REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS - UPDATED May 19/2013

For the past 5 years, I have compiled my NHL Draft prospects rankings in late September of each year. I usually update in early February and once again at the end of the memorial cup. Basically before the CHL starts and upon the end of the CHL Memorial Cup. Because of the length of the CHL season all the European prospects have already finished as well and we have a chance to see players possibly shine in the biggest games on the Jr planet. This definitely includes the Memorial Cup and even some Jr players who may have jumped up to play with the men in their perspective leagues. i.e.: SEL and or KHL.

I have had some comments (all fairly assessed) wondering about my TOP 15 NHL Draft Prospects. Of course if looking quickly at my list and comparing it to some of the top end lists out there would be inaccurate judgement of my rankings and unfair in comparison. The rankings people are looking at today are all UPDATED versions and not taken from the rankings of those people last September 2012.

With my draft rankings they are based on the 'best player available' from my perspective. This is NOT a MOCK draft of who will be picked by what team. It is not based on who the best players will be in 5 years. It is based on BPA this draft. I have removed 3 of my players from my September 2012 original rankings completely out of the top 15 and moved 3 new players in.


Instead of waiting till the end of the Memorial Cup, I have decided to release my year ending REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS today.

REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS:

1. Nathan Mackinnon

2. Seth Jones

3.Jonathan Drouin 

4. Aleksander Barkov

5. Valeri Nichushkin

6. Darnell Nurse

7.  Sean Monahan

8.  Elias Lindholm

9.  Hunter Shinkaruk

10.  Nikita Zadorov

11.  Max Domi

12.  Curtis Lazar

13. Frederik Gauthier

15. Ryan Pulock

NOTES on some players.....

JONATHAN DROUIN;

Very few rankings had Jonathan Drouin even in their Top 10 last September 2012. While acknowledging his offence they felt he was still too small of a player. Throughout the year and especially after the World Jr's, almost every ranking had started putting him Top 5. In fact before November 2012 very few people knew who Drouin was other then those who follow lots of jr hockey. The only reason Drouin does not rank higher for me is due to his size. 

SETH JONES;

While I do believe Seth Jones is a incredible player, he is almost a year older then Nathan MacKinnon. (11 months older) and has been playing at a very large size against smaller players for some time. While defence is good and offence is OK, it is not great. Playing on a team like Portland, with his size and vision Seth Jones should against smaller players have scored at least a point per game as a defencemen to make him worthy of a #1 OV Draft Pick.

NATHAN MacKINNON;

Nathan MacKinnon , playing against bigger players (he entered the CHL at 5'10 170 lbs) and slowly grew into his frame but still is small in NHL size. Nathan (with the exception of the World Jr tourney) has excelled at every level of hockey and is showing people at the Memorial Cup why he was ranked #1 for so long. His drive, skill, speed and hockey IQ is the total package. Even if MacKinnon goes 2nd at the NHL Draft, he IMO will still prove to have been the best player out of this years crop of players.

MAX DOMI;

Max is putting on quite a push to really jump the rankings himself. Like Drouin few last September 2012 even had him ranked so high but this guy is a bull in a china shop, is strong on his skates like Crosby and has some nice elite skill. His size is what will keep him out of the top 8.

CURTIS LAZAR;

Yes, I did have him ranked higher and if not for being put up as a checking center against other teams top lines Lazar would have produced much more. This guys two-way play is exceptional and some people IMO are underrating him and he may even turn out to be a Top 10 pick when all is said and done on draft day. This player is as close as you get to a 'sure thing' outside the top 3 of even draft. I have dropped him some for his lack of offence but could not see how I could drop him any lower.

Feel free to comment on my final Top 15 Draft rankings, that's the excitement of this time of year. No one is wrong or right until draft day and then it takes 5 years to really see what kind of player they turn into. I really do believe this year the top 20 players selected will be pretty high end players. I don't feel it's as deep as draft as some will say but there is some nice talent in the 8-15 range.

