We spend so much time leading up to the draft focusing on the future.
Which players that teams are going to pick, how those players project, and what trades might happen? We never really spend much time looking back. So today, I'm going to take a look back at five players from the 2017 NHL Draft that are looking to make the jump in the year(s) ahead.
When I say "jump," I'm referring to the jump from "relative unknown" to "prospect" status. First rounders can’t really make that jump as their draft status automatically makes them a top prospect, so we’re going to look at a couple players picked outside of the first round who look like emerging prospects.
Maxime Comtois & Aleksi Heponiemi
These two are lumped together as both were second-round picks, but both are now easily top 50 prospects in the league. For those who follow prospects closely or the World Juniors, these names should not be surprises. Both players represented their countries (Comtois for Canada, and Heponiemi for Finland) and rightfully so; Comtois finished fifth in the QMJHL in scoring with 85 points, and his 44 goals had him tied for third. Playing on the same team as Vitali Abramov certainly helped, but this was a significant increase from the 22 goals and 51 points he had a season ago.
Heponiemi had a good draft season with 86 points in 72 games, and took it to an entirely new level this season. He scored 28 goals, which is a little light for a top prospect, but he combined that with 90 assists. Even if he had scored zero goals, he still would have finished top 20 in the league's scoring race. Including the goals his 118 points ranked third, and his 2.07 points per game lead the league. He was the only CHL player to average over two points per game this season.
Lucas Elevens
Elevens was a fifth rounder by the Vegas Golden Knights last season, and already looks to be a nice piece of what has quickly become a strong prospect pool. He spent this past season split between the SHL and Allsvenskan, and was good in both leagues. He put up 16 points in 28 games in the SHL, good for fifth among under-20 prospects. His 0.57 points per game had him third, ahead of players like Jesper Boqvist and Marcus Davidsson, both of whom were second rounders. He also fared better than fellow Golden Knights prospect Jonas Rondbjerg, who was selected in the third round. In the Allsvenskan he had 21 points in 22 games and was one of just five regular players total to average 0.90 points per game.
Aarne Talvitie
Talvitie was a Devils sixth round pick who spent this past season in Finland but not playing in the Liiga. He spent the whole season in the Jr. A SM-Liiga in order to remain eligible for the NCAA. He's committed to play at Penn State this upcoming season – a unique path to take, but if it sounds familiar, it's the same one that Panthers 2016 first rounder Henrik Borgstrom took. Borgstrom was passed over in his first year of eligibility, and stayed in the Jr. A SM-Liiga so he could play in the NCAA. He put up 55 points in 40 games, before becoming well over a point per game player at the University of Denver.
Talvitie is hoping for similar success. He had a better season than Borgstrom did, racking up 58 points in 41 games in junior. If he can continue his success at the NCAA level, New Jersey has themselves a quality prospect.
Ivan Chekhovich
Chekhovich was selected in the seventh round by the Sharks and had a decent season in the QMJHL with 60 points in 65 games. What got him on this list, though, was his performance in the AHL. He played six games with the San Jose Barracuda and had three goals and six assists (he was one of 40 players under the age of 20 to play at least a game in the AHL). His nine points put him seventh. Small sample size applies here, obviously, but that's a nice base to build from. He’s a skilled player and you hope that he can take what he learned in the AHL and bring that with him to the Q.
As far as Jackets prospects go, Jonathan Davidsson would be the biggest one to make the jump. He parlayed a great season in the SHL into a contract with the Blue Jackets and put himself in contention to make the team next season. Others who made a jump: Daniil Tarasov. The Russian netminder missed his entire draft season with a serious leg injury. He recovered nicely and was able to play 40 games this season in the MHL, Russia’s junior league. He posted a .928 save percentage, which was top 10 in the league and considering he missed a whole season is pretty incredible. Look for him to take another step forward this season.
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