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Some Undrafted Free Agents that Teams May Now Want to Take a Second Look At
Photo credit: https://chl.ca/ohl-rangers
As we all know, not all prospects tend to develop at the same rate. Therefore, every year, there tends to be a new crop of late bloomers who may have just been average in their draft year, and either hit a growth spurt or put in work one-off season, and POOF all of a sudden, they become dominant in whatever league they are currently playing in.
Then and only then, when an unclaimed player with this kind of jump in production pairs that with the unrelenting determination and work ethic that matches that of the professionals, will an NHL club even start to think about giving them another chance because teams are often too busy trying to find younger talent.
Still on the rare occasion for players like former Prospect Watch guest Ryan McAllister and Yaniv Perets, who I highlighted in a similar article last year ( that you can find below).
There comes an opportunity to sign an entry-level deal with an NHL club. While risky, signing this type of player can offer a team an instant upgrade to a position of need. While other players who those teams draft may show promise, they are often in need of more seasoning before turning pro. These undrafted prospects, on the other hand, are generally a couple of years older and, therefore, have already proven themselves to be more than capable of providing the team with the kind of depth and production they need now.
So, without further ado, here are some possible forgotten prospects in no particular order that I feel might just be worth NHL teams taking a second look at.
Matthew Sop
This 20-year-old who currently plays for his hometown team, the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), may not have been able to produce the kind of numbers in his draft year that would have caught scouts’ eyes. Still, he has since continued to work to get better each and every day and to prove that all you need to do is compare his stats from last year to this year.
Last season, this 6’0, 183-pound winger was able to put up a moderately impressive 23 goals and 33 assists for a total of 56 points in 67 games played. But Sop has already managed to seemingly match those numbers through just 34 contests so far this season. His totals to date this year are 22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points. To show just how good of a season Matthew has had this year, let us look ahead to what he will end up with this season if he is able to continue on this 1.56-point-per-game pace. If this is the case, Sop will look to finish the year with 44 goals and 62 assists, totaling 106 points.
While Matt may never find himself to be the most skilled player out on the ice, he does manage to somehow offer extreme value to every team he plays for. And this is just my theory, but perhaps it may prove to be his unrelenting work ethic from constantly having to prove himself over the years (from having to wait until the seventh round of the OHL Draft to be selected by the Rangers and him being passed up by every NHL team) that will allow this long-awaited prospect the chance to finally achieve his goal of earning a professional contract.
Collin Graf
Why this now 21-year-old prospect did not get offered a pro deal after winning an NCAA National Championship last season with Quinnipiac University, where he finished with 21 goals and 38 assists, scoring a total of 59 points in only 41 games played, is beyond me. But somehow, he has not let that bother him, as he is currently on pace to best those numbers by scoring at a league-leading rate of 1.91 points per game this season.
In addition to Collin proving that he can score with the best of them, he also possesses some other noteworthy qualities prospecting NHL teams may be looking for, like the size and strength needed for a club to insert him promptly into their NHL lineup upon signing him given the fact he currently stands at 6’1 and 194 pounds. Not to mention the fact that if signed, Graf (who is a combined +45 over the last two seasons) would immediately be able to step into a penalty-killing role as he has already mastered the art of being defensively responsible, which is a must if you’re playing for his head coach Rand Pecknold.
In saying all this, it would not surprise me a bit if, directly following the conclusion of the Bobcats season, when Collin exits the ice, he will already have multiple teams having left messages on his phone before he even manages to get his skates off, for it is rare that your able to find all these qualities wrapped up into one player nowadays.
Gabe Klassen
What’s not to love about this prospect? Gabe Klassen, who is a 20-year-old centerman that plays for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, possesses a shot that most players playing in the NHL right now could only wish they had. It doesn’t matter if the situation calls for a wrist shot, slap shot, snapshot, or a backhand. Gabe simply has no problem putting the puck on net.
But in addition to him scoring 30+ goals in each of the last two seasons (and being on pace to do so once again this year), Klassen has shown that he can play the role of the setup man as well, with that statement being never more accurate than it is this season where he has already managed to accumulate 41 assists in just 32 games played thus far.
