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February 12, 2022

On 1/31/2022 at 1:12 AM, N4ZZY said:

I think the lessons are learned by now, that if you select a smaller player, they better have some elite level skills that they’re offering. Does Savoie, Kemell, Nazar, Cooley offer high end elite level skills despite their size? If they do, and they’re available, then we choose that player. I also think Nemec and Jiricek both are gone, if not within the top five, then for sure in the top ten. They’ll definitely be gone by the time we pick.

Each of the the top small forwards brings certain elements that are elite, but most come with weaknesses too.

Savoie is the most explosive player in the draft; lightning-quick hands and feet, and can accelerate to full speed on a dime. He's also pretty solid in his own zone. Aside from being the smallest of the bunch at 5'9, other downside is his reliability with the puck. With his explosiveness and quickness, he'll often charge right into clusters of two or three opposing player, and at lower levels often finds his way through, but will drive coaches and teammates crazy with that at higher levels. Perhaps the highest upside of any player in the draft, and also the most likely to lift you out of your seat, but also comes with a lot of risk. Could pretty easily go in the top five, but I also wouldn't be completely shocked if he fell to the bottom of the top ten.

Cooley doesn't have any glaring weakness aside from size, hence being number two of Bob's mid-season list. Some sources have said if he was 6'1 he'd be consensus first overall. Lol, and if Wayne Gretzky had Mario Lemieux's size, or if Mark Stone could skate like Connor McDavid... Seriously though, Cooley is a machine. Elite 200 foot hockey sense. One of the most pro-style players in the draft class - uses his teammates well, committed to defense, knows how to create offense without forcing plays, but also is one of the most creative players in the draft. Good skater and stickhandler, but in my viewings he's far more likely to attack the middle of the ice with his playmaking than attacking defenders one-on-one. Most likely he is the first off the board of these smaller forwards, very good chance he goes top five.

I would add Jonathan Lekkerimaki to this group now, and personally I like him ahead of Kemell. Like Cooley, elite hockey IQ is his greatest strength. Like Cooley, he's very responsible with the puck; actually I would say even moreso, as Cooley is a highly creative playmaker so is bound to give pucks away here and there. Lekkerimaki is more of a pure goal-scorer, he's mostly looking to shoot or give-and-go. Not a lot of turnovers unless you mean the kind given by shooting and missing the net or putting it in the goalie's glove; but even there, his shot selection is really good for a player this age, so not a ton of that either. He's no Savoie or Nazar when it comes to speed, but pretty fast in his own right, and he uses the 10-2 in interesting ways, particularly off the puck, where he is able to explode laterally to slip coverage and move into scoring areas, or vice versa he'll be skating laterally and suddenly burst forward into a loose puck or area pass. I think he's right in the thick of this group, and I could easily see him going inside the top ten.

Kemell is the biggest of the bunch at 5'11 (and three quarters, according to some). He's a very good skater with an elite shot. In my estimation he's the least pro-translatable of the bunch. Loves to hold onto the puck, and to attack defenders one-on-one (or one-on-two or three). Not explosive like Savoie, but uses his stick skills both to attack defenders one-on-one as well as to draw them to the outside, and has a deep arsenal of dekes. It may sound contradictory to say both that he is the most perimeter-player of the bunch, but also that he attacks the inside more than any of them except Savoie, but I believe both are true - the trick is he just has the puck on his stick so goddamn much he does a lot of everything. This is certainly true at the junior level, and even in the pros, he doesn't defer to veterans the way any other 17 year old player would. He likes to skate around with the puck on the perimeter and wait for opportunities to pass or skate inside, or shoot for deflections. Wouldn't be the most shocking thing ever if he goes in the top five, but I'd also say there's a pretty good chance he falls out of the top ten, especially if a Nazar or Lekkerimaki sneaks in - there's only gonna be so many sub-6'0 forwards go in the top ten.

