This is the ending of the trilogy based on the first round of the 2014 draft. Looking a little at how players have started their seasons, who is impressing, who is depressing. I'm also going to do one more about various players impressing from the later rounds.
21. Robby Fabbri - St. Louis Blues - 10gp - 5g - 5a - 10p (OHL)
Guelph was expecting a bit of a setback after their Memorial Cup run, but I doubt they expected it to be this bad. Fabbri who was a star for the Storm last season hasn't looked the same and seems to be taking a ton of lazy penalties. He always had shades of Nazem Kadri (a brilliant dangler with a penchant for frustration), but he hasn't been producing. He has too much talent to be bogged down for very long, but man, he has more penalties than games played.
22. Kasperi Kapanen - Pittsburgh Penguins - 5gp - 3g - 3a - 6p (SM-liiga)
The Penguins gambled on the big faller Kapanen, likely glancing nervously at the last time they drafted the big faller of the draft (Angelo!). Signs are good however, Kapanen seems to be recovering from his disastrous draft year with both a strong camp with the Pens and a great start in Finland. KalPa has a lot more offensive options this season and make a lot of moves to become competitive. Kapanen has thrived in a sheltered role playing heavy PP minutes where he's most effective (all three goals are PPG's and 2 of his assists). Pens fans will be happy to know he has the highest PPG average for U20 players including being ahead of fellow 2014 draftee Nikolay Goldobin (Sharks).
23. Conner Bleackley - Colorado Avalanche - 18gp - 6g - 9a - 15p (WHL)
The captain of the Rebels has been underwhelming in the offensive zone this season, but it really isn't his fault, the entire team has been scoring by committee all season with no individual standouts. The two-way forward has always been a bit of a frustration in play vs production, and by all accounts he's playing well. He's a streaky scorer, so this is probably just a dry spell. Though considering some of the guys that came after him and how they're performing...
24. Jared McCann - Vancouver Canucks - 11gp - 7g - 8a - 15p (OHL)
The man known for defense is finding his offense this season and showing more of the excellent offensive instincts that made him the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario Player of the Year and 4th overall OHL selection. There was little doubt that the team drafting McCann would get an NHL player, his defensive instincts and non-stop playstyle are too NHL style not to, the question was if he could be more.
25. David Pastrnak - Boston Bruins - 10gp - 3g - 7a - 10p (AHL)
The youngest player in the AHL is making the Bruins look smart on taking the flashy Czech out of the Allsvenskan. He leads Providence in points and second in goals already. To put it in perspective, the 18 year old is tied for 15th in overall league scoring, a very impressive start. Though undersized and prone to hot/cold streaks, Pastarnak is an extremely gifted offensive player. He doesn't really play "Bruins" hockey, but then again the Bruins can't seem to score, so pretty good fit going forward.
26. Nikita Scherbak - Montréal Canadiens - 14gp - 11g - 12a - 23p (WHL)
Scherbak has built upon his impressive rookie season and is one of the most dangerous forwards in the WHL. The Habs went with one of the wildcards in the draft, the erstwhile unbeknownst obscure Scherbak who burst on the scene in the WHL after playing on an MHL call up squad that was embarrassingly bad and pointless. The first Russian picked in 2014 has been a beauty for an Everett squad that last year could barely pay to score a goal. Have to feel a bit bad for the lowly Saskatoon Blades who were forced to trade him.
27. Nikolay Goldobin - San Jose Sharks - 9gp - 4g - 2a - 6p (SM-liiga)
Goldobin went back to Europe to...Finland...? Ya, weird, oh well, sorry Sting, at least you have Zacha for a few more years. Goldobin has been good, though not as dominant as his OHL days. He's playing on and off again on the second/third line thus far. Obviously his offensive gifts are his bread and butter, but strength and conditioning (especially board battles) were major weaknesses he needed to work on, the Sharks think facing stiffer competition will help this...oh and not letting him go to Russia and get into some kind of contract snafu. He has the second highest PPG for U20 players in the SM-liiga and will probably get better as he gets used to the big ice again. This is an instance where the CHL-AHL rule really blows.
28. Josh Ho-Sang - New York Islanders - 11gp - 3g - 16a - 19p (OHL)
Was there ever a player more divisive in his draft year? Or ever? Well if he makes the NHL, PK Subban can breath a sigh of relief because all the hate spilled on him for his "attitude" and "exuberance" will be forgotten. Ho-Sang is the self proclaimed "best player" in the 2014 and definitely should have gone number one...well I disagree, but he's still pretty darn good regardless. With the fifth highest PPG in the OHL, Ho-Sang finds himself behind only the triple threat line from Eerie (McDavid (2015)/Strome(2015)/DeBrincat(2016) and Max Domi(2013). Elite hands and a magical eye for playmaking, Ho-Sang if he had not been such a jarring personality, might have gone higher than 28. Garth Snow is often a gambler, time will tell on this one.
29. Adrian Kempe - Los Angeles Kings - 18gp - 3g - 6a -9p (Elitserien)
One of the youngest players in the 2014 draft being born 3 days before the September 16 cutoff, Kempe is a manchild despite his youth and is more built than his listed weight might hint at. The bullish power forward is playing better with more ice-time this season, even though his rookie season was pretty good all things considered. He isn't lighting it up like fellow 2014 picks Nylander, Fiala and to a lesser extent Vrana, but his game isn't elite offensive production. He does a lot of the dirty work for his linemates and has even played a few games on Nylander's wing. Expect to see him play a big part on Sweden's U20 squad.
30. John Quenneville - New Jersey Devils - 12gp - 6g - 10a - 16p (WHL)
The Devils were unfourtunate enough to be forced to pick with the 30th pick overall, though they are likely thankful they retained their first. Quenneville is a solid, but not spectacular player and pick. A defensively responsible player that plays hard every shift, the hope was that his offensive game could develop. A similar selection was made by the Devils in Stefan Matteau, players who aren't really boom/bust...see their record on first round Swedes...yikes. He's having a strong start to his season on a pretty stacked Wheat Kings squad playing with undrafted Latvian Lazer Rihards Bukarts.
Thanks for reading.