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Ranking Prospects 2020-2021

herman said:
9. Pierre Engvall

Hey OTH, it's ya boy and future Seattle Coho Salmon
Hardev: First of all, I would just like to say I was right about Engvall. Giraffes will always prevail. Second, I struggled to find a spot for him. He doesn?t fit in the top group per se, but he?s well above all the maybes. But at the same time I wanted to give some credit to the kids with upside (I ranked Kokkonen, Abruzzese, and SDA higher). Engvall isn?t going to provide major value to the Leafs, but what he does provide is valuable. I didn?t like Engvall?s 2020 at all. He didn?t look like himself, which either told me his offensive game couldn?t keep up after the jump to the NHL, or that he was just going through a shooting bender (which he?s done a few times before). Considering his start, I?m inclined to believe it?s the latter. I hope he can find his confidence next year and show some of that offensive strength he has. He?s great in front of the net and as a shooter on top of all his defensive qualities that are so clearly visible.
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Ha!

As has been said, Engvall provides value. I've always admired his skating. It's an effortless stride. Sure it would be nice to see some offense, but I don't know that we will see it.
 
Engvall's skating is pretty gorgeous. He doesn't even look fast, but three strides later he's gone from one blue line to the other. What would help him quite a bit is more lateral agility and creativity. He's all straightaways and button hooks. He's got a heavy, heavy shot but takes a bit of time to get it off. In Sweden he was a bit of an open-side one-timer guy (a la PP Matthews), so if we get Thornton next season... Engvall - Thornton - Spezza would be hilarious
 
8. Travis Dermott

Surprised Liljegren is coming in over Dermott with the way PPP has historically voted, but they?re about the same level for me: good (maybe very good eventually) 4-5 modern puck-moving defensemen. Could probably handle higher workloads as a sidecar option to a franchise-level partner.

A Dermott analysis video cropped up in the article comments
He's an exceptional skater in the lateral agility department (might have the best edgework on the d-corps at the moment); tops in escapability too, as he likes to draw forecheckers in deeper before squirreling away for an open pass or skating lane. He plays a riskier style in that way and I think coming back part way through the season after recovering from injury was tough on the timing and confidence he relied on (not to mention carrying play for Ceci).
 
Not that I'd vote this way, these are my guesses as to who is coming in next.

7. Liljegren
6. Kapanen
5. Robertson
4. Sandin
3. Nylander
2. Marner
1. Matthews
 
herman said:
Not that I'd vote this way, these are my guesses as to who is coming in next.

7. Liljegren
6. Kapanen
5. Robertson
4. Sandin
3. Nylander
2. Marner
1. Matthews
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I bet that was painful for you to write.
 
herman said:
Frank E said:
I bet that was painful for you to write.
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I've written it a few times before! I also think the team is (way) better with both players on it.
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Oh I wasn't even talking about Marner.  I was talking about you putting Matthews ahead of Nylander. 

I was thinking your list would look something like:

3.  Matthews
2.  The perfect combination of Crosby, McDavid, MacKinnon, and Bergeron, and God.
1.  William f'ing Nylander
 
Frank E said:
herman said:
Frank E said:
I bet that was painful for you to write.
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I've written it a few times before! I also think the team is (way) better with both players on it.
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Oh I wasn't even talking about Marner.  I was talking about you putting Matthews ahead of Nylander. 

I was thinking your list would look something like:

3.  Matthews
2.  The perfect combination of Crosby, McDavid, MacKinnon, and Bergeron, and God.
1.  William f'ing Nylander
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We're ranking hockey here, not how they look as women on FaceApp.
 
7. Timothy Liljegren

It's his Marlies jersey number.

It was quite dramatic when a draft prospect touted for his elite playmaking and scoring ability suddenly focused his whole season on defense, especially when you often want to see your players doing both. But the Marlies took a gamble with Liljegren and worked him hard in the AHL to become someone who can play top defensive minutes when such a thing was not his strength as a junior.

This season, we saw the method from the madness as Liljegren brought back his scoring touch (as he said he would) thanks to actually being used on the power play, on top of his normal duties on the first pair and on the penalty kill. Liljegren has rounded out into a good two-way defenseman with significantly fewer holes than when he started in Toronto.
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6. Kasperi Kapanen

I like him, he has big moments, but he can?t regularly play with either of our top two centres without them pulling out their hair because Kapanen just doesn?t have the creativity.
 
OldTimeHockey said:
So the next two are interesting. Sandin or Robertson? Who slots in behind the big 3?
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I'd assume Sandin gets the edge due to his age/experience. Could be different next year though.
 
OldTimeHockey said:
Kapanen's feet move faster than his brain.
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Yup. He has some great tools, but a lackluster toolbox. With his speed, shot, etc., he could be a high-end offensive weapon if he had better instincts and play reading abilities.

He's still a very good middle-six winger. He just has the potential to be more, and that's quite frustrating.
 
I think it has a lot to do with our centres though. We have two of the premiere goal scoring centres. If one of them was more of a playmaker, Kapanen would fit.

He looked real effective with Kerfoot and Mikheyev albeit against depth opposition. He?s be first line winger on a few garbage teams right now and would probably be a 30G winger next to Crosby.
 
herman said:
I think it has a lot to do with our centres though. We have two of the premiere goal scoring centres. If one of them was more of a playmaker, Kapanen would fit.

He looked real effective with Kerfoot and Mikheyev albeit against depth opposition. He?s be first line winger on a few garbage teams right now and would probably be a 30G winger next to Crosby.
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Maybe, but, his biggest problem is that he likes to be the puck carrier, but doesn't use his linemates effectively. With more of a playmaker, he might be able to put up better goal scoring numbers, but he'd still display all the same shortcomings.
 
bustaheims said:
herman said:
I think it has a lot to do with our centres though. We have two of the premiere goal scoring centres. If one of them was more of a playmaker, Kapanen would fit.

He looked real effective with Kerfoot and Mikheyev albeit against depth opposition. He?s be first line winger on a few garbage teams right now and would probably be a 30G winger next to Crosby.
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Maybe, but, his biggest problem is that he likes to be the puck carrier, but doesn't use his linemates effectively. With more of a playmaker, he might be able to put up better goal scoring numbers, but he'd still display all the same shortcomings.
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Yes, like you said, his seemingly lack of instincts hurts him. He's a heads down skater in that sense.
 
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