Like most of these prospects listed in this article, Gabe has taken a huge step forward this season. In fact, if he continues on this 1.81-point-per-game pace, he is on right now. Klassen is destined to finish the year with 36 goals and 87 assists for a combined 123 points, which would best his previous career high in points by more than 50!
If signed to an entry-level deal by an NHL club after the season, Klassen would instantaneously make that club’s offense better. Not only would he provide an additional ten shots a night to the teams’ totals, but with his Hockey IQ currently measuring off the charts, he is bound to make everyone around him better.
Josh Nadeau
That last name sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Yes, Josh is related to Bradley Nadeau, who was drafted in the 1st round this past summer by the Carolina Hurricanes. Both of them played for the Penticton Vee’s of the British Columbia Hockey League for the two seasons prior to this one. In each of those seasons, they were able to raise a banner for the Vee’s as their telepathic-like nonverbal communication and awareness of where each other are on the ice at all times helped the team win back-to-back league championships.
I assure you, though, that Josh is not just riding on his younger brothers’ coattails. While he may not have been fortunate enough to be selected by an NHL club in his draft year, he has managed to put the same number of points or better than his younger sibling. Take, for instance, last season. A large part of Bradley’s being taken in the first round by the Canes was the fact that he was able to compile 45 goals and 113 points during the regular season. Then he managed to add another 35 points in 17 playoff games. Well, Josh was able to put up 44 goals and 110 points during the regular season and bested his brother in the playoffs, where he netted 36 points in 17 games.
So, it should go without saying that I was absolutely baffled when I heard that this 146-point scorer from last season was forced to walk away from the Hurricanes camp this fall (where he was brought in as an invitee) without a contract.
But I guess when you’re a 5’8 diminutive type player, you get used to having to prove your doubters wrong. Because that’s precisely what he has been doing this year while playing for the University of Maine Black Bears. Josh currently leads his brother and the rest of the team in points, with him scoring ten goals and 12 assists for 22 points through just 14 games played.
While he is still a free agent at this point, I think Carolina would be wise to sign him in order to ensure that if both brothers end up making it to the NHL, they could reap the benefits of the lifelong chemistry these two have been building dating back to when they first strapped on a pair of skates.
Any one of these players, if signed, could make an immediate impact, whether it be in the capacity of an NHL player for a struggling franchise or serving as more of a depth player who will be made to prove himself first at the AHL level for a playoff-caliber team. The best part about it, though, is bringing them in won’t cost the club that signs them any draft capital in which to acquire them. Just a roster spot and a contract and a team in need can have a plug-in player that is ready to produce now.
What Will It Cost the Flyers to Re-Sign this Potential Star in the Making?
When the Flyers finally decided it was time to move on from their long-time captain a couple of seasons ago, they could have only hoped that the prospect (Owen Tippett) they got back as part of the return from shipping Claude Giroux down to Florida, would develop into a potential star for them in the future.
Tippett, who is now 24 years old, was Florida’s 2017 1st-round pick, that they selected 10th overall. When taken, the Panthers hoped that his natural goal-scoring ability would be able to make an immediate impact for them at the NHL level. But sadly, what prevented that from happening was the team’s roster at the time. It was built to win now and, therefore, was filled with veteran players that allowed Owen to receive very little ice time in which to prove himself. Forced then to spend his days bouncing back and forth between their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, and the Panthers’ bottom-six forward group, Owen found himself going nowhere fast.
Fast forward a couple of seasons to the present day, and Philadelphia now not only finds themselves elated with the type of offensive production Tippett has been able to provide for them since first donning a Flyers sweater but confuddled as to the term and monetary value they should be willing to offer this impending restricted free agent after the conclusion of this season.
Tippett’s agents will no doubt have a bevy of contracts to choose from that were recently signed by some of the NHL’s most promising youth to use as comparable bargaining chips when they meet with the Flyers executives to discuss Owen’s new deal. Jesper Bratt’s eight-year $63 million deal that he signed with the Devils and Andrei Svechnikov’s eight-year $62 million deal he signed with the Canes would be wise choices.
