2021 NHL Draft Rankings

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, Flashsabre said:

“But make no mistake, the consensus No. 1 in this draft is Power. It’s clear-cut and unanimous on TSN’s list.”

 

The dreaded C word rears it’s head from Bobby Mac.😉

It's funny because over at the Athletic out of 8 scouts 3 went Power, 2 went Beniers, 1 went Eklund, the others 2 didn't feel comfortable answering.

 

[LGR4GM]

From the Athletic, each bullet point is a different scout. https://theathletic.com/2699331/2021/07/18/nhl-scouts-poll-2021-is-owen-power-the-clear-cut-no-1-who-is-most-underrated/

Quote

This year’s draft seems to be more volatile at the top than in previous years. Who would you take with the No. 1 pick?

• I think Owen Power (D, Michigan, Big Ten) has earned the right to be selected No. 1 and should go first. He has proven himself at many levels.
• Owen Power (D, Michigan, Big Ten) is No. 1 for me. His play at the world championships solidified that position for me.
• Owen Power (D, Michigan, Big Ten). Dominant against NCAA competition as a true freshman. Size, skating, poise. Will play big minutes in NHL sooner than later.
• Matthew Beniers (C, Michigan, Big Ten). He impacts the game in all zones and makes teammates better. Guys like him help you compete for Cups.
• Matthew Beniers (C, Michigan, Big Ten).
• William Eklund (LW, Djurgarden, SHL). He’s the most skilled player with the most upside.
• It would be very tough for me to answer due to lack of viewings, and I think a lot of teams are in the same boat.

 

[Digger]

15 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

It's funny because over at the Athletic out of 8 scouts 3 went Power, 2 went Beniers, 1 went Eklund, the others 2 didn't feel comfortable answering.

 

Posted 13 minutes ago

Athletic out of 8 scouts 3 went Power, 2 went Beniers, 1 went Eklund, the others 2 didn't feel comfortable answering.

I find it strange that 2 scouts don't feel comfortable in answering.  It's first overall (unless they are the Sabres and Seattle scouts wanting to keep their positions secret.)

[LGR4GM]

51 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

https://www.tsn.ca/owen-power-pulls-away-from-crowded-nhl-draft-field-1.1669730

Power pulls away.

Lol, NHL Scouts. Anyone who is 6'4" or taller and can skate gets their blood pumping.

Quote

Swedish defenceman Simon Edvinsson, No. 3 on the TSN list, got three second-place votes and none outside of the Top 10.

Anyone under 6' and NHL scouts get all stupid

Quote

The Case For Eklund: The only knock on the dynamic offensive Swedish forward is that he isn’t 6 feet tall, but the scouts are convinced he doesn’t play small. In terms of overall offensive impact — scoring, making plays, quickness, agility, hunting and battling for pucks in the offensive zone — he is in the conversation for highest ceiling. His engine revs high all the time and the skill level is high, too.

 

9 minutes ago, Digger said:

Posted 13 minutes ago

Athletic out of 8 scouts 3 went Power, 2 went Beniers, 1 went Eklund, the others 2 didn't feel comfortable answering.

I find it strange that 2 scouts don't feel comfortable in answering.  It's first overall (unless they are the Sabres and Seattle scouts wanting to keep their positions secret.)

It is because the scouts aren't necessarily watching all the leagues and seeing all the players. If you are a QMJHL scout, you might have only watched Beniers at the WJ20 and you might have seen none of Eklund. If you are an SHL scout you might know Eklund and Power really well but a guy like McTavish might be someone you didn't have a chance to see. 

Edited July 19, 2021 by LGR4GM

[Digger]

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Lol, NHL Scouts. Anyone who is 6'4" or taller and can skate gets their blood pumping.

 

It is because the scouts aren't necessarily watching all the leagues and seeing all the players. If you are a QMJHL scout, you might have only watched Beniers at the WJ20 and you might have seen none of Eklund. If you are an SHL scout you might know Eklund and Power really well but a guy like McTavish might be someone you didn't have a chance to see. 

