2021 NHL Entry Draft

[smithers joe]

is there any prospects that are nhl ready for next year?

[HighOnHockey]

2 hours ago, smithers joe said:

is there any prospects that are nhl ready for next year?

Power and Benier would be most likely, both being late birthdays, already with a year of NCAA, and both play a pro-style game. Not sure if either is a lock, but I'd say the odds are better than not. Brandt Clarke would be a pretty good bet too. Outside chance for Sillinger, Guenther and Eklund.

[hammertime]

My main takeaways from the U18 regarding this years draft elligable kids.

 

Tuomaala, Lysell, really impressed me.

 

Svechkov further solidified himself as a top 10 pick on my board. 

 

Clarke is still 1st over all for me.

 

McTavish moved the needle a bit I now have him just outside my top ten and just inside from a Canucks perspective.

 

Heimosalmi, and Ceulemans were very nice surprises. 

 

I don't think Samu Salminen lost a single faceoff all tournament obviously that's an exaggeration but not much of one. He knows how to slide into open space and has a wicked shot. He plays a power fwd game. If he can improve his pace he could potentially be a second round steal. 

 

Dissapointments:

Guenther, Edvinsson, I'm still high on these 2 players (Top 10) however I expected a more dominant performance from them.

[J.I.A.H.N]

Been doing a lot of evaluating this years draft along side of the teams and their needs

 

Because of this year being so wide open in terms of draft position and team needs, I have come up with this........

 

This is done by winning percentage today

 

1.Buffalo..................Eklund

2.Anahiem...............Power

3.Seattle..................Beniers

4.NJ.........................Hughes

5.Columbus.............Johnson

6.Detroit...................Wallstedt

7.Ottawa..................Guenther

8.San Jose...............Clarke

9.Vancouver...........................................McTavish, Svenkov, Lysell, Cuelemens, Sillinger, Coronato, Lucius

 

So, I think Vancouver has a choice of these players right now. Personally, I think we drop into the 7 or 8 slot, but for now, I am thinking we are in this slot, which is as good as any!

 

I have 2 questions right now..........................

 

#1. Who of the players I think we are looking at would you take?

 

#2. Would anyone trade Miller to Columbus for their #5...................Miller and a 2021 second for Columbus's 2021 - 5th ?

[Pepe Silvia]

33 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

Been doing a lot of evaluating this years draft along side of the teams and their needs

 

Because of this year being so wide open in terms of draft position and team needs, I have come up with this........

 

This is done by winning percentage today

 

1.Buffalo..................Eklund

2.Anahiem...............Power

3.Seattle..................Beniers

4.NJ.........................Hughes

5.Columbus.............Johnson

6.Detroit...................Wallstedt

7.Ottawa..................Guenther

8.San Jose...............Clarke

9.Vancouver...........................................McTavish, Svenkov, Lysell, Cuelemens, Sillinger, Coronato, Lucius

 

So, I think Vancouver has a choice of these players right now. Personally, I think we drop into the 7 or 8 slot, but for now, I am thinking we are in this slot, which is as good as any!

 

I have 2 questions right now..........................

 

#1. Who of the players I think we are looking at would you take?

 

#2. Would anyone trade Miller to Columbus for their #5...................Miller and a 2021 second for Columbus's 2021 - 5th ?

Trading Miller right now would be a set back. It would leave a pretty big hole in this team and I don't think it's worth it when we already have a high pick.  He's basically been a PPG for us, so we're trading him to get a player that will hopefully if he hits his potential will be a PPG player? Why risk that? Plus he's on a great contract. 

I think it's key we finish bottom 5 or lower. Worst we could fall is to 7th where we're still in great position to grab good prospect. 

1. Power
2. Beniers
3. Edvinsson
4. Hughes
5. Clarke
6. Guenther
7. Eklund
8. Johnson 

 

[hammertime]

24 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

Been doing a lot of evaluating this years draft along side of the teams and their needs

 

Because of this year being so wide open in terms of draft position and team needs, I have come up with this........

