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Post by SeaBass on Oct 16, 2020 9:26:10 GMT -5
Patrice Bergeron, wife Stephanie, and children Zack, Noah and Victoria are back in Boston full-time. They spent part of the offseason in Quebec, Bergeron’s home province. But COVID-19 cases there are rising.
Bergeron is working out off the ice and planning when to incorporate skating into his routine — a fluid decision given the uncertainty of the starting date of next season.
Whenever it begins, it will showcase a Bruins team that, under the hand of general manager Don Sweeney, has seen significant turnover. Craig Smith, a player Bergeron helped to bring in, will be a first-year Bruin. Torey Krug is gone. Krug might be followed by Zdeno Chara, which would leave Bergeron, in all likelihood, as the next captain.
The latter is a scenario, as Bergeron discloses below, that the alternate captain does not wish to consider.
How are you feeling?
I’m feeling good. Health-wise, I feel like the time off helped a lot. With the groin, it’s gotten better. Now I’m back working out and slowly ramping it up. I’m back in the gym. So far, so good.
Are you planning to get back on the ice?
That’s something I’ll discuss with Kim (Brandvold), our skills coach, and Kevin Neeld, our strength coach. Just to see what they think is best. We’re probably coming up on it somewhere in the near future. I don’t know. It’s hard because we don’t have an exact date. We’ll see. We’ll talk about it and see what’s best.
What has it been like to train for an unknown date?
It has been challenging. I’m not going to lie. We’re hockey players. We’re creatures of habit. We’re used to knowing when camp is, when the season starts. From there, you build up your schedule for your offseason training. It’s kind of the same thing as earlier in the pandemic before the playoffs. You just didn’t know. A lot of people were saying a few weeks. A month, maybe. It turned out to be three-and-a-half months. That’s definitely challenging. It’s something we’re trying to be aware of. We’re trying to base everything on the January start date, with training camp in mid-December. We’re hoping that’s going to stick. That’s what we’re shooting for right now and planning on. If it does change, we’ll make adjustments with offseason training as well.
No offseason repairs for you?
No, nothing.
So you didn’t feel like you had to keep up with your linemates and all arrive on crutches.
I always try to keep up with them. But no, not on that front.
What will it be like if you start the season without both of your linemates? (Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak both had surgery that could keep them out when the new season begins.)
It’s one of those things where you can’t really control what going to unfold out of all of this. I’ve got to focus on myself and being ready for camp in the shape I want to be in. I’m ready to help whoever I play with. We’ve always been handling this the same within this team and organization. It’s always next man up. Everyone doing their job. Management’s always done a good job of getting depth and really good players, up and coming, who are developing and pushing for a spot. We saw that in the playoffs with (Jack) Studnicka and so on. It’s no different. I couldn’t tell you who I’m going to play with. Maybe those guys will be quicker in their recovery. There’s too much unknown to speculate. In the end, I have to worry about what I can bring, not worry about who I’m going to play with. I’ll do the best I can to help. That’s what everyone needs to do and bring as well.
Maybe you’d end up playing with Craig Smith, who you helped to bring in. How did that call develop?
I’m glad it helped. Sweens gave me a call and mentioned that Craig had some questions. I was happy to help. Anytime I can do that, I can make myself available to have a discussion and conversations. It’s always flattering when you have guys like that who are interested in joining the group. You make sure those guys fit in. It’s having an open conversation on what it’s like to play in Boston and for the organization. What type of team we have and the type of players and character we have in the room. I mentioned that I can’t say enough about my time here in Boston, the players we have in this locker room and the bond we have. I shared that with him. It was just being honest. The goal of this wasn’t a sales pitch. I’m sure he gets enough of those. It was me being honest and telling it as I see it. That’s it. All of them, everyone in free agency, there’s so much on their plate and on their mind. I was just trying to be honest and not trying to push him either way. It was more his decision to make. It was, “This is how I see it, and it’s up to you.”
Have you made these calls before?
I have in the past. I’ve had discussions with a few free agents over the years. (David Backes) was one of them. I spoke to a lot of guys in the past that didn’t sign here also.
Do you enjoy it?
I like doing that. It’s always interesting to have those conversations. It’s nice to also get to know the person as well. On most of these calls, it’s guys I don’t usually know. It’s nice to have that conversation. You learn. It’s fun. I like it. I’ve always said I’m here to help. If there’s something they feel that can help, it can’t hurt. It can only help.
It’s a form of team-building. Is that something that interests you when your career is over?
I don’t want to close any doors. It’s not something I’m thinking about it or have thought about, to be honest. I like doing it as a player to help, to bond and to ultimately make the team better. We all have the same goal in mind. Beyond that, I’ve never thought about it. It seems like a lot of fun. But a lot of work. I have a lot of respect for Sweens and all the GMs around the league with everything they have.
You have Smith coming in, but Torey leaving. What did you think when you heard the news?
