Now two full months into the draft year, several prospects are seeing their stock trend up.
Here are 10 notable risers from my November rankings — my top 186 for the 2020 NHL draft.
RELATED: 10 Fallers from Fisher’s Top 186 for November
1) Tim Stutzle (LW/LC, Germany, Adler Mannheim DEL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 8
NOVEMBER RANKING: 4
VARIATION: +4
ANALYSIS: Stutzle is a riser for the second straight month, having debuted at No. 17 in my preseason rankings before climbing into my top 10 and now into my top five. I felt my top six was pretty set to start the draft year, but Stutzle has forced his way into that elite group. He’s just outside my top tier (1-3) but is now topping my second tier (4-9). The more I watch Stutzle — and his highlights — the more I think he can be an impact player in the NHL. He’s been a dynamic force in the DEL and the Champions League competition, looking like the next big thing from Germany. That country is home to the NHL’s current scoring leader in Leon Draisaitl — the third overall pick from 2014 — and also Moritz Seider, who went sixth overall this year. Stutzle is likely going to join them as a top-10 selection, especially if he continues to shine at the World Juniors.
2) Jamie Drysdale (RD, Canada, Erie OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 10
NOVEMBER RANKING: 7
VARIATION: +3
ANALYSIS: A rise of three spots normally wouldn’t warrant mention on this list, but Drysdale’s rise has been significant in separating himself from the pack as the clear No. 1 defence prospect for 2020. Drysdale is every bit as good and arguably better than Bowen Byram, who went fourth overall as the top defenceman in 2019. There are similarities between the two, with Drysdale developing into a dominant two-way defender. His offensive upside has been evident for years, but Drysdale’s ability to shut down the opposition’s top forwards this season has been equally impressive. He seems to relish those matchups — much like Drew Doughty — and Drysdale could also push for the top five, perhaps even the top three with a strong showing at the World Juniors, assuming he makes the cut for Canada as an underager. It’s worth noting that Drysdale also overtook someone from my previous top six in Swedish winger Alexander Holtz, who reminds me of David Pastrnak and Patrik Laine, so that says a ton about Drysdale’s rise in my eyes.
3) Marco Rossi (LC, Austria/Switzerland, Ottawa OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 15
NOVEMBER RANKING: 10
VARIATION: +5
ANALYSIS: Rossi has been lighting up the OHL as a speedster with terrific offensive instincts. He’s a smart player overall — a 200-foot contributor — but a real catalyst on the attack. He’s small but sturdy, so that lack of size shouldn’t hold him back. He’s also an older prospect for this draft class — only missing the 2019 cutoff by a week (eight days to be exact) — but that shouldn’t be held against him either. Rossi is a mature player that might not be far away from making an NHL impact. He’s now topping my third tier (10-16) that features a few other centres in Hendrix Lapierre (11), Dylan Holloway (12) and this next guy.
4) Connor Zary (LC, Canada, Kamloops WHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 21
NOVEMBER RANKING: 16
VARIATION: +5
ANALYSIS: Zary is among the WHL’s scoring leaders and has been racking up the goals lately after starting the season with an assist-heavy stat-line. Zary’s numbers have exceeded expectations — thus the rise — but his overall impact is winning over the scouts. He’s not a high-impact player, he’s not going to wow you or pull you out of your seat on too many shifts, but he always has an impact on the game over 60 minutes. He plays in all situations for Kamloops, centering the top line and the top units for both specials teams — the power play and penalty kill. He is a complete player, a coach’s dream and a real projectable pro. I foresee Zary as a second-line centre in the NHL, somewhat similar to Bo Horvat.
5) Jan Mysak (LW, Czech Republic, Litvinov Czech)
OCTOBER RANKING: 27
NOVEMBER RANKING: 18
VARIATION: +9
ANALYSIS: Mysak is back to where he began for me — back at No. 18, which is where I had him in my preseason rankings. He was a faller for me in October after a slower start, but he has picked up the pace in the Czech pro league — already matching his point total from last season. Despite last month’s fall, Mysak has stayed in the same tier thus far (15-27 for October, now 17-26 for November). I like him in that range as a mid-to-late first-rounder. And I do like his skill-set as a potential top-six winger.
6) Kasper Simontaival (RW, Finland, Tappara Liiga)
OCTOBER RANKING: 25
NOVEMBER RANKING: 19
VARIATION: +6
ANALYSIS: Ditto for Simontaival, who is also back on the rise within that same tier. I really like his skill-set — just as much as Mysak’s, perhaps with a higher offensive ceiling. Simontaival is a smaller forward and more of a playmaker. He reminds me of Florida prospect Aleksi Heponiemi, who was a second-rounder in 2017 but potentially cracks the first round in a redraft of that year. Simontaival is a first-rounder for me right now, but size concerns could scare some teams off on draft day. He certainly has first-round talent — top-20 talent in my opinion.
7) Lukas Cormier (LD, Canada, Charlottetown QMJHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 30
NOVEMBER RANKING: 23
VARIATION: +7
ANALYSIS: Cormier has been sidelined by a lower-body injury — projected to miss six weeks, with a few more to go — so it may seem strange to see his rise continue in my rankings despite not playing. But I like this player a lot, liking what I saw from his earlier games prior to getting hurt and previously being impressed by his performance at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Cormier is quite similar to Colorado’s Samuel Girard, who I’ve always been a big fan of. That comparison might make me higher than most on Cormier.
