CRAZY_4_NAZZY

https://nhlentrydraft.com/players/ty-mueller/

https://www.bleachernation.com/blackhawks/2023/01/19/four-blackhawks-prospects-named-hobey-baker-award-nominees/ He was a Hobey Baker award nominee this past season.

I caught a few Seattle vs Vancouver Giants games....I remembered him being a scrappy guy. Stylistically (not potential) reminds me a lot of Ryan Lindgren from NYR.

https://thehockeywriters.com/sawyer-mynio-2023-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/ 2022-23 Team: Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) Date of Birth: April 30, 2005 Place of Birth: Kamloops, BC, Canada Ht: 6-foot-1 Wt: 163 pounds Shoots: Left Position: Defenceman NHL Draft Eligibility: 2023 first-year eligible Rankings NHL Central Scouting: 62nd (amongst NA skaters) FC Hockey: 167th McKeen’s Hockey: 176th On a stacked Seattle Thunderbirds team that included the likes of top prospects Dylan Guenther, Brad Lambert, Kevin Korchinski, and Luke Prokop, you would be forgiven if you didn’t know the name Sawyer Mynio. Known more for his defense, his ceiling is that of aChris Tanev or Jaccob Slavin rather than an Erik Karlsson or Quinn Hughes. His best work will come in his own zone blocking shots, denying passing lanes, and generally being in great position defensively. While everyone loves the flashy nature of a pure offensive threat like Hughes or Karlsson, winning teams need the presence of someone like Mynio too. Just ask the Carolina Hurricanes about how vital Slavin – arguably the NHL’s best modern defensive defenceman – has been to their success over the years. Sawyer Mynio, Seattle Thunderbirds (Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds) Mynio was a staple on the Thunderbirds’ blue line in 2022-23, even after they acquired Nolan Allan at the trade deadline. His role and ice time obviously got reduced, but not as much as everyone expected it to. He even improved his game and became a key piece of their run to the Western Hockey League (WHL) championship and subsequent Memorial Cup berth. Finishing with an outstanding plus-50 in the plus/minus column in the regular season and a combined plus-7 in the playoffs and Memorial Cup, Mynio was rarely a liability on the ice. Despite what you might think about the stat, a plus-57 is impressive to finish a season in any league with. Related: THW’s 2023 NHL Draft Guide With his toolbox of smarts, two-way potential, and most of all, ability to move the puck out of his own zone with precision, Mynio is the type of defenceman that every coach would love to have in their rotation. He won’t be selected in the upper echelon of defenders, but he could be a gem in the later rounds. Other THW Draft Profiles Beau Akey Jakub Dvorak Kalem Parker Sawyer Mynio – NHL Draft Projection Only ranked by two major outlets, Mynio will probably get selected in the fourth or fifth round. Although, a team that values smart defensive hockey and penalty-killing prowess might decide to take him earlier in the third or even the second. As I said earlier, modern defensive defencemen like Mynio have become more and more important over the years. Quotables “Mynio’s a capable rush defender, steadily smothering the opposition by forcing attackers to the outside and matching their footwork. He quickly switches from one puck carrier to the next, keeping the pressure on. By locking onto opponents, he eliminates them from the play entirely. On breakouts, Mynio’s equally detailed. He avoids dump-outs and low-percentage plays, preferring to look for passing options cross-ice or up the middle” – Elite Prospects 2023 Draft Guide (from ‘Elite Prospects 2023 Draft Guide – Sawyer Mynio Scouting Report’, Elite Prospects). AD “Defense is the primary strength of Mynio’s game, and he excels in this area. While he may be a somewhat one-dimensional defender, he performs exceptionally well in his role. Mynio’s focus and attention to detail in the defensive zone make him a low-maintenance player who rarely allows high-danger scoring chances. He maintains a tight gap in the neutral zone, quickly retrieves pucks, and efficiently moves them out of his zone and up the ice” – Donesh Mazloum, FC Hockey (from ‘24906 – Seattle vs. Peterborough Game Report’, FC Hockey, 5/31/23). Strengths Hockey IQ Attention to detail Defensive game Work ethic Under Construction (Improvements to Make) Skating mechanics Edgework NHL Potential Mynio has the potential to become a defenceman like Slavin or Tanev in his prime. He won’t get on the highlight reel for a big goal or assist but for a fearless blocked shot or smart defensive play. While those aren’t as exciting, they are just as key to a victory. Even if he doesn’t hit the heights of the top-four, his smarts and work ethic should guarantee him a floor of a bottom-pairing defenceman that regularly kills penalties. Risk-Reward Analysis Risk – 3.5/5, Reward – 4/5 Fantasy Hockey Potential Offence – 4/10, Defence – 8/10

