FINALLY, I have a new top 32 out.  Why 32?  Because it’s about to be 32 in the 1st round, so why not just jump the gun?  Truth be told, I was working hard on doing a top 64 (again, jumping the gun) list for a lot of the pandemic, but I got this far and just decided to put this one out now since it now seems as though the draft is going to be a ways away still.  A top 64 list won’t be too far behind this one, but for now, I’ll give you this.  A few things off the top for you to know, especially if this is the first time you’re reading my draft stuff:

1. I have an annoying need to explain things…
2. I attempt to do my rankings from the POV that a GM would have, which means I’m looking at the value of players more so than simply ranking best to worst.  I also put more stock into upside than most do.  I love and value the draft as much as anyone, but it’s not the only avenue that can be used to build a team.  So there are times where it makes sense to me to take some big swings.  Don’t confuse this for a “90’s mindset” though.  I just mean that in comparison to most lists you’ll see.
3. I’m big on tiering.  You can’t tell me that organization fit doesn’t matter, or that the separation with players as the draft goes on doesn’t get smaller and smaller.  If players are even, you should be looking at things such as fit and need.  No way that teams should draft strictly for need, I just mean that if you need tiebreakers and I believe you need tiebreakers more and more as the draft rolls on.
4. You’ll see that I have some players positions different from most.  Those are the positions I would draft the player to play, not the position they perhaps are playing currently.
5. As you’ll see, I didn’t go too in-depth with most of my write-ups.  I don’t have the time right at the moment.  If you want to know more on most of these kid’s games though I can’t recommend my buddy Yannick St.Pierre’s YouTube page!  The quality of work is outstanding and probably should be behind a paywall, but thankfully for all of us it isn’t!
6. I’ll likely be accused of having a big WHL bias here, and that’s fine I completely understand and worry that I do too.  But I also know what I saw this season and have a theory as to why someone who watched the league closely is higher on the kids than someone who didn’t.  Coming into the season, there wasn’t any buzz about the dub kids.  But I knew it was ridiculously deep for the league this season and that there are going to be a TON of dub kids going in the 12-62 range.  Doing my WHL/Western Canadian rankings this season, it was tough for 3/4 of the season to find much separation.  Nobody was killing it, but about 12 kids were extremely intriguing (of course, Jarvis emerged as the clear cut top guy).  So, forgive me for being bias if I am, but know that I’m really trying hard to avoid it.  It’s a very deep year in the West, and we’re going to see that both in the draft, and for years to come as these kids grow.

If you want more information on my views on scouting and what all I look for and how I come to my conclusions, I actually just put out this blog explaining things in detail.  I try to be consistent with my logic.  I have no issues with anyone who disagrees with me or sees things completely different from me, but they better be able to explain why.  I see a ton of lists with no explanation and frankly, it always makes me wonder if the person doing the list ACTUALLY knows, or if they’re just taking an hour out of their day to list players and call it their list.

Ok, time to get on with the top 32 because you didn’t click this link to read all this bull shit, you want rankings!  Here you go:

 

Tier 1

1. Alexis Lafrenière

Team: Rimouski  League: QMJHL

Pos: C  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 192  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 52  G: 35  A: 77  P: 112

Born: 10/11/01, Saint-Eustache, QC

Comparison: Evgeny Kuznetsov

No brainer.  One thing though, you’ll see I have him listed as a centre.  If I’m drafting Lafrenière, I’m drafting him to be a centre.  Perhaps that won’t be the plan initially, but long term I’d want to max out an elite talent like Lafrenière and I believe you do that by using him in the middle as he is tailor-made to thrive there.  As for the comp, I’m sure people will look at me a little sideways with that one.  Know that A) I like Kuznetsov better than most, and B) while I try to be as accurate as possible when doing comps in terms of style, projection, etc. sometimes guys comps will either be a little less or a little more than what I see a player becoming.  In this case, I see a better version of Kuznetsov with Lafrenière.

 

Tier 2

2. Quinton Byfield

Team: Sudbury  League: OHL

Pos: C  Ht: 6’4  Wt: 214  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 45  G: 32  A: 50  P: 82

Born: 08/19/02, Newmarket, ON

Comparison: Evgeni Malkin

It’s insane how some have nitpicked his game this season.  He is producing at a better pace in his 17 year old season than Lafrenière did in his!  And he’s 6’4, 214lbs!  And he’s an amazing skater!  The upside is INCREDIBLE, and the downside is what?  2nd line winger?!  Wake up, he’s closer to Lafrenière than he is to Stützle, don’t overthink this.

 

Tier 3

3. Jamie Drysdale

Team: Erie  League: OHL

Pos: RD  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 170  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 49  G: 9  A: 38  P: 47

Born: 04/08/02, Toronto, ON

Comparison: Morgan Rielly

He has all the ability to become a franchise defenceman.  He also is far and away the top defenceman in a draft class extremely thin on pure puck-moving D-men, which boosts his draft stock.  If your team needs a defenceman and he’s still available, they better have a DAMN good reason to pass on him.

 

4. Tim Stützle

Team: Adler Mannheim  League: DEL

Pos: C  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 187  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 41  G: 7  A: 27  P: 34

Born: 01/15/02, Viersen, GER

Comparison: Henrik Zetterberg

I was pretty early on Stützle as I had him in my top 15 last summer (that I had seen anyway, I could be wrong), and I was fully on board when he started to get top five hype.  So I get why so many love him, but the talk of him going 2nd seems absurd to me.  But don’t get that twisted, I’m a huge fan of this kid and believe he can become a number one centre.  He needs a year though, and maybe two before I’d be looking at him playing.  There is so much talent, but there is still quite a bit in his game that’s raw.

 

5. Lucas Raymond

Team: Frölunda HC  League: SHL

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 165  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 33  G: 4  A: 6  P: 10

Born: 03/28/02, Göteborg, SWE

Comparison: Paul Kariya

Raymond had a difficult season, but you look at the speed and skill this kid oozes and there really shouldn’t be any reason for Raymond to fall out of the top five.  Some are down on what he could be, but I don’t really get it.  The upside here is enormous.  He’s going to be the type of winger who can drive his own line and really tilt the ice.

 

6. Yaroslav Askarov

Team: SKA-Neva St. Petersburg  League: VHL

Pos: G  Ht: 6’3  Wt: 176  Glove: R

2020 Stats – GP: 18  GAA: 2.45  Sv%: .920

Born: 06/16/02, Omsk, RUS

Comparison: Miikka Kiprusoff

Did you know that three of the last five goaltenders to go in the top five of a draft are going to the hall of fame (Luongo, Fleury, Price)?  One flat out busted, but did so because of injuries (DiPietro).  The other one didn’t live up to expectations but had some big seasons and also ran into a lot of injury issues.  Don’t get me wrong here, this is 100% against what I believe in.  I believe you take goaltenders in rounds 3-7 and you take about three every four years, if not four in five years.  But you have to be open-minded enough to recognize when the exception to the rule comes along, and I believe Askarov is just that.  Given his talent, his upside, and the track record of Russian born goaltenders of late (3/3 for those taken in the 1st round since 2006) I wouldn’t be allowing him to sit there too long.  He has the potential to change a franchise, and there aren’t many of those types of talents in this draft or any draft.

 

Tier 4

7. Marco Rossi

Team: Ottawa  League: OHL

Pos: C  Ht: 5’9  Wt: 179  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 56  G: 39  A: 81  P: 120

Born: 09/23/01, Feldkirch, AUT

Comparison: Sebastian Aho

The size and how his production has really come from beating up on inferior competition scares me a little bit.  You might say “Size?!  Undersized guys are now thriving you dinosaur!!”  Not what I mean bud.  I worry about the size when it comes to him playing his style of game, and doing that as a centre.  There is a reason that you don’t see many centres under 5’10 in the league.  It’s extremely difficult and you need to have an incredible 200-foot game to thrive if you’re undersized at that position.  I’m confident that Rossi could be that guy though, which is why I have him in my top 10.  But because of how rare it would be for someone as small as he is to thrive down the middle, I can’t bring myself to put him higher than 7th even though I’m a massive fan of his game.

 

Tier 5

8. Seth Jarvis

Team: Portland  League: WHL

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 172  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 58  G: 42  A: 56  P: 98

Born: 02/01/02, Winnipeg, MB

Comparison: Brad Marchand

Jarvis took his game to another level as the season went on.  His compete, confidence, and his assertiveness just went through the roof, and it leaves me with nothing I dislike about his game.  As for my comparison being Brad Marchand…I just mean in terms of his style and ability, none of the extracurricular stuff.

 

9. Alexander Holtz

Team: Djurgårdens IF  League: SHL

Pos: RW  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 183  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 35  G: 9  A: 7  P: 16

Born: 01/23/02, Saltsjö-Boo, SWE

Comparison: Phil Kessel

I’m not the biggest fan of snipers.  You’ll often see in my rankings that I’m more down on them than most.  So Holtz is further down my list than he is with most.  But with Holtz, what does intrigue me more than most shoot first types is that he has terrific speed.  So he’s a kid who at least has a chance to develop a much more well-rounded game thanks to that speed.

 

10. Cole Perfetti

Team: Saginaw  League: OHL

Pos: LW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 185  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 61  G: 37  A: 74  P: 111

Born: 01/01/02, Whitby, ON

Comparison: Ray Whitney

I saw SPR take a lot of heat for knocking Perfetti.  I’m not as harsh on him, but I definitely think there is something to what Sean says.  I don’t think Perfetti is a BAD skater, but he isn’t a great skater, and when you combine that with how he loves to dangle and struggles away from the puck, those are legitimate reasons to be concerned.  He won’t be able to dangle pro defencemen like he can OHL defencemen.  I believe he’ll have to make a lot of adjustments to thrive in pro hockey.  But having said that, I don’t view them as ones that are difficult to make.  All the tools are there to thrive.  Understand this too, going back to what Sean said…just because he’s LOWER on him, doesn’t mean he thinks he’s nothing.  In 2018 I had Svechnikov ranked 6th because of the bust rate for Russian forwards taken in the top 25 of the draft since 2004 (only 1/10 prior to the 2018 draft, which has since changed to 2/10 thanks to Gurianov finally getting his career going).  But I didn’t dislike Svechnikov AT ALL, I just found him to be a much bigger risk given that info that essentially proved Russian forwards weren’t being scouted properly.  Caufield is another guy for me I wasn’t ranking as high as others, but having Caufield at 16 on my board didn’t mean I thought he was trash, I simply thought others were either better gambles or were more of a certainty than Caufield.

 

11. Jack Quinn

Team: Ottawa  League: OHL

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 176  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 62  G: 52  A: 37  P: 89

Born: 09/19/01, Cobden, ON

Comparison: Justin Williams

I didn’t like Quinn for a long time.  And I think there was a false narrative out there that he was living off Rossi, which I stupidly bought into.  But he didn’t play with Rossi five on five, and he put up 34 goals ES.  Love his speed.  Being such a heavy “shoot first” type hurts him in my rankings as historically snipers in junior have a difficult time bringing that game to the show, but his speed and motor make him very endearing.

