2018 Top 25 Under 25: Honourable Mentions

With 46 players to sort, research and vote on, and ten people voting, we won’t have a consensus 25 players that everyone votes for.  Some will end up just missing the cut or only feeling love from one voter. Below are the players that one or two voters thought were worthy of inclusion, but couldn’t convince enough others of their value.

Single #25 votes:

Andrew Nielsen
Voted for: Kevin

Andrew Nielsen was ranked 19th on last year’s list, moving up from 2016 where he was ranked 22nd. So what happened? Well, his scoring dropped by 13 points from 39 in 2016-17 (14G, 25A) to 26 points in 2017-18 (6G, 20A). However, one stat did increase, his penalty minutes. In the face of a more crowded blueline, Nielsen made his impact on the Marlies by jumping from 82 penalty minutes (1 penalty for every 2 games) to 143 penalty minutes (1 penalty per game) in fewer games (74GP vs 65GP). Less scoring and more penalties is a perfect combination to make a player drop off the list.

Ian Scott
Voted for: Brigstew

Last year Ian Scott got no votes, and this year Brigs tossed him a 25th place vote. He played in the WHL last season, and once again he played in 50 games. His GAA dropped from 3.69 to 3.10 and his save percentage moved a tiny bit from .895 to .897. He did play one game with the Marlies last season as well. With the crowded crease in Toronto with Garret Sparks, Calvin Pickard, and Kasmir Kaskisuo, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Scott back in the WHL for an overage season.

Dakota Joshua
Voted for: seldo

Like last year, I gave Dakota Joshua my 25th place vote. The Ohio State centre saw a drop in scoring by nine points, giving him 15 goals and 11 assists compared to last season where he scored 12 goals and had 23 assists. Usually this would cause a player to lose votes, but I stuck with him. I see value as he heads into his senior year. I’ll be writing the ‘Case For’ article on him later this week.

Single #24 votes:

Kasmir Kaskisuo
Voted for: Hardev

Kaskisuo wasn’t ranked last year, but in his first year spent in the AHL he played 28 games for the Chicago Wolves with a .914 sv% and a 2.38GAA. Barring a loan to another AHL team again, or a trade, he’ll be fighting for ice time with the other Marlies goaltenders, trying to avoid a trip to the Growlers.

Single #23 votes:

Joseph Woll
Voted For: Omar

Last year Woll tied for the 25th spot with Rinat Valiev but couldn’t get more than one vote this year. His stats were basically flat with Boston College compared to last year, and he downgraded from a gold at the World Juniors to a bronze. This is his junior year in college and he will be the backbone of the Eagles as they look to finish another season on top of their conference.

Multiple Votes:

Riley Stotts
Voted For: Brigstew (#20), Katya (#25)

Riley Stotts was drafted this year and is so far has been the newest player to get some votes.  Brigs had him at #20, and he just made Katya’s list at #25. Brigstew will be writing a ‘Case For’ later this week on Stotts.

Fedor Gordeev
Voted for: Fulemin (#22), species (#23), Brigstew (#19), Hardev (#22)

Gordeev was the most popular player to not make the list. A leader on a bad Flint Firebirds team, Gordeev saw his points almost double from 3 goals and 10 assists to 8 goals and 17 assists. Unless he makes the Maple Leafs out of camp, Gordeev could see a return to the Firebirds for another year in the blue and orange.

Would you have included any of these players in your top 25?

Which player would you have included in your top 25?