2021 NHL Draft

[Sandman]

LW Kalle Vaisanen,6'4"181lbs (TPS U20, FIN): 27gp/9g/21a/30pts,34PIM. Kalle's p/gp puts him in the same stratosphere as other draft standouts like Oliver Kapanen (1.11), Niko Huuhtanen (0.92),Samu Tuomaala (1.03), Sami Paivarinta (0.92), and second-year eligible Oliver Suni (1.08). Put up only 1pt in the U-18s. Vaisanen shoots right, but plays the left side to make his shot more dangerous.

Vaisanen drives play, and creates scoring opportunities-he's more of a playmaker than shooter, but he owns a good, quick shot that he should use more. He sees the ice well, and can unleash a variety of good passes, often without looking, and makes quick decisions. He can find the most difficult seams, and completes the vast majority of his pass attempts-80% at one point. He's also known to be a guy who plays a heavy game with jam-he uses his size to his advantage, to win battles or create turnovers. Throws big hits. He's relentless on the forecheck, at one point winning 90% of his offensive zone challenges. His puckhandling is good, and he has a wide array of slick moves to get around defenders, and can stickhandle through traffic. On the PP, he sets up on the half-wall, and directs the offense. He has a long reach and good positioning on the backcheck.

His skating has some mixed reviews, but most say that he's at least average-to above average. There are a few, like myself, that see him as having pretty exceptional mobility for a guy his size, with a solid top speed. He was talked about having average footspeed in 2020, but he's improved since. He could still stand to add strength to his legs to get better acceleration, but it's good. He also needs to fill out his frame, as he's still raw, but there's plenty of potential. He also needs to bring more defensively. I'm thinking 4th/5th round.

[Sandman]

RHD Kalle Ervasti,6'0"181lbs (Lukko U20,FIN): 35gp/3g/15a/18pts, which was 17th overall for D-men in the U20, and 3rd for players under 18. His 0.51 p/gp was close to that of Aleksi Heimosalmi (0.60). Ervasti was a key player in Lukko's championship run with 7pts in 8 games, third on the team, after finishing 7th on the team in the regular season. Ervasti can play in any situation, and plays a steady 3-zone game.

Ervasti is confident with the puck, and takes charge in the offensive zone-either by finding his teammates, or doing it by himself. He creates opportunities, and always has his head up, scanning for space and time. He possesses great playmaking skills, with crisp, accurate passing, and great puck reception. His shot is good, in that it's accurate, but he needs to work on it's velocity. He uses it to create rebounds, and general chaos around the net. He has vision and IQ in all zones-it is said that one of his specialties is rush defense. In his own zone, he has a quick stick and reads the play well-he's much more proactive than reactive. He's aware of his surroundings, puts unrelenting pressure on opposing forwards, and protects the slot.

Some reviews I read were that he was a sub-par skater in his U-16 days, 3+ years ago, but he's now a very good skater with explosive acceleration. He needs to get stronger, and work on his shot. This one seems to be a bit off the board, as nobody has him in their mocks. I would guess he's a later-round pick, in the 6th/7th round.

[Sandman]

C/LW Dmitri Katelevskiy,6'0"174lbs (Bars Kazan,VHL) 43gp/7g/9a/16pts, 28PIM. Plays minor-pro against men in the VHL. His offensive totals seem paltry, but he was 7th on his team in scoring, and first overall for players under 18-I even read that it was a record, but I'm not sure that's true. Had more points than Svechkov or Chibrikov, although both of them had a better p/gp. Katelevskiy is known as a premier defensive forward, with some offensive chops. His got a ton of pace without the puck, and a great motor. Skating looks strange-hunched over, a little knock-kneed, but he seems to be able to cover the ice quickly. He can be beat by faster forwards, and he's weak on the forecheck, but that will improve as he matures and gets stronger. Plays hard, and is strong, can pin opposing players to the boards. Constantly denies rushes, forces turnovers, and stifles breakouts. 3rd/4th rounder.

[Sandman]

LW/RW William von Barnekow, 6'4"190lbs (Malmo J20,SWE): 18gp/7g/14a/21pts,45 PIM. Tied for 11th in the league. His 1.17pts per game is just behind Lysell (1.18), and ahead of Rosen (1.00). Earned 26 games in the HockeyEttan, and aquitted himself well, with 22 points, and 29PIM. He also had 2 games in the SHL, with no points. I don't know too much about this player, but I like his point totals, his size, and his penalty minutes. Ranked #96 on FC Hockey.

