Bill Zonnon gives me Bill Arnold vibes, maybe its just the first name.
But on a serious note, they both play that defensive first hockey with a real focus on 200ft game play with larger frames with Zonnon coming in 2 inches taller.
I just don't see the power forward game out of Zonnon, I think he's a very low ceiling/high floor 3rd/4th line center.
Great Backlund replacement probably, but is that worth the 18th pick?
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He was 6 days away from being eligible. I might be in the minority but I've said for years these older mature players are a bigger risk if you go off their draft year stats.
That's a good observation and I agree with what you said.
If that's the case, how would you compare Kashawn Aitcheson from 2023-24 vs Radim Mrtka from 2024-25? Scoring wise the are somewhat similar but Aitcheson generating more PIM's. How much different are these two players?
Bill Zonnon gives me Bill Arnold vibes, maybe its just the first name.
But on a serious note, they both play that defensive first hockey with a real focus on 200ft game play with larger frames with Zonnon coming in 2 inches taller.
I just don't see the power forward game out of Zonnon, I think he's a very low ceiling/high floor 3rd/4th line center.
Great Backlund replacement probably, but is that worth the 18th pick?
Haha... I was thinking that I like the name Bill for a 18 year old hockey player and maybe that's influencing me a bit.
You've probably watched more of him than I have, as I'm relying on clips and overviews, but I see and read a higher ceiling, especially with the offensive progress he's made over the last couple years. I do agree that 18 seems too early, but I'm also feeling there's a drop off around pick 17/18 where the draft opens up, unless a couple guys fall, so trading back and taking a guy like Zonnon might make sense if there's a group of players that the Flames feel similarly about.
Based on the list (especially the last three taken) it sure highlights how long it can take for a goaltender to make the NHL and start having an impact; if they ever do.
Based on how I remember feeling about them I would put them in this order.
Askarov
Knight
Samsonov
Wallstedt
Cossa
Oettinger
To be honest, as far as hype/projection/expectation, etc- I don’t really think Ravensbergen overtakes any of them. I think Ravensbergen is only a first-rpund possibility because of the weakness of the draft. He’s good, but not a blue-chipper like the guys you mentioned.
Askarov
Oettinger
Wallstedt
Knight
Samsonov
Cossa
That was how I would rank the hype train on these guys. I was a HUGE fan of Oettinger’s in his draft year. There are a few other guys in here who might see it very differently though. Wally and Otter could maybe be switched.
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Russian netminder Alexei Medvedev (ranked # 6 NA Goalies, # 61 by McKenzie) has been a little underrated in my book, and may have big-time potential; he was 3rd-overall for OHL goaltenders in GAA, and 4th in SV%, while being the youngest player available in his position, with a Sept.10th, 2007 birthday. His starts this season were split almost right down the middle in the regular-season with fellow 'tender, 21 year-old Austin Elliott, but he served exclusively as Elliott's back-up throughout the OHL playoffs, and into the Memorial Cup- seeing no action. Though he's a bit raw, Medvedev is a hybrid goalie with staunch positioning, and near-spotless technique, blended with solid athleticism, and quick reflexes. He is technically sound, and goes about his duties with remarkable calmness and poise, that masks his ultra-high compete level and intensity. He doesn't get rattled by traffic in and around his crease, and shakes off bad goals quickly to reset mentally. He is not deterrred by contact, and maintains focus with attackers crashing the net.
Medvedev possesses quick hands with terrific hand-eye co-ordination to catch pucks, and deflect shots to the corner with his blocker, enabling him to defend the top portion of his net well. His reflexes are elite, and help compensate when his technique breaks down. He absorbs shots well, and exhibits solid rebound control- although he's not infallible in this area; more work is needed in this area to build more consistency, as he can sometimes cough up an egregious giveaway off of a rebound at a bad time, when under duress, for a high-danger second-chance opportunity. Though he's normally positionally sound, and stays square to shooters most of the time, he can be caught cheating a bit once in a while, which exposes a need for more explosiveness in his lateral mobility. He seals off his posts well, but this is another area in need of better consistency, as he can be vulnerable to sharp-angle shots at times. He is a strong puck-handler, and can help his team in breakouts, and in transition; he shoulder-checks before retrieval to select the right course of action, and connects on a high-number of the passes he attempts. While he displays an ability to track the puck at an elite level, he can sometimes lose sight of it when under pressure, and when there is multiple layers of traffic in front of him. Again, more consistency is needed in this area, and he has to learn to stay centered in his net when stretching out to look around the screen. He reads the play well, recognizes threats early, and anticipates where the puck is going, in order to get set proactively. Medvedev is raw, and obviously inconsistent, but he has immense talent, and a high number of translatable skills. I believe he'll be selected in the second-round, and he could even be taken ahead of Ivankovic and/or Andreyanov.
