The NHL Central Scouting Midterm list is now online and viewable, so if you haven't checked it out yet, definitely do so here before reading further. You don't have to, it just might be good to familiarize yourself, but I'm not the police, so I won't come after you. Understanding NHL Central Scouting's philosophy is an... interesting exercise. There's a clear preference towards size, a bit of a tendency to value older players, and splitting the players into North American and European skaters goaltenders makes it difficult to understand the landscape as a whole. That doesn't mean we can't explore some cases that are, in my humble opinion, either overvalued, or in many cases undervalued. So behold, three players I'm currently highest and lowest on relative to the NHL Central Scouting List, as well as some honourable mentions. OvervaluedKaiden Guhle - D - Prince Albert Raiders |
Metric |
Value |
NHLeS |
17.80 |
INV% |
17.45% |
ES P1/60 |
0.51 |
ESGF/60 |
2.33 |
ESGA/60 |
1.70 |
OffCat% |
6.35% |
DefCat% |
5.11% |
It isn't that I don't like Kaiden Guhle or his style, though. It's just that I feel that he'll get picked well before I'm ready to pick him. My attitude through the draft is to draft the best players you can, especially in skills that are hard to find in the NHL. Big, rangy physical defenders are often available in the summer, and if they aren't, drafting high ceiling prospects makes the trade market more accessible. If I'm in the 2nd round, even the early part of it, I certainly am open to the idea, but having him slip that far seems unlikely at best judging by public perception.
Jack Quinn - RW - Ottawa 67s
NHL Rank - NA9 / Scouching Rank - 51
Metric |
Value |
NHLeS |
23.91 |
INV% |
17.45% |
ES P1/60 |
2.04 |
ESGF/60 |
3.86 |
ESGA/60 |
1.47 |
OffCat% |
3.76% |
DefCat% |
42.70% |
Similar to Guhle, if Quinn is available in the 2nd round after some younger players with better production have been drafted, I can certainly have the discussion of picking him, but as a first round pick in a draft as strong as this one, I can't help but be skeptical of that kind of a swing.
Will Cuylle - LW - Windsor Spitfires
NHL Rank - 21NA / Scouching Rank - 87
Metric |
Value |
NHLeS |
14.45 |
INV% |
16.57% |
ES P1/60 |
1.77 |
ESGF/60 |
3.07 |
ESGA/60 |
2.61 |
OffCat% |
-23.84% |
DefCat% |
9.71% |
Undervalued
Dylan Holloway - F - University of Wisconsin
NHL Rank - 10NA / Scouching Rank - 11
Metric |
Value |
NHLeS |
8.48 |
INV% |
12.24% |
ES P1/60 |
1.05 |
ESGF/60 |
2.74 |
ESGA/60 |
2.53 |
OffCat% |
11.39% |
DefCat% |
21.37% |
Kasper Simontaival - RW - Tappara U20
NHL Rank - 36EU / Scouching Rank - 23
Metric |
Value |
NHLeS |
18.67 |
INV% |
31.45% |
ES P1/60 |
1.59 |
ESGF/60 |
2.54 |
ESGA/60 |
1.69 |
OffCat% |
-28.17% |
DefCat% |
38.15% |
Joni Jurmo
NHL Rank - 43EU / Scouching Rank - 39
Metric |
Value |
NHLeS |
15.89 |
INV% |
16.02% |
ES P1/60 |
1.62 |
ESGF/60 |
3.50 |
ESGA/60 |
1.62 |
OffCat% |
-14.79% |
DefCat% |
26.11% |
Closing Thoughts
If you want some honourable mentions, I'd highly recommend names like Marat Khusnutdinov, Alex Pashin, Marko Stacha and Veeti Miettinen on the positive end. Stacha is a highly underrated modern defensive defender who showed quite well at times at the World Juniors. Marat Khusnutdinov may be the most underrated pure centre in the whole draft. Pashin and Miettinen are honestly just plain fun to watch and I hope that they work their way into the NHL. Eemil Viro, Daemon Hunt, and Hendrix Lapierre all strike me as players ranked a bit too high for my liking. Viro is a solid mobile defender, but his puck play and even strength offense fall well short of what I would expect. Hunt had a great D-1 year with Moose Jaw last year, but he's regressed significantly and is a net negative in many metrics, even relative to the declining quality of the Warriors. Lapierre is a case of a player I want to see succeed, but I just can't bring myself to have him ranked as high as the CSS does at 13th in North America. Three concussions in under a calendar year for a young athlete is an extremely troublesome series of injuries and without multiple medical examinations, extensive physical testing and mental testing, I would have a hard time making a push to take the risk until the latest picks of the first round at the very earliest.
Your thoughts are what is going to make you who you are. In my opinion, you shouldn't keep them to yourself. I believe that you can make a lot of great choices as long as you properly sort out what is inside your head. I do wish that you can work a lot more efficiently with it. Do not trap your thoughts, you have to keep them running all of the time, or that is the idea to it.
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