Nazar is the craftiest and most dynamic of the bunch. Doesn't have Savoie's explosiveness and the main weakness seems to be a lack of pure athleticism. But kid can play hockey. Probably the next best skater of the bunch; fast and quick, and extremely deceptive with his ability to make rapid changes of direction. He likes to utilize the 10-2, often to make quick cuts from the perimeter to inside, but he also likes to open up when he's in tight in front of the goalie to increase the threat of a backhander, a la Patrick Kane or Antonio Stranges. He's also a creative playmaker and crafty with the puck. He's sort of the middle ground between Savoie and Kemell on the one hand who are more aggressive attacking defenders and the middle of the ice, and Cooley and Lekkerimaki on the other, who are more conservative and focused on maintaining puck possession first. Probably doesn't quite have Cooley's or Lekkerimaki's level of offensive IQ that allows them to create offense without taking risks, so sometimes Nazar does need to force things a little and I've a few bad giveaways playing against NCAA competition. But Nazar is for my money the best defensive forward of this bunch. Maybe not as committed as Cooley to his own zone and staying above the puck, but Nazar knows how to use deception to force opponents to make bad decisions in all three zones.

February 8, 2022

Lets try this again, shall we.

Roster moves: The Sharks activate Mike Smith from IR. Assign Karel Vejmelka to Barracuda.

February 7, 2022

4 hours ago, VancouverHabitant said:

Wow, his speed is so good on that sequence.

What's the latest on Miro?

I'm a huge fan, but the variance of opinion on him is wild. On Bob's mid-season list he was the only player other than Wright to get a 1st place vote, but was also the only player in the top ten to get a vote outside the first round.

He was just heating up but hasn't played in a couple weeks. Not sure what's going on there. Had 5 goals in last 4 games though. I watched a couple of those and looks like he's starting to belong. Still not so much looking like the power forward he should be, but he's getting involved in the play, getting around the net, using his speed and his shot. Still tends to defer to veteran linemates as far as holding on to the puck and making plays, but he wants to be the one taking shots. Starting to win some battles in the corners, protecting the puck pretty well. Hasn't had the wow factor in the stats or on the ice I was hoping for this year, but he's coming along. VHL is a strong league; at least as good as Czech and German leagues. He's still number two by some margin for me.

I'm trying to put together tiers:

tier I - Shane Wright

tier II - Ivan Miroshnichenko

tier III - Juraj Slafkovsky, Simon Nemec, Danila Yurov, Matthew Savoie, David Jiricek, Frank Nazar, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Joakim Kemell, Conor Geekie, Brad Lambert

tier IV - Kevin Korchinsky, Tristan Luneau, Marco Kasper, Cutter Gauthier, Seamus Casey, Jimmy Snuggerud, Gleb Trikozov, Denton Mateychuk, Pavel Mintyukov, Ty Nelson, Rutger McGroarty, Alexander Perevalov, Liam Ohgren, Owen Beck, Owen Pickering

February 5, 2022

I love these sequences of top prospects head-to-head. Here shorthanded Miroshnichenko intercepts Slafkovsky's seam pass, puts a move on Nemec, and creates a shorthanded goal.

February 3, 2022

Kemell pointless in his last seven games now. As I said a while back, his numbers were looking extraordinary but it was a small sample size; would only take a short dry spell for things to level out. 18 in 23 is still excellent for a 17 year old in that league, but not so unheard of as it was looking for him. Pleased to say I was one of the few who didn't bite on the hot start. I think I still had him at 10 on my last list. As I mentioned before, I've seen kid since YOGs, and again at U18s and Hlinkas. Of all the elite-skilled forward at the top of this draft, for my money Kemell is the least pro-translatable. Savoie has his issues as well, but Savoie has the huge advantage of being an absolutely elite, explosive skater, which will always go a long way in the NHL. Kemell is a good skater in his own right, but he is just way too cute with the puck, and although his hands are very good, I'm not convinced they're quick enough to be able to execute the way he'll need to at the highest level. I don't see him falling much further than 10 for me, but Lekkerimaki is surging in my estimation, and there's only room for so many of these small forwards in the top 10.

February 1, 2022

On 1/31/2022 at 1:12 AM, N4ZZY said:

I think the lessons are learned by now, that if you select a smaller player, they better have some elite level skills that they’re offering. Does Savoie, Kemell, Nazar, Cooley offer high end elite level skills despite their size? If they do, and they’re available, then we choose that player. I also think Nemec and Jiricek both are gone, if not within the top five, then for sure in the top ten. They’ll definitely be gone by the time we pick.

I think Savoie and Kemell fall somewhat under the same rubric as guys like Lysell and Perfetti. Immensely skilled, but the combination of size and lack of pro-translatable games will mean both fall a little ways down the draft board. Cooley is a much more pro-style player, but probably slightly less purely skilled than Kemell or Savoie. To me, as a naive fan, Nazar looks like the best of the bunch, but word on the street from real hockey people is he isn't exactly the most athletic prospect or a beast in the gym. He's an excellent skater based on technical ability, but nowhere near Savoie's level of explosiveness.

