FanSided’s NHL Draft rankings: Top 15 prospects (June edition)
By Simon Vacca
As we near the outset of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, let’s break down the top 15 prospects set to enter into the ranks of competition at hockey’s highest level.
With the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals, hockey lovers eyeing the prospect pool embrace another level of excitement. The moment that we have all been waiting for will soon be upon us, as the 2019 NHL Entry Draft — set to be held at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada — is now just one week away.
As such, a swarm of narratives occupy the talk circuit of the NHL. Who will the New Jersey Devils select first: widely acclaimed center Jack Hughes or head-turning winger Kaapo Kakko? Will Cole Caufield — one of the most acclaimed natural goal scorers of the last few seasons — fall outside of the top five? Who shall take a stab at landing the polarizing Arthur Kaliyev? And will Spencer Knight actually be drafted higher than Jack Campbell at eleventh overall back in 2010?
So many questions, such few answers — albeit only for now. Let’s explore the top 15 prospects set to enter into the ranks of competition at hockey’s top level.
15. Spencer Knight
DOB: April 19, 2001 (age 18)
Position: G
Catches: L
Team: USNTDP — USHL
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 198 pounds
The odds of Knight panning out as a miss in the NHL are low. For years on end, the netminder has been seen as a high-end prospect among scouts, with a window for success that is both expansive and wide-ranging. He boasts a fine hockey IQ, as well as a capacity to stay calm in the face of adversity — a rare feat for a goaltender at just 18 years of age.
This is not to say that his game is devoid of matters of debate. Knight does not often make the fundamentally extravagant save — an inconsistency in the eyes of some, but yet another talking point among his supporters, who are quick to praise his sense of positional awareness.
Knight was good — not necessarily great, per se — over the course of the past season, but his dominance at the U18 tournament all but guarantees the possibility that a team will opt to roll the dice early on the acclaimed goaltender.