He didn’t look out of place in the KHL in September, he torched the MHL for three multi-point games in four games in November, and he has looked the part of a top player in the second-tier VHL, where his age adjusted numbers reflect where he was drafted. Svechkov has had a good - but shy of great - developmental year thus far. We saw the efforts that he was making to become a more mature individual on and off the ice and I thought it was a great challenge for him to say ‘You’re part of the leadership group now.’ And I thought he’s done a tremendous job with it.”ģ. It was by design that we gave him an ‘A’ on his jersey. Here’s Halifax Mooseheads head coach Sylvain Favreau on L’Heureux’s growth: “One of my biggest things taking over as the head coach was working with him specifically. I’m more and more comfortable projecting him as a “hard to play against” top-nine contributor who gives a line some skill and sandpaper. And while he can be his own worst enemy, there has been progress made walking the fine line that he does. When he’s ramped up and engaged, he’s a pesky, physical, “hard on pucks” winger who can barrel at, or through, opponents to the middle-third of the ice, win back possession on lifts and battles, and impose himself on the game. His stride can look a little choppy but he’s strong through his pushes to attack at defenders and then he’s got the dexterity to play through sticks and feet as well as the shot to score (when he leans into his snapshot, it really whips off of his stick quickly). When L’Heureux plays within himself, he’s a powerful, talented, heavyset winger who is a lot to handle and difficult to knock off the puck. But he was also in the midst of a 21-point, 11-game November/December scoring streak at the time and I think he would have made a tremendous bottom-six player for that team with the right messaging. He’s 18 in a 19-year-old’s tournament, he comes with some baggage given his discipline history, and all the rest. Given how well L’Heureux played in Calgary at Hockey Canada’s summer showcase in August (he looked, frankly, like one of the best players on the ice among some of the sport’s most high profile young players), I was mildly surprised when he wasn’t invited to their December selection. Zachary L’Heureux, LW, 18 (Halifax Mooseheads) But his agility and reads are so impressive that he can steal games when he’s at his best, and make the difficult saves that others just can’t get to or stick with. He still looks jittery in the net, bouncing on his toes and moving to pucks (which he says is to keep himself focused and make some of those quick-twitch saves I talked about). There are still times where he gets frozen over his glove hand, something NHL teams will exploit. But there are tools in his game that still need some refinement. He regularly makes second- and third-chance saves holding firm in his positioning even when he’s laying on the ice. His ability to change directions in the net, stay on top of shooters, track their hands, and make reactionary saves is elite. Askarov’s raw talent certainly makes him unique, though. 1 goalie prospect in the world today (when it was more of a coin flip for me in the summer). But enough for me to say that I’d rank Wild first-rounder Jesper Wallstedt as the No. Not in my belief in his tools or his upside as a starting NHL goalie. But between shoddy international play at multiple points now and his play coming back down to earth domestically a little, this is the first time where I’ve paused. He’s a teenager having success at two different pro levels, including one that is arguably the second-best in the world. This season has really been the first in Askarov’s young career where he hasn’t looked like a star. The Predators pool has depth at every position, depth in greater numbers on the whole than the countdown has seen so far (23 players feature on their list here, tied for the most so far), a strong core group of half a dozen players at the top, and B-grade prospects into the teens.Ģ021 prospect pool rank: No. Even after graduating Philip Tomasino, one of their two best prospects, to the NHL, the Predators’ pool is improved year-over-year after a strong 2021 draft class (which included two first-round picks and good value at every selection), impressive internal growth from a handful of pre-existing prospects, and the addition of Cody Glass (who hasn’t lived up to his potential but still has some) via trade.
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