 

This is done by winning percentage today

 

1.Buffalo..................Eklund

2.Anahiem...............Power

3.Seattle..................Beniers

4.NJ.........................Hughes

5.Columbus.............Johnson

6.Detroit...................Wallstedt

7.Ottawa..................Guenther

8.San Jose...............Clarke

9.Vancouver...........................................McTavish, Svenkov, Lysell, Cuelemens, Sillinger, Coronato, Lucius

 

So, I think Vancouver has a choice of these players right now. Personally, I think we drop into the 7 or 8 slot, but for now, I am thinking we are in this slot, which is as good as any!

 

I have 2 questions right now..........................

 

#1. Who of the players I think we are looking at would you take?

 

#2. Would anyone trade Miller to Columbus for their #5...................Miller and a 2021 second for Columbus's 2021 - 5th ?

I'll play. I think you are very close on your predictions of how the Draft will go at least in terms of who will be left where we pick. 

 

For me its a no brainer it's Lysell.................................... Svechkov...McT

 

IMO Lysell is a top tier player in this draft. Up there with Clarke Luke Beniers Eklund. IMO the Canuck model team JB is building revolves around forechecking maintaining pressure and activated defense. Lysell is an absolute menace in the neutral zone he's a player who tilts the ice. His contribution's aren't adequately represented on the scoreboard as many of his great plays die on his teammates sticks. 

 

Svechkov enters the conversation here. In terms of the Canucks a shut down 3C to eat some of Bo's harder minutes and allow our 2nd line higher quality minutes is exactly what we need. With Podkolzin coming those 2 could develop into into an elite playoff performing checking line. 

 

McTavish is a solid lock to be an NHL regular in a position of need for us in a capacity where the combination his floor and upside both make him attractive.

[hateleafs]

Hockeyprospects.com

has been fairly accurate to how players been ranked in their past rankings and how they’ve turned out. 

they have 2021

1 power

2 edvinsson

3 Beniers

4 Johnson 

5 Guenther

6 Eklund

7cossa

8 mctavish

9 Hughes

10 sillinger

11 coronato

12 Clarke 

a choice between Hughes and Clarke would be awesome for Canucks 

 

[Sp3nny]

On 5/6/2021 at 10:18 PM, HighOnHockey said:

Yup. Sounds like you also see the game the right way. I can't make up my mind on Johnson though. I love so much about his game, but see the occasional stupid/risky decision and I think maybe I blow them out of proportion. Early in the season I had him top three or four, but after watching closely and picking apart his game I dropped him down around eight or nine,but after watching a couple shift-by-shifts recently, I think I may have over-corrected and need to meet in the middle somewhere.

So I've been going deeper on Johnson and watching some shift-by-shifts to specifically to see the decision making/defensive play. I as actually surprised with his effort level, as he usually tries to get in on the backcheck, on offensively he protects the puck well and wins quite a few board battles which I thought was going to be a deficiency.

 

Where I think the decision making comes into question is he is always looking to make a play, which I love, but I can see where coaches question it. A number of times in his own end, instead of going glass and out or off the boards, he will be patient and look for a breakout pass or to make a move. Sometimes, this resulted in excellent 2 on 1 opportunities for his team, but when he didn't pull it off, the pressure was coming back on his team. I think this is just the risk you run with a player like this, and having Beniers on his line who is such a motor guy can help to cover those mistakes when they happen.

 

Personally, I love this type of patience shown in a player, as it's only shown by confident, smart players who are thinking ahead. Yes, it can get you into trouble at times, but if the player has the IQ for it, they learn the time and place to utilize this skill. A player who I think is one of the best in the league at this and who I absolutely adore is Sebastian Aho. He constantly makes dead plays into something, and it makes him such a special player. Aho obviously has significantly better defensive ability at this point, but seeing how Johnson engages in board play and backchecking right now shows he could develop in the same manner of Aho or Giroux.

 

Last point I wanted to touch on is offensively, when this guy gets a chance, he finishes it. Shot in the slot, one timer, rebound, the guy gets it done, and I love it. Also in one of hi interviews, he says he watches Canucks hockey and his favorite current player is Pettersson, so brownie points there lol. I will not be disappointed if we end up with him.

