2020 NHL Draft: A Look at the top 100 Prospects

Well, here it is. Countless hours of viewing and head-scratching has lead to this…MY FINAL Top 100 rankings for the 2020 NHL Draft.

I fully knuckled down on this, dedicating nearly eight months moving the magnets as I evaluated and ranked accordingly. Many Camel plains and cups of coffee were consumed in the making of this.

Below is my NHL Draft Top 100 and for any analytic heads, a Google spreadsheet link at the very bottom with 900 cells of data.

Enjoy, my friends. Feel free to share and discuss. Keep in mind: We still don’t know when the NHL Draft will take place this year, thanks to the rotten coronavirus.

100. Ville Ottavainen – RHD – Kitchener Rangers

Ottavainen is a strong 6’4″ two-way defenseman who showed flashes of what made him such a sought after 16-year-old. He’s got a long clean stride and often displays that when he’s rushing the puck up ice. He’s got a really clean release and isn’t afraid to skate end to end. In the defensive zone, Ottavainen is calm and poised and rarely panics. Uses his big 6’4″ frame to clog the shooting lanes and bump would-be attackers to the periphery. There’s no doubt he’s raw, but the potential is there.

99. Yevgeni Oksentyuk – LW/RW – Flint Firebirds

Looking for a solid mid-round scoring threat? Yevgeni Oksentyuk is your man. The 5’7″ Belarusian over-age winger is incredibly balanced, has an unreal release and gets to the dirty areas to create for himself and teammates. Oksentyuk is a puck hound and is constantly motoring around the neutral zone trying to disrupt what he can.

98. Colby Ambrosio – C – Tri-City Storm

Ambrosio boasts high-end puck skills and a great turn of pace. Ambrosio is a very skilled playmaker and has a very deceptive release and heavy shot, especially when shooting in stride. A poised distributor from the half-wall and has a keen eye for players skating into good areas and often works through the point man for a lot of give-and-go plays. Though he’s of a smaller frame, he isn’t shy to get into the corners to win his own puck. He’s got some work to do off the puck positionally in all three zones.

97. Ruben Rafkin – RHD – Windsor Spitfires

Rafkin is a clean skating defenseman who sees the ice well. He’s an accomplished passer and makes great plays coming out of his own end. He’s got a good shot and combined with his skating, works his way into good areas giving himself the best chance to score. Rafkin plays well for his size. He isn’t afraid to step up off of his line and deliver a hit, get into the corners or stick up for a team-mate. He’s very athletic and skilled, but I question his hockey smarts at times. Sometimes he can be at sea positionally and for such a good passer, when pressured doesn’t show the same skill.

96. Jack Thompson – RHD – Sudbury  Wolves

Thompson plays a solid two-way game that is based around his mobile puck rushing style. Thompson is a good skater and loves joining the rush and can be the driving force cutting through the neutral zone. He times his rushes well and rarely over commits. He’s got a good heavy shot and good shot selection. Thompson’s developing a good passing arsenal and is expanding on his play-making ability. Has good gap control and defends passing lanes well. It can be a handful when he hits open ice, hard to contain. Solid player who doesn’t overly excel in one area, rather good in most, if not all.