It’s always the same thing, especially when it’s a guy who’s been around for a while. You’re sad. You’re going to miss, first of all, the person. A lot of people are thinking, “Oh, a left-shot defenseman, a power-play guy,” all that stuff. I’m thinking more about the person and the friendship we’ve built. To lose that, that’s going to be hard. It’s no secret we’re going to miss him as a player and as a guy. That being said, it’s the business we’re in. It’s tough to control that. You have no control over that as a player. You trust management, Don, Cam (Neely) and the rest to go with their plan. You wish nothing but the best to Torey. We’ll keep in touch. Over nine years, that’s when you create a bond. Also with our families — our kids, his daughter.
It may not be just Torey. Who knows what will happen with Zdeno. But what it would be like to not have him on the ice, on the bench, in the room?
I haven’t really thought about it. I’m not going to until there’s been a decision made. I don’t want to speculate or even have those thoughts going through my mind. There’s lots of time. We’ll see what happens. He’s a great leader, a friend, someone I respect a lot. We’ll see. I think it’s too early for me to make those comments. It’s not there yet.
So if you reflect on losing to Tampa, having players come and go, how do you view where things stand with the team?
Every year, you have to look at it and analyze what happened. This past year, especially, was a lot different. The way we played the first 70 games and how we were improving as well was very promising. The bubble didn’t go the way we would have hoped for. It was a different setting. I don’t want to put too much emphasis on that. That being said, we have to learn, improve, get better and put everything in perspective to see what needs to improve. For us as a team, I’m positive. That’s how I look at it. Yes, there’s pieces that are moving around. It’s unfortunate. It’s the toughest part of this business, losing guys. But then other guys are coming in. It’s new opportunities for the younger guys, the up-and-coming guys that are now called upon to take the next step. You can’t count those guys out. It’s something we’ve tried to build here in Boston where those guys can thrive, come in and be part of something bigger than themselves. Hopefully we can do that this year. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world right now. We should appreciate that we can look forward to a season at some point, even though it’s different. I look at the positives.
In a normal offseason, players feel anticipation and excitement about the upcoming year. With all the uncertainty and change, how do you feel about next season?
I feel a little more at peace. I’m at ease with it after the playoffs. Before the playoffs, I didn’t really know what to think of it or how to handle it. It was so uncertain. There was so much unknown. I feel like now, it’s still not set in stone, but it feels like a better understanding and people are a little more realistic about January. Hopefully that is the case. You want to learn from what happened in the first shutdown. Hopefully you try to bring that this time around, be a little more even-keeled, take it as it goes and try not to overthink everything. It’s a different world we are in now. We have to support each other. That’s the biggest thing — to be there for one another and appreciate what we have and trying not to worry about all the unknown. I’ll worry about myself and my family. I’ll get myself ready with the information I have and go from there.
You make it sound like there were more ups and downs for you earlier.
It was just more that there was so much unknown and uncertainty in general. Not just about hockey. In general. Now, over the last few months, you get used to it. I’m sure you’d say the same thing. We’re starting to get used to everything and the new normalcy. You go with it and go about it with more ease.
So if you look at life, not just hockey, what goes through your mind? Life, work, family?
When you have kids, that’s when you start to think a little bit more about the future. It’s more for them, not necessarily for me and my wife. You make sure the future is bright and things are looking up. You want to make sure it’s a good world for them as well. That’s the way I’m thinking. I wouldn’t say it’s worry or anything like that. You see how things are and hope for the best. You make sure things get better and improve. I know it will. I’m really positive it will. It’s going to be behind us. We’ll learn from this whole experience.
How are your kids dealing with this? It seems like kids are resilient and good at adapting.
Yes, they’re very resilient. They adapt. They’re really good at that. I feel like my kids are no different. At first as parents, maybe there was a little that you didn’t how to handle it. Now that we’re more at peace with it … with kids, they read how you react as a parent. So you make sure you’re level-headed and don’t show too much emotion or stress. I feel like it flows with me the right way. I’m trying to do that. Hopefully it helps.
