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Top-10 Prospects : Panthers (1-10) |
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The Panthers have one of the best prospect pools in the league according to most people. They’ve taken some really high reward players and aren’t afraid to let risky players develop. As per usual players playing over 50+ games in the NHL are disqualified from this list, or if they played the majority of the season in the shortened year and showed that they are “legitimate NHLers.” This is why Jonathan Huberdeau and Drew Shore are not on this list…otherwise this list wouldn’t even be fair.
1. Aleksander Barkov : Centre, 2nd Overall ,2013, 17 years old, 6’3 208lbs, Tappara in the SM-liiga
I could gush over him for several paragraphs, but my pick for the first overall player in 2013 2 years ago fell a bit short of my boastful claim. In today’s game the two-way centre, the dominant two-way centre is both loved and underrated. Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews, neither with likely win a Hart in a game of numbers only, but both are needed above all in the pursuit of the Cup. Barkov brings that. Defensively he’s rock solid, smarter than his years and already a top penalty killer in the SM-liiga. He has the all-around game people crave…hell his face-off percentage against men was over 53%, at the U20’s it was 68%...he’s a monster. His only issue is that compared to his elite repertoire, his skating stands out as average…though as I would like to remind people, John Tavares was labeled the exact same way and much maligned for it even during the draft when people were pushing Duchene/Hedman over him. Regardless of how it works out Barkov is the youngest player to ever go in the top-5 relating to the cut-off of the next draft, I only fact checked this to 2000 so I could be wrong, regardless it’s pretty cool. The fact that a 17 year old is in the mix for an Olympic Team that isn’t Slovenia or Kazakhstan is amazing and a testament to his mature play. I think he is the best prospect in the world, I said it two years ago and I will stand by it. If he plays for Florida which is the plan, he will become the only Finnish player in history to join the NHL a year after he’s drafted as a junior.
Potential : Franchise Two-Way Centre
2. Michael Matheson : Defenseman, 23rd Overall, 2012, 19 years old, 6’2 196lbs, Boston College in the NCAA
Matheson is an elite skater with elite puck moving ability, hell throw in some elite offensive awareness while you’re at it. He has a lot of highlight ability, what with the nice dekes and amazingly smooth skating. He’s not the most physical player nor does he shine defensively on a consistent basis. He’s prone to sloppy errors or of getting tunnel vision on the offensive zone. The elite skating and offensive tools are a great foundation for him, as well as the excellent creativity he has to run a PP…the big question will be getting physically stronger and cutting down on the errors in his own zone. Next season he will more than likely continue his NCAA path and has a good chance of making the U20 Canadian team.
Potential : Top-Four Offensive Defenseman
3. Vincent Trocheck : Centre, 64th Overall, 2011, 20 years old, 5’10 187lbs, Plymouth Whalers in the OHL
Trocheck is a bit like a lot of Florida’s prospects, very high risk high reward mostly based on size. The OHL’s Most Outstanding Player and Points leader continues to improve his offensive upside while still maintaining his solid two-way game. He plays with a high compete and has overcome his average speed by never stopping. He has very good hands and scores a lot of his goals in tight near the goal. Defensively he’s a smart player, and he’s pretty good on the face-off dot against juniors…though at his size that may not translate to the next level so a switch to wing might be in his future depending on how he does in the AHL. Subsequently that is where he will play next season.
Potential : Second Line Centre
4. Nick Bjugstad : Centre, 19th Overall, 2010, 21 years old, 6’6 224lbs, University of Minnesota in the NCAA
Bjugstad got a taste of the NHL for 11 games after his NCAA season ended which was also his completion of the three year program. He’s a shoot first centre with a very reliable game in his own end. He has a really strong shot and likes to shoot from everywhere…sometimes to the detriment of a teammate waiting for a pass. He has excellent hands and skating for a big man, which is part of the mystique about him. Despite his ridiculous size he’s not as physical as you would want, he still battles for the puck and will throw his weight around once in a while, but like a lot of “power forwards” he leaves you wanting in that regard. He’s hard to predict because he didn’t do all that well offensively in the NCAA which people assumed he would dominate, he’s shown inconsistent stretches of top-line play to fourth-line play. They have a future NHLer who will once again compete for a fulltime place on the Panthers and likely make it…just needs to put some things together to be a top-6 centre…or end up being a disappointing bottom-6 guy.
