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BSH 2018 Community Draft Board, No. 12: Joel Farabee

Joel Farabee is most likely one of the more complete players in this draft, and one the Flyers should absolutely have their eyes on should he fall to the 14th spot. Let’s learn a little more about him.

BSH 2018 Community Draft Board, No. 12: Joel Farabee

Position / Team: LW / USNTDP Juniors, USHL (Boston University committ)
2017-18 Statistics: 15 G, 25 A in 26 GP
Size: 6’0” 168

Pre-draft rankings

No. 12 (NA Skaters) by NHL Central Scouting
No. 15 by Future Considerations
No. 11 by ISS Hockey
No. 27 by Pronman/The Athletic (Final)

What’s there to like?

Just about everything, to put it in simply. Farabee isn’t the flashiest player in this draft class, which I guess in turn translates to what there is to not like about him. Farabee is a fantastic two-way forward who will make the little plays that begin odd-man chances — or prime scoring chances in general — but don’t always show up on the stat sheet. The 18 year old has a great willingness to shoot the puck, and that was especially put on display during the U18 World Championships earlier this year. His shot isn’t lethal, but I think it’s good enough where at the very least, he would be a 15-20 goal scorer.

The New York native’s greatest asset most likely would be his skating, he’s not blistering fast at top speed, but he’s great on his edges which makes him very tough to keep track of defensively. There were many instances during the U18 WJC’s where he was able to twist and turn his way by defenders and create a scoring chance.

His hockey IQ is above-average, he’s able to find the soft spots in the offensive zone, and be a pest on defense. He’s quick to the puck carrier and has an active stick that made him extremely valuable on Team U.S.A’s penalty kill. He’s able to read passes very well and make the quick pass to generate offense. He plays a lot bigger than his frame states, and can use his body pretty well on the forecheck.

What’s not to like?

The main question with Farabee is, can he find that one thing that truly sets him above his opponents? He does everything well, but he doesn’t have that main talking point where you can say this is why he’s so great. The one point to remember with that however is, if that’s all you can think of as a negative with him, you’re probably getting a pretty damn good player.

How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?

Farabee would definitely be one of the top five winger prospects in the organization and you could probably make the case for top three. He’s committed to Boston University, so one would assume he’d be on the Wade Allison kind of trajectory for his progression in the Flyers system.

Could the Flyers actually get him?

I have a gut feeling he’s not going to slip out of the top ten, but it all depends on how much teams are really going to care about his lack of flashiness. This feels like the kind of guy NHL GM’s will fall in love with.

Additional reading

2018 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Joel Farabee (Mile High Hockey)

My view of Farabee is that he should be a lottery pick, just outside the top 10. He has great linemates to be sure, but has proven to be an immense talent in his own right and should be talked about more by draft analysts than he currently is. He should be able to step into a significant role right away for former Avalanche assistant David Quinn’s BU team, which has been a factory for top-end talent under his tenure. I’d expect Farabee to play two seasons with the Terriers, and participate in two World Juniors with Team USA. What happens after turning pro is entirely up to him, but just know this writer has very high expectations.

Joel Farabee: 2018 NHL Draft Prospect Profile (All About The Jersey)

When you look at his numbers, you can see clear growth from year to year. Two seasons ago, he played more of his time with the U17 team, but did play 22 games with the U18s despite being younger. In those 22 games, he produced 19 points, showcasing he has the talent. This year, playing almost all of his time with the U18s as captain, he took his game to the next level, going beyond a point per game and producing 76 points in 62 games, with 33 of those 76 points coming as goals. He was more of a distributor with 43 assists, but 33 goals in 62 games is no joke, over a half goal per game. That is first round production.

Highlights (video credit to bigwhite06):


Going to break the trend of adding two to the board, keeping at eight players to choose from. The newest addition? Czech forward Martin Kaut.

Martin Kaut — RW, HC Dynamo Pardubice (Czech) — 9 G, 7 A in 38 GP

The main strength Kaut possesses is his shot and goal scoring ability. Kaut has a very good shot, not only a wrist shot but a heavy slap shot that will be beneficial to many teams. His shot is accurate and comes with a quick release with a high accuracy. Kaut is defensively aware and a good player in his own end. He has a high hockey IQ and his success at a professional league at an early age shows his ability to process the game at a high speed.

— via Habs Eyes on the Prize


2018 BSH Community Draft Board

  1. Rasmus Dahlin — D, Frolunda (SHL) (no vote)
  2. Andrei Svechnikov — RW, Barrie (OHL) (60% of the vote)
  3. Filip Zadina — LW, Halifax (QMJHL) (74%)
  4. Brady Tkachuk — LW, Boston University (NCAA) (57%)
  5. Oliver Wahlstrom — C/RW, USNTDP (USHL) (40%)
  6. Quinn Hughes — D, Michigan University (NCAA) (50%)
  7. Adam Boqvist — D, Brynas IF (SHL) (42%)
  8. Evan Bouchard — D, London (OHL) (49%)
  9. Noah Dobson — D, Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL) (50%)
  10. Jesperi Kotkaniemi — C, Assat (Liiga) (34%)
  11. Joe Veleno — C, Drummondville (QMJHL) (38%)
  12. Joel Farabee — LW, USNTDP Juniors (USHL) (45%)

***

Please use your vote below to answer the following question: If all of the players listed were available when the Flyers were on the clock, who would you want them to pick?

Who should be No. 13 on the 2018 BSH Community Draft Board?

Ty Smith 42
Barrett Hayton 59
Isac Lundestrom 18
Rasmus Kupari 65
Akil Thomas 3
Serron Noel 8
Grigori Denisenko 8
Martin Kaut 11

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