BRHL Draft Review Picks 17-32
enjoy!
Pick – 17
Team – Edmonton
Player – Morgan Frost
Breakdown – With his 3rd selection, Leon opts for Morgan Frost, a slightly undersized, but very talented center from SSM. Leon’s hoping that Frost and Patrick represent the next big due on Philly, and while there’s no doubting Frost’s talent, and he did see that big age 18 jump I look for in junior, there are a few concerns. First is his size, when he fills out, he’s still going to be a bit on the smallish side, a minor concern is his skating, he shows good agility, but doesn’t possess break away speed, but his vision and quick release make up for that in junior. I had him ranked 25th on my board, but figured this is where he would go. I don’t love the pick with guys like Andersson and Suzuki still on the board though. But I recognize the potential resale value to Anthony
Grade – C
Pick – 18
Team – Anaheim
Player – Lias Andersson
Breakdown – As he began to slide, I had to google him, did he kill a guy? Did he besmirch Nick Lidstrom? What was going on? I still don’t understand it, I had him ranked 8th on my list, and was feverently trying to trade into this range to take him. So, why did he drop? He’s half a year older than many, playing last year as a 19 year old, but that’s overstated. He was great at the WJC, had an OK World Championships playing alongside almost exclusively NHLers. Showed flashes in an NHL cameo last year, scored as well as you’d expect a 19 year old to in the AHL , and looked real good in the SHL. Despite never getting a chance to settle in anywhere, he produced. He’s physically mature, and yes, a bit undersized height wise, but is a very good skater and doesn’t play a perimter game. I still don’t get it. Luck rewards to stupid as Devon gets a guy to fall in his lap, largely making up for the debacle at 9
Grade – A+
Pick – 19
Team – Arizona
Player – Nicholas Suzuki
Breakdown – Another slightly undersized guy, but he skates extremely well, shows a scorers instinct, and is fun to watch in the offensive zone. Defensively he needs work, but as one of the youngest players in the draft (doesn’t turn 19 until just before the upcoming season), he has time to work on that. I had him ranked 14, the Yotes got him at 19. A very good, smart pick by Joel, kudos on not overthinking it.
Grade – A
Pick – 20
Team – Philadelphia
Player – Timothy Liljegren
Breakdown – For a guy so proud he didn’t homer up and take any Flyers, this is the beginning of thinking maybe he should have tried homering up and moving up to get his guys. 2 years ago Liljegren was talked about as a potential top pick. As a 16 year old he had 5 points in 19 SHL games, tore up u17 and u18 tournies, and the SuperElite league. As a 17 year old, he duplicated his SHL stats, but is SuperElite stats were down, as was his performance at the u18. As a 18 year old, coming to NA for the first time, he struggled mightily, in both ends of the rink for the majority of the year in the AHL. At the WJC, he was almost invisible for the Swedes. He has not trended well, and while there is raw talent, he’s one of the riskier picks in this draft. He’s an undersized dman as well, with next to no physical element. While people still bank on the upside, there’s plenty of caution signs going on here. I had him ranked 53. Needless to say, I did not like this pick for the Flyers, at all.
Grade – F
Pick – 21
Team – Minnesota
Player – Eric Brannstrom
Breakdown – Undersized dman, but younger than almost everyone in the class, doesn’t turn 19 until September. Unlike Liljegren, he took a giant step forward in each of the last 2 years, he’s proven he has nothing left to prove at SuperElite, even though he was sent down for playoffs after HV71 was eliminated in SHL, and had over a point per game. In the SHL, he had 15 points in 44 games, and got stronger, and more minutes as the season went along. Add in a strong WJC, and Brannstrom more than held the bet from his draft. I had him ranked 13, and he went 21. To me, this was a terrific pick in a pretty terrific first draft for Al.
Grade – A+
Pick – 22
Team – Ottawa
Player – Kailer Yamamoto
Breakdown – No surprise, Kirk homered up here. I had Yamamoto ranked 36 on my board, though I knew he’d go in this range. He doesn’t have exceptional speed that I look for diminutive players to have, and yes he can handle the puck, but you’re going to worry he gets killed every time there’s physical contact. While it would have been hard to increase his age 18 production, it was actually pretty even, but the drop in goal pace is semi alarming. If he ends up riding shotgun for McDavid, he could make us all look crazy. If he’s a bit player (or trade bait, hello Karlsson!), this pick is probably a stretch. Not a fan of the pick, but not surprised either.
Grade – C
Pick – 23
Team – Ottawa
Player – Alexander Volkov
Breakdown – A solid pick in this range, I had him 26. Yes he’s older than others in the class by a few years, he adapted very quickly to the NA game in the AHL, and there’s plenty of room for growth as he hasn’t had much game action yet. I doubt the NHL is in his future this year, but with a decent frame, and undeniable skills, he’s an intriguing spec, and one perfectly suited for Kirks shotgun approach.
Grade – B
Pick – 24
Team – Anaheim
Player – Jake Oettinger
Breakdown – A dman, two forwards, now a goalie. Even though this pick felt forced to fill the position, it was a solid pick. I had Oettinger ranked 22 on my board. I still remain baffled how he wasn’t the main guy for the US at the WJC last year, his numbers dipped a bit this year, but goalies are always highly volatile. He has an ideal frame, has shown clutch instincts, and is developing on track. Add in the goalie situation in Dallas, Oettinger still looks like a potential stud.