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Post by offwego on Oct 18, 2020 14:23:37 GMT -5
Patrice Bergeron, wife Stephanie, and children Zack, Noah and Victoria are back in Boston full-time. They spent part of the offseason in Quebec, Bergeron’s home province. But COVID-19 cases there are rising. Bergeron is working out off the ice and planning when to incorporate skating into his routine — a fluid decision given the uncertainty of the starting date of next season. Whenever it begins, it will showcase a Bruins team that, under the hand of general manager Don Sweeney, has seen significant turnover. Craig Smith, a player Bergeron helped to bring in, will be a first-year Bruin. Torey Krug is gone. Krug might be followed by Zdeno Chara, which would leave Bergeron, in all likelihood, as the next captain. The latter is a scenario, as Bergeron discloses below, that the alternate captain does not wish to consider. How are you feeling? I’m feeling good. Health-wise, I feel like the time off helped a lot. With the groin, it’s gotten better. Now I’m back working out and slowly ramping it up. I’m back in the gym. So far, so good. Are you planning to get back on the ice? That’s something I’ll discuss with Kim (Brandvold), our skills coach, and Kevin Neeld, our strength coach. Just to see what they think is best. We’re probably coming up on it somewhere in the near future. I don’t know. It’s hard because we don’t have an exact date. We’ll see. We’ll talk about it and see what’s best. What has it been like to train for an unknown date? It has been challenging. I’m not going to lie. We’re hockey players. We’re creatures of habit. We’re used to knowing when camp is, when the season starts. From there, you build up your schedule for your offseason training. It’s kind of the same thing as earlier in the pandemic before the playoffs. You just didn’t know. A lot of people were saying a few weeks. A month, maybe. It turned out to be three-and-a-half months. That’s definitely challenging. It’s something we’re trying to be aware of. We’re trying to base everything on the January start date, with training camp in mid-December. We’re hoping that’s going to stick. That’s what we’re shooting for right now and planning on. If it does change, we’ll make adjustments with offseason training as well. No offseason repairs for you? No, nothing. So you didn’t feel like you had to keep up with your linemates and all arrive on crutches. I always try to keep up with them. But no, not on that front. What will it be like if you start the season without both of your linemates? (Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak both had surgery that could keep them out when the new season begins.) It’s one of those things where you can’t really control what going to unfold out of all of this. I’ve got to focus on myself and being ready for camp in the shape I want to be in. I’m ready to help whoever I play with. We’ve always been handling this the same within this team and organization. It’s always next man up. Everyone doing their job. Management’s always done a good job of getting depth and really good players, up and coming, who are developing and pushing for a spot. We saw that in the playoffs with (Jack) Studnicka and so on. It’s no different. I couldn’t tell you who I’m going to play with. Maybe those guys will be quicker in their recovery. There’s too much unknown to speculate. In the end, I have to worry about what I can bring, not worry about who I’m going to play with. I’ll do the best I can to help. That’s what everyone needs to do and bring as well. Maybe you’d end up playing with Craig Smith, who you helped to bring in. How did that call develop? I’m glad it helped. Sweens gave me a call and mentioned that Craig had some questions. I was happy to help. Anytime I can do that, I can make myself available to have a discussion and conversations. It’s always flattering when you have guys like that who are interested in joining the group. You make sure those guys fit in. It’s having an open conversation on what it’s like to play in Boston and for the organization. What type of team we have and the type of players and character we have in the room. I mentioned that I can’t say enough about my time here in Boston, the players we have in this locker room and the bond we have. I shared that with him. It was just being honest. The goal of this wasn’t a sales pitch. I’m sure he gets enough of those. It was me being honest and telling it as I see it. That’s it. All of them, everyone in free agency, there’s so much on their plate and on their mind. I was just trying to be honest and not trying to push him either way. It was more his decision to make. It was, “This is how I see it, and it’s up to you.” Have you made these calls before? I have in the past. I’ve had discussions with a few free agents over the years. (David Backes) was one of them. I spoke to a lot of guys in the past that didn’t sign here also. Do you enjoy it? I like doing that. It’s always interesting to have those conversations. It’s nice to also get to know the person as well. On most of these calls, it’s guys I don’t usually know. It’s nice to have that conversation. You learn. It’s fun. I like it. I’ve always said I’m here to help. If there’s something they feel that can help, it can’t hurt. It can only help. It’s a form of team-building. Is that something that interests you when your career is over? I don’t want to close any doors. It’s not something I’m thinking about it or have thought about, to be honest. I like doing it as a player to help, to bond and to ultimately make the team better. We all have the same goal in mind. Beyond that, I’ve never thought about it. It seems like a lot of fun. But a lot of work. I have a lot of respect for Sweens and all the GMs around the league with everything they have. You have Smith coming in, but Torey leaving. What did you think when you heard the news? It’s always the same thing, especially when it’s a guy who’s been around for a while. You’re sad. You’re going to miss, first of all, the person. A lot of people are thinking, “Oh, a left-shot defenseman, a power-play guy,” all that stuff. I’m thinking more about the person and the friendship we’ve built. To lose that, that’s going to be hard. It’s no secret we’re going to miss him as a player and as a guy. That being said, it’s the business we’re in. It’s tough to control that. You have no control over that as a player. You trust management, Don, Cam (Neely) and the rest to go with their plan. You wish nothing but the best to Torey. We’ll keep in touch. Over nine years, that’s when you create a bond. Also with our families — our kids, his daughter. It may not be just Torey. Who knows what will happen with Zdeno. But what it would be like to not have him on the ice, on the bench, in the room? I haven’t really thought about it. I’m not going to until there’s been a decision made. I don’t want to speculate or even have those thoughts going through my mind. There’s lots of time. We’ll see what happens. He’s a great leader, a friend, someone I respect a lot. We’ll see. I think it’s too early for me to make those comments. It’s not there yet. So if you reflect on losing to Tampa, having players come and go, how do you view where things stand with the team? Every year, you have to look at it and analyze what happened. This past year, especially, was a lot different. The way we played the first 70 games and how we were improving as well was very promising. The bubble didn’t go the way we would have hoped for. It was a different setting. I don’t want to put too much emphasis on that. That being said, we have to learn, improve, get better and put everything in perspective to see what needs to improve. For us as a team, I’m positive. That’s how I look at it. Yes, there’s pieces that are moving around. It’s unfortunate. It’s the toughest part of this business, losing guys. But then other guys are coming in. It’s new opportunities for the younger guys, the up-and-coming guys that are now called upon to take the next step. You can’t count those guys out. It’s something we’ve tried to build here in Boston where those guys can thrive, come in and be part of something bigger than themselves. Hopefully we can do that this year. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world right now. We should appreciate that we can look forward to a season at some point, even though it’s different. I look at the positives. In a normal offseason, players feel anticipation and excitement about the upcoming year. With all the uncertainty and change, how do you feel about next season? I feel a little more at peace. I’m at ease with it after the playoffs. Before the playoffs, I didn’t really know what to think of it or how to handle it. It was so uncertain. There was so much unknown. I feel like now, it’s still not set in stone, but it feels like a better understanding and people are a little more realistic about January. Hopefully that is the case. You want to learn from what happened in the first shutdown. Hopefully you try to bring that this time around, be a little more even-keeled, take it as it goes and try not to overthink everything. It’s a different world we are in now. We have to support each other. That’s the biggest thing — to be there for one another and appreciate what we have and trying not to worry about all the unknown. I’ll worry about myself and my family. I’ll get myself ready with the information I have and go from there. You make it sound like there were more ups and downs for you earlier. It was just more that there was so much unknown and uncertainty in general. Not just about hockey. In general. Now, over the last few months, you get used to it. I’m sure you’d say the same thing. We’re starting to get used to everything and the new normalcy. You go with it and go about it with more ease. So if you look at life, not just hockey, what goes through your mind? Life, work, family? When you have kids, that’s when you start to think a little bit more about the future. It’s more for them, not necessarily for me and my wife. You make sure the future is bright and things are looking up. You want to make sure it’s a good world for them as well. That’s the way I’m thinking. I wouldn’t say it’s worry or anything like that. You see how things are and hope for the best. You make sure things get better and improve. I know it will. I’m really positive it will. It’s going to be behind us. We’ll learn from this whole experience. How are your kids dealing with this? It seems like kids are resilient and good at adapting. Yes, they’re very resilient. They adapt. They’re really good at that. I feel like my kids are no different. At first as parents, maybe there was a little that you didn’t how to handle it. Now that we’re more at peace with it … with kids, they read how you react as a parent. So you make sure you’re level-headed and don’t show too much emotion or stress. I feel like it flows with me the right way. I’m trying to do that. Hopefully it helps. 💛🖤💛🖤
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Post by SeaBass on Oct 20, 2020 8:51:20 GMT -5
With the 2020 NHL Draft concluded, it is time to update the NHL organizational rankings that ran in August and September.
Why are we doing a pre-draft version and a post-draft update? I wanted to have a complete look at every team’s young core before the major European leagues and the QMJHL restarted, and not have the daily moving parts impact the ranking.
Also, this is a unique opportunity to show readers how much one draft can — or cannot — impact the future of an NHL organization.
The criteria for players considered in this ranking changed this year. All players in an organization who were 22 years old or younger as of Sept. 15, 2020, regardless of how many NHL games they’ve played, along with the rest of the players in the pipeline, were included. Not included are: Skaters older than 22 as of Sept. 15, 2020, who have played 25 NHL games in a season or 50 career games; goalies with 10 games in a season or 25 in a career; and any player age 26 or older as of Sept. 15, 2020.
Therefore, this updated version of the 2020-21 organizational rankings includes all players from the 2016 to 2020 NHL drafts who were first-year eligible at their draft.
In addition to ranking all the organizations from 1 to 31 based on this group of players, I’ve updated the ranking for each team’s players who are projected as legit NHLers or better.
New York Rangers Pre-draft org ranking: No. 1 2020 draft grade: A+
I had the Rangers as the No. 1 organization pre-draft, and with a No. 1 pick, they added the most talent of any team in the draft. Safe to say, this one shouldn’t shock anyone. This is an organization that is deep in young talent, both in terms of players who can play high in the lineup and provide depth. This is a team that is now positioned to potentially win in the future.
1. Alexis Lafreniere, LW 2. Kaapo Kakko, RW 3. Adam Fox, D 4. Filip Chytil, C 5. Nils Lundkvist, D 6. Vitaly Kravtsov, RW 7. Brett Howden, C 8. Julien Gauthier, RW 9. Braden Schneider, D 10. K’Andre Miller, D 11. Matthew Robertson, D 12. Morgan Barron, C 13. Will Cuylle, LW 14. Zac Jones, D 15. Ryan Lindgren, D 16. Dylan Garand, G
New Jersey Devils Pre-draft org ranking: No. 2 2020 NHL Draft grade: A-
The Devils, which already had two former No. 1 picks, had three first-round selections in the 2020 NHL Draft, including the No. 7 pick that was used on Alexander Holtz. This pool looks to have the pieces to fill out the upper half of a lineup. They will need the important players like Holtz, and especially Hughes and Hischier, to realize their potential. But this is starting to look like an organization that can turn things around, even if it will likely be slow.
1. Jack Hughes, C 2. Nico Hischier, C 3. Alexander Holtz, RW 4. Ty Smith, D 5. Dawson Mercer, C 6. Jesper Bratt, RW 7. Nolan Foote, LW 8. Kevin Bahl, D 9. Shakir Mukhamadullin, D 10. Tyce Thompson, RW 11. Jesper Boqvist, LW 12. Michael McLeod, C 13. Janne Kuokkanen, C 14. Reilly Walsh, D 15. Graeme Clarke, RW 16. Jaromir Pytlik, C
Ottawa Senators Pre-draft org ranking: No. 7 2020 NHL Draft grade: A
There’s been some tough times in Ottawa in recent years, for various years, but there is a cavalry coming to help. The Belleville Senators and the 2020 draftees aren’t enough, even with Brady Tkachuk, to become a good NHL team. But there are enough pieces that you can start to see it come together. I think there are better days ahead for this organization.
