This is a FanPost written by T. McGee.
DBTB –
Here we are at the beginning of another Draft season! Hope everyone is getting settled in and ready for some hockey…I know I am. And yes, I know. Everyone’s tired of the Draft. Of prospects. Of talking about development and upside and all that stuff. I get it. But the fact is, the Draft is coming whether you’re tired of it or not. And another fact is that the Sabres, as of this typing, have a 1st round pick and judging by recent history, they will be making that selection. So for the sake of learning about who that player might be, or which players might be on the Board, I’m rolling out this content for everyone to enjoy at their convenience.
As for this Draft, it’s tough to say just how good, or not, this class happens to be. They have some really high-end talent toward the top 5-6 of the Draft, and it’s driven primarily by Canadian kids. McQueen, Martone, Misa, and Schaefer are all players that could go Top 5. But I think potentially, this class could be a great one for centermen. McQueen and Misa both play wildly different styles, but each can be effective down the middle of the ice. Ilya Ryabkin could be the best Russian center prospect in years. Anton Frondell is a slick, dynamic playmaker with a dash of physicality. Then you get into the second tier: Caleb Desnoyers, Will Moore, Milton Gastrin, and Jordan Gavin. Any of those guys could take a jump forward and finish the season in the Top 10…or higher. Not to mention, some unusual centers who could be 1st rounders, even in the top half of said 1st round. These include Florian Schenk (6’3 Swiss center), Jan Chovan (6’2 Czech), and Mikkel Erikksen (6’0 Norwegian) who all have the tools to be a high 1st rounder.
But at the top sits the dynamic James Hagens. He’s the consensus #1, he scored a bazillion points (nearly 2 PPG as a 17 year old for the US National Team, and more than 3 PPG at the U-18s) and looks like a more complete Jack Hughes with incredible skating and eyes in the back of his head. Like Hughes, he’s not big (5’11, 175#) but his playmaking and wheels are on another level at the moment. Can he hold the top spot for the entire year? Quite possibly. I guess we’ll find out together!
As for the Draft order, I went with the lines from Vegas at MGM on the day I typed this…so this is not a projection of where every team will finish. I did, however, put the Sabres where I’m expecting them to finish this season. So we’ll see how that turns out.
Thanks everyone, and look forward to another season of Prospect watching with you all. Woo…ha, Sabres on the warpath, Woo…ha…
ROUND ONE:
1#1 SAN JOSE: James Hagens, 5’10 C, US NTDP
1#2 ANAHEIM: Roger McQueen, 6’5 C, WHL
1#3 COLUMBUS: Matthew Schaefer, 6’1 LHD, OHL
1#4 CHICAGO: Porter Martone, 6’3 RW, OHL
1#5 MONTREAL: Ilya Ryabkin, 6’0 C, RUS
1#6 CALGARY: Anton Frondell, 6’1 C, SWE
1#7 UTAH: Mike Misa, 6’0 C, OHL
1#8 SEATTLE: Sasha Boumedienne, 6’2 LHD, USHL
1#9 WASHINGTON: Caleb Desnoyers, 6’1 C, QMJHL
1#10 ST LOUIS: Radim Mrtek, 6’6 RHD, CZE
1#11 PITTSBURGH: Malcolm Spence, 6’1 LW, OHL
1#12 PHILADELPHIA: Luka Radivojevic, 5’10 RHD, CZE
1#13 NY ISLANDERS: Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, 6’3 RW, SWE
1#14 DETROIT: Carter Amico, 6’5 RHD, US NTDP
1#15 OTTAWA: Will Moore, 6’2 C, US NTDP
1#16 MINNESOTA: Logan Hensler, 6’2 RHD, US NTDP
1#17 WINNIPEG: Ayrtom Vilchinsky, 6’6 LHD, RUS
1#18 BUFFALO: Milton Gastrin, 6’2 C, SWE
1#19 VANCOUVER: Henry Bruzustewicz, 6’2 RHD, OHL
1#20 LOS ANGELES: Viktor Eklund, 5’11 LW, SWE
1#21 NASHVILLE (TAMPA BAY): Bill Zonnon, 6’3 RW, QMJHL
