Scott Wheeler's Prospect Pool Rankings 2024

[sevenarms]

Originally Posted by Bingo

My reading between the lines on what Wheeler said in his Canuck note ...



HB is a B+ now, but last year he wasn't and wasn't in the Canucks top prospects list.

Meaning the loss in a year over year comparison is muted for Vancouver since Jurmo slid, and HB wasn't on the list last year to begin with.

For the Flames though that's an add of a B+ to the system which will have an impact.

Which would have slotted him ahead of Raty as the Canucks #4 prospect.

[Ped]

Originally Posted by Bingo

My reading between the lines on what Wheeler said in his Canuck note ...

HB is a B+ now, but last year he wasn't and wasn't in the Canucks top prospects list.

Well, he wasn't in the Canucks prospect list because he wouldn't have been drafted by the Canucks yet when the list came out. So while undoubtedly his stock has risen, it's not like he was not considered good enough last year - he wasn't eligible for these rankings at all.

[Canada 02]

Originally Posted by Ped

I think Brz has some high upside but have to wonder if there is an "industry" book where he is being judged. I mean, he is tearing up junior but didn't make the US national team.

they had Hutson, Casey and Buium. How many pure offensive D-men did they need? Damn hard roster to crack with that high end talent

[Ped]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

they had Hutson, Casey and Buium. How many pure offensive D-men did they need? Damn hard roster to crack with that high end talent

Very hard. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with him at all, but you would think a guy putting up his totals would have had a better chance. I didn't make the original comment to suggest he's a terrible prospect; he obviously isn't. Its just sometimes you see scouts and media judge a player by the same brush, and there are definitely politics at play with national teams.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Ped

I believe he did write that he would include them in the Flames as he hadn't published the article yet - but in the Canuck one he published today, he said Jurmo was a C and Brz a B prospect when talking about their deletion, so they may not move the needle much.

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Some else said the same thing. Maybe it was Dreger, that when he asked around he was told by scouts that the prospects acquired by Flames were B and C grades.

Those seem like fair grades for each player. There is nothing wrong with those rankings either. Teams rarely move "A" quality prospects in deals without something similar coming back. So to get a B and C prospect - players that have the ability to play in the NHL - is a great add to the system.

The argument over whether one is a "B" or is a "B+" really doesn't matter. That's like moving from an 85 to an 88. Does that really matter? No. Let's see what the player does at the next level before determining whether they are all that and a bag of Doritos. If either player can excel in the AHL, then we have something to elevate. Like Bingo pointed out, Brzustewich wasn't even on the Canuck's list last year, so the jump onto a list is a pretty big step.

[Ped]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

Like Bingo pointed out, Brzustewich wasn't even on the Canuck's list last year, so the jump onto a list is a pretty big step.

Unless last year had a different timeline, the lists came out before the Canucks drafted him. So that in itself doesn't mean anything.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

Those seem like fair grades for each player. There is nothing wrong with those rankings either. Teams rarely move "A" quality prospects in deals without something similar coming back. So to get a B and C prospect - players that have the ability to play in the NHL - is a great add to the system.

The argument over whether one is a "B" or is a "B+" really doesn't matter. That's like moving from an 85 to an 88. Does that really matter? No. Let's see what the player does at the next level before determining whether they are all that and a bag of Doritos. If either player can excel in the AHL, then we have something to elevate. Like Bingo pointed out, Brzustewich wasn't even on the Canuck's list last year, so the jump onto a list is a pretty big step.

Would he have even been eligible to be on the list?

He was only drafted in June...so depending when Wheeler did the list last year he wasn't even drafted yet.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Ped

Unless last year had a different timeline, the lists came out before the Canucks drafted him. So that in itself doesn't mean anything.

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Would he have even been eligible to be on the list?

He wouldn't have appeared on Wheeler's list for the reason you pointed out. The post draft / pre-season organizational rankings that were out didn't have Brzustewich on many lists for the Canucks, so making a list now is a dramatic improvement. He's a solid "B" prospect and fills a gap the Flames have in the system. That is a huge positive and bodes well for the player. It will be interesting to see him in the AHL in two years (I think he still has to play junior next season) and how his game translates.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

The Flames have really good prospect depth but not the blue chip prospects that these rankings tend to rate highly. Looking back through history it would be interesting to see if the rankings actually made a difference for a teams performance or if they were overrated year after year.

I find that a lot of these rankings are sort of #### though. Look at Pronman's prospect ranking from 2017, so all players who should be making their mark by now. There are some good players and some bad players, but by no means would I ever mistake this for an organized top hockey prospects list from 7 years ago.

1. Casey Mittelstadt
2. Eeli Tolvanen
3. Miro Heiskanen
4. Martin Necas
5. Henrik Borgstrom
6. Robert Thomas
7. Kirill Kaprizov
8. Gabriel Vilardi
9. Dylan Strome
10. Elias Pettersson
11. Filip Chytil
12. Cale Makar
13. Timothy Liljegren
14. Cody Glass
15. Kasperi Kapanen

[Cali Panthers Fan]

^Oof...Borgstrom. Swing and a miss from the Panthers.

