2021 NHL Draft Rankings

[Digger]

16 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Here's a guy that is not ranked for me but might be someone to keep an eye on 

https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/474745/marcus-almquist

@LGR4GM what's your thoughts on another smaller player Florian Elias who played well with JJ Peterka at the WJC?  He was not selected in last year's draft but seemed to play pretty well this year.  Where might he fall in the draft this year (or not)?

https://thehockeywriters.com/florian-elias-2021-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/

[Buffalonill]

25 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Not in the context of #1, but the Buffalo News is again reporting the Sabres are very high on Luke Hughes. Might be something to keep an eye on if we get a 2nd pick.

Lysowski says it’s Power or Eklund at #1.

 

Rather draft hughes first overall then power 

[LGR4GM]

12 minutes ago, Digger said:

@LGR4GM what's your thoughts on another smaller player Florian Elias who played well with JJ Peterka at the WJC?  He was not selected in last year's draft but seemed to play pretty well this year.  Where might he fall in the draft this year (or not)?

https://thehockeywriters.com/florian-elias-2021-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/

Idk, I am not familiar with him. Typically overagers go in the later rounds. Looking at his stats, he probably will go undrafted again. He's a small guy who doesn't produce and the typically are not looked on favorably. His 9pts in the WJC20 might get him a look in the 7th. 

[LGR4GM]

Kent Johnson article

https://theathletic.com/2714864/2021/07/20/why-youve-never-seen-anyone-like-nhl-draft-eligible-center-kent-johnson/?source=emp_shared_article

Quote

“It was gradual and I had a stick in my hand basically every day, so I never really lost my coordination,” Johnson said of growing so dramatically. “Ironically the way I see the game, it’s probably a bit different, but growing up, getting taller, I didn’t have to change the way I play.”

“I noticed that it made a few things better for me,” Johnson added. “I’ve got more reach, and I’m definitely able to lean on guys a bit more … I still have a lot of respect and time for smaller players, though. I always think the smaller guys get underrated. I still don’t understand it sometimes.”

 

[LGR4GM]

Man... reading this makes me wonder if I under-ranked Kent Johnson by 4-5 slots. I really do like him and hope ppl don't take his ranking as an indication otherwise. 

[dudacek]

15 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Man... reading this makes me wonder if I under-ranked Kent Johnson by 4-5 slots. I really do like him and hope ppl don't take his ranking as an indication otherwise. 

Kent Johnson is the most talented player in the draft, IMO.

Most talented does not equal best hockey player though. High-risk, high-reward there for someone.

[LGR4GM]

Quote

While there was mild separation between Power and Beniers, and Beniers and Eklund, in the eyes of the evaluators these three players have clearly distinguished themselves from the pack. Power was listed at No. 1 on 10 boards, while Beniers was No. 1 on six.

 

Edited July 21, 2021 by LGR4GM

[JohnC]

Attached is a 12 minute link of an interview with Steve Shields on WGR. He works on the Michigan hockey player development staff. He mostly talks about Power, and at the end of the interview he talks about Eric Portillo, a goalie prospect for us. 

I want to make it clear that I don't want to come off as a zealot on drafting Power. There are also compelling reasons to draft other highly rated prospects such as Beniers and Ecklund. My belief is that in the long run Power will prove to be a stellar player for us. And those who think differently may eventually turn out to be right. 

https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy

[pi2000]

IMO KJ gets picked before Beniers, who I believe drips out of the top 5.

[Digger]

It's a strange year.  I kind of wish that the Sabres did not have the first overall pick with the pressure to pick Owen Power (hopefully the team will make the right choice). 

Looking back on previous drafts it's kind of like the 2014 draft.  The hype that year was Sam Reinhart vs Sam Bennett.  Which Sam would go first?

Of course neither did.  Ekblad went 1st, then Reinhart (2nd), Draisaitl (3rd), Bennett (4th).  Other notables in the first round were W. Nylander (8th), Ehlers (9th), Tuch (18th), Pastrnak (25th).

Draisaitl looks like he should have been the pick for 1st.  Brings me to another point of how closely we have followed the Oilers.  Think if we had picked Draisaitl and then had won the McDavid lottery.  Where would we be today?  Same place as sellers?  I know our issues have been less about the players and more about the poor ownership, GM's, and coaching.