I caught the Djurgardens game yesterday morning, and I'm going to go out on a limb a little bit and say Lekkerimaki actually deserves to be right there in the conversation with the previously mentioned four, in terms of small forwards. I was already really impressed with his performance at Hlinkas, but I'm blown away by how well he has already adapted to the SHL level. Looks to me like one of the higher IQ players in the draft. He's already outfoxing SHL defensemen on the forecheck, forcing them into sticky situations. Tracks and supports the puck very well, almost to a fault at times, where he is kinda stepping on his linemates' heels. Another one of these kids who is using the 10-2 skating technique in interesting and innovative ways; for a pure goal-scorer like Lekkerimaki, the ability to explode laterally the way he can is invaluable for unexpectedly moving into open spaces. I'm going to have to watch more from him because I think there are some tools there to move him up even past number 12 where Bob's mid-season list had him.

January 28, 2022

7 hours ago, Bure_Pavel said:

Both are studs and most likely gone before we pick but who knows.

If I had to guess at this point, I would say both go top five. Neither is overly exciting, but on one side you have guys like Savoie, Kemell, Nazar, Cooley who are ridiculously good, but all smaller guys. On the other side you have some bigger and talented forwards with various flaws and question marks - some question Miroshnichenko's hockey IQ, I have doubts about his commitment to playing a hard-nosed power game consistently at the highest level, he also falls down an awful lot for a power forward who's supposed to be sturdy on his skates; Slafkovsky is huge and has a ton of positives, but there seems to be a lot of question marks around his skating; and then with Yurov and Geekie there is room for doubt about their high-end offensive upside.

We know NHL GMs love big defensemen, especially right-handed shooting ones. Nemec and Jiricek both have NHL frames, highly pro-translatable games, and no glaring weaknesses. Seems like a pretty safe bet right now that both will go top five.

January 27, 2022

On 1/24/2022 at 9:27 AM, Nail said:

The San Jose Sharks have re-signed Alex Debrincat to a 5 year deal worth $34.500M ($6.900M AAV).

@HighOnHockey

Excited to get this done and have DeBrincat locked up as part of our core for the next five years. He celebrates with a big 17 point night tonight. Thanks to Nail for smooth negotiations.

January 27, 2022

7 hours ago, Canuck Surfer said:

but BPA also applies in trades.

I'm not exactly sure what this means but I love it.

January 27, 2022

JBD would have to be considered highly expendable for Ottawa.

January 23, 2022

And a couple nice backchecks from Trikozov.

January 23, 2022

Here's some clips on Trikozov's (#71 in red) power game:

January 21, 2022

9 hours ago, HKSR said:

I haven't researched this year's group yet, how does the draft depth look?

Just on names alone and what players I've watched, is it fair to say the top half of the 1st round looks very good, then it drops off?

It looked like a very deep draft a year ago. But now suddenly a lot of folks are saying it's a bit on the weak side. I believe this has everything to do with the lost season to covid. The draft still looks great out of Europe and USA, but the Canadian group looks underwhelming, and since Canadians always make up at least a third of the draft, that brings the overall depth down substantially. The thing is, everyone seems to have forgotten that many of the Canadian players lost an entire season of development to the shutdown. A great example of what's going on is Kevin Korchinski of WHL Seattle. This is a player I've yet to see play myself, but one of my most trusted scouting sources thinks he should be close to a top ten pick. Says kid is oozing hockey sense and raw talent, but is just a little behind in his development compared to the Euros and Americans; apparently he's made massive strides in recent months.

Wright is another great example. With McKenzie's list just coming out and a lot of scouts questioning or at least wavering on Wright's spot at number one. He didn't play a single league game last year... For me he's still number one with a bullet.

Savoie made the jump to USHL last year so he's doing fine.

Personally, I have 4 Russians in my top 15 currently. I can't imagine that would be the case if Canadians had played last year. OHL was obviously hit the hardest, and I believe any of Pavel Mintyukov, Daniil Zhilkin, Luca Belluz and Owen Beck could still end up in consideration for the top 15-20 by the time of the draft.

