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Top-10 Prospects: Tampa Bay Lightning (1-5) |
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Sorry to not get this up earlier, but not only was there a power outage here for a bit, but then when power was restored, Hockeybuzz had a bit of a meltdown. Then I couldn't post blogs only comments, ugg, it was...annoying. So that’s the reason for the slight postponement.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were recently fawned over at ESPN’s prospect article declaring them to have both the number one prospect in hockey as well as the number one goalie prospect in hockey. High praise indeed. I agree with half of that as a certain Russian goalie has me thoroughly convinced. Regardless, it has been no secret that as recently as recently the Lightning have had a very praise worthy prospect pool. Most have graduated as of last season, yet what remains is still of surprisingly high quality. It’s weird to think you can lose two Rookie of the Year contenders in Palat and Johnson, lose Kucherov, Gudas, Panik, Killorn and even lesser guys like Brown and Sustr to the graduate phase, and still be considered near the top-end of prospect cupboards. Yet here they stand, with more waiting to get their shot, some of whom are pretty big deals.
Now that I’ve faffed about and wasted everybody's time, let’s get to the nitty gritty of it all, the rankings. As always players with 40+ games of NHL experience are not eligible for this list.
1. Jonathan Drouin : Centre/Left Wing, 5’11 185lbs, 3rd Overall, 2013, 19 Years Old, Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL
46 games 29 goals 79 assists 108 points
Quick, get me that terrible Staples joke that actually became a thing for them...that was easy. Drouin is obviously the top prospect on this list, and while I think there is some heavy debate to be had over the title of “Top Prospect in the NHL” there is no doubt he is deservingly on that level. Drouin was moved to centre this past season to fill the void left by Nathan MacKinnon. It was a clear sign that this team was Drouin’s...and boy was it. He led the Mooseheads in points and the league in PPG, he basically torched the playoffs a new one for the third year in a row drinking that Danny Briere juice or whatnot, did his all for a very top-heavy Memorial Cup contender and had a good showing for the very disappointing Canadian U20 squad. Wow that was a lot to sum up, but that is what happens when a player with elite talent is given an extra year to refine his game in junior. A move I agreed with as he needed to work on his game without the puck and developing a more “NHL” game, which was the main divide between he and MacKinnon in their draft year. Drouin has the potential to be an elite forward in the NHL, I’d list his skills, but we all know them. This potential is added to immensely by the fact that he will be playing with one of the best goal scorers in the NHL if not this season then in the next two to three. His play at centre was an interesting development and I wonder just how much if any influence the Lightning had on it, I don’t think much, but that’s mainly because the Mooseheads had garbage centre depth. Regardless it’s an interesting development and one that might come into play in a few years. Right now though, can any analyst/fan/blogger/GM/coach think he won’t be used as Stamkos’ new St. Louis for his early NHL years at least?
Potential : Elite Top-Line Scoring Forward
2. Andrei Vasilevski : Goaltender, 6’3 203lbs, 19th Overall, 2012, 20 Years Old, Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the KHL
28 games 2.21 GAA .923 SV%
The KHL Rookie of the Year and near playoff MVP, Vasilevski continues to shine in every single league, tournament or event he plays at. The first question I’ve had people ask is “Why did he play so few games?” Well to put it simply, the U20 Russian squad strong armed Ufa into giving him up for the tournament which forced him to miss 10 games. 7 of which he was likely to start, so that’s why he played only half the season starts and not the usual KHL average of 36. Low starting totals aside (which has always been the one caveat against him), Vasilevski was a beast this past season. He was great during the regular season, but stepped up his play in the playoffs as Ufa came close to winning another Gagarin Cup eventually going down in the Conference Finals to eventual Champions Mettalurg Magnitogorsk. The pure stat line of .934sv% doesn’t really do justice to how he was playing, he was fantastic. Athletic, big and gifted, Vasilevski is one of a handful of players to play in three U20 WJC’s, and one of very few to do so medalling in each tourney while being a starter. He has played tremendously for Russia in pretty much every tournament he has played, even during spot duty as the backup in the most recent WC. Vasilevski is making the move to North America this season and is expected to start in Syracuse fighting for the starting spot with Kristers Gudlevskis...something tells me he’s destined to win that fight. Goalies are strange, goalies are volatile, but Vasilevski at least now looks to be about the surest thing to a future elite goalie as the prospect world can provide.
