Matt Brassard | D

[aGENT]

6 hours ago, Rob_Zepp said:

So all you are saying is give D a chance?

So this one night I walked in to this bar and...

 

 

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

7 minutes ago, aGENT said:

So this one night I walked in to this bar and...

 

 

Glad you said it. 

 

I saw that “give D a chance” post and told myself, “I’m not making a joke, I’m not making a joke, I’m not making a joke...”

Edited January 26, 2018 by SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

[aGENT]

1 minute ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Glad you said it. 

 

I saw that “give D a chance” post and told myself, “I’m not making a joke, I not making a joke, I not making a joke...”

I have a bad habit of simply not being able to help myself even when I know it will probably get me in trouble.

 

My poor wife! 

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

13 minutes ago, aGENT said:

I have a bad habit of simply not being able to help myself even when I know it will probably get me in trouble.

 

My poor wife! 

 

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

Another assist tonight.

 

Brassard now has 31 points (11G 20A) in 46 games.

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

The Brassard train just keeps rolling. A goal and an assist for Matt tonight. Also had 8 shots on goal.

 

And his goal was the game winner, scored just 13 seconds into OT.

 

Now 33 points (12G 21A) in 48 games.

 

EDIT: until there’s a gif available, here’s a link to the highlights: 

http://ontariohockeyleague.com/video/jan-2818-ott-3-osh-4-ot

 

Brassard’s goal (obviously near the end of the video) is worth a look.

 

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

[ohmy]

Big kid with a big shot who likes to dish out big hits. Im liking this Brassard kid. Didnt know a lot about him before the season besides highlight packages and that he has a high shot volume. Keeping a closer eye on him I went from intrigued to excited. He has a legitimate chance to make it. I want to see his skating against pros but he definetly has some tools to work with. I remember in the summer prospects camp how huge Brassard and Gunnarson looked compared to the rest of the prospects. That is just natural girth that you cant teach.

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

Among OHL defensemen, Brassard is currently tied 5th for goals (12) and 12th for points (33).

 

He’s scored 11 goals in his last 19 games. Only Hague (25 goals on the season) has matched Brassard’s goalscoring pace during that stretch.

 

Brassard has now eclipsed his 2016-17 points total. Had 32 points in 62 games last season. Now has 33 points in 48 games. With 25 of those points coming in his last 24 games.

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

48 minutes ago, ohmy said:

Big kid with a big shot who likes to dish out big hits.

You mean like this one?

 

From the playoffs last year.

 

I wish he’d hit a little more because when he does, he can be pretty devastating. His size combined with his mobility can create some significant momentum. Pretty much like being hit by a freight train. Valentini (the receiver in the clip) can attest to this, as that hit ended his night.

 

Not saying that Brassard doesn’t play hard enough by any means, just wish he’d bring out those monster open ice hits a little more often.

 

Maybe once the playoffs roll around again (assuming the Gens maintain their spot), he’ll treat us to some more highlight worthy collisions. 

 

And next season figures to be a monster year for Brassard, assuming he goes back for an OA year before turning pro. I could see him posting huge numbers and also upping his physical game to a dominant level and with nightly consistency, while also tightening up his defensive side and smoothing out the few remaining rough edges on his overall game.

 

He could definitely end up being the steal of our 2017 draft. And that’s saying something, considering the overall group we added last year.

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

Ok, one last post and the I’m done.

 

Just wanted to mention how Brassard started out this year as a two-way D with size, a booming point shot, and the ability to be physical in his own zone.

 

And now he’s over a point per game for the last two dozen outings, has become one of the top goalscoring Ds in the OHL, is part of the shootout rotation for the Gens (he’s 3 for 3 this year and 4/5 career), and the guy who takes the first shift in 3-on-3 OT (and scores the game winner).

[MattJVD]

30 minutes ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Ok, one last post and the I’m done.

 

Just wanted to mention how Brassard started out this year as a two-way D with size, a booming point shot, and the ability to be physical in his own zone.

 

And now he’s over a point per game for the last two dozen outings, has become one of the top goalscoring Ds in the OHL, is part of the shootout rotation for the Gens (he’s 3 for 3 this year and 4/5 career), and the guy who takes the first shift in 3-on-3 OT (and scores the game winner).

Pretty impressive growth! Can't ask for anything more out of our late-round picks.

[Derp...]

Shades of Tate Olson. Hopefully he gets a contract though

[Sean Monahan]

7 minutes ago, Derp... said:

Shades of Tate Olson. Hopefully he gets a contract though

Didn’t Olson have a great d+1 year and then a lacklustre +2 and now (at least by the stats) overage year too. 

