We Compared The Hockey News’ Top 100 Prospects to the Leafs’ Draft Picks
8 years ago
Last week, Corey Pronman released his Top 100 Draft Prospects. We wrote about it here, taking a look at who Pronman ranked in the ranges that the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to pick. This week, The Hockey News released their Top 100 Draft Prospects list, so here we go again.
One of the reasons why it made sense to do this style of article again for THN’s Top 100 is that there was so little overlap between THN and Pronman (besides the the fourth overall pick candidates, of course). We’ll be talking about (almost) entirely different players today than we did last week.
More past the jump.
Fourth Overall
THN seems to be one of the fewer and fewer rankings that still has Boston College defender Noah Hanifin (3rd) ranked ahead of Erie’s Dylan Strome (4th) and London’s Mitch Marner (5th). As the Draft draws closer, Strome especially seems to be pulling ahead of everyone not named McDavid or Eichel, but THN doesn’t seem ready to go there yet.
Hanifin didn’t put up big raw numbers for the Eagles, but it’s all relative. He was five points out of first in team scoring on a squad that didn’t have an Eichel-like catalyst up front. “Boston College didn’t score a lot this year – if you put him in those scenarios, he would run big numbers,” said another scout. “Exceptional skater, push-the-pace defender. He angles you. Great stick.”
So why hasn’t Strome passed Hanifin in THN’s rankings? It probably has something to do with his feet.
“Not as dynamic a skater as you’d like to see in someone who’s that high of a pick,” one scout said, “but he’s smart and he’d so good with the puck that he more than makes up for it. You want to say he’s a playmaker, but he’s got a rocket, too.”
No reason was given as to why Marner gets slotted behind Hanifin and Strome in particular, but that doesn’t mean THN doesn’t have nice things to say about him.
“He’s a Claude Giroux clone,” one scout said. “He’s a lot like Patrick Kane,” said another.
Even though some worry about his size, Marner actually doesn’t get hit that often because he’s so elusive. And he doesn’t exactly shy away from traffic. His terrific stick skills often result in him coming out with the puck in battles against bigger players.
Nashville’s First Round Pick
THN ranks two Saint John Sea Dogs defenders and an Ottawa 67’s stud centre in the 22nd-to-24th range.
First is Jakub Zboril, the 6’2, 185lb Czech defenceman that does a little bit of everything – he scoores a bit, defends a bit, and hits a bit. In 44 games this year with Saint John, Zboril scored a respectable 13 goals and 33 points, with 73 penalty minutes. Zboril was ranked 12th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings, and 22nd by International Scouting Services. Pronman had him 38th.
Zboril’s teammate Thomas Chabot finished one spot behind in 23rd. Another 6’2 blueliner, Chabot scored 12 goals and 41 points in 66 games this season for the Sea Dogs, and added another five points in seven games with Canada’s U18 team. Chabot is an excellent skater with good puck skills and smarts, and was ranked 16th by both CSS (North American skaters) and ISS, while Pronman had him down in 45th.
One of the biggest ‘surprises’ on THN’s Top 100 Draft Prospects list is definitely this next one, with Ottawa’s Travis Konecny slotting in at #24. If I’m running the Leafs’ draft table, there’s no hesitation in taking Konecny with my late first round pick. Skilled but undersized, Konecny has been seen all over the first round draft rankings, but most often in the early teens – Pronman has him 7th. In 60 games this season, Konecny put up 29 goals and 68 points. Last year it was 70 in 63. There’s a lot to like about this kid, especially in the early twenties.
65th Overall
THN has Rouyn-Noranda defenceman Jeremy Lauzon ranked as the 64th best prospect in the upcoming Draft. Lauzon is a 6’2, 194lb two-way defender that put up 36 points in 60 games this season for the Huskies. Scouts seem to always talk about his above-average skating ability first before moving on to other facets of his game. He’s ranked 42nd amongst North American skaters by CSS, while Pronman had him 98th.
In the 65th slot, we finally see some overlap. THN has Saginaw’s Mitchell Stephens ranked here, and we talked about him last week in the Pronman piece. Funny enough, Pronman had him in the Nashville pick range, ranked 23rd, while THN sees him as a third round pick type of talent. Stephens, a 6’0 centre, scored 22 goals and 48 points in 62 games for the Spirit this past season.
Next up is the smooth-skating Denis Guryanov, ranked 66th by THN. The 6’2, 192lb winger scored 15 goals and 25 points in 23 games for HC Lada Togliatti’s junior team, while also posting a single point in eight games with the big club, and another six goals and seven points in five games with Russia’s U18 team at the World Junior Championships. NHL CSS ranked Guryanov as the 7th best European skater, while Pronman ranked him 35th.
95th Overall
Ranked 94th, John Marino is a 6’2, 181lb defender that played last season for South Shore of the USPHL. If that sounds familiar it’s likely because Nolan Vesey, Toronto’s sixth round draft pick last year, played for South Shore before making the jump to University of Maine. Marino and Vesey were teammates during the 2013-14 season, so we know the Leafs’ scouting staff has seen Marino play. In 49 games, Marino scored four goals and 28 points. Marino is committed to Yale University, expected to make the jump to the NCAA in 2016-17. He was ranked 63rd by NHL Central Scouting.
Nick Boka is ranked 95th by THN – a 6’1, 196lb defenceman out of the U.S. NTDP. Boka scored four points in 20 games USHL games, as well as another 11 points in 54 games with the US National U18 team. Boka is committed to the University of Michigan next year, and was ranked 117th amongst North American skaters by NHL CSS.
And finally, a goaltender! THN ranks Brynas Jr.’s Felix Sandstrom as their 96th best prospect. In 14 SuperElit games, the 6’2, 192lb netminder posted a 2.63 GAA and a .907 SV%. Sandstrom also found his way into two SHL games with the men’s team in Gavle, with 1.09 GAA and a .963 SV%. I could think of worse ways to spend a fourth round pick.
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