Your explanation is possible but if that's the case then they should choose the right scouts to participate in the poll.  Having 25% say they can't offer an opinion because they haven't watched the top picks seems a bit odd to me.

[LGR4GM]

Just now, Digger said:

Your explanation is possible but if that's the case then they should choose the right scouts to participate in the poll.  Having 25% say they can't offer an opinion because they haven't watched the top picks seems a bit odd to me.

It isn't just possible the author of the piece said as much. 

For the record it was 1 scout out of 7. 

[Buffalonill]

The only thing I'm scared of is if we get the 3rd overall and end up drafting matthew beniers 

1. Eklund

2.Power

3. Dylan Guenther

 

[SwampD]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Lol, NHL Scouts. Anyone who is 6'4" or taller and can skate gets their blood pumping.

Anyone under 6' and NHL scouts get all stupid

 

Did a tall guy once steal your girlfriend, cuz, man, you tirelessly beat this drum?

Could it actually be that some scouts actually think he is the 1OA because they actually think that, and not just because he’s tall.

[LGR4GM]

So I am about 24 hours away I think from being done with what I will call Liger's List. It has 75 names and is the best I can do. It is without a doubt the most intense review of draft prospects I have ever done and can't guarantee it will happen again next season. 

[LGR4GM]

11 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Did a tall guy once steal your girlfriend, cuz, man, you tirelessly beat this drum?

Could it actually be that some scouts actually think he is the 1OA because they actually think that, and not just because he’s tall.

Wasn't even talking about Power there... it was about Edvinsson

Edited July 19, 2021 by LGR4GM

[Hoss]

24 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

So I am about 24 hours away I think from being done with what I will call Liger's List. It has 75 names and is the best I can do. It is without a doubt the most intense review of draft prospects I have ever done and can't guarantee it will happen again next season. 

Just post the *****in list and stop teasing it lol

[GASabresIUFAN]

Here is my latest and updated spreadsheet.  I have 15 final "ballots" from reliable sources; Button & McKenzie (TSN), Wheeler and Pronman (The Athletic), McKeens, ISS, Smaht, THN, Draft Prospect, FC, Sportsnet, Draft Analyst, Elite Prospects, Dobber and Hockey Prospect.

There are 13 players on all 15 ballots (ISS ranks skaters and goalies separately).  The top 10 is firm.  Powers at 1, Beniers 2, Eklund 3 are clearly the consensus top 3 players.  Clarke, Hughes and Guenther are 4-6.  The next level down (7-10) are Edvinsson, McTavish, Johnson and Wallstadt.  All 4 could go higher or lower but they are unlikely to fall to far.

11-13 are Lucius, Sillinger, and Lysell. 

Nearly unanimous picks (14 ballots) are 14-20 in three tiers. 14 is Svechkov and then a clear gap to 15-18 Raty, Cossa, Coronato and Lambos.  19 & 20 are Othmann and Chibrikov.  Svechhkov has ratings as high as 6th and as low as 30th.  

On 12 or 13 ballots are 21-23 Rosen, Olausson and Pinelli and I expect Pinelli to fall some.

On 10 or 11 ballots are 24-27 Ceulemans, Bourgault, Bolduc, Robertsson.

Rounding out the list with 8 or 9 ballots are players 28-33 Stankoven, Toumaala, L'Heureux, Dean, Samoskevich and Chyka.

After the above 33 there are a record 31 additional players also receiving at least one 1st rd grade.  The names I'd keep an eye on popping into the 1st rd are Pastujov, Behrens, Svozil, Martino, Koivunen and Morrow.   

[tom webster]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

So I am about 24 hours away I think from being done with what I will call Liger's List. It has 75 names and is the best I can do. It is without a doubt the most intense review of draft prospects I have ever done and can't guarantee it will happen again next season. 

I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for the effort.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Hoss said:

Just post the *****in list and stop teasing it lol

It's not done

[Digger]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

So I am about 24 hours away I think from being done with what I will call Liger's List. It has 75 names and is the best I can do. It is without a doubt the most intense review of draft prospects I have ever done and can't guarantee it will happen again next season. 

