Noel Gunler is the 2020 NHL Draft’s Signature Boom-or-Bust Prospect

Every NHL Draft comes with its fair share of players labelled with the high-risk, high-reward tag. Two summers ago, it was Dominik Bokk, and last summer it was Arthur Kaliyev.

This year, it’s Luleå HF winger Noel Gunler.

He’s been a hot topic of conversation in scouting circles, going back even further than his draft-year. He crushed the J20 SuperElit as a draft-minus-one skater, finding the scoresheet with 46 points (27 goals and 19 assists) in 31 games, and followed that up with inspiring performances in the SHL. Gunler produced goals at a better rate than Djurgårdens’ product Alexander Holtz in that season, even.

The discourse concerning Gunler hasn’t carried a similar tone. He suffered a five-game suspension in February of 2019 for shov