Every year there seems to be a highly skilled forward who falls out of favor with NHL scouts.
In 2023 it was Gabe Perrault down to #23, Brad Lambert to #30 in 2022, Fabian Lysell to 21 in 2021, you get the picture.
This year, that player is USNTDP Cole Eiserman. He was seen as a potential top-5 pick and a top-10 lock heading into the year but has fallen down quite a few draft boards since and it looks like he'll go closer to 20 than 10.
The Los Angeles Kings should keep their eyes on how far he slides and be ready to pounce if he gets within a few picks of them.
He still sits around the 10 range on several public boards, but those rarely reflect NHL team's internal boards and tend to favor more skilled players like Eisermen.
It only takes one team to buy Eiserman's upside and take him out of LA's reach, but there's a good chance he drops to around 21.
Why The Kings Should Pursue Eiserman:
The most difficult thing in hockey is consistently scoring goals. It's why that skill is so highly coveted and why players who prove they can do that are so highly coveted.
Eiserman is the best 2024 prospect at putting the puck in the net and it isn't particularly close.
His 58 goals in 57 games for the program, yes more than a goal per game, took him past Cole Caufield for the all-time goal lead at the NTDP.
He capped his season off with nine goals in seven games at the U18 Worlds, including goals in the semi-final and finals.
Eiserman's an average-sized winger with solid skating and good hands, but his game is all about shooting. He has a full arsenal of goal-scoring weapons in his bag.
Wrist shots from range, one-timers, goals from in tight, Eiserman scores them all. He also has the ever-important appreciation for time and space you need to score in the NHL.
He finds quiet ice, the puck finds him, choose whatever cliché you want for goalscorers, he fits the bill.
There are some drawbacks to Eiserman and reasons he's falling down draft boards.
His play can be inconsistent and he doesn't do much away from the puck. Right now he's a player who, if he isn't putting the puck in the net, isn't doing much.
Scouts question his attention to detail and ability to play at an NHL pace consistently.
A recent Athletic article by Corey Pronman surveyed executives and scouts on prospects and Eiserman came up, here's what a few of them said.
"He reminds me so much of Kieffer Bellows and Oliver Wahlstrom. He’s very skilled and can rip the puck but so many of his details and habits are going to be a problem as a pro. I’ll let someone else take him." said one executive.
On the positive side here's an NHL scout who is a believer in Eieserman.
"This kid is getting ripped apart by people, I think there is some paralysis by analysis going on. He’s not Celebrini, and he’s probably not the next-best forward or three available, but he’s a heck of a player. He’s super skilled, he can score like few others, and I don’t see as many holes in his game as others do."
I tend to lean more towards the second analysis. When reading the first quote I think a lot of Kings fan's will think of Arthur Kaliyev, but Eiserman has a lot more NHL traits.
He's a competitive player, which is sometimes a downside as he can lose his head, think Kevin Fiala. Eiserman finishes checks, blocks shots and backchecks, he just doesn't stand out anywhere outside of putting pucks in the net.
Pure goal scorers are often ripped apart around the draft and it's up to scouts to determine whether Eiserman is the next Caufield or Kieffer Bellows.
The other caveat with Eiserman is that the Kings can't try to develop him how they've developed other forwards. This would have to be a fair not equal, as Todd McLellan liked to say, situation.
They can't spend two seasons having him on a fourth line trying to get him to grind and be stout defensively. If you draft Eiserman there must be a clear path into the top six and power play, it's the only way he hits.
Eiserman is worth that commitment though. Give him a few seasons at Boston University to round out his game and let him step right into a big role.
Put him with someone like Quinton Byfield or Kevin Fiala who can do the play-driving for him, stick him on the flank of your power play and watch the goals flow.
He might not get to 21, but if he starts to get to the 17, 18, 19 range, the Kings need to be working the phones to try and move up. It's often pricy to move up in round one, but when you're talking about going up just a few spots that price softens.
If they're going from 21 to 18, does the 21 pick, Arthur Kaliyev and a late-round pick get the job done? If it does you pull the trigger and pick this draft's most natural goal scorer.