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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 3, 2018 9:58:18 GMT -5
The annual update to reflect our recent draftees and to remove those that have moved onto the Rocket. I will update the list as needed throughout the season.
QMJHL
Samuel Houde - Chicoutimi Sagueneens
Joel Teasdale - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
OHL
Nicolas Suzuki - Guelph Storm
Cam Hillis - Guelph Storm
Allan McShane - Oshawa Generals
WHL
Josh Brook - Moose Jaw Warriors
Jarret Tyszka - Seattle Thunderbirds
Scott Walford - Victoria Royals
Cole Fonstad - Prince Albert Raiders
NCAA
Cayden Primeau - Northeastern University
Ryan Poehling - St. Cloud State University
Nikolas Koberstein - University of Alaska Fairbanks
Jordan Harris - Northeastern University
Jack Gorniak - University of Wisconsin
Brett Stapley - University of Denver
Finland
Joni Ikonen - KalPa
Jesse Ylonen - Pelicans Lahti
Sweden
Max Friberg - Frölunda
Jacob Olofsson - Timra
Russia
Alexander Romanov - CSKA
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 4, 2018 12:48:44 GMT -5
Four countries will be battling in Kamloops in from July 28 to August 4th as part of the World Junior Summer Showcase. It is a chance for Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland to get their WJC summer camp rosters together and play some games amongst each other. The tourney will feature 6 teams, and both Canada and the US will have split squads.
The confirmed Habs' prospects that will be participating are:
Canada - Brook
USA - Poehling, Primeau
Sweden - Olofsson
Finland - Kotkaniemi, Ylonen
Ikonen is injured and is recovering from surgery. He is scheduled to return sometime in November. He would be on the summer camp roster otherwise.
TSN showed some of the games from the event last summer, and I expect they will broadcast a few this year as well. Stay tuned.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 4, 2018 14:09:19 GMT -5
TSN will broadcast the following games from the Summer Showcase: USA-SWE Thursday Aug 2 4pm ET CAN-FIN Thursday Aug 2 9pm ET USA-FIN Friday Aug 3 4pm ET CAN-SWE Friday Aug 3 9pm ET CAN-USA Saturday Aug 4 5pm ET FIN-SWE Saturday Aug 4 8pm ET They will also be broadcasting games from the Gretzky-Hlinka Cup (formerly the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup - essentially the U18 world cup) from Edmonton and Red Deer in early August. This will feature 2001 borns, so the top prospects for next year's draft. Full schedules for both are in this link. www.tsn.ca/canadian-hockey-on-tsn-schedule-1.117895 |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 5, 2018 10:03:16 GMT -5
Here is a link to the assessment of the 2018 draft class looking at their ppg production and trying to equalize production from across all the different leagues. I know that scouting teams do use variations of this methodology to assess and compare prospects from different leagues.
The results of the Habs' 2018 draft are quite positive.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 5, 2018 22:11:46 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 6, 2018 9:21:01 GMT -5
Some chatter about the chemistry between Kotkaniemi and Ylonen at the development camp. Very complementary styles of play. A playmaker with great hockey IQ and vision and a dynamic speedster on the wing with shifty skills and a decent shot.
I rewatched the U18 final from 2017 when all three of our Finnish prospects were on the team (Ikonen, Kotkaniemi, Ylonen). Jesperi did play a lot alongside Kupari in that tourney, but they did have him with Ylonen at times. If you want to see it first hand, check out the Ylonen highlights video in his draft thread. I had forgotten how good Ikonen was in that tournament. Lots of folks have forgotten about him after his struggles adapting to play in the Liiga this past season, although he was much better in the second half of the season.
I wonder if Kotkaniemi and Ylonen will get matched together at the Summer Showcase in Kamloops later this month. Not that it really matters, as it will be a good tournament to see both prospects matching up in a best-on-best tournament with some very solid competition.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 6, 2018 9:28:52 GMT -5
Speaking of Ikonen, here is a short video of his play at international U19 tournament against Russia (he did put up nice numbers in that short tournament). David St Louis is an avid prospects watcher and notes that Ikonen's play improved during the season. Most folks were concerned when he had a rather unremarkable WJC last year, as that is likely the only viewings most folks get of him from here in North America.
