NHL Draft War Room: Nikolaj Ehlers

February 28th, 2014 Christopher Ralph

Nikolaj Ehlers

(pronounced eel-hers)

THW’s NHL Draft War Room Rankings: #13

THW’s NHL Draft Rankings – The Next Ones Edition (aka Chris’s List): #4 (March 2014)

Nikolaj Ehlers at 2014 CHL Top Prospects Game (Photo: Brad Watson)

Hashtag/Nickname: #TheElectricEhl
Team: #24, Halifax, QMJHL
Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height: 6’0
Weight: 162 lb.
Born: Aalborg, Denmark, 13-Feb-96
Twitter: @NikolajEhlers24

Stats

Other Rankings

3 – HockeyProspect.com, Feb-14

8 – Craig Button, Jan-14

11 – Future Considerations, Feb-14

15 – Bob MacKenzie, Jan-14

20 – ISS, Feb-14

28 – NHL Combined – Mid-term, Jan-14

Worth Retweeting

Reinhart is back at #1 & Nikolaj Ehlers moved into our top 5.Check out more #2014NHLDraft rankings in our Feb preview http://t.co/60f65ozTCA

— HockeyProspect.com (@ScoutingService) February 24, 2014

Talking to scouts today about Halifax's Nikolaj Ehlers; looking like a top-15 pick. One said "I don't want to compare him to Drouin, but…"

— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) February 3, 2014

http://t.co/TMB326PEad #20 Nikolaj Ehlers @NikolajEhlers24 Explosive acceleration who powers himself into scoring areas. Dynamic on puck.

— ISS Hockey (@ISShockey) February 4, 2014

[For all the prospects profiled in the THW NHL Draft War Room series check out

the 2014 NHL Draft War Room: Prospect Profile Index]

Profiles

Profile 1: Scott Pothier at TheScoutingReport.org
Profile 2: Robert Nasso at bladesofteal.com

Mooseheads star Nikolaj Ehlers gets high praise from Edmonton Oilers GM http://t.co/DSKugOIsDP via @metrohalifax

— Andrew Rankin (@AndrewRankinCB) February 21, 2014

Quotable

Craig Button, TSN Director of Scouting at TSN.ca:

“Nikolaj is a dynamic player who – while not being really big – plays big and is elusive. A very quick player, he is able to see opportunities and take advantage. He is equally adept at finishing plays as he is making them.”

From the War Room

Eldon MacDonald, THW: A few words on Nikolaj Ehlers:
- Skills – High-end top speed and acceleration combined with amazing agility, Jonathan Drouin class back-hander, elite wrister, adept at changing direction and flow of the play. Maybe not quite Jonathan Drouin class in all areas just yet but his improvements to date have him heading in that direction.
- Shows up – Shows up for work every game with a determination to make a difference every game. His league leading +41 shows just what a difference he is making.
- Not a perimeter guy – Goes to the net, spends time in the paint, works the cycle.
- Keeps getting better – Just when you think he is topped out, he shows a new skill or improves on an old one.
- Size – Size and strength are still issues but he is well aware that he needs to add weight and strength. As he is not a perimeter player and plays at a dynamic tempo with amazing skills, this issue will reduce going forward to where it becomes close to a non-issue.
- Draft placement – He is all over the map in the rankings. However, if he keeps improving on his dynamic play as he has so far this year, I could see him pushing the top 10 by the end of the year.

Editor’s Note

I finally got to see this phenomenal talent live at the CHL Top Prospects Game in Calgary after relying on video for previous analysis. His stickhandling often left me speechless, but I did come up with this description from the press box: I can envision Ehlers stickhandling deftly through Shanghai traffic in rush hour.