TSN Post BBKL Draft Analysis - 2020 Edition
PostedCOLON Mon Aug 10, 2020 1:14 pm
...and with the final pick the Los Angeles Kings close out the 2020 BBKL draft with the selection of Aidan Campbell. Thanks for watching; this very special rendering of the BBKL entry draft held in the basement of league draft guru Scott Shoals. And with that we bid you adieu!
*Queue Sportscentre music*
Hello and welcome to the 2020 BBKL Post Draft special. Here we'll sit down with our panel of experts and dissect each team and their selections. With me is Bob MacKenzie, Craig Button and Darren Dreger to help us sift through each of the teams' 2020 draft class.
It was a very special draft this year as COVID-19 abruptly ended all league play worldwide and turned scouts dreams into nightmares. Originally to be hosted by GM Chuck in Montreal; physical distancing limits prevented a standard in person draft from occurring. Thankfully BBKL's resident draft guru Scott Shoals selflessly volounteered his time and basement to the processing of the BBKL entry draft. GMs had to call, text or email in their selections where Scott would officially register the selection into the system. One wonders how he managed to get any sleep with selections rolling both day and night. But with spreadsheets and formulas in hand Scott was able to pull off an entertaining draft given the circumstances. Im sure the league as a whole appreciated the time and effort put in by Scott to facilitate this.
So with that out of the way let's get started!
#31 Ottawa Senators Grade F-
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #25
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
Button's take: One of BBKL's perpetual rebuilders, GM Billy made zero progress on that front with no selections during the 2020 draft. Billy continues to attempt to rebuild by acquiring NHL bodies using his future draft picks with little progress to show for it in terms of yearly progress in the standings. Fun fact: Ottawa has had only one 1st Round selection (Evan Bouchard) in the past 8 years.
#30 Pittsburgh Penguins Grade F-
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #30
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
Dreger's take: For the second time in the past two drafts GM Mike spent all of his selections in favor of roster upgrades. In spite of those deals Pittsburgh still finds itself ouside of the few elite teams who can push for a championship. Its concerning that you can count on one hand the number of legitimate prospects developing in Wilkes-Barrie with no signs of reinforcements coming. Another team that has had a 1st Round selection in only 1 of the past 8 drafts.
#29 Florida Panthers Grade F
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #5
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
MacKenzie's take: It was a tale of two drafts for GM Chris who is the final team to hold no selections in the 2020 draft. After having thrown all his eggs into the 2019 draft basket and being rewarded with a top 5 ranking; Chris spent all its 2020 selections to improve his roster. A noticeable upward trajectory in yearly standings, Florida can afford to miss out on a draft given the youth on his roster and prospects developing on the farm.
#28 Detroit Red Wings. Grade F+
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #26
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
Button's take: The first of BBKL's teams to hold a 2020 sleection; GM Scott only held a single 5th Round sleection chosing 2019 NHL selection Nikita Nesterenko. After dominating the US Prep school rankings, Nesterenko took his talents to the BCHL this season and then dominated there. A respectable pick; but one would hope a rebuilding team like Detroit would make more of an effort to retain their own draft picks. Scott's last 1st Round selection took place back in 2016.
#27 Dallas Stars Grade D-
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #18
Value Pick: Joonas Oden
Reach Pick: None
Dreger's take: The second team to hold a single selection this draft; GM Willy made the most of it selecting Joonas Oden in the 6th round. A third year eligible player, Oden shows signs of bottom 6 upside at the NHL level. A true value pick very late in the BBKL draft. Given Dallas' status amongst the BBKL elite and a farm with plenty of talent including BBKL's #1 goalie pipeline; Willy has nothing to worry about anytime soon.
#26 Washington Capitals Grade D
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #2
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
MacKenzie's take: Another team with a penchant to trade away their top picks; GM Thom held a total of 4 picks (2 in the 5th and 2 in the 6th). With his 5ths Thom takes his chances with the Russian factor in selecting Berezkin and Trineyev. Both have some untapped offensive upside and are respectable risks for their draft position. The remaining two picks were used on no one of note. Since 2013, Washington has only made a selection the 1st or 2nd rounds in 2 of the past 8 years.
#25 St. Louis Blues Grade D
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #13
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
Button's take: With only 3 selections in the 2020 draft, GM Nick did his best to remake his goalie pipeline. First goalie selection Bjorklund is a quick goalie who competes hard. Second selection Zherenko is a 2019 draftee who was one of only two rookie goalies to make their debut in the KHL. A very astute selection by Nick. Final selection Constantini has some decent upside for a late selection.