 

Tier 6

12. Kaiden Guhle

Team: Prince Albert  League: WHL

Pos: LD  Ht: 6’3  Wt: 187  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 64  G: 11  A: 29  P: 40

Born: 01/18/02, Sherwood Park, AB

Comparison: Darnell Nurse

The upside is off the charts with Guhle.  Skating, size, edge, IQ, the kid checks all the boxes to at least be an NHL defenceman someday.  I believe he can be a top pair defenceman, if not a legitimate number one guy someday, but he needs time.  In my opinion, he needs two more seasons in the WHL, and one full season in the AHL.  Then we’ll see.  This is not a kid that an organization should be rushing, and if the proper time is taken, the organization which drafts will have quite the player on their hands.

 

13. Jake Sanderson

Team: USNTDP  League: USHL

Pos: LD  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 185  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 66  G: 9  A: 34  P: 43

Born: 07/08/02, Whitefish, MT

Comparison: Hampus Lindholm

His dad would thrive even more than he did in the 90’s and early 2000’s if he were playing today as speed is much more of a priority and Geoff was a fantastic skater.  Jake is too, but that is where the similarities end.  A polarizing kid in this draft.  It seems as though the NHL scouts really love him, while the independent guys aren’t too enthralled.  Some probably think that I’ve got him too high at 13, but his skating and IQ are going to give him a chance to continually develop his offensive game.  His ability to defend is high end, so he’s a lot like Guhle only minus the physicality.

 

14. Dylan Holloway

Team: Wisconsin  League: NCAA

Pos: C  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 192  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 35  G: 8  A: 9  P: 18

Born: 09/23/01, Calgary, AB

Comparison: Timo Meier

Rare that I compare a centre to a winger or vice versa, but they do remind me a lot of each other, despite the fact that I believe Holloway will be able to play the middle.  Three big traits that he possesses which I love: speed, motor, physicality.  On top of that, he has the versatility to slot in several different places in a lineup.  Some worry about the numbers at Wisconsin, but you have to remember, the jump from the AJ to the NCAA is an enormous one.

 

15. Jack Finley

Team: Spokane  League: WHL

Pos: C  Ht: 6’5  Wt: 207  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 61  G: 19  A: 38  P: 57

Born: 09/02/02, Kelowna, BC

Comparison: Jordan Staal

I’m well aware you likely think this is insanely high.  For me, I don’t need a kid to be toe dragging everyone to see how he can thrive in the NHL.  He’s not anything sexy, but he has all the tools to be an elite 2nd line centre in the league which in my opinion is an extremely vital piece for a franchise to have.  He showed both the skillset and the mindset this season to be that player.  His production doesn’t jump off the page, but he got most of the tough minutes for Spokane this season, didn’t see much PP time until late, and didn’t see much time on Adam Beckman’s line (who was the leading scorer in the dub).  47 ES points for Finley, just one shy of Connor Zary who he is both a better skater than, much bigger than, and a full year younger than.  Don’t mean to write forever on Finley, but it kind of drives me nuts that so many people are sleeping on him.  It feels almost like backlash because he’s big.  Skates well, works hard all over the ice, very high IQ, showcases very good hands, good vision, and then he’s one of the youngest players in the draft so there is a ridiculous amount of room to continue growing.  He’s FAR from a coke machine.  I’m not expecting him to be drafted anywhere near here, but I truly believe people are going to be kicking themselves for sleeping on him.

 

16. Anton Lundell

Team: HIFK  League: Liiga

Pos: C  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 183  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 44  G: 10  A: 18  P: 28

Born: 10/03/01, Espoo, FIN

Comparison: Ryan O’Reilly

He’s not a sexy player for fans to get excited about, but Lundell is going to be such a valuable addition for a hockey club.  A Ryan O’Reilly type centre who can thrive in any situation.  Others have dropped him in their rankings much further than this, but I wonder how much of that is perhaps Lias Andersson backlash?  It would be understandable as they have very similar games, and I’m not a big fan of his skating, but I wasn’t a big fan of ROR’s skating when he entered the league.  These type of players are just so damn valuable, I’d have a tough time watching a guy like this drop too far if I were a GM.

 

17. Dawson Mercer

Team: Chicoutimi  League: QMJHL

Pos: RW  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 179  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 42  G: 24  A: 36  P: 60

Born: 10/27/01, Bay Roberts, NL

Comparison: Jordan Eberle

I’m not super high on Mercer’s ability to improve greatly over what he is right now, but I see him as one of the safest picks in this draft.  This kid just seems like a guy who is going to step into a team’s top six in a year or two, and never leave.  Just an easy game for guys to gel with.

 

18. Ozzy Wiesblatt

Team: Prince Albert  League: WHL

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 183  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 64  G: 25  A: 45  P: 70

Born: 03/09/02, Calgary, AB

Comparison: T.J. Oshie

I’m well aware that you can read the comp, but I can’t stress enough just how damn much of T.J. Oshie I see in this kids game.  Good skater, good skill, high motor, physical, versatile, he’s a kid who can be thrown into any role, any situation, and he’s going to deliver.  I really see him as a can’t miss player.  Might only be a 3rd line winger, but the upside is definitely there to be a fantastic complementary piece in a top-six role.

 

19. Noel Gunler

Team: Luleå HF  League: SHL

Pos: RW  Ht: 6’2  Wt: 174  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 45  G: 4  A: 9  P: 13

Born: 10/07/01, Luleå, SWE

Comparison: Tyler Toffoli

The work ethic gets questioned, but I wonder how much of it is simply that this guy isn’t a checker.  Because he’s not lazy and plays with a decent motor.  No doubt there are concerns about his play away from the puck.  But he has a terrific shot.  As you’ll know if you’ve read my rankings in the past, I’m not as big on the shoot first guys as some.  But once we’re down around this point, it makes a lot more sense to an anti shoot first guy like myself.

 

Tier 7

20. Hendrix Lapierre

Team: Chicoutimi  League: QMJHL

Pos: C  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 181  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 19  G: 2  A: 15  P: 17

Born: 02/09/02, Gatineau, QC

Comparison: Brayden Point

So difficult to rank.  I’m a huge fan of what I’ve seen, but the neck issues are troubling.  After seeing him in the Hlinka/Gretzky, I had him in my top five, but that’s about all we got to see this season.  This all depends on the medical reports obviously.  If they check out, I still believe he’s worthy of going in this range as he’s just too big of a talent, in my opinion, to pass on at a certain point.  I’ve had neck issues for a decade now that cause cervicogenic headaches.  They mimic migraines.  In fact, when I first started getting them I really believed I was having post-concussion syndrome as I had a concussion a few months prior in which my one boss rushed back to work running heavy equipment just three days later (which if you’ve ran heavy equipment, then you know how awful that is for someone coming off a concussion), so I didn’t even give any thought to it being a neck issue.  Cervicogenic headaches can be brutal, but they also aren’t overly serious (especially if your neck can constantly be worked on) and it’s nothing that a chiropractor can’t help you through.  As soon as your neck is aligned properly again, the headaches immediately go away, because they aren’t actually headaches.  Now, I’m saying all this, I don’t know that this was what the problem for Lapierre was.  I just know it was a neck issue that they thought were concussions.  But having gone through it, I would bet good money that’s what the issue has been (as long as they’re telling the truth).  Remember too, Crosby missing all that time in 2011 and 2012 with what was thought to be concussion issues, and once they figured out it was actually a neck issue, he was good to go again and hasn’t struggled with it since.

 

21. Jan Mysak

Team: Hamilton  League: OHL

Pos: LW  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 176  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 22  G: 15  A: 10  P: 25

Born: 06/24/02, Litvinov, CZE

Comparison: Patrick Sharp

I loved what I saw in his 22 games in the OHL.  A kid who I list as a winger and would draft him as a winger, but the potential is definitely there to continue playing the middle in pro hockey, which is always a nice bonus with a prospect up front.  The comp to Sharp comes from the fact that while he can put the puck in the net and is a shoot-first guy, he has shown that he can be trusted in any situation which will obviously win him big points with coaches as he furthers his development.  So he’ll get a ton of opportunity to succeed.

 

22. Lukas Reichel

Team: Eisbären Berlin  League: DEL

Pos: LW  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 172  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 42  G: 12  A: 12  P: 24

Born: 05/17/02, Nürnberg, GER

Comparison: Reilly Smith

One thing I admittedly worry about is that I and others are overrating the German/DEL kids this season thanks to a Leon Draisaitl influence, but more so how badly most of us (not all, Yannick for one, Yzerman for another) underrated Moritz Seider.  Anyway, with Reichel he is just scratching the surface with what he can be.  He’s showcased a really high IQ, and a good work ethic.  Combine that with how raw his game still is and the upside is really intriguing.  As is the case with anyone raw though, he needs time.

 

23. Mavrik Bourque

Team: Shawinigan  League: QMJHL

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 165  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 49  G: 29  A: 42  P: 71

Born: 01/08/02, Plessisville, QC

Comparison: Kevin Fiala

One word comes to mind watching Bourque: crafty.  I love the IQ with this kid.  And even though he’s only 5’10, if that 165lbs is accurate, then he has 15-20lbs still to put on which could help his skating.  The skating is passable, but an extra gear for Bourque could be massive for his game.

 

24. William Wallinder

Team: MODO J-20  League: SuperElit

Pos: LD  Ht: 6’4  Wt: 192  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 37  G: 5  A: 19  P: 24

Born: 07/28/02, Sollefteå, SWE

Comparison: Jacob Trouba

The skating ability/size combo is ridiculous.  So raw, but all the tools are here to be a legitimate stud defenceman.  Will Souch did a terrific video breaking down all of Wallinder’s game that you can see here.  Just like Guhle, he needs a lot of time.  He might even need more time than Guhle before we’re talking about him playing in the show.  He’s a kid who an interview could make or break his ranking for me.  Comes off as highly intelligent and committed to his craft, and I might be tempted to put him up with Guhle and Sanderson.  But without that knowledge, I can’t put him higher than this.

 

25. Michael Benning

Team: Sherwood Park  League: AJHL

Pos: RD  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 174  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 54  G: 12  A: 63  P: 75

Born: 01/05/02, St. Albert, AB

Comparison: Ethan Bear

Most are sleeping on him.  He matched Cale Makar’s pre-draft year production, and his draft year production (pre-draft they both had one more point than games played, and then this season they had the exact same 75 points in 54, and Makar’s team in those years was just as good as the Crusaders this season), except these have been Benning’s 16 and 17 year old seasons, for Makar they were his 17 year old and 18 year old seasons.  I don’t like going into stats too heavily, but this is a case where I seem to be the only one pointing this out all season, while understanding that Benning has all the tools to be a top-four NHL defenceman, and yet he is getting zero 1st round buzz.  He’s not Makar, I’d never suggest that.  They play different games, and Benning doesn’t have THAT kind of upside.  But just because he’s not Makar doesn’t mean that Benning is going to be damn good.

