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AHL Farm Rankings: #4 Red Ravens

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 1:22 pm
by Cheapthief
#4 Red Ravens

There were a lot of factors that went into evaluating a players value in the AHL, including age of the prospect, salary, and progression. A younger prospect is given more leeway in terms of production than an older player who has yet to produce at the pro level. The level of competition was also factored.

We broke down the teams into 5 tiers:

Tier 1: PPG potential for a $3.00 forward, 50 point potential for a dman. This group will also have some players with lower base salaries that have high upside, but they aren’t held to quite that standard. For a $1.00 3rd rd pick he needs to have 60+ point upside to be in this elite tier. Most every top prospect drafted in 2020 is given serious consideration of being in this tier.

Tier 2: This is where you will find the very good prospects, some $3.00 players who have regressed a little, and some cheaper players on the uptick production wise.

Tier 3: With the players in this group, their trajectory could go either way and the jury is still out. Typically there is potential at reaching tier 2, but just as likely to fall to the bottom.

Tier 4: They are still considered prospects, but their days are numbers and they don’t have a lot of time left to break out.

Tier 5: These are the duds. The only reason any of them should be on a farm is because there is extra space. There is no upside.

In ranking the farms, the entire farm depth was looked at, with extra weight given to high end talents, especially those already producing at the NHL level.

For each report we will cover the average age of the group, number of players drafted by round, and finally, the number of players on in the NHL now. Within the summary write up for every team, we will also include what their draft pick status for the next 3 seasons.

Summary:

The Red Ravens have spent some time rebuilding in the hopes of returning to the winners circle since their one and only title in 2000-01. It seemed that for many years the GM would only draft dmen, but it appears that trend is changing as we see a solid group of farm forwards waiting in the wings to start producing in the NHL.

While the farm looks pretty on paper, and it is, some of these prospects are going to need some time to cook before they can be fantasy relevant, and in the meantime, that likely means more losing for a relatively weak core:

Dante Fabbro 22 2.00

Pierre-Olivier Joseph 21 $1.50- Will get Aho’d

Ryan Lindgren 23 $0.25

Patrik Laine 23 $6.75 8 years- has been a headache and frustrating leader of this core

Jake Vrana 25 $3.75 $4.25- crushing it in Detroit with 6 goals and 7 points in 7 games
Ivan Barbashev 25 $2.50 $2.50- not worth the price based on production thus far

Andre Burakovsky 26 $2.25 FA
Alexander Wennberg 26 $0.75 FA

The key to this core is that hefty long term deal signed by Patrik Laine. Does this guy even want to play in the NHL or is he off to the KHL, Swiss League, or the golf course? An enigmatic winger who clearly has the potential to be a game breaker but that’s gonna be tough to do on a depleted BlueJackets squad. Past that, you have to like what you are seeing from Jakub Vrana, but again, the core is minimal and volatile.

There is some real game breakers on this farm, and a couple making an impact in the NHL now. While Quinton Byfield has experienced a taste in the NHL, its his progression in the AHL that is making this prospect look like the #2 pick he is. Cole Caufield is getting a look in Montreal and has hit pay dirt- it's just what he does. Scorers score, and the little man just finds a way. The farmie making the biggest impact and closest to a call-up is Eeli Tolvanen, finally living up to the expectations he once had as a top 5 pick who slipped at the draft.

The future picks have a consistent makeup, owning all of its own 1st, 2nd, and 4th picks, but replacing those 3rds in each year elsewhere. Lots of darts to throw and still room yet on this farm with a few duds you can say goodbye to in the off season. Patrik Laine was the second overall pick behind Auston Matthews, and now Red Ravens will get yet another crack at a #2 pick (Byfield also at #2) with no clear choice as of yet.

So ultimately, there is a lot to love about this farm and the Red Ravens future prospects, but fans will have to be patient before there can be any expectation of being a true contender.


