I've revealed my top 100 prospects for the 2017 NHL draft, let you behind the curtain to show how I determined which player was my No. 1 and ranked the top 30 prospects of the past five years.
What follows is my attempt to show the top 2017 NHL draft prospects broken down by the attributes that are important to the game of hockey.
I only rank players who I think could plausibly be drafted. In other words, while there might be a speedster or a sniper in junior hockey who could rank ahead of some of the players listed below in that particular skill, if they aren't an NHL prospect, it defeats the purpose to include them.
Here are the top 10 draft prospects in terms of skating, puck handling, shooting, passing, hockey IQ and physical element:
Alex Formenton isn't great at much other than his skating, but he can jet as well as anyone in junior hockey, which is particularly impressive at 6-foot-2. Owen Tippett isn't far behind, though, in a similar regard and has more dynamic elements in his game. Following them are two dynamic puck rushers in Timothy Liljegren and David Farrance. Liljegren isn't as much of a straight-forward blazer as Formenton and Tippett but has very good speed and is quite agile. Farrance is one of the best rushers in the draft. Tim Soderlund and Logan Cockerill aren't locks to be selected, but if they are, their speed will be the reason why.
There are highly skilled players in this year's class, but some of the most skilled players with the puck carry risk factors in their game as discussed in their respective profiles in my 2017 draft feature. Casey Mittelstadt, Elias Pettersson, Cale Makar and Liljegren are top-five talents depending on whom you talk to, although certain variables in their games keep them from that range for me, personally. Ivan Lodnia is a game-breaking talent but with serious holes in his game. He's tough to gauge overall, because he was buried on a deep Erie Otters team.
Eeli Tolvanen and Tippett are the two most clearly gifted goal-scorers in the class. They both have an ability to finish chances from a distance, and both generate a high volume of chances as well. Kole Lind was harder to gauge in a scorer's role because of how Kelowna utilized him on the power play closer to the net, but you often saw him set up in the slot and be a go-to trigger man. Nicolas Hague and Max Gildon have two of the best point cannons in the class.
This year's class doesn't have a true elite passer like I've seen in other years. The top playmakers such as Nico Hischier, Nick Suzuki and Nolan Patrick are also quite effective goal-scorers, so they aren't always looking to make a play to a teammate. The top names dominate most of this group, but I'd like to direct attention to Mason Shaw, who has 107 assists in 138 WHL games during the past two seasons, including 12 in 11 games in the most recent postseason. While a player like Denis Smirnov isn't likely to be a high pick, he is among the few players I saw make wow-level feeds on occasion this season.
It's close among Suzuki, Hischier and Miro Heiskanen for smartest player in the class, but I lean to Suzuki based on his unique vision and how well he gets himself into scoring positions for a small, slow player. Ikonen is one of the draft's most underrated players in terms of how the industry views him. His offensive IQ is high-end, and I see a player with a lot of NHL upside as a potential playmaking center. Michael Rasmussen is a controversial player, because some think he's a tree, but I've seen a crafty, versatile player who puts himself in positions to be effective every shift.
At 6-foot-7, Hague is a monster on defense who isn't afraid to lean into players. Maxime Comtois didn't have the offensive season some hoped for entering his draft year, but even when his skill isn't showing, he's a quick, tough competitor. Klim Kostin was hurt most of the season, but when healthy, he's a great puck protector who uses his body to hold on to possession. Lias Andersson isn't tall like most of the other players on this list, but he's quite strong for a player his age and isn't afraid to add a little edge to his shifts.