the way though and is first few games you could tell he needed to adjust to better NHL shooters.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by cral12

Caught up with Sandman again (for now!) on profiles - we must be approaching 60.

Apologies for possibly cheesy graphic in the tweet - kind of playing on the dark side theme with Upside Hockey...playing around with AI Art during the super bowl lol

Please enjoy...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1756827200081256889

From Adams to Zetterberg, caught up again to Sandman's prolific profiling.
Now 95 profiles already!

Alphabetical with a table of contents at the top.

https://bit.ly/2024nhldraftprofiles

To be clear, over at Upside Hockey, not meant to replace what Sandman does here - just to augment it - you guys get to see the profiles hot off the press. I just thought he does such awesome work, I wanted to capture and organize it for ease of retrieval. It also augments the rankings that we post.
It's always free over there as well (donations not expected though appreciated if so inclined - would allow us to secure domain name and perhaps expand, though sometimes things are better in their simplicity - and we don't make a habit of soliciting funds).
Also keeps me back in the hockey game a bit as I was a sportswriter a while back covering the draft closely with a media pass for 7 seasons or so. Sandman and my friend E-Mac help keep me involved without punching the countless hours I did in the past. Appreciate the support, gang.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

Osgood 5'10"
Thomas 5'11"
Saros 5'11"
DeSmith 6'0"
Giguere 6'1"
Lundqvist 6'1"
Quick 6'1"
Holtby 6'1"
Ward 6'1"
Khabibulin 6'1"
Brodeur 6'2"
Bobrovsky 6'2"
Crawford 6'2"
Binnington 6'2"
Fleury 6'2"
Varlamov 6'2"

Lots of great, 6'2" and under goaltenders. I actually just looked at how many of the last 20 Stanley Cups have been won by a 6'2" or shorter netminder, and was shocked to find that it's 15 of them.

Patrick Roy. 6'1"

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Dan403

Six feet?

Same size as Hasek.
Only and inch shorter than Kiprusoff.

But yeah, very very small.

Good point, but I guess I mean his frame, he is very skinny, so he looks small in the nets.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Sandman I know its 2024 and were 2 years away from 2026 but have you heard/do you have anything on Swedish phenom Viggo Bjork?

I recently had a buddy from Sweden put him on my radar so minimal research, but this guy looks like he could be legit and even challenge McKenna for #1 which is crazy to me.

Thanks for this! I haven’t heard of this kid yet, but he’s already dominating the J18 league, and leading the scoring by a whopping 34 points! Already the best season EVER in that league, with 98 points! Unbelievable.

I’m going to keep my eye out for him, thanks again.

[Sandman]

I can’t just leave Erick Estrada/ Cobra twisting in the wind by themselves on this one:

First of all, I respect everyone’s opinions immensely in here, but in the eyes of a scout, comparing Wolf to Wallstedt is like comparing a new Camaro to a Lamborghini. Wolf may turn out to be the better goalie in the end, but there’s not a GM in the league that would take Wolf over Wally right now. One of the reasons we love Wolfie so much, is that he’s an underdog.

One of the biggest mistakes of Yzerman’s career was passing up Wally for Cossa. Normally, I would put Askarov in the same category as Wallstedt, but he looks more and more like a headcase.

[bigrangy]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Jeremie Poirier is wildly underrated on this board.

The more I watch him the more I disagree. He is special offensively which will probably see him to the NHL but I don’t see an impact guy.

Most offensive defensemen get the criticism of “oh, he can’t defend”, but with Poirier it’s actually legitimate. His skating and anticipation during defensive transitions is not very good, and routinely results in goals against at the AHL level. He turns 1on 1s into 1 on 0’s and 2 on 2’s into 2 on 1’ far too frequently.