Monday, December 10, 2012

2013 NHL Draft Rankings War Room Top 90

2013 NHL Draft Rankings War Room Top 90:


Guest post by Eldon MacDonald

This is the fourth in a series of nine postings of the top 90 prospects for the 2013 NHL draft.
There are a few things that you should be aware of in the 31-40 category:
a – As I mentioned in post 1 (1 to 10), there are a number of good goalies this year, four of which I have in round 2 (Fucale, Comrie, Martin and McAdam). I have not included any in round one due to the glut of NHL quality goalies around, but that does not mean they don’t have first round skills. It is possible that one or more could get their name called on Day 1 of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft – most likely by a team with more than one 1st round pick.
b – I have also not included any Russian born players who remain in Russia in the first round due to the Russian factor, even though they may have 1st round skills – such as Valeri Nichushkin.
c – As I previously mentioned in post 3 (21 to 30), this 31 to 40 group are almost interchangeable with the 21 to 30 group as to the likelihood as to where they will end up on the draft board in June 2013. Their future play will determine the outcomes.
Eric Comrie
Tri City’s Eric Comrie challenging Zach Fucal for top goalie in the 2013 NHL Draft (Photo: WHL.ca)

Background

  1. Historically, players selected in the range of 31 to 45 have only a 33% success rate: This means that in a normal year 6 to 7 of the players below are not going to make it as an NHL regular. However, since this is a good year I believe that number will reduce substantially. This still means that there are likely to be 3 to 4 players in the group below who do not make it to the big league.
  2. Vitals: The vitals reading left to right are:
    1. Shoots
    2. Position
    3. Height and weight
    4. Birth date
    5. Citizenship
    6. League
    7. Team and player number
  3. Rankings: I have listed some alternative rankings to give you some more information so you can make your own rankings, should you wish. You should check out some of the web sites listed below if you want a different perspective on the rankings:

Round 2 – 31 to 40 – Historical success rate of about 33%


31. Fucale, Zach
a – Vitals: L – G – 6’1, 181 – 28-May-95 – CAN – QMJHL – Halifax #31
b – Rank: NHL–QMJHL-Goal-1; CR-THW–40; FC-28; ISS-Goal-1; McK-19; THG-18; THN-23; TSN-14.
c – Commentary: Dr. Cool-Tender – Calm, efficient, self-effacing netminder who makes those in front of him feel confident that he will look after his end of the game every time out. Plays every game; a student of the game like every goalie should be; set QMJHL record for most wins by a 16 year old goalie; won gold medal with Team Canada at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Tournament – with a shutout in the gold medal game to boot. Top rated goalie in the draft on most of the rankings.
d – Twitter: @Fucale31
e – YouTube video:

32. Nichushkin, Valeri:
a – Vitals: L – L/C – 6’3, 176 – 4-Mar-95 – RUS – MHL – Chelyabinsk #43
b – Rank: NHL–RUS-1; CR-THR–20; FC-10; HP-26; ISS-Goal-12; McK-10; THG-13; THN-21; TSN-8.
c – Commentary: Mr. Game Breaker  – Tantalizing package of skating, game-breaking abilities and has drawn comparisons to Evgeni Malkin – you would think I would have in the top 10 and maybe I should. However, he signed a 3-year contract to stay in Russia so it would take an awfully brave GMto take him in the top 10. However, clubs such as Washington, Tampa Bay, Detroit and St.Louis (and others on occasion) have been known to snag some Russians bargains in the draft. Nichushkin is one the true wildcards of the 2013 draft class.
e – YouTube video: love how he blows by defensemen.
33. Horvat, Bo:
a – Vitals: L – LW/C – 6’0, 203 – 5-Apr-95 – CAN – OHL – London #53
b – Rank: NHL–OHL-5; CR-THW-26; HP-21; McK-29; THG-26; TSN-36; OHL-OHL-8
c – Commentary: Mr. Shutdown – Shutdown centre with offensive skills – skating, shot, hands, face-offs and good work ethic – has not received the offensive minutes to date to put up the points he is capable of. He won gold medal with Team Canada at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Tournament.
d – Twitter: @BoHorvat
e – Youtube video: CTVLondon. Mark Hunter says he is going to set Bo up front on the power play so maybe he is going to get those offensive minutes yet. With Corey Perry mentoring him, who knows what good things might happen.

34. De La Rose, Jacob
a – Vitals: L – C/LW – 6’2, 183 – 20-May-95 – SWE – SWE-1 – Leksand #9
b – Rank: NHL–SWE-3; CR-THW–30; ISS-21; McK-26; THG-30; THN-18; TSN-45
c – Commentary: Mr. Everything – Goran Stubb, NHL European Director of NHL Central Scouting told NHL.com, “He’s speedy and plays a strong two-way game. He can pass and shoot at top speed and is always on the puck. He’s a strong finesse-type player”. On Team Sweden’s preliminary roster for U20 Worlds; was Captain of the Swedish U18 Team at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament.
d – Twitter: @Jacobdelarose
e – Video: Gangnam style with Filip Forsberg, a must see. I can see a trip to the White House coming like the Korean rapper Psy.

