Yes Yes Y’all!! I’m back in the saddle again…The Electric Cowboy, Kosmic Burrito himself. It’s been a minute, I had a short little hiatus, but that’s expected when your boss pays you in hallucinogens! Spiritual journey is an understatement, we’ll leave it at that haha..
Alright, so let’s get diggy-down to business ladies and jiggy-gents. I’m going to break down the Top 10 NHL Draft Prospects of 2016, in a series of posts. So, without further ado…I give you the #10 prospect:
Alexander Nylander is a 6’ 0” 176lb skilled forward that is currently playing for OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads. Nylander is actually on loan from Rogle BK of the Hockey Allsvenskan (2nd tier of hockey in Sweden). As most of you know, Nylander is the son of former NHL’er Michael Nylander, and he is also the brother to William Nylander, who is currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although Alexander has represented Sweden on numerous occasions, he was actually born in Calgary while his father Michael was a member of the Flames. Speaking of the whole father-son connection, daddy also happens too be an Assistant Coach for Mississauga. With his big brother in neighbouring Toronto, and his Dad behind the bench, it’s definitely a family affair for the Nylander’s. Alexander is a highly skilled, offensive forward, who flourishes in the opposition’s end of the rink.
Nylander has excellent vision, sick hands and a knack for finding seams in the offensive zone. – THN’s Ryan Kennedy (source)
Nylander should be considered one of the draft’s best goal scorers, but his ability to thread the needle and play selfless hockey makes him one of the few two-pronged threats available for 2016. – Steve Kournianos (source)
Alexander is a dynamic skating offensive catalyst that just produces points. His skating can go from effortless to shifty as he has the ability to use his edges to deke or juke through traffic with ease. Possesses soft hands and very creative puck skills plus the ability to make his teammates better with some jaw dropping passes. He is not a one trick pony however as he can also finish off plays. Top line NHL potential. – futureconsiderations.ca (source)
NHL Comparable(s): His brother William Nylander, Jonathan Drouin, Johnny Gaudreau.
Why would this player be on the Edmonton Oilers Draft List? I’m not 100% sure that Alexander would even be considered by the Oilers to be honest. Maybe only for the sake of being used in a trade, as the Oilers are already rich in small-ish, skilled forwards.
BLH’s comment – IF the Oilers traded down and lost out on the big three defencemen (Chychrun, Juolevi, and Sergachev), adding some high end talent to their system wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world as it lacks even a lick of elite scoring and playmaking. These Nylander boys are very different from the little skillers the Oilers have now.
Stay tuned folks, as I break down the top ten draft prospects and introduce them to the BLH Universe.
Today Brayden Sullivan (@sullydraftgeek) blesses us with his 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Awards for MVP, Best Forward, Best Defenceman, Best Goaltender, and Best 2017 Draft Eligible!
MVP: Tyler Benson (Runners up: Michael McLeod, Jacob Cederholm)
Tyler Benson
The current Vancouver Giant was a beast throughout the tournament for Canada. He finished
the tournament tied for 3rd in scoring with 6 points in 5 games (2 Goals, 4 Assists) and with the game winning goal in the gold medal game. He beats out his team mate Michael McLeod for this award because he was much more consistent then McLeod was and much more utilized/relied on.Another part that helped him was that he didn’t take a single penalty the whole tournament and drew a few penalties that helped his team win.
The thing he brought most to Canada was his playmaking abilities while still being somewhat physical, as he was a player who won a lot of his battles in the corner and always found the open man. As a 2016 draft eligible, Tyler is ranked very high as he currently sits ranked at 7th overall by Future Considerations and 14th by DraftGeek. It will be interesting to see how Tyler plays this year in Vancouver, under a new coach, and how he will be able to maintain his draft stock on a weaker team in the WHL.
Top Forward: Alexander Nylander
(Runner up: Sam Steel, Nikita Popugaev)
Alexander Nylander: Better than William?
Alexander Nylander’s current CHL rights are owned by the Mississauga Steelheads, as they took him 12th overall in the 2015 CHL import draft. His USHL rights are owned by Dubuque Fighting Saints. I predict that he will commit to Mississauga and have a great year playing alongside Canadian, Michael McLeod.
