State of the Loons; World Junior Edition

Thankfully the pandemic could not stop the 2021 World Juniors from taking place. Capeside is proud to have 12 players playing in the tournament:  Representing the United States: Trevor Zegras, Henry Thrun, Matt Boldy, Patrick Moynihan and Landon Slaggert (Commesso and Beecher tested positive for the Rona prior to the tournament and were ineligible)  Representing Germany :              Tim Steutzle, Lukas Reichel and Max Glotzl   Representing Russia :                  Yegor Chinakhov and Egor Afanasyev We last took a look at our prospect rankings back in April while we were in the midst of a fire sale. Back then our rankings looked like this: 1.  Zadina 2.  Zegras 3.  Turcotte 4.  Kaliyev 5.  Boldy 6.  Oettinger 7.  Wahlstrom 8.  Afanasyev 9.  Pinto 10.Beecher Like always Capeside has been active on the trade market and Zadina, Turcotte and Kaliyev have been sent packing. Nine months later our prospects look like this: 10. LUKAS REICHEL  Reichel was selected higher then predicted in the NHL draft and continues to preform at a high level in the German DEL against men. Reichel possesses fantastic skating and a goal scoring touch. Should spend at least another year in the DEL adding muscle before coming over to the US.  9. EGOR AFANASYEV Egor was loaned to the KHL prior to the start of the Junior tournament and in 4 games with Moskva he netted 2 goals with an assist. He already has a NHL build and should get an invite to camp with an outside shot of making the Predators this year. 8. HENDRIX LAPIERRE Concerns over the thought that Hendrix had suffered multiple concussions caused him to slide in the NHL draft. Thankfully it seems that it was not concussions but a less serious vertebrae injury. Lapierre is a top 10 talent providing fantastic playmaking skills. If his body holds up the sky's the limit for him. 7. YEGOR CHICAKHOV Biggest surprise of the NHL draft this past year and he has shown that Columbus knew what they were doing when they grabbed him at 21. Playing in the KHL, Yegor has 15 points in 27 games as a 19 year old. After being reacquired Dubois came to us and told us that he wanted Yegor here. What Dubois wants, Dubois gets. 6. OLIVER WAHLSTROM Our first ever draft pick and we are still hoping he can get it together. Oliver has all the skills but questions on his hockey sense and defensive abilities have held him back. Oliver needs a wake up call or he could be a bust. 5. JAKE OETTINGER This is likely Jake's last time on a prospect list as he should be ready for a back up role with the Stars this year after playing well in the AHL and seeing time in two NHL playoff games last year. Loons future number 1 goalie. 4. JAKE BEAN Our best defensive prospect and should be in the NHL this year after a dominant performance in the AHL last year. Questions surrounding Jake are not on his abilities but if there is a spot for him on the deep Carolina blueline. Jake's skills will force Carolina to make a spot for him. 3. TIM STEUTZLE Capeside took a chance on Steutzle and selected him over Quinton Byfield in last year's draft. Even after breaking his arm earlier this year, Steutzle showed Ottawa enough in Worlds to offer him his first pro contract. Steutzle's skating is dynamic and his compete level is fantastic. Our hope is that playing in the German men's league will lessen the shock of NHL, even though we expect Tim to take plenty of lumps in his rookie year. 2. MATT BOLDY This time last year we were ready to write Matt off as he looked overwhelmed in the NCAA. Mid way through Boston College year Matt started to break out and ended up with a solid 26 points in 34 games. This year Matt is showing what a dominant player he had the potential to be. Matt has come roaring out of the gates putting up 8 points in his first 4 games at BC while showing an improved two way game with improved back check and what has stood out in his second season is his willingness to get in the shooting lanes to block shots from the point. Every time Boldy has been on the ice this year for the Eagles he seems to be noticeable in both ends of the ice. I expect this to be Boldy's last year in college and could even get a look with Minnesota or in the AHL once the Eagle's season ends. 1. TREVOR ZEGRAS Concerns around Zegras' game were that he was a one dimensional passer, never looking for his own shot. Zegras was overshadowed by Hughes and Turcotte in the US program. At BU last year Zegras started to put those concerns to rest by showing that he has the ability to take over a game. Even though most of the highlights were still of his ability to seemingly have eyes in the back of his head when finding teammates with a great pass, Trevor still scored 11 goals in 33 games at BU. This year Zegras appears to have taken the next step in his development by showing he can be a scorer at the World Junior tournament. 5 goals and 5 assists in the first 3 games. Zegras has shown the ability to slow the game down being able to go 1 on 3 while waiting for his team to set up. Hopefully we will get to see how Zegras performs against a loaded team Canada this year. Zegras signed his ELC last year and will likely play in the AHL while trying to add some muscle - though his performance at Worlds could give Anaheim reasons to give him a shot in the NHL. For the Loons Zegras will compete with PLD for first line center duties. We had thought of Zegras as another Ryan Johansen. A solid top 6 playmaking center. Our hope is Zegras' compete level will continue to propel him to being more then that with a real chance to be a star. LOONS PROSPECT DEPTH CHART LEFT WING                CENTER                RIGHT WING                DEFENSEMEN            GOALIES T. Steutzle                  T. Zegras                  O. Wahlstrom                    J. Bean                    J. Oettinger M. Boldy                    H. Lapierre                 J. Puljujarvi                      Z. Jones                 D. Commesso    E. Afanasyev               S. Pinto                     Y. Chinakhov                   H. Thrun                 V. Vehvilainen     L. Reichel                   J. Beecher                  J. Perreault                  D. Farrance                  D. Vladar B. Tracey                    J. O'Brien                      D. Bokk                        B. Wilde J. Lauko                   G. Goncalves               A. Beaucage                    I. Moore J. Kuokkanen             L. Hutsko                    Z. Senyshyn                    J. Ahcan        ReplyForward