THW 2014 NHL Draft HQ Thread

[cral12]

As to not hijack FC Hockey's great draft thread, I'd thought I'd create a separate thread specifically for The Hockey Writers draft coverage, which is starting to kick into high gear.
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Update: The official THW draft HQ page now live as well:

2014 NHL Draft Guide: The Next Ones

Much to be added; a great starting point for your draft needs.
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Although we have many writers in the rinks, The Hockey Writers are more akin to prospect profilers versus scouts, but many of our lads definitely have a keen eye for talent.

A sports injury (name a knee ligament and I've torn it) and other commitments have honestly put me behind this season with respect to compiling my personal The Next Ones NHL draft prospect serie, but I have been busy editing THW E-Mac's (Eldon MacDonald; my colleague out east who has been scouting the game for iver a decade) Exclusive "War Room" series.

At THW, you'll find The Next Ones series, The War Room series as well as prospect interviews, mock drafts, exclusive rankings, etc.

The Next Ones

March Top 120 Rankings - The Next Ones Edition
(compiled by me)

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THW NHL Draft War Room

War Room Rankings (February) Top 150
- in detailed easy-to-use spreadsheet format
- compiled by Eldon MacDonald; edited by yours truly

We also now have a page capturing completed profiles:

2014 NHL Draft War Room: Prospect Profile Index

For Reference: Combining NHL Central Scoutings Midterm Rankings

Completed Profiles:

1. Aaron Ekblad
2. Sam Reinhart
3. Sam Bennett
4. Michael Dal Colle
5. Leon Draisaitl
6. Nick Ritchie
7. Haydn Fleury
8. Jake Virtanen
9. Brendan Perlini
10. Kasperi Kapanen
11. William Nylander
12. Jared McCann
13. Nikolaj Ehlers
14. Adrian Kempe
15 Ivan Barbashev #TheArmsDealer.
16. Sonny Milano #MrMagicHands
17. David Pastrnak
18. Roland McKeown
19. Alex Tuch
20. Josh Ho-Sang
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Mock Draft(s)

2014 NHL Mock Draft: Olympic Hockey Edition

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Much more to come...

Armchair GMs and scouts, have your say...

[cral12]

Goalie Q & A series (by Toli Metter)

Q & A With 2014 NHL Draft Prospect Blake Weyrick

Thatcher Demko

Mason MacDonald

Alex Nedeljkovic

Kasimir Kaskisuo

Plus:

2014 NHL Draft: Top Draft-Eligible Prospect Goalies (North America)

[cral12]

Interviews

Sam Reinhart: One-on-One with 2014 NHL Draft Prospect

Aaron Ekblad

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

I'm loving the War Room series. Nicely laid out. Very informative. Thanks for this!

[FlameZilla]

Fleury and Virtanen are looking like good consolation prizes if we end up missing out on Ekblad/Reinhart/Bennett etc.

[loob job]

Watch for the 28th on that list ehlers to skyrocket up. I'm betting he will be a top 10 pick. 83 points in 55 games for the Mooseheads. Watched him the other night, unreal skill.

[loob job]

Just saw ehlers is 14th in their mock draft, so maybe i'm not the only one that thinks having him ranked 28 is to low.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by loob job

Just saw ehlers is 14th in their mock draft, so maybe i'm not the only one that thinks having him ranked 28 is to low.

As I said after watching him live at the Top Prospects game, this kid could stickhandle through downtown Shanghai during rush hour.

[cral12]

The Next five are Live!

6. Nick Ritchie
7. Haydn Fleury
8. Jake Virtanen
9. Brendan Perlini
10. Kasperi Kapanen

[ForeverFlameFan]

Depending on where we draft, we should get a center (top 5), unless some miracle happens and we get Ekblad. Reinhart, Bennett, and Draisaitl look really good. If we are beyond top 5, I think we should draft Haydn Fleury.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Man I want the Flames to get Virtanen so freakin' bad. Already NHL size and his skill is ridiculous.

Just curious, what's the biggest knock on Virtanen? Sounds like a perfect power forward right now.

[cral12]

PMM: I'd say consistency (although not much of an issue in 2014 calendar yr) as well as ability to utilize teammates to the best extent.

I'm confident the Flames will get a very good prospect with their 1st in 2014. It may not be Virtanen in all likelihood, but I do salivate somewhat in envisioning Virtanen flanking Monahan.

I recently described him as a bull in a china shop who can skate like the wind and has a true sniper shot.

[Vulcan]

I'm thinking outside of the top three, we may need to wait a year or so for the player to make the Flames.

[cral12]

A hat trick of profiles up today:

11. William Nylander
12. Jared McCann
13. Nikolaj Ehlers

[cral12]

As I mentioned previously, a sports injury (name a knee ligament and I've torn it) and other commitments have honestly put me behind this season with respect to compiling my personal The Next Ones NHL draft prospect series and rankings.

Anyway, finally got my version of the rankings published this morning.

Here's the top 10:

THW NHL-CS Player Team League
1 3 Ekblad, Aaron Barrie OHL
2 4 Reinhart, Sam Kootenay WHL
3 1 Bennett, Samuel Kingston OHL
4 28 Ehlers, Nikolaj Halifax QMJHL
5 2 Draisaitl, Leon Prince Alb. WHL
6 5 Dal Colle, Michael Oshawa OHL
7 10 Virtanen, Jake Calgary WHL
8 7 Fleury, Haydn Red Deer WHL
9 12 Nylander, Willam Södertälje # Allsvenskan SWE 2
10 8 Ritchie, Nick Petes OHL

Here's link to the full list in searchable and sortable table format with links to all Elite Prospects profiles for up-todate stats.

Link: http://thehockeywriters.com/2014-nhl...ngs-next-ones/

[ComixZone]

Great thread.

I can't see us selecting any "higher" than 3rd overall, and no lower than 6th - but I'm really hoping for 3-5.

Would love to land one of Bennett, Dal Colle or Draisaitl.

[cral12]

After many hours compiling and editing the Top 120 spreadsheet, it seems as that I have omitted #43. I will get rectified when I can. The good news is that one of the lads I had to cut gets in the Top 120!

[cral12]

Adrian Kempe is now live. Find out why E-Mac call him the Swedish "Bull".

[cral12]

Brain freeze corrected. WHL's Nelson Nogier makes his way into the Top 120.

[Enoch Root]

very disappointed that you changed your avatar