#24 Buffalo Sabres Grade C
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #21
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
Dreger's take: The first team in our rankings to hold a solid grouping of selections, GM Matt had to wait until the 3rd round to make his first selection. With his first pick of the 3rd Matt takes a chance on Andre, a skilled undersized dman with skating issues. With his next pick Matt kicks it old-school and selects another dman Kleven who projects as a shutdown 3rd pairing dman. Pashin has some upside but not without his warts. Kerins is a solid draft sleeper. Nothing fancy, just solid all-around selections by Buffalo.
#23 Calgary Flames Grade C
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #19
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
MacKenzie's take: For the second year in a row GM Josh only had two picks at his disposal. With his first selection Josh takes a huge chance on one of this drafts most polarizing prospects - Tyson Foerester. Blessed with phenominal hands and hockey sense; the major red flag is skating. Some scouts describe it as insufficient for even the OHL level. Lack of 5-on-5 production also hurts his draft stock. Major boom or bust potential with this selection. Tarnstrom has the bloodlines but some question if his game can translate to the NHL or will he just be a good player in Europe. Repeated lack of number of selections coupled with the risk assumed with what selections were make hurt the ranking here.
#22 Toronto Maple Leafs Grade C
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #12
Value Pick: Ryder Rolston
Reach Pick: Kasper Simontaival
Button's take: Only missing his first round selection, GM Tyler was looking to add to an ever full prospect cupboard. While not wowing anyone, Toronto was reasonably successful at sleecting some prospects of note. Simontaval was tabbed as a 1st rounder for years but the wheels seemed to cpme off this year and dropped significantly. One could wonder if Tyler could have waited a bit longer to take his man. Sebrango is a decent offensive dman who competes hard. Wisdom showed great progress playing on a line with phenom Wright. Rolston drops hard based on projections and falls into Toronto's lap in the 6th.
#21 Las Vegas Golden Knights Draft Grade C+
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #22
Value Pick: Brock Faber
Reach Pick: Michael Benning
Dreger's take: Lacking his 1st round selection for the second consecutive year, GM Jordan had his work cut out for him to find value in the middle rounds. It looks as though he was mildly successful as a few prospects of note were taken. Torgesson has the pieces all teams covet - big body with skill that can skate and good compete. A solid 2nd round selection. Faber is a smooth skating dman who defends well and provides great value in the late 3rd. Depending on who you talk to Benning is either a 2nd round pick or a clear do not draft. We tend to lean towards the latter. Francis is a small forward who oozes skill and was nice value in the 4th round.
*Queue Sportscentre music*
Hello and welcome to the 2020 BBKL Post Draft special. Here we'll sit down with our panel of experts and dissect each team and their selections. With me is Bob MacKenzie, Craig Button and Darren Dreger to help us sift through each of the teams' 2020 draft class.
It was a very special draft this year as COVID-19 abruptly ended all league play worldwide and turned scouts dreams into nightmares. Originally to be hosted by GM Chuck in Montreal; physical distancing limits prevented a standard in person draft from occurring. Thankfully BBKL's resident draft guru Scott Shoals selflessly volounteered his time and basement to the processing of the BBKL entry draft. GMs had to call, text or email in their selections where Scott would officially register the selection into the system. One wonders how he managed to get any sleep with selections rolling both day and night. But with spreadsheets and formulas in hand Scott was able to pull off an entertaining draft given the circumstances. Im sure the league as a whole appreciated the time and effort put in by Scott to facilitate this.
So with that out of the way let's get started!
#31 Ottawa Senators Grade F-
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #25
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
Button's take: One of BBKL's perpetual rebuilders, GM Billy made zero progress on that front with no selections during the 2020 draft. Billy continues to attempt to rebuild by acquiring NHL bodies using his future draft picks with little progress to show for it in terms of yearly progress in the standings. Fun fact: Ottawa has had only one 1st Round selection (Evan Bouchard) in the past 8 years.
#30 Pittsburgh Penguins Grade F-
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #30
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
Dreger's take: For the second time in the past two drafts GM Mike spent all of his selections in favor of roster upgrades. In spite of those deals Pittsburgh still finds itself ouside of the few elite teams who can push for a championship. Its concerning that you can count on one hand the number of legitimate prospects developing in Wilkes-Barrie with no signs of reinforcements coming. Another team that has had a 1st Round selection in only 1 of the past 8 drafts.
#29 Florida Panthers Grade F
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #5
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
MacKenzie's take: It was a tale of two drafts for GM Chris who is the final team to hold no selections in the 2020 draft. After having thrown all his eggs into the 2019 draft basket and being rewarded with a top 5 ranking; Chris spent all its 2020 selections to improve his roster. A noticeable upward trajectory in yearly standings, Florida can afford to miss out on a draft given the youth on his roster and prospects developing on the farm.