1. Brady Tkachuk, LW 2. Tim Stutzle, LW 3. Josh Norris, C 4. Alex Formenton, LW 5. Drake Batherson, RW 6. Jake Sanderson, D 7. Erik Brannstrom, D 8. Ridly Greig, C 9. Logan Brown, C 10. Shane Pinto, C 11. Jacob Bernard-Docker, D 12. Egor Sokolov, LW 13. Roby Jarventie, LW 14. Lassi Thomson, D
Toronto Maple Leafs Pre-draft org ranking: No. 4 2020 NHL Draft grade: B
Auston Matthews is the reason why Toronto is so highly ranked, as he is one of the best players in the league. I’ve liked Toronto’s work at the draft, particularly the last two drafts. There are players coming who can complement the strong core in place in various spots of the lineup.
1. Auston Matthews, C 2. Nick Robertson, LW 3. Rasmus Sandin, D 4. Rodion Amirov, LW 5. Timothy Liljegren, D 6. Roni Hirvonen, C 7. Topi Niemela, D 8. Mikhail Abramov, C 9. Filip Hallander, LW 10. Nick Abruzzese, C
Los Angeles Kings Pre-draft org ranking: No. 13 2020 NHL Draft grade: A
By adding Quinton Byfield, the Kings got the most important piece in a rebuild: the potential star No. 1 center. This significantly changes their outlook. Now you can start looking at their great quality depth of young players and asking where the pieces plugin. They still need more pieces, particularly impact players who play right at the top of a lineup and ideally a defenseman or two in that range.
1. Quinton Byfield, C 2. Samuel Fagemo, LW 3. Arthur Kaliyev, RW 4. Alex Turcotte, C 5. Gabriel Vilardi, C 6. Tobias Bjornfot, D 7. Rasmus Kupari, C 8. Tyler Madden, C 9. Blake Lizotte, C 10. Akil Thomas, C 11. Kasper Simontaival, RW 12. Helge Grans, D 13. Jaret Anderson-Dolan, C 14. Martin Chromiak, RW 15. Jordan Spence, D (upgraded to legit NHL prospect)
Carolina Hurricanes Pre-draft org ranking: No. 6 2020 NHL Draft grade: B+
Carolina in recent drafts targeted a lot of the high-end skill players and has a system full of slow, small or otherwise divisive players. But almost all of them have skill and make a lot of plays. This is a system that should produce an entertaining style of play with a lot of offense. Not everyone in the league is sold the way the Hurricanes are building is going to work, but they have acquired a lot of players I believe in.
1. Andrei Svechnikov, RW 2. Martin Necas, RW 3. Seth Jarvis, C/RW 4. Jake Bean, D 5. Ryan Suzuki, C 6. Noel Gunler, RW 7. Dominik Bokk, RW 8. Vasili Ponomaryov, C 9. Morgan Geekie, C 10. Jamieson Rees, C 11. Patrik Puistola, LW 12. Anttoni Honka, D 13. Joey Keane, D 14. David Cotton, LW 15. Alexander Pashin, RW 16. Jack Drury, C 17. Zion Nybeck, LW
Buffalo Sabres Pre-draft org ranking: No. 5 2020 NHL Draft grade: B-
The system in Buffalo isn’t exceptionally deep, but you look at the top and there are very strong pieces, particularly Rasmus Dahlin. He has the skill to take over a game and I think will progress into one of the most dynamic players in the league. I disagreed with the Jack Quinn pick at No. 8. Time will tell if I was right or wrong on that one.
1. Rasmus Dahlin, D 2. Dylan Cozens, C 3. Henri Jokiharju, D 4. Casey Mittelstadt, C 5. Jack Quinn, RW 6. Tage Thompson, RW 7. John-Jason Peterka, RW 8. Ryan Johnson, D 9. Oskari Laaksonen, D 10. Mattias Samuelsson, D
Vancouver Canucks Pre-draft org ranking: No. 3 2020 NHL Draft grade: D
Vancouver’s top few players are a tremendous group of talent, with several star-caliber talents and good players behind them — hence the pre-draft No. 3 rating. Those ratings remain true, but they had very few picks and added little at the 2020 draft.
1. Elias Pettersson, C 2. Quinn Hughes, D 3. Vasili Podkolzin, RW 4. Nils Hoglander, LW 5. Brogan Rafferty, D 6. Olli Juolevi, D 7. Zack MacEwen, RW 8. Jett Woo, D 9. Jack Rathbone, D 10. Michael DiPietro, G
Colorado Avalanche Pre-draft org ranking: No. 8 2020 NHL Draft grade: B-
Colorado has defensemen. “That’s not a puck-moving group, that’s a puck-owning group,” said one NHL scout about the collection of young defensemen in the Avs organization. Alex Newhook is very promising, among others, but overall the talent at forward doesn’t stand out at nearly the same level.