Last edited by Sandman; 06-04-2025 at 06:10 PM.
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Big Russian Semyon Frolov (ranked # 2 EU Goalies, # 64 by McKenzie) leans a bit more towards being an athletic goalie who relies on speed and reflexes, moreso than technique- and he's quite raw in many areas. Despite a fluctuation in his stats, he has stayed consistent through playing on three different MHL squads, often shuttling between them, while seeing some time on the bench in the KHL for Spartak Moskva. This is an indication that the kid has a good head on his shoulders. Frolov possesses good size, and elite athleticism, giving him superior mobility in his crease, with explosive lateral agility from strong pushes off of his posts to keep himself square to the puck. He also moves quickly forwards to challenge shooters, and retreats backwards in a hurry, moving deeper into his net as the play advances. He's quite flexible, and his strong legs allow him to recover instantly from going down in the butterfly. Frolov is light on his skates, with dynamic footwork, and elite quickness.
Frolov is a calming presence, always maintaining poise and composure under pressure. His patient demeanor masks his competitive nature; he's a battler who puts forth multiple efforts to keep pucks out of his net when his technical skills and positioning fails him. He performs admirably under duress, makes clutch stops, and shows well in big games- as well as in important situations. He remains unrattled through contact, stays square to forwards who are barreling towards him, and keeps his focus when attackers crash the crease. His puck-handling can be a bit of an adventure, and he needs to work on his decision-making, as well as keeping things safe and simple, but at his best- he shows flashes of dynamic puck-movement that could make him a real asset to his team's transition. Frolov's hands are as quick as his feet, and he can flash the glove to snag shots from distance, and he is able to deflect pucks out of danger using his blocker. He uses his reach and an active stick for poke-checks around the net, displaying excellent timing, and high-end reflexes. Scouts say that rebound control is an issue for Frolov; he doesn't absorb shots well enough, fails to sweep pucks away from the crease when they land in front of him, and he allows too many second-chance opportunities. He seems to be able to track pucks well through traffic, and has reasonably good anticipation to beat the puck to it's intended target, staying square to the shooter most of the time, and keeping his five-hole covered while in-motion. Apparently, he is not proficient in stopping breakaways. Frolov relies too much on speed, reflexes, and athleticism, and could use plenty more refinement in his technique and positioning going forward. Frolov is all about raw tools and high-end potential, and will probably be a project for the team that drafts him. Look for him in the 2nd, or 3rd-round.
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Big Russian Semyon Frolov (ranked # 2 EU Goalies, # 64 by McKenzie) leans a bit more towards being an athletic goalie who relies on speed and reflexes, moreso than technique- and he's quite raw in many areas. Despite a fluctuation in his stats, he has stayed consistent through playing on three different MHL squads, often shuttling between them, while seeing some time on the bench in the KHL for Spartak Moskva. This is an indication that the kid has a good head on his shoulders. Frolov possesses good size, and elite athleticism, giving him superior mobility in his crease, with explosive lateral agility from strong pushes off of his posts to keep himself square to the puck. He also moves quickly forwards to challenge shooters, and retreats backwards in a hurry, moving deeper into his net as the play advances. He's quite flexible, and his strong legs allow him to recover instantly from going down in the butterfly. Frolov is light on his skates, with dynamic footwork, and elite quickness.
