Tag Archives: Kasper Simontaival

Keith Fries, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, TPE Hockey

2020 NHL Entry Draft: BLH September Top-20 Rankings

Apologies for the tardiness on the rankings! I started at a new school and the time has been limited. Add to that the NHL and AHL season starting and things are busy around the BLH household!

One thing you’ll notice is that it’s only a top-20 and the reason I decided to go that route this month is that I think the top-10 are pretty set and selfishly as an Edmonton Oilers fan, I’d like to focus on some of the players that might fall out of that range and give those who are also fans of the team a broad idea of who the Oilers might be drafting next summer!

As always, I tapped into the headbones of my favorite draft gurus, Keith Fries and Max from TPE Hockey. Both of who, I’m proud to say, are playing their crafts at some much larger online institutions than this one. Keith has signed on with Dobber Prospects to cover the Florida Panthers and Max is working with The Prospect Network! Congrats to both of them!

But without delaying this any longer, here are our September rankings for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft!

# Beer League Hero Keith Fries TPE Hockey
1 Quinton Byfield (C) Alexis Lafreniere (LW) Alexis Lafreniere (LW)
2 Alexis Lafreniere (LW) Anton Lundell (C) Quinton Byfield (C)
3 Yaroslav Askarov (G) Quinton Byfield (C) Lucas Raymond (W)
4 Anton Lundell (C) Lucas Raymond (W) Anton Lundell (C)
5 Alexander Holtz (W) Noel Gunler (W) Yaroslav Askarov (G)
6 Lucas Raymond (W) Yaroslav Askarov (G) Noel Gunler (W)
7 Jamie Drysdale (D) Tim Stutzle (LW) Alexander Holtz (W)
8 Cole Perfetti (C/W) Alexander Holtz (W) Tim Stutzle (LW)
9 Tim Stutzle (W) Cole Perfetti (C/W) Jamie Drysdale (D)
10 Hendrix Lapierre (C) Marco Rossi (C) Cole Perfetti (C/W)
11 Dylan Holloway (C) Justin Barron (D) Marco Rossi (C)
12 Marco Rossi (C) Jamie Drysdale (D) Dylan Holloway (C)
13 Justin Barron (D) Jaromir Pytlik (C) Antonio Stranges (C/W)
14 Alexander Pashin (RW) Alexander Nikishin (D) Hendrix Lapierre (C)
15 Kasper Simontaival (C) Kasper Simontaival (C) Jan Mysak (LW)
16 Antonio Stranges (C/W) Jeremie Poirer (D) Kasper Simontaival (C)
17 Braden Schneider (D) Hendrix Lapierre (C) Justin Barron (D)
18 Jan Mysak (C/W) Antonio Stranges (C/W) Connor Zary (C)
19 Connor Zary (C) Justin Sourdif (D) Zion Nybeck (RW)
20 Zion Nybeck (RW) Theo Rochette (D) Michael Benning (D)

My feeling, as a fan of the Oilers, is that they’ll be looking to add a forward in the first round given the ridiculous amount of talent they have coming on defense. I’m hoping that they’ll be drafting somewhere between 14th and 31st overall and with that, they take a goal-scoring forward. Of course, it’ll depend on where they land but in that role I like Alexander Pashin, Connor Zary, Will Cuylle, Noel Gunler, or Jacob Perreault. Gunler probably being the best of that group but he comes with some baggage and there’s no guarantee he slips…

A few names that you won’t find in more mainstream rankings include Alexander Nikishin, a big Russian defender who can skate very well but might have some work to do with his passing and decision making. The micro-profile below and the highlight will shed some light on the player a bit better.

Antonio Stranges out of London is another player that I think the big draft gurus might be a bit scared of ranking too high because he’s so much flash and dash. He reminds me of Mathew Barzal a bit. Not sure if he’s THAT good, but his hands, skating, and edgework are elite.

Lastly, Michael Benning (Matt’s brother), is lighting up the AJHL right now with another 2020 draft-eligible, Carter Savoie. He’s a smaller defender but his vision and passing are exemplary. Safe to say he’s polar opposite to Matt in terms of skill and playing style. Check out this brief report on him from Daniel Gee and the following video.

What do you think of our top-20s? Considering where your favorite team might end up drafting, who would you like to see them draft? Let us know in the comments below! Thanks for reading!

