2013 Draft Preview: Zachary Fucale, Tommy Panico, Atte Makinen

Tommy Panico could be a draft sleeper.

Even if the entire season is lost (unlikely), the NHL will still hold it’s 2013 draft. The Rangers first pick will likely draft in the later half of the second round, so it’s extremely likely they won’t be drafting someone who gets a lot of hype. Instead, they will be looking for more of that second round magic that has worked so well.

Looking at the ISS rankings, we need to move away from the top 30 and read more in-depth about the guys they note as risers and fallers. In our first post, we looked at Max Domi and Darnell Nurse. This time, we are looking at some potential sleepers in Tommy Panico and Atte Makinen, along with goaltender Zachary Fucale.

Tommy Panico
Position: D Height: 6’1″ Weight: 185

Panico, who is committed to UMass-Lowell next season, is someone who HF has highlighted as a potential draft sleeper. HF notes that Panico is a very smooth skater with a very raw skill set. When perusing the UMass-Lowell website, several scouting reports have noted that Panico is a bit of a late bloomer, and that his size, skating ability, and fearlessness are all tools that lead to potentially great players. Panico is someone who might last until the late second round for the Rangers, and sounds like a kid that fits into their mold.

The reason why Panico seems to be a bit off the board is because he was an incredibly late bloomer. Teams generally don’t draft projects this early in the draft. They are very high-risk, high-reward type picks. Panico fits that to a T with his raw skill set.

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2013 Draft: ISS Top 30 and which risers to look for

Max Domi is a riser in the ISS 2013 prospect rankings. Image: Mark Spowart / Canadian Press Images

ISS released its top 30 prospects as of October 2012, and it’s not surprising to see Nathan MacKinnon topping the list. The Rangers do not have a first round pick this year –it was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Rick Nash trade– so it’s more important to look at the risers and fallers in the article, which come after the initial top 30 rankings.

One of the risers that stands out to me is Max Domi (yes, son of Tie Domi). HF had this to say about him:

Max Domi – If he causes a turnover you know there is about a 50/50 chance he’ll get it back, leaves everything on the ice. May not be the quickest skater (although no slouch) but he’s so shifty and does an excellent job in shifting his hips to elude traffic. *Add 3″ to his frame and he is in talks with the Top 5 of the draft. Biggest thing against him is his size which we feel he does a good job of making up for with his lower body strength and ability to elude defenders.

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