HighOnHockey
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Posts posted by HighOnHockey
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4 hours ago, hammertime said:
There isn't a one source to rule them all source. Yes even the mighty B Mac's lists are just another set of opinions. No one's got a crystal ball. I think Scouch does a pretty good job of presenting what he believes are players strengths and weaknesses from his viewings of the players. It's up to the viewer/reader what they want to do with the info or if they even agree with it at all from their own viewings. I have more respect for Scouch's opinions than I do Button.
I'm also really liking Trikozov. Not so high on Odellius though. He's a great skater but not much else was noticeable to me the few times I have watched him se seemed to throw the puck away under pressure and didn't really strike me as a high IQ player. I'm 100% ready to eat crow on that assessment though. I'll need to watch more games.
There is definitely value to be found in Scouch's content. Just don't think his rankings are particularly useful. His analyses are great, but always weak on context.
There is no be-all, end-all, sure. But as I seem to say about 100 times a year, there are better and worse assessments. Bob's list might not be perfect, but it is by far the best thing available to us as fans. Central would probably be a distant second. Not sure how SportsNet compiles their list but with the resources and connections at their disposal, I'm assuming they are worth paying attention to. McKeen and ISS used to be top end, but not so sure anymore. Smaht is a newer resource but seems to be quite high quality. There's a few other pretty good sources out there too, but names are escaping me.
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On 12/16/2021 at 8:00 PM, hammertime said:
For anyone interested here is Will Scouches list from today. I found the order he has for D especially interesting. Lambert still in the #2 spot as well.
Not the greatest source, but cool to see someone else as high or higher on Trikozov and Odellius than I am. Wow he's really not a McGroarty fan.
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Sadly, this thread has been the most amusing part of my day so far.
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Roster moves: Sharks assign Ian Mitchell to Barracuda. Recall Kurtis MacDermid.
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Roster move: Sharks activate Nicklas Backstrom from IR.
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2 hours ago, Chip Kelly said:
There has been lots of discussions it seems like since the last 5 plus years on the Canucks 4th line being expensive, lacking an identity, not being tough enough etc.
So looking around the league for those who follow any of the the other 31 NHL teams more closely, what are some examples of good modern day 4th lines that the Canucks can take parts from and emulate?
Do they need more younger,speedy, energetic guys who might actually contribute offence or play a shutdown checking agitating role or maybe tough hardened cagey veterans who know their roles and what they have to do to keep steady NHL employment?
2 of my current favorites:
New York Rangers and New York Islanders.
Blais-Goodrow-Reaves
Big fast physical 4th line with tons of cup and playoffs experience will be an even bigger factor in the playoffs when the hitting starts for the Rangers.
Martin-Czikas-Clutterbuck
An old fashioned 4th line who has guys who can hit and fight, agitate and even score.
A true energy line.
Thoughts on some other good 4th line players or potential pieces...
Yeah the Isles' 4th line has been the prototype and the best 4th line in the league for years now. But much more important than the things you mentioned - hit, fight, agitate - is the way they control the low cycle. The NHL is a zone possession game, has been for the past decade now. That Isles' 4th line isn't all that interested in scoring, but have the size, hockey IQ and just enough skill that they can pin any opposing line in their own zone for long stretches, nullifying the potential for offence going the other way and also wearing down opponents.
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10 minutes ago, Alflives said:
Their are high end young Russian players in the KHL, who will come to the NHL when they are out of their contracts. The older guys, excepting a very few, are not NHL level players though. The league likely will contract.
You're always good for a chuckle Alf. Not even sarcasm or patronizing. I've come to understand and appreciate your trolly sense of humor and you probably make me laugh more than anyone on the forum.
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19 hours ago, bigbadcanucks said:
Gonna go out on a limb and say that if former NHL/AHL/ECHL slugs like Curtis Valk, Nik Goldobin, Brandon Leipsic, Kenny Agostino, Jori Lehtera, Stephane DaCosta, Ryan Spooner, Niklas Jensen are among the top 30 scorers in the KHL, the margin between the NHL and KHL is in no terms narrowing.
My only surprise is not seeing Virtanen up there...but then again, not.
Where a better relationship between the two league is of benefit is hoping kids like Podkolzin doesn't get the run-around from their respective KHL clubs.
Lol, I hope that's not meant to be a serious argument?