 

26. Ronan Seeley

Team: Everett  League: WHL

Pos: LD  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 176  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 63  G: 3  A: 29  P: 32

Born: 08/02/02, Yellowknife, NT

Comparison: Josh Morrissey

He’s much like Finley in terms of this likely being a bit of a stunner, but I’ve watched the dub closely this season believe that people aren’t just sleeping on Seeley, they’re in a coma.  A very slow start, and he was a victim of playing on maybe the best blueline in the WHL.  The offensive numbers will come (though they actually did, 30 of his points came in his final 46 games).  He is a terrific skater, very good puck-mover, and is very reliable in his own zone.  I highly doubt anyone picks Seeley in the 1st round, but when it’s all said and done I believe a ton of people could be really kicking themselves that they didn’t.

 

Tier 8

27. Ridly Greig

Team: Brandon  League: WHL

Pos: C  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 159  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 56  G: 26  A: 34  P: 60

Born: 08/08/02, Lethbridge, AB

Comparison: Brayden Schenn

He’s a coach’s dream and just does everything right.  I was high on him entering the season, and then he was so solid in a support role at the Hlinka/Gretzky, and just simply showcased it all season.  I moved him up both these rankings and my Western rankings late because I just keep going back to how physically immature he is.  Greig is going to add another 20, maybe even 30lbs to his frame!  Playing the physical style he does and showcasing that he’s committed to playing a 200-foot game, that extra size will help him tremendously.  IQ, skating, and motor to develop a very complete game.  I thought about having him as high as 21, but one red flag would be the assists.  Half of his 34 apples came with the man advantage.

 

28. Rodion Amirov

Team: Tolpar Ufa  League: MHL

Pos: LW  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 168  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 17  G: 10  A: 12  P: 22

Born: 10/02/01, Salavat, RUS

Comparison: Kyle Connor

I realize he actually played more games in the KHL, but his MHL numbers give a better indication of the type of prospect the team who drafts Amirov will be getting.  Anyway, I have made no bones about how I feel about drafting Russian born forwards the last few years…I’m leery.  That stance could be softening with guys like Gurianov showing signs of becoming a real player this season, obviously Andrei Svechnikov is fantastic, but the track record on these kids in the first round for over a decade has been pretty brutal.  It’s not all Russian born players, just the forwards.  So Amirov gets punished for that coming in at 28, but I’m well aware that he has tremendous talent.

 

29. John-Jason Peterka

Team: EHC München  League: DEL

Pos: LW  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 192  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 42  G: 7  A: 4  P: 11

Born: 01/14/02, München, GER

Comparison: Kyle Palmieri

Peterka is a burner.  I know there is some question out there about his ceiling, but he’s a very safe bet in my mind given the speed, given the motor, and he does have some pretty good skill to go with it.  He’s got a raw game right now, so the team that drafts him likely needs to give him three full years before looking at him for a roster spot.  But again, to my eye, he’s a safe bet to fill a top-nine role on any club.

 

30. Jacob Perreault

Team: Sarnia  League: OHL

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 198  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 57  G: 39  A: 31  P: 70

Born: 04/15/02, Montreal, QC

Comparison: Mike Hoffman

I worry about the work ethic.  It’s tough to look past the whole “privileged kid” thing when you combine what you see on the ice with the fact that he’s the son of a former NHL player (Yanic).  All the tools though to thrive in the NHL.  It’s funny with the bloodlines in this year’s draft.  Most of the time, kids play a lot like their fathers.  But in this draft you have Sanderson who is a stud defensive defenceman rather than goal-scoring winger, Finley is a giant centre rather than a puck-moving defenceman, Benning is the closet because at least he plays the same position as his old man but he’s much more skilled than Brian was, Greig plays a bit like his old man but I see him as a likely centre where Mark was a winger, and now Jacob Perreault being gifted and a bit lazy where his dad couldn’t skate and really got by with his IQ and work ethic.

 

Tier 9

31. Braden Schneider

Team: Brandon  League: WHL

Pos: RD  Ht: 6’2  Wt: 209  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 60  G: 7  A: 35  P: 42

Born: 09/20/01, Prince Albert, SK

Comparison: Travis Hamonic

May as well call this one  “the WHL safe bets tier”.  I wasn’t as high on Schneider as most were this season, mainly because the upside doesn’t intrigue me.  Don’t mistake this for me not liking the player, I really love his game.  He can skate, defend, and plays very physical.  But I don’t see him becoming more than a number four defenceman.  That’s a nice piece to find, but it’s not an overly difficult piece to find.  So he’s very close to a sure thing, but I would take some bigger swings before I’d settle on the safe bet that is Schneider.

 

32. Connor Zary

Team: Kamloops  League: WHL

Pos: C  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 181  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 57  G: 38  A: 48  P: 86

Born: 09/25/01, Saskatoon, SK

Comparison: Jarret Stoll

I got eight WHL and nine Western kids in total in my top 32.  I won’t hide from it very likely being thanks to how closely I watched the league this season.  But it speaks to what I saw all season which was while there wasn’t much high-end with the West this season (though Jarvis emerged as that guy), the depth is insane!  I feel as though a lot of people are going a little overboard on Zary, so I’m going to tell you some of the reasons why I’m a little leery.  The skating is suspect.  It’s passable, but it needs work.  He played on the best line in the dub this season, and though Franklin and Centazzo (shoutout to my fellow Wildcats) aren’t drafted, it’s not as though Zary was carrying them.  Finally, 44% of his production came with the man advantage.  I like him, but it’s just a case of there being more question marks then some are suggesting.  He plays a complete game and is very coachable, but much like with Schneider I question how much upside there is.

 

Keep in mind, this is just a top 32.  My top 64 won’t be too far behind this (at least as of writing this that’s the plan).  There is a lot of depth in this draft.  I’m not sure I LOVE this draft as much as I thought I would, but it is very deep and the separation from about 20-60 is pretty nominal in my opinion.

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I’m finally finishing up all these draft pieces that when the pandemic first hit, I figured I’d be able to knock out in NO time!  So while it sucks that we won’t get a June draft, it does help me out as now the heavy lifting part of doing my lists is basically done!  Likely that this list will not be my final list given we are so many months away.  We’ll hear more about players in interviews from here on, we’ll still be able to look through more video, lots of things can still happen.

Note the title here.  No WHL in that title, because this time around I’m not ranking just the WHL kids.  BCHL are in.  AJHL are in.  SJHL are in (though they don’t have anyone factoring into this).  MJHL is in (though they’re the same as the SJ).

Something I added this time around that I figured might help is a draft grade.  But it’s not A or B’s, it’s more of a “where I would take them” in the overall draft.  Perhaps will give you a better idea of how I see the kids.  Sure I might have some guy ranked way up high and some guy ranked about 12 spots lower, but 12 spots could mean that I hate the lower guy, or 12 spots could speak to there being a logjam of players.  So hopefully the draft grades help sort that.  They kind of replaced tiering guys.  Not sure why I didn’t just tier them, but I guess I’m just trying something new.

Also, if you want to know more about how I do my rankings lists, I just recently got done this blog laying out in great detail what I look at, what I value, how I rank guys, etc.

 

1. Seth Jarvis

Team: Portland Winterhawks

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 172  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 58  G: 42  A: 56  P: 98

Previous Rank: 2

Born: 02/01/02, Winnipeg, MB

Comparison: Brad Marchand

First of all, the comp because I know people see that comp and think “he’s an instigator and a chicken shit?!”  Nope, Marchand without all the BS.  I still haven’t soured one bit on Guhle, but Jarvis crushed it this season and not only have I moved him to the number one spot in my WHL rankings, he is starting to get buzz as being a top 10 pick in the draft.  Sorry Oilers fans, I know a prominent Oilers blogger/radio personality believes the Oilers can get him at 20, and trust me I would be well beyond thrilled if he were still on the board, but that seems like big time wishful thinking.  Skating, skill, IQ, and motor is all good-great.  It was really amazing to watch his progression this season.  I was pretty high on him from the get-go (4th on my first list) but didn’t see THIS coming.  But as the year went on, he grabbed the reigns of the Winterhawks and took his game to a whole new level.

Grade: Top 10

 

2. Kaiden Guhle

Team: Prince Albert Raiders

Pos: LD  Ht: 6’3  Wt: 187  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 64  G: 11  A: 29  P: 40

Previous Rank: 1

Born: 01/18/02, Sherwood Park, AB

Comparison: Darnell Nurse

As I said, I’m still very high on Guhle.  Perhaps higher than most.  The reason I’m higher on him than most is that I see him as a kid who an organization can really develop.  He might not be ready until the 2nd season of his ELC contract, but if he is given the proper time to develop he is going to be a damn good top-four D-man.  The skating, edge he plays with, size, IQ, and work ethic he displays tell me that he could really grow by leaps and bounds in the next few years if he is brought along slowly.  Safely, I believe that Guhle is going to be a top-four defenceman who a coach can lean on to play a lot of tough minutes.  But thinking about a couple of WHL alum’s from the 2003 draft who had a lot of similarities to Guhle in their draft year, Guhle compares well which are Shea Weber and Brent Seabrook.  Guhle has similar games to those two in their draft year, but has superior skating ability to them.

Grade: Top 15

 

3. Jack Finley

Team: Spokane Chiefs

Pos: C  Ht: 6’5  Wt: 207  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 61  G: 19  A: 38  P: 57

Previous Rank: 3

Born: 09/02/02, Kelowna, BC

Comparison: Jordan Staal

Most in the internet scouting community see Finley just as a potential 3rd line centre.  But as you can see, I am very high on Finley.  I see him as a kid with all the tools to be an elite 2nd line centre, and on top of that, he’s a safe pick.  He skates well, he has a very high IQ, good hands, good vision, as you can see has outstanding size, has a great 200-foot game, and he is extremely coachable.  That’s not sexy for anyone.  He doesn’t have goals that people can put on twitter and try to “scout-splain” to everyone why he’s so great, desperate to look intelligent to their followers as their inferiority complex overtakes them…anyway…he can produce in many other ways and doesn’t need to toe drag anyone.  He uses his size very effectively to protect the puck, take the puck hard to the net, and has good hands in tight once there.  It should be noted too, this is a kid who spent much of the season in a shutdown role for Spokane.  Not much time until late in the season playing with the WHL scoring leader Adam Beckman, not much time on the top PP unit.  People like Connor Zary has had all the love as far as WHL centre’s go this season, yet the ES production of the two players in nearly identical, and Zary played on the best line in the league.  Finley is bigger, a better skater, and a full year younger.  There have been two sets of head to head battles I’ve looked at hard this season where I come away saying “by no measure should one guy be ahead of the other”.  Guhle vs Braden Schneider, and Finley vs Connor Zary.  Give me Guhle and give me Finley and if you’re truly doing your homework on these kids then I’m not sure how you can have the latter ahead of the former.

