Ranking Prospects

[LuncheonMeat]

Is there a reason I'm missing for wanting to move JVR?

He's probably the team's most valuable asset over the age of 25, which means he'd come with the best return, and will probably be on the downside of his career when the rebuild is coming to an end.

Do we not need to hold onto some player over the age of 25 that resembles a hockey player?

This guy has hockey player written all over him.

 

[Frank E]

Do we not need to hold onto some player over the age of 25 that resembles a hockey player? The good ones don't seem to make it to UFA anymore so holding onto a 30 goal scorer doesn't seem like that bad of an idea. especially a 26 year old one.

But considering how low Lupul's value is and how hard Phaneuf's contract is for a team to take on, I guess I can see why he'd be moved

I love having these conversations with myself.

Yeah, it's more about getting some picks or prospects in that 18-21 year old range at this point to build up a strong base of talent for the team.  They aren't free, and the only strong currency the Leafs have to acquire these is JVR, Kadri, and Gardiner, and a little less so, Polak on an expiring contract and some of the 1yr. deal guys they signed this summer.

Getting a glut of high-upside prospects in and around the same age range is job 1 to get that needed talented core.  They can worry about adding UFA talent to supplement the core in 5 years.

 

[Redleaf]

Do we not need to hold onto some player over the age of 25 that resembles a hockey player? The good ones don't seem to make it to UFA anymore so holding onto a 30 goal scorer doesn't seem like that bad of an idea. especially a 26 year old one.

But considering how low Lupul's value is and how hard Phaneuf's contract is for a team to take on, I guess I can see why he'd be moved

I love having these conversations with myself.

Yeah, it's more about getting some picks or prospects in that 18-21 year old range at this point to build up a strong base of talent for the team.  They aren't free, and the only strong currency the Leafs have to acquire these is JVR, Kadri, and Gardiner, and a little less so, Polak on an expiring contract and some of the 1yr. deal guys they signed this summer.

Getting a glut of high-upside prospects in and around the same age range is job 1 to get that needed talented core.  They can worry about adding UFA talent to supplement the core in 5 years.

I guess trading away JVR/ Kadri or keeping them will be a pretty clear indicator of whether the plan is for a full on rebuild or not.

 

[herman]

http://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2015/9/12/9296861/wheelers-top-25-under-25-ranking-explained

This was more in line with my perspective of 'value' to the rebuilding organization.

 

[Highlander]

I said somewhere two days ago that Finn would never wear a Leaf jersey. I better buy a lottery ticket.

 

[rdowdall]

I said somewhere two days ago that Finn would never wear a Leaf jersey. I better buy a lottery ticket.

He could come back.  Really at this point it's just a possibility that it's delayed.

 

[herman]

Prospect Pools Ranked by the Bleacher Report
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2647891-nhl-draft-2016-results-re-ranking-every-teams-prospect-pool

Criteria (which is quite limiting when measuring some teams):

For our purposes here, a prospect is defined by eligibility for the NHL's Calder Memorial Trophy. That means we will ignore those players who have accrued 25 or more career NHL games or who have played two consecutive seasons of six or more games. We also ignore anyone who will be older than 26 by September 15.

1. Toronto Maple Leafs
Existing Talent
Forward: Mitch Marner had 44 points in 18 playoff games in the OHL last year; that was on the heels of a second consecutive 100-plus point season. William Nylander scored at a better than point-per-game pace in the AHL and didn't look out of place during a 22-game major league cameo. They are the two best forwards in the system, but they head up a pool that includes Kasperi Kapanen, Frederik Gauthier, Connor Brown, Brenden Leipsic, Tobias Lindberg and others.
Defence: KHL All-Star Nikita Zaitsev is a nice addition to a defence group that is decidedly overshadowed by the forwards. Even so, Stuart Percy, Rinat Valiev, Travis Dermott and Andrew Nielsen (who had a spectacular year) ensure there's talent to come on the blue line as well.
Goal: College free agent Kasimir Kaskisuo bolstered a system that already included the rapidly improving Garret Sparks and competent AHLer Antoine Bibeau.

2016 Draft Additions
Auston Matthews is almost unanimously acknowledged as the best player in the 2016 draft, a slick, mature two-way centre with top-line offensive ability. He has NHL size (6'2", 210 pounds) and experience playing the pro game; he will almost certainly jump to the major league immediately.

The Toronto Maple Leafs' draft didn't end with the first overall pick, though. They made seven of the first 101 selections, stockpiling prospects at all positions. The list is too long to go through individually, but we should at least highlight No. 31 pick Yegor Korshkov, a 6'3" winger who was passed over in two previous drafts but had a strong campaign in the KHL.

Summary
No other team in the NHL can rival the collection of talent the Leafs have in the system.

2. Arizona Coyotes
Existing Talent
Forward: The Arizona Coyotes are wonderfully well-stocked. Centre Dylan Strome has elite potential, though he faded a little this season. Christian Dvorak, in contrast, scored at nearly a goal-per-game pace in junior. Ryan MacInnis and Christian Fischer both progressed nicely too. All that wealth makes it a little easier to handle disappointing campaigns from Brendan Perlini, Nick Merkley and Henrik Samuelsson.
Defence: Kyle Wood was a nice addition at the trade deadline to a position of relative weakness, but he's not a high-end prospect. Neither is anyone else in the system.
Goal: With the graduation of Louis Domingue, Adin Hill is the best of a middling group of goalie prospects.