#28 Detroit Red Wings. Grade F+
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #26
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
Button's take: The first of BBKL's teams to hold a 2020 sleection; GM Scott only held a single 5th Round sleection chosing 2019 NHL selection Nikita Nesterenko. After dominating the US Prep school rankings, Nesterenko took his talents to the BCHL this season and then dominated there. A respectable pick; but one would hope a rebuilding team like Detroit would make more of an effort to retain their own draft picks. Scott's last 1st Round selection took place back in 2016.
#27 Dallas Stars Grade D-
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #18
Value Pick: Joonas Oden
Reach Pick: None
Dreger's take: The second team to hold a single selection this draft; GM Willy made the most of it selecting Joonas Oden in the 6th round. A third year eligible player, Oden shows signs of bottom 6 upside at the NHL level. A true value pick very late in the BBKL draft. Given Dallas' status amongst the BBKL elite and a farm with plenty of talent including BBKL's #1 goalie pipeline; Willy has nothing to worry about anytime soon.
#26 Washington Capitals Grade D
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #2
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
MacKenzie's take: Another team with a penchant to trade away their top picks; GM Thom held a total of 4 picks (2 in the 5th and 2 in the 6th). With his 5ths Thom takes his chances with the Russian factor in selecting Berezkin and Trineyev. Both have some untapped offensive upside and are respectable risks for their draft position. The remaining two picks were used on no one of note. Since 2013, Washington has only made a selection the 1st or 2nd rounds in 2 of the past 8 years.
#25 St. Louis Blues Grade D
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #13
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
Button's take: With only 3 selections in the 2020 draft, GM Nick did his best to remake his goalie pipeline. First goalie selection Bjorklund is a quick goalie who competes hard. Second selection Zherenko is a 2019 draftee who was one of only two rookie goalies to make their debut in the KHL. A very astute selection by Nick. Final selection Constantini has some decent upside for a late selection.
#24 Buffalo Sabres Grade C
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #21
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
Dreger's take: The first team in our rankings to hold a solid grouping of selections, GM Matt had to wait until the 3rd round to make his first selection. With his first pick of the 3rd Matt takes a chance on Andre, a skilled undersized dman with skating issues. With his next pick Matt kicks it old-school and selects another dman Kleven who projects as a shutdown 3rd pairing dman. Pashin has some upside but not without his warts. Kerins is a solid draft sleeper. Nothing fancy, just solid all-around selections by Buffalo.
#23 Calgary Flames Grade C
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #19
Value Pick: None
Reach Pick: None
MacKenzie's take: For the second year in a row GM Josh only had two picks at his disposal. With his first selection Josh takes a huge chance on one of this drafts most polarizing prospects - Tyson Foerester. Blessed with phenominal hands and hockey sense; the major red flag is skating. Some scouts describe it as insufficient for even the OHL level. Lack of 5-on-5 production also hurts his draft stock. Major boom or bust potential with this selection. Tarnstrom has the bloodlines but some question if his game can translate to the NHL or will he just be a good player in Europe. Repeated lack of number of selections coupled with the risk assumed with what selections were make hurt the ranking here.
#22 Toronto Maple Leafs Grade C
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #12
Value Pick: Ryder Rolston
Reach Pick: Kasper Simontaival
Button's take: Only missing his first round selection, GM Tyler was looking to add to an ever full prospect cupboard. While not wowing anyone, Toronto was reasonably successful at sleecting some prospects of note. Simontaval was tabbed as a 1st rounder for years but the wheels seemed to cpme off this year and dropped significantly. One could wonder if Tyler could have waited a bit longer to take his man. Sebrango is a decent offensive dman who competes hard. Wisdom showed great progress playing on a line with phenom Wright. Rolston drops hard based on projections and falls into Toronto's lap in the 6th.
#21 Las Vegas Golden Knights Draft Grade C+
2019 BBKL Draft Ranking: #22
Value Pick: Brock Faber
Reach Pick: Michael Benning
Dreger's take: Lacking his 1st round selection for the second consecutive year, GM Jordan had his work cut out for him to find value in the middle rounds. It looks as though he was mildly successful as a few prospects of note were taken. Torgesson has the pieces all teams covet - big body with skill that can skate and good compete. A solid 2nd round selection. Faber is a smooth skating dman who defends well and provides great value in the late 3rd. Depending on who you talk to Benning is either a 2nd round pick or a clear do not draft. We tend to lean towards the latter. Francis is a small forward who oozes skill and was nice value in the 4th round.