Grade: 1st round

 

4. Ozzy Wiesblatt

Team: Prince Albert Raiders

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 183  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 64  G: 25  A: 45  P: 70

Previous Rank: 6

Born: 03/09/02, Calgary, AB

Comparison: T.J. Oshie

Sometimes I really love my comparisons.  There hasn’t been one that I’ve disliked to this point, but Wiesblatt to Oshie might be my favourite thus far.  The versatility, motor, hands, skating ability, and the gritty/greasy games that both players exhibit, I just see very similar players.  Wiesblatt played the most of the second half for Marc Habsheid, but I like him better as a winger in the pros.  I believe he’s going to be best playing a complementary role again…similar to Oshie.  Such a safe pick.  Very possible that he’s only ever a very good top-nine winger, but I see Wiesblatt being a kid who rides shotgun on a big line because he can provide a little bit of everything for a line and he has the type of game where he’s an easy fit with everyone.

Grade: 1st round

 

5. Michael Benning

Team: Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)

Pos: RD  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 174  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 54  G: 12  A: 63  P: 75

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 01/05/02, St. Albert, AB

Comparison: Ethan Bear

Before I start here, honourable mention for all the tier II kids because again this is the first list ranking the Western kids, not just the dub kids.  I’m not going to be a slave to stats, but I’m not going to completely ignore them either.  I tracked it all year comparing Benning’s stats in this his 17 year old season vs Cale Makar’s numbers in his 18 year old season.  The end result: even.  Makar had twice as many goals, but both played 54 games, both had 75 points, and both were playing with elite teams in the AJHL so nobody can give me a “yeah but this guy played with this player and the other only played with…” save it.  They were even teams.  Don’t get it twisted, Benning isn’t the prospect Makar was.  Makar is a tremendous skater, Benning is a good skater.  Makar is a rover, where Benning plays much more cerebral.  It’s funny though, I’m seeing guys knock Benning’s skating and this is the same ridiculous logic that people had two years ago with Bouchard and Sandin where people are mistaking skating ability with pace of play.  With Benning, I think it’s best to think of a guy like Bear.  Moves the puck very well, knows when to jump in the play, rarely makes a risky decision.  He’s not going to play a “loud” game, but it’s going to be extremely effective.  It’ll be interesting to see what he does in the fall at this point.  Initially when I released this, I had in it that it was questionable whether or not Benning would go to DU in the fall with the COVID concerns.  Jim Matheson tweeted out the other day though that Benning and Savoie are planning to play at DU in the fall.  Matty said that DU will play games with no fans, though that’s nice…they still would need opponents and I’m not sure a decision on these things has been made by the NCAA…but at this point it looks as though Benning and Savoie will play at DU in the fall.  So no extra year of development for the teams that draft Benning or Savoie.

Grade: Late 1st round

 

6. Ronan Seeley

Team: Everett Silvertips

Pos: LD  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 176  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 63  G: 3  A: 29  P: 32

Previous Rank: 11

Born: 08/02/02, Yellowknife, NT

Comparison: Josh Morrissey

Might be a little strong on my comparison here, but I’m thinking more so about what Morrissey was in his draft year, not so much what he’s become which is a top pairing D-man.  Massive jump up my rankings for Seeley, but if you followed along since the beginning of the season then you know I’ve been pretty high on Seeley from the start.  I can honestly say, it’s been a case of me not having the balls to put him higher than most have him.  But as I always try to tell myself “fuck’em, trust what you see”.  Easier said than done…What I see with Seeley is a terrific defenceman with a lot of upside.  He will only get better the more responsibility he is given.  Standard stuff for a sub 6’0 defenceman as he is a terrific skater and can really move the puck.  But then in the D-zone he is very sound fundamentally with his positioning, angles, and stick.  Comes off as a very coachable kid and displays a very high IQ.

Grade: Late 1st round

 

7. Ridly Greig

Team: Brandon Wheat Kings

Pos: C  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 159  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 56  G: 26  A: 34  P: 60

Previous Rank: 10

Born: 08/08/02, Lethbridge, AB

Comparison: Brayden Schenn

He’s a coach’s dream and just does everything right.  I was high on him entering the season, and then he was so solid in a support role at the Hlinka/Gretzky, and just simply showcased it all season.  I moved him up both these rankings and my Western rankings late because I just keep going back to how physically immature he is.  Greig is going to add another 20, maybe even 30lbs to his frame!  Playing the physical style he does and showcasing that he’s committed to playing a 200-foot game, that extra size will help him tremendously.  IQ, skating, and motor to develop a very complete game.  I thought about having him as high as 21, but one red flag would be the assists.  Half of his 34 apples came with the man advantage.

Grade: Late 1st round

 

8. Braden Schneider

Team: Brandon Wheat Kings

Pos: RD  Ht: 6’2  Wt: 209  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 60  G: 7  A: 35  P: 42

Previous Rank: 5

Born: 09/20/01, Prince Albert, SK

Comparison: Travis Hamonic

He’s such a safe pick.  He plays such a pro game already that I have a very difficult time seeing him not playing in the league.  I’ve used the Travis Hamonic comparison all year long, and it is just very fitting not only because of the way he plays but also given that Hamonic spent time in Brandon.  Can more offence come?  Absolutely.  His skating ability is very solid and so perhaps he starts jumping up in the play a lot more and the offensive ability starts coming along, you never know with defencemen.  But Schneider seems to really take pride in being a terrific defender.  His punishing style especially low in the zone coupled with fantastic positioning and angling makes him just miserable to play against.  A throwback, but a piece that is still very valuable as long as a player can skate and Schneider can.

Grade: Late 1st round

 

9. Connor Zary

Team: Kamloops Blazers

Pos: C  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 181  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 57  G: 38  A: 48  P: 86

Previous Rank: 4

Born: 09/25/01, Saskatoon, SK

Comparison: Jarret Stoll

The more I dig into the film on Zary, the more concerns I’m finding.  That’s not just me, that’s pretty much everyone.  I’ve said it in every write-up I’ve had on Zary this season that the skating concerns me, and it shouldn’t be lost on anyone that his numbers are inflated playing with my fellow Wildcats Zane Franklin and Orrin Centazzo.  Now, that’s the negative.  It isn’t as though I don’t see the upside with Zary, and what’s especially intriguing in my mind is that he wasn’t a highly touted kid coming into the WHL.  He’s really had to work to get to this spot.  I use Stoll as the comp and some might see that as a slight.  You look at their 17 year old and 18 year old numbers in the dub, they’re production is nearly identical, their style is nearly identical, and if Zary were to “only” be a high end/tough minutes 3rd line centre like Stoll, that’d be a terrific get in my mind.  While I was rough on him in my write up on Finley, I really do like the player, I just don’t understand what the measure is for most to put him ahead of Finley.

Grade: Late 1st round

 

10. Connor McClennon

Team: Winnipeg Ice

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’8  Wt: 157  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 42  G: 21  A: 28  P:  49

Previous Rank: 8

Born: 06/25/02, Wainwright, AB

Comparison: Brendan Gallagher

His draft stock took an even bigger hit than most with this shutdown, seeing that he broke his collar bone in his 42nd game of the season (right when he was on fire).  I just love the combination here of his motor, skill, and determination he plays with.  This kid is fearless.  But I can’t bring myself to put him any higher than this on my list because of his skating concerns and obviously we didn’t get to see him dominate for an overly long stretch as he was when he got hurt.  Man though, when Krebs came back, obviously Krebs is a great player, but it just gave McClennon ONE guy to help and the game just went through the freaking roof.  17 goals, 22 assists in his final 29 games, a 91 point pace.

Grade: 2nd round

 

11. Jake Neighbours 

Team: Edmonton Oil Kings

Pos: LW  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 201  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 64  G: 23  A: 47  P: 70

Previous Rank: 7

Born: 03/29/02, Airdrie, AB

Comparison: Alex Killorn

I said it all season, I just didn’t understand why he was getting the hype that he was.  I like him, but a lot of people believed he was the best prospect in the dub, and that just was never the truth.  The skating isn’t great, the motor isn’t always going (it’s not as though he’s lazy, but there are times he leaves you wanting more in terms of intensity), and though I don’t say this very often…he needs to shoot more.  There is a reason you don’t see power wingers being playmakers.  So those are the cons.  But he’s still a 2nd rounder for sure with a very high IQ and good size.  But a more assertive game with the puck is definitely something I’d like to see, and I believe he’ll need to really work hard on his conditioning.  As a guy who has put on weight with ease all his life, I can tell you that I need to burn 1000 calories a day to safely say I’m shedding weight, and that’s with a proper diet.  The point I’m getting at is that Neighbours looks like he has that kind of build where it’ll be a little more difficult for him to not so much shed weight, but change his body type a bit which would likely really help his skating.  The potential is here, it’s just that it’s quite a bit that needs work.

Grade: 2nd round

 

12. Tristen Robins

Team: Saskatoon Blades

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 174  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 62  G: 33  A: 40  P: 73

Previous Rank: 12

Born: 11/15/01, Brandon, MB

Comparison: J.T. Compher

So here is the thing about Robins.  You see him at 12 on the rankings and you say “why does Soups hate Robins?”  I really don’t.  But A) it’s a deep class in the dub, and even deeper when I factor in the tier II kids (specifically the AJ), and B) when I’m doing my rankings, sometimes guys will get punished because of what I see them becoming and not being a difficult type of player to find as some of the things I take into consideration with my rankings aren’t the same as how most do it.  Take Braden Schneider earlier in this list for example.  I really love the way Schneider plays, but even if he maxed out I see him as a number four defenceman.  That’s a nice piece, but it’s not overly difficult to find that piece.  So if I’m a GM, I don’t see his “draft stock” being as high as someone who is perhaps a little more likely to bust.  I’m a big fan of Robins game, which is speed and a very high motor.  He’s terrific on the forecheck.  Wouldn’t write off the possibility of him playing the middle in pro hockey, but more likely that he plays the wing.  I see him as a safe bet to be a top-nine winger, with a chance to be a top-six guy.

