Bruins Prospect Rankings: A Comparison

Well, Top 25 Under 25 is over. We did it everyone; we made it!

Now, let's take a look at how our rankings stack up against Hockey's Future's ranking of Bruins prospects which came out last month. Since HF was only a top 20, I've omitted the players we ranked 21-25 from this table.

Here's each top 20 list:

Rank	Stanley Cup of Chowder	Hockey's Future
1	Dougie Hamilton	Dougie Hamilton
2	Ryan Spooner	Malcolm Subban
3	Torey Krug	Ryan Spooner
4	Niklas Svedberg	Alexander Khokhlachev
5	Malcolm Subban	Joe Morrow
6	Alexander Khokhlachev	Torey Krug
7	Joe Morrow	Anthony Camara
8	Jordan Caron	Seth Griffith
9	Jared Knight	Ryan Fitzgerald
10	Matt Grzelcyk	Reilly Smith
11	Reilly Smith	Zane Gothberg
12	Seth Griffith	Matt Grzelcyk
13	Matt Fraser	Niklas Svedberg
14	Craig Cunningham	Matt Fraser
15	Tommy Cross	Jared Knight
16	Zane Gothberg	Peter Cehlarik
17	Anthony Camara	Carter Camper
18	Justin Florek	Brian Ferlin
19	Linus Arnesson	Linus Arnesson
20	Peter Cehlarik	Rob O'Gara

Now let's examine differences of the players using everyone's favorite stat, plus-minus (plus indicating a player was higher on HF's list, minus indicating they were higher on ours). N/A denotes there wasn't a rank to compare the player.

Player	Plus-Minus	Note
Hamilton	0
Spooner	-1
Krug	-3
Svedberg	-9
Subban	+3
Khokhlachev	+2
Morrow	+2
Caron	N/A	I reached out to the author to ask about the player's absence but I did not receive a reply
Knight	-6
Grzelcyk	-2
Smith	+1
Griffith	+4
Fraser	-1
Cunningham	N/A	see Caron
Cross	N/A	see Caron
Gothberg	+5
Camara	+10
Florek	N/A	see Caron
Arnesson	0
Cehlarik	+4
Fitzgerald	+20	Fitzergald was #29 in our rankings
Camper	N/A	Camper did not appear in any of our individual top 25 rankings
Ferlin	+4	Ferlin was #22 in our rankings
O'Gara	+5	O'Gara was #25 in our rankings

So as you can see, quite a few discrepancies. If we disregard differences within three spots, we had 10 similar picks - not bad. However, on some (namely Fitzgerald, Camara and Svedberg) we weren't even in the ballpark.

To wrap things up, let's review some of the players we disagreed on...

1. Niklas Svedberg

Stanley Cup of Chowder's take:

Only one person had him ranked outside of the top 5, which makes sense - of all our goaltending prospects, Svedberg easily is in the best position to step in and be NHL ready NOW. Can he follow in Tuukka Rask's footsteps and translate AHL success to a break in to the NHL? Survey says yes, but in just a few short weeks, we'll know for sure. If Chad Johnson ends up taking that spot, a tandem of Svedberg and Subban in the AHL should scare the pants off just about any other team in that league.

and from Hockey's Future:

Although he had his struggles in the AHL playoffs, Svedberg won top goalie honors for his regular season performance. During the regular season he was lights out recording a 31-8-2 record, 2.26 goals against average, .922 save percentage, and three shutouts. His playoff performance brought some questions to his game, but Providence's blue line was depleted with both Krug and Bartkowski called up to Boston. That being said, it is hard not to imagine the Swedish netminder the very least a backup at the NHL level.

2. Jared Knight

Stanley Cup of Chowder's take:

Knight will be showing where he's at at rookie camp this week. He told reporters today that he finally feels fully recovered from the injury that hindered his season last year, and that he trimmed some bulk to hopefully avoid any relapse. And for whatever it's worth, as a right-hand shot Knight might be someone angling for that open third-line winger spot with the B's, especially if there are any injuries to the big boys. This year will be a big one for Knight, and one in which we can hopefully see if he has a chance of living up to his potential as a tenacious two-way winger.

and from Hockey's Future:

Knight had lots of injury problems last season, which resulted in him only playing 13 regular season games between the AHL and ECHL. It is hard to ignore his struggles last season, injury or not, with many other Bruins prospects making big strides in their development. Knight will look to get back on track in 2013-14, but it seems after last year's debacle he may be best suited started in the AHL. If he had no injury problems last year, he is probably fighting for a spot on the third line. With a strong camp he could still push for that, but there are many other players competing for that spot.

3. Seth Griffith

Stanley Cup of Chowder's take:

The general consensus seems to agree with the findings on Griffith's potential: we've almost all got him in the top 15, with a few top 10s. I have a feeling we're going to start hearing his name a lot more now that he's in Providence, and if he transitions into the pros the way he's expected to, maybe he'll get a look at that third line RW spot as well. OPTIONS, BABY, OPTIONS!

and from Hockey's Future:

Being an overage draft pick is something that has not deterred Griffith from exceling. He tore up the OHL the past few seasons, was one of the last members cut from the Canadian WJC team in 2012, and will join the Providence Bruins this season for his first pro year.

"Some guys come in faster than others, and he has to come in at his own pace," Providence Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said of Griffith's development. "Hopefully it is quick for everyone's own benefit, but it doesn't always work like that. We just want to do our job to make him the best player [he can be]."

4. Zane Gothberg

Stanley Cup of Chowder's take:

As far as scouting is concerned, he's drawn comparisons to Marty Turco and relies on his sharp reflexes. He also studied our pal Tim Thomas during the B's 2011 cup run. That style has served him well thus far, but leaves him prone to issues with rebounding, though - something he'll look to improve during his sophomore season.

