u/PaddleInTheCold

Complemented by my own reads on some available prospects, which you are free to harshly disagree with:

Players who will almost certainly be unavailable:

-Gavin McKenna (LW)

-Ivar Stenberg (LW/RW)

-Chase Reid (RHD)

-Alberts Smits (LHD)

-Caleb Malhotra (C)

Top players who might realistically be available:

-Tynan Lawrence (C): Versatile, hard-working two-way center. Highly skilled, good skater, but with questions about his ultimate hockey sense. He was projected as a potential first overall pick at one point but is now arguably the #3 center prospects after an unproductive start to his NCAA career. In particular, there are concerns that he tries to force the issue too much and may not ultimately have top 6 offence.

-Viggo Bjorck (C): Probably the best pure hockey player among the available centers but ultimately is 5'9", and it's rare a player of that size succeeds as a top 6 center at the NHL level. For a player of his size, he is strong on the puck and wins battles, though, and he may end up taller (he's been listed as 5'10" in Sweden).

-Keaton Verhoeff (RHD): Big, strong two-way defenceman. He was arguably the #1 D prospect a year ago but his stock has been sliding recently due to concerns about his decision-making and skating, so there's a scenario where he is the fourth defenceman off the board.

-Carson Carels (LHD): Another good, physical two-way defenceman, likely with less offence than Verhoeff but better skating. He's a Manitoba native, but an LHD, which is the part of Winnipeg's depth chart least in need of an upgrade.

Others of note:

-Wyatt Cullen (LW): Speedy winger. His stock has risen quite a bit in recent months (coincidental with a major growth spurt). He was the best player in the NTDP this year and had a strong showing internationally. He's a good skater, very skilled, and smart offensively. I was always surprised that earlier projections were so low on him and I'm very intrigued now that scouts seem to like him as much as I did.

-Ethan Belchetz (LW): Physical winger. He's 6'5" and plays like it, but has legitimate offense. Personally, I think he's like a substantially upgraded Kieron Walton, though I'm always a little worried about players whose stock is so dependent on their size and physicality.

-Daxon Rudolph (RHD): Offensive defenseman. Very possibly will be the best available D, with similar offense to those taken above him (besides maybe Reid).

-Ryan Lin (RHD): Offensive defenseman. He's 5'11 and not an elite skater, like most undersized defencemen you might point to as counterexamples of why that might not matter. But he's smart, his offense is very good, and he was better than Verhoeff at the U18 worlds recently. Morrissey without the high-end defence, maybe.

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u/PaddleInTheCold — 9 days ago