2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, BC

[Rollieo Del Fuego]

15 hours ago, TGokou said:

Judging from the video above he doesn't seem to have the same skating ability as Hughes although still very good. Definitely had a productive year in Liiga but he is one of the older players in the draft if I am not mistaken. He will have to up his production to Heiskanen levels in his draft year in order to be considered in top 5 in my opinion. I've also heard his defense needs a lot of work, probably in the same vein as Boqvist. My guess is he will continue to be rated anywhere between 5-10 all season long and maybe falling just outside top 10 after the draft when all is said and done. 

Honka's production is way above heiskanen levels now...you must have missed were we started talking about him and this graph;

 

[kenhodgejr]

Anttoni Honka could be the perfect fit for us. We need a right shot defence man and he could be a solid top 4. I would love if we landed Kappo Kakko with our first and Anttoni Honka with our second or we trade up to get Honka

 

Dahlen Pettersson Kakko 

Baertchi Horvat Boeser 

Leipsic Gaudette Virtanen 

Goldobin 

 

Gadjovich MacEwen Lind Jassek Palmu Lockwood 

 

Hughes Woo 

Juolevi Honka 

Tyramkin Stetcher 

McEneny Rathbone 

Sautner 

Brisebois 

Utunen 

 

[TGokou]

1 hour ago, Rollieo Del Fuego said:

Honka's production is way above heiskanen levels now...you must have missed were we started talking about him and this graph;

 

I was basing it off of his point per game but I guess that works too

[Noble 6]

 

 

 

 

Cozens reminds me of Barzal as a right handed player (with black tape) who likes to skate with the puck and hold on to it. He's got some good tools and could very well be someone we seriously consider at our spot.

[kenhodgejr]

sounds like Kessler 

[Isam]

On 15/08/2018 at 12:54 PM, Horvat is a Boss said:

 

 

 

 

Cozens reminds me of Barzal as a right handed player (with black tape) who likes to skate with the puck and hold on to it. He's got some good tools and could very well be someone we seriously consider at our spot.

Him and dach are closer to getslaf then barzal. 

[westcoastsniper]

On 8/15/2018 at 12:54 PM, Horvat is a Boss said:

 

 

 

 

Cozens reminds me of Barzal as a right handed player (with black tape) who likes to skate with the puck and hold on to it. He's got some good tools and could very well be someone we seriously consider at our spot.

I can see what you mean, however he does it using his size, puck protection and a little bit of speed and instead of purely speed and agility. I like that Cozens use his size very well, kind of like Malkin, keeping players away from the puck using his ass haha.

[WonderTwinPowers]

43 minutes ago, Isam said:

Him and dach are closer to getslaf then barzal. 

Yeah I don't see the Barzal comparison much. MB has elite edgework, almost Crosby style. Cozens looks to have a really long stride, makes it kind of hard to compare.

[Isam]

7 minutes ago, WonderTwinPowers said:

Yeah I don't see the Barzal comparison much. MB has elite edgework, almost Crosby style. Cozens looks to have a really long stride, makes it kind of hard to compare.

Love to have cozens though. Kid is flat out good. 

[Isam]

People shouldnt sleep on krebs in this draft. Kid can score.

[Qwags]

Anyone got a good scouting report on Bowen Byram?

[Noble 6]

 

 

 

 

This is a really good article on Anttoni Honka, the younger brother of Julius Honka (taken 14th overall by Dallas in 2014) and one of the most interesting options for the 2019 draft. He's an offensive, right-handed defenseman who had an impressive draft -1 year in Liiga, the same league as Juolevi and the top league in Finland. Spending the majority of the year in that league as an underage player (and a defenseman at that) is impressive in itself, but he did very well in the games he played. He actually lead the entire league in points per/60 (2.34) and Corsi% (62.5%). He was 8% above his team's average with a reasonable 55% offensive zone starts and had a 79 GF% (he was on for 15 goals for versus only 4 against. Here's a table showing looking at the points/60 leaders in the league (already posted earlier in the thread but I'm bringing it up again):

 

 

 

Those numbers are very impressive considering that he's again, a 17 year old defenseman playing in the top Finnish league and looking very good there. He's doing more than being a warm body developing there, he's contributing at a high level for his team when, quite frankly, he shouldn't be. Juolevi and Heskainen, two top-5 picks, didn't even play in Liiga at all in their draft -1 years. Here are some more comparables to stress just how impressive Honka's past season was compared to other recent first rounders from Finland (be sure to take note of where the each player is/was in their development when they put up those numbers):