Gothberg is considered a long term project. Since he was drafted Svedberg and Subban have entered the picture and have surpassed him in the Bruins' goalie prospect pool. He projects to be a strong backup who could potentially earn a starting gig, but the likelihood of that place being Boston is not certain at the moment.

and from Hockey's Future:

Probably one of the most underrated prospects the Bruins have, Gothberg has done nothing but perform. In 2012-13, he picked up his first NCAA tournament victory and posted a 9-4-3- record, 2.46 goals against average and a .920 save percentage.

"I don't think internally that Zane is flying under the radar," Sweeney said at this past summers Bruins development camp. "We know that Zane is very good, and he has grown a lot. [It's exciting] because when we [drafted him] we hoped that he continue [his growth]."

Gothberg returns to North Dakota for his sophomore season in 2013-14.

5. Anthony Camara

Stanley Cup of Chowder's take:

While it's up in the air if not outright dubious that he'll be a big offensive contributor, he can certainly contribute in other ways: by adding to LTIR time of opponents. Over the past few seasons and tournament appearances, Camara's developed a pretty nasty habit of borderline-to-dirty hits. He's lost a good number of games to suspension and will need to clean up his game and stay on the right side of penalty differentials if he's to remain in the good graces of the Bruins' coaching staff. Should he manage to color within the lines, you know he's going to find himself auditioning in Merlot down the line. He's also put together a pretty decent sized fight card if you're into that kinda thing.

and from Hockey's Future:

Camara has been compared to Milan Lucic since being drafted, and although that may be unfair to Camara, there is a lot to like in his game. The Bruins inked him to a three-year entry level deal last spring, as the Toronto native is expected to join the AHL squad down in Providence. He still needs some time develop his game, but he is continuing to grow as a player, making strides every year since being drafted.

6. Peter Cehlarik

Stanley Cup of Chowder's take:

Cehlarik is a ways away from the NHL, but the good news for B's fans is that he's trending upward. At just 17 years old, Cehlarik was skating with the big boys in the SHL, arguably the best league outside of North America, and skating successfully. Next season will be a telling one for Cehlarik, as if he can continue to produce full-time in the SHL, he'll really have the attention of the B's front office.

His pros are tantalizing: soft hands, great vision, and smarts, all things that can't be taught. The consensus among scouts is that his skating is an issue, and that could hinder him on the faster North American ice sheet. However, skating can be corrected, and he will likely received extensive coaching from the B's in that area.

He may be a couple of years away, but the young Slovak is arguably the B's most enticing forward prospect outside of North America.

and from Hockey's Future:

The Slovakian native will continue to develop over in Europe for the time being, but he has the Bruins upper management excited, as he possesses a tremendous skill set.

"Peter is a very skilled hockey player, and you're seeing right away what kind of player," Sweeney said of Cehlarik at the Bruins Development Camp. "He has the shot, the release, and the hands. He can also make plays in traffic and in-and-around the net."

Cehlarik split last season between the Lulea and its junior team. He played only eight games in the SHL, but he contributed nicely with six points (three goals, three assists). At the junior level he was just off a point-per-game pace with 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists), in 38 games. During the U-18 WJC, he had a strong performance with seven points, in six games of action.

7. Ryan Fitzgerald

Stanley Cup of Chowder's take:

*TomServo42 is the only one who nominated him. You go TomServo!*

and from Hockey's Future:

Fitzgerald fell in the draft a bit, as he was originally expected to go in the second or third round, but the Bruins were happy to select the Boston College bound pivot in the fourth. Fitzgerald comes from a strong hockey bloodline as his father played and is the Assistant to the General Manager for Pittsburgh Penguins. His uncle, Scott, is also the Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting for the Bruins.

Fitzgerald has performed well at every level so far dominating the MIAA and Catholic Conference during his time at Malden Catholic and is coming off of a point-per-game season in the EJHL. Although undersized, BC coach Jerry York has a way of developing that type of player.

8. Brian Ferlin

Stanley Cup of Chowder's take:

Dan clearly thinks very highly of Ferlin. But, as with Warsofsky, Ferlin is a consensus good prospect; he is, at the very least, on everyone's radar. Ferlin has really impressed onlookers at rookie camp for three years running, now.

Again, as with Lindblad and O'Gara, Ferlin is playing in the ECAC, historically the weakest of the college conferences (Yale's magical NCAA Championship run notwithstanding.) It's a little hard to get a read on exactly how well projects, because he's not playing against the best of the best competition. His NHLe is low at 0.18. Getting him onto a strong Providence squad at the end of this season should really tell us what we need to know about whether or not he can translate his currently-excellent game to a level that matters.

and from Hockey's Future:

Ferlin had his struggled with Cornell in his sophomore season, a season that was supposed to be his breakout year. He started slow however, managing only eight points in his first 15 games, but finished strong, with 16 points in his final 19 games. Ferlin and the rest of the Cornell Big Red will look to rebound in 2013-14.

9. Rob O'Gara

Stanley Cup of Chowder's take:

We were all pretty much in general agreement on O'Gara - he definitely falls outside the Top 20 at this point, with a number of significant defense prospects ahead of him.

Although O'Gara is only an incoming sophomore, his resume at 19 is already pretty stacked -- from winning a championship with the Jr. Bruins in 2011 to the NCAA Championship in 2013, it seems like O'Gara is on a good track to success. If he has another solid year with Yale, expect to see his name rise up these rankings next offseason.

and from Hockey's Future:

Although not an offensive force, O'Gara was a fixture on the Yale blue line who will look to defend their National Title in 2013-14. He is still a long-term project that will need time to develop, but he is gaining a lot of experience playing for the Bulldogs. He also chipped in for seven assists, in 37 collegiate contests last season.