https://thehockeywriters.com/hunter-brzustewicz-2023-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/ 2022-23 Team: Kitchener Rangers (OHL) Date of Birth: Nov. 29, 2004 Place of Birth: Washington, MI Ht: 6-foot-0 Wt: 187 pounds Shoots: Right Position: Defense NHL Draft Eligibility: 2023 first-year eligible Rankings NHL Central Scouting: 33rd (amongst NA skaters) FC Hockey: 45th TSN/Bob McKenzie: 44th Elite Prospects: 44th The Hockey Writers (Horn): 43rd Every year, there are a couple of players who spend all season ranked in the early-to-mid second round, even though they’re probably a first-round talent. I believe that Hunter Brzustewicz is one of those players. For a draft class that’s as deep as this one appears to be, there’s a bit of a lack of top-end defensive prospects, which makes it more puzzling that Brzustewicz isn’t ranked higher. Hunter Brzustewicz, Kitchener Rangers (Natalie Shaver/OHL Images) Hailing from Washington, Michigan, a suburb about 45 minutes north of Detroit, the 6-foot right-hander wasted no time establishing himself as an offensive-minded defenseman, specifically a master of the first pass. In his age-15 AAA season with the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies, he tallied a whopping 96 assists and 111 points through 55 games. His performance earned him a spot with the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP). Along with the state of uncertainty that many prospects faced between 2020 and 2022 due to COVID-19, he missed almost the entirety of the 2020-21 season playing in only three games with the USNTDP U17 team. He got a proper shot with the U18 team in 2021-22, totaling 29 points in 80 games. He was originally drafted by the Barrie Colts in the 2020 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) priority selection, but his rights were traded to Kitchener in January 2022. And, when the time came for Brzustewicz to pick an avenue for his draft year, he decided to commit to the Rangers. So far, the decision appears to be paying off for Brzustewicz. He’s currently leading all draft-eligible defensemen with 57 points in 68 games, and sits eighth in the league in scoring among defensemen in general. In what’s been an up-and-down season for the Rangers, who were slow to pick things up after a massive trade deadline, he’s been a consistent source of offense from the blue line all season. Watching Brzustewicz play, he reminds me a lot of a watered-down version of Colorado Avalanche star defenseman Cale Makar. Now, whoever drafts him should not assume they just drafted a clone of Makar, given the number of accolades he has, but when you watch the way Brzustewicz patrols the blueline on the power play, there are some striking similarities in their edgework and the way they’re able to open up space for themselves when their team is running the cycle in the offensive zone. He doesn’t really have one offensive quality that sticks out, but he’s reliable at both ends of the ice and plays the type of mature game that teams look for outside of the first round. Other THW Draft Profiles Etienne Morin Daniil But Colby Barlow Latest News & Highlights Hunter Brzustewicz – NHL Draft Projection Brzustewicz is the perfect prospect for a contending team with a late first-round pick, or for a rebuilding team to pad its prospect pool with. He’s likely going to go somewhere between the late first round and early second round, making him a prime target for teams that fall into either of those categories. If he goes in the second round, he’s got the tools to be a steal, and if a team reaches for him in the first round, we could be looking back at it as a demonstration of good scouting years from now. Quotables “Brzustewicz is the exact type of player a contending team will rush to the podium to draft in the back end of the first round in the 2023 draft. He is a smooth-skating, intelligent right-shot defenseman who is calm under pressure and should be able to play an NHL role sooner than most other defensemen in the class. While he lacks high-end puck skills, a threatening shot, and aggressive transition defensive habits – such as a tight gap – he does a lot of things very well and simplifies the game, which makes him a valuable diffuser of play under forechecking pressure.” – Sebastian High, Dobber Prospects “Passes it like a pro, with pace and accuracy. Can run a PP1 in junior, but will that skill project to the next level?” – Sam Cosentino, Sportsnet “He’s the perfect blend of skill and strength. He’s got a relatively small frame but makes up for it in muscle. One of the more impressive aspects of his game is his ability to use his upper body strength to shake off his opponent, freeing up lanes to break out the puck.” – Ben Jordan, Smaht Scouting Strengths Skating Breakout first pass Agility Defensive Awareness Hockey IQ Under Construction (Improvements to Make) Shot Power Gap Control NHL Potential While it’s hard to see Brzustewicz blossoming into a top-pair defenseman at the NHL level, he has the smarts and enough tools in the toolbox to see him cap out as a second-pair defenseman. If you can draft a top-four defenseman in the second round, you’re laughing, so there’s some great value waiting on the table for whoever announces his name in June. Risk-Reward Analysis Risk 3/5, Reward 3.5/5 Fantasy Hockey Potential Offense – 6/10 Defense 7/10 Awards/Achievements Brzustewicz won a silver medal at the 2022 U18 World Juniors representing Team USA.