 

Juolevi (Draft +2 Year): 19 points in 38 games (0.50 PPG)

A. Honka (Draft -1 Year): 9 points in 20 games (0.45 PPG)

Ristolainen (Draft Year): 15 points in 52 games (0.29 PPG)

Heskainen (Draft Year): 10 points in 37 games (0.27 PPG) 

Vaakanainen (Draft +1 Year): 11 points in 43 games (0.26 PPG)

 

A 17 year old Honka produced offensive at almost the exact same rate as a 19 year old Juolevi. Heskainen had a historic year in Liiga this year and is viewed as a dark horse Calder candidate and a potential challenger for the Norris trophy in his prime and Honka put up better numbers than him while being a year younger. Again, those two players that I'm comparing Honka to went 5th and 3rd overall in their respective drafts. Honka is currently listed at 5'10 and 170 pounds, but he's still growing. He could realistically play in the NHL at 6 foot and around 190 pounds. That's decent size for a player of Honka's type in today's NHL. 

 

Here are some highlights. You can see in these videos that he's very calm and composed with the puck and he assesses his options at the blue line very well. His skating is very good and he can move laterally along the blue line effectively. His puck skills are good and he can jump into the attack effectively. His first pass is good and he has a good, accurate shot. You can also see that he looks fairly young still, especially in the clips from his time in Liiga. He should be able to grow and add muscle effectively. Another significant thing to consider is that Honka can go directly to the AHL after being drafted or stay in Liiga, both of which are much higher quality options than the CHL. 

 

* The third video is a shift-by-shift video, which offers a more complete picture of how Honka plays the game and what his strengths and weaknesses are. 

 

 

 

 

If the 2019 draft was tomorrow, I would have to think that Honka would be a lock to go top-5 based on all the information posted above. This draft was proof that teams aren't afraid to take smaller, skilled defensemen high in the draft anymore (Hughes and Boqvist went before Bouchard and Dobson) and there simply aren't as many defenseman that Honka has to compete with. Honka likely is the top defenseman in the draft for me at the moment, but Byram also looks very good as well. 

 

It's going to be fun following Honka's progress throughout the year.

[theo5789]

2 hours ago, Horvat is a Boss said:

 

 

 

 

This is a really good article on Anttoni Honka, the younger brother of Julius Honka (taken 14th overall by Dallas in 2014) and one of the most interesting options for the 2019 draft. He's an offensive, right-handed defenseman who had an impressive draft -1 year in Liiga, the same league as Juolevi and the top league in Finland. Spending the majority of the year in that league as an underage player (and a defenseman at that) is impressive in itself, but he did very well in the games he played. He actually lead the entire league in points per/60 (2.34) and Corsi% (62.5%). He was 8% above his team's average with a reasonable 55% offensive zone starts and had a 79 GF% (he was on for 15 goals for versus only 4 against. Here's a table showing looking at the points/60 leaders in the league (already posted earlier in the thread but I'm bringing it up again):

 

 

 

Those numbers are very impressive considering that he's again, a 17 year old defenseman playing in the top Finnish league and looking very good there. He's doing more than being a warm body developing there, he's contributing at a high level for his team when, quite frankly, he shouldn't be. Juolevi and Heskainen, two top-5 picks, didn't even play in Liiga at all in their draft -1 years. Here are some more comparables to stress just how impressive Honka's past season was compared to other recent first rounders from Finland (be sure to take note of where the each player is/was in their development when they put up those numbers):

 

Juolevi (Draft +2 Year): 19 points in 38 games (0.50 PPG)

A. Honka (Draft -1 Year): 9 points in 20 games (0.45 PPG)

Ristolainen (Draft Year): 15 points in 52 games (0.29 PPG)

Heskainen (Draft Year): 10 points in 37 games (0.27 PPG) 

Vaakanainen (Draft +1 Year): 11 points in 43 games (0.26 PPG)

 

A 17 year old Honka produced offensive at almost the exact same rate as a 19 year old Juolevi. Heskainen had a historic year in Liiga this year and is viewed as a dark horse Calder candidate and a potential challenger for the Norris trophy in his prime and Honka put up better numbers than him while being a year younger. Again, those two players that I'm comparing Honka to went 5th and 3rd overall in their respective drafts. Honka is currently listed at 5'10 and 170 pounds, but he's still growing. He could realistically play in the NHL at 6 foot and around 190 pounds. That's decent size for a player of Honka's type in today's NHL. 