[stanleysteamersmyl]

On 5/3/2021 at 7:56 PM, HighOnHockey said:

Oh, yeah I think I misunderstood you just a little bit. We come to the same conclusions, but our reasoning to get there is different. You're thinking more specifically to Canucks, I'm just thinking about my list in general. For now that's all I'm focused on.

 

A little closer to the draft, once the order is set, I'll do my mock draft, which is based not on team needs but GM and scouts' tendencies. It's usually the most accurate mock draft I see online anywhere. Two years ago I had my personal best 8 picks dead on. Last year wasn't quite as good, it was either 5 or 6. Doubt I can beat 8 this year with all the mystery surrounding this draft, but I'll give it my best shot.

 

Honestly, I'm about as hardline BPA as you can get. For starters, it takes four or five years for prospects to start reaching their potential, and team needs right now might not be the same as team needs in five years. And perhaps more importantly, value is everything - if you pick the best, most valuable player, then you can trade him for team needs later one.

Petey, Hughes, Hogs, Pogs, Boeser are not even in their prime at 25+.  D man takes 3-5 years to be decent. 

Most of the good players on the past SC teams were over the age of 26-28. 

 I hope Benning is around in the future to witness a Canuck team that is a yearly perennial SC contender. 

[hammertime]

My current list. Cuz heck its Saturday. This is not my over all list but drafting from a Canucks specific perspective. I figure 35 will cover the Canucks first 2 picks.  

 

Tier 1 Can't pass on

1 Clarke RHD

2 Beniers C

3 Luke LHD

4 Eklund LW

5 Lysell RW

 

Tier 2 Blue chippers

6 Edvinsson LHD

7 Wallstedt G

8 Svechkov C

9 Johnsson C/LW

10 McTavish C

11 Power LHD

12 Guenther RW

 

Tier 3 Bunts n big swings

13 Raty C

14 Robertson RW

15 Sillinger LW/C

16 Chibrikov RW

17 Lucius C

18 Tuomaala RW

19 Olausson LW

 

Tier 4 the enigma's

20 Ceulemans RHD

21 Cossa G

22 Pastujov LW

23 Lambos LHD

24 Chayka LHD

25 Morrow RHD

26 Rosen LW

27 Salminen C

 

Tier 5 best of the rest

28 Svozil LHD

29 Pinelli C

30 Borgault C

31 Corronato LW

32 Dean C

33 L'Heureux C

34 Stankoven RW

35 Jack Bar RHD

 

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by hammertime

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, hammertime said:

My current list. Cuz heck its Saturday. This is not my over all list but drafting from a Canucks specific perspective. I figure 35 will cover the Canucks first 2 picks.  

 

Tier 1

1 Clarke RHD

2 Beniers C

3 Luke LHD

4 Eklund

5 Lysell

 

Tier 2

6 Edvinsson LHD

7 Wallstedt G

8 Svechkov C

9 Johnsson C/LW

10 McTavish C

11 Power LHD

12 Guenther RW

 

Tier 3

13 Raty C

14 Robertson RW

15 Sillinger LW/C

16 Chibrikov RW

17 Lucius C

18 Tuomaala RW

19 Olausson LW

 

Tier 4

20 Ceulemans RHD

21 Cossa G

22 Pastujov LW

23 Lambos LHD

24 Chayka LHD

25 Morrow RHD

26 Rosen LW

27 Salminen C

 

Tier 5

28 Svozil LHD

29 Pinelli C

30 Borgault C

31 Corronato LW

32 Dean C

33 L'Heureux C

34 Stankoven RW

35 Jack Bar RHD

 

 

 

 

If we can somehow come out of this draft with 2 of Clarke, Hughes, Morrow, Culemons I’ll be a very happy (and drunk on scotch) Alf.  

[hammertime]

1 minute ago, Alflives said:

If we can somehow come out of this draft with 2 of Clarke, Hughes, Morrow, Culemons I’ll be a very happy (and drunk on scotch) Alf.  

Hey welcome back Alf!!