[LGR4GM]

Ville Koivunen, my fav forward for round 2 is on the J20 camp list

 

30 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

IMO KJ gets picked before Beniers, who I believe drips out of the top 5.

I think there's a very real chance that Kent Johnson gets drafted over Beniers because Johnson has a higher ceiling. 

[rakish]

6 minutes ago, Digger said:

It's a strange year.  I kind of wish that the Sabres did not have the first overall pick with the pressure to pick Owen Power (hopefully the team will make the right choice). 

Looking back on previous drafts it's kind of like the 2014 draft.  The hype that year was Sam Reinhart vs Sam Bennett.  Which Sam would go first?

Of course neither did.  Ekblad went 1st, then Reinhart (2nd), Draisaitl (3rd), Bennett (4th).  Other notables in the first round were W. Nylander (8th), Ehlers (9th), Tuch (18th), Pastrnak (25th).

Draisaitl looks like he should have been the pick for 1st.  Brings me to another point of how closely we have followed the Oilers.  Think if we had picked Draisaitl and then had won the McDavid lottery.  Where would we be today?  Same place as sellers?  I know our issues have been less about the players and more about the poor ownership, GM's, and coaching.

I don't think the Sabres feel the pressure to pick Power. They chose Quinn last year because that's who they felt was best. I think they take Eklund.

[Digger]

1 minute ago, rakish said:

I don't think the Sabres feel the pressure to pick Power. They chose Quinn last year because that's who they felt was best. I think they take Eklund.

That's what I would do to.  I wonder if there's any value (I'm sure that there's some) for trading the 1OA to either Seattle or Anaheim if we can get an agreement that they won't pick Eklund.  Seattle would get the publicity of choosing 1st overall in their first year in the league.

[rakish]

6 minutes ago, Digger said:

That's what I would do to.  I wonder if there's any value (I'm sure that there's some) for trading the 1OA to either Seattle or Anaheim if we can get an agreement that they won't pick Eklund.  Seattle would get the publicity of choosing 1st overall in their first year in the league.

I think GM's think in terms of value, and not PR. Once Seattle knows you don't want Power, they're not going to give you something so they can select Power, they'll just let you select Eklund. Anaheim? it gets too complex too quickly, you got important questions like Tarasenko or Dunn.

As for Florian Elias, I drafted him last year with Buffalo's 6th round pick (See top of this page). I highly distrust the scoring stats in a player's first year in a men's league, so I would value Elias' 17th year in U20 more than his 18th year in DEL. I didn't consider him for my board because I already have him. The first year in a men's league thing is why I will likely get Olsson at pick 33 instead of Zellweger, who I also like.

[Curt]

51 minutes ago, rakish said:

I think GM's think in terms of value, and not PR. Once Seattle knows you don't want Power, they're not going to give you something so they can select Power, they'll just let you select Eklund. Anaheim? it gets too complex too quickly, you got important questions like Tarasenko or Dunn.

As for Florian Elias, I drafted him last year with Buffalo's 6th round pick (See top of this page). I highly distrust the scoring stats in a player's first year in a men's league, so I would value Elias' 17th year in U20 more than his 18th year in DEL. I didn't consider him for my board because I already have him. The first year in a men's league thing is why I will likely get Olsson at pick 33 instead of Zellweger, who I also like.

The other side of the coin is what Seattle really wants Power.  They can trade up to get him, or sit tight and watch the ducks or devils trade up to grab him.  It’s not just Buffalo selecting him that Seattle would need to worry about.

[rakish]

13 minutes ago, Curt said:

The other side of the coin is what Seattle really wants Power.  They can trade up to get him, or sit tight and watch the ducks or devils trade up to grab him.  It’s not just Buffalo selecting him that Seattle would need to worry about.

Which is all true, but I really think y'all are overthinking this. It's like last draft, their magic formula said Quinn. They could have traded down 4, maybe 6 spots and Quinn would have still been there, but if you like Quinn, take him.

[Curt]

9 minutes ago, rakish said:

Which is all true, but I really think y'all are overthinking this. It's like last draft, their magic formula said Quinn. They could have traded down 4, maybe 6 spots and Quinn would have still been there, but if you like Quinn, take him.