"Von Barnekow has taken steps in the right direction this year. From what I saw last year, he has developed most of his skills on the ice this season, which I really like. His skating abilities are still not the best and he needs to work on his acceleration but he is an average skater overall. Von Barnekow has good body strength and looks well balanced on the ice and is hard to move for opponents"-FC Hockey

"I hope the rest of the players on Malmo bought VB a steak after this game, because he absolutely carried his team in this one and brought them close to winning against a strong opponent. He logged 24 minutes of ice-time, picked up a goal (a net-front deflection) and a primary assist (clearing the zone on a PK to spring a breakaway), and did a ton of heavy lifting."-FC Hockey

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Sam Cosentino has Calgary taking Lambos.

I know teams always say "best player available" but taking a boring 2-way Dman should mean pink slips, this team needs a forward with skill.

I'm hoping teams ahead are scared to pick Chaz Lucius and he falls to the flames

[Sandman]

C/LW Andrei Buyalsky,6'3"174lbs (Dubuque, USHL): 36gp/15g/17a/32pts, good for 8th on the team. Before you read any more, let me just tell you-he's turning 21 in August, and he has been passed over in 3 drafts. I don't think he was noticed playing in Kazakhstan, so he came over the pond to play in NA and get noticed-and it worked. He's got a scholarship to college next year, and people are mentioning him as a player who could be drafted this year. The main reason he was noticed is for his size, and his blazing speed. It's been said that he's the fastest in the USHL. All his highlights are of him beating guys wide, and bulling to the net, or steaming in with a shoulder down. He reminds some of Josh Anderson. It will be interesting to see if a team is willing to spend a late pick to secure this kid's rights. Doesn't have the numbers to suggest he could make it to a top-6 role.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I know teams always say "best player available" but taking a boring 2-way Dman should mean pink slips, this team needs a forward with skill.

I'm hoping teams ahead are scared to pick Chaz Lucius and he falls to the flames

Well, not so fast-Lambos put up the 9th best points per game in the J20 for defensemen, ahead of Suomi, Heimosalmi, Topi Neimela, Ervasti, and Juusola. That points per game total is 14th overall for players under 18 years of age, and 1st for defensemen under 18. He is no doubt the best D in this draft after the guys in the top-8.

We do need forwards with skill, but the offense we got this year from our D-core was in the last third of the league.

[Wastedyouth]

Yeah I wouldn't be counting Lambos out. The kid is good.

[shutout]

Originally Posted by Sandman

RHD Scott Morrow,6'2"192lbs (Shattuck St,Mary's, USHS):30gp/8g/40a/48pts,30 PIM. Morrow was second-leading scorer in the Prep School circuit, and first among D-men by 13 points. There was a Scott Morrow who played 4 games for the Flames back in 1994-95 FYI,lol. Scouts wish that Morrow played against tougher competition in the USHL, as High School hockey is a step down. It should be noted though, that Shattuck has a much better program than other schools, and has alumni like Crosby, Keller, Toews, Okposo, and Parise. This year at Shattuck, he averaged 24:48 minutes a night playing in all situations, with over 9 shot attempts per game. Clearly, he benefitted from being generally bigger and faster than the competition-drafting HS players is always a risk, but this kid has an undeniably good toolkit.

Morrow is already a dominating presence at any level with his size and skating-his mobility is elite in all facets, all directions-edgework, agility, and he can turn on a dime. He's one of the finest skaters in the draft. As much as he's head and shoulders above his opponents, his film is undeniable-he can control the pace in all 3 zones, dart in and out of traffic with apparent ease, and break down the other team's defensive play. He has that offensive IQ and vision, and he loves to pinch, or look for seams from the half wall to the slot for a high-danger pass.

Morrow thrives in the neutral zone-he's uber aggressive, and chokes out rushes. He isn't without the puck for long. He doesn't let the play come to him, he attacks and removes time and space. He's effective in entries and exits, and makes good transitional passes. Doesn't drive play through dangerous situations, he will circle and look for another lane. He's an accurate passer, and owns a wide variety of passes he can dole out with proficiency-saucers, slap-passes,no-look, and high-velocity. He also has a dangerous shot that he uses to create havok around the net. In the defensive zone, he works to prevent chances, and is good at forcing attackers to the half-wall and away from high-danger opportunities. He's very aggressive in his board play, and will dish out crosschecks and borderline dirty hits to defend his zone. Blocks shots, and passing lanes well.