But if I wanted to play devil’s advocate here and help Owen’s legal team to leave little room for a rebuttal, my recommendation would be to choose a player whose point production most closely resembles that of Tippett’s, and that would be 22-year-old winger Cole Caufield who plays for the Montreal Canadiens. Cole’s current career highs are 26 goals to that of Owen’s 27, which both were able to achieve last year, and 43 points to that of Owen’s 49.
In saying that, Caufield is in but his first year of a very optimistic eight-year 62.5 million dollar deal that is due to pay Cole an average annual salary of $7.8 million until he is the ripe old age of 30. Inking a similar agreement for Owen would make both Tippett and his agents very happy, but the Flyers may have some different numbers in mind.
Now, looking at things through the Flyers’ eyes, Caulfield was able to achieve those goal totals in 31 fewer games played last year due to him sustaining an injury, so the Canadiens most likely overpaid him a little now with the hopes that it might seem like a bargain price for potentially what type of production Cole (who is two years younger than Owen) could amass in the future.
As an alternative, Philadelphia will likely try to show Tippett’s agents some much more reasonable contracts from players that, oddly enough, Owen currently plays with on a nightly basis. Players like Joel Farabee may come to mind. A winger who just last year at the age of 22 signed a six-year, 30-million-dollar deal that pays him just $5 million a season. Or how about the six-year 33-million-dollar deal Travis Konecny is currently retained to that pays him just $5.5 million a year, which, mind you, he also made official some years ago now, when he was 22 years of age.
Ultimately, I feel when the dust settles, both Philadelphia and Owen’s agent will have to meet somewhere in the middle because while Tippett has only put up these type of numbers for one season prior to this, he is on pace to finish with similar totals again this year (and of course as made evident by some of the other players contracts mentioned previously in this article) the market is ever rising.
So, it just depends if the Flyers want to make sure Owen will be able to sustain this kind of production, or better, before locking him down for good. Expect them to offer him a deal that resembles the Flames’ Andrew Mangiapane’s three-year, 17.4-million-dollar contract that pays him just $5.8 million a season. Or if they feel confident that Tippett has not yet reached his ceiling and wish to sign him long-term. Look for the Flyers to offer Owen a deal similar to the Wild’s Matthew Boldy, who makes seven million a season from the seven-year $49 million contract Minnesota just gave him.
Either way, they choose, one thing is for sure. Regardless of the agreed-upon term and amount of zeros he is due to be paid, Owen’s new contract is sure to make the two-year, three-million-dollar deal he is currently contractually employed by (that pays him just $1.5 million a season) look like chump change!
The Phillies Should be Looking to add some Reassurance in Center Field?
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
With the off-season now well underway, the Philadelphia Phillies currently find themselves with some questions still to be answered. Earlier in the month, we discussed the need to sure up the bullpen.
So, in this article, we will address the need to upgrade center field.
With the team seemingly cutting ties with their longtime first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who is now an unrestricted free agent, this ensured that Bryce Harper (who did a tremendous job last season filling in for the injured Hoskins) would now be typed into that spot on the roster moving forward.
That move allowed Kyle Schwarber (who is now over the age of 30) to no longer have to patrol the outfield, which provides Kyle the opportunity to instead just focus on hitting Schwarbombs as the team’s everyday designated hitter (DH).
But as we saw last postseason, these moves presented a problem. And that problem is, who is going to be the team’s everyday center fielder in 2024?
Sure, the team seems set at the corner out fielding positions with Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh not due to become unrestricted free agents for at least the next couple of years, but who is going to patrol that big empty space in between these two?
Unreliable Options already in the system:
Christian Pache
Foreseeing this could be a potential problem as early as last year. The Phillies front office went out in 2023 and acquired the highly touted prospect Christian Pache from the then Oakland A’s, but although Christian proved to be adequate in the field, Pache was only able to hit for a .238 avg. and totaled just two home runs and 11 RBI’s last season. And if that wasn’t bad enough, in seven at-bats in the postseason, Pache saw his batting average fall to an embarrassing .143.