Frolov is a calming presence, always maintaining poise and composure under pressure. His patient demeanor masks his competitive nature; he's a battler who puts forth multiple efforts to keep pucks out of his net when his technical skills and positioning fails him. He performs admirably under duress, makes clutch stops, and shows well in big games- as well as in important situations. He remains unrattled through contact, stays square to forwards who are barreling towards him, and keeps his focus when attackers crash the crease. His puck-handling can be a bit of an adventure, and he needs to work on his decision-making, as well as keeping things safe and simple, but at his best- he shows flashes of dynamic puck-movement that could make him a real asset to his team's transition. Frolov's hands are as quick as his feet, and he can flash the glove to snag shots from distance, and he is able to deflect pucks out of danger using his blocker. He uses his reach and an active stick for poke-checks around the net, displaying excellent timing, and high-end reflexes. Scouts say that rebound control is an issue for Frolov; he doesn't absorb shots well enough, fails to sweep pucks away from the crease when they land in front of him, and he allows too many second-chance opportunities. He seems to be able to track pucks well through traffic, and has reasonably good anticipation to beat the puck to it's intended target, staying square to the shooter most of the time, and keeping his five-hole covered while in-motion. Apparently, he is not proficient in stopping breakaways. Frolov relies too much on speed, reflexes, and athleticism, and could use plenty more refinement in his technique and positioning going forward. Frolov is all about raw tools and high-end potential, and will probably be a project for the team that drafts him. Look for him in the 2nd, or 3rd-round.
I like Frolov. There's some agility there that can be tamed.
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Last edited by dammage79; 06-05-2025 at 08:01 AM.
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Lucas Beckman (ranked # 2 NA Goalies, # 51 by Button) has built himself a nice resume' this season. Starting last summer, he played 1 game for Team Canada in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, posting a 1.00 GAA, and a .964 SV% against Latvia, coming home with a Gold Medal at the end of the tournament. In league play with the Drakkar, he was 7th in SV% in the QMJHL, and 9th in GAA, while playing the 2nd-most minutes in the regular-season. That was followed by his playoffs, where he went 5-4-2, with a 2.57 GAA, and a .922 SV%, before Baie-Comeau was bounced from the post-season by Moncton in the Quarter-Finals. With his team out of the playoffs, he joined Team Canada again, this time for the U-18's- where he played 2 games, going 2-0, with a 0.75 GAA, and a .955 SV%.
Beckman is cool, calm and collected under heavy pressure, and is not thrown off by contact, or by attackers invading his crease. He's competitive and intense, but stays focused on the puck, and on making the next save. He tracks the puck well through screens, follows shots from distance, and exhibits solid awareness and anticipation to identify developing threats, in order to act proactively. Beckman likes to play at the top of his crease to cut down angles, make himself look bigger, and shrink the net- he doesn't easily retreat backwards, even when the play is advancing. He's very athletic, but could use a touch more strength in his legs to be faster in popping back up after being down in the butterfly. With solid footwork, he moves around the crease quickly, but is a little bit uncontrolled at times, and can slide a little too far out of position, or overcommit. He is usually square to shooters, making micro-adjustments in his stance to always be in the proper position, but his lateral mobility needs a little work; he's quick going side-to-side, but doesn't look very fluid or well-balanced in doing so, and sometimes loses control of his stick-placement- which opens up his five-hole. He's proficient at playing the puck, makes good decisions, and is an asset to his team's breakout. Scanning thoroughly, he keeps his head on a swivel to ensure that he makes the best play, and looks quite confident when handling.
Beckman's rebound control is well-developed, and he absorbs pucks well, in an effort to avoid giving up second-chance opportunities. He directs pucks off of his blocker to the corner, and away from danger, and displays an excellent glove-hand that can snag pucks out of mid-air. He is technically sound, and makes good use of his pads to seal off the posts with his well-honed RVH, and takes away the lower part of the net. Scouts seem to be all over the map with this kid- some have said he might not even be drafted, but I think he could be a steal. It seems that 6'2" goalies are now being referred to as "small", or "undersized". Look for him in the third-round.
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Forgive Gabriel D'Aigle (ranked # 11 NA Goalies) for his poor stats this season- he was stuck playing for the Victoriaville Tigres, who were the worst team in the Q, and 3rd-worst in the entire CHL. He has highly touted for years, which shows in him being chosen 2nd-overall in the 2022 QMJHL Entry Draft, and was once expected to be the first goalie off the board from this draft class. The waters are quite muddy in Victoriaville these days however, and projecting him now is a difficult task. He did very well in league play in his rookie season in 2023-24, going 13-6-0 for the Tigres, with a 3.18 GAA, and an .894 SV%, which led to his being picked to represent Team Canada in that summer's U-18's. He unfortunately ended up 19th in that event, out of 24 goalies who suited up, with a 1-2-0 record, on an .841 SV%, and a 4.36 GAA for the Bronze-Medal winning Canadians.