Grade – A
Pick – 25
Team – New York Rangers
Player – Michael Rasmussen
Breakdown – We knew when he went it would be highly criticized. Rasmussen raised eyebrows where he was picked, and did nothing to change that impression. His numbers as an 18 year old flat lined, which is very concerning, surely the Wings had hoped he’d jump in production. That said, he’s not a bad skater, especially for a guy his size. While his vision is lacking, he does go to the tough areas to score, as long as that continues when he turns pro, he has probably one of the more easily projectable careers. Unfortunately that’s as a big 3rd line, maybe 2nd line center if everything goes well. While this pick certainly doesn’t have the upside that others have, and will that go later. He also doesn’t have the same risks. It made sense as a new GM, and one with a very good team, that a more well known player would be the pick. I had him 28 on my board, though he’s not a guy I would take, so I won’t criticize the pick.
Grade – C
Pick – 26
Team – Ottawa
Player – Henri Jokiharju
Breakdown – After Heiskanen, Jokiharju probably is the best passing dman in the draft, he possesses elite vision, and saw a big spike in numbers in his age 18 season. He had a great WJC for Finland and tore up the WHL, with almost an assist per game. Knowing some of the forwards the NHL Hawks have, and damn. There’s potential for John Klingberg v2 here. Loved the pick, I had him ranked 15, no clue how he was still available here.
Grade – A+
Pick – 27
Team – Florida
Player – Ryan Poehling
Breakdown – I don’t get the hate. Yes, his skating is average, and nothing special, but his 2 way game is amongst the best in this class already, he put up way better numbers in the NCAA than I thought he would as a freshman, and had a good showing at the WJC. Add in his size, and that increased offense, I like Poehliing, I had him 20 on my draft board, getting him at 27 was a coup in my opinion. I consider him a pretty safe bet to be a solid 2nd line center at the NHL level.
Grade – A
Pick – 28
Team – San Jose
Player – Aleksi Heponiemi
Breakdown – A qualifier. I like the player, he shows a lot of desireable skills. He has very good vision, though I question his shot, and his hockey IQ at times. He’s fast in a straight line, but his edgework isn’t as strong as it’s hyped. Physically, he’s a beanpole, while undersized, he should fill out eventually and just be small. All that said, He’s signed in the Liiga for the next 2 seasons, and there’s talk he’s not happy with the Panthers org as a whole, I don’t know when we will see him back in North America. To me though, another big red flag is his performance at key tournies against the best of his age group. He’s been mediocre, sometimes invisible. There’s some concern on my end that he beats up on weaker competition, but whether it’s size, skating, or something else in his game, he has not shown up at key times. I had him at 74 on my board, I know had he been sitting there at 56 I likely would have taken a long look at him, but the flags concern me.
Grade – F
Pick – 29
Team – Florida
Player – Klim Kostin
Breakdown – Big forward, hasn’t played many games in recent years so the blues brought him over to play in the AHL. His game picked up as the year went along, though the lack of scoring was worrisome. He skates fairly well for a big man, and does not hesitate to engage physically. One of the most appealing pieces to me, and why he held his draft stock, is that he utterly has been dominant against his own age group. 5 goals, 8 points at WJC, the year before he captained Russias u17 and u18 squads and played very well at the too. I expect him to jump in production this year in the AHL as well. I had him 40 on my board, so while I thought this was a touch high, I really can’t pick too many holes in it, especially with the Panthers having so many picks, a bet on upside was a good play here.
Grade – B
Pick – 30
Team – Golden Knights
Player – Alex Formenton
Breakdown – Good frame, youngest player on this list, there’s a lot to like with Formenton. But I still think the hype is outweighing the value. Yes he cracked the Sens for 2 games as a barely 18 year old, but it was the Sens. He had a solid WJC for Canada, and yes he saw an uptick in junior production. But I still don’t love the player. With his frame, and style of play, I expect him to dominate the OHL as an 18 year old, and he didn’t do that. He’s never really repped Canada before, and to me that Canadian WJC berth was largely because he’d played in NHL. There’s an intriguing spec here, but not this high, I had him at 70, I don’t see top line upside in the NHL, and I think 3rd line is likely his end spot.
Grade – F
Pick – 31
Team – Vancouver
Player – Jonah Gadjovich
Breakdown – I had him ranked 27. Why do I like him and not Formenton? Gadjovich is a full year older almost, and though his numbers were slightly better than Formenton in OHL, not by a huge margin, and they played a similar role in WJC. But Gadjovich has truculence people! And he’s definitely more of a natural goal scorer, which translates better into a possible top 6 forward at the NHL level. He held the offense which was already pretty good at the OHL level. He’s going to be a fan favorite in Vancouver, and there’s something about him that makes you think he’s going to be even more effective as a pro than as a junior. Nice work by Rob to get him here.
Grade – B
Pick – 32
Team – Ottawa
Player – Isaac Ratcliffe
Breakdown – He’s a behemoth at 6’6, and has shown he can score in the OHL as his numbers ticked up slightly. But here’s the problem. He skates like I do, and has very little vision with the puck. It’s straight ahead in a line. That works in junior, but in the pro’s just doesn’t if you don’t have the puck skills to match, this has been evident in his limited action in best on best competition internationally. I had Ratcliffe 57, he’s shown nothing skills wise that indicates he can become a top 6 winger in the NHL, and has questionable at best hockey IQ. I think he’s a guy that will tantalize against weaker competition, but come up short in the pros. And unless he develops a defensive game, he’s going to have a hard time finding a role.
Grade – F