I dunno, I think it's a pretty great group of players to be honest. They don't all pan out to be stars, but most are NHLers that add value to their teams. There's a couple of outright star players here too, and one generational defenseman. The rankings don't mean as much to me as guys all develop differently.

[Rikster]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

The Flames have really good prospect depth but not the blue chip prospects that these rankings tend to rate highly. Looking back through history it would be interesting to see if the rankings actually made a difference for a teams performance or if they were overrated year after year.

I find that a lot of these rankings are sort of #### though. Look at Pronman's prospect ranking from 2017, so all players who should be making their mark by now. There are some good players and some bad players, but by no means would I ever mistake this for an organized top hockey prospects list from 7 years ago.

1. Casey Mittelstadt
2. Eeli Tolvanen
3. Miro Heiskanen
4. Martin Necas
5. Henrik Borgstrom
6. Robert Thomas
7. Kirill Kaprizov
8. Gabriel Vilardi
9. Dylan Strome
10. Elias Pettersson
11. Filip Chytil
12. Cale Makar
13. Timothy Liljegren
14. Cody Glass
15. Kasperi Kapanen

Will be interesting to see where HB is ranked on the Flames list.

Sawyer Mynio, who is a year younger than HB and who many thought surpassed HB on the Nucks depth chart was ranked 10th in Wheelers list.

The Nucks were quick to sign Mynio out of training camp last fall while HB was unsigned when he was dealt to Calgary.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Are you implying that’s because the Canucks had less interest in signing him?

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

^Oof...Borgstrom. Swing and a miss from the Panthers.

I dunno, I think it's a pretty great group of players to be honest. They don't all pan out to be stars, but most are NHLers that add value to their teams. There's a couple of outright star players here too, and one generational defenseman. The rankings don't mean as much to me as guys all develop differently.

It isn't really that good of a ranking list though. The list of players is good. I am sure that I could make an equally good list just based on news clippings though.

The best player on that list is Makar and he is 12th behind some players who are good but not great players. There is too much emphasis that is placed into some of these seemingly educated opinions by fanbases.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Hah, no chance, obviously. If he'd still been in the Canucks organization he would rank 5th on the list behind Raty.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by Rikster

Will be interesting to see where HB is ranked on the Flames list.

Sawyer Mynio, who is a year younger than HB and who many thought surpassed HB on the Nucks depth chart was ranked 10th in Wheelers list.

The Nucks were quick to sign Mynio out of training camp last fall while HB was unsigned when he was dealt to Calgary.

Get off it. The Canucks had to give up a good player to get the player they wanted. That doesn't mean that he is now bad. No one thought anything about Mynio before and most won't think anything about him after, much like all third round picks.

[devo22]

hook, line and Rikster.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

Get off it. The Canucks had to give up a good player to get the player they wanted. That doesn't mean that he is now bad. No one thought anything about Mynio before and most won't think anything about him after, much like all third round picks.

Yeah, they clearly care or else they wouldn't keep circling back to this thread. The funniest part about it to me is that the odds are very on their side that he won't be a top 4 dman in the NHL but they can't help but try to minimize it still.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by devo22

hook, line and Rikster.

Sure but I am well known to be a Canucks fan on here so I didn't want to get lumped in with that garbage.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Rikster

Will be interesting to see where HB is ranked on the Flames list.

Sawyer Mynio, who is a year younger than HB and who many thought surpassed HB on the Nucks depth chart was ranked 10th in Wheelers list.

The Nucks were quick to sign Mynio out of training camp last fall while HB was unsigned when he was dealt to Calgary.

Still desperately trying to spin that subpar return for Elias angle eh.

Afraid you're on an island there, and I think it's only going to get harder to convince people/yourself over time.

[Rikster]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

Get off it. The Canucks had to give up a good player to get the player they wanted. That doesn't mean that he is now bad. No one thought anything about Mynio before and most won't think anything about him after, much like all third round picks.

If you read my comments at the time of the trade, you would know that I was disappointed to see HB included in the deal.

I said that the trade was basically a 1st and HB for Lindstrom, the other parts have longer odds to amount to much.

So not sure why you are suggesting that I now think he is now a bad player?

Or why you would write Mynio off because he is a 3rd round pick when both HB and Mynio were third round picks, one the 75th overall and the other 89th overall?

My post was in response to discussion of the Nucks rankings and if the loss of HB impacted their ranking and if the addition of HB will raise the Flames ranking.

Given that the Flames prospect pool is rated higher by Wheeler, and Mynio was ranked 10th on the Nucks list I am interested in where he comes in on the Flames list.

If you think that is an attack on the player, I'd suggest you take your own advice and get off it.

As for why HB wasn't/didn't sign in Vancouver, haven't a clue ... some chatter that he didn't want to sign because of where he saw himself on the depth chart.