In just five days, Gary Bettman will awkwardly announce the start of the NHL Entry Draft.
For Sens fans, Gary’s strange hand talking and head bobbing will signal the end of what really has been an excruciating wait. When you combine the uncertainty around the lottery with the almost four month delay on the draft itself, it’s been a grind.
But the big day is almost here.
The nice thing about this wait is it has allowed us ample opportunity to consider every possible scenario that could play out next Tuesday. The Rangers trading the first overall pick? We talked about that. The Kings going off the board at number two? No big deal. Eugene Melnyk assuming control of Sens Draft operations and making all the picks himself? We’ll be ready.
Nothing should come as a surprise on October 6th.
The other advantage to this delay is it as allowed “experts” from around the hockey world additional time to tinker with their lists. And it has allowed me just enough time to actually create one. Well part of one anyway.
At this point, most draft experts seem to agree there is the first tier (Lafreniere), the second tier (Stutzle and Byfield) and then a third tier which includes 4th until about 12th. So to keep it simple, we’ll focus on those three tiers for now.
BEHOLD! The FINAL SensChirp Draft Rankings focusing only on the Top 12 because I got things to do, damn it.
1. Alexis Lafreniere
There have been times in the last few months when I considered the possibility that Lafreniere might not be the best prospect in this draft but those times were mostly after 10:00 PM and almost entirely fuelled by alcohol. I don’t think the gap is as big as some suggest but he’s definitely the best option.
2. Quinton Byfield
Again, I have flip-flopped regularly on two and three and I think it’s mostly motivated by what I expect the Kings to do and preparing myself for who the Senators might ultimately get. I have found things I don’t like about Byfield’s game in the last few weeks but that’s almost certainly because I think he’s probably going somewhere other than Ottawa. If he doesn’t, well then he’s perfect in every way.
3. Tim Stützle
At this point, when it comes to Stützle, my biggest concerns are consistent spelling of his name and correct pronunciation. He seems like an electric forward with all the skill in the world but I just don’t know if I’m saying his name properly. And then I hear someone say it on the radio and I KNOW I’m not saying it properly. Stoots-la? Stuts-l? He needs a cool nickname and fast.
4. Lucas Raymond
We have now officially reached the “I don’t really know what I’m talking about” portion of these rankings. What I do know is that while Raymond had a bit of a down year, he’s off to a point a game start this season and looks incredibly dynamic playing in a league against men. He also looks like he could be Brady Tkachuk’s evil twin which I am taking as a sign that he’s destined to be an Ottawa Senator.
5. Jake Sanderson
My opinion on the 5 to 12 range changes by the day. By the hour, if I find a really good YouTube video. In some ways, it feels like Sanderson has become the Brady Tkachuk of this year’s draft class. Because he doesn’t have the dazzling skill of some of the other guys up here, it feels like he’s often the target of criticism from the Twitter experts. But to me, Sanderson sounds like he has the potential to be the kind of 25+ minutes a night all-around defenceman that you need to win a Stanley Cup. The player I don’t really want but that I know we really need.
6. Yaroslav Askarov
Speaking of things you need to win a Stanley Cup. Because goalies are so hard to project and because the analytics community hasn’t come up with a sure fire way to analyze/predict goaltending performance and because Chris Osgood and Anti Niemmi, it feels like the top goaltending prospect, a generational talent, in this year’s draft is getting an unfair levels of criticism. And the funny thing is, it’s not about him as a player but rather the position he plays. Goalies aren’t important but goaltending is. Seems to me this franchise goalie might be pretty damn good at goaltending.
7. Cole Perfetti
Another one of those guys that I haven’t really thought much about primarily because it seemed in the early days, that he was destined to go to the Detroit Red Wings at 4th overall. And once I heard that, I really haven’t looked into him too much. It feels like I hear more about his not-so-great skating ability than anything he does particularly well but watch 30 seconds of Perfetti highlights and it’s clear just how good he can be.
8. Jamie Drysdale
I have gone back and forth on Sanderson and Drysdale in the last couple months and honestly, it’s hard to choose between the two. Primarily because it seems like they are just entirely different players. Drysdale slides a bit on my rankings only because I just really like the players above him more. But then I think back to how good Drysdale looked at the World Juniors and realize I am making a terrible, terrible mistake.
9. Marco Rossi
I recall going through this exercise a few months back and having Rossi quite a bit higher and I am not really sure why he’s dropped this low. Rossi is an incredibly skilled forward that seems to have the off-ice work ethic he’ll need to make it at the next level. He’s just…kind of tiny. Of course the draft is full of examples that prove that really doesn’t matter much if you have the skill and will to be an NHL player but when it’s so close between these guys at the top of the draft, it’s the little things that make the difference. Oops.
10. Jack Quinn
Admittedly, Jack Quinn really wasn’t on my radar until the last month or so and that’s mostly my problem. The guy scored 52 goals last season and many of them were scored walking distance from my house, so I have no excuse not to know just how good this guy is. But all the rumours of the Senators liking Quinn have forced me to learn a bit more about this guy and I can confirm that he, is in fact, good.
11. Alexander Holtz
Holtz is the runaway winner of the award for the guy I most often forget about when ranking these players at the top of the draft. Like, I have been agonizing over draft prospects for the better part of six months now and I absolutely could not pick Alexander Holtz out of a line up of hockey players. No chance. Which is odd because he’s probably the best pure sniper in this draft.
12. Anton Lundell
Come to think of it, not sure I really know what Anton Lundell looks like either. Everything I read about Lundell leads me to believe that while he’s a sure-fire NHLer and probably centres a first or second line some day, there’s nothing particularly flashy about his game. And skating may be a bit of an issue. By the way, nothing makes me more uncomfortable than questioning the skating ability of others when I know damn well that I can barely skate backwards. Sorry Anton- I’m sure you’re a fine skater.
There it is!
Tell me why I’m wrong in the comment section below.
