2021 NHL Entry Draft

[HighOnHockey]

2 hours ago, R3aL said:

Considering the lack of forwards that actually project to be a C at the top of the draft and with you even having him at 7.

 

what I’m reading is he could go higher than we have been thinking for the past couple months.

 

i like this! A team could be very high on him then
 

also let’s list true C in draft who do we have:

 

1. Beniers

2. McTavish

3. Svechkov

4. Lucius

5. Raty

 

Only one missing here I think is Eklund. Because of his skating I’m pretty sure he will be a C but some people have shared doubts on this what do you think?

 

High ranked C who seem to be projecting as wingers:

 

1. Johnson 

2. Sillinger 
 

but Johnson is suppose to be the highest skilled (puck skills) player in draft and Sillinger has maybe the best and heaviest shot in draft with nhl bloodlines.

 

 

 

I doubt Svechkov will actually go as high as seven. Early to mid teens would be my best guess, as the Russian factor is always going to come into play somewhat.

 

As someone mentioned you never know if Kekalainen might go way off the board, but that's a pretty big stretch. We know there are only going to be certain teams likely to pick a Russian in the top 15 or 20, and some of the most likely would be Columbus and New Jersey, but they pick too early for Svechkov. For the Canucks - I could see it, but I'd be pretty surprised. But after hitting what looks like a home run in Podkolzin, if Chibisov is super high on him, they have to seriously consider it. The first teams I think would be most likely to take one of the Russians would be Dallas and New York.

 

Personally, I'm on board the Eklund is a wing bandwagon. I know he played C in junior and his game seems conducive to playing center, but for one thing, every time I've seen him - at Hlinkas and in the SHL, he's been a left wing. And also if you look around the league for 5'10 centers, you're not gonna find too many in teams' top six.

 

I don't exactly think Sillinger projects to the wing. I think he'll be able to play both center and wing effectively in the NHL. He's too good defensively and down low not to be used as a center. I've consistently made the comparison with him to Joe Pavelski, and I expect that similarly he's going to be that swiss army knife who can be moved around up and down the lineup anywhere from 3C to 1LW.

 

And while my best guess is that Lucius will be a center, he's another one who could possibly end up a wing in the NHL, or at least a C/RW.

Edited June 25, 2021 by HighOnHockey

[Nucker 67]

Cs and Ds with size please, which is why I'm not too keen on Lysell or Johnson. The Canucks do not need a Mitch Marner type of player if they want to go deep in the playoffs again. Obviously, Power and Beniers will be long gone by the time #9 rolls around.

 

One of these guys would be great:

 

Clarke

Edvinsson

McTavish

Lambos

Sillinger

Raty

 

 

 

 

[BPA]

If the 1st is kept, I think JB will take a forward:  Johnston, McTavish, Lysell.  

 

I think any of them can step in 1-2 year.

 

Forwards seem to jump right in faster than D.  So a F would provide immediate help to the team. 

[HighOnHockey]

25 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

Cs and Ds with size please, which is why I'm not too keen on Lysell or Johnson. The Canucks do not need a Mitch Marner type of player if they want to go deep in the playoffs again. Obviously, Power and Beniers will be long gone by the time #9 rolls around.

 

One of these guys would be great:

 

Clarke

Edvinsson

McTavish

Lambos

Sillinger

Raty

 

 

 

 

Well, I'm sure any team would be over the moon to have Marner, but I completely agree with your overall point. Problem is this draft just doesn't have a lot of big Cs and Ds early on - one of the main reasons McTavish is going to end up going crazy early.

 

Personally, I wouldn't want to go near Edvinsson, Lambos or Raty with 9 overall. And unfortunately, barring some draft day miracle, Clarke and McTavish are gone by 9.

 

I would be ecstatic if the Canucks picked Sillinger, but he doesn't really seem like a Benning type of pick. Hughes and Guenther have pretty good size, but again would be a stretch to be available at 9. Ceulemans is fairly big too, at 6'2, 200lbs. I know some people are crazy high on Francesco Pinelli, and he does have some pro level intangibles, but I'm not sure about the upside. Zach Bolduc is a big C who was 16th on McKenzie's final rankings and might have really improved his stock at U18s if not for an injury. Big center with good skating, shooting and puck skills; the question marks seem to be primarily around vision and hockey IQ.