8) Jeremie Poirier (LD, Canada, Saint John QMJHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 31
NOVEMBER RANKING: 24
VARIATION: +7
ANALYSIS: Poirier, to the contrary, is a prospect that I’ve been a little lower on than most. I’m not a huge fan of his, but he belongs somewhere in that 17-26 tier. If the draft were held tomorrow, he’d be a first-rounder and he does have first-round talent. I’m not sold on Poirier’s upside, but I gave him a bit of a bump up for November. I do prefer Cormier between the two as of today.
9) Dawson Mercer (RW, Canada, Drummondville QMJHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 35
NOVEMBER RANKING: 25
VARIATION: +10
ANALYSIS: Mercer is the kid from the Q that is really rising on most lists. He scored 30 goals in that league last season, so it’s not like Mercer came out of nowhere, but he’s been a consistent force this season. Mercer plays bigger than he is — sort of like Brad Marchand in that sense — and he’s got a real nose for the net with a finisher’s touch. I’m not ready to make that full-on comparison, but I could see him becoming a Brendan Gallagher type. Mercer has worked his way into my first round and into that 17-26 tier.
10) Topi Niemela (RD, Finland, Karpat Liiga)
OCTOBER RANKING: 39
NOVEMBER RANKING: 28
VARIATION: +11
ANALYSIS: Niemela is emerging as the top Finnish defenceman for 2020 — there are a handful of promising ones in my top 75 — and his rise is reminiscent of Ville Heinola last season. They are similar — Niemela is more like Heinola than Lassi Thomson, more smooth and steady than flashy and explosive — but he’ll need to keep making strides to solidify his place in my first round. Right now, Niemela is still outside that 17-26 tier — part of a bigger tier from 27-45, with those 19 prospects all being legitimate contenders to round out my first round from one month to the next.
Honourable Mentions
NOTE: Here are 30 more prospects on the rise in my November rankings — most of them rising by double digits and all of them climbing at least eight spots from October.
William Wallinder (LD, Sweden, MODO J20)
OCTOBER RANKING: 44
NOVEMBER RANKING: 33
VARIATION: +11
Thomas Bordeleau (LC, USA/Canada, NTDP U18)
OCTOBER RANKING: 75
NOVEMBER RANKING: 36
VARIATION: +39
Seth Jarvis (RW, Canada, Portland WHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 48
NOVEMBER RANKING: 40
VARIATION: +8
John-Jason Peterka (LW, Germany, EHC Munchen DEL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 86
NOVEMBER RANKING: 47
VARIATION: +39
Emil Heineman (LW, Sweden, Leksands J20)
OCTOBER RANKING: 120
NOVEMBER RANKING: 51
VARIATION: +69
Ryan O’Rourke (LD, Canada, Sault Ste. Marie OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 72
NOVEMBER RANKING: 61
VARIATION: +11
Lleyton Moore (LD, Canada, Oshawa OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 71
NOVEMBER RANKING: 62
VARIATION: +9
Ruben Rafkin (RD, Finland, Windsor OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 98
NOVEMBER RANKING: 65
VARIATION: +33
Jack Quinn (RW, Canada, Ottawa OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 66
VARIATION: +59
Juuso Maenpaa (LC, Finland, Jokerit U20)
OCTOBER RANKING: 105
NOVEMBER RANKING: 71
VARIATION: +34
Eemil Viro (LD, Finland, TPS U20)
OCTOBER RANKING: 123
NOVEMBER RANKING: 72
VARIATION: +51
Joni Jurmo (LD, Finland, Jokerit U20)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 73
VARIATION: +52
Alexander Nikishin (LD, Russia, Krylia Sovetov Moskva MHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 102
NOVEMBER RANKING: 75
VARIATION: +27
Lukas Reichel (LW/RW, Germany, Berlin DEL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 77
VARIATION: +48
Simon Knak (RW, Switzerland, Portland WHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 93
NOVEMBER RANKING: 81
VARIATION: +12
Alex Laferriere (RW, USA, Des Moines USHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 91
VARIATION: +34
Maxim Groshev (RW, Russia, Reaktor Nizhnekamsk MHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: 117
NOVEMBER RANKING: 94
VARIATION: +23
Sergei Safin-Tregubov (LD, Russia/Portugal, Tolpar Ufa MHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 96
VARIATION: +29
Tyler Tullio (RC, Canada/USA, Oshawa OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 98
VARIATION: +27
Hayden Fowler (RW, Canada, Erie OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 99
VARIATION: +26
Brock Faber (RD, USA, NTDP U18)
OCTOBER RANKING: 112
NOVEMBER RANKING: 103
VARIATION: +9
Marek Blaha (RD, Czech Republic, Sparta Praha U19)
OCTOBER RANKING: 121
NOVEMBER RANKING: 105
VARIATION: +16
Dylan Garand (G, Canada, Kamloops WHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 109
VARIATION: +16
Lukas Svejkovsky (RC/RW, USA/Czech Republic, Vancouver WHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 110
VARIATION: +15
Aidan Campbell (G, USA/Canada, Erie OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 112
VARIATION: +13
Luke Evangelista (RW, Canada, London OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 113
VARIATION: +12
Tyson Foerster (RC, Canada, Barrie OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 114
VARIATION: +11
Tucker Tynan (G, USA, Niagara OHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 115
VARIATION: +10
Antoine Coulombe (G, Canada, Shawinigan QMJHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 116
VARIATION: +9
Patrick Guay (LW/LC, Canada, Sherbrooke QMJHL)
OCTOBER RANKING: Not Ranked
NOVEMBER RANKING: 117
VARIATION: +8
