2020 EHE ENTRY DRAFT REVIEW - Metro
2020-12-14Kevin Lacy - Carolina Hurricanes
30. Ridly Greig LW 5'11" 159 lbs
61. Lukas Cormier D 5'10" 176 lbs
70. Nick Abruzzese C 5'9" 161 lbs
109. Bobby Nardella D 5'9" 174 lbs
133. Graeme Clarke RW 6'0" 174 lbs
137. Valtteri Puustinen RW 5'9" 183 lbs
2018: B-
2019: C
2020: B
Was Kevin aware that Clarke is 6’? All kidding aside, Greig has a very high motor and doesn’t play a small game. Cormier was off to a very hot start in the QMJHL going well over a PPG. These are decent small guys to take a shot on IMO. Clarke might be my favorite pick of the lot here, he’s had to deal with injuries which have limited his play the last few years and that shows where he was drafted. He looks like a first round selection when healthy.
Andrew Payeur - Columbus Blue Jackets
44. Brendan Brisson C 6'0" 185 lbs
65. Brock Faber D 6'0" 194 lbs
105. Mason Lohrei D 6'4" 201 lbs
127. Ian Moore D 6'2" 172 lbs
152. Alex Laferriere RW 6'1" 181 lbs
2018: D
2019: C-
2020: B+
Brisson was a good pick at 44th, no reason for him to have dropped that far. He’ll suit up for USA in the WJC and has been good so far in Michigan. Andrew went college heavy in this draft as the remaining picks are all committed to NCAA schools. Faber will also join Brisson on team USA at the WJC.
Ryan Knedel - New Jersey Devils
56. Tristen Robins RW 5'11" 183 lbs
69. Morgan Barron C 6'2" 209 lbs
119. Leon Gawanke D 6'1" 198 lbs
154. Adam Werner G 6'5" 198 lbs
2018: B+ (Cole Bates)
2019: A (Cole Bates)
2020: B
I like the Gawanke pick, he looked solid in the AHL last year on a mediocre team. Morgan Barron is the older brother of Justin Barron, not nearly has touted but has put up solid numbers in the NCAA. Werner has the size you love to see in a goalie and good athletic ability to go with it, but positioning & poise need polishing. Robins is small but has the skills to succeed at the next level.
Martins Auzins - New York Rangers
35. Matias Maccelli LW 5'11" 165 lbs
99. Artyom Zub D 6'2" 198 lbs
100. Anton Johannesson D 5'9" 154 lbs
101. Spencer Stastney D 5'10" 179 lbs
106. Joni Jurmo D 6'4" 198 lbs
118. Kim Nousiainen D 5'9" 179 lbs
124. Samuel Knazko D 6'1" 190 lbs
125. Owen Lindmark C 6'0" 190 lbs
131. Linus Oberg C/RW 6'0" 203 lbs
132. Victor Berglund D 6'1" 181 lbs
148. Alex Cotton D 6'2" 183 lbs
2018: C-
2019: C
2020: B+
What, no forfeited picks this year? And only 11 picks? Must be an off year for Martins. Maccelli is benefiting from playing with good players in Ilves again and is thriving. Solid pick at 35th and great value. I also really liked the Jurmo pick. It’s not the sexy pick to make, don’t expect great offensive numbers from the smooth skating blueliner, but he moves the puck up ice effortlessly and covers a lot of ground on defence. Also loved the Lindmark pick, he’s looked great in Wisconsin this year, really driving his lines offense. Don’t want to run on here, there’s a lot of picks made and little space to talk about them all.
Tony Chiu - New York Islanders
20. Rodion Amirov LW 6'0" 168 lbs
45. Thomas Bordeleau C 5'9" 179 lbs
51. Sam Colangelo C/RW 6'2" 205 lbs
82. Topi Niemela D 6'0" 163 lbs
88. Michael Benning D 5'10" 174 lbs
113. Evan Vierling C 6'0" 168 lbs
2018: B+
2019: B+
2020: B+
Amirov, Colangelo and Niemela will be suiting up for their countries in this years WJC and all are solid picks by Tony. I had Bordeleau high on my list, he’s short but skates very well and likes to have the puck on his stick. He’ll need to fill out and find a way to utilize the perimeter less. Benning has looked really good early this year in Denver, he’s been using his puck skills & deceptive shot to fool opponents this year.
Tommy Barr - Philadelphia Flyers
7. Cole Perfetti C 5'10" 185 lbs
36. Emil Andrae D 5'9" 181 lbs
67. Roni Hirvonen C 5'9" 170 lbs
76. Danil Gushchin RW 5'8" 165 lbs
89. Dmitri Voronkov C 6'4" 190 lbs
91. Zion Nybeck LW 5'8" 176 lbs
95. Jack Ahcan D 5'8" 185 lbs
97. Connor McClennon RW 5'8" 157 lbs
102. Carter Savoie LW 5'10" 181 lbs
103. Tyler Tullio C/RW 5'11" 181 lbs
107. Donovan Sebrango D 6'1" 183 lbs
108. Eemil Viro D 6'0" 168 lbs
111. Daemon Hunt 6'0" 198 lbs
129. Elmer Soderblom LW 6'7" 227 lbs
145. Colby Ambrosio C 5'9" 170 lbs
156. Daniil Chechelev 6'2" 183 lbs
2018: B+ (Wes Mucyk)
2019: B+
2020: B-
Savoie is probably my favorite pick here, of which Tommy had many. 16 picks to be exact. Carter’s hot start in Denver has seen him score at a goal per game clip. It’s early yet, but that’s a promising return on a 4th round pick. I’m not a fan of some of the reaches here or undrafted players, Andrae I think was taken too early and Ahcan will have a long way to go with other Dman in front of him in Boston.
Ian Gurtowski - Pittsburgh Penguins
33. Pius Suter C 5'11" 170 lbs
59. Alexei Melnichuk 6'1" 192 lbs
62. Otto Leskinen D 5'11" 187 lbs
77. Linus Sandin RW 6'1" 209 lbs
83. Brinson Pasichuk D 6'0" 185 lbs
93. Josh Maniscalco D 6'2" 205 lbs
96. Cole Coskey RW 6'0" 190 lbs
122. Alexander Daryin LW 5'11" 170 lbs
2018: B+
2019: C
2020: B+
I had the pleasure to watch Suter play junior in Guelph, and was quite surprised he went undrafted. I had him on my short list for my 4th round pick but figured he wouldn’t be there still. Melnichuk has looked good in the KHL so far and looks to be a good future option in San Jose. Coskey was overlooked last year but after putting up big numbers in the OHL I think this is good value here. Solid draft Ian.
Brandon Fushimi - Washington Capitals
15. Kaiden Guhle D 6'3" 187 lbs
50. Daniel Torgersson LW 6'3" 205 lbs
73. Alexander Nikishin D 6'4" 216 lbs
81. Justin Sourdif C 5'11" 172 lbs
112. Lukas Svejkovsky C/RW 5'10" 165 lbs
2018: B- (Jared Mitchell)
2019: B- (Jared Mitchell)
2020: C+
I think the Habs took Guhle too early in the NHL draft, and I think the same thing here. It’s not that he’s a bad prospect, I’m just curious to see how his offense will translate to the pro game. I do like the Torgersson pick here, He has good size and skates well. That’s good value at 50th. The rest of the draft is okay, but nobody drafted here jumps out as great value in their drafted spot.