February Ranking of Top 32

Don't get me wrong. I love Macklin Celebrini. But as a prospect, future NHL'er... He will be nowhere near Sidney Crosby at any level.

Do we just forget that Sid had 168 points in 62 QMJHL games?

Other than that, Think it's a good analysis and exploration of the draft

Thanks!

And yeah, prime Crosby >>>>> prime Celebrini, but I think Celebrini has a lot of Crosby-like attributes, just at a lower level

Guys too low:

Eiserman
Connelly
Dickinson
Shuravin

Guys too high:

Demidov
Lindstrom
Parekh
Catton

Demidov is a nasty hockey player oozing with skill definitely top 5 should be top 3, Lindstroms upside is too intriguing to pass on after the top 3 imo, I like Parekh but the transition to NHL could be tough for him, not as high on Catton as most are

Connelly is a top 5 player in the draft. Skating is the best in the draft and he just can do everything offensively. I like the Barzal comp, but I think Connelly is more Jack Hughes.

Parekh does give me Dragicevic vibes. Remember when everyone thought Dragicevic would be a top 15 pick last year? That aged well, fell because of his bad defensive game. Parekh won't be drafted out of the 1st round, but I see him being taken around the 16-20 range. Anywhere above that is a reach.

Parekh reminds me alot of Neil Pionk and I don't see that pedigree for Connelly skilled no doubt but not Hughes level

This is great. I don’t like the comp for Connelly and he’s not going top 15. He’s used a racial slur on the ice this year and hasn’t acknowledged it, never mind apologized. He’s posted a swastika on “X” a few years back. So, problematic, is one way to describe him.

Also, I think Carter Yakemchuck is going top 10 maybe top 5. And Tij Iginla bumps someone out of the top 10 come the spring.

I don't think Parekh is much like Dragicevic at all. Very different players both offensively and defensively.

Offensively, Dragicevic put up a bunch of points by executing simple plays well against weak competition. Parekh has far more deception, creativity, vision, and skill than Dragicevic ever will.

Defensively, Dragicevic clearly didn't know what he was doing. He had a big frame and that's about it. Parekh, on the other hand, has a much better understanding of how to defend. He has good defensive positioning and uses his stick well. The problem with Parekh is that his defensive engagement is not where you would want it to be, so he loses a lot of puck battles, especially because he's not that big or strong.

Thanks!

Yeah, Connelly would be on my Do Not Draft list if I were a team, but the ranking here is just based on the hockey side of things. What would your comp for him be?

Yakemchuk and Iginla could definitely end up going higher than I have them now, though top 5 would be quite the reach considering the other prospects available.

I don’t know where the comp is for Connelly. But i saw plenty of Jack Hughes in his U18 year and he was on his own planet. Completely controlled the pace of the game. I haven’t see enough of Connelly, he seems to play very fast and would need to see him play at the U18s in April to what he looks like when the tempo gets controlled by better opposition/linemates and when he runs into real traffic.

The one thing that strikes me about him that would be a concern, he interacts a lot with the opposing bench. So he might be easily be affected and drawn into stupid plays or situations. But maturity could solve that with time.

This is an exciting time for prospect watching, a couple of guys will shoot up in the next couple of months. Looking forward to seeing that happen.

Great ranking! Thanks for sharing.