Grade: 2nd round

 

13. Cross Hanas

Team: Portland Winterhawks

Pos: LW  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 165  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 60  G: 22  A: 27  P: 49

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 01/05/02, Highland Village, TX

Comparison: Ondrej Kase

BIG jump for Hanas on my board.  First of all I should say, I’m not a fan of this comp, but he was an extremely difficult guy to find a good one for.  Basically my thinking is a very talented kid who has yet to put it all together, and I came up with Kase.  Something I kept coming back to with Hanas is “what’s he going to be once he fills out?”  Because he looks to me like he might be a little bigger than his listing of 6’1, he’s SO lanky.  So when he fills out and is playing around 190-200lbs and has some legitimate strength…he could be lethal!  That added weight/strength could especially help his skating, which is below average in my opinion at the moment but appears to be from a severe lack of lower body strength.  And so you might then say “his stats aren’t very good compared to others” but you have to look deeper than that.  Only 9 of his 49 points were with the man advantage.  Also, according to pick224.com, Hanas estimated TOI was just under 14 minutes a game, which places him 13th of 15 among the forwards who made this list (I’m guessing on Carter Savoie but it’s a pretty safe guess).  Add on top of all this, have you seen exactly how this kid scores?  In looking to review some stuff on Hanas I went to YouTube to see if there was a highlight pack just to grade his goals or points or whatever I can find (do it with all players).  Four times this season he had the WHL highlight of the night goal.  The second time he pulled off the lacrosse goal he didn’t win it.  So realistically he probably should have had that five different times.  Now, I’m far from a guy who gets wowed by lacrosse goals (Mike Legg played how many NHL games?…) but the point is that this kid has a TON of skill.  Finally, pound for pound he protects the puck better than anyone else in the WHL, which is a trait that’ll serve him well in pro hockey.  He was someone who I underrated all season (despite liking what I had seen) due to concerns over the production.  But once I had the chance to dig deeper on him, those concerns are history and I’m really intrigued by Hanas.  He could make this ranking look pretty stupid in a few years.

Grade: 2nd round

 

14. Carter Savoie

Team: Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)

Pos: LW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 181  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 54  G: 53  A: 46  P: 99

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 01/23/02, St. Albert, AB

Comparison: Mike Cammalleri

I hate using a comp that I used a year ago.  Last year this was Caufield’s comp, now it’s Savoie’s.  It fits better for Caufield than Savoie in my mind, even though there are a lot of similarities.  Some worry about Savoie’s skating, but I don’t.  I don’t because I don’t believe that many people saw it showcased to its maximum ability this season.  Savoie looked bored at times.  There were times though that he would turn it on, whether it be in a big game, or when (for lack of a better term) someone would piss him off, as he isn’t afraid to go after someone.  He plays what I would call a “bitchy game”, and I know that sounds like an insult but I really don’t mean it to be.

Grade: 2nd round

 

15. Justin Sourdif

Team: Vancouver Giants

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 165  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 57  G: 26  A: 28  P: 54

Previous Rank: 9

Born: 03/24/02, Surrey, BC

Comparison: Sam Reinhart

Nobody is going to question his talent.  Great skill and a very good skater.  I am concerned about the determination though.  It’s where the Sam Reinhart comp comes from in that the talent is there, but how bad does he want it?  If you look at Reinhart, while he isn’t EXACTLY what we thought he’d be, he’s pretty good.  And again, Sourdif gets hurt by the dub being so deep this season.  If I did grades on these kids like most of the NFL guys do, I’d have a 2nd round grade on Sourdif.  It’s very likely he is still in my top 62 when I get around to putting that out.   What makes me nervous about having him this low, his ES numbers.  Only 7 of the 54 points came on the man advantage.  But again having said that, it just feels like the passion is lacking.  This is a scenario where I’d put a ton of stock into his interview.

Grade: 2nd round

 

16. Kasper Puutio

Team: Everett Silvertips

Pos: RD  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 185  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 56  G: 5  A: 23  P: 28

Previous Rank: 17

Born: 06/03/02, Vaasa, FIN

Comparison: Damon Severson

The thing that I’ve really liked from the get-go with Puutio was his skating.  And then Larry Fisher told me earlier in the season when he watched Puutio live, the skating jumped out even more at him.  He moves it really well too, and only 7 of his 28 points came on the man advantage.  Statistically, a guy who came to mind was Henri Jokiharju who went 29th in 2017.  Jokiharju had 30 ES points in that season.  Puutio was at a 26 ES point pace this season.  Same size, Puutio might be a better skater, not as aggressive as Jokiharju but that might be better!  He’s like Hanas where the numbers aren’t showing, but I worry that in a few years I’m going to feel embarrassed about where I ranked him.  Some might wonder why he’s so much lower than Seeley despite having similar numbers on the same team, and it’s simple.  I feel Puutio’s game is tailor-made for Everett’s system, where Seeley I believe gets restricted by it.  But while it’s a 10 spot gap in these rankings, they wouldn’t be much further apart than that in the actual draft for me.  Benning/Seeley is where the Western logjam begins for me, and this is where it ends.  One more note with Puutio, he’s done with Everett.  Headed back home for the 20-21 season.

Grade: 2nd round

 

17. Pavel Novak

Team: Kelowna Rockets

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 170  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 55  G: 25  A: 33  P: 58

Previous Rank: 14

Born: 04/16/02, Tabor, CZE

Comparison: Frank Vatrano

Yet another victim of it being such a deep year in the West (are you sick of me mentioning this yet?!)  It’s actually not much deeper this year though than last year.  The 17th WHL/tier II kid to come out of the West went with the 77th pick.  I think the 17th kid to be picked from the West this year will likely be around that range, so while it looks like I’m down a bit on some of these guys in the 10-20 range, I’m really not.  Anyway, Novak isn’t the best skater, but it’s definitely passable and has room to grow.  He has a pretty good motor to go with good hands and vision.  Would have been VERY interesting to see Kelowna’s season continue in particular as they were really getting it going after the coaching change.  10 more regular-season games, combined with (what I would have guessed as a max) maybe 14 playoff games, and of course they were hosting the Memorial Cup.  Could have given a huge boost to Novak’s stock as he was playing very well right before the break (6 points in his last 3 games).

Grade: 3rd round

 

18. Ethan Edwards

Team: Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)

Pos: LD  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 165  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 50  G: 9  A: 24  P: 33

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 06/06/02, Grand Prairie, AB

Comparison: Jordan Oesterle

He’s only ranked 18th for me, but Edwards has me as fired up as anyone out of this list.  He’s committed to Michigan but isn’t going until the 21-22 season, meaning that the team which will draft him will get four years before they need to look to sign him (yes, I’m well aware that you can sign him after his senior season, but by then it’s highly unlikely a player wouldn’t go to free agency).  And as much as I like Edwards, it’s mainly because of his upside.  That development time combined with his skating ability makes him extremely intriguing to me.

Grade: 3rd round

 

19. Alex Cotton

Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes

Pos: RD  Ht: 6’2  Wt: 183  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 63  G: 20  A: 47  P: 67

Previous Rank: 15

Born: 05/12/01, Langley, BC

Comparison: Cody Franson

The first OA checks in at 19 on the list.  Cotton, as you can see, was 15th last time around, so he essentially only moved down one spot as the AJHL kids weren’t factored in the last time around.  The mobility is a concern and is what likely kept him from being drafted last June.  Great size though and a hell of a shot.  It’s a big “if”, but IF he can clean up his skating and take it to another level, he would be one very exciting prospect.  Obviously the concern though is how many points came from being paired with Calen Addison?

Grade: 3rd round

 

20. Dylan Garand

Team: Kamloops Blazers

Pos: G  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 172  Glove: L

2020 Stats – GP: 42  G.A.A.: 2.21  Sv%: .921

Previous Rank: 13

Born: 06/06/02, Victoria, BC

Comparison: Carter Hutton

I’m not a goaltending guru, but it’s tough to ignore the season Garand had playing for a squad in Kamloops who definitely weren’t known for their defensive prowess!  Highest scoring team in the WHL, yet 17 year old Garand still put up those ridiculous numbers.  And to my eye, Garrand moves very well and is pretty technically sound for this stage of his development.  My buddy Kirk Morris had a pretty good write up on Garand earlier this season that you can find here.  The big question is the size.  He’s right on the fence for being too small.  Obviously he has some more filling out he has to do, I’m talking about the height, but it’ll be interesting to see how teams view him.  This is essentially a 3rd round grade for Garrand, which seems about right as to where he could go in the draft.

Grade: Late round

 

21. Christoffer Sedoff

Team: Red Deer Rebels

Pos: LD  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 190  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 61  G: 5  A: 14  P: 19

Previous Rank: 16

Born: 02/20/02, Helsinki, FIN

Comparison: Luca Sbisa

He is their horse, chewing up a ridiculous amount of minutes a lot of nights for Brent Sutter’s club.  He’s a very smooth skater, good puck mover, and despite not having stats that jump off the page he has displayed some pretty good offensive skills at times.  He’s solid in his own zone also with good gap control, a good stick, and a willingness to compete down low and in front of the net.  There is a lot to work with here.

Grade: Late round

 

22. Daemon Hunt

Team: Moose Jaw Warriors

Pos: LD  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 198  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 28  G: 0  A: 15  P: 15

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 05/15/02, Brandon, MB

Comparison: Michael Stone

He basically ends up 22nd for me because of pedigree.  I don’t believe that people have done the homework they maybe should on Hunt.  I’m still seeing him in people’s top 62, and essentially as the 6th or 7th best prospect out of the west, it just makes no sense at all to me.  Not at all to suggest Hunt is a bad prospect or can’t make it, but we have to be honest, the shortcomings are tough to ignore.  He doesn’t bring a lot of offence to the table despite getting all the gravy time for the Warriors when he was healthy (of his 15 assists, only 3 were even strength, and I believe of those three only 1 of them was a primary assist), his skating is questionable, it’s not as though he has a lot of physical development left as he is already near 200lbs, and he essentially missed a season of development.  I’m not saying he can’t be higher than I’ve got him, but if someone has him in their top 62 they obviously haven’t spent a second actually looking into him.

Grade: Late round

 

23. Josh Pillar

Team: Kamloops Blazers

Pos: RW  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 174  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 63  G: 14  A: 30  P: 44

Previous Rank: 18

Born: 02/14/02, Warman, SK

Comparison: Conor Sheary

I really wonder if we end up seeing a similar jump in Pillar’s production next season as we saw with Tristen Robbins this season.  They have a ton of similarities, and with Zane Franklin moving on from the Blazers next season, a spot is open on that top line (although he’ll have Logan Stankhoven to contend with).  Really love Pillar in the later rounds because of that speed.  In rounds 4-7, just give me guys with one elite quality, and Pillar’s speed is just that.

Grade: Late round

 

24. Orrin Centazzo

Team: Kamloops Blazers

Pos: LW  Ht: 5’8  Wt: 163  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 63  G: 44  A: 37  P: 81

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 04/17/00, Marwayne, AB

Comparison: Tyler Ennis

Finished 2nd in the WHL with 44 goals on the season and there were very few “cheapies”.  Centazzo has always had a ton of skill, and know that this is someone I’ve watched since he played Atom hockey.  This season he REALLY started to put it together and has so much room to grow both in his game and physically.  Most see a 19 year old who has been twice passed over as someone who doesn’t have much of a ceiling, but Centazzo is the exception to that rule.  Truth be told, I had a tough time coming up with a comp, but I settled on Ennis for a few reasons.  Obviously the size is very similar.  Also, the numbers in their 19 year old seasons are very similar.  Finally, the skill is very similar.  Ennis is a better skater, but Orrin might get there once he starts filling out.  I strongly believe a team should be taking a swing on him late in the draft.  I have a lot of reasons to believe he’s a late bloomer.