Potential : Elite Starting Goalie
3. Vladislav Namestnikov : Centre, 6’0 173lbs, 27th Overall, 2011, 21 Years old, Syracuse Crunch in the AHL
56 games 19 goals 29 assists 48 points
Namestnikov can be a bit of a frustrating player. This goes back even before his days with the London Knights where the talent switch seemed to be night/day. It isn’t really an effort issue, it seems to just be that sometimes his sort of slow methodically paced style of game will reward him or just see him end with 0’s on the scoresheet. He’s a playmaker first and foremost, while having a very nice shot, he often likes to carry the puck and look to pass upon zone entries. In junior he used to try a lot of silly moves at that time, but from reading some AHL writers those tendencies are fading. Defensively he brings a quiet aptitude, he won’t ever be confused for a Selke player, but he is reliable and has good positioning. Namestnikov is a bit of an odd specimen and seems to have burned his bridge with the Russian National squad at some point despite being a star the only two times he laced them up for his country. I think he might possibly be the only first round choice from Russia to not play for the U20 team in their history. Regardless of that bit of trivia, Namestnikov is still a strong prospect and developing well, he had been sheltered on that strong Syracuse squad his rookie season but will now be expected to take the reigns as their offensive leader with all the promotions (he sort of was anyways last season what with Kucherov leaving and Jonathan Marchessault being a late add). Next season will be very telling for the young Russian.
Potential : Second Line Centre
4. Adam Erne : Left Wing, 6’0 209lbs, 33rd Overall, 2013, 19 Years Old, Québec Remparts in the QMJHL
48 games 21 goals 41 assists 62 points
Erne is another interesting player, a guy who plays with that level of arrogance you kind of need to be a power forward. He hits people when they aren’t looking, he hits to hurt and he will score on you just to make the salve even more unbearable. Erne is a shoot first winger, he loves to shoot, sometimes too much. His major weakness and something that might limit NHL effectiveness is his tendency towards “Jason Blake” wrist shots when entering the zone. It’s a habit he hasn’t seemed to kick and really makes him an ineffective puck carrier. Aside from that the positives are high, his speed is excellent as are his fore checking skills. He has done a lot of the “heavy” work for his more skilled linemates in Duclair (Rangers) and Grigorenko (Sabres) when necessary. Suspensions and a brain will probably determine his NHL future, he has been suspended multiple times in his three year QMJHL career, some for bad hits and two for breaking team regulations and conduct. This is something that guys with talent can get away from...or embrace, sometimes it works out (James Neal) other times it doesn’t (Raffi Torres). It’s too early to know what the future will hold for Erne, but his ceiling is moderate and his bottom is a workable player regardless. He will almost assuredly finish his fourth and final year with the Remparts this season and play for the USA again at the U20’s.
Potential : Second/Third Line Power Sniper
5. Slater Koekkoek : Defenseman, 6’2 204lbs, 10th Overall, 2012, 20 Years Old, Windsor Spitfires in the OHL
62 games 15 goals 38 assists 53 points +51
Aside from having one of the coolest names out there, Koekkoek (One Flew Over the Cookoos Nest) has been up and down so much in his short career it’s...cookoo. Sorry. At the draft he was a perceived top-pairing guy with struggles, now, that expectation is more limited as he has never taken the step his natural talents gave hints towards. Exciting...or perhaps volatile is a way to describe his game. A beautiful skater who rushes the puck very well and loves to nail players with well timed hits, Koekkoek can often dominate at both ends of the ice. Often however denotes a time when he doesn’t which is a major issue. He has inconsistency issues through the roof and even in his final OHL year...his best year, he had a month of terrible play. He plays often 30-35 minutes a game and has done so since he was 18, and it shows. He can’t sustain his game at those minutes. He’s a better athlete than player in my mind, much like Jack Johnson. I honestly believe that given a lesser role (second pairing) he will be more effective, he won’t overcomplicate his game and overcompensate. Now enough with the negatives, he did have a strong season and a nice icing on the cake. He finished sixth in scoring for defensemen and tied for fourth in goals. That and being a kind of odd +44 on a team who was swept (without him playing though). Next season he will start in the AHL and really prove what he can do as the Crunch will likely lose some of their more key players to promotion.
Potential Top-Four Offensive Defenseman
Thanks to Michael Stuart for helping me with the list. Also yeesh the Buzz is still going nuts. Also thanks to my spell check, which really wanted “Drouin” to be “Drop-In” and after a long think...I can understand why.
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