 

This is Brassard’s d+2 year isn’t it?

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

1 hour ago, Sean Monahan said:

Didn’t Olson have a great d+1 year and then a lacklustre +2 and now (at least by the stats) overage year too. 

 

This is Brassard’s d+2 year isn’t it?

Yup, you’re right on re: Olson.

 

And yes, technically Brassard’s in his D+2 since he was drafted as a reentry.

 

He was also a late bloomer who played really sparingly in his first draft eligible year and didn’t really get used that much until the second part of his D+1.

 

And a late birthday (August) relative to the draft cutoff.

 

So while he’s a D+2, he still kind of “feels” a bit like he’s in his D+1.

 

Which is part of the reason why I think he might just now be scratching the surface of what he’s capable of becoming.

 

The big question is if, and how much, he can continue to improve in his D+3?

 

I think it’s fair to assume by now that he’ll hit somewhere between 40-50 points this year. Can he break 60 next season? Or even have a Raddysh-like explosion and get something like 70-80 points or more?

 

Or does he, like an Olson, plateau and/or regress? 

 

Right now, I’d be very happy to see Brassard maintain around a point per game (or better) over the rest of this year and see that pace continue over his whole D+3 season. If he can break 60 points, while becoming stronger and more stable defensively, and also a little more consistently aggressive physically, I think he’ll be in very good shape (for a contract and enjoying some level of pro success).

 

I’m not sure how high end his offensive skills are though. Or whether or not his scoring can translate to the next level. So I’m a little hesitant to evaluate him as an “offensive” defenseman and set his targets that way. Or whether it’s more important to look at his overall play and how much he can smooth out any rough edges, versus just charting year to year scoring and projecting from there.

 

However, he’s done some stuff in recent games that’s forced me to rethink some of the limitations I had previously placed on his upper level offensive talent. Specifically when it comes to his vision, creativity, and puck skills. Who knew he could orchestrate a give and go like that one in OT that finishes with the GWG off his stick? Or that he had those kind of dangles in the shootout? What else does he have up his sleeve?

 

At the very least, he’s a two-way D with NHL quality size, some degree of scoring upside, good mobility, a nice hard shot, and some pretty soft hands. That type of prospect always has a “chance” to catch on at some level as a pro. The next year will probably tell us more about where to set a floor and ceiling for Brassard.

 

This hot streak over the last 2 dozen games has been really fun to watch though. Question is what he does next? Does he keep building from here or at some point does he just fizzle out?

[86Viking]

2 hours ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Yup, you’re right on re: Olson.

 

And yes, technically Brassard’s in his D+2 since he was drafted as a reentry.

 

He was also a late bloomer who played really sparingly in his first draft eligible year and didn’t really get used that much until the second part of his D+1.

 

And a late birthday (August) relative to the draft cutoff.

 

So while he’s a D+2, he still kind of “feels” a bit like he’s in his D+1.

 

Which is part of the reason why I think he might just now be scratching the surface of what he’s capable of becoming.

 

The big question is if, and how much, he can continue to improve in his D+3?

 

I think it’s fair to assume by now that he’ll hit somewhere between 40-50 points this year. Can he break 60 next season? Or even have a Raddysh-like explosion and get something like 70-80 points or more?

 

Or does he, like an Olson, plateau and/or regress? 

 

Right now, I’d be very happy to see Brassard maintain around a point per game (or better) over the rest of this year and see that pace continue over his whole D+3 season. If he can break 60 points, while becoming stronger and more stable defensively, and also a little more consistently aggressive physically, I think he’ll be in very good shape (for a contract and enjoying some level of pro success).

 

I’m not sure how high end his offensive skills are though. Or whether or not his scoring can translate to the next level. So I’m a little hesitant to evaluate him as an “offensive” defenseman and set his targets that way. Or whether it’s more important to look at his overall play and how much he can smooth out any rough edges, versus just charting year to year scoring and projecting from there.

 

However, he’s done some stuff in recent games that’s forced me to rethink some of the limitations I had previously placed on his upper level offensive talent. Specifically when it comes to his vision, creativity, and puck skills. Who knew he could orchestrate a give and go like that one in OT that finishes with the GWG off his stick? Or that he had those kind of dangles in the shootout? What else does he have up his sleeve?

 

At the very least, he’s a two-way D with NHL quality size, some degree of scoring upside, good mobility, a nice hard shot, and some pretty soft hands. That type of prospect always has a “chance” to catch on at some level as a pro. The next year will probably tell us more about where to set a floor and ceiling for Brassard.