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Seems pretty obvious. KHL is on the rise. As the gap between NHL and KHL gradually narrows, it will be in the NHL's best interest to be on nicer terms with them.
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12 hours ago, J.I.A.H.N said:
HighonHockey mentioned to me(us) that he liked Luneau at or near the 17th spot (where he is in some rankings), so to me, I have watched with interest, the entire RHD class of 2022.
The Hockey Writers list for December has the following RHD listed in the first round
Nemec at #2...........................6'1" 192 lbs...Offensive Dman............fast, quick first pass, improving on defense
Jiricek at # 13.........................6'3" 190 lbs...2 way Dman................. physical, good zone exits, needs to improve skating????
Casey at #14..........................5'10" 161 lbs...Offensive Dman............quick, good with the puck, physical
Luneau at #17........................6'2" 170 lbs...Offensive Dman............good skater, mobile, IQ, needs work defensively
Salomonsson at #22..............6'1" 172 lbs....Offensive Dman...........good skater, good first pass
Chesley at #23.......................6'0" 194 lbs....Defensive Dman..........good skater, defensive, IQ, defends well
Sport Nets December rankings are
jJiricek at #8
Nemec at #12
Luneau at #17
Casey at #18
Chesley at #20
Salomonsson at #21
FC Hockey December Rankings
Nemec at #3
Casey at #14
Jiricek at #15
Chesley at #16
Salomonsson at #19
Luneau at #20
So, "IF" the rankings stay somewhat similar, then there really starts to be no real excuse to draft a RHD in our draft position, without reaching..............
I find them intriguing, and very obtainable. I must admit to not knowing them as well as I should, but having read some, and having seen other ranking which have been close but not exactly the same, I have come up with a wish list of RHD
#1........Nemec
#2........Jiricek
#3.........Chesley
#4.........Luneau
In saying that, I would love @HighOnHockey to give an opinion on these players "early" rankings
Interesting that you mention Jiricek needs to improve his skating. All reports seem to suggest he is a strong skater. And from the little I've seen he seems to get around very well, particularly for his size. Still haven't seen too much of him. Waiting for World Juniors. But I am starting to see what people are raving about.
Luneau and Nemec were the two D I had in my top ten coming into the season. For Luneau that was based on his defensive and transition game, and I've always expressed questions about his offensive upside. His lack of elite production in the Q this year has him out of my top ten at this time but still just inside my top 15, for now.
Very surprised you mention defense as a need for improvement for Nemec. This has not been my experience at all. He loves to jump up and attack the puck-carrier, and can get himself in trouble for it at times, but from everything I've seen he picks his spots very well, and should have no trouble finding a balance with this as he moves on to higher levels. I remember having followed Nemec's career from a very young age on eliteprospects, but when I first saw him play at World Juniors last year, the thing that grabbed my attention that this kid was a legit top 5 candidate came in a game against USA, when Slovakia was badly outmatched and this 16 year old D was their top player, playing big minutes against USA's star forwards. And there was one play in particular when a 19 year old former 5th overall pick Alex Turcotte entered the zone against Nemec one on one, and Nemec in one smooth motion separated Turcotte from the puck and immediately moved it out of harm's way. Best defenseman in the class and should be a top five pick.
Casey is a hell of a fun player to watch. Right there with guys like Drysdale and Quinn Hughes. Absolutely dynamic skater. Should be a top ten pick in most drafts. So much talent in the top 10-15 of this draft that he'll likely fall out of the top 10, but I'll be surprised if he falls past 15.
I'm not such a big fan of Chesley, but I know some people seem to really like him. Solid but unexciting two-way defender. I have him somewhere towards the end of the first round.
Salomonsson is a very interesting case. Easily the most skilled and creative offensive defenseman in the draft (except for Ty Nelson I suppose). Just an absolute magician in the offensive zone. The other two I'd have up there as most skilled offensive defensemen would be Casey and Nelson, but they are both 5'10, while Salomonsson has a much more projectable NHL frame at 6'1. Needs a lot of work in his own zone and in transition though. Looks good in those areas at times, but just makes a ton of mistakes. I could see some team liking the upside enough for him to still go top 15, but also wouldn't be shocked to see him fall quite a ways.
