Round Two Of The S62 Draft. [1/2]

[Exlaxchronicles 415]

                                                     Round Two Of The S62 Draft
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# 6. Returning to where we left off last time we now look at the sixth spot in the scout rankings held by defence man Lukas Novacek playing for the Oslo Storm.

 

He's a tall lanky kid weighing a svelt 185 lbs. Lukas needs to hit the weights to add more size to his tall frame, as he has a tendency to get knocked off the puck when in battles along the boards.

Surprisingly, Novacek has been a regular on the score sheet since joining Oslo.
Lukas has been able to produce at a steady clip potting a respectable 12G and 45Pts in 46 games this year. Why is that surprising? Well his on ice play indicates otherwise. He plays more like a stay at home defence man.

Novacek has a decent set of wheels so although not a speedster, he can keep up with the pack.

In his own end he's defensively aware and plays a good positional game. Lukas keeps it simple and likes to make the smart  pass out of the zone.
He also likes to lay the body but that can work against him due to his lighter frame.

Novacek may be one of the sleeper picks come draft time. It seems GM's covet offensive defence men but its always good to have a stabilizing force on the blue line. I'd keep an eye on this young defender.
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# 7. Now hanging around in seventh spot is goaltender Johnny Havenk Carison, the only goalie to be ranked top ten.

 

The young goalie fills the net up quite well at 6'3" and 220 lbs. If any GM is in need of a goaltender they may wanna start paying attention to this kid.

Being young he still has a lot of room for improvement but right now Carison covers the angles well, has a quick glove hand and blocker and has great reaction time. He reminds me of Quebec's young starter Tristan Iseault when he was in the minors.

Playing with the VHLM's Rush Johnny has put decent if unremarkable numbers. In 45 games this year he has a GGA of 2.00 and a respectable .901 SVP%.

Its clear Carison is still raw but he has the tools to be a potential starter if he continues  progressing. As it stands now he has enough skill set to be a reliable back up for one of the big clubs.
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# 8. Number eight spot right now belongs to center man Oleksiy Revchenko.

 

This kid could be a diamond in the rough or he could turn out to be like raw  unprocessed coal. Only time will tell.

 

In the present he has average size and strength and could stand to use a bit more muscle.

Oleksiy's greatest strength right now seems to be in his passing skills. He has good on ice vision and has the ability to thread the pass in the most unlikely situations.

What stops him from being a great passer is his mediocre puck handling ability. Revchenko tends to cough up the puck on five on five situations more than he should. It also doesn't help with the fact that his skating leaves him a step or two behind in the play or on the rush. He definitely needs to work on improving these areas of his game.

 

If he wants to be an elite center man he'll also need to practice hard in the face off circle as Oleksiy loses more than he wins.

 

At this point in time he may best be suited for PP minutes where he can slow down his play and have time to set up his team mates.

But with all that said Revchenki was still able to score 8 goals and 28 helpers in 44 GP. The talent is there but can he put it all together?
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# 9. Holding number 9 spot in the rankings is another center named Dan Montgomery.

 

This player just may be a dark horse this coming draft. He's moved up five spots so if that's any indicator, we may see more good things from this player.

 

At present nothing really stands out amongst his skill set  so we'll just have to wait and see how he progresses.

 

Thus far Montgomery is not an offensive player but he does tend to lay some hits, and takes some penalties, hinting that he could be suited for a defensive role.

He reminds me a little of David Kiaksov with no defined skill sets when he began his pro career.

Over all he needs to work on pretty much all areas of his game before we start to see what type of player he turns into.
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# 10. Rounding out the top ten draft hopefuls is 6'4", 205 lb. right winger Jake Davis.

 

He could stand to add ten to fifteen more pounds to fill out his frame some more.

 

Skill wise he moves well for a bigger guy and won't get left behind when joining in on the rush.

 

His passing is also good but Davis must put  forth more effort into his puck handling skills.

 

Once again a big player who needs to utilize his frame to make more room for himself out there. Jake likes to hit so but still needs to be more physical to benefit his playing style.

 

He seems to be more of a passer than shooter which attests to his 8 goals and 26 points in 45 games. Maybe there could be a switch to center position in the future for him but let's see how he develops.

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Well, that finishes up our look at the top ten draft hopefuls for the season 62 draft so check your lists and see if you agree with this individuals analysis.

Word count: 977.

[DollarAndADream 3,357]

Review:

Awesome breakdown of the players and where you thought they would go!

Definitely fun doing mock drafts and ranking guys. S62 was a huge draft class.