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects

Edmonton Oilers Rumor: Should the Oilers Have Their Eyes on These Two Russian Players? + @TPEhockey’s Top 10 for the 2020 NHL Draft

What a great hockey game the Edmonton Oilers played versus the Washington Capitals last night. They’re really starting to remind me of the 2016 roster who could play any way you wanted. Wanna run and gun? Cool. We’ve got the pieces to do that. Wanna play a button-down defensive game? No problem. We can do that too. Wanna chuck knucks? Well, you get the point.

It was a full-team 60-minute effort to keep Ovechkin and co. off the boards let alone have Ovi and Kuznetsov finish the game dash three. Lucky for the Caps, Braden Holtby was standing on his head or that game could’ve looked different.

I hope we can see more of that on the weekend where we’re slated to get our first proper look at 6’7″ goalie Mikko Koskinen. I reckon Jesse Puljujarvi will draw back in on the 3rd line as well. I feel bad for the kid but the situation is what it is.

I do want to say this though on Pulju. At some point Yamamoto is going to get hurt, almost all little guys who play the style he’s playing do and whenever that happens that’ll be Jesse’s opportunity to take advantage of. But for the time being, he has to play his ass off on the 3rd line because there’s no way McLellan is going to put him ahead of Yamamoto or Rattie when he returns.

So Elliotte Friedman posted in his 31 Thoughts this week that Vlad Namestnikov and Sergei Bobrovsky are a couple of names that might be entering the trade market, my words not his.

I feel like Namestnikov has the tools to be a top-6 player in the NHL but might not be the coach’s favorite where ever he’s gone if you know what I mean. When I watched him earlier this season, he looked like a kid who had very good technical skills and was really good on his skates edge-wise but he wasn’t getting that much ice-time.

For whatever reason, this is the second team that he’s failing to catch on with.

As for Bobrovsky, I don’t think that the Oilers cap can survive a hit of the magnitude he’s looking for. I think I’ve heard that he’s looking for Carey Price numbers and that simply isn’t going to work in Edmonton. His play this season hasn’t really been all that inspiring either.

Do you think that either of those players would benefit the Oilers either on the short-term or the long-term?


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Our emerging prospects expert Max from TPE Hockey is back with a glimpse into the draft of 2020. This draft is looking like it might be top-heavy as many of its eligibles are making themselves known early and often. If you took in any of the games at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton this summer you would’ve noticed a good number of 2020 prospects had very good games.

Let’s get into Max’s top-ten 2020 NHL draft prospects!

1) Alexis Lafreniére LW (Rimouski Océanic, QMJHL) – 185cm, 87kg
Lafreniére is the talk of the draft. He holds 25 point in 15 QMJHL games and is one point away from being the league’s leading scorer. He dominated the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and was tied as the leading scorer and captained Canada to gold. Lafreniére dominates with his exceptional hockey IQ and utilizes his skill and soft hands to put himself on highlight reels. Rimouski had high expectations for him when he was selected 1st overall in the 2017 QMJHL Draft. Lafreniére has lived up to and exceeded all expectations.

2) Noel Gunler LW/RW (Luleå HF, SHL) – 185cm, 80kg
Of all undrafted prospects, Noel Gunler is the name to watch going forward. He has been on the radar for a while, but only this season has he rocketed up the rankings. Gunler has the same point and game totals as Lafreniére except in the SuperElit (Sweden U20) and leads the league and scoring. After 15 games of complete dominance in that league, he was promoted to the SHL. In only his second game he registered a goal and an assist against Malmö. In that game, Gunler had one of the best performances of a player his age in the SHL. Virtually every time he stepped on the ice he had or created a scoring opportunity. Gunler now has 3 points in 3 SHL games. If he plays more game like the one against Malmö then Gunler is in serious consideration for 1st overall.

