The 2019 NHL Entry Draft is just over two weeks away, and Nashville—pending any future moves—will pick six times (New Jersey holds their second-round pick). Before I get to potential selections for Nashville, I want to share my ranking of the top 93 players eligible for this draft. This is the second installment—players 62 to 32. Before we get to the list, let’s review some notes:
- This is by no means a mock draft. I find those often to be exercises in silliness as I am not inside the minds of team executives. This is a ranking of who I think will have the 93 best chances at a successful NHL career.
- I’ve been crafting this list all season long. There will certainly be disputes in how you and I view players, but almost all of these entries have been given after several viewings of each player.
- While there is no definitive numerical system to my ranking, I’ve based my choices off the following criteria: age, league, offensive production, team context, NHLeScores, and observation of strengths and weaknesses among other things./
Players No. 62 through 32 – 2019 NHL Draft
| No. | Player | Team | League | Year | Pos. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | Mattias Norlinder | MODO | Allsvenskan | 2000 | D | Norlinder might be the European Fensore. Laterally or vertically, he is a masterful skater and an elusive one, too. If he is on the ice, he’ll likely have the puck or be a good reason why your team does despite a lack of great finishing ability. |
| 61 | Yegor Spiridonov | Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk | MHL | 2001 | F | Spirodonov plays a bit like Yakov Trenin: good puck protection, good strides while driving with the puck, an overall good shot, etc. He won’t be a dynamic playmaker but could be a solid plug-in player on the wing. |
| 60 | Albert Johansson | Farjestad BK J20 | SuperElit | 2001 | D | Johansson is a smart decision-maker and has good hands if found in a pinch. He has good lateral ability, too. His skating and shot are average. |
| 59 | John Beecher | U.S. NTDP | USHL | 2001 | C | Beecher’s best asset is his skating, but his offense is probably limited. Regardless, he could be a useful depth player in the right system. |
| 58 | Vladislav Firstov | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 2001 | LW | Firstov is a good shooter who can fit through the smallest lanes of open space to make a play or finish one. |
| 57 | Jamieson Rees | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 2001 | C | Rees reminds me of Tomasino with the pace he plays the game at. You can’t argue with how much he loves creating chaos with and without the puck. He’s good with his edges, too. |
| 56 | Daniil Misyul | Loko Yaroslavl | MHL | 2000 | D | I like Misyul a lot. He’s an older player but showed a real knack for keeping his hands and stick between the puck-carrier in the net this season. He’s a good skater, too. |
| 55 | Michal Teply | Bili Tygri Liberec | Czech | 2001 | W | Teply is an interesting prospect. He is a patient, aware player with the puck and thrives best as a set-up man. He does well at controlling pucks for zone exits along the walls. |
| 54 | Dillon Hamaliuk | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 2000 | LW | You won’t see Hamaliuk moving north to south in the offensive zone with the puck often, but he is a menace in the high-danger area of the ice. A knee injury in the second half of the season could be a concern. |
| 53 | Nolan Foote | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 2000 | LW | This kid was a power play machine this year in Kelowna and loves to shoot. I’m not certain he has the separation ability to be more than a complimentary player lower down the lineup in the NHL. |
| 52 | Alex Beaucage | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies | QMJHL | 2001 | W | Beaucage has a noticeable offensive instinct and a good shot to add to it. He’s a crafty passer, too. His skating needs work. |
| 51 | Matias Maccelli | Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | 2000 | LW | Maccelli could probably skate around the offensive zone all day and maintain puck possession, but that might be where his game translates: forming into a playmaker who uses his puck handling to create chances from the perimeter. |
| 50 | Brayden Tracey | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 2001 | LW | Tracey doesn’t shoot as much as I would like, but he has excellent spatial awareness and is often in the right place at the right time. He’s smart with the puck and always moving when without it. |
| 49 | Domenick Fensore | U.S. NTDP | USHL | 2001 | D | Fensore could be an excellent model for how this game is becoming positionless. Controlled zone entries are his bread and butter, and he is a fantastic skater. |