[stanleysteamersmyl]

On 5/6/2021 at 1:33 PM, LegionOfDoom said:

1.clarke

2.power

3.beniers

4.guenther

5.mctavish 

 

are my top 5, mctavish going top 5 might be a bit of a stretch I just love his compete level and what he brings

 

eklund is really good I just feel like we already have that player and I want to become tougher to play against. With jake more than likley out of our plans to add another solid scoring middle 6 guy is important, I’m not excited about any LHD but power is an exception with what his ceiling brings and brandt Clarke fills a huge hole we have in our prospect group on the right side.

 

I may be reading a little much into this tourney but with the small sample size we had this year if there has ever been a year to judge a player off of this tournament it would be this year 

 

all in all I can see 1-2 of those guys being available when we pick if we stay top 8 

Canucks need to surround their young soft core with power forwards and fast, gritty, bottom six forwards who can score a bit.

Mason McTavish and Jonah Gadjovich would be a good start.  Sign Milla Jovovich as the enforcer.

 

 

[hammertime]

5 minutes ago, stanleysteamersmyl said:

Canucks need to surround their young soft core with power forwards and fast, gritty, bottom six forwards who can score a bit.

Mason McTavish and Jonah Gadjovich would be a good start.  Sign Milla Jovovich as the enforcer.

 

 

Yes to an extent. However I think most importantly this will be a team that will beat you in zone possession. I have slanted my list greatly towards players who excel in the "Get" category. You don't have to win the arms race if can win the puck.

[HighOnHockey]

5 hours ago, Sp3nny said:

So I've been going deeper on Johnson and watching some shift-by-shifts to specifically to see the decision making/defensive play. I as actually surprised with his effort level, as he usually tries to get in on the backcheck, on offensively he protects the puck well and wins quite a few board battles which I thought was going to be a deficiency.

 

Where I think the decision making comes into question is he is always looking to make a play, which I love, but I can see where coaches question it. A number of times in his own end, instead of going glass and out or off the boards, he will be patient and look for a breakout pass or to make a move. Sometimes, this resulted in excellent 2 on 1 opportunities for his team, but when he didn't pull it off, the pressure was coming back on his team. I think this is just the risk you run with a player like this, and having Beniers on his line who is such a motor guy can help to cover those mistakes when they happen.

 

Personally, I love this type of patience shown in a player, as it's only shown by confident, smart players who are thinking ahead. Yes, it can get you into trouble at times, but if the player has the IQ for it, they learn the time and place to utilize this skill. A player who I think is one of the best in the league at this and who I absolutely adore is Sebastian Aho. He constantly makes dead plays into something, and it makes him such a special player. Aho obviously has significantly better defensive ability at this point, but seeing how Johnson engages in board play and backchecking right now shows he could develop in the same manner of Aho or Giroux.

 

Last point I wanted to touch on is offensively, when this guy gets a chance, he finishes it. Shot in the slot, one timer, rebound, the guy gets it done, and I love it. Also in one of hi interviews, he says he watches Canucks hockey and his favorite current player is Pettersson, so brownie points there lol. I will not be disappointed if we end up with him.

 

Good stuff. Love that you made the Giroux comparison, as that is exactly who I've compared him to in the past as a ceiling. I hadn't thought of Aho, but it makes sense.

 

To clarify, I never said anything against his defensive game, which I don't think is anything special, but I've never seen it as an issue either. There can sometimes be a tendency to conflate poor defensive ability with poor risk management. A great example is I saw some folks on this board criticize Luke Hughes and Brandt Clarke's defensive game because they like to join the rush and spend time deep in the offensive zone. I don't know Hughes as well as Clarke, but I actually consider Clarke a stud in his own zone, in addition to the obvious offensive ability. From what I can tell, Hughes seems very solid in his own zone too. But the point is, a player can be great defensively, and also take risks offensively. Obviously it is difficult to do both at the same time (unless you're prime Erik Karlsson or Bobby Orr), but one does not exclude the other. If a junior player is great defensively but manages risk poorly, that's a lot easier to teach than a player who is just bad defensively.