Average Age: 20.9

Currently in the NHL: 4

1st rd picks: 6

2nd rd picks: 8

3rd rd picks: 3

4th rd picks: 4




Tier 1:

Cole Caufield 20 F MTL $3.00 Big-10 31 30-22=52
-Just eye popping college numbers and quite the AHL debut with 3 and 1 in two games, he is a natural born goalscorer, small player with huge upside
Quinton Byfield 18 F LAK $3.00 AHL 28 7-12=19
-A late birthday, lets remember he is just 18 and as a power forward is expected to take a little longer to cook, but he is doing incredibly well in his rookie AHL season
Eeli Tolvanen 21 F NSH $3.00 NHL 31 10-9=19
-The time is now for this prospect finally getting regular duty in Nashville and putting up the numbers in his official rookie season
Dylan Holloway 19 F EDM $2.50 Big-10 23 11-24=35
-Massive progression in second college year already doubling his rookie totals in half the games, stock is on the rise
Jake Sanderson 18 D OTT $2.50 NCHC 22 2-13=15
-Solid rookie college season since being drafted, if a few years away, but projects to be an all around defenseman that you can trust in all situations


Tier 2:

Nolan Foote 20 F NJ $1.00 AHL 20 6-10=16
-Got into his first NHL game after posting excellent rookie numbers, almost a PPG for Binghamton
Shakir Mukhamadullin 19 D NJ $0.50 KHL 39 3-7=10
-Not too shabby for a young dman in the KHL, chipping in offense that was nonexistent a year ago
Grigori Denisenko 20 F FLA $2.50 AHL 13 5-3=8
-Getting his feet wet in the AHL this season and putting up respectable numbers
Yegor Chinakhov 20 F CBJ $2.00 KHL 32 10-7=17
-An off the board pick by Columbus appears to be fitting in at the KHL level


Tier 3:

Lias Andersson 22 F LAK $2.00 SweHL 19 5-6=11
-The 7th overall pick in 2017 has gone home after struggling in a few NHL stints, but did prove he could score at the pro level in the AHL this year with PPG play
Lassi Thomson 20 D OTT $2.00 AHL 23 1-7=8
-Turned pro and is performing modestly for a rookie dman in the AHL, but will need to progress next season to be worth the price tag
Daemon Hunt 18 D MIN $1.00 WHL 19 6-10=16
-In his 4th WHL season posting close to PPG numbers which excellent, but somewhat expected for an older player in junior
Tyler Benson 23 F EDM $1.50 AHL 26 9-20=29
-He's been putting up consistently good numbers in the AHL for several years now, should get a shot at the big club next season
Daniel Sprong 24 F WSH $2.00 NHL 34 7-7=14
-Given the opportunity he has proven he can contribute at the NHL level, but the concerns with this player is defensive responsibility


Tier 4:

Nico Sturm 25 F MIN $1.50 NHL 38 6-4=10
-Finally getting a crack at regular minutes in the NHL, but his upside is limited and he projects as a bottom 6 regular
Jake Leschyshyn 22 F VGK $0.50 AHL 27 3-4=7
-A slight uptick in numbers in his second AHL season, but we are going to need to see more from him if he is going to crack the Knights lineup
Jared McIsaac 21 D DET $0.50 AHL NA
-Age 21 and put up OK QMJHL numbers isn't playing anywhere this season which doesn't help the development curve
Caleb Jones 23 D EDM $1.00 NHL 24 0-2=2
-Looked promising last season, but we are seeing major regression and it doesn't look like he is the long term answer in Edmonton


Tier 5:

Isaac Ratcliffe 22 F PHI $1.50 AHL 12 0-4=4
-It's just not happening for him in the AHL, regression after a less than average first season doesn't bode well for his NHL chances
Luke Prokop 18 D NSH $0.50 WHL 10 2-1=3
-Ouch, those are not very good junior numbers and he isn't coming off any years where he put up significant production
Daniel Brickley 26 D LAK $1.50 AHL 19 3-2=5
-A 26 year old not putting up numbers in the AHL is simply a dud