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Ducks 2020 Draft Spotlight: Tim Stutzle is a First Round Wildcard

By Ben Thomasian

A general view of the draft table for the Anaheim Ducks (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
A general view of the draft table for the Anaheim Ducks (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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ISERLOHN, GERMANY – JANUARY 06: Supporters of Iserlohn Roosters expressing their solidarity for manager Karsten Mende of Iserlohn Roosters during the DEL match between Iserlohn Roosters and Adler Mannheim at Eissporthalle Iserlohn on January 06, 2019, in Iserlohn, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
ISERLOHN, GERMANY – JANUARY 06: Supporters of Iserlohn Roosters expressing their solidarity for manager Karsten Mende of Iserlohn Roosters during the DEL match between Iserlohn Roosters and Adler Mannheim at Eissporthalle Iserlohn on January 06, 2019, in Iserlohn, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

The First Round Wildcard

Stuzle is a bit of a wild card in the top portion of the draft. Slated to go anywhere from 2nd overall down to 9th, his skill set is one that will surely excite fans of whichever lucky team drafts him (strong money is Ottawa.) A large portion of the Ducks fandom will very likely be hanging for GM Bob Murray to call his name. After all, you can’t win games if you can’t score, and Stutzle appears to have a gift for scoring in a way that many of the current group of Ducks prospects do not.

Tim Stuztle Profile

"Born: January 15, 2002 (18 yo), Viersen, Germany Nation: Germany Draft Year Team: Alder Mannheim Position: C/LW Shoots: Left Height: 6’0”/184 cm Weight: 187 lbs/85 kg"

Notable Accomplishments

  • 2017-18:
    • DNL Champion
    • U18 WJC  (D1A) Silver Medal
  • 2018-19:
    • DNL Champion
    • U18 WJC (D1A) Best Forward
    • U18 WJC (D1A) Gold Medal
      U18 (D1A) Most Assists (7)
  • 2019-20:
    • DEL Rookie of the Year

**Profile information, notable accomplishments, and scoring history for each season were found at eliteprospects.com.

Who is Tim Stutzle?

However, first things first. Tim Stutzle in a January born (2002) German player, standing ~6’0 and weighing in at ~187 lbs, depending on which site you use to look him up. A versatile player who is a natural center, yet accustomed to playing the wing, would slot easily into most teams forward corp plans no matter what that team’s player group might look like.

Stutzle has most recently played for Adler Mannheim in the German DEL league, which is the top men’s league in that country. He played in 41 games, collecting 7 goals and 27 assists, which highlights his status as a playmaker. He also contributed at slightly above the point-per-game pace in international play (2 goals and 12 assists in 13 games).

Stutzle’s playing background is a little unique, in that he played in a relatively obscure league in his D-1 season, before really blowing up and making a name for himself this season in DEL this season. To my knowledge, only Tomas Hertl has a similar background, though Hertl obvious came from the Czech leagues and Stutzle is coming out of the German leagues (and looks set to stay there next season for those eager fans who may be looking forward to seeing him next season.)

Due to limited tracking in both of the “junior” leagues these players played in, it’s hard to collate data and collect their D-1 season NHLe. However, their draft year seasons are slightly easier to find. Using their draft years only, NHLe has Stutzle on a very similar trajectory as his predecessor (both sitting ~25 NHLe.) Hertl may have had a relatively slow start to his scoring career with the San Jose Sharks, but has come on in the past two seasons, scoring at 0.88 points per game pace in what could be considered his prime scoring years.

Currently ranked the consensus #1 European skater, Stutzle certainly isn’t a slam dunk star that would go #1 overall in another draft. His overall status flits all over the top 10 depending on which rankings site you may lookup:

NHL Central Scouting (European Skaters) – #1 (Midterm Rank)

HockeyProspect – #3 (January)

ISS – #2 (March)

EliteProspects – #8 (February)

Future Considerations – #3 (March)

McKeen’s Hockey – #3 (Midseason)

Naturally, draft status doesn’t necessarily dictate the way a draft (or mock draft) might go. Thus many mock drafts show him going slightly later than drat talent may predict:

myNHLdraft – #4

Bleacher Report – #4

The Hockey Writers – #7

Draft Site – #3

Tankathon – #3

Sporting News – #2

All this is to say, that should the Anaheim Ducks creep up towards 2nd or 3rd in the draft, then Stutzle will very likely be available (although rumors abound that Ottawa loves him and would take him at #2.) This becomes less certain should the Ducks remain as they are, or if they should drop back at all. Nonetheless, he looks as much as a lock for a top 5 selection as one could predict at this stage of the game.

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