Edited June 25, 2021 by HighOnHockey

[Nucker 67]

2 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

Big center with good skating, shooting and puck skills; the question marks seem to be primarily around vision and hockey IQ.

Maybe Chaz......Chaz Lucius  

[Fanuck]

1 hour ago, BPA said:

If the 1st is kept, I think JB will take a forward:  Johnston, McTavish, Lysell.  

 

I think any of them can step in 1-2 year.

 

Forwards seem to jump right in faster than D.  So a F would provide immediate help to the team. 

JB indicated he feels the current core's window of being competitive will realistically start about 2 years from now.  Wouldn't it be great if we had, at that time, a defenceman who could contribute meaningful minutes on a nightly basis and who was also still playing on an ELC - that would give us some cap flexibility to add where necessary.  I'm thinking of a situation like Dobson in NYI. 

[HighOnHockey]

1 hour ago, BPA said:

If the 1st is kept, I think JB will take a forward:  Johnston, McTavish, Lysell.  

 

I think any of them can step in 1-2 year.

 

Forwards seem to jump right in faster than D.  So a F would provide immediate help to the team. 

I mean, that is the general tendency, but you picked the wrong forwards. McTavish is probably reasonably close, but Lysell and Johnson are probably the most long-term projects out of prospects considered in the top 15 or so. Both have an awful long way to go to add weight and strength, and both also have a long way to go to learn the pro game.

 

For my money, the closest to NHL ready out of this draft class would be, in order

 

1. Matt Beniers - Already plays an NHL style game with high 200 foot IQ and so could likely step right in and play a depth role. But he'd be better off going back to NCAA for another year to continue working on his skills and gain confidence as a go-to offensive player at that level.

2. Owen Power - Has the size and the skills, just needs to work on his pace and some things with his decision-making.

3. Dylan Guenther - Already plays maybe the second most pro-style game in the draft behind Beniers. Mainly just needs to bulk up.

4. Brandt Clarke - Just needs to work on his zone defense and being more physical. He already went from ~180 to 190 lbs in the past year or so, and he says he hopes to be north of 200 lbs by NHL training camps. Absolutely dominated a pretty good pro league down the stretch.

5a. Willam Eklund - He could be a lot closer than people realize. Skills and hockey IQ are already NHL-level. He just needs to bulk up and add some power to his skating.

5b. Mason McTavish - Already has the size and high IQ. Really just needs to keep working on his skills.

Edited June 25, 2021 by HighOnHockey

[Alflives]

5 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

I mean, that is the general tendency, but you picked the wrong forwards. McTavish is probably reasonably close, but Lysell and Johnson are probably the most long-term projects out of prospects considered in the top 15 or so. Both have an awful long way to go to add weight and strength, and both also have a long way to go to learn the pro game.

 

For my money, the closest to NHL ready out of this draft class would be, in order

 

1. Matt Beniers - Already plays an NHL style game with high 200 foot IQ and so could likely step right in and play a depth role. But he'd be better off going back to NCAA for another year to continue working on his skills and gain confidence as a go-to offensive player at that level.

2. Owen Power - Has the size and the skills, just needs to work on his pace and some things with his decision-making.

3. Dylan Guenther - Already plays maybe the second most pro-style game in the draft behind Beniers. Mainly just needs to bulk up.

4. Brandt Clarke - Just needs to work on his zone defense and being more physical. He already went from ~180 to 190 lbs in the past year or so, and he says he hopes to be north of 200 lbs by NHL training camps. Absolutely dominated a pretty good pro league down the stretch.

5a. Willam Eklund - He could be a lot closer than people realize. Skills and hockey IQ are already NHL-level. He just needs to bulk up and add some power to his skating.

5b. Mason McTavish - Already has the size and high IQ. Really just needs to keep working on his skills.

I’m thinking we get to choose between Edvinsson, Johnson, and Lysell.  