1. Cale Makar, D 2. Bowen Byram, D 3. Samuel Girard, D 4. Alex Newhook, C 5. Justin Barron, D 6. Tyson Jost, C 7. Justus Annunen, G 8. Martin Kaut, RW 9. Jean-Luc Foudy, C 10. Connor Timmins, D 11. Logan O’Connor, RW 12. Shane Bowers, C 13. Colby Ambrosio, C
Calgary Flames Pre-draft org ranking: No. 12 2020 NHL Draft grade: B
Calgary has been efficient in recent years at the draft, making good use of its picks and signings. The 2016 draft aged very well with how good Matthew Tkachuk and Dillon Dube became. I’m also very high on the Flames’ 2020 top pick Connor Zary.
1. Matthew Tkachuk, LW 2. Connor Zary, C 3. Dillon Dube, LW 4. Juuso Valimaki, D 5. Mathias Emilio Pettersen, C 6. Jeremie Poirier, D 7. Jakob Pelletier, LW 8. Connor Mackey, D 9. Glenn Gawdin, C 10. Ryan Francis, RW 11. Yan Kuznetsov, D 12. Ilya Nikolaev, C
Montreal Canadiens Pre-draft org ranking: No. 9 2020 NHL Draft grade: B-
The two young centers in the Habs system lead the way here. What’s a common trend throughout their organization is value. Other than Kotkaniemi, who was a No. 3 pick, so many of the players listed here are projected higher than the slot they were selected.
1. Nick Suzuki, C 2. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C 3. Alexander Romanov, D 4. Cole Caufield, RW 5. Victor Mete, D 6. Ryan Poehling, C 7. Mattias Norlinder, D 8. Jordan Harris, D 9. Kaiden Guhle, D 10. Cayden Primeau, G 11. Jan Mysak, C 12. Sean Farrell, C 13. Josh Brook, D
Philadelphia Flyers Pre-draft org ranking: No. 10 2020 NHL Draft grade: C
A lot of the Flyers picks have aged well, as they’ve been efficient in the draft and got a tremendous free agent signing in Egor Zamula. How 2017 No. 2 pick Nolan Patrick ultimately pans out could swing the outcome of their future significantly.
1. Joel Farabee, LW 2. Carter Hart, G 3. Nolan Patrick, C 4. Morgan Frost, C 5. Egor Zamula, D 6. Cam York, D 7. Bobby Brink, RW 8. Ronnie Attard, D 9. Wade Allison, RW 10. Tyson Foerster, RW 11. Emil Andrae, D 12. Connor McClennon, RW 13. Noah Cates, LW 14. Isaac Ratcliffe, LW 15. Tanner Laczynski, C
Detroit Red Wings Pre-draft org ranking: No. 18 2020 NHL Draft grade: A-
Things are getting better in Detroit. There’s still a lot of work to do given the Red Wings won 17 games last season. In terms of young players, they still need a lot more, particularly of the top of the lineup variety, but things are moving in the right direction. Their No. 4 pick Lucas Raymond has the potential to be one of the keys to ending the tough times.
1. Lucas Raymond, LW 2. Moritz Seider, D 3. Filip Hronek, D 4. Filip Zadina, RW 5. Joe Veleno, C 6. Jared McIsaac, D 7. Michael Rasmussen, C 8. William Wallinder, D 9. Dennis Cholowski, D 10. Jonatan Berggren, RW 11. Elmer Soderblom, RW 12. Robert Mastrosimone, LW 13. Donovan Sebrango, D 14. Albert Johansson, D
Minnesota Wild Pre-draft org ranking: No. 15 2020 NHL Draft grade: B+
I liked Minnesota’s 2020 draft. The Wild added high-end talent in Marco Rossi and depth on Day 2, but they also moved out Luke Kunin, who is a good NHL player, so their shift in the rankings had a bit of a tradeoff.
1. Kirill Kaprizov, RW 2. Marco Rossi, C 3. Matthew Boldy, LW 4. Calen Addison, D 5. Alexander Khovanov, C 6. Adam Beckman, LW 7. Marat Khusnutdinov, C 8. Ryan O’Rourke, D 9. Nico Sturm, C 10. Sam Hentges, C 11. Daemon Hunt, D 12. Vladislav Firstov, LW 13. Pavel Novak, RW
Winnipeg Jets Pre-draft org ranking: No. 16 2020 NHL Draft grade: B+
This isn’t a particularly long list of names, but you start at the top with Patrik Laine and Cole Perfetti. Both have elite skill and, in particular, Laine has the ability to score at a very high level in the NHL. If Perfetti hits, he could be a significant contributor to keeping the window open in Winnipeg.
1. Patrik Laine, RW 2. Cole Perfetti, C 3. Dylan Samberg, D 4. Kristian Vesalainen, LW 5. Ville Heinola, D 6. David Gustafsson, C 7. Declan Chisholm, D 8. Daniel Torgersson, LW 9. Anton Johannesson, D
Arizona Coyotes Pre-draft org ranking: No. 11 2020 NHL Draft grade: D
I’ve liked a lot of the work Arizona did in recent years at the draft, but in 2020 it had no pick until the fourth round, which affects the depth of an organization. It needs someone like Barret Hayton to maximize his potential, otherwise the path to winning isn’t entirely clear.