I believe that GDA is an underrated goalie because of the team he plays for. He uses his size very well, and makes himself look even bigger with his upright stance, and his willingness to move out to the edge of the crease to challenge shooters. He's a positionally sound butterfly goaltender, who lets his size and technique do a lot of the work for him, with long legs that move lightning-quick, and cover a large area in sealing off the bottom of the net. He moves around impressively quick, but looks a bit erratic in doing so, and needs to smooth-out his footwork. He seals his posts off incredibly well, moves laterally with explosive speed, and recovers back to a set position rapidly after being down in the butterfly. He flashes his glove to rob shooters, and his blocker helps protect the upper half of his net- although it lets him down at times. His main issue is his rebound control, as he gives up a lot of second-chance opportunities- many of them of the dangerous variety. GDA tracks the puck well, sees around and over traffic easily, stays square to the shooter proficiently, and displays keen reflexes. When handling the puck, he can look a little cringeworthy, with some ill-advised rims at times that lead to turnovers, and not enough scanning in his passes. He's not very confident with the puck, and it shows. While he relies a lot on his size and technique, and he's not quite as athletic as some other draft-eligible goalies, he possesses the compete and tenacity enough to come out of scrambles with the puck at a reasonable frequency, with attackers bearing down on him. I think he has more potential than he's being given credit for- look for him in the 3rd, or 4th-round.
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Love Harenstam (ranked # 5 EU Goalies, # 63 by Button) was once one of the highest-rated goaltenders in this class, which began with his performance in the 2023-24 J20 season as a 17 year-old- posting a 3.27 GAA, with a .905 SV% in 11 games, going 7-4-0 for Lulea. He followed up his season with an eye-opening performance for the Bronze Medal-winning Swedish team in that summer's U-18 Tournament, going 4-3-0, with a 2.26 GAA, and a .910 SV%. He was then off to the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, where he once again won Bronze with Team Sweden, playing in 4 games and posting a 2.49 GAA, and a .910 SV%. Harenstam started the season with Lulea, but was moved to Skelleftea after requesting a trade early in the year, and in the J20 Playoffs, he went 2-2-0, with a 3.91 GAA, and an .899 SV%. After the J20 season concluded, he was once again playing for Team Sweden, this time at the 2025 U-18 Worlds- winning a Silver Medal, while going 3-2-0, with a 3.89 GAA, and an .893 SV%. Somewhere along the way, he got in two games on the bench for Skelleftea's SHL team.
Harenstam employs well-honed technical skill, but stops pucks mostly through his solid positioning, and his blend of superb athleticism and acute reflexes. He is well-known for his impressive poise and composure, as well as his guts and strong mentality; he's a real battler, and never gives up on a play. With his intensity and compete, he performs well in net-front scrambles, and resets well after being scored upon. Harenstam moves around his crease incredibly well, with explosive lateral mobility from pushing off of his posts on his skates, to sliding from side-to-side on his pads to stifle attempts at breaching the bottom of the net; he needs work on his control though, as he can slide too far out of position. He also moves well going up-and-down, with his ability to recover to a standing position rapidly after going down in the butterfly. His RVH pose is pristine, helping him to seal off his posts exceptionally well, offering no holes to squeeze pucks through. He moves forwards and backwards quickly as well, coming out to the top of the cease to challenge shooters by cutting down the angles, and giving them less net to look at- then retreating back deeper in his net as needed. Haremstam makes himself look larger with his upright stance, and stays square to the puck with quick footwork on smooth edges, micro-adjusting along the way. While he shows some difficulty in tracking the puck at times through bodies, he reads the play well, and reacts quickly by flashing his ultra-fast glove, and his lively blocker, while possessing uncommon flexibility in his hips and extra-long legs to guard the lower-portion of his net.
Rebound control is a work in-progress for him, as he gives up too many dangerous second-chance opportunities, that should've been initially absorbed. He has shown the ability to direct shots out of danger off of his blocker, and reacts quickly to tips, re-directs, and deflections. With high-end scanning habits, and deft use of shoulder-checks, he is quite good at playing the puck, although he can be shaky at times. This skill makes him a valuable contributor to his team's breakout, and provides his defense with more depth in their puck-movement. Stylistically speaking, he reminds me of Miikka Kiprusoff at times- look for him in the 3rd-round.
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I’ll give you one off the top of my head: Philippe Veilleux. He hovered around a ppg for the first half of the season, then destroyed the Q down the stretch- piling up 50 points in the last 30 games. He’s 5’9”I believe.
Already being touted as a potential “steal of the draft” candidate.
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