I'm looking forward to it.

[Hoss]

22 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

It's not done

Right post it when it’s ready lol as someone who writes teases for a living I know when a story doesn’t need to be teased.

I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to be most interested in seeing who you have after that first wave of names we’ve all become familiar with because I think there’s a decent chance we end up with a pick in that range.

[LGR4GM]

14 minutes ago, Hoss said:

Right post it when it’s ready lol as someone who writes teases for a living I know when a story doesn’t need to be teased.

I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to be most interested in seeing who you have after that first wave of names we’ve all become familiar with because I think there’s a decent chance we end up with a pick in that range.

I'm not teasing it, I was letting ppl know. 

15 minutes ago, Hoss said:

Right post it when it’s ready lol as someone who writes teases for a living I know when a story doesn’t need to be teased.

I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to be most interested in seeing who you have after that first wave of names we’ve all become familiar with because I think there’s a decent chance we end up with a pick in that range.

Not everything in the world happens because of your motives. 

Edited July 19, 2021 by LGR4GM

[LGR4GM]

Also @HossI'll ***** tease it, lie about it, not post it, ***** out or do whatever I want with it with or without your permission. 

[Hoss]

25 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Also @HossI'll ***** tease it, lie about it, not post it, ***** out or do whatever I want with it with or without your permission. 

How this for a tease? I can’t wait to ***** ***** ***** ***** you in ***** where you ***** ***** *****.

[WildCard]

10 minutes ago, Hoss said:

How this for a tease? I can’t wait to ***** ***** ***** ***** you in ***** where you ***** ***** *****.

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

It's funny because over at the Athletic out of 8 scouts 3 went Power, 2 went Beniers, 1 went Eklund, the others 2 didn't feel comfortable answering.

Which is about right and makes 1. Power, 2. Beniers, 3. Eklund. Except Eklund isn't really an Anaheim type high pick (unless they plan on a direction change) and if JBot has pull in Seattle he does like the Euros so maybe Eklund goes to the Kraken, which imo would be a mistake for them and I try real hard to swing a deal with Anaheim and grab Beniers (after already getting Power)

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

It's not done

You'll have it for us by Monday? 🙂

[LGR4GM]

33 minutes ago, Hoss said:

How this for a tease? I can’t wait to ***** ***** ***** ***** you in ***** where you ***** ***** *****.

You don't have the culinary skills to pull that off!

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Also @HossI'll ***** tease it, lie about it, not post it, ***** out or do whatever I want with it with or without your permission. 

Settle down Eddie Guerrero 

[dudacek]

@Thorny, wondering if you think there is any chance the Sabres take anyone other than Power?

Thinking back to your posts on how the consensus #1 prospect seems to always get picked there once the consensus is arrived at. As much as @LGR4GM may still feel otherwise, Power has arrived as the industry consensus #1. You can’t reasonably argue otherwise when all 10 head scouts polled by McKenzie ranked him 1st.

Well,” said one scout, “the only rationale I can see for taking anyone other than Power at No. 1 is because you’re a team that really wants or needs a forward more than a defenceman. Because if you don’t care about position or you want a defenceman, Power should be the guy.”

The scout added that if a team is taking a forward at No. 1, the top three candidates would be, in no particular order: Beniers, because he’s the most complete centre in the draft; Eklund, because his energy and skill level give him enormous upside; and Guenther, because he has the tools to be a first-line scoring winger in the NHL.

But make no mistake, the consensus No. 1 in this draft is Power. It’s clear-cut and unanimous on TSN’s list.

Edited July 20, 2021 by dudacek

[dudacek]

As a guy who wants Eklund, the decisive separation Power seems to created in the minds of some scouting departments would be something I’m trying to leverage.

What would Seattle or Anaheim be willing to offer in order to switch spots?

I might trade first overall for Zegras. Would the Ducks trade Zegras for Power?

Edited July 20, 2021 by dudacek