Going into the tournament Nylander was a player that everyone had their eyes on and was someone who everyone knew would play a lot for Sweden. He always seemed to be on the ice for Sweden and was easily one of the most skilled players in this tournament. He was a very quick and creative player throughout the tournament and he always showed that he wanted the puck on his stick. As the tournament progressed his skill did not decline but his shot started to become more of a weapon and he ended his tournament by scoring a great goal on a shot in slot that went over the shoulder of the Canadian goalie in the gold medal game.
Going into his draft year I hope that Nylander chooses the right team to commit to and gets the attention throughout the year that he deserves.
Top Defenseman: Jacob Cederholm
(Runner Up: Kale Clague, Libor Hajek, Markus Niemelainen)
Jacob Cederholm
The 6’3 Swedish defenseman was a wall for his national team, he was heavily relied upon and was by far the top defenseman in this tournament.
Cederholm is a big strong two way defenseman who is very good defensively but also brings high end puck moving skills. He possesses a very long stride which allows him to get to pucks first before using his body. He was someone who played crucial minutes for the Swedish side. He also came on as a leader through the tournament and took on the responsibility of captain. Jacob Cederholm beats out 3 high scoring blueliners to this award because of the way that he was relied upon and how he always rose to the occasion.
For the 2016 draft eligible the giant Swede is ranked 17th on DraftGeek’s new draft rankings, he should suit up this season with HV71 in the SHL but if not he will be a dominant force on their J20 team.
Top Goalie: Severi Isokangas (Runner Up: Vladislav Sukhachev, Filip Gustavsson)
Severi Isokangas
The reason Isokangas beats out all goalies to this award is because how he makes himself look big in his net and how calm he looked at all times.
He finished the tournament with a 1.77 GAA and a .920 SVG % through 4 games and put himself 4th in goalie statistics. He’s a 6’1 goalie who is currently committed to Karpat in the Finnish league and will most likely play with their U20 team once again. Although Finland did not take home a medal in this tournament he was the true reason why they finished on top of group B and the reason why they made it to those semi-final games.
Isokangas is currently ranked 2nd amongst all goalies going into the 2016 draft by DraftGeek, right behind Sweden’s goaltender Filip Gustavsson. Through the 2015-2016 year it will be fun to see Severi playing up and down the Karpat junior system, looking for every starting opportunity he can get with the team as a 17 year old.
The final award goes to Nico Hischier as the top 2017 draft eligible through this tournament. As one of only a few 1999’s in this tournament, Hischier surpassed all expectations set and was by far the best player for a 7th place Switzerland side.
He finished the tournament tied for 3rd in scoring with 6 points in 4 games (3 goals; 3 assists), and was far and away one of the best forwards in this tournament. A strong playmaker who also possess some two way in his game, as he is always the deepest forward in his own zone. His skating was much better than anyone else’s on his team and playmaking abilities were heavily utilized by the Swiss. He was the most played player on his team and was always on the ice in the last 5 minutes, regardless of the score.
He beats out two of the top 5 2017 draft eligible, Canadian Nolan Patrick and American Kailer Yamamoto because of how he dominant he was on a 7th place team and how he always stood out in the games he played in. It will be good to see if Nico makes the switch over to NA hockey in the coming years and if he can push to be a top pick in the 2017 draft.
I wonder if any of these guys will be wearing an Edmonton Oilers jersey someday? Benson is a local boy but I’d be more than disappointed if Edmonton was in a position to draft him next summer.
Big thanks to Brayden Sulluvan for working his ass off to bring us coverage from the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. It’s been a real pleasure working with him and reading his posts! So I urge you to head over to DraftGeek.ca for all your NHL draft information. I know Brennen and Brayden and they are top guys who know their stuff when it comes to the draft! Follow them on Twitter too @draftgeekDOTcaand @sullydraftgeek.
And don’t forget to check out Jack Gruninger‘s Season Primer series. He’s up to Colorardo now and all we’ve gotten is rave reviews regarding the team previews! You don’t want to skip these ones! Check out his latest here!
After what was a great tournament that featured many highly skilled players and future NHL players the final day has come upon the Ivan Hlinka memorial tournament. Let’s recap what was the days efforts.
The first game of the day was the Bronze medal game between Russia and Finland where Russia went into the 3rd period down 3-1 but Finland collapsed in a major way. 2 goals from Nikita Popugaev and another from Artur Kayumov gifted Russia the Bronze.