He suffered an unfortunate injury. He had a player fall on his leg and he needed surgery and is expected back in November. Hopefully he can bounce back and still make the WJC team as this will be his last year of eligibility. He was the top line centre at last year's U18s and part of last year's WJC, so you have to figure he has a pretty decent shot if he is healthy and full recovered.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 8, 2018 20:43:28 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 12, 2018 9:21:37 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 12, 2018 11:31:05 GMT -5
Another piece on Ylonen, although this one dives a lot deeper into assessing his greatest strength...his skating. Just click on the link in the attached tweet. A good read with nice videos from a very reliable prospect watcher.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 12, 2018 19:16:39 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 13, 2018 12:17:57 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 13, 2018 12:21:22 GMT -5
Interesting news in that Joni Ikonen's Finnish club team, KalPa, will be participating in the Spengler Cup. Normally that would be an awesome experience for a young prospect (and for us North American fans who would get a chance to see him on Canadian TV for a change). However, he will be coming off surgery and his recovery timetable looks good for playing hockey over the holiday season...but I am sure he hopes to be part of the Finnish WJC team instead.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 13, 2018 15:53:57 GMT -5
... Translated from French by Microsoft ...
... Jacob Olofsson extremely confident after his first camp in Montreal ...
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 14, 2018 1:13:38 GMT -5
Olofsson is more like Eller than DLR to me. Seventeen knows I like this kid. Ylonen too. Big time. Thrilled about their chances. I am so glad we are drafting for skill and speed now. The last few drafts show it.
Now get a GM who appreciates it at the NHL level. There, I said it.
p.s. Hillis, McShane, Fornstad. Who hoo. Harris and Gorniak intrigue me. The rest...
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 15, 2018 12:36:54 GMT -5
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Post by folatre on Jul 15, 2018 13:40:15 GMT -5
Thanks for this info, Dis. I had forgot that Poehling started university so young. It is rare to see a kid not turn 18 until after the autumn semester of his freshman year.
Hopefully Poehling continues to build on the offensive side of his game while playing on a strong team.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 16, 2018 7:30:14 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 17, 2018 9:28:00 GMT -5
Highlights from Kotkaniemi's U18 performance in April. He is #9.
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Post by seventeen on Jul 17, 2018 12:43:37 GMT -5
Despite being big body, there's a lot of subtlety to his game. He creates time and space with shoulder fakes, head movements, his stick, etc. And he's quick. There were several examples of him getting the defender just slightly off balance and then making one of those quick moves around him. Once he gets his angle on the defender, he's too strong to fight off. You can see some inexperience when he gets open and misses the net entirely on a shot, but that's stuff that will get better as he gets older and stronger. He'll slow down his game too. There is a lot to like about Kotky. The more clips I see, the more pleased I am we selected him. Too bad we couldn't have gotten Zadina as well. That would have been an A+++ draft.
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Post by blny on Jul 17, 2018 13:33:38 GMT -5
JK certainly seems to be cut in the mold of the modern center. 200 foot game is not an issue for him.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 17, 2018 22:19:11 GMT -5
Yeah, he seems to think the game quickly from those clips, which is an attribute that I heard TT talking about this draft as things they look for in a prospect.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 17, 2018 22:21:43 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 17, 2018 22:34:01 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 17, 2018 22:42:16 GMT -5
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Post by folatre on Jul 18, 2018 19:47:30 GMT -5
NW, thanks, those are cool videos. I wanted Zadina at #3 but I like Kotkaniemi. Hopefully he grows into his body and develops some explosion in the skating stride because the mechanics of his skating look fine to me.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 19, 2018 9:00:44 GMT -5
Tres cool ... merci la ... Sault! |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 19, 2018 13:14:02 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 20, 2018 10:05:02 GMT -5
Unfortunate news that Josh Brook will miss the Team Canada summer showcase due to his prolonged recovery from injury. He also missed any on-ice stuff at the Habs development camp at the beginning of the month. As this is a preview camp and tournament for the WJC for the four participating nations, you do want to get playing time in front of the coaches and the selection staff. The good news is that Brook's Moose Jaw head coach is also the WJC head coach, so Brook is a known commodity to at least one of the crew that will be involved in the team. Still, I am sure he would much rather be playing and I really was looking forward to seeing him playing on the bigger stage. Hopefully he is fully ready to start the season in Moose Jaw. If you remember last year, he took a shot off the foot in the Rookie Tournament against Toronto and missed a chunk of the start of the season. He is due for a healthy season this year!
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 20, 2018 12:11:21 GMT -5
Updated participant list for the Summer Showcase with Brook's injury. I would also add that Joni Ikonen would be there too for Finland if not for injury as well.
In an earlier post I have a schedule of the games that TSN will broadcast starting on August 2nd. It is a pretty cool August for prospect watchers as the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup (the Ivan Hlinka Cup) follows a week later right here in Edmonton/Red Deer featuring all the best 2001 borns. It is essentially the U18 World Cup as it features all the top age group players, as some miss the IIHF World U18 Championships due to league playoffs in April.
So all the top 2019 draft prospects will be on show. A lot of really impressive centres in the next draft, so it will be very cool seeing most of them going head to head next month in person (yes, I do have tickets and will be pvr-ing other games as well). Draft geek alert!!
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