Last week we looked at the first 15 in our Top 25 Under 25…now it’s time to move into the top 10.
10) Alexander Suzdalev, LW/RW
6’2”, 176lbs
19yo, 3/5/2004
Update: Suzdalev made his first year in North America a hell of a productive one, putting up 86 points (38 goals) in 66 games in the WHL. He’s still going under the radar because he was teammates with some guy named Connor Bedard, but they rarely played together at even strength, and Suzdalev still produced well without the phenom. The next question for Suzdalev is where he’ll play next season, as it’s still unknown if he’ll report to the Bears or go back to the WHL. Wherever he lands, hopefully it’s with a team that will give him big minutes (which unfortunately probably won’t be Hershey).
Potential: Suzdalev came onto the scene primarily as a playmaker, but he found his goal scoring touch last season, now making him a dual threat. A good comparable here is probably former Cap Andre Burakovsky, though Andre is a better shooter while Suzdalev is a better playmaker. If Suzdalev keeps working on the pace of his game, he could become a very good complementary, dual-threat winger that can put up consistent 50+ point seasons with some 60+ point seasons sprinkled in.
9) Ryan Chesley, RHD
6’0”, 201lbs
19yom 2/27/2004
Update: Chesley had an odd season, where he was strong defensively but didn’t produce as much as he should have on a strong Minnesota team; he ended the campaign with only 10 points in 36 games (and two of those points came in the first two games). Now, Chesley should not be confused as an offensive defensemen, because he’s not. His strength has always been on the defensive side and his ability to transition the puck out of the zone, but you’d like to see a bit more production. This upcoming season he’ll most likely be Minnesota’s top defensemen, so he should be getting big minutes at both college and World Juniors. This should cause big, exciting jumps for his career.
Potential: Like Martin Fehervary, Chesley has a build for a mobile, physical defensive defensemen, but Chelsey has a more offensive upside. I see a lot of Ryan Pulock in Chesley. Pulock also was probably expected to be more of an offensive threat but he thrived way more on the defensive side with his size and speed. If Caps can get someone like Pulock out of Chesley and an Adam Pelech out of Fehervary, the Caps will have a great future physical, shutdown pairing.
8) Vincent Iorio, RHD
6’3”, 201lbs
20yo, 11/14/2002
Update: Iorio had a stellar start to his professional career with the Hershey Bears, playing nearly every game and being a consistent defensive force. He’s not expected to put up points but he did well with 22 in 68 games. The Bears are quite stacked so it will be interesting to see where he’s placed; hopefully he slots into the top four.
Potential: Most of the defensemen the Caps have drafted of late are blueliners who aren’t what you would call sexy in terms of offense, and Iorio is no different. He’s very strong on the puck, though, and can stop a lot of chances in his own end, with a fantastic outlet pass to start the offense up the ice as well. He’s reminiscent of Brett Pesce, another really quiet guy who does all the dirty work to stop chances against and help push the ice up as well. They’re both big, strong, and can move really well. They won’t be on the highlight reel but that’s how they’d like it.
7) Connor McMichael, C/W
6’0”, 187lbs
22yo, 1/15/2001
Update: McMichael has been very good in a quiet way for the Caps’ pipeline. After sitting in Peter Laviolette’s dog house for a couple years, McMichael went on and helped the Bears win the Championship. He hasn’t lit up the AHL offensively but he’s put up very solid underlying numbers there at both ends of the ice and the one season he played with the Caps he did the same thing. Those are very good signs. With his old head coach taking the helm with the Caps, expect McMichael to finally get his deserved NHL moment and slide into the top six to see what he can do.
Potential: Since he was drafted, McMichael has always reminded me of Bo Horvat and Travis Konecny – without the bite, but with the same size and goal scoring skill set. The difference is Horvat and Konecny both went straight to the NHL after their great DY+1 (draft year +1) OHL seasons (Horvat: 30 goals and 74 points in 54 games, Konecny: 30 goals and 101 points in 60 games), while McMichael did not go straight to the NHL even after his even better D+1 OHL season (47 goals and 102 pints in 52 games). Of course, it helps to be on bad teams who can give you the time like the ones who drafted Konecy and Horvat. I still see McMichael as similar potential players as those two mentioned; he just needs to be given an actual chance and this season he should get it. We’ll see what he can do.
6) Alexei Protas, C/W
6’6”, 225lbs
22yo, 1/6/2001
Update: Protas has solidified himself as a high end defensive forward at the NHL level, and that’s at the very least. He only scored 15 points in 58 games, but he was stapled to the fourth line with no special team time so there’s not really a reason for concern. It’s going to be very interesting to see how Carbery uses him this upcoming season.
Potential: Protas is a unique player with valuable qualities. He isn’t the fastest skater but he’s incredibly smart and an ace with his stick, making him so good defensively, but that’s not all to the giant pivot. He has top tier playmaking and vision as well which I think will show itself more and more as the years go on. He reminds me so much of Valeri Nichushkin, not technically in play style, but impact. I think he can be that next elite analytical darling that puts up insane possession stats at both ends of the ice. He might never break 60 or even 50 points but he’ll be a flex piece for the Caps for a long time that you can play up and down the linemate in any situation.
Stay tuned – our final five drop tomorrow!