With the 2020-21 hockey season impacted at all levels by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 NHL Entry Draft is sure to have some surprise picks throughout.
Conventional wisdom as it normally applies to the way NHL teams identify, track, evaluate and ultimately select talent over the course of a calendar year will likely go out the window. As the draft progresses beyond the established players at the top of the pecking order, teams will rely on their internal process and metrics, which are things outsiders cannot replicate. Because clubs keep their cards close to the vest when it comes to their respective draft processes, we can expect to see a significant variance in the players we see drafted in a few weeks compared to where many of them might be ranked on the various public lists being released in print form and online.
While the New England region is sure to see an early selection in 2021 with Matty Beniers projected as a potential top-four choice, there is some interesting depth with the area's class of eligible players.
This series will take a deeper dive into the players who were ranked in the May/June 2021 print issue of New England Hockey Journal. These digital draft capsules are designed to provide supplementary analysis and look at recent or developing trends and information on the players obtained since the issue went to print. We will publish these items every couple of days until the week of the draft, when we will release analysis on a different draft prospect daily.
We open with a trio of area players who aren’t established names on many of the public rankings or projected by recognized draft analysts as sure draft options. They all possess pro attributes, however, and even if not selected in 2021, could eventually work their way into professional hockey as they develop in juniors and Division 1 hockey.
Matt Fusco, defense, Dexter Southfield/East Coast Wizards (Westwood, Mass.)
5-11/190, right shot, 3/7/03
NEHJ final NHL draft ranking: 12
The younger brother of 2020 Toronto Maple Leafs seventh-rounder John Fusco, Matt has the offensive instincts to be a top prep and college transition defenseman. Although he lacks explosiveness in his skating, the Harvard recruit sees the ice and anticipates so well that he is able to be in the right spots to get to pucks and move them up and out of his zone quickly. Does a good job of getting his shot through traffic to the net, keeping it low and on target for tips and deflections.
NEHJ draft prediction: Fusco is a good player with a real hockey pedigree. If teams believe in his smarts and work ethic, he’s got a chance to be drafted in the seventh round. His older brother had to wait a year before being selected, so there might be a desire to wait a year and see how he develops. Either way, we expect him to be an impact two-way defender in college who has a chance to be more than the sum of his parts down the road.
Sasha Teleguine, left wing, Chilliwack Chiefs (North Attleboro, Mass.)
5-9/178, left shot, 9/17/02
NEHJ final NHL draft ranking: 13
Because of Teleguine’s pure skill and skating, he has a chance to break through in the late rounds as an upside draft pick for a team willing to gamble that he’ll address his shortcomings. The University of Connecticut-bound former Thayer Academy star played in the BCHL late-season bubble, scoring at nearly a point-per-game pace in 20 contests (4-14-18). He’s dynamic both in terms of his explosiveness and balance, able to skate away from defenders or use his slippery east/west mobility to create time and space for himself. With his superb hands, he can make any pass and has a quick trigger around the net. Consistency in terms of application of effort away from the puck and shift-to-shift impact is the area he most needs to address going forward.
NEHJ draft prediction: The son of former Boston Bruins skills coach Victor Teleguine, the ability to score and generate offense is not in question. The lack of size and details in his game are what teams will have to be sold on. There is a better than 50/50 chance that a team will take an upside flyer on him in the seventh round and hope he develops more of an all-around game at UConn.
Cooper Flinton, center/left wing, St. Paul’s/Northern Cyclones 18U AAA Prep (Auburn, N.H.)
6-2/210, left shot, 8/16/03
NEHJÂ final NHL draft ranking: 15
The Dartmouth recruit is a big-bodied winger who skates well and plays with effort. Flinton has a hard shot, and has the tools to be an effective three-zone player. He is a draft dark horse mainly because of a lack of exposure. He played with the Northern Cyclones Prep and St. Paul’s in a condensed schedule, but the raw forward needed a full season to generate draft momentum. Like so many others around North America, he didn’t get that.
NEHJ draft prediction: Flinton is a project forward and will need time to continue his growth and development. Realistically, he’s a draft long shot and will have to keep putting in the work and position himself for a breakout year in 2021-22.
