The “two weeks of Corey” has concluded with ESPN Insider Corey Pronman fortuitously releasing (note: paywall) each Atlantic Division team’s top ten prospects in the first day of his four-part series.
Although Pronman ranked the Senators as having the 23rd-best system in the NHL, he consistently pushed the notion that Ottawa’s system is “somewhat thin, in terms of top-end prospects, the pipeline is actually quite deep in above-average prospects” blaming the graduation of other well-regarded young players to the parent roster and trades for this situation.
Pronman noted that there are a few “quality-upside/question-mark type prospects here, as well as solid two-way players” within the system.
Since all of the information is buried behind a paywall, I’m not going to steal all of his information and re-publish it for everyone to see. If you’re looking for some solid third party prospect analysis, go buy your own account at ESPN Insider. Between Pronman’s work and that of a Craig Custance or a Rob Vollman, there’s a ton of quality work there for what essentially amounts to a handful of dollars per month for an account. (Plus, if you’re into baseball, Keith Law’s work is exceptional.)
Colin White (75th) was listed as the only Senators prospects on Pronman’s top 100 prospects list last week, so it was mere formality to see him headlining Ottawa’s top ten prospects list. Thanks to his inclusion on this list, there was no write-up for White this time around, but if you want something to salivate over, read Pronman’s comments here.
Following White in the rankings were Mikael Wikstrand, Thomas Chabot, Nick Paul and Matt Puempel to round out the top five.
Characterized as a cerebral and exceptional puck-mover, Wikstrand is one of those prospects who has that quality upside, but he also needs time to come over to North America and adjust to the rink dimensions and style of play. The decision on whether that will be this year or not is reportedly heated, but holy shit, how fun would it be if Wikstrand comes over and competes for a LD spot and helps push guys like Jared Cowen, Mark Borowiecki and Chris Phillips further out the door?
Pegged as someone that would have been good value in the early second round and not where the Senators grabbed him, Pronman believes the Senators (or any other team that would have selected him where he was) reached. Time will tell whether this decision was correct, but what I find interesting about Chabot’s game – the fantastic skating and talent – is that these are the sort of skills that are relished by Pronman. Hopefully that’s not a reflection of how much Chabot needs to improve his decision-making skills and defensive aptitude, but if these latter two skills improve, it’s safe to assume that Chabot will be a big mover in Pronman’s next set of rankings.
Following Chabot were two players who are almost diametrically opposed, but who share the same quality: they both may struggle to play in top six roles if specific aspects of their games fail to improve. Nick Paul was portrayed as a good two-way player whose skating ability has improved. Although his production levels in junior probably will not translate to the NHL, he’s seen as one of those prospects who has an incredibly safe and projectable floor. On the other hand, Matt Puempel is lauded for his natural goal-scoring ability and play with the puck. Unfortunately, the knock has always been that he needs to improve his play away from the puck if he’s going to earn the kind of trust and responsibility that comes with playing in a top-six role.
One of Ottawa’s two second round picks this year, Filip Chlapik earned praise for his hockey acumen, ability to protect the puck, battle in tough spaces, and two-way play. He was identified as someone who really needs to work on his skating and stride however.
Rounding out the bottom five were Andreas Englund, Shane Prince, Chris Wideman and Francis Perron.
Englund earned respect for being a mobile defensive defenceman who already has had some success playing against men over in Sweden. Prince was tabbed by Pronman as the “noteworthy prospect” who is “a flashy, skilled playmaker with great hands and above-average speed. His size and defense have always been the issues, but he has trended up from a bit of a long shot to a guy who is legitimately pushing for an NHL job.”
Although Wideman won the AHL’s ‘Best Defenceman’ award for his 2014-15 season, Pronman guarded fans against that by qualifying that it’s not overly impressive for a prospect who is already 25-years old. While true, I think it’s important to remember that Chris Wideman went from a longshot prospect to someone who really put himself on the radar this past season. Provided he can show that he belongs in the NHL during training camp and the preseason, his value right now lies in the fact that he brings another dynamic that others competing for a bottom pairing/depth defenceman role lack. That’s something.
Here is the full top ten list with Pronman’s 11 through 15 rankings:
- Colin White (75th)
- Mikael Wikstrand
- Thomas Chabot
- Nick Paul
- Matt Puempel
- Filip Chlapik
- Andreas Englund
- Shane Prince
- Chris Wideman
- Francis Perron
- Ben Harpur
- Fredrik Claesson
- Quentin Shore
- Tobias Lindberg
- Marcus Hogberg
What is really interesting are the conspicuous omissions of goaltender Matt O’Connor and Ottawa’s other second round pick, Gabriel Gagne.
Gagne fell outside Pronman’s top 100 pre-draft rankings, so it wasn’t surprising to see him fall outside of Pronman’s recently revealed top 100 prospects list. But to see a second round pick who scored 35 goals in his draft year fall outside of Ottawa’s top 15 prospects entirely? That is odd.
O’Connor’s story is a bit different since he was an undrafted collegiate free agent signing who played for a powerhouse program at Boston University, but maybe O’Connor will be similar to Gagne in the sense that he’ll need another season under his belt to prove the doubters wrong.
Other News and Notes:
– Over at Sportlogiq.com, Andrew Berkshire examined the Senators playoff series versus the Canadiens and broke down how important Erik Karlsson was to the Senators’ ability to break the puck out and generate scoring chances. None of the information is surprising, but for those who share concerns over: the state of the blue line; how much pressure there is on Patrick Wiercioch/Cody Ceci to develop into a reliable tandem; the third pairing’s (in)ability to move the puck – it’s a worthwhile read.
– Andrew Hammond revealed images of his new mask via Twitter:
Thank you @JBartziokas for another unreal mask. I’ll pay you in hamburgers. #imlovinit pic.twitter.com/lthhZEg3BB
— Andrew Hammond (@andrewhammond30) August 18, 2015
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– NHL.com posted their season outlook preview piece for the Senators.
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