Cole Candella | D

[johngould21]

The brutality on this board

[mpt]

I thought Conner Bleakley would've been a great pick for us, kid had some bad luck with injury.  Maybe they thought he'd be there in the 5th round

[GB5]

36 minutes ago, Ryanstorm said:

 

Another left handed D? Come on... we're already stacked with them. Edler, Hamhuis, Hutton, Nikta the tree, Sbisas Pizza. and drafting Ollie in the 1st. could of traded the pick. lol

All prospects won't make the NHL, may as well take the BPA in the opinion of the person making the pick.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Lots of good info on Candela here: http://www.recklessrestraint.ca/2016/06/07/cole-candella-draft/

[TheRussianRocket.]

 

[flickyoursedin]

Great value pick here! This guy was ranked to go in the 80's and we got him 140th.

[Quantum]

Really digging this pick. Love his last name (Candella rolls off the tongue). And clearly a guy who was overlooked because he didn't play the whole season. Could be another later round defensive steal ala Carl Neill and Tate Olson. Happy to have him in the prospect cupboard.

[Smashian Kassian]

Didnt know anything about him but I like the pick from what I've read so far, good all around player with decent size, if he can continue to get better we may have something here

[Phil_314]

Definitely liking this pick, that intriguing upside reminds me of Frankie Corrado.

An all-rounder with physicality, speed, puck control and defensive play, who was touted as a 3rd rounder and who has offensive upside, available in the 5th?  No question scoop him up.

Also, to all the people saying why we picked another left-handed D-man, might as well go to the Oil and ask why they picked Jesse P.  An abundance of talent in a certain position shouldn't be seen as a negative, as these players can be dealt to address needs in the future, as it's seen time and time again.    

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Here's the stuff I linked earlier (open spoiler to view):

 

Spoiler

Cole Candella’s draft year was cut far to short for fans of the Hamilton Bulldogs, as the team had come to rely on his two-way game that was developing on an impressively high curve. It was clear very early in the season that Candella’s game had made a monumental leap forward over his rookie season in Belleville. He took on a huge leadership role with the defensive corps while he was active, and really hit his stride once he was paired with newcomer Connor Walters. Together they were possibly the Bulldogs strongest pairing of the season.

 

NHL Central Scouting:

Midterm – #65

Final – #85

Future Considerations: #99

McKeen’s Hockey: #107

ISS Hockey: #118

HockeyProspect.com: #141

DraftAnalyst.com: #153

 

Cole Candella had a glorious first half of the season, and finished with a points per game average of 0.54 placing him among the top defenders offensively in the OHL. Almost averaging two shots a game, Candella’s cannon of a slap shot was being underused by Burnett on the second power play unit. It is his ability identify when to join the rush that allowed him to be fifth in Primary Points per Game in the OHL. Pro-rated, it’s possible he could have finished the season with approximately 25 primary points, ahead of London’s Victor Mete and Hamilton’s Ben Gleason.

 

Aside from his strong offensive performance, Candella displayed confidence in his decision making abilities both with and without the puck.

 

Combined with his tendency to play a gritty board game, Candella showcased a very strong foundation for the season that had scouts talking about him climbing the draft rankings.

 

Scott Wheeler–  ‏@scottcwheeler

@RRestraint Candella is a worthwhile mid-round pick. Needs to continue to work on his puck handling and shot.

 

Steve Kounianos @TheDraftAnalyst

#OHL: Hamilton LHD Cole Candella (Ranked No. 158 in Dec) has 2a in last night's 6-4 win vs Barrie. He's got 1-8-9 in his last 13 games.

 

Reed Duthie @rcduthie

Love Candella's game. Valuable in all 3 zones & can play any style. Excellent skater, big shot, can play heavy.

 

Mike Mackley @macker61

Everytime I see Cole Candella play he impresses me. So mobile, so patient, so skilled & so smart. As you can tell I love his game #NHLDraft

 

SCOUTING REPORTS

 

Future Considerations Draft Guide: 

 

“Candella is a strong-skating, smart, two-way blueliner who plays in all situations. He displays his offensive side as he skates the puck up ice, fully driving the play for a controlled zone entry before making a pass or taking it in deep on his own. His passes are easy to handle and are sent with purpose, getting through lanes and on the tape in a timely manner. On the power play, Candella moves the puck around the zone well. He has a quick and hard shot that he can get off rather quickly. He shows off some of his smarts on the penalty kill as he positions himself well on the man approaching a loose puck to win control and clear it in a hurry. Candella shows good awareness in retrieval as he senses the time he has to make a play, knowing when the man is about to check him as he gets to puck and dishes it behind the net to keep possession with his team and take the hit. He has no problem taking a hit to make a play and is willing to play physically, even delivering an open-ice check when the opportunity presents itself.“ (Snippet from their scouting report, there are more details in their PDF product)

 

Andrew Forbes, The Hockey Writers: 

 

“At only 18, Candella still has a lot of time to develop his skills further. However, the 6’1” defenceman has the all-around skill and physicality to be a solid shutdown blueliner. While he’s not one of the top defensemen in the draft, Candella should have his name tossed around early in the fourth round.” 