January 20, 2022

8 hours ago, hammertime said:

Sticking to your guns on Miro I respect that. Interesting did Casey drop down your board or am I miss remembering? Perevalov is having a hell of a season. I focused in on him a lil while ago and had some concerns with the pop in his first 3 steps which soured me somewhat. Certainly a very smart and talented player though. Lekkerimaki is another guy who's skating concerns me a bit I think 17 is a great spot for him though man can he rip the puck. I'd like to hear your thoughts on Nazar as I haven't had a chance to see much of him yet.

Lol I really thought Miro would be falling by now. 4 goals in his last 3 games though so I checked out his last game. 2 goals, 5 shots, and it was easily the most involved in the play I've seen him at the pro level. Realized I may have been a bit hard on him; my main criticism is he hasn't looked like a power forward at the pro level. Lol kid is 17 in one of the better men's leagues in the world. It is a bit of a risk having him at 2 for sure, as I'm going partly on potential and raw ability over what he's actually brought to the table in this, his draft year. Disappointing a season as it's been for him I noticed it is still the highest p/g by a U18 in the short history of VHL (min 10 GP), aside from a bonkers 15 game stint by Valeri Nichushkin. And still nobody else in this class has quite stepped up and forced my hand to drop him.

Yes, Casey did fall. Glad you called me out on that. Think I had him around 10-12 at one point. No real reason except for being a 5'10 defenseman and hasn't had the kind of production I expected from a kid I thought was the next Drysdale/Quinn Hughes.

Perevalov was a guy that caught my eye at Hlinkas for looking like a two-way, pro-style player, in addition to some pretty slick skill. After Russia split up Miro-Kvochko-Michkov, it was Perevalov that was stapled to Michkov's side to help babysit defensively but also keep up with him in the offensive zone. And then yes, of course his ridiculous offensive production this year played into my decision. Has slowed down a bit but recall he was around 2 points per game through the first 10 games or so.

I take your point about Perevalov's skating, but not sure I agree about Lekkerimaki. Maybe reminiscent of Rossi his draft year, where his skating takes some criticism because he's not the fastest or most explosive straight-line skater, but has exceptional quickness and shiftiness. So much fun to watch Lekkerimaki dart around the offensive zone like a waterbug.

Nazar has always been one of my favorite players in the draft since YOGs. First and foremost I think he's one of the best defensive forwards in the draft. I raved a lot about Sillinger's defensive game last year because of how diligently he broke up plays all over the ice; whether he was going to force a turnover or not, he would pull out all the stops to even just get a sliver of a stick on it and give opponents a wobbly puck. Not so much with Nazar. He wants to steal the puck, and he does, a lot, all over the ice. Like Lucas Raymond, he has that uncanny knack for jumping up to steal the puck at exactly the right moment to create a scoring chance the other way. Actually I see a lot of Raymond in Nazar. Not quite the all-around beast Raymond was; I've always said Raymond was one of the most pro-style prospects I've ever seen at 17. But Nazar is also blessed with some of the most dynamic offensive skills in this draft. Not as explosive as Savoie and not as silky hands as Kemell, but he's a very quick, shifty skater who utilizes the 10-2 beautifully. Brilliant on his backhand, both passing and shooting. And then he's also a very crafty playmaker.

Feels kinda weird leaving McGroarty off, but the skating worries me with him. He just doesn't look involved in the play at times.

January 20, 2022

11 hours ago, Canuckster86 said:

Where is Jack Hughes projected to go in the draft? Son of new Montreal GM Kent Hughes

At one point early in the season I saw him ranked as high as mid-first round. Not the consensus seems to have him at the back of the first round. Could pretty easily see him fall to the 2nd.

January 16, 2022

Still too many players I haven't seen enough of to do a full first round. Slowly becoming comfortable with rough parameters of my top 15-20.

1. Shane Wright

2. Ivan Miroshnichenko

3. Simon Nemec

4. Danila Yurov

5. Matthew Savoie

6. Juraj Slafkovsky

7. Frank Nazar

8. Logan Cooley

9. David Jiricek

10. Joakim Kemell

11. Conor Geekie

12. Brad Lambert

13. Alexander Perevalov

14. Gleb Trikozov

15. Tristan Luneau

16. Rutger McGroarty

17. Jonathan Lekkerimaki

18. Seamus Casey

19. Elias Salomonsson

20. Ty Nelson

January 14, 2022

5 minutes ago, hammertime said:

I have him 5-9 at this time. That is hardly an indictment of his play. I'm less comfortable projecting his play style than my top 5 right now is the only reason. I feel Wright, Nemec, Yurov, Kemell and to a degree Savoie play a more traditionally successful style than Cooley. That said I think Savoie and Cooley are the 2 potential superstar forwards in the draft neither I have top 3.