The two guys I will mention that could sneak their way up the lists are Kasper Kulonummi and Ty Nelson. I've always been in awe of Nelson, but coming into this season I didn't take him seriously as a top prospect as he was listed at 5'7 or 5'8. EP now has him at 5'10. Doesn't quite have Casey's skating wizardry, but he's very smooth in his own right, and might have even better offensive IQ than Casey. Kasper Kulonummi is a very reliable two-way defenseman who has been captain of Finland at every international event I've seen him; mostly he's focused on playing a safe, smart, reliable two-way game, but he's also shown flashes of pretty high-end offensive ability at times.
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21 hours ago, hammertime said:
Do you not agree that one of those factors in that broad scope should be that this team needs more that anything to hit a Kopitar, Getzlaf in the draft because as you stated above those players are rarely moved and IMO the best way to get one is draft one?
So BPA might be Kemell but there are other factors (rarity of power top 6 C's and top 4 RHD's) that push the scale Slafkovsky, Nemec.
If you look how Detroit is building.
Moritz Sieder Big RHD, Cossa Franchise G, Raymond Right shot skilled W, Zadina Left shot skilled W, Edvinsson big mobile LD , Buim Big mobile LD, Wallander big mobile LD. Veleno 3C. Size, handedness and importantly positional need seem to greatly factor into how they evaluate BPA. They are building a team by depth chart through the draft. Thankfully for us I guess Hughes didn't fit into their vision of 6'3 LD. But the point is that there is a clear vision there in how they are drafting and as a result are looking past guys most of us would consider BPA like Quinn and Eklund because they don't fit.
I've gotta say man, I'm impressed you were able to take any emotion out of it and make a reasonable response. Respect.
Anyways, @Sp3nny and I had a really good conversation on all this last year. It got pretty deep. In that situation he was actually more of the hard-line BPA position and I took the position of mitigating or extenuating circumstances. One of the things we got into was this idea of assessing and predicting stylistic and strategic evolutions of the game, and building teams accordingly with particular attributes in mind, as you talk about with Detroit. If you predict and assess correctly, you're a genius. But things can change on a dime and plans can go wrong pretty quick.
But that's just the thing, it was never about team needs for Detroit, in the sense of trying to solve problems with the current roster. It is about a vision and drafting players who fit that vision. But it isn't necessarily team specific. If you think the game is moving towards big, mobile defenseman, then you draft those types of players in part because that's a subjective, particular emphasis, but surely also because you think those players will be objectively more valuable across the league.
Sure, the Canucks badly need a big power center, but so do a lot of teams. Say the Canucks' pick comes around and Slafkovsky and Nemec are gone, but Savoie, Kemell, Geekie and Jiricek are left. A big RHD and a big power center on the board, but it's not such an easy decision.
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7 minutes ago, hammertime said:
Sure sure. However you wanna spin it.
I agree the Canucks should draft a Big body C and a top 4 RHD. Frame it however you want.
Oh my goodness. This is the problem. You are still making assumptions and so completely misunderstanding me. Think more subtly my dude. Firstly, I never said the Canucks should draft a big C or RHD. I said that those players are inherently more valuable to any team. Just facts of life. There is a reason Kopitars and Getzlafs are rarely ever moved.
This is really not that difficult a concept to understand. I don't care if you're the Canucks or any other team. You make a list, taking into account many different variables including skill, frame, work ethic, professionalism, position, etc. and if you think in the long run Juraj Slafkovsky will be overall more valuable than Joamim Kemell, you take him. If you think David Jiricek will be overall more valuable than either in the long-term, then you take him. I don't care what team or situation, you always always always take BPA. But it is more complex than the caricature of what BPA means that you and others seem to have.
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6 minutes ago, hammertime said:
Are you suggesting drafting for Organizational need you're slippin. So what I'm hearing is drafting Big power C's and RHD's you know the Canucks White Whales is fine if you frame it as building positional need into your valuation.
Get off yer horse.
If you don't understand something I say it would be better to ask for clarification than jump to assumptions and accusations.
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2 minutes ago, hammertime said:
Are you suggesting drafting for Organizational need you're slippin. So what I'm hearing is drafting Big power C's and RHD's you know the Canucks White Whales is fine if you frame it as building positional need into your valuation.
Get off yer horse.
Lol words mean things. Language is important. Conceptual subtlety is difficult but necessary for good reasoning.
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12 hours ago, J.I.A.H.N said:
I think if we are sitting in the # 5 to 7 spot in the draft, we "could" trade the pick to another team, that has a RHD coming off of their ELC, and the team hard to the cap. aka Dobson for our pick.