Before Draft day, I will be posting a MOCK draft of who I believe will be selected and in what order but for now, let's sit back and enjoy the NEXT ONES play this game at the memorial cup while the top 3 ranked players in the world compete for the highest claim to fame in Jr hockey....The Memorial Cup!

REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS #12. Max Domi

REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS:

1. Nathan Mackinnon

2. Seth Jones

3. Sean Monahan

4. Aleksander Barkov

5. Hunter Shinkaruk

6. Curtis Lazar

7.  Jonathan Drouin

8.  Ryan Pulock

9.  Elias Lindholm

10.  Valeri Nichushkin

11.  Anthony Duclair

12.  Max Domi

13.  J.T Compher

14.  Josh Morrissey,

15.   Adam Erne

MAX DOMI

At 5'10 and 194 lbs, Max is not as small a player as some would think. Son of the famous father who used his hands to hit rather then score, Max is still a strong character on the ice in fighting, going to the corners and fighting for his space on the ice. Few times (other then a defencemen with great reach due to height and long arms) will the other team be able to stand him up or knock Max off the puck. Dale Hunter has described Domi's skating to be much like that of Crosby (elite skating company). Is known for incredible grit and work ethic. For those who say he is racking up easy points it should be noted he has the top checkers from other teams playing up against him every game and he still continues to score and win games for his team. IMO, Max will be a excellent pro player at the NHL level.

	GP	G	A	TP	PPG	PIM	+/-		GP	G	A	TP	PPG	PIM	+/-
	Regular Season							Postseason
CWG:	6	1	3	4	0.67	4	0	|
GTMMHL:	30	27	30	57	1.90	-	0	|
JWC-18:	5	3	4	7	1.40	2	0	|
M-Cup:	4	1	2	3	0.75	8	0	|
OHL:	126	60	76	136	1.08	119	46	|	36	14	22	36	1.00	34	13
OHL Cup:	4	2	3	5	1.25	10	0	|	3	3	3	6	2.00	6	0
OJHL:	2	1	1	2	1.00	0	-	|
WHC-17:	6	3	4	7	1.17	14	0	|

REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS #11. Anthony Duclair

REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS:

1. Nathan Mackinnon

2. Seth Jones

3. Sean Monahan

4. Aleksander Barkov

5. Hunter Shinkaruk

6. Curtis Lazar

7.  Jonathan Drouin

8.  Ryan Pulock

9.  Elias Lindholm

10.  Valeri Nichushkin

11.  Anthony Duclair

12.  Max Domi

13.  J.T Compher

14.  Josh Morrissey,

15.   Adam Erne

What started out as a good early season drive ended shortly after Anthony got injured. Upon returning back to the lineup now without his running mate in Mikhail Grigorenko, Duclair struggled to find the offensive game that he showed earlier on at the beginning of the season. At 5'11 and 182 lbs Duclair will either have to play a agitator game or show top end offensive vision and awareness on the ice.

Anthony is electrifying on the give and go. Has world class speed combined with elite stickhandling and a howitzer for a shot and you have yourself a hockey player. Hard to say how far back he will fall now butmost rankings have him anywhere from 15th-29th but he will go in the 1st round at this years 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Unfortunately Duclair is no longer in my top 15 to be selected but he is a player who will create alot of interest from 15th pick down. Edmonton is not a option for the Oilers unless he was to slip to the 2nd round which is highly unlikely. I imagine that a team currently playing in the playoffs will select him (maybe the St Louis Blues as they don't have many small skilled guys) or maybe the Blue Jackets with their three 1st round picks in this years 2013 draft?