 

But yes, I agree with much of your assessment of Johnson, which is why I need to rethink my position on him a little bit. Some comments I made elsewhere early in the season:

 

"Watching the Michigan game now. Wow Kent Johnson is something else. Two assists so far tonight after the second. At one point he drew a penalty, and then on the powerplay 40 seconds later he drew another penalty, but before MSU could touch the puck, he threw it on net, it ended up going in and he was credited with an assist. He makes things happen every time he touches the puck. So skilled, so dynamic, so creative. "Creativity" is a word that gets thrown around pretty freely in hockey now days, but it's pretty rare to actually see. Johnson is truly creative.

He's a bit risky at times, because he's constantly trying to make things happen. A lot of this stuff wouldn't work in the NHL, but it does feel like he is measuring the risk vs. reward quite well."

 

But as I watched him more, I would see the occasional play where I thought he went a little too far, where he took too much risk when it wasn't clear that it was necessary. I dunno, I was really critical of Cole Perfetti last year for some of the same type of stuff and ended up ranking him lower than most lists. I've said on a number of occasions that I think Johnson is significantly more responsible with the puck than Perfetti was (and with the AHL season he's having, maybe I was wrong about Perfetti anyway).

 

I also agree with you that Johnson is far from a primadonna - I've always liked his work ethic. and second effort.

 

All in all, I'm pretty set on my top five of Clarke, Beniers, Power, Hughes, Eklund. I think they all bring a lot of upside with less risk. After that, I currently have Cole Silligner a step down but sitting fairly comfortably at number six. Next I have a group of Johnson, Guenther, Lysell and Lucius that I feel are all really close. Before the U18s I had Guenther at seven, but now I'm not so sure. Lysell has taken major steps forward over the past year, and Johsnon's upside is hard to pass on.

Edited May 9, 2021 by HighOnHockey

[J.I.A.H.N]

5 hours ago, Alflives said:

If we can somehow come out of this draft with 2 of Clarke, Hughes, Morrow, Culemons I’ll be a very happy (and drunk on scotch) Alf.  

Hi Alfie!

[HighOnHockey]

10 hours ago, hammertime said:

My main takeaways from the U18 regarding this years draft elligable kids.

 

Tuomaala, Lysell, really impressed me.

 

Svechkov further solidified himself as a top 10 pick on my board. 

 

Clarke is still 1st over all for me.

 

McTavish moved the needle a bit I now have him just outside my top ten and just inside from a Canucks perspective.

 

Heimosalmi, and Ceulemans were very nice surprises. 

 

I don't think Samu Salminen lost a single faceoff all tournament obviously that's an exaggeration but not much of one. He knows how to slide into open space and has a wicked shot. He plays a power fwd game. If he can improve his pace he could potentially be a second round steal. 

 

Dissapointments:

Guenther, Edvinsson, I'm still high on these 2 players (Top 10) however I expected a more dominant performance from them.

Can't say there's more than two words here I would disagree with. Svechkov top ten is a bold call though. He's the player I've seen the most of any in this draft. Probably upwards of 15 viewings between the three international tournaments, MHL and VHL. I actually suggested at one point last season that he might be a top five pick. So much to like about him - great shot, sky high hockey sense and playmaking ability, elite two-way acumen. But I've just seen him fumble too many puck plays when his time and space is limited, and at least he is smart enough to recognize his lack of high-end puckhandling, but it means he rarely challenges defenders one on one to the inside. Time and space are the most precious commodity in the NHL, and it's really tough to be a top six line-driver if you can't make high end plays without them. Very safe pick to be at least a third line center, and best case scenario is Logan Couture. Interestingly enough, Couture went 9th overall in another fairly weak draft, and they look eerily similar to me.

[Sp3nny]

2 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

 

Good stuff. Love that you made the Giroux comparison, as that is exactly who I've compared him to in the past as a ceiling. I hadn't thought of Aho, but it makes sense.

 

To clarify, I never said anything against his defensive game, which I don't think is anything special, but I've never seen it as an issue either. There can sometimes be a tendency to conflate poor defensive ability with poor risk management. A great example is I saw some folks on this board criticize Luke Hughes and Brandt Clarke's defensive game because they like to join the rush and spend time deep in the offensive zone. I don't know Hughes as well as Clarke, but I actually consider Clarke a stud in his own zone, in addition to the obvious offensive ability. From what I can tell, Hughes seems very solid in his own zone too. But the point is, a player can be great defensively, and also take risks offensively. Obviously it is difficult to do both at the same time (unless you're prime Erik Karlsson or Bobby Orr), but one does not exclude the other. If a junior player is great defensively but manages risk poorly, that's a lot easier to teach than a player who is just bad defensively.