 

Here are some highlights. You can see in these videos that he's very calm and composed with the puck and he assesses his options at the blue line very well. His skating is very good and he can move laterally along the blue line effectively. His puck skills are good and he can jump into the attack effectively. His first pass is good and he has a good, accurate shot. You can also see that he looks fairly young still, especially in the clips from his time in Liiga. He should be able to grow and add muscle effectively. Another significant thing to consider is that Honka can go directly to the AHL after being drafted or stay in Liiga, both of which are much higher quality options than the CHL. 

 

* The third video is a shift-by-shift video, which offers a more complete picture of how Honka plays the game and what his strengths and weaknesses are. 

 

 

 

 

If the 2019 draft was tomorrow, I would have to think that Honka would be a lock to go top-5 based on all the information posted above. This draft was proof that teams aren't afraid to take smaller, skilled defensemen high in the draft anymore (Hughes and Boqvist went before Bouchard and Dobson) and there simply aren't as many defenseman that Honka has to compete with. Honka likely is the top defenseman in the draft for me at the moment, but Byram also looks very good as well. 

 

It's going to be fun following Honka's progress throughout the year.

The question is if Honka (or Byram) are really top 5 talent or are they just simply the top of their position for the year. Kotkaniemi was probably not top 3 material, but he was classed as the best center of the draft which boosted him. Hayton I assume was also boosted up for this factor as well. There are a lot of good forwards at the top of this draft.

[khay]

On 6/24/2018 at 10:01 PM, Jaimito said:

If nux win the draft lottery next yr, I will fly home to watch it in person. 

If we win the #1 overall, I will do the same.

[Noble 6]

1 hour ago, theo5789 said:

The question is if Honka (or Byram) are really top 5 talent or are they just simply the top of their position for the year. Kotkaniemi was probably not top 3 material, but he was classed as the best center of the draft which boosted him. Hayton I assume was also boosted up for this factor as well. There are a lot of good forwards at the top of this draft.

 

Good point. It'll probably be the reverse of this year, which was weak on centers and as a result we saw a couple of them (Kotkaniemi and Hayton) go earlier than everyone expected because those 2 teams were desperate for centers. Next year is weak on defensemen, so we might see a one or more of them go earlier than expected based on a team needing a defenseman. 

 

However, based on everything I said in that lengthy post, I think Honka is top-5 material as of right now. There's an entire year of hockey between now and the draft though. We've seen guys like Liljegren and Chychrun fall off from their draft -1 years recently, so Honka needs to prove it again this year. 

[Isam]

13 hours ago, Horvat is a Boss said:

 

Good point. It'll probably be the reverse of this year, which was weak on centers and as a result we saw a couple of them (Kotkaniemi and Hayton) go earlier than everyone expected because those 2 teams were desperate for centers. Next year is weak on defensemen, so we might see a one or more of them go earlier than expected based on a team needing a defenseman. 

 

However, based on everything I said in that lengthy post, I think Honka is top-5 material as of right now. There's an entire year of hockey between now and the draft though. We've seen guys like Liljegren and Chychrun fall off from their draft -1 years recently, so Honka needs to prove it again this year. 

Disagree on honka. Actually have vlasic and york ranked higher. Both are better overall defencemen then then honka.

[wildcam]

Very early for 2019 draft ranking lots can change..

1. Hughes  C 5'11 - 2. Cozen c 6'2 - 3. Kakko - 4. Podkoizin - 5. Brosberg 6'3 D - 6. Krebs c - 7. Newhook c

8 Dach c 6-'3 .. Vancouver Giants Byram D ranked 10...

Vancouver will get a very good prospect, like  Dach 6'3 C, Byram will be a very good D man..

[dpn1]

In reference to Honka,  I find it hard to base opinions on players just by watching highlights on the interweb .  The tendency is to think they will are always going to look like they are in those Highlights.  Over estimating their ceiling and ending up being disappointed that they are not what you expected.

[Noble 6]

8 minutes ago, dpn1 said:

In reference to Honka,  I find it hard to base opinions on players just by watching highlights on the interweb .  The tendency is to think they will are always going to look like they are in those Highlights.  Over estimating their ceiling and ending up being disappointed that they are not what you expected.

 

That's why I posted a shift by shift video too. 

[cyoung]

Byram would be great honestly. Love his game.