I would certainly, let greater minds than mine determine, if the up side of Dobson is that of Nemec or Jiricek. The reason why the Islanders does it, is Dobson comes off his ELC this year.............does he fit our need? @HighOnHockey
I think "IF" this works, than we do it, "IF" available. Is there any other teams in the same boat? I still think NY Rangers may be a target as well. How, I am not sure, but our target should be Schneider, plus ????? Depending on who it is, or is it part of a bigger trade?
Please no Braden Schneider. Noah Dobson would be great but I don't think the Isles do it for just a pick, even 5-10. Granted, Dobson hasn't exactly taken the NHL by storm yet, but It just sets them back timeline-wise, and adds risk after Dobson has at least established himself as an NHL defenseman. I like your general idea but I don't see how a trade like this will work. Teams that are in a position to sell, aren't going to want to trade key young pieces like Dobson.
Given where the Canucks are at right now, I'd rather just play out the season and keep the pick. Trade Miller. Seriously consider trading Boeser. Maybe can get a young top 4 defenseman that way. Keep Pettersson, Horvat, Hughes, Rathbone, Demko, Hoglander, Podkolzin, Garland. It is a good young core that's not too far off, but still needs some work.
With the depth of quality RD near the top of this draft, maybe the stars align and you folks will get your precious RD. But if the Canucks have a chance at a true Western Conference center like Slafkovsky or Geekie, that would be just as, or maybe even more important. Always BPA, obviously, but yes, big centers and big RHD are harder to acquire so come at a premium. I don't think of that as a "need" though, it should be built into your valuation of the players.
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13 hours ago, hammertime said:
this kind of logic.
Name the best RHD's in Franchise history aaaaaaand go......... No offence to Bieksa and Tanev. But in 50+ years yikes.
"it is time we focus on it"? To compensate for past weaknesses? I'm sorry but forget about bad logic, that is no logic at all.
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12 hours ago, Nail said:
You already have 8 defenceman on your roster so you cannot recall a 9th to your active roster.
We'll send down (and waive) MacDermid in addition to Leivo then.
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10 hours ago, KyGuy123 said:
Two very promising RHD prospect in the top end of the draft this year. Let’s prey we finally fill that hole through the draft this year.
You want to fill a hole three or four years down the road when the hole is there right now? What kind of backward logic is this?
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Roster moves: Sharks place Josh Leivo on waivers for AHL assignment.
Recall Ian Mitchell.
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6 hours ago, hammertime said:
If GM's were putting stock in past seasons Aatu Raty wouldn't have been drafted 52OA. I don't think you're wrong that Kemell's currently over hyped but the hype train has left the station. If he continues to put up PTPG numbers and Wright continues to struggle I don't think Wright is untouchable.
I am a bigger fan of Miro than I am of Kemell I've also been paying attention to him longer. But I would be shocked if Miroschnichenko went top 3. The last player to be drafted top 3 out of Russia was Alex Ovechkin let that marinate. Both Svechnikov and Yakupov were drafted out of the CHL Sarnia and I think the Colts....
Not sure where you think I said he's over-hyped. The only place I've read this level of hype about him is from you. I've talked about the Raty situation before. A year before the draft, it was only a certain select few media personnel who were espousing this idea that Raty was first overall. Word I was hearing (2nd hand) from real scouts was that people were going to be shocked at how far he would fall. Scouts don't have such short memories as media and fans do. The regional scouts are watching these players from a very young age and have a pretty good idea of how good players are long before the draft. The drastic changes in lists over the course of the draft season are as much or more about information being leaked than about NHL scouts actually changing their minds.
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6 hours ago, ZH96 said:
That’s your response? Lol thank you. I have a counsellor I meet with weekly but thanks for your concern. By the way my YouTube channel is filled with people saying they think I’m a prophet and a knowledgeable scout. I predicted Lucas Raymonds current success and him being better than Lafreniere. Just a little FYI. Go check out Steal of the 2020 NHL Draft by Z Hockey
I don't know what else to say man. I don't know the first thing about you but reading your responses to me and others I can see you've got some major self-esteem issues. I've been there myself at times and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Again, just hope things get better for you.
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1 hour ago, hammertime said:
Pretty sure no player plays to be drafted lower ever. But ya when you're comparing stat sheets.