Duclair highlights

  

Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	TP	PIM	+/-		Postseas.	GP	G	A	TP	PIM	+/-
2009-10	Basses Laurentides Conquérants	MMBAA	59	81	47	128	32		|	Playoffs	-	-	-	-	-
2010-11	Lac Saint-Louis Lions	QMAAA	34	25	32	57	36		|	Playoffs	14	9	14	23	20
2011-12	Québec Remparts	QMJHL	63	31	35	66	50	38	|	Playoffs	11	3	5	8	8	-5
2012-13	Québec Remparts	QMJHL	55	20	30	50	22	23	|	Playoffs	11	3	5	8	12	0
Tournament Statistics
2010-11	Lac Saint-Louis Lions	Telus Cup	7	5	7	12	8		|
	Team Québec	CWG	6	1	8	9	0		|
	Canada Québec U17	WHC-17	6	0	4	4	4		|
2011-12	Canada Québec U17	WHC-17	4	0	1	1	8		|
2012-13	Canada U18	JWC-18	5	1	1	2	8		|

'is there HOPE for tomorrow in Oil Country'? Part 3

We all now know the Edmonton Oilers will select 7th OV at the 2013 NHL Entry draft in June. Or will they? We all know that Ralph Krueger is safe in his coaching position after only having a short lockout season to make something out of this squad of underachievers. Or is he safe?

Without hesitation, let's jump right into the meat and bones of this blog and discuss this more.....'Management' 

MANAGEMENT;

Craig MacTavish is always good for a inspirational quote or maybe even a comedic quote. One thing that can be said about his hiring is, Craig WILL speak to the media and has no problem giving them something good to chew on. So the question that I hear lots is...why is Kevin Lowe still on the Oilers and not gone? That's a good question, but from a rebuild perspective it is hard to fault him just yet.

Kevin Lowe after stepping up to the Presidents role has really taken heat that HE is the real puppet master around the Oilers. Of course, until someone close within the organization can say that, I will have to say otherwise. Does he have a say? Of course he does but his GM does not have to make a move he does not want to make. The President is in charge of the rebuild from a overall perspective and it was agreed upon Hall's draft year that Edmonton would indeed be changing course and starting the rebuild. Lowe sets out the vision, gives a time frame and starts working on the smaller pieces. Lowe is responsible for hiring Tamby and no one else. If you ask me, he was always going to be a scapegoat. I know of no GM who has gone through a gutted and depleted crew and had to stand patiently for 5 years , all along making themselves a winner on the ice. It does not happen and in the end, Tamby will land back on his feet. Their was a bigger plan in place and the Oilers were working on it IMO for a couple years. If MacTavish fails epic this coming season and the Oilers miss the playoffs again? I am almost certain it will be put on the President and Kevin Lowe will be gone.

With MacTavish, he will be bold and he will make some moves because another year out of the playoffs will not be accepted any longer. Only concern with Craig will be, 'does he trade elite' talent to bring in 'big ' talent? In other words a elite talent going out for a higher priced big power forward and missing the playoffs will not be acceptable either. I do believe MacTavish is pretty good at seeing the hidden talent in players but he also will hold his players to accountability. MacTavish also was a coach once before and actually was good at it. If he hears the coach wants something, he will do his best to supply him with the right type of player (Character and work ethic will matter) . Craig needed players before as well and Lowe did not always deliver. MacTavish is not dumb by any means and is pretty sly if you ask me. Some people are already saying he is showing too many of his cards already, he needs to be a little more quiet about his plans. Nope....not his strategy! Let the teams know your pick is available, if they want it, they have to supply him with something good. It's all conditional anyway. Every year the pick is available but sometimes you have to be vocal about it to gather interest. Saying your open just creates a stir. At least this GM is talking, you can't make deals unless other teams know your open for business. Also, telling the league that your looking for certain types of players is not a tell-tale. No one knows the Oilers most pressing need? I think they all know and now Craig MacTavish is just telling other GM's. 'we have lots of prospects, picks and elite talent'. You got a player in the mold were interested in. 'call me'!! See if I like it and think it will work.

How many times in the past has there been NHL deals done and several other teams did not even know those players are available. Sometimes being quiet and waiting by your phone just does not work. This management will be proactive, only question remains is.....'Will they make the right decisions?' Only time will tell.

Talk some more next blog and this time, maybe we will finally hit the coaching questions.

In the meantime and in between time, keep on keepin on!