Morrow has a dangerous shot, but his mechanics sap some of it's power and accuracy-at this point, it's good for creating offense down low, but he'll need to work at it. Morrow's overall defensive game needs to be tuned-up for the next level-the fact that he's playing at a lower level covers up some of this-although, he was reportedly good defensively in 6 USHL playoff games for Fargo, where he had 0 points and was minus 2. He's prone to turnovers sometimes. His stickhandling gets mixed reviews, but it looks like he carries the puck too far in front of him, and that means the competition at the next level will be able to steal it from him. He has to learn to carry with his hands close to the body, from the hip. He's still fairly raw, and not very battle-tested. Good news is that he's going to North Dakota this fall, and they apparently have a great program for developing players. The biggest comparison he gets is Tyson Barrie. Morrow may go in the late stages of the first round, but I think he might have to wait until the second.

My hope for our second round pick.
Hoping that the fact he has only played at a high school level lets him drop down to us.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Well, not so fast-Lambos put up the 9th best points per game in the J20 for defensemen, ahead of Suomi, Heimosalmi, Topi Neimela, Ervasti, and Juusola. That points per game total is 14th overall for players under 18 years of age, and 1st for defensemen under 18. He is no doubt the best D in this draft after the guys in the top-8.

We do need forwards with skill, but the offense we got this year from our D-core was in the last third of the league.

I’ve been on the do-not-draft-Lambos train for a while, but if you think he can fix our putrid PP then sign me up. Definitely not in my top 5 choices at 12 but I trust our scouts if we do pick him.

[Bingo]

It's funny every year when I start to dig into prospects I find myself wanting all of them.

[Bingo]

up to 13 rankings now.

Here's the first round band, sizeable gap before and after the six. Additionally Lambos is starting to slide a bit behind the others.

10 Fabian Lysell RW #SHL 10 3 11 27 14 12 9 10 9 27 7 7 11 12.08
11 Chaz Lucius C #USDP 12 16 10 10 16 9 13 19 6 15 18 16 12 13.23
12 Cole Sillinger C #USHL 13 14 15 13 10 13 18 16 14 17 12 14 13 14.00
13 Mason Mctavish C #SL 15 29 9 9 9 11 14 21 16 14 5 20 10 14.00
14 Aatu Raty C #Liiga 19 11 14 20 12 20 11 3 12 29 20 8 19 15.23
15 Carson Lambos D #U20 SM-sarja 22 28 18 14 5 15 20 2 39.5 12 30 12 14 17.81

FC Hockey
Dobber (Ferrari)
Cosentino
Ryan Kennedy
Steve Kournianos
Bob McKenzie
Draft Prospects Hockey
Neutral Zone
McKeen's
Craig Button
Elite Prospects
Ryan Pike
Forbes - Hockey Writers

Here are the Flames other pick ranges ... clearly this gets thinner and thinner the lower you go (disparity in volume as some only rank 32, etc).

42 Prokhor Poltapov
43 Daniil Sobolev
44 Brett Harrison
45 William Stromgren
46 Samuel Helenius
47 Evan Nause

74 Ryan Ufko
75 Justin Robidas
76 Cole Jordan
77 Vladislav Lukashevich
78 Wyatt Johnston
79 Chase Stillman

82 James Malatesta
83 Jack Peart
84 Ilya Fedotov
85 Jeremy Hanzel
86 Stuart Rolofs
87 Tristan Lennox

[Royle9]

FC I noticed your mock draft builder still keeps Arizona as being able to select players in each round. Can this be fixed?

[Tbull8]

Just ran FC's sim. Wallstedt #1, Power dropped to the Wings at 6...

Coyotes illegally got Guenther at 11

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Bingo

up to 13 rankings now.

Here's the first round band, sizeable gap before and after the six. Additionally Lambos is starting to slide a bit behind the others.