My quarrel wasn't with your rankings or indictment of his play, but with your assessment of his playing style. The fact that you have Kemell and Savoie as more traditionally successful style players just tells me we have drastically different standards of what that means. You're entitled to your opinions of course, but you're wrong and I'm right. Lol. There are a lot of different aspects to consider in being a "pro-style" player so it is understandable that different people will have different standards, but to me two of the most important aspects for skilled players are using one's teammates and being responsible with the puck. This is why I was so relatively low on Cole Perfetti a couple years ago and Fabian Lysell last year. "Try to do too much with the puck" is the common phrase, although again, that can mean a lot of different things. This year it's Kemell and Savoie, and I don't think the issue as quite as pronounced as the two names I just mentioned, but maybe more in the category of a guy like Kent Johnson.

January 14, 2022

On 1/2/2022 at 5:05 PM, hammertime said:

Cooley C/LW Oozing skill he get's you out of your seat. I think he will struggle to play his style in the NHL but I said the same about Zegras and he's pulling off alley-oops in the NHL. "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

I have to admit, Cooley is one of the top ranked players I've seen the least of, but from what little I've seen I'm confused by your assessment of him. He does have some high-end skills and creativity for sure, but to me he looks first and foremost like a pretty solid pro-style player. Sound defensively, takes care of the puck, uses his teammates well.

January 14, 2022

Seamus Casey outside the first round is absurd to me. Also I get Salomonsson hasn't been performing to expectations, but 62nd seems really excessive. He has some flaws to work out for sure, but kid still has just about the highest offensive upside among any defenseman in the draft.

January 13, 2022

Roster moves: Assign Mike Smith to IR. Recall Karel Vejmelka

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/oilers-mike-smith-1-2-weeks-partial-tear-thumb/

January 7, 2022

Excitement is growing in San Jose. We had some very nervous times early in the season after trading away a heap of picks to accelerate the rebuild, only to start the season with a plethora of injuries, including - but not limited to - both goalies, both of the top defense pair, and two top six forwards. A couple of months in, playoff hopes were looking bleak, but as we slowly became healthy, we gradually began climbing the standings. Backstrom's return was the symbolic turning point, and we have now slipped into a playoff spot, and even all the way up to 7th place in the West after last night (thanks largely to a monster night by mid-season UFA-signing Johan Larsson, of all people).

At this time we don't expect to be very busy at the deadline, with the impending return of Jakub Vrana and hopeful return to form of Mike Smith still on the horizon.

Coming into the season we believed we had the roster to start the playoffs with home ice advantage; the rough start to the season has likely made that impossible, but we're still hopeful that if Mike Smith can right the ship and a few other things go our way, we could realistically do some damage in the first round and beyond.

January 5, 2022

Roster moves: Sharks activate Mike Smith and Dean Kukan from IR. Assign Jordie Benn and Karel Vejmelka to Barracuda.

Jordie Benn placed on waivers.

January 5, 2022

On 1/3/2022 at 10:27 AM, Rush17 said:

The natural comparison that comes to mind for me for Miro. Is Alexander Semin. I could be completely wrong but that's the comparison that came to me naturally. Extremely talented but not necessarily a play driver. It sounds like HoH has seen a ton more footage then me. I'm curious what you guys think of that comparison. That is who he reminds me of.

Meh. Not the worst comparison ever I guess. I remember Semin as being more of a slick, dazzling stickhandler. Miro is more of a straight-line, north-south power winger. Ilya Kovalchuk is the best and most common comparison I've heard. Miro is such a complicated, inconsistent and multifaceted player, so it's hard to come up with a good comparison. Kovalchuk is probably about as close as you're gonna get.

I've also mentioned he has elements of Jerome Iginla and Evander Kane. Of course he's never going to have Evander Kane's level of bite, but when he's at his best, the way Miro just lowers his shoulder and comes flying down the wing with defenders hanging off him is very reminiscent of Kane at his best. And like Kane, Miro is going to be a fantasy MVP in leagues that include hits and shots. I recall he came storming onto the scene in MHL as a rookie with 13 shots and 11 hits in his first 3 games. Finished with 69 shots and 40 hits in 20 games.