 

Brock Otten, OHL Prospects: 

 

“He’s just a very solid two-way defender. Early on in the season he was thrust into the role of Hamilton’s #1 defender thanks to injuries and he did well to be the leader of a young blueline (in only his second year). But unfortunately, he too succumbed to the injury bug after fracturing his wrist. This caused him to miss the rest of the season. So we’ve got to base our assessment on what we saw in the first half. Candella has good size, moves well, defends well, and makes a good first pass. A defender without a lot of flaws.” 

 

Steve Kournianos – The Draft Analyst: 

 

"It was Candella who distinguished himself as the reliable option, using sound one-on-one technique and a quick transition game to earn the trust of the coaching staff with an expanded role. He can unload a very hard shot, so he played plenty on the power play. We were able to absolve him of any wrongdoing on almost all the goals scored against his squad while he was on the ice, which makes us think he would have been assessed differently had he played with a stronger supporting cast.”

 

Dominic Tiano – OHL Writers:

 

“Defensively, he has an ability to draw the opposition towards him and then use his skating abilities to close the gap and end the play there. He plays calm under pressure and makes a very good outlet pass, but is capable of skating it out on his own. He has good size and isn’t afraid of the dirty areas. Offensively, Candella is more than capable of jumping into the play and is able to elude the opposition and be the trailer on the play. He sees the ice very well and can find open space as well as lanes to the net and passing lanes. He’s also shown an ability to quarterback the powerplay and has a powerful shot from the point.” 

 

Mike Mackley – Prospects Hockey:

 

“Candella boasts impressive physical attributes (6’1-185), fluid mobility and the ability to effective the game in all three zones. Candella shows an ability to make a crisp outlet pass along with an effectiveness as a puck carrying defender. A player who makes strong decisions in possession, Candella’s hockey sense is very impressive. Candella closes gaps effectively, takes away the middle of the ice and holds the line with effectiveness. A player who can create offensive from the blue line, Candella effectively creates shooting lanes, boasts a deceptively strong point shot and shows impressive vision. While he will engage physically, the two-way defender is more of a stick on puck, positional defender.” 

 

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS

 

Cole Candella was arguably the hardest player for opposition teams to play against because of his ability to really build up speed in the neutral zone and seamlessly join the rush. This became the team’s strongest asset in overtime and really won them a few games, as he was able to unleash hard slap shots with brilliant accuracy despite flying at full tilt. I was a bit shocked he wasn’t given an invitation to attend the draft combine, I figured scouts would want to see how his off-season recovery has been going and how he stacks up in the physical routines compared to the potential top picks. From what could be seen above the ice, Candella is physically a challenging player to skate against; he has great balance and upper body strength, giving him an advantage in the corners and clearing the crease.

 

WHERE WILL HE GO?

 

NHL Central Scouting dropped Candella to No. 85 out of the North American Skaters, which must really be an effect of “what have you done for me lately”. In the Future Consideration’s Draft Guide, Daniel Deschenes (who was seen scouting at a few Bulldogs games) writes about “Recency Bias” in scouting. Candella had the opportunity early to impress scouts, enough so that he’s probably circled on quite a few draft boards, but earmarked for later rounds as a sleeper pick. That being said, his early season work was impressive enough that we could see him go much earlier if there is a scout who was really impressed with his game and pushes for his selection in the middle of the draft. Candella has a real opportunity to be a top pairing defender on a OHL team that is aspiring for deep playoff runs during his junior career.

 

[Vicky]

Liking the write-ups - has me excited to see more of Cole.

[thad]

For what we had to work with, I really like our picks again this year. Beauty snag getting this guy in the 5th. I wonder how high he could have climbed had he played all year? Ranked 65 in the mid term. 

 

The first defenseman JB ever drafted as a GM is already playing in the NHL. I am very intrigued to see how guys like Candella and Brisbois develop over the next couple years. We could be oozing with blue line depth if a couple of these guys turn out to be surprises. 

[R3aL]

4 hours ago, Blue_Jays_Canucks said:

STEAL! 

 

Agreed

[Noble 6]

Looks like he could be a solid project player. If he translates his game effectively to the NHL it sounds like we got a mobile, somewhat big, shutdown defenseman that has a good shot. He would still likely be behind Edler, Hutton, Juolevi, Tryamkin and Brisebois on the depth chart on the left side. Another shot at a defensman is always welcome though. 

[Stierlitz]

Cole Candella ‏@cole_candella 4h4 hours ago

I am proud and honoured to have been selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2016 NHL draft @VanCanuckspic.twitter.com/iLXRLCGb1D

[alfstonker]

4 hours ago, Ryanstorm said:

 

Another left handed D? Come on... we're already stacked with them. Edler, Hamhuis, Hutton, Nikta the tree, Sbisas Pizza. and drafting Ollie in the 1st. could of traded the pick. lol

Tryamkin can play either side, Hammer may be gone. Anyway has last season taught you nothing? You can't have enough GOOD D.

[Qwags]

4 hours ago, johngould21 said:

The brutality on this board

War. War never changes.

[johngould21]

4 minutes ago, Qwags said:

War. War never changes.

Haha! No kidding!

[elvis15]

5 hours ago, awalk said:

Could have* 

Considering the quality of the content of his post, you surely didn't expect him to have proper grammar and usage in there, did you?

 

But this kid seems like an interesting pick. Maybe room to grow offensively, and certainly strength in his all-around game and quality of leadership and character. Not massively exciting, but could turn out pretty well.

[Hairy Kneel]

CC