 

This hot streak over the last 2 dozen games has been really fun to watch though. Question is what he does next? Does he keep building from here or at some point does he just fizzle out?

He definitely has taken a big jump this year. I sure hope that as long as he continues on a similar path that we do offer him a deal. Like we all seem to most agree on D men take longer to develop. We also know the value of D men so taking a chance on a contract on a D could be worth it if they take that next step in their development 

[SingleThorn]

5 hours ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Yup, you’re right on re: Olson.

 

And yes, technically Brassard’s in his D+2 since he was drafted as a reentry.

 

He was also a late bloomer who played really sparingly in his first draft eligible year and didn’t really get used that much until the second part of his D+1.

 

And a late birthday (August) relative to the draft cutoff.

 

So while he’s a D+2, he still kind of “feels” a bit like he’s in his D+1.

 

Which is part of the reason why I think he might just now be scratching the surface of what he’s capable of becoming.

 

The big question is if, and how much, he can continue to improve in his D+3?

 

I think it’s fair to assume by now that he’ll hit somewhere between 40-50 points this year. Can he break 60 next season? Or even have a Raddysh-like explosion and get something like 70-80 points or more?

 

Or does he, like an Olson, plateau and/or regress? 

 

Right now, I’d be very happy to see Brassard maintain around a point per game (or better) over the rest of this year and see that pace continue over his whole D+3 season. If he can break 60 points, while becoming stronger and more stable defensively, and also a little more consistently aggressive physically, I think he’ll be in very good shape (for a contract and enjoying some level of pro success).

 

I’m not sure how high end his offensive skills are though. Or whether or not his scoring can translate to the next level. So I’m a little hesitant to evaluate him as an “offensive” defenseman and set his targets that way. Or whether it’s more important to look at his overall play and how much he can smooth out any rough edges, versus just charting year to year scoring and projecting from there.

 

However, he’s done some stuff in recent games that’s forced me to rethink some of the limitations I had previously placed on his upper level offensive talent. Specifically when it comes to his vision, creativity, and puck skills. Who knew he could orchestrate a give and go like that one in OT that finishes with the GWG off his stick? Or that he had those kind of dangles in the shootout? What else does he have up his sleeve?

 

At the very least, he’s a two-way D with NHL quality size, some degree of scoring upside, good mobility, a nice hard shot, and some pretty soft hands. That type of prospect always has a “chance” to catch on at some level as a pro. The next year will probably tell us more about where to set a floor and ceiling for Brassard.

 

This hot streak over the last 2 dozen games has been really fun to watch though. Question is what he does next? Does he keep building from here or at some point does he just fizzle out?

Very interesting pick. Just going by his HockeyDB page, your analysis seems to be spot on. ( although they do list him as a left handed shooter ). I wonder what JB ( with his new 4 year contract in place ) has in mind for him. The way you talk of his D+3 year makes it seem like you are expecting him to play an over age year. ( is my math out to lunch here ?.....seems he's AHL eligible next season. )

[aGENT]

AHL eligible next year?

[Rick Blight]

17 minutes ago, aGENT said:

AHL eligible next year?

Yup, turns 20 in August.

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

Yeah, he turns 20 next year so he’s AHL eligible for 2018-19 (like @Rick Blight just posted).

 

He might earn a contract this year, especially if he scores say around 20-25 points in his last 20 games, and follows that up with a strong playoff performance.

 

But still I’m expecting they’ll send him back for an overage year. So probably they’d look to sign him (assuming he continues to progress) sometime next season.

 

Plenty of teams would be happy to use an OA spot on Brassard. So either he sticks around with Oshawa or they trade him for a big haul.

 

It’s possible the Canucks decide they want him in the AHL, but I’d be surprised. I think they’re better off giving him another year in the OHL with the chance to play huge minutes and be hopefully be a dominant player from start to finish over a whole season. There’s also plenty of stuff he can still work on (fine tuning his skating, Dzone coverage, game-to-game consistency, physical play, etc) so an OA year definitely wouldn’t hurt him.

Edited January 29, 2018 by SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME
Typos

[Bissurnette]

Thanks for the updates @SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME! it's good to hear about our prospects. I personally don't have huge expectations on Brassard being an impact player in the NHL but he certainly seems like he's garnering some momentum. I personally don't watch too many junior games, aside from the Halifax mooseheads (local team), so I have to just rely on highlight packages to follow our prospects.