NHL Draft prospect rankings Final big board of top 62 players in 2019 class

The culminating eventmarking the unofficial beginning to the NHLs offseason is only a few days awaywhen the hockey world descends on Vancouver for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. While the April covered the most important questions surrounding the typical pre-draft intrigue, we still dont know how the top 10 will unfold specifically after the first two picks. The prospects expected to go one and two are quite well known Team USA center Jack Hughes and Finnish sniper Kaapo Kakko . Not only are they the two premier players in one of the deepest draft cla ses for forwards in several years, but it is reasonable to a sume that all 31 teams were unanimously in agreement, since the very beginning of the season, that those two were in a cla s by themselves. MORE: As of today, Hughes remains the consensus No. 1 pick, although Kakko deserves to be in the conversation for his ridiculous resume that includes an elite league rookie scoring mark and . Who will go first is still being debated, as there remains a large camp thatfeelsHughes is going first overall six Desmond Bane Jersey ways to Sunday, and that the New Jersey Devils would be incredibly ignorant if they pa s up on a kid with the potential to be the superstar center the franchise has never had. I want to be the first overall pick, that would be a dream come true. -Jack Hughes Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) Still, as much fun as it to debate the first two picks of any draft, this specific cla s is deserving of our attention beyond the two names weve been hearing about the most. There is an elite second tier after Hughes-Kakko that is at least 11 to 12 prospects deep. This grouping, highlighted by the nucleus of one of the greatest junior teams in hockey history, consists of a tremendous group of potential top-line centers or scoring champions,a po sible 50-goal scorer, a franchise defenseman and even a prospective future Vezina winner. Yes, its one of those years where being bad in the NHL will one day pay off in spades for multiple franchises. MORE: For starters, theres NTDP center Trevor Zegras , a creative set-up man who can carry the top line and single-handedly eliminate obstructive measures in the neutral and offensive zones. Theres no draft-eligible center outside of Hughes who has the vision and playmaking ability similar to his aforementioned teammate. Zegras' point-producing potential at higher levels is incredibly high (take note fantasy owners), and hewas one of the top scorers at last Aprils under-18 world championship despite mi sing time with an injury. Defenseman Bowen Byram comes in at No. 4, specifically for his heroic performance for the Vancouver Giants in their seven-game playoff series with favored Price Albert. Not only did Byram take the Giants to within an overtime goal of Game 7 of the WHL Finals for a ticket to the Memorial Cup, but he also became the first defenseman in league history to lead the entire postseason in scoring. This draft isnt deep in outstanding all-around defensemen, but Byram clearly is the most superior of the group. Bowen Byram (top 2019 eligible defender) has an impre sive 26 goals in 65 games this season. Six of them are OT winners, a WHL record. Here's all six. Mitch Brown (@MitchLBrown) Coming in at No. 5 is rugged Ru sian winger Vasily Podkolzin , who battled through a grueling multi-continent schedule that also included three promotion levels of hockey in Ru sia. Nonethele s, Podkolzins acute awarene s and cerebral decision-making are just two of the several abilities that allow him to dominate shifts. His combined stats in league play are somewhat nondescript, although he did score eight goals in 15 games against his age group despite being on the younger side of the draft-eligibility age bracket in Ru sias top junior league. Another winger, Team USAs Matthew Boldy , may be the best 200-foot forward in the draft. Not only does Boldy have size, fluidity and a sharp hockey mind, but he can also shred zone coverage with inside play and highlight-reel set-ups. His teammate at No. 7, center Alex Turcotte , also has three-zone awarene sand displays incredible cleanline s in his execution of designed plays and odd-man rushes. The last of this Jaren Jackson Jr. Jersey incredible collection of Team USA forwards is diminutive goalscorer Cole Caufield , who pumped home 72 tallies and set multiple team goal-scoring marks previously held by current NHL stars Phil Ke sel and Auston Matthews. Keep in mind that no team in the history of the NHL draft has had more than three prospects drafted in the top 10; this years NTDP could see as many as five, po sibly six if you consider the value of goalie Spencer Knight . Knight is a serious candidate to join the top 10, not only for being considered one of the best goaltending prospects since Marc-Andre Fleury or Carey Price but also for his maturity, technical know-how and ideal NHL build. Price was, in fact, the last goalie to be picked in the top five when Montreal took him fifth overall in 2005. A big riser from my preseason list is KHL winger Pavel Dorofeyev , Ja Morant Jersey a dual threat with smarts who finished up at ninth overall. He split the season between the big league and the Ru sian under-20 circuit, which he dominated as a top-line player for Stalnye Lisy. The only