2022 NHL Draft Rankings

[Pimlach]

19 minutes ago, Digger said:

Consider that Matt Barzal was drafted 16th overall in the 2015 draft.  A player like him would look great centering a line for the Sabres so while I would love another premier center prospect with Eichel's skill we may be okay with getting another center with skills just a step below elite.

I watch Barzal play and I prefer him to Eichel.  Ok, Eichel has more offensive skill, but Barzal plays a very good two way game and scores too.  

[Hoss]

31 minutes ago, Digger said:

Consider that Matt Barzal was drafted 16th overall in the 2015 draft.  A player like him would look great centering a line for the Sabres so while I would love another premier center prospect with Eichel's skill we may be okay with getting another center with skills just a step below elite.

Barzal is such a strange case. I had him third in that draft. He was long viewed as a top ten pick in that draft but somehow just kept dropping. The Bruins passed on him three times.

[dudacek]

32 minutes ago, Digger said:

Consider that Matt Barzal was drafted 16th overall in the 2015 draft.  A player like him would look great centering a line for the Sabres so while I would love another premier center prospect with Eichel's skill we may be okay with getting another center with skills just a step below elite.

This is an interesting one.

Over the past 210 games Barzal has 56 goals and 113 assists.

Does anyone here think it would be ridiculous to hope either Cozens or Mitts can be a 20-goal, 60-point guy?

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

This is an interesting one.

Over the past 210 games Barzal has 56 goals and 113 assists.

Does anyone here think it would be ridiculous to hope either Cozens or Mitts can be a 20-goal, 60-point guy?

 

They both will be at those levels and soon.  I had Cozens as a disappointment this season after a lousy camp, but he is a special player.  He has skill, work ethic and most of all heart.  He is already the best forward on this team from what I’ve seen so far this season.  He’ll be a 20 goal player this season if he keeps at his current level.  

[Curt]

On 10/23/2021 at 7:52 PM, Thorny said:

Who are the centres projected ~ pick 10 and do they have a reasonably likely for a prospect 1C ceiling?

Very hard question to answer so early on.  By default the answer is probably no.  A player who actually projects to 1C as their most likely outcome is almost definitely gone by ~10 OA.  In this draft it’s really probably only Wright who is a likely 1C.

I’m going to try to lay out the C prospects who are likely 1st rounders.  I’ll work on putting it together when I have some time and post it in here.

[LGR4GM]

26 minutes ago, Curt said:

Very hard question to answer so early on.  By default the answer is probably no.  A player who actually projects to 1C as their most likely outcome is almost definitely gone by ~10 OA.  In this draft it’s really probably only Wright who is a likely 1C.

I’m going to try to lay out the C prospects who are likely 1st rounders.  I’ll work on putting it together when I have some time and post it in here.

I count 3 first line centers and 3 more possible ones in the 2022 draft currently. Still too early

[Curt]

10 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I count 3 first line centers and 3 more possible ones in the 2022 draft currently. Still too early

First line center.  Is that a top 32 NHL C, or a top 10-15 NHL C?  When people say 1C, they generally mean the latter.

[LGR4GM]

52 minutes ago, Curt said:

First line center.  Is that a top 32 NHL C, or a top 10-15 NHL C?  When people say 1C, they generally mean the latter.

Was thinking top 32 but I understand what you are saying. In that case, top 15... I have 2. 

 

Pronman's top 23 Prospects. Lambert barely makes the top 10 and I think that is being generous at this point. 

https://theathletic.com/2902479/2021/10/25/top-23-prospects-for-the-2022-nhl-draft-shane-wright-leads-forward-heavy-group/

[LGR4GM]

Things like this are what you need to watch out for especially in Pronman's reporting. 

Quote

Any time you have a 6-foot-3 right-shot center with offense, that makes the player highly intriguing.

Being a right shot and his size are not important at the moment. I always ask myself if this player were 6ft tall would they still be talked about in this way and I apply that to everyone big or small.

Here is another example of Pronman being sized bias (he is heavily biased against smaller players)

Quote

He’s 5-foot-9 and a good, not great skater. He works very hard to win pucks and projects to have two-way value in the pros despite his frame.

You never hear that with big players. You always get "skates good for his size" which usually means isn't a lumbering tank around the ice. Basically no top prospects are really awful skaters these days and if they are you will notice really quickly. The point is most players wouldn't be graded out as great skaters either. Isak Rosen is the best pure skater probably from 2021. That doesn't mean that Eklund isn't good because he was tagged with "good not great" skater. Just a pet peeve of mine when reading Pronman. His language towards smaller players is very biased and he gives larger players more leeway. 

One last example while he does the "good not great" thing above he does this for a big 6'4" player below. 

Quote

His skating isn’t a strength, but it should hold up well enough to be a good NHL player.

 

Edited October 25, 2021 by LGR4GM

[GASabresIUFAN]

21 hours ago, dudacek said:

I’m not disagreeing with the idea we need to add more centre skill to the pipeline. I just don’t think it’s as crucial that we get one high in the draft as you seem to.

None of Brayden Point, Ryan O’Reilly, Anze Kopitar, Nick Suzuki, Patrice Bergeron William Karlsson, Derek Stepan Joe Pavelski and Adam Henrique were drafted in the top 10. All were 1Cs on Stanley Cup finals teams in the past 10 years.

Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Jonathan Huberdeau, Ryan Strome, Mika Zibanejad, Mark Schiefele, Sean Couturier, Alex Galchenyuk, Barkov, Lindholm, Monahan, Horvat, Reinhart, Draisaitl, Bennett, Conor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Dylan Strome, Zacha, Mathews, Hischier, Patrick, Petterson, Glass, Anderson, Mittelstadt, Kotkaniemi, Hayton…

That’s a long list of top 10 picks, including some fantastic players, who have yet to come close to leading their teams to the promised land.

