2016 NHL Draft Top Prospects for Fantasy Hockey

July 25th, 2016

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Hand-crafted specially for fantasy hockey junkies, although certainly not exclusive to.

The following rankings are based on a prospect’s pure offensive potential. Goalies get no love here. Apologies to the vital guardians of the goal, but your potential is just too monumentally difficult to predict from a fantasy armchair GM’s point of view.

You will quickly notice some of the undersized forwards and blueliners creep up the rankings in comparison with my Final Rankings. I have attempted to implement a healthy dose of realism as, as by strict use of my own definition, some of these diminutive players would have ranked even higher. Also, I have taken into account that because of some prospects‘ solid all-around ability, they may get more ice time, which may in turn translate in offensive output. Those who are hooked on hockey simulator-based leagues where defensive traits and goalie prospects are more valuable, you want to pay more attention to my regular draft rankings.

2016 NHL Draft Rankings: Top 60 Prospects for Fantasy Hockey

Legend

  • Column 1 (Rank): prospect’s rank in term of pure offensive potential
  • Column 4 (Pick): where the prospect was picked in the 2016 NHL Draft
  • Column 5 (CR): where the prospect was ranked in The Next Ones Final Rankings
Rank Name Team Pick CR Ht Pos Prospect Profiler Notes
1 Matthews, Auston TOR 1 1 6’2 C Auston “Powers” is a franchise centre; American version of Toews
2 Laine, Patrik WPG 2 2 6’4 RW Gifted Finnish Finisher; high end sniper
3 Puljujarvi, Jesse EDM 4 3 6’4 RW The Finnish Ultimate Weapon; Finnish version of Mats Sundin
4 Jost, Tyson COL 10 5 5’11 C/RW Possesses tremendous speed, vision and hockey IQ; WJAC MVP, U18s Top Forward
5 Nylander, Alexander BUF 8 7 6’1 RW Alexander Maximiliam Michael Junior Nylander Altelius: offensive catalyst
6 Keller, Clayton ARI 7 9 5’10 C Adaptive, explosive offensive catalyst with the shot of a marksman.
7 Bean, Jake CAR 13 8 6’1 D Smooth, sublime skater with outstanding puckhandling skills.
8 Dubois, Pierre-Luc CBJ 3 6 6’2 LW/C Desirable size, outstanding compete level, does whatever it takes to win.
9 Tkachuk, Matthew CGY 6 4 6’1 LW Keith’s son is a clone of his father.
10 Sergachev, Mikhail MTL 9 10 6’2 D Powerful & smooth skater; tenacious, exceptional anticipation, exudes confidence
11 Bellows, Kieffer NYI 19 16 6’0 LW American Sniper, the hockey prospect; clone of sharpshooting father Brian
12 Juolevi, Olli VAN 5 12 6’3 D Extremely poised, times attacks to perfection, strong defensively.
13 DeBrincat, Alex CHI 39 17 5’7 RW Superior hockey sense, elusive mobility, and dynamic offensive ability.
14 Fabbro, Dante NSH 17 14 6’1 D Mobile two-way blue liner with a penchant for the offensive side of the game.
15 Girard, Samuel NSH 47 23 5’9 D Sublime skating, savvy; undersized, but the ability to overcome
16 Rubtsov, German PHI 22 15 6’1 C Skilled, powerful; makes teammates better; matchup nightmare for opposition
17 Laberge, Pascal PHI 36 21 6’1 RW, C Brilliant performance and Team Orr MVP at CHL Top Prospects Game carried over
18 Brown, Logan OTT 11 11 6’6 C Mammoth, mobile 6’6″ centre with enticing skill-set; son of ex NHLer Jeff; surging stock
19 Dahlén, Jonathan OTT 42 19 5’11 C/LW Ulf’s son is a creative forward with deft hands, agile skating; high compete level
20 Chychrun, Jakob ARI 16 13 6’2 D Tantalizing combination of size, skating ability, skill and hockey smarts.
21 Abramov, Vitali CBJ 65 18 5’9 RW Undersized dynamic forward is torching the QMJHL.
22 McLeod, Michael NJD 12 20 6’2 C The relentless, responsible, crafty centreman is a speed demon.
23 Gauthier, Julien CAR 21 28 6’3 RW Size. Shot. Skating. A offensive power forward’s hat trick of goodness.
24 Clague, Kale LAK 51 33 6’0 D Smart, smooth skating 2-way D; positionally sound with tremendous offensive upside.
