In hockey, it is increasingly important for players to be very good at a lot of things. But an elite skill among peers can be a game-changer for a player's draft stock.
There is a large segment of skills I'm looking for in a player, with hockey sense and skating among the most important. Here are my best prospects in the draft class at 33 skill categories, including nine goalie-specific traits.
Hockey sense, forward:
Jack Hughes, C, USA U18 (NTDP)
The biggest difference between Hughes and everyone else is how fast he processes the game. He moves so fast, but there are still plays and teammates he spots that others could only dream of seeing at that speed.
Hockey sense, defenseman:
Victor Soderstrom, D, Brynas (Sweden)
A good all-around defender, Soderstrom is not overly big, so he has to use his smarts and anticipation to get the advantage on opposing forwards. He also makes smart, confident plays with the puck on his stick.
Skating, forward:
Jack Hughes, C, USA U18 (NTDP)
Hughes' skating is both fast and deceptive. He uses his superior edge work to escape pressure and fool defenders, all while making it look easy.
Skating, defenseman:
Philip Broberg, D, AIK (Sweden 2)
Broberg is one of the top five skaters in the draft class, regardless of position, thanks to exceptional speed and a powerful stride.
Speed:
Dylan Cozens, C, Lethbridge (WHL)
Cozens describes his own skating as powerful, and I would agree. I think his burst down the wing is the quickest I've seen in this draft class.
Shot accuracy:
Cole Caufield, RW, USA U18 (NTDP)
Caulfield doesn't need much room to get a puck through and spots holes as well as anyone I've seen in the years I've been tracking prospects. Elite might not even begin to describe it.
Shot release:
Cole Caufield, RW, USA U18 (NTDP)
The puck is off of Caufield's stick so quickly and deceptively that it's usually past the goaltender before he has a chance to react. It's no wonder that he scored 72 times this season for the U.S. National Team Development Program.
One-timer:
Arthur Kaliyev, RW, Hamilton (OHL)
Regardless of the quality of the pass, the puck absolutely explodes off of Kaliyev's stick and is going to find the back of the net an awful lot. Outside of Caufield, Kaliyev is the most natural scorer in the draft. He tallied 51 goals for Hamilton this season.
Passing:
Ryan Suzuki, C, Barrie (OHL)
There are a lot of especially good dishers in this draft, but I think Suzuki is the best I've seen, based on how he sets up those passes, using creative puck skills to give himself that extra opening before putting the puck on a teammate's tape. Fifty assists with the Barrie Colts this season stand as evidence of his talent in finding teammates.
Vision:
Bobby Brink, RW, Sioux City (USHL)
There's a case for Jack Hughes here too, but Brink consistently made plays that you couldn't even see were available to him. He operates in the offensive zone as well as anyone in the class.
Positioning:
Cole Caufield, RW, USA U18 (NTDP)
The biggest reason Caufield scores so many goals is his sense of time and space in the offensive zone. He's so hard to track because he's always moving, and he knows where to be at the most opportune time to strike.
Puck skills:
Nils Hoglander, LW, Rogle (Sweden)
The ability to handle the puck, create space and make defenders miss is so important in today's game, especially because there's less time to actually handle the puck these days. The guys who do it exceptionally well can separate themselves in that category. Hoglander is remarkably shifty and creative with the puck, but most importantly, he is decisive with it when it's on his stick. U.S. National Team Development Program winger Matthew Boldy also earned serious consideration here for what he can do with the puck on his tape.
Corner/wall battling:
Kaapo Kakko, RW, TPS (Finland)
This is the area of Kakko's game in which he has such an advantage. His ability to extend plays along the wall due to his combination of physical strength, footwork and puck skills is truly remarkable. He already plays an NHL game in the hard areas of the ice.
Net-front play:
Kaapo Kakko, RW, TPS (Finland)
One of the things that has made Kakko successful is his ability to get to the net and make plays in front. This is a little different than "net-front presence" and more about Kakko's ability to make plays in the most defended area of the ice, where his puck skills and competition level tend to win against older, more experienced players.
In transition:
Jack Hughes, C, USA U18 (NTDP)
Speed kills, and when you get open and dart through defenses as easily as Hughes does, you're going to get more opportunities offensively. The modern prospects are all so well-versed in transition play that there are a lot of good options here, but Hughes is dictating the rush on almost every shift he takes.
Zone entries:
Trevor Zegras, C, USA U18 (NTDP)
In addition to the transition game, Hughes excels in gaining the offensive zone. But Zegras uses similar skills to gain the zone with or without speed by finding the soft areas. The fact that these two spent portions of the season on the same line had to be mind-numbing for defenses.
Defending:
Alex Vlasic, D, USA U18 (NTDP)
I have Vlasic graded as a first-rounder primarily based on the quality of his defense. He's so big and mobile that he's really difficult to get around. If a forward beats him wide, Vlasic is able to recover and cut off the angle. With good reach and a solid physical game, he's going to give NHL forwards problems as he continues to get stronger.