1. Barret Hayton, C 2. Jakob Chychrun, D 3. Clayton Keller, LW 4. Victor Soderstrom, D 5. Jan Jenik, RW 6. Kyle Capobianco, D 7. Matias Maccelli, LW 8. Ivan Prosvetov, G 9. Michael Callahan, D 10. John Farinacci, C
Chicago Blackhawks Pre-draft org ranking: No. 14 2020 NHL Draft grade: C+
Chicago has some good, if not very good, young players on the team or on the way. The Blackhawks need more and look to be committed to adding more. If Kirby Dach becomes everything he possibly could be, this could change the trajectory of the franchise.
1. Kirby Dach, C 2. Alex DeBrincat, RW 3. Adam Boqvist, D 4. Lukas Reichel, LW 5. Alexander Nylander, LW 6. Ian Mitchell, D 7. Alec Regula, D 8. Evan Barratt, C 9. Wyatt Kalynuk, D 10. Michal Teply, LW 11. Drew Commesso, G
Anaheim Ducks Pre-draft org ranking: No. 21 2020 NHL Draft grade: B+
Anaheim had two straight years with a top-10 pick and has begun the steady process of rebuilding. The Ducks have some good players, but they will either need someone like Trevor Zegras to really pan out or get a pick at the top of the draft to give this young core a true foundation to build around.
1. Trevor Zegras, C 2. Jamie Drysdale, D 3. Sam Steel, C 4. Maxime Comtois, LW 5. Jacob Perreault, RW 6. Max Jones, LW 7. Sam Colangelo, RW 8. Josh Mahura, D 9. Lukas Dostal, G 10. Benoit-Olivier Groulx, C 11. Brayden Tracey, LW
Dallas Stars Pre-draft org ranking: No. 17 2020 NHL Draft grade: C
Dallas is led by one of the best young players in the league in Miro Heiskanen. I liked that the Stars added Mavrik Bourque at No. 30 in the draft, but they didn’t pick again until No. 123, so it limited how much they could add to a system that isn’t overly deep. Thomas Harley has a lot of potential, and they will need him to hit.
1. Miro Heiskanen, D 2. Thomas Harley, D 3. Mavrik Bourque, C 4. Ty Dellandrea, C 5. Jason Robertson, LW 6. Jake Oettinger, G 7. Joel Kiviranta, LW (upgraded to legit NHL prospect) 8. Joel L’Esperance, C 9. Riley Tufte, LW
Florida Panthers Pre-draft org ranking: No. 22 2020 NHL Draft grade: B
Florida’s in a tough spot. The Panthers have a fine roster, but it’s not a top one. They have some good players on the way, but I can’t say it’s a top pipeline either. This is an organization that has felt like it’s been building forever, and I’m not sure what the path to becoming a contender is other than more building and patience.
1. Grigori Denisenko, LW 2. Owen Tippett, RW 3. Spencer Knight, G 4. Anton Lundell, C 5. Serron Noel, RW 6. Justin Sourdif, RW 7. Logan Hutsko, RW 8. Ty Smilanic, C
Columbus Blue Jackets Pre-draft org ranking: No. 19 2020 NHL Draft grade: C-
Columbus hasn’t had a lot of draft capital in recent years, but it’s been very efficient, especially in Europe where the Blue Jackets’ peers in the scouting world have taken notice of their work. They are led by Pierre-Luc Dubois, who has lived up to their expectations.
1. Pierre-Luc Dubois, C 2. Kirill Marchenko, LW 3. Alexandre Texier, LW 4. Liam Foudy, C 5. Emil Bemstrom, RW 6. Dmitri Voronkov, C 7. Daniil Tarasov, G 8. Yegor Chinakhov, RW
St. Louis Blues Pre-draft org ranking: No. 20 2020 NHL Draft grade: C-
The Blues have traded picks and prospects in recent years, so I think this is a decent spot for them with all things considered. Robert Thomas leads the way as one of the better young centers in the league with a Stanley Cup already to his name. They’ve had some later picks they have developed very well, such as Scott Perunovich and Joel Hofer.
1. Robert Thomas, C 2. Jordan Kyrou, RW 3. Scott Perunovich, D 4. Klim Kostin, RW 5. Joel Hofer, G 6. Hugh McGing, C 7. Jake Neighbours, LW 8. Niko Mikkola, D 9. Nikita Alexandrov, C
Nashville Predators Pre-draft org ranking: No. 29 2020 NHL Draft grade: B
Nashville added a top-end talent in Yaroslav Askarov on draft day and traded for Luke Kunin. There’s still more work to do to get excited about the pipeline, but Nashville is in a better spot now in terms of its future than it was a few months ago.