I mention Jerome Igina for one particualr reason. I've talked much about the Jeckyl and Hyde nature of Miro's game, and I'm sure many of us remember the popular narrative around Iginla that he was something of a sleeping/friendly giant. As an opponent, you never wanted to wake him up or get him angry, because he would take his game to another level when he started getting involved physically. That's what I noticed about Miro in my few VHL viewings this year. He was invisible his first 4 periods of the season. But late in the 1st period of his second game, he took a big hit and got roughed up after the whistle, and he came to life after that. Started getting a little more involved physically and just got better and better over the course of the next couple games.

January 3, 2022

12 hours ago, Stech said:

Appreciate the rankings! I haven't watched a ton of Miroshnichenko, why do you find him so underwhelming this year?

12 hours ago, hammertime said:

I've found him hesitant. The VHL is a tough league and he's been struggling with less time and space. Don't get me wrong he's one hell of a player at the beginning of the year I had him top 5 it's more a matter of other players passing him than him playing poorly. At least for me. I know @HighOnHockey is really high on Miro and has probably watched more of his games than I have. I'm not seeing him contributing in enough areas of the ice to justify him in my top 10 right now. I have him with Howard and Nazar who are really excellent company they are also spectacularly gifted offensive players. If Miro finds his legs in the 2nd half here I'm eager to move him back up my board I have been keeping tabs on this player for 3 years now I really like him.

For perspective Hamhuis is my all time favorite Canuck hence my user name. I place a good amount of value on contributions that don't show on a players stat line but rather in the W column. I think you can probably relate Stetch ignoring the odd own goal I loved how well he walked the line in the ozone and aggressively at the other end of the rink forced teams offside on the rush. Despite his size he drew a line in the sand and you had to go through him to cross it.

No question Miroshnichenko has underwhelmed this year. As to Hammer's suggestion I have probably seen more of Miro, I would say it is extremely likely. Every draft there seems to be a couple players I happen to catch early on and really enjoy watching play, so I end up with a dizzying amount of viewings. Raymond and Holtz a couple years ago for instance, I had 25-30 viewings each by the time of the draft. Last year there was nobody I was quite so intrigued by, but I guess I had upwards of 15 viewings on Svechkov and Clarke by the draft. Since I first saw Miro and Michkov go nuclear at YOGs, I've been obsessed with both. Between YOG, 5NU17s, U18s, Hlinkas, MHL, I had more than 20 viewings on Miro already coming into the season. Have added another 4 in VHL this year but mostly early in the year; it's probably been a couple months now actually.

So let me start with what I liked about Miro, in brief. He was clearly very highly skilled, and that skill was flowing with power. First things you notice are the power in his skating stride and his shot. Outside of the game, you see at 16 he was already listed at 6'1 and 185 lbs. What takes a little longer to notice, is that he has some of the most astonishing passing vision you've seen from any prospect in many years. But here I think is where the controversy and discrepancies of opinion comes in: depending which games you watch at which level, you may notice right away, or you might still not have seen it yet - but when he's at his best Miroshnichenko is a rabid dog: chasing down pucks like meat on a bone; a la Matthews or Ovechkin, the rest of his line will be retreating from the offensive zone starting into their transition defense, while Miro still knows he can get the puck back and score a goal. Carrying the puck down the wing, lowering his shoulder and powering toward the net, playing in his own age group nobody could stop him. He also has a remarkable skill for bouncing off of checks and absorbing the momentum to accelerate into rapid change of direction or curl-backs. He also is capable of hitting like a cement truck. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

Now the issue: Miro has always been immensely skilled, and he's also always been one of the bigger, stonger kids in his age group. So a. he was able to play his power game without too much difficulty, as he was just naturally sturdier and more powerful than his peers (just look at the kid's neck and jaw in his profile pictures) but b. also he was simply skilled enough that he could dominate on skill alone. When you first see him make the jump to higher levels, you would always see less of the power game initially and more of him relying on his talents. Eventually, the power game would come, but it has always been inconsistent. Humans naturally tend toward the path of least resistance, and it is a hell of a lot more painful and more hard work to play that kind of power game that makes Miro so special when he brings it - hitting, bouncing off of checks, lowering the shoulder and powering down the wing with opponents hanging off you, charging with the puck into traffic.

