Calgarypuck Prospect Ranking 2020 - Round 11

[TheIronMaiden]

I voted Kuznetsov because I trust the Flames ability to draft high quality players in the second round based on their track record.

Next for me is Kinnvall because out of all the prospects playing in Europe right now he is by far the most impressive.

After that I think it should be Yelesin, because he is the only prospect left on the list with a reasonable shot at cracking the Flames roster this season.

It would be nice if Tuulola found his game over seas in the next couple games and made it more difficult to stick to this list, but right now he is putting up pedestrian numbers in the Allsvenskan.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I had Parsons next on my list, but switching to Kuznetsov. Pronman's views were certainly encouraging. But also, after taking a closer look, I realized that he was playing NCAA as a 17 year old. For a defenseman especially, that is almost unheard of.

And for Pronman to praise his smooth skating, again for a 17 year old that is already 6'4", that's pretty exciting.

This is the big thing - what he did is so rare for a defenceman. In the last 10 years there have been 4 defenseman that have played in the NCAA at 17 years of age.

Noah Hanifin
Zach Werenski
Dillion Simpson
Yan Kuznetsov

That's it.

For me these two spots were reserved for Kuznetsov and Kinnvall.

[Iggy_12]

For everyone voting Kinnvall, can you explain what we have in this kid? I dont know anything about him and at the signing i thought no more than future AHL depth

Thanks!

[TheIronMaiden]

Last year Kinnvall ( at 22) got 40 points in 51 games in the SHL. That is an NHLe of 38 pts. This year (at 23) he already has 8 points in 6 games, which is fifth among D men in the SHL, IIRC he has played fewer games than anyone a head of him) . He plays the right side on the top pairing for his team and is their Assistant Capitan .

All of this is especially impressive considering that the SHL is widely regarded as the third best league in the world ( better than the AHL, although there is some debate here).

So basically he is one of the best offensive D men in one of the best leagues. If he put up similar numbers in the AHL people would be penciling him into the roster, but he has committed finishing his season in the SHL so we likely wont see him in N.A until 2021/22.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Iggy_12

For everyone voting Kinnvall, can you explain what we have in this kid? I dont know anything about him and at the signing i thought no more than future AHL depth

Thanks!

He's a bit older for a prospect breaking out but was a late bloomer. He wasn't a guy that was on the radar and was playing at lower levels during his draft years but has quickly evolved since.

His best comparison is probably John Klingberg - even though he's probably still a year older than Klingberg was when he broke out.

Kinnvall-

Age 20: 7 NHLe (Allsvenskan)
Age 21: 21 NHLe (SHL)
Age 22: 38 NHLe (SHL)

But this is kind of similar to Klingberg.

Age 19: 6 NHLe (SM-Liga)
Age 20: 25 NHLe (SHL)
Age 21: 27 NHLe (SHL)
Age 22: 40 points (NHL)

So IMO they have similar skillset and development path. Kinnvall was just 1 year older when he broke out and should probably have come to North America to play this year.

[AC]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I had Parsons next on my list, but switching to Kuznetsov. Pronman's views were certainly encouraging. But also, after taking a closer look, I realized that he was playing NCAA as a 17 year old. For a defenseman especially, that is almost unheard of.

And for Pronman to praise his smooth skating, again for a 17 year old that is already 6'4", that's pretty exciting.

To clarify, those were the thoughts of Steve Kournianos' from The Draft Analyst Podcast. It was just linked to in the Pronman thread.

[Samonadreau]

Voted Kinnvall 3 rounds now. Totally get the upside to Kusnetzov though

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Samonadreau

Voted Kinnvall 3 rounds now. Totally get the upside to Kusnetzov though

Me as well. I also think Kuz could be a sleeper. 11pts as a 17-year old D in the NCAA is pretty impressive.