Scott Wheeler's Top 100 drafted NHL prospects

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by d as in david

what # was catton?

15

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Tacoman

It was interesting talking to the Flames head of NCAA scouting at the dev camp. I gave him a little grief (in jest) for drafting Perekh ahead of Buium. He said they had them ranked pretty much identically but went with Perekh because he was a right shot. He definitely didn't say it but I would have to believe that the Canadian vs American had to have come into play as well.

Yeah, if you think they are about the same then you go with the guy you hold the rights to for sure

[Samonadreau]

Interesting that Cayden Lindstrom is 18.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Samonadreau

Interesting that Cayden Lindstrom is 18.

Doesn't surprise me, he was just drafted.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Doesn't surprise me, he was just drafted.

But so were a few members of tier two as well.

I think that was their point.

[TheScorpion]

Look I was trying and failing to make a joke about him being 18 years old, see, never mind

[Aarongavey]

Seems to have some serious recency bias. Anyone in this years draft is generally ranked better than last years draft, despite last years draft being generally considered a better draft.

Ryan Leonard below Cole Eiserman?

Trevor Connolly ahead of Easton Cowan, Calum Ritchie and Bradley Nadeau?

Some strange rankings on there.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I still think Honzek is very underrated. Yes, disappointing season to be sure, but he has everything you want in a that tier of prospect just outside of "franchise" or "blue-chip" level which are usually only available in the top few picks. Good on Wheeler for not pushing Honzek too far down. I always prefer players who generate their own offence.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Seems to have some serious recency bias. Anyone in this years draft is generally ranked better than last years draft, despite last years draft being generally considered a better draft.

Ryan Leonard below Cole Eiserman?

Trevor Connolly ahead of Easton Cowan, Calum Ritchie and Bradley Nadeau?

Some strange rankings on there.

Wheeler is very high in Esierman so it's consistent with how he views him.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

He's the obvious one but Musty comes to mind as a guy that would have been a better pick.

Musty was also oddly left of the U.S. WJC team last year.
Seems like a prospect that fans/bloggers like more than the hockey world. Why? I have no idea.

[blender]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Can’t argue too much with the Flames rankings

Honzek had such a terrible year that it’s a surprise he is even mentioned

Hopefully, he can turn it around quickly

Honest question. Ever see him play live?
He did have a rough year and there is certainly no guarantee that he ends up turning into a good pro player, but his size and skill set make him a tantalizing prospect.

You might be surprised he's still considered a top prospect, but actual talent evaluators won't be.

[Bingo Jr.]

Originally Posted by blender

Honest question. Ever see him play live?
He did have a rough year and there is certainly no guarantee that he ends up turning into a good pro player, but his size and skill set make him a tantalizing prospect.

You might be surprised he's still considered a top prospect, but actual talent evaluators won't be.

I saw him play live twice against Tij and the Rockets, and he was pretty underwhelming. Scored a sweet one timer and the tools are certainly there, but I couldn't help but be more impressed by Lipinski. Honz looked a bit disengaged at times. Just my two cents.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Not sure if it was noted but goalies are excluded, top 20 being released tomorrow

[SuperMatt18]

It's so hard to gauge any player based on an injury plagued season.

Honzek, Pelletier, and Poirier all fall into that boat that really need a healthy offseason, good workouts, and to come to camp on fire next year.

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

It's so hard to gauge any player based on an injury plagued season.

Honzek, Pelletier, and Poirier all fall into that boat that really need a healthy offseason, good workouts, and to come to camp on fire next year.

Some players are constantly injured and some never get injured. Durability is a skill.

[VilleN]

Originally Posted by butterfly

Some players are constantly injured and some never get injured. Durability is a skill.

I think it may partly be a skill - that's debatable. I'd say it is more or less genetic.

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by VilleN

I think it may partly be a skill - that's debatable. I'd say it is more or less genetic.

Skill may be the wrong word, but durability is a characteristic that should be rewarded or punished when evaluating a player. It's no different than size or speed in that regard.

"If he can stay healthy this year..." isn't analysis; it's an admission that the player is more likely than others to be injured, which should be part of the projection.

[Strange Brew]

Many pro coaches say that "availability" is the most important trait a player can have.

As for the this list, it's obviously a point in time and a singular opinion. But kind of reinforces the view that Flames are going to need a few years of well above average drafting to turn this ship around. This team needs a top line and a top pairing and if you want to be a contender, these need to be in the top tier of the league.

So 2 or 3 more years of a high pick and then some good drafting with all your other picks could really change things.

[stemit14]

Conroy may have to make a tough decision if Parekh has a dominant pre-season and training camp. I think the flames fully plan to send him to junior this year but what if he goes on a crazy run and forces their hand to give him a spot on the opening night roster? Highly unlikely but stranger things have happened.

It happened to Benson with the Sabres last year. They had no intention of having him make the team out of camp last year but he played so well they kept him up… which was impressive considering how many good forward prospects the team has. Part of that was due to injuries as well that created openings in the line up.

My hope is that he shows his skills in the pre-season and looks close to ready but is still sent to Junior for another year. Would hate to stifle his game this year with tough matchups and physical play that could lead to injury. I think I heard one of the things he needs to work on was avoiding big hits… sounds like he was getting rocked too frequently for a player of his skillset and size. Would rather him work on that in Junior than the NHL.

[Johnny Makarov]

The best thing about this rebuild is that we finally have more than 1 or 2 prospects at the World Juniors. Hopefully 5 or 6 instead of ZERO like last year! lol