Puck Prose
Fansided

Vegas Golden Knights: Top 10 prospects entering 2019

By Dave Stevenson

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 21: Peyton Krebs, 17th overall pick of the Vegas Golden Knights poses for a portrait during the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 21: Peyton Krebs, 17th overall pick of the Vegas Golden Knights poses for a portrait during the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 7
Next
vegas golden knights
Nicolas Roy (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Honorable Mentions

These are all the guys I considered for the bottom spots but ultimately left out.

Nicolas Roy is probably the Golden Knights most NHL-ready forward prospect. He might even be their fourth-line center as soon as the start of this season. Roy’s ceiling is right around that since he’s likely never going to bring much to the table on offense. But his defense is impressive and he’s got size. He’s cheap too, which means a lot for Vegas right now.

Keegan Kolesar had a pretty decent season for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL. He has skill, but his sub-par skating has caused him to hit a wall in his development. That’s why I see his ceiling as a fourth-line forward. Kolesar’s calling card isn’t his defense, so that’s not going to help his chances there.

I haven’t seen much of Ivan Morozov, but from the very limited sample size I have on him, I like him. But I didn’t see enough of him to make a fair judgment about him. I’m going to make it a point to watch him more this season because he’s one of the more intriguing prospects in Russia.

If you want pure upside, look no further than Brandon Kruse. At 5’9″ and about 160 pounds, a good gust of wind could probably knock him over. But dang is he fun to watch. That said, he’s not a great skater and I don’t think his skill is good enough to overcome that. It’s hard to argue with his results, though. His build and style of play limit him to a scoring role.

Defenseman Peter Diliberatore was the last guy I left out of the top 10. If there was a “most improved prospect” award, he’d be the nominee for the Golden Knights. Diliberatore’s skating used to be mediocre at best, but now it’s good. His work in transition improved too and for a guy who’s 160 pounds soaking wet, he’s pretty good defensively. He can be played off the puck easily, though.

Home/Vegas Golden Knights