2018 CBJ Top 25 Under 25: Full Results and Discussion

Thanks again for participating in the 2018 CBJ Top 25 Under 25 series here at The Cannon. We’ve enjoyed writing these profiles and discussing these players with you in the comments. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed voting and reading.

If you’ve missed any, here is the full archive of our countdown.

The full results will be posted below, but first the staff wanted to comment on which players we felt were too high or too low, and which players should have been on the list.

Too High/Too Low

Pale Dragon:

I would not have put Lukas Sedlak, Markus Hannikainen, or Scott Harrington on the list. I feel like each has reached his ceiling, and that’s not a good thing when you’re still 25 or younger. I didn’t set a criteria for voting, but in my personal opinion the list should be for young players who have either accomplished a lot already or who have a lot of potential.

Ryan Real:

Seth Jones was too low.

Honestly, I was struck by Markus Nutivaara’s spot. You may think he’s too high, and maybe he is–he doesn’t have Sonny Milano’s talent or Joonas Korpisalso’s obvious potential–but the more you look at how he’s grown and what he could do for the club, a top-10 ranking seems about right. Another season from Boone Jenner like last year’s and that spot belongs to Nuti.

Vitaly Abramov is also too high. I get it and I’m sure he’s that good and nobody will be happier than me if and when he does the damn thing, but putting him above NHL regulars might be a little much. I can’t believe he beat out Sonny Milano. Sonny outscored Boone last year!

William Chase:

I would have dropped Harrington. Whether lower or off the list altogether. I think based on his NHL experience Duclair can be higher and with his upside that I believe he still possesses.

Who shouldn’t have been left out?

Elaine Shircliff:

I was shocked by the lack of Monsters voted into the Top 25 Under 25. Guys like Doyle Somerby (D/F) and Matiss Kivlenieks (G) should have made the cut. Kivlenieks started the 2017-18 season thinking he would be the back up netminder for the Monsters. Little did he know an injury to Brad Thiessen would catapult him into the top spot for the bulk of the season. Kivlenieks learned on the fly and did quite well in the process. The Monsters record doesn’t do Kivlenieks any justice. During the 2017-18 season, Somerby came in clutch multiple times. He is a phenomenal defender who can also play forward quite well. I highly enjoyed watching him take the ice as a forward more than a defender. Why? Because his demeanor was full of excitement for the challenge which lay ahead of him. As a defender, I was often impressed at Somerby’s ability to read the ice and figure out what his opponent will do next. Both Kivlenieks and Somerby deserve a closer watch this upcoming season.

Will:

As far as a player that did not make the list, Maxime Fortier. Only 20-years-old and coming off consecutive 32-goal campaigns, and 31 in 2015-16 with the Halifax Mooseheads, who he also captained. Entering his first season in the AHL, what kind of numbers can the 5’10” RW put up?

Ryan:

Alex Broadhurst. He was close to making it, sure, but I think he deserves a spot in the top 25. He finally made it to the show in garbage time last year after wearing the “A” in Cleveland. Broadhurst strikes me as a tweener, one point off the Monsters lead last year, but maybe not ready for a full-time gig in the NHL. Still, Tortorella singled him out as one of the young guys who could take the leap and make a push through the organization. It speaks well of the depth that a guy who scored 41 points in 66 games couldn’t make it, but I think he could’ve broken into our list.

PD:

I agree with Will about Maxime Fortier. Site founder Mike MacLean lives in Halifax and was very excited when the Jackets signed Fortier. His numbers in juniors are very impressive and I can’t wait to see him light the lamp in Cleveland this year.

Another player who should have gotten more love is Kirill Marchenko. He could end up being the best player out of the 2018 Columbus draft class. Most of Jarmo Kekalainen’s picks this year were on the smaller size, but in contrast Marchenko is already 6’3” and 187 lbs. With that size and with his great hands, he could be another physical scoring threat a la Boone Jenner or Josh Anderson.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Full Results

