Drafting my own Pool of Prospects

I decided rather than do a typical winner-loser post or a breakdown of teams drafts, I have decided to change it up and put myself up against NHL GM’s. To do that I am going to take seven prospects who will “enter” my teams system. The catch; all players I select have just gone undrafted in this 2014 NHL Draft.

With my first pick I will select from the Moncton Wildcats left winger Vladimir Tkachev. Tkachev is a highly skilled Russian who played on a line with Ivan Barbashev this past season. Tkachev may have been a bit of a passenger but still put up 30 points in 20 games for the Wildcats. He has great speed and is quick with the puck, evidenced by this goal he scored in the Subway Super Series. He gives my team a legitimate top prospect and a player with top 6 upside.  

With my second pick I dabble into the NCAA to find Gavin Bayreuther of St Lawrence University. NCAA players have been shown to be undervalued by teams and tend to have a great return on investment. Bayreuther had an excellent season putting up 36 points in 38 games. I found at that NCAA d-men who score at least 0.5 points per game have the best chance of becoming NHL players. Bayreuther blows away that number which leads me to believe he has NHL potential.  

With my third pick I head over to the WHL and nab Kelowna Rockets center Tyson Baille. Baille has a great hockey IQ and thinks the game at very high level. He combines that with soft hands and a good skating ability. He put up 55 points in 56 games this season for the Rockets. That ppg total of 0.98 was second on the Rockets. Kelowna was a very strong team this past season so parts of Baillie’s stats may be inflated but he still has shown enough skill to be worth taking a chance on.  

Heading to the QMJHL for the fourth pick and second defencemen; Nikolas Brouillard. Brouillard was covered in my seventh round sleepers post but to recap. Brouillard in his second draft eligible season put up 61 points in 68 games. I have mentioned that overage players tend to be busts more often than not but his draft season was also very successful as he put up 57 points in 68 games. He could pair with Bayreuther to give my team a solid puck moving defence tandem.

With my fifth pick I jump into the US high school system and get John-Claude Brassard. Now I know high school players are the hardest to project and come with significant risk, but the research I did showed that defencemen who put up 1.5 points per game in high school have a better chance of becoming NHL regulars. Among high school D ranked by central scouting, Brassard had the highest ppg with 1.59.

For my sixth pick I am taking Luke Phillip from the Kootney Ice of the WHL. Phillip has good passing skills as shown by his 46 assists this season. Don’t let that total fool you into thinking this guy can’t finish because he can, popping 31 goals this season. In looking at his +/- total it appears he played on the second line with Tim Bozon and Autin Vettel rather than the top line with Sam Reinhart and Jaedon Descheneau. That bodes well for his future success as it looks like he is the one driving the bus and making his teammates better.

With my seventh pick I again go to yet another league this time to the USA under 18 team and pick defencemen Brandon Fortunato. Fortunato had a solid season for the U-18 team posting 37 points in 61 games. That is right on the line of what predicts NHL success from the US National team. What gives me confidence about Fortunato is that this was not his first season showing offense. He put up 30 points in 17 games as a 16yr old in high school. He could be the steal of my team as he has a good chance of making the NHL.

If I was able to acquire more picks I would select Ivan Nikolishin a center from the Everet Silvertips and Joe Hicketts a defencemen from the Victoria Royals. I covered both in my seventh round sleepers post, which you can check out here.

There you have my 7 (+2) prospects from this year’s draft. I think I did pretty well as I tried to get skill at every position. I have a good mix of forwards and defenders. The lack of goalie depth may be an issue but again goalies are voodoo and I would likely just sign a cheap UFA goalie for my team. How does this team stack up to others in the NHL? Only time will tell.

All stats are from hockeydb and eliteprospects. Scouting tidbits are from HockeyProspects 2014 Black Book.

If you have any questions or comments about anything feel free to post them in the comment section.