Defensive stick:
Tobias Bjornfot, D, Djurgarden Jr. (Sweden Jr.)
Another player I grade highly because of his defending, Bjornfot isn't a big guy, but he's so good positionally and always has a good stick in the defensive zone. He breaks up a ton of plays in his own end and can spark the transition.
Puck retrievals:
Cam York, D, USA U18 (NTDP)
How a defenseman retrieves the puck in his zone and starts the transition is something of increasing importance in his toolkit. I haven't seen anyone in the class do it better than York, who knows where he's going and what he's going to do with the puck before he scoops it off the boards in his own zone.
Zone exits:
Matthew Robertson, D, Edmonton (WHL)
Prospect analyst Mitch Brown does some remarkable work with tracking and breaking down underlying numbers. His data show Robertson being one of the very best CHL defensemen at exiting the zone with control, and it's something that has stood out to me when I've seen him play. Robertson has a good first pass when he's under pressure, but he's such a good skater that he gets the puck out of his zone with relative ease.
Compete level:
Vasily Podkolzin, RW, Neva St. Petersburg (Russia 2)
It's hard to find games in which Podkolzin isn't making something happen. While he has really good skills, I think his grit and determination in winning pucks, battling for position, playing hard along the walls and just being a real pain to the opposition allow him to impact the game even if he isn't producing on the stat sheet.
Strength:
Samuel Bolduc, D, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)
Perhaps the best athlete in this draft, Bolduc has the size to play a physical game. But he's also so strong on his skates that he's going to give opposing forwards a lot of problems. At 6-foot-4 and 209 pounds, he casts one of the more intimidating frames in this class.
Power skills:
Egor Afanasyev, LW, Muskegon (USHL)
When Afanasyev lowers his shoulder going toward the net, it's hard for most players to stop him. He can will his way to the middle even though he has good enough puck skills to make plays from the outside.
Body checking:
Albin Grewe, RW, Djurgarden Jr. (Sweden Jr.)
A hard-nosed player with good speed, Grewe's draft stock has slipped because of inconsistencies offensively. Teams still like him, however, because he has speed and plays a physical brand of hockey. He had some highlight-reel hits in the SHL this year and just plays the game hard at all times. He recorded 102 penalty minutes this season in 25 games with the Djurgarden Jr. club.
Goalies
Hockey sense:
Spencer Knight, USA U18 (NTDP)
The ability to not only know where the shot is coming from but also anticipate it before that player even has the puck is an incredible skill among elite goalies. Knight is as good as any player in this class at that. He rarely has to make the big save because he's already where he needs to be.
Technical skill:
Spencer Knight, G, USA U18 (NTDP)
It seems like Knight is always in total control, on his angle and square to the shooter. He has the routine down, but this is also where that hockey sense comes into play. He combines his pre-shot anticipation with solid positioning and knowledge of how to move in his crease.
Skating:
Dustin Wolf, G, Everett (WHL)
As a below-average-sized goaltender (6-foot, 156 pounds), it is especially important for Wolf to keep his feet and maintain control. His skating, within the goalie context, is something that is routinely pointed out about his game and is why he has a good chance to be drafted. One scout I talked to termed his skating "incredible."
Athleticism:
Nolan Maier, G, Saskatoon (WHL)
Maier is another undersized goaltender (6-foot, 173 pounds) who has to be quick to make his saves. He comes with a lot of skepticism from scouts, but few would disagree that he has remarkable quickness and can compensate for his relative lack of size with superior athletic skill.
Compete level:
Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Ryazan (Russia 2)
There are a lot of areas in which Kochetkov stands out, but this is the one in which I think he is way above the rest. His ability to fight through traffic, compete on loose pucks and make the right decisions in desperation is pretty amazing.
Poise in net:
Colten Ellis, G, Rimouski (QMJHL)
A solid performance in the QMJHL playoffs helped boost confidence in his pro potential, displaying confidence and poise in the net. Ellis never looks rattled and keeps an even keel between the pipes. This is another area in which Spencer Knight has received considerable praise.
Rebound control:
Hugo Alnefelt, G, HV71 Jr. (Sweden Jr.)
In backstopping Sweden to gold at the U18 World Championship, Alnefelt helped his draft case. He showcased during that tournament that he is a puck vacuum, making plays in control and not allowing teams juicy rebounds.
Mobility:
Mads Sogaard, G, Medicine Hat (WHL)
For being nearly 6-foot-8, Sogaard moves remarkably well in the crease. I might be grading him on a curve slightly, as I think there might be quicker goalies, but the big man carries his frame so well and takes away so much net.
Puckhandling:
Spencer Knight, G, USA U18 (NTDP)
There are several good puck-moving goalies in this class, but Knight is above the rest. He has stick handled around forecheckers, and it's something John Wroblewski, his coach at the U.S. NTDP, noted that it changed the way his team was able to play. Whether it was a stretch pass or feeding pucks to defensemen in tight, Knight stands out as a third defender.