I hear you, and I think you are generally correct.

Only if they really strongly want Power and also know Buffalo is shopping #1 to multiple teams does it become a thing.  I don’t think any of that is happening.

[LGR4GM]

5 overagers to keep an eye on, I like Cardwell

https://nhlentrydraft.com/news/2021-nhl-draft-overagers-re-entries-to-keep-an-eye-on/

[Thorner]

There's more pressure to select a particular player at 1 than at 8 because as dudacek always points out, there was no consensus at 8 last year. There is a consensus at 1, and the pick is ever-more magnified because it's first overall. I agree that KA didn't feel pressure last year, but I can't rule out he does this year - situations aren't strictly comparable IMO 

Edited July 21, 2021 by Thorny

[rakish]

Last call on Mom's Basement Stakes. The rules are simple, post a draft board, we take the highest undrafted player left on your board each time the Sabres pick. This is year 8, the previous history is posted over at hfb https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/2020-moms-basement-stakes.2769630

Unless someone jumps in here at the last moment, this years eight contestants look like me, (listed on page 79 or so above), Liger has a PDF (maybe page 81 or 82 above), the usual suspects: Pronman, Wheeler, Button, and two boards that interest @LGR4GM Sam on Twitter (@draftlook) https://draftlook.netlify.app/ and FC Hockey https://nhlentrydraft.com/rankings/, and of course, the Buffalo Sabres

Edited July 22, 2021 by rakish
Eight!!...eight!!...not seven

[LGR4GM]

On 7/20/2021 at 10:19 AM, LGR4GM said:

Without a full year of stats I don't feel confident as I should in these rankings. No, stats are not the be all or end all but they help you found underrated gems such as Tristen Robins. Anyways without anymore teasing... because Hoss will explode... here is Liger's 2021 NHL Draft List. 

2021_Draft.pdf 157.33 kB · 26 downloads

 

 

6 minutes ago, rakish said:

Last call on Mom's Basement Stakes. The rules are simple, post a draft board, we take the highest undrafted player left on your board each time the Sabres pick. This is year 8, the previous history is posted over at hfb https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/2020-moms-basement-stakes.2769630

Unless someone jumps in here at the last moment, this years eight contestants look like me, (listed on page 79 or so above), Liger has a PDF (maybe page 81 or 82 above), the usual suspects: Pronman, Wheeler, Button, and two boards that interest @LGR4GM Sam on Twitter (@draftlook) https://draftlook.netlify.app/ and FC Hockey https://nhlentrydraft.com/rankings/, and of course, the Buffalo Sabres

Was page 82 but here you go again if you need it. 

My top 10 are:

1. Eklund
2. Beniers
3. Clarke
4. McTavish
5. Guenther
6. Power
7. Wallstedt
8. Hughes
9. Sillinger
10. Svechkov

[Thorner]

47 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 

Was page 82 but here you go again if you need it. 

My top 10 are:

1. Eklund
2. Beniers
3. Clarke
4. McTavish
5. Guenther
6. Power
7. Wallstedt
8. Hughes
9. Sillinger
10. Svechkov

Surprised no Kent J in the top 10, who I still think somehow ends up a Sabre.

[LGR4GM]

Just now, Thorny said:

Surprised no Kent J in the top 10, who I still think somehow ends up a Sabre.

Love Kent but he slid to 12. High ceiling and low floor worried me but I probably could have put him at 11 easily. 

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Love Kent but he slid to 12. High ceiling and low floor worried me but I probably could have put him at 11 easily. 

I like Eklund but I'd almost prefer Beniers due to the likelihood he ends up at C,  the combo of a surefire two-way C in Beniers and a more risky, but high-ceiling C in Johnson is intriguing to me, if we came away with a Beniers/Johnson combination, after getting another pick from the E/R/R(or) trades.

[LGR4GM]

Just now, Thorny said:

I like Eklund but I'd almost prefer Beniers due to the likelihood he ends up at C,  the combo of a surefire two-way C in Beniers and a more risky, but high-ceiling C in Johnson is intriguing to me, if we came away with a Beniers/Johnson combination, after getting another pick from the E/R/R(or) trades.

I'd be surprised if Kent Johnson became an NHL level C.