1. Yaroslav Askarov, G 2. Eeli Tolvanen, LW 3. Dante Fabbro, D 4. Philip Tomasino, C 5. Luke Kunin, C 6. Yakov Trenin, LW 7. Egor Afanaseyev, LW 8. Luke Evangelista, RW 9. David Farrance, D
Edmonton Oilers Pre-draft org ranking: No. 26 2020 NHL Draft grade: C+
Edmonton picked a good player at No. 14 in Dylan Holloway but didn’t pick again until No. 100, thus it couldn’t help the so-so depth of its pipeline. There is talent at the top, though. Players like Holloway, Philip Broberg, Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto and Evan Bouchard project to play significant roles on an NHL team, although I’m not sure any are true top of the lineup drivers. Broberg and Puljujarvi have the most potential of this group.
1. Philip Broberg, D 2. Jesse Puljujarvi, RW 3. Dylan Holloway, C 4. Kailer Yamamoto, RW 5. Evan Bouchard, D 6. Raphael Lavoie, RW 7. Ryan McLeod, C 8. Ilya Konovalov, G
Vegas Golden Knights Pre-draft org ranking: No. 24 2020 NHL Draft grade: C
Vegas is arguably unfairly punished by this exercise given they’ve only had four drafts in franchise history and I’m evaluating a five-year span. Given the success in their franchise’s short time, though, I don’t sense a lot of sympathy coming from rival fans! The Golden Knights have some good prospects coming. I don’t know if any of them will be great, but there is upper half of the lineup talent in the system. We’ll see when that materializes on the actual roster.
1. Cody Glass, C 2. Nicolas Hague, D 3. Brendan Brisson, C 4. Peyton Krebs, C 5. Jack Dugan, RW 6. Ivan Morozov, C 7. Lucas Elvenes, RW 8. Lukas Cormier, D 9. Kaedan Korczak, D 10. Pavel Dorofeyev, RW 11. Peter Diliberatore, D
Tampa Bay Lightning Pre-draft org ranking: No. 25 2020 NHL Draft grade: C+
The reigning champs are led by Mikhail Sergachev, who is emerging as a top young defenseman in the league. But this is an organization that has only made or kept one of its first-round picks in the past five years. All things considered, the Lightning’s depth is solid given the draft picks they’ve had, but it’s hard to see the pieces here — other than Sergachev and maybe Barre-Boulet — to help keep the window open. Tampa always seems to find a player, though.
1. Mikhail Sergachev, D 2. Alex Barre-Boulet, LW 3. Maxim Groshev, RW 4. Cal Foote, D 5. Alexander Volkov, LW 6. Hugo Alnefelt, G 7. Sammy Walker, C 8. Jack Finley, C
San Jose Sharks Pre-draft org ranking: No. 28 2020 NHL Draft grade: B-
I think the Sharks have done a good job at the draft the past few years given the picks they’ve had. But you look at the roster and the state of the system, and it’s clear there is a lack of young impact-caliber talent on the way to help. This team has done its work getting value on its picks, but it needs high picks and high-quality prospects.
1. Ryan Merkley, D 2. John Leonard, LW 3. Mario Ferraro, D 4. Ozzy Wiesblatt, RW 5. Thomas Bordeleau, C 6. Daniil Gushchin, LW 7. Alexander Chmelevski, C 8. Joachim Blichfeld, RW 9. Artemi Kniazev, D 10. Brinson Pasichnuk, D
Boston Bruins Pre-draft org ranking: No. 23 2020 NHL Draft grade: D
Charlie McAvoy is a great NHL player and a go-to guy on a top team. Jack Studnicka is a very good young player, too. After that there are nice players in the Bruins system but there isn’t a ton of quality depth. I wasn’t a huge fan of what they did at the 2020 draft either, even after taking second looks recently at some of the USHL players they used high picks on.
1. Charlie McAvoy, D 2. Jack Studnicka, C 3. John Beecher, C 4. Trent Frederic, C 5. Daniel Vladar, G 6. Jakub Lauko, LW 7. Jack Ahcan, D
New York Islanders Pre-draft org ranking: No. 27 2020 NHL Draft grade: D
The Islanders had playoff success this year, which provides some optimism for the direction of the organization. Noah Dobson should progress into a good player for them shortly. And while they have some other pieces, I don’t see a ton of top young players on the way to help. Them not picking until No. 90 this season didn’t help their depth.
1. Noah Dobson, D 2. Oliver Wahlstrom, RW 3. Ilya Sorokin, G 4. Kieffer Bellows, LW 5. Bode Wilde, D 6. Simon Holmstrom, RW
Washington Capitals Pre-draft org ranking: No. 31 2020 NHL Draft grade: B-
The Capitals haven’t had a ton of picks in recent years. Some of their high picks have done well, some not as well. I like the swing they took in the 2020 draft on Hendrix Lapierre. I think that bet could provide value if he stays healthy.
1. Connor McMichael, C 2. Hendrix Lapierre, C 3. Martin Fehervary, D 4. Alexei Protas, C 5. Alexander Alexeyev, D
Pittsburgh Penguins Pre-draft org ranking: No. 30 2020 NHL Draft grade: C-
The Penguins for years have been trading away picks and prospects to help extend their contending window. I think there are some players in this system who will be NHL players and will arguably help them win games. I don’t see a ton of that. I’ve said that before, we’ll see if they can make some magic happen again.1. Samuel Poulin, RW 2. Nathan Legare, RW 3. Pierre-Olivier Joseph, D 4. Joel Blomqvist, G 5. Drew O’Connor, LW
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