First off, thank you to everyone who voted in the 2018 BSH Community Draft Board! It was a lot of fun seeing which players went where and who most of you wanted to see on the board. I hope you’ve enjoyed these prospect profiles and are excited for the draft tonight where we welcome (maybe?) two new players to the Flyers family.
Here is the final draft board. While Serron Noel was the final player profiled, both Ryan Merkley and K’Andre Miller will be on this list since there was a tie between the two on the latest poll. The skater’s name will be linked here to their draft board post so you can view their profile and do some late draft prep, including a short preview of the post below their name. Once again, thank you all for voting and let’s get ready for what could be a wild draft night (come to our draft party!!).
1. Rasmus Dahlin
(we didn’t have anything for Rasmus but…he’s pretty darn good folks)
The first positive that jumps out with Svechnikov is his goal scoring. The 18-year old CHL rookie scored almost a goal per game in the OHL with the Barrie Colts. Svechnikov is your prototypical high-scoring Russian winger, but there’s more to his game than just his quick shot. His passing vision is fantastic and he uses his plus skating ability to open up passing opportunities. His 6’3” 187 pound frame makes his fantastic skating all the more dangerous. He’s strong on the puck and drives the net extremely well. He also has the hands to play in front of the net, making him an all around offensive talent.
3. Filip Zadina
The goal-scoring ability is the highlight of Zadina’s profile, but it’s not the only thing he brings to the table. He combines good skating ability with a relentless, aggressive playing style, giving his offensive gifts even more chances to shine through. Here’s a highlight video. There’s a lot to enjoy in here, I promise.
It’s not just about this surface level, though, there’s more to like about his actual hockey skillset (imagine that!). As a sort of rule of thumb, we’ll acknowledge that it’s harder to score in college than in the CHL, for example, so his scoring figures are respectable, at least. And the disparity in goals vs. assists point to a piece that serves as one of the hallmarks of his game—he’s a playmaker.
This guy is about as much of a pure goal scorer as you’re going to find. He also doesn’t limit his goal scoring to just using his quick shot, he gets into the dirty areas and positions himself very well in the offensive zone. To put in perspective how great his year was in the USHL, he was 25th in the league in goals according to prospect-stats.com, every skater ahead of him played in at least 32 games, compared to his 26.
6. Quinn Hughes
Despite being primarily known for his offensive talent, Hughes is perfectly capable defensively as well. It’s definitely not at a very high level and he does need to work on it, but it’s not necessarily a liability. When he does jump in on the rush, his speed allows him to get back and cover quickly.
7. Adam Boqvist
Passing and skating are also both tremendous strengths for the slick Swedish defenseman, he’s able to carry the puck through the neutral zone and make the great outlet pass. For Sweden during the U18 World Junior Championships, he quarterbacked their power play and did a great job of it. Boqvist was point per game at the U18 WJC including a two goal game against Canada in the preliminaries.
Bouchard has a real ability to play the game at his own speed, “slowing the game down” in a sense to find guys in prime scoring opportunities — or find his way into one on his own. With his passing and on-ice presence, he can start to generate offense from more or less anywhere on the ice.
9. Noah Dobson
While his power play production is great, his 5-on-5 production is also something to behold. Dobson was second among QMJHL defensemen in 5-on-5 points, and third in primary points. Dobson’s offensive prowess will definitely be a point of emphasis for the team that drafts him.
He also has the potential to be a top notch defensive forward. He started the shorthanded breakaway that lead to him assisting on the game winning goal for Finland at the U18 World Junior Championships. While he’s not a stud defensively yet, the hockey sense and frame are already all there.
11. Joe Veleno
Veleno can do a great job of getting under opposing player’s skins with his forechecking ability, which one would hope translates to him being able to draw more penalties than he takes, at the NHL level.
12. Joel Farabee
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.
13. Rasmus Kupari
Kupari’s shot can be lethal when accurate, making him all the more dangerous on the rush. He’s got a quick release and a blistering shot to make for a fantastic combination offensively. I definitely like Kupari’s shot more than his passing ability, but by no means is he a bad passer. His quick hands and ability to make plays in tight make him a threat more so than raw passing ability.
14. Ty Smith
In doing so, Smith is able to create many controlled zone entries whether it be individually, or with a crisp pass at the line. In the Canada vs. United States game at the U18 World Junior Championships, on multiple occasions on the power play Smith was able to gain the line with speed, then slow the game down and find an open man.
15. Barrett Hayton
hile Hayton’s shot isn’t on an Oliver Wahlstrom’s level, it’s still one of the best aspects of his game. Not only is his shot hard, it’s off his stick in a hurry. Out his 21 goals this season, 12 of them came at 5-on-5. I’m not sure if his shot will be good enough at the NHL level to make him a consistent 20 goal scorer, but I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility.
16. Bode Wilde
His defense definitely still has some work to do, but I think there’s encouraging signs. He’s solid with gap control and he’s physical enough for it to be effective. His offensive potential is definitely the better one, but I don’t think his overall defense is something that needs drastic changing.
17. Vitali Kravtsov
Kravtsov’s skating makes him a threat each time he steps on the ice. He has an explosive stride that helps him gain the zone by pushing defenders back, and also puts himself in high danger areas with his skating. When he gets himself into those areas of the ice, he lets his quick shot do the rest of the work.
18. Isac Lundestrom
Although he’s known more for his hockey sense and playmaking, he’s definitely got a solid shot as well. I’m not sure if his shot is going to be consistently strong to be a 20 goal man at the NHL level, but I wouldn’t put it out of the realm of possibility.
Denisenko positions himself very well on the ice. He’s able to put himself in the right place at the right time on numerous occasions and he can find the soft spots with the slightest of movements. Although I think he projects to be more of a playmaker at the NHL level, one cannot discount Denisenko’s shot. He puts his shot and his positional awareness skills on show in this clip.
20. Dominik Bokk
As previously mentioned, Bokk’s puck skills are absolutely a thrill to watch. He’s able to make decisive moves with the puck quickly and effectively, even in tight situations. Skating is absolutely a huge asset for Bokk, but it’s the combination of his puck skills and skating that make him such a threat offensively. The first goal in this clip is a prime example of just that:
21. Serron Noel
For his size, Noel is not a bad skater by any means. He’s able to pick up speed relatively quickly and gain the zone quickly. His skating could improve some but to have this mix of size and skating ability is definitely something that shouldn’t be overlooked. He’s able to conserve his speed well so that when he gets on the attack, he’s got a lot left in the tank for that rush.
22-t. K’Andre Miller
But it was in his second year, his under-18 season, that Miller really established himself as a potential first-rounder. With new coach Seth Appert at the helm, the whole team took a giant step forward, particularly offensively. Miller was given more freedom to jump into the rush, something he loves to do, and was able to better utilize his size and skating ability to improve his positioning defensively. via — Mile High Hockey
22-t. Ryan Merkley
Those in favor of Merkley have a lot on their side. He has scored at a high rate as a 16-year old rookie and improved as a 17-year old in the OHL. He has demonstrated excellent passing skills while being very skilled on the puck in offensive situations. Yes, he’s on the smaller side, but in a NHL that is increasingly favorable to smaller, skilled players that is not a huge issue. via — All About the Jersey
