Welcome to the Thursday/Friday ramblings. I will share my top 31 prospects for the NHL draft Friday, but mine will be different than most. I will not be picking how I think the draft will go but I will be giving away my fantasy rankings for the top 31 players from the number one potential in the draft to 31^st largest potential in the draft.

For my rankings though I will base it on positional rankings instead of just players and the upside they possess. Wingers tend to be valued higher than centres, since a 70 point winger is a lot harder to come by than a 70 point centre, and some offensive defensemen can be ranked higher than a centre as well. Also I will assume goaltending is of medium importance, so perhaps 25% of you leagues categories. This ranking goes along with the idea that whichever team drafts the prospect, they develop them correctly, and the prospect lines up in the optimal position. So even if Edmonton drafted them the player would not be screwed up.

Standard scoring as well (G, A, Special Teams Points) as predicting hits, blocks, GWGs, and shots for the future is quite difficult. I will add notes where applicable but do not expect there to be a lot of notes.

As always before the draft I post this hilarious bit by Bill Burr (NSFW) on people who watch drafts. For the record I have watched the NHL draft for the past 10+ years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e-AHAoz3Rs

Here they come. Enjoy

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#1 – Kaapo Kakko (RW)

• If I was creating this list with positions not consequential for forwards then Hughes would be first, but in a league where LW/RW’s are more valuable than C’s Kakko gets the edge.

#2 – Jack Hughes (C)

#3 – Alex Turcotte (C)

#4 – Cole Caufield (RW)

• No idea where he will go in the NHL draft because #Size but he should still go quite high in a fantasy draft

#5 – Bowen Byram (D)

#6 – Trevor Zegras (C)

#7 – Vasili Podkolzin (RW)

#8 – Matthew Boldy (LW)

• Left Wingers are always hard to find, so one with potential to surpass 60 points is always better to have than a centre that may pass 70 points

#9 – Kirby Dach (C)

#10 – Dylan Cozens (C)

• Dach and Cozens are almost interchangeable here. These two picks more depend one which team is more competent at developing the player, and which has a better opportunity for the young player to get ice time

#11 – Arthur Kaliyev (RW)

• Kaliyev gets the edge over the next three centres because he is a winger and if all four are developed properly they should be all similar in production

#12 – Alex Newhook (C)

#13 – Peyton Krebs (C)

• Stupid achilles injury is the only reason why he has slipped out of my top 10. Injuries like this can ruin prime development time and that always worries me

#14 – Philip Tomasino (C)

• Lots of people are sleeping on him but he has a ton of skill, no matter how late he goes in the NHL draft he should be a high pick in a fantasy draft

#15 – Pavel Dorofeyev (LW)

#16 – Nils Hoglander (LW)

#17 – Bobby Brink (C)

• Skating is my only concern with Brink as his talent and IQ are off the charts, and that is the only think keeping him low on my rankings

#18 – Patrik Puistola (LW)

#19 – Cam York (D)

#20 – Ryan Suzuki (C)

#21 – Simon Holmstrom (RW)

#22 – Raphael Lavoie (RW)

• Lavoie is hard to project for me, he has the skill but rarely showed it until the QMJHL playoffs rolled around then he looked out of this world. It feels like he may be at best a bottom six forward, but then something in my head says “could still be a top six scoring winger” and I cannot get it to leave

#23 – Spencer Knight (G)

#24 – Yegor Spiridonov (LW)

#25 – Brayden Tracey (LW)

#26 – Samuel Fagemo (RW)

#27 – Daniil Gutlik (LW)

• His first half was incredible but the drop off in the second half was just as incredible. I feel like something went on with him either personally or due to illness that caused the downfall. Perhaps it was conditioning, either way if he can regain his first half play for 219-2020 he will be a steal

#28 – Nicholas Robertson (LW)

• One of the youngest players in the draft is also quite skilled and will only get better.

#29 – Anttoni Honka (D)

• I still have him in my top 31 and I wonder if he will go first round in the NHL draft

#30 – Egor Afanasyev (LW)

#31 – Mikhail Shalagin (RW)

• 48 goals in 43 games to break the old MHL record of 42 goals in 54 games should not go unnoticed. He needs to be developed with care to reach his offensive ability in the NHL

Thanks for reading, hope you like the list. Enjoy the draft today I know I will and I may live tweet it but I am awful at it haha, follow my twitter anyway: @FHPQuinn