2018 CBJ Top 25 Under 25 Results

Player	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	Points
points	25	24	23	22	21	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Seth Jones	2525	672	46	22	63		19																3			3350
Zach Werenski	75	1704	828	88	63	20	19	18			30															2845
Pierre-Luc Dubois	250	744	1426	242	63	80								12						6						2823
Oliver Bjorkstrand	50	24	92	396	525	660	228	216	102	32							9	8			5					2347
Alexander Wennberg	25	24	184	1144	294	220	152	90	51	48	15	42		36										2		2327
Josh Anderson	50		92	308	588	340	475	198	153	48	15				11							4				2282
Boone Jenner	25	24	46	88	231	280	304	306	153	192	120	70	65	36	22	10	9		7							1988
Markus Nutivaara			23	110	483	260	399	234	187	32	135	56	13		11		18									1961
Ryan Murray		24		66	21	120	171	306	272	336	165	84	26	36	33	30				6	5		3			1704
Joonas Korpisalo				66	42	60	114	198	272	224	255	168	130	48	55	30	9	16	7				3		1	1698
Vitaly Abramov			23	22	84	100	114	198	170	112	120	154	143	96	132	60	27	8	14		5	4		2		1588
Sonny Milano				22	21	80	152	72	187	256	240	196	78	96	33	40	45		7		5		6		1	1537
Lukas Sedlak						20	38	18	85	96	105	84	117	144	110	130	63	72	21	6	5	8		2		1124
Dean Kukan			23			20	19	18	17	80	45	98	273	96	132	110	81	48	21	12	5	8	9			1115
Anthony Duclair								54	51	112	150	168	130	156	121	60	27	24	28	18	10	4				1113
Elvis Merzlikins				22		40	38	18	68	48	60	84	39	84	11	110	36	16	35	30	25	12	6	4	3	789
Gabriel Carlsson					21				17	16		56	52	48	121	60	135	104	28	42	15	32	9	10	1	767
Markus Hannikainen	25	24		44		40		54	17	64	15	70	52	48	33	30	45	32	42	12		4	3	4	3	661
Vladislav Gavrikov							19	54	17	32	15	28	52	72	77	60	45	32	49	60	25	12	3	4	1	657
Liam Foudy					21				51	16	15	98	13	36	33	20	72	40	14	24	40	20	12	6	7	538
Alexandre Texier								18	34		60		26	36	33	30	72	40	49	42	35	24	12	8	4	523
Jonathan Davidsson								18		16		42	39	24	33	30	36	40	56	36	40	16	9	12	2	449
Scott Harrington											15	14	13	84	22	30	72	32	42		10		9	4	2	349
Calvin Thurkauf			23			20				16	30			12	11	10	36	32	28	30	15	20	12	10	5	310
Kevin Stenlund						20		18			15		26	12	11	10	18	8	28	24	20	28	24	14	4	280
Alex Broadhurst		48	23										13		33	30	9	24	21	18	35	12	3	4	4	277
Paul Bittner	25			22					17			14	13	12	22	30	9		21	42	10	8	6	8	5	264
Eric Robinson											15					40	18	32	21	24	15	12	21	12	4	214
Matiss Kivlenieks				22									26	12	11	20		32	35	6	20	8	12	4	5	213
Kole Sherwood						20		18					13			10		32	7	12	15	8	18	12	7	172
Kirill Marchenko								18	34						11	20	9	24		12	5	12	15	6	5	171
Andrew Peeke					21					16	15	14						8	21	18	5	24	6	4	6	158
Sam Vigneault										16			13					16	14	6		24	15	10	3	117
Maxime Fortier															11	10		24	7	12	20	4	9	4	3	104
Garret Cockerill		24					19							12	11				14		10				2	92
Daniil Tarasov													13					16				20	12	2	2	65
Ryan Collins																	9		7	18	10	4	9	6	1	64
Ryan MacInnis																		8	7	12	15	4	9		2	57
Blake Siebenaler					21		19													6		4		2		52
Justin Scott									17							10		8		12			3		1	51
Hayden Hodgson	25												13											2	1	41
Marcus Karlberg													13			10				6			3	2	2	36
Veini Vehvilainen										16											5	12		2	1	36
Carson Meyer																			7	6	10	4	6			33
Doyle Somerby									17		15															32
Daniel Zaar													13								5	4		8	1	31
Emil Bemstrom																				6	5		6	2	1	20
Peter Thome																	9				10					19
Trey Fix-Wolansky																					5	4	3	2	3	17
Tim Berni																						4	3	4		11
Veeti Vainio																						8				8
Dillon Simpson																					5					5
Robbie Stucker																								4		4
Tyler Bird																									1	1
Kale Howarth																										0
																										0