legitimate concern surrounding Dorofeyev is whether or not he plans on staying in Ru sia for the foreseeable future. At No. 10 is the best of three excellent WHL centers inLethbridge Hurricanes leading scorer, Dylan Cozens . A power forward with a great shot and even better approach to the game, Cozens was the premier player on a team loaded with veterans. Not far behind him are Kootenays Peyton Krebs and Saskatoons Kirby Dach two playmaking centers dealing with injury i sues that might impact whether they go in the top 10 or drop further in the first round. The rest of the field settles into subsequent groupings, with the next chunk being heavy on two-way defensemen. Swedens Victor Soderstrom , Tobias Bjornfot and Philip Broberg join Finlands Ville Heinola , German bruiser Moritz Seide r and Team USAs Cameron York as part of an impre sive talent pool of point-producing defenders. All are gifted with the puck and these six quality puck-movers of different sizes and speeds are promising defensemen headlining their position for the draft. Need a sniping winger but picking outside the top 10? While Kakko and Caufield are expected to be off the board by the time the top 10 is complete, they certainly arent alone in the upper tier of draft-eligible wingers when it comes toelite goal-scoring acumen and shot accuracy from the flanks. The top prospect from a thin OHL contingent is big-bodied Arthur Kaliyev , who scored 51 goals for the Hamilton Bulldogs. French-Canadian right wing Raphael Lavoie was one of the top scorers in the QMJHL playoffs and plays a similar game to Kakkos that is predicated on power and puck control. Right wing Brett Leason may have been born two years before all first-year eligiblesbut this heart-and-soul forward from the WHLs Prince Albert Raiders is not only incredibly skilled, he's also a smart 200-foot forward. Oh my goodne s Raphael Lavoie Top prospect blows the roof off the place with a shorthanded masterpiece for who lead Game 3 of CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) Of course, there are always some surprises and last-minute entries into the first round, and one of the unheralded draft prospects who may end up going higher than originally anticipated in hard-charging winger Robert Mastrosimone from the USHLs Chicago Steel. A Boston University recruit, Mastrosimone is a nightmare to defend against and owns one of the best shots of any draft-eligible winger. He led the USHL in playoff scoring and his 31 goals during the regular season tied for second among the leagues top draft prospects. In comparison with recent drafts, one must consider the 2019 crop with its glut of scoring centers to be the strongest since the vaunted 2015 group that included the likes of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen and Mathew Barzal. With the league trending towards shortening a draft prospects development timeline in order to thrust them into NHL duty sooner rather than later, it wont be long for the top 2019 draft hopefuls to become impact players for their new teams. NHL Draft big board: Top 62 players in 2019 RANK NAME TEAM LEAGUE POS 1 Jack Hughes U.S. U18 NTDP C 2 Kaapo Kakko TPS Turku SM-Liiga RW 3 Trevor Zegras U.S. U18 NTDP C 4 Bowen Byram Vancouver WHL LHD 5 Vasily Podkolzin SKA-Neva VHL RW 6 Matthew Boldy U.S. U18 NTDP LW 7 Alex Turcotte U.S. U18 NTDP C 8 Cole Caufield U.S. U18 NTDP RW 9 Pavel Dorofeyev Magnitogorsk KHL LW Josh Jackson Jersey 10 Dylan Cozens Lethbridge WHL C 11 Peyton Krebs Kootenay WHL C 12 Kirby Dach Saskatoon WHL C 13 Raphael Lavoie Halifax QMJHL C 14 Alex Newhook Victoria BCHL C 15 Ville Heinola Lukko SM-Liiga LHD 16 Spencer Knight U.S. U18 NTDP G 17 Victor Soderstrom Brynas SHL RHD 18 Moritz Seider Adler Mannheim DEL RHD 19 Cameron York U.S. U18 NTDP LHD Dillon Brooks Jersey 20 Nils Hoglander Rogle SHL LW 21 Ryan Suzuki Barrie OHL C 22 Robert Mastrosimone Chicago USHL LW 23 Ilya Nikolaev Loko Yaroslavl MHL C 24 Jakob Pelletier Moncton QMJHL LW 25 Connor McMichael London OHL C 26 Tobias Bjornfot Djurgardens J20 Superelit LHD 27 Michal Teply Benatky N.J. Chance Liga LW 28 Arthur Kaliyev Hamilton OHL RW 29 Philip Broberg AIK Allsvenskan LHD 30 Yegor Spiridonov Stalnye Lisy MHL C 31 John Beecher U.S. U18 NTDP C 32 Philip Tomasino Niagara OHL C 33 Thomas Harley Mi si sauga OHL LHD 34 Matthew Robertson Edmonton WHL LHD 35 Patrik Puistola Tappara U20 Jr. A SM-Liiga RW 36 Leevi Aaltonen Kalpa U20 Jr. A SM-Liiga RW 37 Oleg Zaytsev Red Deer WHL C 38 Samuel Poulin Sherbrooke QMJHL RW 39 Bobby Brink Sioux City USHL RW 40 Anttoni Honka Jukurit SM-Liiga RHD 41 Ludvig Hedstrom Djurgardens J20 Superelit LHD 42 Ryan Johnson Sioux Falls USHL LHD 43 La si Thomson Kelowna WHL RHD 44 Adam Beckman Spokane WHL LW 45 John Farinacci Dexter HS-MA C 46 Nicholas Robertson Peterborough OHL LW 47 Semyon Chystyakov Tolpar MHL LHD 48 Drew Helleson U.S. U18 NTDP RHD 49 Ethan Phillips Sioux Falls USHL C 50 Albin Grewe Djurgardens J20 Superelit RW 51 Albert Johan son Farjestad J20 Superelit LHD 52 Valentin Nu sbaumer Shawinigan QMJHL C 53 Harrison Blaisdell Chilliwack BCHL C 54 Egor Afanasyev Muskegon USHL LW 55 Daniil Gutik Loko Yaroslavl MHL LW 56 Ryder Donovan Duluth East HS-MN C 57 Nikita Alexandrov Charlottetown QMJHL C 58 Vojtech Strondala Trebic Chance Liga C 59 Vladislav Kolyachonok Flint OHL LHD 60 Kaedan Korczak Kelowna WHL RHD 61 Brayden Tracey Moose Jaw WHL LW 62 Jamieson Rees Sarnia OHL C