[Wolfgang Durst]

10 minutes ago, Fanuck said:

JB indicated he feels the current core's window of being competitive will realistically start about 2 years from now.  Wouldn't it be great if we had, at that time, a defenceman who could contribute meaningful minutes on a nightly basis and who was also still playing on an ELC - that would give us some cap flexibility to add where necessary.  I'm thinking of a situation like Dobson in NYI. 

great to have someone here from Zuffenhausen !

The D-Man you envision might be Jett Woo. Hopefully he will be able to join the team next season or little later and he would be cheap because of his ELC. Not going to be as good as Dobson but for a role on a third pairing good enough.

[Wolfgang Durst]

11 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

I mean, that is the general tendency, but you picked the wrong forwards. McTavish is probably reasonably close, but Lysell and Johnson are probably the most long-term projects out of prospects considered in the top 15 or so. Both have an awful long way to go to add weight and strength, and both also have a long way to go to learn the pro game.

 

For my money, the closest to NHL ready out of this draft class would be, in order

 

1. Matt Beniers - Already plays an NHL style game with high 200 foot IQ and so could likely step right in and play a depth role. But he'd be better off going back to NCAA for another year to continue working on his skills and gain confidence as a go-to offensive player at that level.

2. Owen Power - Has the size and the skills, just needs to work on his pace and some things with his decision-making.

3. Dylan Guenther - Already plays maybe the second most pro-style game in the draft behind Beniers. Mainly just needs to bulk up.

4. Brandt Clarke - Just needs to work on his zone defense and being more physical. He already went from ~180 to 190 lbs in the past year or so, and he says he hopes to be north of 200 lbs by NHL training camps. Absolutely dominated a pretty good pro league down the stretch.

5a. Willam Eklund - He could be a lot closer than people realize. Skills and hockey IQ are already NHL-level. He just needs to bulk up and add some power to his skating.

5b. Mason McTavish - Already has the size and high IQ. Really just needs to keep working on his skills.

Excellent insight and thanks again for your posts. Not sure if the Slovakian top league is a pretty good league. For me this is not a league I would have in the top 5 European leagues. Top 5 leagues in Europe from my perspective are SHL , SM Liga, NLA, DEL, Czech top league.

[Bure_Pavel]

18 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

I mean, that is the general tendency, but you picked the wrong forwards. McTavish is probably reasonably close, but Lysell and Johnson are probably the most long-term projects out of prospects considered in the top 15 or so. Both have an awful long way to go to add weight and strength, and both also have a long way to go to learn the pro game.

 

For my money, the closest to NHL ready out of this draft class would be, in order

 

1. Matt Beniers - Already plays an NHL style game with high 200 foot IQ and so could likely step right in and play a depth role. But he'd be better off going back to NCAA for another year to continue working on his skills and gain confidence as a go-to offensive player at that level.

2. Owen Power - Has the size and the skills, just needs to work on his pace and some things with his decision-making.

3. Dylan Guenther - Already plays maybe the second most pro-style game in the draft behind Beniers. Mainly just needs to bulk up.

4. Brandt Clarke - Just needs to work on his zone defense and being more physical. He already went from ~180 to 190 lbs in the past year or so, and he says he hopes to be north of 200 lbs by NHL training camps. Absolutely dominated a pretty good pro league down the stretch.

5a. Willam Eklund - He could be a lot closer than people realize. Skills and hockey IQ are already NHL-level. He just needs to bulk up and add some power to his skating.

5b. Mason McTavish - Already has the size and high IQ. Really just needs to keep working on his skills.

I would argue Johnson isnt that far away, he already has a full year of college under his belt. If he takes a another big step next year, I could see him in the NHL in his draft +2 season, depending if he is playing center or wing. The transition from College to NHL has been effective for lots of player recently. I would personally like to take it slow and give Johnson a full two more years of development but depends if the team needs him for a playoff run.  

Edited June 25, 2021 by Bure_Pavel

[theo5789]

10 minutes ago, Alflives said:

I’m thinking we get to choose between Edvinsson, Johnson, and Lysell.  

Then I choose Svechkov 

[Alflives]

20 minutes ago, theo5789 said:

Then I choose Svechkov 

I 100% agree.  

[Bure_Pavel]

1 hour ago, HighOnHockey said:

I mean, that is the general tendency, but you picked the wrong forwards. McTavish is probably reasonably close, but Lysell and Johnson are probably the most long-term projects out of prospects considered in the top 15 or so. Both have an awful long way to go to add weight and strength, and both also have a long way to go to learn the pro game.

 

For my money, the closest to NHL ready out of this draft class would be, in order

 

1. Matt Beniers - Already plays an NHL style game with high 200 foot IQ and so could likely step right in and play a depth role. But he'd be better off going back to NCAA for another year to continue working on his skills and gain confidence as a go-to offensive player at that level.

2. Owen Power - Has the size and the skills, just needs to work on his pace and some things with his decision-making.

3. Dylan Guenther - Already plays maybe the second most pro-style game in the draft behind Beniers. Mainly just needs to bulk up.

4. Brandt Clarke - Just needs to work on his zone defense and being more physical. He already went from ~180 to 190 lbs in the past year or so, and he says he hopes to be north of 200 lbs by NHL training camps. Absolutely dominated a pretty good pro league down the stretch.

5a. Willam Eklund - He could be a lot closer than people realize. Skills and hockey IQ are already NHL-level. He just needs to bulk up and add some power to his skating.

5b. Mason McTavish - Already has the size and high IQ. Really just needs to keep working on his skills.

I complete agree Eklund is a lot closer to being NHL ready than he gets credit for. The SHL is a very good professional league and he did not look out of place at all this year. His high hockey IQ at both ends of the rink will make the transition way easier than some others. 

Edited June 25, 2021 by Bure_Pavel

[HighOnHockey]

1 hour ago, Wolfgang Durst said:

Excellent insight and thanks again for your posts. Not sure if the Slovakian top league is a pretty good league. For me this is not a league I would have in the top 5 European leagues. Top 5 leagues in Europe from my perspective are SHL , SM Liga, NLA, DEL, Czech top league.

Lol fair enough. Depends what you mean by "pretty good league" I guess. Slovakia has definitely fallen off a bit in the past decade or so, but it is still the top pro league in a legitimate hockey country that regularly produces good NHL players. I keep a running list of the top hockey leagues in the world and try to update it semi-regularly. I'd say your top five is pretty much dead on, although DEL over Czech Extraliga is very debatable. But after the top five I would go VHL, ICHL, Allsvenskan, Slovakia.

 

So yeah I guess that makes it the 9th best in Europe and so 11th in the world. I have to be honest, I started working on this list and did the bulk of the deep research maybe around 2014 or 2015, and at the time Slovakia was still considered closer to the Czech and DEL and certainly was above Allsvenskan and ICEHL (at the time EBEL), so I guess I have a tendency to still think of it as a little better than it is.

 

Anyway, it is a cut above NCAA (overall, although you could argue that the top NCAA teams would be very competitive) or Swiss2 where McTavish and Othmann were playing, so for a 17 year old to do what Clarke did down the stretch is still veryimpressive. When I say he dominated that league, I don't use the term lightly.

Edited June 25, 2021 by HighOnHockey

[stawns]

3 hours ago, theo5789 said:

Then I choose Svechkov 

same

[Fanuck]

3 hours ago, theo5789 said:

Then I choose Svechkov 

Svech could potentially be a perfect 3C if his projections pan out. 

[Marv-the-wet-bandit]

Fyodor Svechkov isn’t in my top couple choices for who projects to be available at 9 but he is one of many players I’d be more then happy with at that spot.

[Bertuzzipunch]

Thoughts on Logan Mailloux for our 2nd round pick?

https://www.thedraftanalyst.com/2021-nhl-draft/2021-nhl-mock-draft-round-2-picks-32-63/

 

 

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

Corey Pronman said that there's a scouting industry consensus top-9 skaters in this draft: Power, Beniers, Guenther, Hughes, Edvinsson, McTavish, Eklund, Clarke and Johnson. He thinks that we'll select whoever of these nine are left at our pick. And obviously, if Wallstedt gets picked ahead of us, we'll have two to choose from.