3) Quinton Byfield C (Sudbury Wolves, OHL) – 194cm, 97kg
Byfield is one of the most physically impressive players in this draft. The 2018 OHL Priority Selection 1st overall pick is a big, tall power forward with amazing speed and skill. His height and weight make him one of the most physically imposing players we’ve seen at his age. Despite his size, Byfield is a fast, agile, and has great puck skills. In other words, he’s an athletic freak. Scoring wise, Byfield started off very strong but went on a 5 game pointless streak. Even though he had that pointless streak he still holds 10 points in 12 OHL games for the Sudbury Wolves. It’s also worth keeping in mind that Byfield is one of the younger eligible players for this draft. With all of this, Byfield has to pick up the pace to keep a top 3 spot. He still has all the attributes to make him a top 2 pick, but he needs to score.

https://twitter.com/NHLProspectsYT/status/1046761024475541505

4) Marco Rossi C (Ottawa 67s, OHL) – 176cm, 79kg
In my mind, the most underrated prospect in this draft is Marco Rossi. Being Austrian, Rossi hasn’t played in any top division international tournaments. Exposure was especially limited last year as he also played in the Swiss league. In Switzerland, he was the 5th leading player in points per game as a 16-year-old against 20-year-olds. He then decided to play in the CHL and enter the CHL Import Draft where he was stolen at 16th overall by the Ottawa 67s. Playing for Ottawa this season, he started slow. In his first 6 games he only scored 2 points, but in his next 8 games, he scored 14 points. In those 8 games he’s outscoring Alexis Lafreniére in terms of points per game, and in the slightly tougher OHL. Rossi uses his flashy skill and speed to take over when the puck is on his stick. He’s challenging Quinton Byfield and could end up ahead of him by next month. Time will tell if he earns the spot as the top OHL prospect.

5) Anton Lundell C (Helsinki IFK, Liiga) – 185cm, 83kg
Early this season Lundell was named to the HIFK pro team at the Champions Hockey League, which is a competition between the top European league teams. He performed well but was held pointless in 3 games. He then started the season with the HIFK U20 team in which he scored 11 points and 9 games and earned a spot with the pro squad. With HIFK in the Liiga Anton Lundell has put up 5 points in 9 games. Lundell has shown his great mind for the game as he scores at a staggering rate for his age. Keep in mind that 2019’s consensus #2 pick, Kaapo Kakko, played only 6 games in the Liiga as a 16 turning 17-year-old.

6) Lucas Raymond RW/LW (Frölunda HC, SHL) – 179cm, 75kg
Lucas Raymond became the first 2002 born player to compete in the SHL this season. Raymond has great playmaking ability but also has an underrated scoring ability. Raymond is all about skill, speed, and work ethic. Before his SHL promotion, he scored 17 points in 13 games but is pointless in 4 SHL games.

7) Alexander Holtz RW/LW (Djurgårdens IF J20, SuperElit) – 183cm, 83kg
The biggest faller since the beginning of the season is Alexander Holtz. He’s only at just over a point per game over 12 SuperElit games. Holtz is a sniper with a pro-caliber shot that tears apart junior aged goaltenders. Holtz also has an underrated playmaking game that he showed when he played with Lucas Raymond at the Hlinka tournament.

https://twitter.com/NHLProspectGIFS/status/1040932485461430272

8) Kasper Simontaival C (LeKi, Mestis) – 175cm, 78kg
Simontaival became the first 2002 born player to play professional hockey earlier this season. He started with Tappara in the Finish Liiga where he registered 2 assists in 5 games. Simontaival looked good in the Liiga but was demoted to the Finnish 2nd league likely so he could get more ice time. Over 3 games Simontaival has 3 assists. He is a pure playmaker with great hockey sense. In multiple international tournaments with the Finnish U18 team, he has 0 goals and 16 assists over 10 games.

9) Yaroslav Askarov G (SKA-Varyagi im. Morozov, MHL) – 188cm, 71kg
The only goalie in the top 10 and 1st round is Askarov. He was, in my mind, the best goalie at the Hlinka tournament despite being a year younger than most of the competition. He then proceeded to play in the MHL where he as shut down every team he’s competed against with a .934 Sv% in 14 games. These are similar numbers to what Andrei Vasilevskiy put up at the same age, but Askarov will end up playing more games.

10) Jan Mysak F (HC Litvinov, Czech) – 180cm, 80kg
Out of all the players in my top 10, Jan Mysak has gotten the least attention. Mysak has played in the Czech pro league and scored 4 points in 13 games. As a younger 2002, who is still 16, it’s impressive that he cracked the pro roster right out of the gate. It shows that his team has a lot of trust in him as a player. Mysak is also highly touted by the Czech international teams as in a Czech article the coach of the team said that they are seriously considering him for the U20 team at the World Juniors.

Give Max a follow on Twitter @TPEHockey if you’re a draft nut like me. He’s constantly throwing out updates and opinions on prospects!

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