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Here at BWA, we've started doing our prospect rankings as an average. The final ranking is based on the thoughts of myself, The Falconer, and hildymac. I've updated my rankings after camp, but both Falconer and hildy are a bit busy right now. To satiate you guys, here are my rankings (below the fold...) I've included a few basic notes to explain why a player has moved up or down on my list, but I'll gladly answer questions in the comments. Okay, here goes... ::ducks::
- Alexander Burmistrov - very likely going to be a Top-6 center. Good skating, good speed, skates with an incredibly low center of balance. "Shifty" is perhaps the best description of how he looks on the ice.
- Carl Klingberg - most likely a 3rd liner, but could perhaps make it to the 2nd line. Big body, loves to attack the net. Better shot than you might think.
- Arturs Kulda - makes the team this year. Next.
- Patrice Cormier - big body, good skater. Very active with other players on the ice, noticed him chirping with Telegin frequently (which is saying something, as Ivan's English is... poor...) Very likely a future captain or alternate.
- Paul Postma - 2nd pairing offensive D-man as soon as he puts on some weight. Likely to be a call-up this year and on the team next year.
- Chris Carrozzi - looked fantastic in camp, had a fantastic year. I might be too optimistic here, but let's see how this next year goes...
- Julian Melchiori - good skater, great puck-handling, solid defender. Shuts down the guys that most of our D prospects can't shut down. Very aggressive.
- Spencer Machacek - will almost certainly be an NHL player as a bottom-6 guy.
- Ivan Telegin - great shooter, perhaps the best on the ice during the sessions I caught. Huge frame, could be a 2nd or 3rd line guy if he fills out and keeps his speed up.
- Angelo Esposito - comes with huge question marks, but his rehab's been moving smoothly and he's putting on tons of muscle (and benefiting from living with Zach Bogosian.)
- Zach Redmond - not as much of a standout as last year, but still a solid prospect. Could be a bottom pairing guy.
- Ed Pasquale - could have even higher potential than Carrozzi. Reasonable chance he'll be an NHL goalie.
- Ben Chariot - what happened here? Seems to be the most improved from last year's draft class. Looks very good on the ice.
- Eric O'Dell - not at camp due to medical issues. Lots of talent here, we'll watch him closely.
- John Albert - still fast and a good shooter, but now a noticeable increase in size and work ethic. Working his way toward a 3rd line checking/energy role with PK time. Much higher on him now than last year.
- Daultan Leveille - still needs to put on more weight, but the kid has wheels. If he gets his size up, his ranking will go up as well.
- Danick Paquette - This fighter apparently learned how to skate. Much faster, improved shot, finally looking like a guy who could play in the NHL in the bottom-6. Most improved forward.
- Akim Aliu - lots of questions here, except his size. Big, imposing, good shot. He's a raw talent and will need extra time to develop, but he has 2nd or 3rd line potential.
- Jordan Samuels-Thomas - has everything you need to make the NHL (size, shot, puck-handling, nose for the net) but speed. I'm told he picked it up later in camp, but I never saw him show "NHL speed" while I was there. I'd be thrilled to be wrong, because if he can skate at the NHL level, he can earn a spot there.
- Will O'Neill - Dan Marr's really high on Will, and he's shown some good improvement. Another guy to keep an eye on: he could move up this list quickly.
- Vinny Saponari - impressed me a few times in camp, but there are concerns here...
- Jimmy Bubnick - decent moves, needs to work on his skating.
- Levko Koper - could be an energy line/PK guy. Good skater.
- Cody Sol - good size, needs some more time to develop.
- Alex Kangas - had a rough year, but if he can pick his play back up, still has a shot at the NHL, most likely as a backup/call-up.
There you go. Final rankings will hopefully be up soon...
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