Grade: Late round

 

25. Kyle Crnkovic

Team: Saskatoon Blades

Pos: LW  Ht: 5’7  Wt: 161  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 63  G: 21  A: 43  P: 64

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 02/10/02, Chestermere, AB

Comparison: Johnny Gaudreau

Obviously, that comp is much more in terms of style than upside.  I’m pretty stunned that you literally don’t hear a thing about this kid.  No doubt that the size is a concern, and the skating isn’t great for someone this small.  But he’s also very slight as you can read, so with added weight/strength he can perhaps take his skating up a few levels and if he adds that to his skill, now it gets pretty interesting.

Grade: Late round

 

Honourable Mention

Ethan Bowen

Team: Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL)

Pos: LW  Ht: 6’2  Wt: 170  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 41  G: 12  A: 19  P: 31

Born: 05/14/02, Chilliwack, BC

Bowen had a disappointing season with quite a few injury problems.  Admittedly I didn’t see all that much of Bowen outside of a few games on Hockey TV.  But a kid with a lot of intriguing qualities that’ll make him of interest at the draft in the later rounds.

 

Gage Goncalves

Team: Everett Silvertips

Pos: LW  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 170  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 60  G: 33  A: 38  P: 71

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 01/16/01, Mission, BC

1 goal in 67 games last season, and 33 in 60 this season.  Pretty massive turnaround.  He’s played centre all season, but I believe he’ll end up moving to the wing in pro hockey which is why I list him there.  Pretty good skill.

 

Michal Gut

Team: Everett Silvertips

Pos: C  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 181  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 51  G: 13  A: 23  P: 36

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 08/16/02, Kadan, CZE

His offensive totals do take a hit as he plays further down the lineup for the Silvertips and sees a lot of tougher minutes.  Pretty good two-way game, nothing flashy.

 

Simon Knak

Team: Portland Winterhawks

Pos: RW  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 190  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 49  G: 9  A: 25  P: 34

Previous Rank: 19

Born: 01/27/02, Kloten, SUI

Someone that SPR had brought to my attention prior to the season as I’d never seen Knak outside of one game at the Hlinka/Gretzky in 2018.  Plays an intelligent game all over the ice.

 

Landon Kosior

Team: Prince Albert Raiders

Pos: RD  Ht: 5’ll  Wt: 190  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 64  G: 5  A: 18  P: 23

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 08/15/02, Regina, SK

Played a lot of minutes with Guhle this season, some might say overshadowed by Guhle.  Good skater, moves it well (as you could guess from a sub 6’0, 23 point defenceman) and a high IQ.  Could be a kid who really pops next season.

 

Owen Pederson

Team: Winnipeg Ice

Pos: LW  Ht: 6’3  Wt: 187  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 61  G: 28  A: 22  P: 50

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 03/27/02, Stoney Plain, AB

His skating needs a ton of work, but the hands and ability to finish are definitely there with Pederson.  The fear from most with him will be that he basically lived off Peyton Krebs.

 

Luke Prokop

Team: Calgary Hitmen

Pos: RD  Ht: 6’4  Wt: 218  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 59  G: 4  A: 19  P: 23

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 05/06/02, Edmonton, AB

Tremendous size and not a bad skater either.  But I just really don’t see it with Prokop.  Definitely a chance he gets drafted simply based on his size and ok skating, but I feel he’s only on some people’s radar due to being a top 10 pick in the 2017 Bantam draft.

 

Lukas Svejkovsky

Team: Medicine Hat Tigers

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 165  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 52  G: 18  A: 20  P: 38

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 11/28/01, Point Roberts, WA

Some people really love what they’ve seen from Svejkovsky.  Speedy and skilled, but while I’m not a stats whore, I also can’t ignore that this was his 18 year old season and he’s well under a PPG pace.

 

Bryan Thomson

Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes

Pos: G  Ht: 6’4  Wt: 181  Glove: L

2020 Stats – GP: 30  G.A.A.: 2.83  Sv%: .898

Previous Rank: 20

Born: 04/09/02, Moose Jaw, SK

Thomson has a lot of tools to work with.  Obviously he has the size for a goaltender that NHL GM’s crave.  A lot of work is needed, but you can say that about basically every goaltender taken in any draft!

 

Ilya Usau

Team: Prince Albert Raiders

Pos: C  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 181  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 58  G: 22  A: 30  P: 52

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 08/03/01, Minsk, BLR

Performed well in his first season in the WHL.  Doesn’t really do anything exceptional but does everything well.  It seemed from afar that he was a very coachable kid for Marc Habsheid this season.

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The first year that I attempt to tackle just the WHL and focus solely on one league, and I get about the worst year possible to rank their kids!  Nobody is pulling away for me in this race and we are splitting hairs with so many of these kids.  Guhle vs Schneider, Zary vs Finley, Wiesblatt vs Neighbours, anyone can rank these kids in pretty much any order and I’m not going to put up much of a fight.  Which means the guy doing the rankings better put a HECK of a lot of time into research and going over everything with a fine-tooth comb (which is one reason I’m so late in getting this list out).  This is what I’ve done, but it’s frustrating because I might look back at this in two weeks and start kicking myself and I don’t just give myself love taps, I kick hard!!

It’s crazy.  I won’t be the least bit surprised if there are no WHL kids who go in the top 15 of the draft.  All the top kids in this year’s class have noticeable warts.  Having said that, I believe there are nine kids as of writing this who could then go in the 15-40 range.  You can make a legitimate case for any of the kids I have ranked 1-6 here being the top WHL draft prospect right now and I truly mean this that the gap from 1 all the way down to 14 is very small, so the depth here is just crazy.

I’ve decided to give you a top 20 this time around…just because I’m THAT good of a person.   Added to that are 6 honourable mentions, and 4 more kids playing tier II junior out West to bring the total to 30 players in the rankings this time around.  I’m like the Oprah of the WHL.  Souprah.

 

1. Kaiden Guhle

Team: Prince Albert Raiders

Pos: LD  Ht: 6’3  Wt: 187  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 61  G: 11  A: 29  P: 40

Previous Rank: 1

Born: 01/18/02, Sherwood Park, AB

He remains number one for me yet again, though this is getting even tighter.  I’ll tell you the one thing that drives me nuts this season though is anyone trying to make the case that Braden Schneider is a better prospect than Kaiden Guhle.  By no measure (in my opinion) is Schneider better than Guhle.  They are such similar defencemen, but Guhle is a better skater, not nearly as filled out at this point, just as physical, and a draft year younger.  You’re talking about a big, physical, terrific skating defenceman who is miserable to play against in his own zone and moves the puck well.  And when you’re looking at his defensive game specifically, there isn’t anything I dislike.   Positioning, angling, stick, zone entries, and puck retrievals are all high end for a draft eligible defenceman.  He reminds me a lot of two different defencemen: Darnell Nurse and Brent Seabrook.  Both guys never put up big offensive numbers in their draft years and yet one was a cornerstone for a three time Cup winner and the other is a 25 year old, top four defenceman, who just got 5.6 million per season.  Pretty good company.  If you’re looking at the here and now with Guhle, maybe you’re not as high on him.  But I believe the upside is ridiculous with Guhle.  This kid has all the tools (and I consider IQ and work ethic in those tools) to become a terrific defenceman in the show someday.

 

2. Seth Jarvis

Team: Portland Winterhawks

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 172  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 55  G: 40  A: 51  P: 91

Previous Rank: 4

Born: 02/01/02, Winnipeg, MB

The most skilled player to come out of this year’s crop of WHL kids checks in at 2 this time around, barely edged out for 1st by Guhle for me.  All season I talked about how Jarvis is in that group of kids who could be ranked anywhere from 3rd to 9th for me, and I had him as the top kid in that group the last time around, but now Jarvis is starting to separate from that group.  Skating, IQ, vision, compete are all very solid, but its the hands which are perhaps what I like about his game the most.  There are a lot of players that Jarvis reminds me of.  A bit of Jordan Eberle, a bit of Brendan Gallagher, a bit of Nik Ehlers, all players who are undersized, but all players who have a different skill set.  He needs to improve his play away from the puck, but it’s not any worse than most kids his age.  He’ll fly the zone quite a bit but that’ll likely be coached out of him in time.  He’s not on the top of my list this time around, but if he continues trending how he has of late, I can’t imagine I’d have anyone higher than him the next time around.

 

3. Jack Finley

Team: Spokane Chiefs

Pos: C  Ht: 6’5  Wt: 207  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 57  G: 17  A: 36  P: 53

Previous Rank: 10

Born: 09/02/02, Kelowna, BC

He takes a very big jump up my rankings.  And I’m well aware that many won’t agree with this, and that’s fine.  This is how I feel right now, and just hear out my POV on this.  Obviously the tool kit stands out.  He’s not just 6’5, he’s not just 207 lbs, he’s a good skater who is putting up impressive numbers when you factor in that he’s been seeing a ton of tough minutes in Spokane.  His season is actually greatly replicating the season Ryan Johansen had in his draft year, and it took scouts a while that season until they started to really recognize Johansen.  Finley is a kid who to me looks like a sure thing to play in the league, but the upside is still there.  Of course, the one guy most noticeable who I’m ranking behind Finley is Connor Zary.  When I break down Finley v Zary, I have all the edges other than raw point totals going to Finley.  Even strength scoring however, Finley is better PPG (0.78) than Zary (0.76).  If Finley were the one playing with Zane Franklin and Orrin Centazzo (shoutout to my fellow Marwayne Wildcats…) then would his numbers resemble Zary’s?  In my opinion, they’d be as good or better.  Is Finley going to make a lot of highlight reels?  No.  He’s not overly dynamic.  Luckily for Finley, I’m not big on players being dynamic.  Being intelligent and constantly on the right side of the puck isn’t sexy, but production is production.

 

4. Connor Zary

Team: Kamloops Blazers

Pos: C  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 180  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 52  G: 34  A: 43  P: 77

Previous Rank: 2

Born: 09/25/01, Saskatoon, SK

The work ethic and the IQ really stand out when you watch Zary play and as I’ve said before the guy is a coach’s dream.  You can put him in any situation and he’s going to thrive.  My buddy Larry Fisher compares him with Bo Horvat and it really is a spot-on comparison.  I’d say you’re at least getting a Jarret Stoll type with Zary (who was similar to Horvat but simply didn’t sustain the offensive production Horvat has and will).  Captain material.  He simply does everything very well.  However, that can be viewed as a negative too, as a fellow contributor to the oilknight.ca pointed out (I won’t say who, but I’ll just say he knows the QMJHL extremely well…) sometimes it’s not so much that they do everything well as it is they don’t do anything great.  And that is fair with Zary is he doesn’t do one thing that stands out, and for me, the skating is a bit concerning.

