Today we’ll look at teams 19 and 18. Lets get to it.
#19 – The Jose Sharks
Player Rank/Tier PLAYER-POS
26/4 Simon Nemec-D
61/5 Joakim Kemell-RW
108/6 Alex Turcotte-C
114/6 Grigori Denisenko-RW
161/6 Brad Lambert-RW
Interesting pair sitting atop of Jose’s list. Two of the drafts biggest surprises. The first one is Nemec going 2nd overall. He’s going to be a top 4 D man in the NHL no doubt about it. But if any team other than NJ was drafting 2nd he would have probably went 4 where he belonged. I’m not going to go deep into his game. It’s been dissected by numerous scouts 100 ways to Sunday. I have nothing to add other than this is the NEFHL and D aren’t nearly as valuable as forwards in this league. Would I have burned a #5 pick on him? Not at all. Not with the likes of Lekkerimaki, Kemell and Savoie still on the board. But I’ve been proven wrong before. Next on the list is none other then the aforementioned Kemell. He was another big surprise in the NHL draft, dropping all the way to #17. I like the kid and honestly would have taken him between 5-7 if I had those picks in the NEFHL (The sharks did grab him at 7). Listen, I don’t want to throw rocks, these are both very solid prospects and the Sharks did well in my opinion. If anything I probably would have reversed the picks. But who cares right? Next on the list is Alex Turcotte. Remember him? The shine has come off that turd ever so slightly but we’re still dealing with a very solid prospect. Just not one that would be drafted 5th overall in the NHL Draft if there was a redo. In my opinion he still projects as a 2 or 3 C. For the record the sharks grabbed him at #4 in the NEFHL draft. At the time it was a good pick! I don’t know a lot about Denisenko other than he was drafted 15th overall by the sharks (NHL) a few years ago now. His numbers don’t look promising (roughly .5ppg) in the AHL. Pronman still seems to be a big fan though. Finally, Brad Lambert. He was my value pick and I would have picked him if I could but he was well gone before my 25th pick. The sharks have some other really intriguing pieces such as Bystedt and L’Heureux. Both project as middle 6’ers. Bystedt more of a 3C but L’Heureux (touted as the next Marchand) could play top 6. Lassi Thomson is another stud on the blueline that may see NHL action this year. If I was rating the prospect pools from top to bottom the Sharks probably deserve to be a few spots higher. I also like players such as Graham Clarke and Alexander Campbell. Campbell probably has no future but Clarke might. The future is pretty bright in shark land.
#18 – The Winnipeg Jets
PlayerRank/Tier PLAYER-POS
13/3 Dylan Cozens-C
69/5 Lukas Cormier-D
113/6 Devon Levi-G
139/6 Samuel Fagemo-RW
The Jets are probably here based on Cozens. That’s not to say the Jets don’t have a decent prospect pool but Cozens is a somewhat proven entity even if he’s taken a bit longer to develop than expected. He’s better at this point then anyone in Jose’s prospect pool and he still has 1C potential. Cormier was the 2nd PP quarterback for team Canada. He has some serious potential but he’s a little undersized for the NHL. He’ll have to maximize all of his offensive potential to be effective at the NHL level. Pronmans list not mine. I like Levi. He has legit starter potential. Goalies are a whacky bunch so who knows – for a goalie he’s also undersized but Shestorkin is breaking the mold and giving guys like Levi a 2nd life. Last on the list is Sameul Fagemo. 5’11, 200 pounds, he has the size to compete at the NHL level. Good hands, shot, and speed. He put up 27 goals in the AHL last year in only 60 some games. He should make the Kings out of camp. Lets see what he’s got. That’s not all the Jets got – I really like Roby Jarventie. The guy has wheels. I tried to draft him in 2020 but missed out. Simontaival is also a pretty decent prospect in the NHL Kings system. Interesting story – well to me. The Jets also have Zion Nybeck on their roster. Back in 2020, I had the 39th pick overall. I had been looking at Grans as a potential first rounder but he had fallen – as defensemen often do in the NEFHL. The other guy I was close to picking was Zion Nybeck. He was just coming off an impressive 27 goals in 42 GP in the J20 (Swe Jr League). I even contemplated trying to trade for him immediately after picking Grans. I’m glad I didn’t. His size scared me away, also the fact that he wasn’t a great skater according to scouting reports. Grans has continued to develop and should be a top 4 D at some point in his career. We’ll see. Rounding out the Jets prospects are Evangelista (big year) and Zayne Wisdom (another guy I was close to drafting) who could end up being a middle 6 power forward.
As you see, Even at positions 18 and 19, the quality of the prospect pools has went up expontentially. I really like what both the Sharks and Jets are doing. That's it for today. My computer at my hotel room is dead and I didn't get an adapter for my plug so that's life. I'll try and pump out 2-3 more rankings again tomrorow before I fly out tomorrow night.