1#22 BOSTON: Jordan Gavin, 5’11 C/LW, WHL
1#23 NASHVILLE (VEGAS): David Lewandowski, 6’1 C, GER
1#24 NASHVILLE: Kashawn Aitchison, 6’2 LHD, OHL
1#25 CHICAGO (TORONTO): Vaclav Nesterasil, 6’4 RW, USHL
1#26 NY RANGERS: Josh Ravensbergen, 6’4 G, WHL
1#27 CAROLINA: Peyton Kettles, 6’5 RHD, WHL
1#28 PHILADELPHIA (COLORADO): Cole Reschny, 5’10 C/W, WHL
1#29 CALGARY (NEW JERSEY): Karl Annborn, 6’1 RHD, SWE
1#30 DALLAS: Viktor Klingsell, 5’10 W, SWE
1#31 MONTREAL (FLORIDA): Max Westergard, 5’11 LW, FIN
1#32 PHILADELPHIA (EDMONTON): Florian Schenk, 6’3 C, SWISS
ROUND TWO:
2#1 SAN JOSE: Adam Benak, 5’8 C, CZE
2#2 PHILADELPHIA (ANAHEIM): Jan Chovan, 6’2 C, FIN
2#3 PHILADELPHIA (COLUMBUS): Blake Fiddler, 6’4 RHD, WHL
2#4 CHICAGO: Jake O’Brien, 6’0 C, OHL
2#5 MONTREAL: Kurban Limatov, 6’4 LHD, RUS
2#6 CALGARY: Vit Zahesjsky, 5’10 C, CZE
2#7 UTAH: Lynden Lakovic, 6’4 W, WHL
2#8 SEATTLE: Carlos Handel, 6’1 RHD, SWE
2#9 WASHINGTON: Mikkel Eriksen, 6’0 C, NWY
2#10 EDMONTON (ST LOUIS): Matt Lansing, 6’1 C, USHL
2#11 MONTREAL (PITTSBURGH): Love Haremstem, 6’1 G, SWE
2#12 PHILADELPHIA: Dominik Pavlik, 6’1 C, CZE
2#13 NY ISLANDERS: Charlie Trethanwy, 6’1 RHD, US NTDP
2#14 DETROIT: Zeb Lindgren, 6’2 LHD, SWE
2#15 OTTAWA: Caden Taylor, 6’2 C, OHL
2#16 MINNESOTA: Alex Huang, 6’0 RHD, QMJHL
2#17: BUFFALO: Chase Jette, 5’10 RW, USHL
2#18 NEW JERSEY (WINNIPEG): Ondrej Stebatack, 6’2 G, CZE
2#19 VANCOUVER: Eetu Orpana, 6’0 C/W, FIN
2#20 TAMPA BAY (LOS ANGELES): Tomas Pobezal, 5’11 C, SVK
2#21 NASHVILLE (TAMPA BAY): Travis Hayes, 5’11 RW, OHL
2#22 WASHINGTON (BOSTON): Tanner Lam, 5’9 RW, OHL
2#23 VEGAS: Jesper Kotajarvi, 5’11 LHD, FIN
2#24 NASHVILLE: Semyon Frolov, 6’3 G, RUS
2#25 TAMPA BAY (TORONTO): Max Bleicher, 6’0 LHD, GER
2#26 COLORADO (NY RANGERS): Ed Genbourg, 6’2 W, SWE
2#27 CAROLINA: Patryk Zubek, 6’3 LHD, SVK
2#28 CALGARY (COLORADO): Yegor Murashev, 5’10 W, RUS
2#29 NEW JERSEY: Shane Vanshagi, 6’3 C, US NTDP
2#30 DALLAS: Ryker Lee, 5’10 C, US HS
2#31 TORONTO (FLORIDA): Lukas Klechka, 5’11 RW, SWE
2#32 NEW JERSEY (EDMONTON): Matthias Delhi, 6’2 C, SWISS
ROUND THREE:
Cooper Simpson, 6’1 W, US HS; Conrad Fondrik, 6’0 C, US NTDP; Reese Hamilton, 6’0 LHD, WHL; Emile Guite, 6’2 RW, QMJHL; Jackson Smith, 6’3 LHD, WHL; Justin Carbonneau, 6’1 LW, QMJHL; Carson Cameron, 6’1 RHD, OHL; Andreas Straka, 6’1 W, SVK;
SABRES HAUL:
1#18: Milton Gastrin, 6’2 C, SWE: This time, the Sabres are going with size down the middle. Gastrin is a do-it-all, two-way centerman with a box full of tools to play however you want to play. First off, Gastrin has a solid frame with room to add strength and, potentially, height. He’s lanky, prefers to play a power-center game, but hand-eye still needs a bit of refining at times. Really does everything well. Plays a smart, simple defensive game, on offense plays a straight-line, North-South style that attacks the middle of the ice and operates around the net. But he’s shown, on the international stage at least, a higher level of puck skills and O-Zone awareness. That resulted in Gastrin finishing Top 3 in scoring at the recent Hlinka with 10P in 5 games (his linemate, Viktor Klingsell, led the tournament in scoring) after winding up 3rd in scoring for the Swedes at the U-17s last year. Owns a heavy shot, can create but he won’t wow you with some blind, cross-ice passes. He is constantly in motion, moving to open up passing lanes to the middle of the ice. Dangerous coming off the walls or the end boards down low, where his strength on his stick allows him to beat multiple defenders with hard work and some clever stickwork. Always looking for teammates