 

5. Braden Schneider

Team: Brandon Wheat Kings

Pos: RD  Ht: 6’2  Wt: 209  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 58  G: 7  A: 35  P: 42

Previous Rank: 9

Born: 09/20/01, Prince Albert, SK

As you can see, I am coming around on Schneider.  Way too tough on him in the summertime, I tend to do that with the kids who have the late birthdays.  He’s a safe pick.  As I said earlier, he’s very similar to Guhle, I just don’t feel as though there is anything Schneider does better than Guhle, and I believe Guhle has some offensive upside where I’m not sure Schneider has much.  The comparison I’ve used all season though is Travis Hamonic, and no team is going to cry about getting a D-man like that.  I like his skating, and he’s not just a physical guy in his own zone.  Much like Guhle, good gap control, positioning, and stick.  You can really see with Schneider that he takes pride in being that shutdown/throwback defender.

 

6. Ozzy Wiesblatt

Team: Prince Albert Raiders

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 183  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 61  G: 24  A: 44  P: 68

Previous Rank: 5

Born: 03/09/02, Calgary, AB

So if you’re looking at just the skill sets on the dub kids who I have so closely bunched up (Wiesblatt, Jarvis, Neighbours, McClennon, Sourdif, etc), Wiesblatt could be the least skilled of those kids.  But on the other hand, Wiesblatt is perhaps the most likely to simply play in the NHL of the group.  So how do you rank that?!  It’s tricky, and I admit I do have to come up with more of a system to make such issues much easier to figure out.  Wiesblatt, in my opinion, is going to be the type of player who can play in any situation.  Right now he’s playing the middle for the Raiders, though I see him as a winger down the line.  Good skater, good motor, plays physical, plays a little greasy at times, he’ll be a fan favourite wherever he goes.

 

7. Jake Neighbours 

Team: Edmonton Oil Kings

Pos: LW  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 196  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 61  G: 23  A: 45  P: 68

Previous Rank: 6

Born: 03/29/02, Airdrie, AB

I get why some people love him as much as they do.  That’s never been lost on me.  Neighbours plays a pro game, he can play a hard game, and he can play a bit of a greasy game at times too.  His IQ is high end.  I really worry about the skating though.  It’s not that it can’t improve, but it’s much more to do with a theory I have.  Neighbours is already pretty filled out at 5’11 and near 200 lbs.  That doesn’t suggest he is going to gain a whole lot more strength.  Maybe.  I’m not saying he won’t.  But I’m more willing to bet on kids making a big improvement in their skating ability who aren’t yet filled out.  If he can get his skating to where it needs to be, I love him just as much as everyone else seems to.  But I’m just not sure he can.

 

8. Connor McClennon

Team: Winnipeg Ice

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’8  Wt: 157  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 42  G: 21  A: 28  P:  49

Previous Rank: 8

Born: 06/25/02, Wainwright, AB

Maybe the toughest kid to rank.  On one hand, he has exploded offensively after a slow start.  He recently went on an 11 game point streak and had 29 points in his last full 18 games played.  Why did I say “full”?  Because in his last game McClennon suffered a broken collarbone and will be out likely until the end of the WHL regular season, if not longer.  The other thing some would point to in terms of his production was that he took off once Peyton Krebs returned from his Achilles injury.  But let’s not pretend McClennon is playing on some offensive juggernaut in Winnipeg where he’s able to live off other’s accomplishments.  McClennon is a lot like Kailer Yamamoto, not just in stature but also with his drive and fearlessness on the ice.  He plays much bigger than his size.  The skating isn’t where Yamamoto’s was at this point though.  I personally believe it’s better than some have suggested, but there is no doubt it needs work.  Opposite of Neighbours though, McClennon has a lot of weight and strength to pack on still, so it’s possible it could greatly improve as he does.

 

9. Justin Sourdif

Team: Vancouver Giants

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 163  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 54  G: 24  A: 28  P: 52

Previous Rank: 3

Born: 03/24/02, Surrey, BC

A big slide down my rankings for Sourdif, but again, I have to stress that I don’t see anything of a big gap between 1st and 9th, and it’s an even smaller one between 6th and 9th.  The thing you have to remember with Sourdif that while the numbers aren’t where many believed they would be for him this season, it is the Vancouver power play that is killing his production more than anything.  So while he’s down at 9 for me at the moment, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to go on a tear at some point and shoot back up into my top 3.  It’s that tight.  And with Sourdif, the skillset isn’t in question.  I do worry though that the drive isn’t there with Sourdif.  He isn’t very assertive with the puck, and he doesn’t bring much in terms of physicality or gamesmanship.

 

10. Ridly Greig

Team: Brandon Wheat Kings

Pos: C  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 162  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 54  G: 24  A: 33  P: 57

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 08/08/02, Lethbridge, AB

Greig is an intriguing prospect for a lot of people.  He plays a pro game and he has a lot of growing to do physically so that always will make people wonder where the ceiling is.  I like his skating ability and feel as though there is room for that to grow quite a bit in the next few seasons.  He has excellent hockey sense, is a decent playmaker, protects the puck well, plays a solid 200 foot game, he is willing to play a physical game, he is just simply a very complete player.  For me, I see him as potentially a terrific two-way centre.

 

11. Ronan Seeley

Team: Everett Silvertips

Pos: LD  Ht: 5’11  Wt: 176  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 60  G: 3  A: 29  P: 32

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 08/02/02, Yellowknife, NT

The skating ability is his calling card.  You’d think that with a defencemen sub 6’0 and a great skater that he’s a big risk-taker.  But remember: he’s playing for Everett, and the Silvertips under Kevin Constantine previously, and currently Dennis Willaims, are the stingiest team in the WHL.  Don’t let the numbers fool you, this kid can move the puck very well and has a lot of untapped offensively ability.  At this point, I don’t see Seeley going in the top 62 of the draft, but he is a sneaky good prospect who has been a personal favourite of mine.  If I’m an NHL team, I’m not looking to reach to get him, but I’d slot him in the 63-124 range (3rd or 4th round) and hope he finds his way to our pick because there is a lot to work with here.

 

12. Tristen Robins

Team: Saskatoon Blades

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 174  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 58  G: 31  A: 35  P: 66

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 11/15/01, Brandon, MB

The first thing that stands out with Robins is his speed.  This kid is a burner, but he combines that with a terrific compete level which makes him lethal on the forecheck, on puck retrievals, and on the backcheck.  He plays the middle for the Blades, but for me personally, I would be drafting Robins as a winger.  Hey, if he can play the middle that’s even better!  But I see him as a winger in pro hockey and while I question if he’ll have the skill level to produce at a top six level, he sure looks as though he has the speed and work ethic to be an effective top nine winger in the show.

 

13. Dylan Garand

Team: Kamloops Blazers

Pos: G  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 172  Glove: L

2020 Stats – GP: 39  G.A.A.: 2.23  Sv%: .922

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 06/06/02, Victoria, BC

At the start of the year I have to admit, I didn’t like Garand mainly because of his size.  And though the size hasn’t improved, and NHL organizations still prefer bigger netminders, it isn’t as though 6’1 is a size of goaltender which isn’t going to get a look in the league.  And then the season he’s having has now is so damn impressive!  His numbers are right there with Team Canada’s Joel Hofer who is playing on a more dominant team in Portland.  And it’s not as though Kamloops is some defensive juggernaut, this is a team who has played pretty wide open hockey this season.  I love the way Garand moves in net.  He’s very technically sound with terrific reflexes.  If this kid’s ability to track the puck can catch up to the rest of his game, he will be an NHL goaltender even at this size.

 

14. Pavel Novak

Team: Kelowna Rockets

Pos: RW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 170  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 52  G: 22  A: 30  P: 52

Previous Rank: 7

Born: 04/16/02, Tabor, CZE

Before I get to Novak, what a mess in Kelowna this season.  As a Western guy and covering the WHL for Sean as I do, this is humiliating that this team is hosting the Memorial Cup this season.  I thought 2013 was bad with the Blades being bounced in the 1st round, it is nothing compared to what is going on with the Rockets.  And they are the last franchise I thought I’d ever type something like that about in the WHL.  Ok, Novak.  He’s the Rockets leading scorer as of writing this.  He’s a very similar prospect to Wiesblatt, McClennon, Sourdif, etc. in that he’s a bit of an undersized guy who can produce.  The thing that scares me with Novak is the skating ability isn’t great.  He has the skill to succeed, but at the moment I don’t believe his skating is good enough to get him to the next level.  If he can get it to where it needs to be, Novak will be pretty intriguing.

 

15. Alex Cotton

Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes

Pos: RD  Ht: 6’2  Wt: 183  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 60  G: 18  A: 47  P: 65

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 05/12/01, Langley, BC

Something that keeps me up at night when ranking kids for their drafts: the late bloomer/over-ager.  I get so locked in on certain kids that I rarely give consideration to such things!  Thankfully, I didn’t miss Alex Cotton’s incredible 3rd season in the WHL that is getting more and more attention as the year has worn on.  He moves the puck extremely well, has a great shot, and he showcases good compete.  The play in his own zone needs work, but the big concern with Cotton are the boots.  His skating is just ok, but the positive with it is that he has improved it quite a bit over the last year.  Can it continue to improve?  If it can, the team which drafts him will have quite the prospect on their hands.

 

16. Christoffer Sedoff

Team: Red Deer Rebels

Pos: LD  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 189  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 59  G: 5  A: 14  P: 19

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 02/20/02, Helsinki, FIN

Sedoff is starting to get some love from the scouting community despite playing on a rebuilding Rebels club.  He is their horse, chewing up a ridiculous amount of minutes a lot of nights for Brent Sutter’s club.  He’s a very smooth skater, good puck mover, and despite not having stats that jump off the page he has displayed some pretty good offensive skills at times.  He’s solid in his own zone also with good gap control, a good stick, and a willingness to compete down low and in front of the net.  There is a lot to work with here.  Another interesting tidbit is his size.  Elite Prospects lists him at 5’11, 159lbs.  The WHL’s site has him at 6’1, 189lbs, a pretty damn big difference!  When I’ve seen him, it appears to me like the WHL size is the correct one, at least in terms of height.

 

17. Kasper Puutio

Team: Everett Silvertips

Pos: RD  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 185  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 53  G: 5  A: 20  P: 25

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 06/03/02, Vaasa, FIN

A very similar prospect to Sedoff, but in a very different situation (at least he is since his trade to Everett).  The skating ability of Puutio, much like his teammate Ronan Seeley, makes him a very intriguing prospect in the middle to late rounds of the draft.  He’s very raw at this point.  Both offensively and defensively, there is a ton of room for growth.  But he’s a kid who as I already said is a terrific skater, and he moves the puck very well.  If he can refine his defensive game, there is no reason he couldn’t be a Jonas Brodin type D-man down the line.

