Now that the dust from the 2019 NHL draft has settled and with the upcoming Hlinka Gretzky Cup set to start this week, it’s time we started getting into the 2020 class, right?
Word has it that this draft might be as good or better than the 2015 class and the 2003 class. Just from doing a little bit of digging so far, there’s a group of about 8 players that are basically in everyone’s top-ten lists so far and the top-5 has more or less been set.
So without further adieu, let’s get into our lists!
| Name | BLH (@beerleagueheroe) | Max (@TPEHockey) | Keith (@keithfries) |
| 1. | Alexis Lafreniere – LW | Alexis Lafreniere – LW | Alexis Lafreniere – LW |
| 2. | Quinton Byfield – C | Quinton Byfield – C | Anton Lundell – C |
| 3. | Lucas Raymond – RW | Lucas Raymond – RW | Quinton Byfield – C |
| 4. | Alexander Holtz – RW/LW | Anton Lundell – C | Lucas Raymond – RW |
| 5. | Anton Lundell – C | Noel Gunler – RW/LW | Noel Gunler – RW/LW |
| 6. | Cole Perfetti – C | Alexander Holtz – RW/LW | Tim Stutzle – LW |
| 7. | Noel Gunler – RW/LW | Yaroslav Askarov – G | Alexander Holtz – RW/LW |
| 8. | Jamie Drysdale – D | Cole Perfetti – C | Marco Rossi – C |
| 9. | Justin Barron – D | Marco Rossi – C | Justin Barron – D |
| 10. | Dylan Holloway – C | Jamie Drysdale – D | Jaromir Pytlik – C |
For shits and giggles, we thought it would be fun to take the latest Stanley Cup betting odds and apply that to a hypothetical scenario that would tell us where the Oilers would be drafting in 2020 and the site we used told us that they will be selecting 9th overall. So who would each of us select in that case?
Max’s Take at #9
With the Oiler’s hypothetical 9th pick in the 2020 draft, I would select goaltender Yaroslav Askarov.
Edmonton’s need for a goalie is no secret with 37-year-old Mike Smith and 31-year-old Mikko Kokkonen expected to split the net next year, a top prospect is needed to fill the void. While Shane Starrett and Stuart Skinner are good goalies neither have NHL starter upside. Askarov, on the other hand, can be expected to be a franchise goaltender at around the level of Andrei Vasilevskiy. Although this isn’t a pick based solely on need. Askarov is around my number 5 or 6 ranked player for the 2020 draft. I wrote a full article breaking down his game so I won’t get into that here, but Askarov is certainly worthy of a top 10 pick. He showed last season he was every bit as good as Spencer Knight despite being a year younger. His style and statistics are impeccable, and every aspect of his game is top-notch.
Other good options at #9 could be centers Marco Rossi and Dylan Holloway, but if you want to look to the wing Jan Mysak is a very intriguing guy out of the Czech league.
Keith’s Take at #9
While Justin Barron is my 9th-overall selection – who would be a nice fit for Edmonton, so, I’m not discounting that as a viable option – I’m going to rely solely on my draft list and select Tim Stutzle.
Stutzle’s greatest strength is his skating, which, if you were to rank on a system out of 5, he’d be a 6. Or for you ‘Spinal Tap’ fans out there, his skating can turn up to 11. In one of my viewings, the opposition was closing in to finish a hard check on Stutzle, who quickly recognized the hit coming and did a figure skating 360-degree spin in the air, avoiding contact, and stuck the landing.
He can play at multiple speeds, and with solid heads up play and a high hockey IQ readily on display, it’s not hard for Stutzle to take over games and play at his desired pace.
I can’t see him hitting some rapid growth spurt, so he’ll need to start filling out the frame he has. Playing his draft year in the German pro-league (DEL) should help toughen him up and give him some kind of idea of the level of competition he might be facing in the AHL – where I’m projecting he’ll be for a year-or-so before making a splash on the main roster.
BLH’s Take at #9
Tell ya what. I really like Justin Barron at #9 because he’s such a smooth operator. I like what Draftgeek.com had to say about him,
Barron is a mobile, intelligent defenceman. He’s not extraordinarily flashy, but he transitions the puck and can create offence from his position. He can start a breakout, distribute the puck from the blueline, and run a powerplay, and there’s a lot of value in that that NHL teams will be looking to capitalize on.
But I’m not sure that he’s the guy I would take there. My feeling is that there’s a need to select a game-breaking forward in 2020 and since they skipped on Matthew Boldy this past year in favor of Philip Broberg, I’d like to see Holland call the name of Dylan Holloway.
He’s one of the fastest and most powerful players in the draft and he’s got the size to boot (6’1″ 192 and growing). Not only that, but he was the AJHL’s 2nd leading scorer as a 16-year-old… That’s nuts! He’s got the hockey IQ to go with the physical tools and I’ve heard his character isn’t of any question.
Now, I don’t know if he’s close to a Chris Kreider type or if he’s closer to a Dylan Larkin one, but either way, I believe the attributes that he brings to the ice are ones that would benefit the Oilers more so than the likes of a Marco Rossi or a Hendrix Lapierre.
I’ll say this though, it would be awfully hard to pass on Jamie Drysdale if he were around or if Anton Lundell or Noel Gunler dropped.
Who do you have your eyes on for the 2020 NHL draft? Let us know in the comments below!