Potential : Second Line Centre
5. Jacob Markström : Goalie, 31st Overall, 2008, 23 years old, 6’6 207lbs, San Antonio Rampage in the AHL
The world still feels Markström is the premier goalie prospect in the world. That mixture of size and major athleticism still has scouts drooling. He played half the season last…season, for the Panthers and the other half in the AHL yet he still counts on this list. He split starts with Enroth for Sweden on the Gold Medal winning team at the WC’s and will likely finally get his shot as the starting goalie next season. The Goalie Guild which is the best place, or at the very least the most consistent and reliable site when it comes to goalies, still ranks him as their number one goalie prospect in the world.
Potential : Starting Goalie
6. Ian McCoshen : Defenseman, 31st Overall, 2013, 18 years old, 6’3 207lbs, Waterloo Black Hawks in the USHL
Big and strong, with impressive offensive skills on the PP and at even strength are coupled by solid defensive play. He benefited by playing with the highest scoring USHL team, so being the shooter on the PP really helped his numbers. That said, he’s shown major progression year by year and is trending in the right direction at both ends of the ice. He does play physical which is good because he needs to use his size even more in my opinion, some say he’s not hard hitting enough, some that he hits enough but the big hits are few and far between yet costly. His two-way ability and plus skating for his size will serve him well, just needs to prove that the massive amount of points wasn’t simply a product of being with such an elite scoring team. Next season he will play with Matheson at Boston College.
Potential : Top-Four Two-Way Defenseman
7. Rocco Grimaldi : Centre/Right Wing, 33rd Overall, 2011, 20 years old, 5’6 170lbs, University of North Dakota in the NCAA
Grimaldi has dynamic talent in the offensive zone. Elite hands, amazing instincts and a motor that never stops. The issue is…he’s freaking 5’6. That size was an issue in the 2011 season when he was injured almost the whole season long. He’s the definition of high risk high reward. If he can find a way to make it, he could be a great top-six forward that can excel on the PP, if not, well the AHL is littered with highly talented small players. It is important to note that he has always been known for his amazing work ethic and body strength despite his size, I remember at the combine he was turning heads with how insanely in shape he was for a junior hockey player.
Potential : Top-Six Scoring Winger
8. Alex Petrovic : Defenseman, 36th Overall, 2010, 21 years old, 6’4 210lbs, San Antonio Rampage in the AHL
Petrovic is a big defenseman that plays big. He hits to hurt and punishes players in the corners. He’s primarily a shutdown defender, though he has a very hard shot and has shown the ability to be the shooter on the PP. He was the WHL Best Defenseman in 2011 and it will be interesting to see if some of that offense he had in junior continues to improve and make the jump to the pro game. Even if it doesn’t however, his defensive game is great both in the reads and in just crushing players. He had a small taste of the NHL last season as a call-up, but will likely start in the AHL again barring a major impression during camp.
Potential : Top-Four Physical Two-Way Defenseman
9. Quinton Howden : Left Wing, 25th Overall, 2010, 21 years old, 6’1 187lbs, San Antonio Rampage in the AHL
Howden is an excellent skater with an excellent shot who plays a safe two-way game and throws his body around. He’s got the overall package to be a strong NHLer; he doesn’t have any real distinguishing aspect though. With his defensive prowess, hard-work and decent skill he could find a niche as either a second liner or third liner…maybe a bit of a tweener. In his brief NHL time he didn’t register a goal nor did he play many minutes, but he showed his defensive play and would have led the Panthers in takeaways had he played the whole season. Next season he will likely play on the Panthers fulltime.
Potential : 3rd Line Two-Way Scorer
10. Kyle Rau : Centre/Left Wing, 91st Overall, 2011, 20 years old, 5’8 184lbs, University of Minnesota in the NCAA
Yet another small offensively gifted individual. Rau was Bjugstad’s winger and ended up outscoring the big man. He has excellent hockey sense and understands the game at a high level, just finding the right places to be or making that perfect pass. He isn’t bad defensively, though gets outmuscled by larger opponents. He still forechecks hard and he has a really good stick for taking the puck off players. His weakness is that he has poor skating for a small player, and as I’ve mentioned before slow skating short players are rare at best at the NHL level, he’ll need to continue to work on that aspect of his game to make it. Next season he plays his final year at the University of Minnesota.
Potential : Second Line Winger or Bust
Notables : John McFarland (Once a candidate for the 1st overall in 2010, inconsistency and off-ice issues made him fall hard, now he’s trying to come back and made it to the AHL after starting in the ECHL, still a major longshot but he has talent), Michael Downing (Big, tough, mobile defender, has flashes of offensive talent), Yaroslav Kosov (Big, strong and physical shooter that had a strong WJC showing as well as playing as a regular on the third line for Magnitogorsk…he’s only 20 yet built like a truck at 6’3 235lbs) and Colby Robak (Big offensive defenseman with a big slapshot, at 23 is finally making his bid to make the Panthers as a regular).
Thanks for reading.
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