 

18. Josh Pillar

Team: Kamloops Blazers

Pos: RW  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 174  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 58  G: 14  A: 27  P: 41

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 02/14/02, Warman, SK

When you’re just simply looking at stats, Pillar doesn’t stand out.  But this kid has been a favourite of mine all season because of his wheels.  I’m a big believer in taking kids later in the draft who have one terrific trait and looking to develop the rest, and Pillar has that in his skating.  Very similar to Tristen Robins who is in his 18 year old season, and  Pillar is already out producing what Robins did last season.  Also like Robins, he’s playing the middle for Kamloops.  If Pillar was playing the wing he’d likely have a lot more freedom offensively, and likely be getting a lot more attention than he has.  31 ES points on the season playing primarily in a checking role for the Blazers this season.

 

19. Simon Knak

Team: Portland Winterhawks

Pos: RW  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 190  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 46  G: 9  A: 24  P: 33

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 01/27/02, Kloten, SUI

A player who does everything well, but nothing great.  Ok size, ok speed, ok hands, ok vision, ok hockey sense, an ok shot, he’s just ok.  Now, if Knak has a great work ethic than he is just scratching the surface on what he can become.  And what will help him a lot with that development is being a Winterhawk with Mike Johnston as his coach.  I’m not sure if Knak has shown enough to get himself drafted at this point, but he will have a lot more of an opportunity on a Winterhawks team which looks primed for a deep run into the WHL playoffs.

 

20. Bryan Thomson

Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes

Pos: G  Ht: 6’4  Wt: 181  Glove: L

2020 Stats – GP: 28  G.A.A.: 2.94  Sv%: .896

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 04/09/02, Moose Jaw, SK

Nothing like Garand.  Garand gets love for the numbers he’s put up this season and the mystery of whether or not he will be just big enough to succeed.  Thomson has the size and ability but doesn’t have the numbers as he fluctuates above and below a .900 Sv% this season.  But the upside is tough to ignore with this kid.  I hate comparing him to a former Hurricane (because I worry about it coming off as lazy on my part), but he is very similar to Stuart Skinner when Skinner was 17.

 

Honourable Mention

Orrin Centazzo

Team: Kamloops Blazers

Pos: LW  Ht: 5’8  Wt: 163  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 58  G: 42  A: 34  P: 76

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 04/17/00, Marwayne, AB

This one is both interesting and fun for me to write.  A kid who’s family I know well, I watched a ton of as he was growing up, played on a line with my nephews in their U-16 Midget season, and is tearing it up on the best line in the WHL this season along with Connor Zary and fellow Marwayne Wildcat (once again, shoutout to my fellow Wildcats) Zane Franklin.  Orrin has always possessed ridiculous skill, and now he seems as though he’s putting it all together and figuring out just how good he can be.  No doubt, he benefits from having Zary and Franklin on his line.  But there are some who feel it’s Centazzo who is the offensive catalyst of that trio.  If I were a team, I’d give him a close look in the later rounds.  I think the higher level of hockey this kid plays, the more he is going to elevate his game.  He has the skill to play in the show.  Tough to rank at this point for me which is why he is in the HM section, but he’s an intriguing player to keep an eye on.

 

Michal Gut

Team: Everett Silvertips

Pos: C  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 181  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 48  G: 13  A: 22  P: 35

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 08/16/02, Kadan, CZE

Last time I said that Gut was a good skater, but I’m not sure that was very accurate as in my viewings since it has been the one thing about his game that has concerned me.  He is however a kid who looks to do everything right out on the ice, a very responsible 200-foot player.

 

Cross Hanas

Team: Portland Winterhawks

Pos: LW  Ht: 6’1  Wt: 165  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 57  G: 19  A: 25  P: 44

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 01/05/02, Highland Village, TX

Has some high end skill in his game scoring some highlight reel goals this season.  But the hockey sense is very questionable.  If he can learn to start playing a simpler game and improve his play away from the puck, he might be a player.  Just as the case with his teammate Simon Knak, the one thing Hanas has going for him is that his head coach Mike Johnston has one heck of a track record developing players and Hanas has a skill set Johnston can work with.

 

Daemon Hunt

Team: Moose Jaw Warriors

Pos: LD  Ht: 6’0  Wt: 198  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 23  G: 0  A: 11  P: 11

Previous Rank: HM

Born: 05/15/02, Brandon, MB

Such a difficult kid to rank as he has been out since the 3rd of December (suffered a severe cut to his arm).  He’s nothing flashy.  Some might even say he’s boring.  But he’s effective.  Terrific in his own zone with his gap control, angles and stick, he was logging all the tough minutes for a weak Warriors squad.  The PPG might look solid at first glance for a defenceman.  Obviously having no goals in 23 games isn’t a great sign.  But if we’re talking about statistical red flags, the one for me is that of his 11 assists, only two came at even strength, and one of those was a secondary assist on an empty net goal.  On top of that, I don’t love the skating ability when I’ve viewed him.

 

Owen Pederson

Team: Winnipeg Ice

Pos: LW  Ht: 6’3  Wt: 187  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 57  G: 23  A: 21  P: 44

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 03/27/02, Stoney Plain, AB

Pederson plays on the top line in Winnipeg with Vegas Golden Knights 1st round pick Peyton Krebs.  For what turned out to be a short period of time, Pederson was flanked by both Krebs and Connor McClennon and they were one of the hottest lines in the league before McClennon got hurt.  As you can likely guess, it is Pederson’s skating that needs work.  His assets are obviously his size, but also he isn’t afraid to use that size which makes him an effective player on the cycle and in front of the net.  Finally, Pederson has very good hands too.  So there is a lot to work with here, but the skating needs a lot of work.

 

Luke Prokop

Team: Calgary Hitmen

Pos: RD  Ht: 6’4  Wt: 218  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 59  G: 4  A: 19  P: 23

Previous Rank: NR

Born: 05/06/02, Edmonton, AB

Hey, what do you know!  The night I do the write-up for Prokop is the night he busts out offensively!  1 goal on the season going in, 2 goals in the game!  But obviously that is not what Prokop is known for.  He’s a throwback type of D-man.  A bruiser in his own zone who will throw people around.  The skating and the hockey sense are the concerns with him.  I think the skating is OK, it’s not great but I think it’s passable, and then the hockey sense is obviously a concern.  He’s iffy to get drafted, but it wouldn’t surprise me given the tools he has in his arsenal.  You get down to the later stages of the draft and sometimes it isn’t about how good the kids are but much more about how much you’ll have to work with as an organization attempts to develop a kid.

 

AJHL

Michael Benning

Team: Sherwood Park Crusaders

Pos: RD  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 174  Shot: R

2020 Stats – GP: 54  G: 12  A: 63  P: 75

Born: 01/05/02, St. Albert, AB

I’ve often pointed to the comparison in his numbers to Cale Makar’s draft year this season (keeping in mind that Makar was in his 18 year old season vs this being Benning’s 17 year old season), so let’s do it again!  They finish with the exact same games played (54) and the exact same point totals (75).  Now, as mightily impressive as that is for Benning, he’s not Makar.  They are obviously very mobile offensive-minded D-men, but Makar was more dynamic than Benning is.  Benning is much more of a cerebral player and not the skater Makar was/is (even though Benning is a terrific skater).  But let’s look at other recent AJHL comparisons.  Jacob Bernard-Docker (26th overall in 2018) had 41 points in 49 games.  Ian Mitchell (57th overall in 2017) had 37 points in 53 games.  If we are comparing their games, Mitchell’s most closely resembles Benning’s.  And don’t say “yeah, but the teams they played on…” these four played for what are currently the four best programs in the AJHL.   In a way, they really aren’t even AJHL teams, but rather minor league teams for NCAA programs.  Benning is also pretty solid in his own zone.  Despite his stature, he does not get pushed around and is willing to battle in all the tough areas.  It won’t be his calling card, but he’s not at all a liability in his own zone as the Crusaders lean heavily on him defensively.

 

Carter Savoie

Team: Sherwood Park Crusaders

Pos: LW  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 181  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 54  G: 53  A: 46  P: 99

Born: 01/23/02, St. Albert, AB

The most anticipated game of the year in the AJHL was on January 18th.  Sherwood Park vs Brooks.  At the time, the top two teams in the CJHL going head to head.  A possible preview of the AJHL final.  What did Carter Savoie do?  Plays his best game of the year.  Hatty, plus an assist (all points at even strength), Crusaders win 7-4.  The knock on Savoie is his skating.  From the get-go this season I didn’t have the issue with it that most seemed to, and as the season has worn on I feel stronger than ever in the opinion of him being a guy who just simply picks his spots and plays a much more cerebral game than most give him credit for.  His skating doesn’t stand out, but it’s fine.  He cranks it up when he needs to, and there is plenty of room for improvement.  Also, he’s a miserable SOB to play against!  He’s not afraid to go after a guy.  He’s not overly physical, but he plays in the tough area’s and will do what he has to do to create space.  He can look lazy at times, but it’s the same type of thing you see out of most goal scorers that they’re always just looking for dead ice.  50 goals in 50 games, near 2 PPG on the season, the kid has lived up to his hype in the AJHL this season.  It’ll be interesting to see what he does in the playoffs.

 

Ethan Edwards

Team: Spruce Grove Saints

Pos: LD  Ht: 5’10  Wt: 165  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 50  G: 9  A: 24  P: 33

Born: 06/06/02, Grand Prairie, AB

I’m not liking that my secret player is not being kept a very good secret!  Ranked 85th by NHL Central Scouting among North American players, only 15 spots back of Benning.  Edwards plays at a quicker pace than Benning and might be a little bit better skater of the two.  Edwards can also (as you’d expect), really move the puck well.  Despite all this, he really isn’t a big risk taker in my viewings of him.  Again I am going to point out as I did last time, he isn’t a kid I’d be looking to take in the top 93 of the draft, but in the later rounds he could be a flat out steal.  Committed to Michigan, but not until the 21-22 season, meaning the team which drafts him would have as much as five seasons to allow him to develop before making a decision on him.

 

BCHL

Ethan Bowen

Team: Chilliwack Chiefs

Pos: LW  Ht: 6’2  Wt: 170  Shot: L

2020 Stats – GP: 41  G: 12  A: 19  P: 31

Born: 05/14/02, Chilliwack, BC

He’s run into injury issues this season, likely are the big reason for his somewhat disappointing season to this point.  I still worry about the skating with Bowen, but again I’ll point to how big and gangly he is at this point.  There are other kids in the BC league challenging Bowen for top prospect, but all of them seem to also have their warts.  At this time I still believe Bowen is the most intriguing of them all, but it’ll be interesting to see where it stands once we’re a round or two into the post-season which starts soon.  Heading to North Dakota beginning next fall.

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