2016 Draft Additions
The Coyotes had some later picks too, but three players stand out as the team's primary haul from the draft. Clayton Keller was the club's first pick, seventh overall, and he is another exceptionally skilled centre for the team's already rich group of prospect forwards.

Jakob Chychrun slipped to No. 16, and Arizona was able to trade up and grab him; he has the potential to have the best career of any defenceman in the draft. Another defenceman, Anthony DeAngelo, was brought in from the Lightning via a trade, shoring the position up further. Just for good measure, the club added three other rearguards with later picks.

Summary
Arizona is bursting with forward prospects, and adding Chychrun and DeAngelo dramatically alters the team's situation on the blue line.

 

[TBLeafer]

Summary
No other team in the NHL can rival the collection of talent the Leafs have in the system.

So I guess they can work to ice the most competent NHL team possible now. 

 

[herman]

We still have a few days until July. The draft is over, so I'm bored.

Top 10 Toronto Maple Leafs under 25 as of Jan 1, 2017, according to me:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Auston Matthews
[*]William Nylander
[*]Mitch Marner
[*]Morgan Rielly
[*]Connor Carrick
[*]Connor Brown
[*]Kasperi Kapanen
[*]Travis Dermott
[*]Dymtro Timashov
[*]Andreas Johnson
[/list]

Don't know enough, but still interested in:

• Kerby Rychel
• Nikita Zaitsev
• Tobias Lindberg
• Joseph Woll
• Kasimir Kaskisuo

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I'd have Johnson above Dermott and Timashov, largely just because of what he's done as a pro. Zaitsev's the big question mark, he could definitely slot anywhere between 5-10 on that list (or not at all).

 

[Crucialness Key]

I'd have Johnson above Dermott and Timashov, largely just because of what he's done as a pro. Zaitsev's the big question mark, he could definitely slot anywhere between 5-10 on that list (or not at all).

On that note, have there been any updates as to Johnson's recovery status? 

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I'd have Johnson above Dermott and Timashov, largely just because of what he's done as a pro. Zaitsev's the big question mark, he could definitely slot anywhere between 5-10 on that list (or not at all).

On that note, have there been any updates as to Johnson's recovery status?

There was something in the Swedish press about him where he said it took a few weeks before he felt fine again and that he's now started to do some working out again.

 

[herman]

I'd have Johnson above Dermott and Timashov, largely just because of what he's done as a pro. Zaitsev's the big question mark, he could definitely slot anywhere between 5-10 on that list (or not at all).

I would have too, but I valued skating pretty high (as if I did this statistically -- ha); it is something Johnson can work on now that he is in the Marlie fold, once he comes back over from his recovery in Sweden.

 

[TBLeafer]

FWIW here is my own top ten to contribute:

1. Auston Matthews
2. Mitch Marner
3. William Nylander
4. Connor Brown
5. Kasperi Kapanen
6. Nikita Zaitsev
7. Connor Carrick
8. Zach Hyman
9. Nikita Soshnikov
10. Andreas Johnson

HM's Dermott, Loov, Nielsen, Timashov, Valiev, Bracco, Lindberg, Rychel, Dzierkals, Gauthier in no particular order.

LOL, I guess that's actually a top 20 list, with an unranked 11-20 after all. 

I don't have Rielly there because I view him as a core NHL'er not a prospect.

 

[Coco-puffs]

My rankings are more based on potential than how much has this player done in the pro's, hence having Marner ahead of Nylander.  Then again, Connor Brown looks like a solid 2nd line winger and Kapanen may have a higher ceiling than that, but I do like Brown more

1.  Auston Matthews
2.  Mitch Marner
3.  William Nylander
4.  Morgan Reilly
5.  Nikita Zaitsev (has 1st pairing potential in my eyes)
6.  Connor Brown
7.  Connor Carrick
8.  Kasperi Kapanen
9.  Travis Dermott
10.  Dymtro Timashov

 

[Kin]

Looks like people are a little higher than Carrick/Brown than I am, less so on Bracco.

 

[herman]

My largely subjective scouting ratings breakdown a la Button and video games:

Player	Smarts	Speed	Strength	Skills	Scoring	Average
Auston Matthews	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
William Nylander	5.0	5.0	3.5	5.0	5.0	4.7
Mitch Marner	5.0	5.0	3.0	5.0	4.5	4.5
Morgan Rielly	4.5	5.0	4.5	4.0	3.0	4.2
Connor Carrick	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.5	4.0	4.1
Connor Brown	4.5	3.0	4.0	4.5	4.0	4.0
Kasperi Kapanen	3.5	5.0	3.5	4.0	4.0	4.0
Travis Dermott	4.0	4.0	3.5	4.0	3.0	3.7
Dymtro Timashov	3.5	4.0	4.0	3.5	3.5	3.7
Andreas Johnson	3.5	3.0	3.5	4.0	4.0	3.6

Feel free to disagree or whatever!

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Looks like people are a little higher than Carrick/Brown than I am, less so on Bracco.

I'm kind of taking the same approach to guys like Bracco and Timashov as I did with Brown back in 2013-14. Gotta see them translate their play to the professional ranks before I get too excited about them.

 

[Britishbulldog]

I have seen some here mention don't trade anyone in 'The Big 4'.  I assume that it includes Matthews, Nylander and Marner but who it number 4?

 

[herman]

I have seen some here mention don't trade anyone in 'The Big 4'.  I assume that it includes Matthews, Nylander and Marner but who it number 4?

I've been using it with regards to Rielly.