 

But yes, I agree with much of your assessment of Johnson, which is why I need to rethink my position on him a little bit. Some comments I made elsewhere early in the season:

 

"Watching the Michigan game now. Wow Kent Johnson is something else. Two assists so far tonight after the second. At one point he drew a penalty, and then on the powerplay 40 seconds later he drew another penalty, but before MSU could touch the puck, he threw it on net, it ended up going in and he was credited with an assist. He makes things happen every time he touches the puck. So skilled, so dynamic, so creative. "Creativity" is a word that gets thrown around pretty freely in hockey now days, but it's pretty rare to actually see. Johnson is truly creative.

He's a bit risky at times, because he's constantly trying to make things happen. A lot of this stuff wouldn't work in the NHL, but it does feel like he is measuring the risk vs. reward quite well."

 

But as I watched him more, I would see the occasional play where I thought he went a little too far, where he took too much risk when it wasn't clear that it was necessary. I dunno, I was really critical of Cole Perfetti last year for some of the same type of stuff and ended up ranking him lower than most lists. I've said on a number of occasions that I think Johnson is significantly more responsible with the puck than Perfetti was (and with the AHL season he's having, maybe I was wrong about Perfetti anyway).

 

I also agree with you that Johnson is far from a primadonna - I've always liked his work ethic. and second effort.

 

All in all, I'm pretty set on my top five of Clarke, Beniers, Power, Hughes, Eklund. I think they all bring a lot of upside with less risk. After that, I currently have Cole Silligner a step down but sitting fairly comfortably at number six. Next I have a group of Johnson, Guenther, Lysell and Lucius that I feel are all really close. Before the U18s I had Guenther at seven, but now I'm not so sure. Lysell has taken major steps forward over the past year, and Johsnon's upside is hard to pass on.

Absolutely agree with your points of risk management vs defensive ability. I often think many get those two confused, and on the offensive end, creativity vs offensive ability. Hoglander is a great example of the creative vs offensive ability. High end creativity, but I personally don't see high end upside points wise.

 

I definitely wasn't calling your assessment out, more of what I have read in scouting reports elsewhere and for my own personal assessment. It's easy to watch a highlight video and only see the upside, but watching game tape gives you the bigger picture. I had mainly seen highlights, so I wanted to see the overall, and this is where my Giroux comparison came from, as I think that is a very accurate after watching more. I don't think he will become a permanent center at the next level like Giroux, but you never know. I'm sure people said the same about Giroux.

 

Your quote from earlier in the year is spot on, and I believe you have seen more of him than me at this point, so I'm sure your further viewings have only shed more light on him. I consider myself to be pretty realistic in my expectations in regards to upside, but I think the Giroux is perfect. A solid 70 point player, with a few high end seasons mixed in. This is something I feel the Canucks sorely need as well, but D first. I have the exact same top 5, but Johnson is my Sillinger right now at 6.

[Junkyard Dog]

Anaheim clinches 2nd worst record. The lowest we can currently go is 3rd last.

[JustABandwagoner]

11 hours ago, Pepe Silvia said:

Trading Miller right now would be a set back. It would leave a pretty big hole in this team and I don't think it's worth it when we already have a high pick.  He's basically been a PPG for us, so we're trading him to get a player that will hopefully if he hits his potential will be a PPG player? Why risk that? Plus he's on a great contract. 

I think it's key we finish bottom 5 or lower. Worst we could fall is to 7th where we're still in great position to grab good prospect. 

1. Power
2. Beniers
3. Edvinsson
4. Hughes
5. Clarke
6. Guenther
7. Eklund
8. Johnson 

 

I AM 100% down for a SET BACK! Have u not seen Shane Wright, Matthew Savoie, that russian guy, Brad Lambert, Connor bedard, and the other russian guy named Michkov.