The final most important game remaining was between Sweden and Canada. All it too was 4 goals in 17 minutes to sink the Swedes. Canada won the game 7-3 in what was their 8th straight gold medal at this tournament and 20th win in 25 years of the tournament.
If you’re interested in watching the game, I’ve included it at the bottom of the post for your viewing pleasure.
With all that in the books the final standings for the 2015 Ivan Hlinka memorial were as followed:
Canada
Sweden
Russia
Finland
USA
Czech Republic (host)
Switzerland
Slovakia (co-host)
After some very impressive showings throughout all of the Hlinka Memorial here are the players who stood out to me today:
Nikita Popugaev (Russia): Another skilled forward to add to a Russia empire filled with them. Nikita recently noted that he will not be showing up to the Moose Jaw Warriors training camp effectively ending any chances of him playing in the WHL this season. With all that aside Popugaev is a skilled forward who possesses a blistering shot and soft hands that all add up into to make a helluva pure goal scorer. Popugaev finished the tournament tied for 3rd in points with 6 in 5 games (3 goals 3 assists).
An aspect that Nikita showed today that caught my eye was his ability to make tape to tape passes through defenders with ease. As a 2016 NHL draft eligible he is going to have a lot of eyes on him and will most likely have a lot of controversy as the Russian factor still exists and he is small in stature.
In my opinion I would slot Popugaev somewhere in the first 2 rounds which may be high, but he played exceptional through the whole tournament and has potential to be a WJC threat in years to come ala Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Alexander Nylander (Sweden): He was crucial in today’s gold medal game as he was always on the ice, and scored the second goal for Sweden off of a wicked shot over the shoulder of Dylan Wells. He finished the tournament with 6 point in 5 games and was finished tied for 3rd and was one of the top European players.
Since he was drafted 12th overall in the CHL import draft in 2015, the Mississauga Steelheads are hopeful to see him suit up with them the coming season and play alongside Gold medal game opponent Michael McLeod. Talk about a 1-2 punch!
As the brother of former top 10 draft pick William Nylander, you could go on and say he is a mirror image of his elder brother when it comes to playing style. He brings along a very creative player who always finds a way to get the puck on his stick. Although he may not go as high as his brother did, he will still be a top prospect to any team he goes to. Depending on where in the draft he goes, he could be a steal.
Pierre-Luc Dubois (Canada): The current Cape Breton Screaming Eagle finished off an amazing tournament with a solid 3 point effort and was awarded player of the game in a 7-3 win over Sweden.
Pierre is a slick and shifty forward who can be a force on any power play unit. His skating stance is quite wide but he still able to avoid hits and uses that stance to protect the puck exceptionally well.
A couple of items I liked about his game was how he was chirpy at times and how he liked to get under the skin of opponents after the whistle. The other side I liked was his ability to pick pocket players before quickly turning up the ice.
Another potential top 20 pick who is someone to look for the coming season. I expect him to be paired on a line with Detroit Red Wing’s first round pick Evgeni Svechnikov this upcoming season.
Samuel Girard (Canada): The 5’10 defenseman who currently plays for Shawinigan in the QMJHL had a great tournament as he put up 3 points in 5 games to lead the Canadian defense in points.
A small two way defender who has a lot of offensive upside but doesn’t get enough credit for the defensive side of his game. He’s a very reliable defenseman who works hard defensively and uses his stick very well to break up the passing lanes and to separate the opponents from the puck.
He recently put up 43 points in 64 games, and was given QMJHL rookie of the year amongst defensemen. Going into his draft year I expect Samuel to try and bulk up as he only weighs 161lbs, he should also work towards being more physical. Personally I thought he was one of the top 2 defenseman on Team Canada.
Now that the tournament has wrapped up and all the medals have been handed out, I have to say THANK YOU! to everyone who read my work the past 5 days. I have tried my best to scout all players and to bring the ones that popped out to me. Tomorrow will be my last post on the tournament as I will be sharing my tournament MVP, best defenceman, etc.
Huge thanks to Beer League Heroes for having me guest write for him and I look forward to helping out again in the future. For any questions or if you want NHL draft news and rankings you can follow me @sullydraftgeek or you can find my scouting services at draftgeek.ca .
With the first day of the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup Tournament in the books, there was plenty of great action across the day starting with Finland’s 5-1 beat down on the Americans, followed by the 4-3 nail biter between a big Swedish side and a young and skilled Swiss team. The Russians overpowered a weak Slovakian team 5-2, and the Canadians beat the co-host Czech Republic 3-1 (The game can be watched here on Youtube).