10 Fabian Lysell RW #SHL 10 3 11 27 14 12 9 10 9 27 7 7 11 12.08
11 Chaz Lucius C #USDP 12 16 10 10 16 9 13 19 6 15 18 16 12 13.23
12 Cole Sillinger C #USHL 13 14 15 13 10 13 18 16 14 17 12 14 13 14.00
13 Mason Mctavish C #SL 15 29 9 9 9 11 14 21 16 14 5 20 10 14.00
14 Aatu Raty C #Liiga 19 11 14 20 12 20 11 3 12 29 20 8 19 15.23
15 Carson Lambos D #U20 SM-sarja 22 28 18 14 5 15 20 2 39.5 12 30 12 14 17.81

FC Hockey
Dobber (Ferrari)
Cosentino
Ryan Kennedy
Steve Kournianos
Bob McKenzie
Draft Prospects Hockey
Neutral Zone
McKeen's
Craig Button
Elite Prospects
Ryan Pike
Forbes - Hockey Writers

Here are the Flames other pick ranges ... clearly this gets thinner and thinner the lower you go (disparity in volume as some only rank 32, etc).

42 Prokhor Poltapov
43 Daniil Sobolev
44 Brett Harrison
45 William Stromgren
46 Samuel Helenius
47 Evan Nause

74 Ryan Ufko
75 Justin Robidas
76 Cole Jordan
77 Vladislav Lukashevich
78 Wyatt Johnston
79 Chase Stillman

82 James Malatesta
83 Jack Peart
84 Ilya Fedotov
85 Jeremy Hanzel
86 Stuart Rolofs
87 Tristan Lennox

Sillinger-Helenius-Stillman-Peart would be a great 4 first picks for us, IMO.

[Nelson]

Originally Posted by Bingo

up to 13 rankings now.

Here's the first round band, sizeable gap before and after the six. Additionally Lambos is starting to slide a bit behind the others.

10 Fabian Lysell RW #SHL 10 3 11 27 14 12 9 10 9 27 7 7 11 12.08
11 Chaz Lucius C #USDP 12 16 10 10 16 9 13 19 6 15 18 16 12 13.23
12 Cole Sillinger C #USHL 13 14 15 13 10 13 18 16 14 17 12 14 13 14.00
13 Mason Mctavish C #SL 15 29 9 9 9 11 14 21 16 14 5 20 10 14.00
14 Aatu Raty C #Liiga 19 11 14 20 12 20 11 3 12 29 20 8 19 15.23
15 Carson Lambos D #U20 SM-sarja 22 28 18 14 5 15 20 2 39.5 12 30 12 14 17.81

FC Hockey
Dobber (Ferrari)
Cosentino
Ryan Kennedy
Steve Kournianos
Bob McKenzie
Draft Prospects Hockey
Neutral Zone
McKeen's
Craig Button
Elite Prospects
Ryan Pike
Forbes - Hockey Writers

Here are the Flames other pick ranges ... clearly this gets thinner and thinner the lower you go (disparity in volume as some only rank 32, etc).

42 Prokhor Poltapov
43 Daniil Sobolev
44 Brett Harrison
45 William Stromgren
46 Samuel Helenius
47 Evan Nause

74 Ryan Ufko
75 Justin Robidas
76 Cole Jordan
77 Vladislav Lukashevich
78 Wyatt Johnston
79 Chase Stillman

82 James Malatesta
83 Jack Peart
84 Ilya Fedotov
85 Jeremy Hanzel
86 Stuart Rolofs
87 Tristan Lennox

I was previously a Cole Sillinger guy, but I’m gonna jump on the Fabian Lysell bandwagon now. It sounds like he has a dynamic quality to his game because of his speed and skill that the Flames need.

[Beatle17]

Just want to thank Sandman for all of the write ups and info. It takes a great amount of work to tell the rest of us who to watch for, as I know for a fact I wouldn't know any of these guys until they are drafted. Great job.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Pronman on the Athletic has the Flames taking Sillinger too.
To clarify this isn't Pronman's mock I guess but rather a combined mock of their writers.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I’ve been on the do-not-draft-Lambos train for a while, but if you think he can fix our putrid PP then sign me up. Definitely not in my top 5 choices at 12 but I trust our scouts if we do pick him.

I don’t think I would pick him at 12, but I wouldn’t be mad if they did. He’s going to be a guality player. We still need offense from the backend, and he can help with that, albeit in a few years...

[Monahammer]

I have only increased my desire for Sillinger in looking at the prospects potentially available. I dont think that will change unless Guenther falls...