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Prospects Unlimited 2019-20
Prospects Unlimited, along with Future Watch and Draft Preview, is the third leg in our trio of issues dedicated entirely to the best and brightest players of tomorrow. Prospects Unlimited features exhaustive In The System breakdowns (nearly 1,200 players in total) and a spotlight on a key prospect for each NHL team, as well as our exclusive Top 100 Players 21 and under, ranging from the pros to midget. Also in the issue: Has increased scouting led to better drafting?; Our way-too-early 2020 mock draft; Cale Makar vs. Quinn Hughes: who’s the better young D-man; and much more!
CHEAP VETS OVER YOUNG BUCKS
RECYCLING IS BIG THESE days. Even in the NHL. Don’t be surprised to see a multi-year low number of rookies break into the NHL this season. Strangely, in our annual Prospects Unlimited issue that trumpets the up-and-comers, the next wave, the fresh faces, this instead has become the season of the recycled veteran. Blame this one-year aberration on a salary cap that didn’t go up a whole lot from the previous season. And it’s many of the high-profile rookies who are feeling the squeeze. Most teams expected the NHL salary cap to rise from $79.5 million in 2018-19 to north of $83 million this year. That was the indication throughout last season. (After all, it did rise six percent from $75 million to $79.5 million the season before.) But the increase was…
Los Angeles Kings
SAMUEL FAGEMO PASSED OVER IN the 2018 NHL draft, Frolunda left winger Samuel Fagemo took out his frustrations on the Swedish League last season with 25 points in 42 games. More importantly, he had 10 points in 16 playoff games en route to a championship. The Kings ended up nabbing Fagemo 50th overall this summer, ensuring he wouldn’t be overlooked again. “For sure there was a lot of motivation for me to show the scouts in the stands that I could be drafted too,” he said. “I’m super happy to get drafted, finally.” Fellow Kings prospects Carl Grundstrom and Jacob Moverare have also played with Frolunda and will help guide Fagemo, but L.A. didn’t need much convincing that the winger will be a fit: Fagemo signed an entry-level deal just weeks after…
Winnipeg Jets
NATHAN SMITH NATHAN SMITH KNOWS a thing or two about putting his best foot forward. It was two years ago, during his weekend debut with USHL Cedar Rapids, that Smith broke into the junior scene with a one-goal, four-point effort across his first two games, marking the beginning of a successful two-season stay in the league. But having moved on to the NCAA, Smith did his USHL debut one better. In his first outing with Minnesota State in mid-October – and on the day he celebrated his 21st birthday, no less – Smith replicated his one-goal, four-point performance in a single outing against rival North Dakota. “It’s nice to start that way,” Smith said. “But I’m not going to get too high or too low. Just gotta stay neutral. It’s a long…
San Jose Sharks
DILLON HAMALIUK SAN JOSE’S DRAFT philosophy seems to be evolving. Doug Wilson Jr. became responsible for making the Sharks’ selections starting in 2018 after his promotion to director of scouting and, since then, they seem to be more willing to take high-risk, high-reward players. It started with Ryan Merkley, the 21st overall pick in 2018, when the Sharks selected the talented defenseman despite concerns around the NHL about his attitude, and it continued with 2019 second-rounder Dillon Hamaliuk. The left winger was well regarded as a capable scorer with good size in his first two WHL seasons with Seattle, but a knee injury ended his 2018-19 campaign in December and hurt his stock heading into the NHL draft a few months later. The Sharks, though, wanted Hamaliuk despite the injury. They traded a…
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