Wright 9g 13a 22pts in 18 games. In the OHL
VS
Kemell 12g 6a 18 points in 16 games playing against men in the top Finnish league.
That top spot won't be safe long if Kemell maintains anywhere near this pace.
I do not see Kemell as the primary threat for first overall at this point. His numbers look pretty special right now, yes, but in such a small sample size it would only take a few games to bring him back down to earth. Mikael Granlund put up 0.93 p/g at 5'9/5'10 and went 9th overall. Barkov put up .91 p/g at 6'2 and went 2nd overall. If Wright was performing as expected and as he's shown he could at U18s, it wouldn't really matter what Kemell or anyone else was doing - nobody in this draft class could touch him. As things stand currently, I still see Miroshnichenko as the primary threat to Wright. But Savoie and Cooley have been on fire lately.
As I talked about recently, I'm still putting more emphasis in player's total bodies of work, not just a 16 or 22 game sample set from this season. Prior to this season, I didn't consider Kemell as a serious challenger for the top 5, and saw him as a fringe top 10 option. Of course, players have different development paths and some don't start to come into their own until 17 (or much later), so "what have you done for me lately" is a crucial aspect of scouting, but the sample size is still just too small at this point. World Juniors will be another crucial data set, and after that the picture slowly starts to crystallize.
Sometime over the next couple weeks (hopefully before WJCs) I plan to do some in-depth video scouting on a few players in consideration for top 5 spots - primarily Nemec, Slafkovsky and Kemell. Based on that and then World Juniors, my post WJC list should start to look a lot closer to what my final list will look like.
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50 minutes ago, ZH96 said:
First off 15 points in 20 games is not a concerning “regression”. Secondly use your head; Bedard has had to play far more than any of Shane Wright, Matvei Michkov, etc. in the last year and a half… so that actually gives him more forgiveness not the others. Playing more plus like I said being an assistant captain as a rookie in the toughest junior league out there. Come on. And why would he have stopped growing at 16? Last I checked he doesn’t have a childhood disease affecting his growth. 5’9 and 181 Lbs at 16 is a little tank and he will most likely play at
5’11 to 6’0 and 190 to 200 Lbs. Also please do tell me how my proposal is silly? Give some real insight. Let’s see your thoughts and ideas on replacing the GM through to the video coach. Got a better plan hmm? You don’t know what you’re talking about in the slightest.
Dude. You've got some issues you need to work through. Hope you figure it out and feel better soon.
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3 hours ago, ZH96 said:
The sophomore slump happens to everyone from superstars to walk-ons. But you’re really using the term “regressed this season” on a kid who just turned 16 and has 15 points in 20 games as the first ever exceptional status rookie in WHL history (which is the toughest league out of the WHL, OHL, QMJHL) in terms of it’s physicality and tight checking. At that age he’s already wearing an “A” too. Due to Covid he’s also had to play in four different places in the last year alone. In Sweden he had 6 points in 5 games, then in his first WHL action as a 15 year old he had 28 points in 15 games, then he had 14 points in 7 games in the U-18s, and now has 15 points in 20 games in his basically rookie season in the WHL as a 16 year old wearing an A…. Regressed? Get real. This kid is a gem.
Lol, I don't know who to agree with here. Yes, Bedard does look like a generational prospect, he is still the favorite to go first overall (although it is less certain now with Michkov's freakish season) and it is kinda silly to say he's too small at 5'9, given his age.
But, as to this point in the season he has regressed, pretty badly, it is a completely fair question to ask why, and the sophomore slump does not happen to every player, certainly not this this extent. Shane Wright and others get some forgiveness for their slow starts due to not playing all last year, but Bedard played 15 WHL games and dominated just this spring, so the 5 different teams and not playing excuse loses some of it's impact. And if he actually has stopped growing at 5'9, that would be a bit of a problem.
Anyways, the whole proposal is completely silly, but looks like it was a ton of fun to write, so that's the important thing.
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2022 NHL Entry Draft
in Prospects / Farm Team
Posted
Gazizov is an incredible playmaker. Reminiscent of Vsevolod Gaidamak last year (or to some extent Beniers) where he thinks and processes the game at such a high level but the question is whether his technical skills (hands and feet) can keep up with his head. Dude made things easy for Miroshnichenko at Hlinkas; set him up in prime scoring positions with some brilliant passing plays. Solid body can handle some traffic down low too.