filling the slot and going to the posts and has the hands to put pucks on the tape for those teammates. Where he really caught my eye is his relentless compete. There’s a reason why he wears the C when representing Sweden, even when playing with guys who are higher ranked or better known. He never quits on a play, and even when there are 3 members of the other team behind their net recovering a puck, he does not hesitate to stick his nose in there and comes out with the puck more often than you’d expect. Defensively he’s a persistent backchecker to the point of being annoying, covers the ice well and identifies weak points in the structure before his opponent, filling in and preventing breakdowns. Battles in front of both nets, does his job. A slick operator on defense, he pickpockets a lot of pucks and if you overhandle, he’ll make contact and take the puck away before you realize what happened. Doesn’t have elite offensive instincts – he’s not going to see a play develop two, three passes ahead of time – and his skating, particularly his lateral movement, needs to improve. Little bit too upright at times for my taste. But after 5P in 7 games at the U-17s, then playing 41 games in the Swedish U-20 league as a 16 year-old (and notching 16P), he dominated at the Hlinka and looks to be a riser for the Swedes going into his draft year. With his summer birthday, he’s only missed the cut-off for next year’s Draft by a couple of months. So the Sabres can be very patient with a kid who could challenge for 3C role in the future. There’s definitely an Anthony Cirelli vibe to this player.
2#17: Chase Jette, 5’10 RW, USHL: Yeah, that’s his real name. And this is probably a bit of a reach here, but I have high hopes. This is a kid who has some serious offensive chops despite his size, but not in the way you think. He’s not player that darts through traffic, dazzling with his dangles and creating all sorts of chances for his teammates. This kid is a pure scorer. Has superb offensive instincts, recognizes spacing and how to get open, stick is always down, finds areas on the ice where he will have just enough time and space to receive a puck and either make a move or take the shot and get a good chance. Very smart. Like a chess board out there, he knows how to manipulate defenses and how to create chances, for himself or teammates, by doing so. Excellent hands. Has a great motor, constantly buzzing around the O-zone or the Neutral looking to disrupt plays or track pucks. Feet are always moving. Scrappy as well. He’s not afraid of contact and will go wherever he can influence the play. Even at 5’10 170# he’s parked on the top of the crease and not only accepting contact but initiating it when trying to distract the goalie. Seems to always be in the right place at the right time. Accurate shot is hard, comes at you fast, and is his best weapon. Can fire it from odd angles and is always ready to launch at the net. Presents himself for one-timers and outlets leaving the D-Zone. Jette’s skating is strong, although he’s not a burner, his constant movement makes him seem faster. Good passer, but that’s not his first instinct. Which is fine, he’s a better shooter anyway. Jette bounced around last season, playing for 5 different teams (both his High School teams, Waterloo in the USHL, and got the call from the US Development Program for a couple games as well. Played most often with his Prep School club, where he scored 80P (41G) in 53 games. Had 2 goals for Team USA at the Hlinka a few weeks ago. He’s a more offensively capable Brodie Ziemer, but not quite as big.