| 48 | Nikita Alexandrov | Charlottetown Islanders | QMJHL | 2000 | C | Alexandrov is another pivot who does nearly everything well. You will often see him directing play from the wall, but he loves the low slot, too. And, his shot can be a huge weapon. |
| 47 | Brett Leason | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 1999 | RW | Leason’s age and massive jump in production is concerning. He’s someone who could potentially slot into your lineup next season, but I don’t think his ceiling is very high. His skating has improved a lot, but his overall game is just pretty good to me. |
| 46 | Lassi Thomson | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 2000 | D | Thomson featured well on Kelowna’s power play with Nolan Foote as his shot is one of the more impressive ones from the back end. He’s a possession player and he knows it. |
| 45 | Maxim Cajkovic | Saint John Sea Dogs | QMJHL | 2001 | W | Cajkovic’s skills are off the charts, and he shoots a ton. Combine that with a fluid skating stride and this kid should be the complete package. But, a bad Saint John team and inconsistent play may drop him down a bit. You can probably guess his shot is lethal, too. |
| 44 | Nathan Legare | Baie-Comeau Drakkar | QMJHL | 2001 | RW | Legare is Albin Grewe with Eeli Tolvanen’s shot. It’s, to say the least, impressive. His passing ability is underrated, too, in my opinion. I think he could be a good pick-up this summer. |
| 43 | Spencer Knight | U.S. NTDP | USHL | 2001 | G | Knight is good. Really good, in fact, but you don’t need me to tell you that. Goalies can take some time do develop. Otherwise, he would be much higher on this list. He’s a sound package in nearly every goaltending category. |
| 42 | Ilya Nikolayev | Loko Yaroslavl | MHL | 2001 | C | Nikolayev skates hard and you can see it in his stride. He’s solid at recovering the puck and maintaining possession, but I’m not certain how high his ceiling is. |
| 41 | Simon Holmstrom | HV71 J20 | SuperElit | 2001 | RW | Holmstrom can be a good complimentary offensive player. He has good puck skills and is a good playmaker deep in the zone but is inconsistent at times, too. |
| 40 | Matthew Robertson | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 2001 | D | Robertson has good size and good feet making him an attractive defender. With one of the better shots from the point in the draft, he could be a valuable asset, but he won’t likely ever be a first-pairing player. |
| 39 | Albin Grewe | Djurgardens IF J20 | SuperElit | 2001 | F | Grewe can look like a bull skating on the ice and does so with good puck skills. He isn’t huge and took too many penalties for my liking, but he’s effective. I think he skates with his head down a bit too much, but then you’ll see him make a nice pass without even looking up. |
| 38 | Ryan Johnson | Siuox Falls Stampede | USHL | 2001 | D | Johnson is a tough player to evaluate. He’s a great skater and generally a good possession player (especially though the neutral zone), but I’m not sold on his defensive abilities. |
| 37 | Alex Vlasic | U.S. NTDP | USHL | 2001 | D | Vlasic will almost certainly be picked higher than here, but I saw enough to concern me this season. He’s huge and has the ice mapped out well in his head, but his game often leads you wanting more dynamic skill. |
| 36 | Tobias Bjornfot | Djurgardens IF J20 | SuperElit | 2001 | D | Bjornfot is an excellent defender in my book with an acute sense of time and space. It’s hard to get by him in the neutral zone or along the boards without losing possession. He reminds me of Mattias Ekholm in that sense. |
| 35 | Samuel Fagemo | Frolunda HC | SHL | 2000 | W | I thought Fagemo should have been drafted last year, but he certainly won’t be passed up this year. He’s a complete winger in my book with the ability to score in most fashions and good skating speed. |
| 34 | Yegor Afanasyev | Muskegon Lumberjacks | USHL | 2001 | F | Afanasyev reminds me a bit of Kirby Dach with his stickhandling abilities despite a larger frame. He’s a good, accurate shooter who is slowly improving his all-around game. |
| 33 | Cam York | U.S. NTDP | USHL | 2001 | D | York can be a power play specialist and is a good skater, but I’m not sure how his average defensive skills will translate to the next level. He’s a good passer and prefers that route to his forward teammates when exiting the zone, but he’s good enough at it not to complain. |
| 32 | Robert Mastrosimone | Chicago Steel | USHL | 2001 | F | Mastrisimone is a small forward with great offensive skill and well-placed shots. He’s tenacious with the puck and an all-around force at the offensive end of the ice. |
Check back tomorrow for the final 31 rankings. In the meantime, you can check out players 93 through 63 below: