NHL Mock Draft 2019: No.16 — Arthur Kaliyev
This is the Colorado Avalanche’s second pick of the first-round. I have the Avalanche taking Dylan Cozens with the No.4 overall pick and there are plenty of good prospects left for them at No.16.
Cozens is one of three centres that I could reasonably see the Avalanche taking, with Trevor Zegras and Kirby Dach being the other two. Like I mentioned in the Cozens write-up, I see the Avalanche adding a centre and passing on Bowen Byram because they already have an elite D-prospect in Cale Makar and another high-end prospect in Conor Timmins.
Colorado also has Vladislav Kamanev, Martin Kaut and Shane Bowers up front but I see them adding yet another forward in this spot. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog represent an excellent core but they could really beef up their forward group by adding yet another forward here.
With the No.16 Overall Pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Colorado Avalanche select…
Arthur Kaliyev — LW — United States 🇺🇸
When you look at Kaliyev’s numbers this season, you would think he is a top-5 make, and maybe he should be. However, Kaliyev seems to be the player that no one can agree on this season. That’s obvious when you look at his scout rankings: he is ranked as high as No.13 and as low as the second-round (No.34).
Kaliyev had an insane season with the Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL), scoring 51 goals with 51 assists (102 points) in 67 games—he was fourth in the OHL in goals and tied for sixth in points. Kaliyev joined Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Jeff Skinner, and Alex DeBrincat as draft eligible players to score 50 goals in the OHL.
What Kaliyev does well, he does exceptionally well. He has an absolute cannon of a shot but sets up his teammates equally well. He quarterbacked Hamilton’s power-play all season and racked up points in bunches. On the negative side, Kaliyev is consistently knocked for his compete-level and is not a very good skater.
The 6-foot-2, 190 lbs. winger could blossom into an elite goal-scorer at the NHL-level and could give the Avalanche one of the best top-6’s in the NHL in a few years. However, you saw the same complaints about Mikhail Grigorenko during his draft year and he ended up with just 64 points (22G / 42A) in 217 NHL games. With that said, the Avalanche took a chance on Grigorenko when his time ran out in Buffalo, making me think they could be the team to take Kaliyev in the middle of round one.
Scouting Report
On the pro-Kaliyev side: Elite hockey sense, cannon of a shot, decent frame with some room left to fill out, elite goal, point and shot production. Runs a power play as well as anyone in the CHL.
On the anti-Kaliyev side: Average feet, pace isn’t always good, on-ice compete level, consistency. — Corey Pronman (The Athletic)He can score goals no doubt, with 51 in the OHL this season. But is his effort and play away from the puck consistent enough? Debate amongst yourselves. — Sam Cosentino (Sportsnet)
Rankings
- #34 — HockeyProspect.com
- #30 — Future Considerations
- #23 — ISS Hockey
- #7 — NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)