OTH 2020 NHL Draft Rankings

Over the last month, I have put together a team of writers here at Overtime Heroics to focus on the 2020 National Hockey League entry draft. There have been several posts on who to look for, as well as scouting reports on some top players. There will be more in the future, so keep your eye out for those! 

Draft Ranking #1. Alexis Lafreniere

League: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)

Team: Rimouski Oceanic 

Position: Center 

Height and weight: 6’1, 192 pounds

Last season’s stats: 61 games played, 37 goals-68 assists, 105 points

Highest ranking: #1

Lowest ranking: #1

The decisive number one player on this list, Lafreniere has been a hot commodity for over about a year now. Breaking onto the scene with over 100 points with Rimouski, this is a well-deserved ranking. 

Draft Ranking #2. Quinton Byfield

League: Ontario Hockey League (OHL)

Team: Sudbury Wolves

Position: Center

Height and weight: 6’4, 214 pounds

Last season’s stats: 64GP, 29G-32A, 61P

Highest ranking: #2

Lowest ranking: #3

Byfield is a man-child, as he is still just 16 years old and much larger than most older players. He is an interesting prospect, as many, including myself, think highly of Byfield while others feel he will drop outside the top 5. For the most part, however, the team here agrees with each other. For now, he sits at 2. 

Draft Ranking #3. Lucas Raymond

League: SuperElit (Sweden)

Team: Frolunda HC J20 (Under-20 team)

Position: Right-wing 

Height and weight: 5’10, 165 pounds

Last season’s stats: 37GP, 13G-35A, 48P

Highest ranking: #2

Lowest ranking: #3

The writers who ranked Byfield at third had Raymond at second. However, the majority rules and Raymond falls to three. However, everyone I’ve spoken to think very highly of Raymond, and some say he has the best chance of overthrowing Lafreniere for the top spot. For now, he sits at third but is definitely someone to keep an eye on as the year rolls closer. 

Draft Ranking #4. Anton Lundell

League: Liiga (Finland)

Team: HIFK

Position: Center/Left-wing

Height and weight: 6’1, 183 pounds

Last season’s stats: 38GP, 9G-10A, 19P

Highest ranking: #4

Lowest ranking: #6

All but one writer had Lundell at number four in their rankings, so it was a pretty decisive selection for the team. Having played with men in Liiga in his age-16 season is super impressive as is, but he also looked good while against the tougher competition. He is a very good prospect, and can most definitely move up the rankings as we near the draft. 

Draft Ranking #5. Alexander Holtz

League: SuperElit

Team: Djurgardens IF J20

Position: Winger 

Height and weight: 6’0, 183 pounds

Last season’s stats: 38GP, 30G-17A, 47P

Highest ranking: #4

Lowest ranking: #7

I personally am not a fan of Holtz, but he is still a great prospect. This was the first player that only two of the total writers had the same ranking for, as he was truly all over the place among the team. While all the rankings were between fourth and seventh, no more than two writers agreed on a similar ranking. Keep an eye on Holtz as well, as he can rise or fall drastically based on this upcoming season. 

#6. Cole Perfetti

League: OHL

Team: Saginaw Spirit

Position: Center

Height and weight: 5’10, 185 pounds

Last season’s stats: 63GP, 37G-37A, 74P

Highest ranking: #5

Lowest ranking: #8

Perfetti is yet another interesting prospect. He is ranked anywhere between picks five and ten by many analysts, but there are a few people out there who see him as a top-three prospect too. However, unlike Holtz, he is more likely to rocket up to the top of the rankings than to free-fall down. Another prospect to watch in this stacked draft. 

#7. Noel Gunler

League: Swedish Hockey League (SHL)

Team: Lulea HF

Position: Winger 

Height and weight: 6’1, 176 pounds 

Last season’s stats: 15GP, 2G-3A, 5P

Highest ranking: #5

Lowest ranking: #8

Gunler, Perfetti and Holtz are all similar in that they could all be top 5 prospects, but Gunler and Holtz are more likely to drop in the rankings. Gunler getting an opportunity to play for the top Swedish men’s league this early could give him a boost over Holtz for next season as he has more experience. 

#8. Tim Stutzle 

League: Deutsche Nachwuchsliga (DNL)

Team: Jungadler Mannheim U20

Position: Center/Winger   

Height and weight: 5’11, 165 pounds 

Last season’s stats: 21GP, 23G-32A, 55P

Highest ranking: #7

Lowest ranking: #16

This is where the draft truly shows it’s depth. The top-4 are true dynamo’s, picks five, six and seven can rise or fall with time and picks 8-15 are all up in the air and interchangeable. Stutzle absolutely dominated in the German developmental league, but he played within his age group. If he can prove himself in the top German league, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), he could sneak under the radar and into the top-5. 