After watching the games and going through the score sheets the players I thought stood-out were:
Jacob Cederholm (Sweden): The highly touted 2016 draft eligible put on a great showcase against the Swiss, starting off with his game winning goal in the final 30 second of the game. Not only did he put the final stamp on the game but he was a brick wall. The 6’3 defenseman who is currently ranked 25th by Hockeyprospects.com showed off his physical stature and his defensive abilities throughout this game. He was a wall that the Swiss always had to climb when attempting to skate into the zone and was arguably the best Swedish player today.
Otto Makinen (Finland): Another 2016 eligible who had a great opening day. Putting up a 3 point performance against the Americans which included 2 goals and 1 assist. With above average size at 6’1, looked very good despite not being ranked by any of the scouting services, he showed his patience and his shooting abilities in a 5-1 victory over the US.
Alexander Nylander (Sweden): The brother of William Nylander put on a great showing. Played a really dynamic, but smart game against the Swiss and put up a good 2 point performance. Played a huge part of the Swedish power play and looked a lot like his skilled brother in the offensive zone. Still, I think he needs to work a bit on his defensive game. Nevertheless, it was a great opening day showing by futureconsiderations.com’s 14th ranked player.
Nico Hischier (Switzerland): One of the youngest players on an already young Swiss side, as he is not eligible until 2017, Hischier scored the opening goal of the game as he outbattled SWE defender Jacob Moverare in the corner before the getting the puck back on the half wall and firing the puck off the goalie’s blocker, on the PP. Hischier showed off his wide range of skill, as well as his hard working compete level. He really showed that he deserves to play against the older players. I’m looking forward to this kid next season.
Ilya Avramenko (Russia): Playing against a weak Slovakian side allowed this small forward to show off his abilities. Putting up a goal and an assist today, he played a huge part in the 5-2 win for Russia. Avramenko skates really well and uses his small size to get by defenders and open up ice, which allows him the time to show off his puck handling.
Libor Hajek (Czech Republic): Although he did not put up any points he did have a bad penalty after the play… The 6’2 196lbs defender was the best player on the Czech side (IMO). He handled the Canadian fore-check well and was able to show off his defensive abilities. Personally I think he’s one of the better defensive defenseman going into this year’s draft. With that being said he does need to work on his offensive abilities and discipline, but against Canada today he was a huge part of why the game was kept close.
Adam Brizgala (Czech Republic): The only goalie on this list goes to the Czech starter. Another 2016 draft eligible who currently sits at 6’0 209lbs. He saved 37 of 40 the shots he faced from a strong Canadian side which left him with a .925 SVG%. Big in stature and quite mobile in his crease, Brizgala made a big stop on Nolan Patrick’s penalty shot which kept the game within one.
Michael McLeod (Canada): The Mississauga Steelhead’s top 2016 eligible forward really showcased why he is on this deep Canadian team. McLeod showed off his physical upside and how he uses his 6’2 200lbs frame to fend off the other team’s players in the corner, and on the wall. He played a huge part on Dillon Dube’s shorthanded goal as he made a hit at the blue line which allowed him to send Dube alone on a breakaway. A player who I think will rise up the ranking this year, I’d love to see him round out his skating abilities though.
Tyler Benson (Canada): The final player of the day is probably the highest ranked player on this list. Ranked at 7th by FC, 27th by HockeyProspect, and 14th by DraftGeek, the 6’0 forward of the Vancouver Giants had a good game. Benson had a couple of chances on Brizgala, and sprung a breakaway on a good backhand feed. He showed good awareness and great abilities with the puck today. He did not put up a points against the Czechs but his hard work did not go unrecognized.
Day 2 of the Ivan Hlinka Memorial will feature two early games that include two 1-0 teams as Russia plays Finland, and another 1-0 team in Canada as they play Switzerland who look bounce back. Later on, the games include the two bottom teams in group B facing off in USA vs Slovakia, and as well as co-host team Czech Republic taking on Sweden. I expect a good showcase from Canada’s Jake Bean and a bounce back game from the Americans.
Thanks Brayden! You can follow Mr.Sullivan on Twitter @Sullydraftgeek. For more hockey prospect news and insight, head on over to DraftGeek.ca!
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