February of 2020, after 5NU17s, I said there were two players clearly above the rest of the class for 2022 - Wright and Miroshnichenko. Last season it was frustrating watching Miro in MHL as he was so inconsistent, but he did occasionally bring his A game, and those instances were enough to keep him number 2 for me coming into this season - as all the physical gifts are there, for Miro it all comes down to the mental game of putting it all together and bringing it every night. But even at 16 in MHL last year he was already at least average size and was able to hold his own physically. This year against men in a good league, those glimpses of what I want to see from him are few and far between. He'll be a good NHL player one way or another, just based on his frame, vision, skating and shot, but whether he can be great is all going to come down to passion and willingness to lean into the pain. If he can find the desire and commitment to bring that fire and to be the rabid dog night in and night out over an 82 game schedule, he could be a very special player.

January 2, 2022

On 12/29/2021 at 8:57 PM, hammertime said:

So with the WJC cancelled.

Does Lamberts performances against Germany and Austria put him back in top 10 consideration? I really would have liked to see him against some stiffer competition. On the one side I thought he looked great on the other I've also seen him not look so great this year. I want to believe.

Wright hmmmm pretty underwhelming I was hoping to see him put a stamp on this 1st OA status. I'm beginning to get more and more of the impression that he is an early bloomer. Could have just been buried on a stacked team Canada. He did really well in the dot which is great. Didn't seem to have Cameron's trust which is less great. I am by no means disparaging Wright I think he should be #1 on our draft board even if he doesn't reach superstar status at the very least he is exactly the type of 2/3 C we need. So... WIN.... win.

Yurov got himself in the action. He was visible on the ice in some ways better than others. He got himself a pretty lucky goal too to show for it. I thought he was an overall contributor in the games he played.

Slafkovski's skating looked worrisome. I was reminded of watching how Power moved in his draft year and why I was more attracted to how Edvinsson and Helenious were so much more agile for their size. Hasn't been much of an issue for Power yet

Cooley I thought had a pretty beauty assist and overall good outing against Slovakia.

Kemell I don't think we saw the best of what he can bring He got his bell rung big time and I thought he struggled to find his footing though he did launch a rocket off the post in his last outing. He's looked a bit off since return from injury. A lil crash back to reality probably isn't the worst thing for him after his godly start to the year.

Nemec was always dangerous to loosely quote Garland " I know I'm playing well when they are all over me." Nemec despite seemingly always having a body on him managed 9 shots. I thought he really fought through adversity well.

In conclusion I'm really bummed 2 games in miss matches isn't really much to go on. I was really looking forward to this tournament. Not much to really move the needle for me.

Lambert, Edvinsson, Michkov, Bedard, Koivunen, Helenius, Wallstedt, McTavish were stand outs for me for whatever its worth Thought Bichsel looked pretty good in his 1 game too.

Not sure Lambert was ever out of top ten contention, but these two games have almost no impact on his real-world draft rankings. For more casual fans for whom this was still an early viewing, sure it will have a major impact, but for more hardcore draft fans and real scouts, these couple games are just another drop in the bucket. I'd say he's still somewhere right around around the 10 mark. If anything, I guess a good way to put it might be that this tournament helped stop or slow the bleeding.

Man oh man, I've been a major proponent for the narrative that this is an exceptional draft class, and while I still believe the top 10-15 is as deep as we've seen in a long time, nobody is managing to grab the bull by the horns and take the number one draft spot. At this point, I guess I would still have Wright first overall, but that is becoming extremely tenuous.

Miro not making Russia is worrisome and somewhat deserved. We know Russia generally doesn't like using under-aged players at this tournament, and Miro hasn't stood out enough this year to force his way onto the team.

Of draft eligible players, Nemec and Yurov impressed me the most at the World Juniors. As with Lambert, this tournament had very little impact, particularly for Yurov for me, since I've already seen a $&!#-ton of him. I hadn't seen nearly as much of Nemec, so this was a fairly valuable data set for me. Both are almost solidified as top 5 picks for me, and with Wright and Miro's struggles, both Yurov and Nemec will now be right in the mix for first overall pick on my next rankings. Slafkovsky is still up there, but a little similar to Miro I think. We can very clearly see all the raw talent and potential, but at a certain point they need to start showing they can do something with it at the pro level.

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