#9. Marco Rossi 

League: OHL

Team: Ottawa 67’s 

Position: Center 

Height and weight: 5’9, 179 pounds 

Last season’s stats: 53GP, 29G-36A, 65P

Highest ranking: #8

Lowest ranking: #12

Rossi is looking to join the slowly growing line of undersized forwards in the NHL, but he must first build his draft pedigree up. With a tantalizing set of skills, Rossi is looking to shock hockey experts and climb up the rankings in a very tough draft. 

#10. Jamie Drysdale

League: OHL

Team: Erie Otters

Position: Right-Handed Defenseman 

Height and weight: 5’11, 165 pounds 

Last season’s stats: 63GP, 7G-33A, 40P

Highest ranking: #5

Lowest ranking: #13

Thought of by all but two writers as the second-best defenseman in the draft, this ranking is the murkiest. Because of the two writers who think very highly of Drysdale, he was able to crack the top 10 as well as being the top-ranked defenseman. He is a good transitional defenseman and is very offensive in the plays he makes. He is your typical two-way defenseman with high offensive upside. He’s also right-handed, which helps his case a bit more. 

#11. Justin Barron

League: QMJHL

Team: Halifax Mooseheads 

Position: Right-handed defenseman  

Height and weight: 6’2, 192 pounds 

Last season’s stats: 68GP, 9G-32A, 41P

Highest ranking: #9

Lowest ranking: #15

Barron is right-handed just like Drysdale. He also produced at about the same rate offensively. However, upon watching film, he isn’t as reliable to some writers as Drysdale in the transition and in the defensive end. He allows a lot of entries and doesn’t always push the pace of play up ice. He’s someone who people should keep an eye on once the season gets under-way. 

#12. Dylan Holloway

League: Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL)

Team: Okotoks Oilers 

Position: Center/Winger 

Height and weight: 6’0, 192 pounds 

Last season’s stats: 53GP, 40G-48A, 88P

Highest ranking: #9

Lowest ranking: #15

Committed to the University of Wisconsin for next season, Holloway showed he was no match for lesser talents in the AJHL. Now that he remained eligible and is joining the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) he can try and take a big leap towards proving himself better than the 12th ranked prospect in this draft. Only time will tell. 

#13. Yaroslav Askarov

League: Molodezhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (MHL)

Team: SKA-Varyagi im. Morozova 

Position: Goalie

Height and weight: 6’3, 163 pounds 

Last season’s stats: 31GP, 2.37 Goals Against Average, .921 Save Percentage

Highest ranking: #10

Lowest ranking: Unranked in the top 15

Askarov has been called the best Russian goaltender since Andrei Vasilevskiy was playing in Russia back in 2012. That’s high honours. There’s also a lot of experts saying that Askarov is the next great and generational goalie, ranking in the top 10 in this very strong draft class. The rarity of seeing a goalie taken that early, however, was something that the Overtime Heroics team took into account. That is why he drops to 13th, for now. 

#14. Dylan Peterson 

League: United States Development Program 

Team: U.S. National U-17 Team 

Position: Center 

Height and weight: 6’4, 185 pounds  

Last season’s stats: 53GP, 8G-21A, 29P

Highest ranking: #14

Lowest ranking: Unranked 

Peterson was a part of the stacked USDP team last season, which limited his production. However, making the jump to Boston University in the NCAA next season gives him an opportunity to shine. Keep an eye on him when the NCAA season begins.

#15. Antonio Stranges

League: OHL

Team: London Knights

Position: Center/Left-wing

Height and weight: 5’10, 170 pounds 

Last season’s stats: 66GP, 13G-21A, 34P

Highest ranking: #6

Lowest ranking: Unranked 

Stranges is a very intriguing player. He didn’t produce at a great level with the Knights in the OHL. However, he is a super flashy player and shows signs of being an incredible player. While he is fully expected to be a first-round selection, no one truly knows where he will wind up. 

Thank you for reading Overtime Heroics first NHL draft rankings for the 2020 NHL entry draft! We will have another ranking in October showing who rose and who fell in two months’ time!

Discuss this and more on the Overtime Heroics forums!

All stats and prospect info via Eliteprospects

Rankings via Kyle Pereira, Rick Warman, Sean Warren, WallMaz and Niels Nielsen

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