35. Bailey, Justin
a – Vitals: R – C/RW – 6’3, 190 – 1-Jul-95 – USA – OHL – Kitchener #95
b – Rank: NHL-OHL-9; CR-THW–39; TSN-43; OHL-OHL-15
c – Commentary: Mr. Elegance – Just oozes that tall, stately elegance that Jean Beliveaupossessed. Excellent skater, long reach, can score those breath-taking goals. Needs to put it all together as we have only seen glimpses of his potential to date but, oh, those glimpses were wonderful.
d – Twitter: @justinbailey95
e – YouTube video: Courtesy of NHLVideo. It sure didn’t hurt Sidney Crosby to live with Mario Lemieux so I am sure it didn’t hurt Justin Bailey to live with Pat Lafontaine.

36. Wennberg, Alexander  
a – Vitals: L – C – 6’1, 174 – 22-Sep-94 – SWE – SWE-2 – Djurgården #10
b – Rank: NHL-SWE-5; TSN-25
c – Commentary: Mr. Stealth – Really good center flying under the radar; feet, hands, vision; game. On the preliminary roster for Team Sweden for the U20 Worlds at Christmas.
d – Twitter: @winiss10
e – YouTube video: Courtesy of Simon Gunnarsson; the old “puck in the pants routine” gets ‘em every time.

37. McCoshen, Ian
a – Vitals: L – D – 6’3, 207 – 5-Aug-95 – USA – USHL – Waterloo #3
b – Rank: NHL-USHL-2; CR-THW–28; ISS-30; TSN-42
c – Commentary: McShutdown  – NHL sized body who plays a steady defensive game at the back-end and works on the power play. Should make his money as a solid shutdown defenseman who works on the PK and makes quality outlet passes.
d – Twitter: ijmccoshen3
e – YouTube video: Courtesy of USHLinteractive

38. Comrie, Eric:
a – Vitals: L – G – 6’1, 170 – 9-Jul-95 – CAN – WHL – Tri-City #1
b – Rank: NHL–WHL-Goal-1 ISS-Goal-3; McK-30; THN-30; TSN-32
c – Commentary: The Brick Stop – Another student of the game, Eric has great anticipation and vision, great lateral movement and the reflexes required to be a number one goalie. Eric is in the running to be the number one goalie selected along with Zach Fucale and Spencer Martin. When you have NHL brothers who have been shooting the puck at you since you were 4 or 5, you’ve got to be good just to make it home to the dinner table every night. And yes, his brother is the recently retired Mike Comrie; another brother is Paul Comrie, who had a short NHL career due to injury; his sister-in-law is Hilary Duff; his father (Bill) and uncles (Fred and John) founded The Brick, a major retailer of furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics and computers in Canada.
d – Twitter: @ericcomrie1
e – Youtube video: Courtesy of TheWindsorStar

39. Kujawinski, Ryan
a – Vitals: L – C – 6’2, 205 – 30-Mar-95 – CAN – OHL – Kingston #17
b – Rank: NHL–OHL-12; CR-THW–10; ISS-23; THG-20; TSN-35; OHL-OHL-3
c – Commentary: Mr. Down Low – Size, skating, puck possession skills, good down low, great wrist shot; needs to work on his defense and utilize his size more effectively. Big things were expected of him this year as he was the 4th overall pick in the 2011 OHL draft. Started the season well with OHL Player of the Week honors but has not been able to sustain that high level of play. If he starts to pick it up again, he could be considered a potential 1st rounder; if not –well,  there is no such thing as the status quo with draft rankings this early in the season.
d – Twitter: @Kuj17
e – YouTube video:

a – Vitals: L – D – 6’2, 182 – 3-Aug-95 – CAN – WHL – Seattle #17
b – Rank: NHL-WHL-32; CR-THW-27; ISS-28; McK-28; TSN-46
c – Commentary: Mr. Motion – Size, skating, vision, those precise outlet passes, can carry the puck, good shot, shows excellent power-play skills; needs to work on his defense, upper body strength and overall physicality. Shea won gold medal with Team Canada at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Tournament.
d – Twitter: @Theodore
e – YouTube video: Courtesy of Puckster Canada
*This post was originally published at The Hockey Writers (THW). 

Previously posted:

Part 1: 1 to 10
Part 3: 21 to 30

Next Up:

Part 5: 41 to 50
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