Johan Rojas
This 23-year-old prospect was called up by the Phillies this past season not for his bat but for his defensive abilities. But while his outs over expectation were through the roof, Rojas’ bat posed no offensive threat in the playoffs. Many times over, Johan was able to come up to bat with runners in scoring position, and he failed to bring them in. In fact, he was so bad this past postseason that he turned out to be more of a routine out than when the Phillies—still had the pitchers going up there trying to bunt during every one of their at-bats. Don’t believe me? Well, in 43 postseason attempts, Rojas managed to put the bat on the ball only four times. This bringing his batting average down to a very laughable .093%. And, while Rojas is still just 23 years old and has time to improve, the Phillies, who made it deep into the playoffs each of the last two seasons, cannot conceivably head into next season with someone in the lineup who could easily get out hit by one of the stadiums’ peanut vendors.
So, who’s left? Jack Cave? He is certainly not an everyday center fielder. Heck, at this point in his career, he is primarily just used as a glorified pinch hitter.
And you better not depend on any initial help coming from the teams’ farm system because the only outfield prospect showing any real upside besides Rojas is 19-year-old Justin Crawford, who was taken by the team in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft. And he doesn’t even project to be ready for at least another two or three seasons.
With that being said, I feel if this team truly wishes to compete for a World Series Title next season, they have no other choice but to sign a center fielder in free agency this winter.
Now, of course, the most appealing option would be to sign the 25-year-old Korean hitting sensation Jung Hoo Lee, who is a five-time gold glove winner in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and their 2022 MVP, where he hit .349 that year, totaling 23 home runs, 85 runs, and 113 RBI’s. But to me, chasing after him is a waste of time because he is already rumored to want to head to the Padres, where Korean players Kim Ha-Seong and Ji-man Choi suited up last season.
And besides all that, the Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski, has already come out and said (in not so many words) that the teams’ checkbook is not going to be as wide open as it has been in the past. Instead, the franchise will look to fill in empty roster spots with Type B or C free agents that other teams have perhaps overlooked.
So, while that news is somewhat disappointing, just where might the team be able to find someone with a bit of pop left in their bat to sign until the likes of Justin Crawford is ready to make his MLB debut?
My suggestion for the Phillies would be to sign 32-year-old Michael A. Taylor. Now, hear me out. Besides Lee, there is no one under the age of 30 worth a dam available this year in free agency. And, while I know signing a 32-year-old to patrol center field is not ideal, sadly, the Phillies may not have much of a choice thanks to them having seven players on their roster due to make over $20 million next season. Besides, I wouldn’t have even brought Michael up if I didn’t think he was worth talking about. If you’re not familiar with Michael A. Taylor. I assure you both Bryce Harper and Trea Turner are seeing that the three of them played together on the Washington Nationals for multiple seasons before they each went their separate ways. Now, while Taylor may NOT have gone on to have the kind of production to garner him a $300 million contract like his former teammates, he did manage to remain effective. For example, last season, while playing for the Minnesota Twins, Taylor was able to hit for an average of .220 and set a new career high in Home Runs with 21, not to mention the fact that in addition to all those home runs, he was able to score 48 runs and drive home 51 more (RBIs).
Now, as far as how much Taylor may cost the Phillies to sign. I don’t know; the market is the market. The only thing I do know is Michael is not considered to be a top-tier guy, so my best guess would be that he will probably look to sign a very similar contract to the one that he just finished playing out, which was a two-year deal worth $ 9 million. So, expect him to ask for roughly 4.5-5 million dollars a year.
If this is the case, I think the Phillies should definitely jump at the chance to add this veteran player. He already has chemistry with a few members of the team and could provide some much-needed stability at both the plate and center field until the likes of Rojas and/or Crawford prove consistent enough to be trusted with the daily duties in the major league.