Yes, Crosby and Malkin types improve the odds. But they seemingly aren’t must-haves,or guarantees.

When is the last time the Sabres developed a top 6 center outside the top 10 picks?  Derek Roy in 2001? What about before that?  How about Tucker and Ruutu in 1983 (Adam Creighton was taken 14th overall that year, but I don’t consider him a top 6 center).   Not exactly a long list of success.  Besides Turgeon and Perreault, (both 1st overall), those 3 have the most career points by a Sabres drafted center.  

I can see Eichel, Reinhart, Cozens and Mitts surpassing Roy (524 pts), Tucker (436) and Ruutu (432), but they are all top 10 picks. 

Ultimately it’s hard to develop centers from any round if you don’t draft any.

Edited October 25, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[Thorny]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Was thinking top 32 but I understand what you are saying. In that case, top 15... I have 2. 

 

Pronman's top 23 Prospects. Lambert barely makes the top 10 and I think that is being generous at this point. 

https://theathletic.com/2902479/2021/10/25/top-23-prospects-for-the-2022-nhl-draft-shane-wright-leads-forward-heavy-group/

Savoie?

29 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

When is the last time the Sabres developed a top 6 center outside the top 10 picks?  Derek Roy in 2001? What about before that?  How about Tucker and Ruutu in 1983 (Adam Creighton was taken 14th overall that year, but I don’t consider him a top 6 center).   Not exactly a long list of success.  Besides Turgeon and Perreault, (both 1st overall), those 3 have the most career points by a Sabres drafted center.  

I can see Eichel, Reinhart, Cozens and Mitts surpassing Roy (524 pts), Tucker (436) and Ruutu (432), but they are all top 10 picks. 

Ultimately it’s hard to develop centers from any round if you don’t draft any.

Ya, I agree this has been a "thing" thus far. There isn't one individual move KA has made (with the possible exception of taking Quinn (who I like) over Lundell), be it the draft, trades, FA, etc, where I thought he "missed" on getting a C he absolutely needed to add in that particular deal. But stepping back and looking at it from the macro perspective and the totality of every move and transaction Adams has made, it's a little alarming that he hasn't added a single centre of note during his entire tenure thus far, when it's the most important F position, and that includes shipping one (Reinhart) out, already, in the process. 

If the Jack trade comes and goes without said add, he's beginning to run out of realistic bullets. 

Other than bumping things back to the next draft, or the next draft after that, etc etc

Edited October 25, 2021 by Thorny

[Flashsabre]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Things like this are what you need to watch out for especially in Pronman's reporting. 

Being a right shot and his size are not important at the moment. I always ask myself if this player were 6ft tall would they still be talked about in this way and I apply that to everyone big or small.

Here is another example of Pronman being sized bias (he is heavily biased against smaller players)

You never hear that with big players. You always get "skates good for his size" which usually means isn't a lumbering tank around the ice. Basically no top prospects are really awful skaters these days and if they are you will notice really quickly. The point is most players wouldn't be graded out as great skaters either. Isak Rosen is the best pure skater probably from 2021. That doesn't mean that Eklund isn't good because he was tagged with "good not great" skater. Just a pet peeve of mine when reading Pronman. His language towards smaller players is very biased and he gives larger players more leeway. 

One last example while he does the "good not great" thing above he does this for a big 6'4" player below. 

 

I still have no idea what Pronman has done or what qualifications he has to be in the position he is. The size thing is an NHL scouting thing. Big players will always get more preference then the smaller player.  The small p,Ayer better have 1 elite quality. Size is the big player’s elite quality.  I mean goaltending has gone gigantic. If you aren’t 6’2 you are lucky if they even look at you.

 

 

[LGR4GM]

 

[Drag0nDan]

On 10/24/2021 at 6:22 PM, Pimlach said:

I watch Barzal play and I prefer him to Eichel.  Ok, Eichel has more offensive skill, but Barzal plays a very good two way game and scores too.  

I always felt that way about Barkov.  Just a complete player who always looks in control.  

[Flashsabre]

I haven’t seen enough of Brad Lambert to form an opinion. What are the thoughts on his hockey sense? I don’t care about speed and dangles if the brain isn’t there to use those other skills properly.

[LGR4GM]

12 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

I haven’t seen enough of Brad Lambert to form an opinion. What are the thoughts on his hockey sense? I don’t care about speed and dangles if the brain isn’t there to use those other skills properly.

I have only seen clips. From that, I have big question about his hockey IQ and how he processes the game at the next level. Just like Autu Raty, it is a concern. 

[LGR4GM]

Matthew Savoie claims he weighed in at 5'10" 176lbs at the start of camp. 

[LGR4GM]

 

[Thorny]

Lambert = Raty?

[Brawndo]

 

[Captain Caveman]

So right now if I have it correct we have 3 first rounders next year, is that right?  I thought we had Philly's as well but forgot that was 2021 (and a 2nd in 2023)

Are there any others I'm missing?  I wonder if we do finish up in top five (draft spot) this year if they might be enough to move us into the #1 pick.

Buffalo

Las Vegas (protected)

Florida (also protected)

Edited November 4, 2021 by Captain Caveman

[sabresparaavida]

^The Florida pick is also top 10 protected

[Captain Caveman]

noted, thanks

[LGR4GM]

Wheeler's top 64 prospects with write ups. Matthew Savoie continues to stick out to me. 

https://theathletic.com/2887391/2021/11/03/nhl-draft-ranking-scott-wheelers-top-64-prospects-for-2022/

[Flashsabre]

We look lottery bound again. If we snag one of the top C prospects then we will be in good shape. Actually C, C, RHD would be a good 1st round haul to set this team up.