In the bottom half of the top-10 rankings, Matthew Knies debuted #6 ahead of Roni Hirvonen, Mikhail Abramov, Nicholas Abruzzese, and Dmitri Ovchinnikov.
As mentioned in the previous article, I see a dropoff in the tiers after #3, #6, and #9 of the top 10. The tiers matter just as much as the rankings do, but part of the fun with this exercise is debating the merits of the exact order in the comments, so have at it!
5. Topi Niemela, 5’11” RD, Karpat (Liiga)
Transition Defense: 60-65 Niemela was one of my favourite picks on draft day, landing 20-30 spots lower than I expected into Toronto’s lap in the early third round.
Puck Handling: 55
Playmaking: 55
Physical Play: 40-45