25 Dineen, Cam ARI 68 35 5’11 D Outstanding skill, good skater, processes game at extraordinary speed
26 McAvoy, Charlie BOS 14 22 6’0 D Mature, confident 2-way D with good hockey instincts; NHL written all over him
27 Kunin, Luke MIN 15 25 5’11 C Complete player with high compete level; plays with speed; has laser precision shot
28 Fox, Adam CGY 66 39 5’11 D Confident, poised right handed PMD; 3rd in team scoring on U.S. National U18 Team
29 Steel, Sam ANA 30 36 5’11 C Slick centreman possesses patience and poise with the puck.
30 Benson, Tyler EDM 32 27 6’0 LW When healthy, he’s tough on the puck and hard to handle.
31 Johansen, Lucas WSH 28 26 6’2 D Ryan’s bro is a precision passing, puck-moving D, who is smart in his own zone
32 Tufte, Riley DAL 25 30 6’5 LW 6’5″ clutch, skilled power forward is Mr. Hockey (Minnesota HS Award) finalist
33 Howden, Brett TBL 27 24 6’2 C Quinton’s brother also possesses nice size; complete game; has pro feel about him
34 Mascherin, Adam BUF 38 32 5’9 LW Built like a tank, the creative winger has a deceptive shot and sees the ice well
35 Asplund, Rasmus BUF 33 34 5’10 C Impressive at WJCs; putting his speed and outstanding hockey IQ on display.
36 Mete, Victor MTL 100 47 5’10 D Pure offense. Elite skating. Poised. Size only detriment.
37 Kayumov, Artur CHI 50 56 5’10 W Elusive speedster. Creative playmaker. Undersized warrior.
38 Dube, Dillon CGY 56 48 5’11 C Complete 200 ft. player, never gives up; relentless, responsible, speed, shot.
39 Cholowski, Dennis DET 20 40 6’1 D Mobile defenseman finds his stock rising, possessing tremendous upside
40 Borgstrom, Henrik FLO 23 70 6’3 C Talented forward with good size, plays straightforward game. Intriguing upside.
41 Bitten, Will MTL 70 31 5’10 C Extremely versatile, quick, skilled forward, effective along the boards, does not back down
42 Pitlick, Rem NSH 76 63 5’10 C Electrifying offensive forward; torched the USHL this season. 2nd year eligible
43 Hronek, Filip DET 53 41 6’0 D Intelligent puckmoving blueliner; super sleeper
44 Allison, Wade PHI 52 54 6’2 RW Surging stock alert. Winner. Strong. Pro style. Powerful in the slot.
45 Allard, Frédéric NSH 78 43 6’1 D “The General”: Amongst the top scoring dmen in the Q, Allard has been flying under the radar
46 Jones, Max ANA 24 29 6’3 LW 2016’s Lawson Crouse; power forward is skilled and difficult to play against.
47 Kyrou, Jordan STL 35 44 6’0 RW, C Energetic forward possesses really good puck poise and puck protection skills
48 Morrison, Cam COL 40 51 6’3 C/LW Strong. Physical. Goal-scorer.
49 Krys, Chad CHI 45 74 5’11 D Undersized, puck-moving, 2-way D; makes up for size concerns with high hockey IQ
50 Grundström, Carl TOR 57 37 6’0 LW Physical, fast scoring forward
51 Phillips, Matthew CGY 166 66 5’6 C Dangerous, dynamic offensive talent with outstanding work ethic. Very undersized.
52 Kuokkanen, Janne CAR 43 58 6’1 C Smart, playmaking two-way responsible forward
53 Raddysh, Taylor TBL 58 55 6’2 RW Size, shot, and smarts. Bigger forward especially effective on PP.
54 Thompson, Tage STL 26 71 6’6 F 6’5″ forward second on UConn (NCAA) in team scoring (mostly on PP)
55 Hajek, Libor FLO 37 38 6’2 D Rock solid, smooth, poised blueliner, effortlessly fends off attackers
56 Katchouk, Boris TBL 44 42 6’1 LW Tenacious, consistent, reliable forward with good speed can pinch in offensively
57 Lindgren, Ryan BOS 49 46 6’0 D All-around ability; potential future letter bearer
58 Green, Luke WPG 79 61 6’0 D Sublime skating, offensive creativity, driven to improve 2-way game
59 Gignac, Brandon OTT 80 86 5’11 C Afterburner speed. Playmaker. Good hockey sense. Responsible in his own end.
60 Brooks, Adam TOR 92 112 5’10 C 3rd year eligible forward; high end hockey IQ, superb passer, quick hands; offensive caralyst

Alternative Perspective

Happy drafting!

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The Hockey Writers