It will be interesting how the Canucks use their mid and late round picks. The Canucks have taken goalies in 3 of their last 4 drafts, and this draft doesn't have a very strong goalie cohort. I could see the Canucks using a lot of their selections on finding positional needs like center and two way dman. Would love to see them mine another prospect like Kirill Kudryavtsev who was a 3rd round quality guy who slipped into the 7th. Would be interested in Danny Nelson a left handed 6'3 center from the US national development program ranked anywhere between the 2nd and 4th round has some great wheels and plays a very responsible two way game and very raw puck skills that needs more time. Committed to play for Notre Dame next year, where you can be patient with him, has lots of potential to play a speedy but heavy game much like Ivan Barbashev or Ilya Mikheyev. Another guy I have my eye on is Peteris Bulans a left handed dman from Latvia that played for Chicoutimi of the QMJHL. Didn't play a lot in the first half of the season due to being buried by the depth in Acadie-Bathurst Titan but got dealt to Chicoutimi and was nearly a PPG dman for them in the second half of the season. He may be a late bloomer but lots of potential and is ranked anywhere between the 5-7th round due to lack of games played and likely exposure. He would be a guy i'd take in the 4th round or that 6th round pick, could develop to be a 4/5 dman with defensive focus.

Curious question - for those who don't like the Willander pick, would you feel differently if Willander was a BC boy? Sometimes I feel fans can get swayed into wanting the local BC kid and ignore whether this player is really effective and the need of the team.

Wishing a Canucks prospect ill just because the team didn't take your favorite prospect shows a lack of maturity. Let the kid develop and show you his worthiness as a top pick.

He is not slow...he is a very agile skater. His quickness is not through straight line skating, but very elusive in his edge work, tight turns, and lateral movements. His straight line skating is not fast...imagine Conor Garland esque skating, lots of agility but no separating accelaration speed.

Elias Pettersson and Tom Willander will be your future shutdown pair. They will be minute munching dman for this team.

YESSSS I wanted Willander to start with. So glad we took him.

Its Tom Willander i betcha

If Ryan Leonard falls to us....take him.

I expect the team to make their pick at 11th overall and be relatively quiet through draft Day 1 and 2. I think it will take some wingers to come off the market before teams show real interest in taking on Garland. Kane, Pacioretty, Tarasenko, Barbashev, etc. Im not holding my breath for the Canucks to do much at all to be honest other than making their picks at the draft.

So when does Dubois ask out of LA?

Its been a goalie Carousel for San Jose. Hopefully they find some stability: in past 3 seasons they have used Hill, Reimer, Sawchenko, Stalock, Kahkonen, Dell, Makiniemi, Jones, Dubnyk, Melnichuk, and Korenar. That's 12 different goalies in 3 seasons. Insane.

Newhook needed a change in scenery. Just wasn't going to progress up the lineup with Colorado looking to win, he fell down the depth chart. Montreal I think made a good bet on Newhook but a bit expensive. I forsee Colorado flipping those picks to add another bigger piece...perhaps Debrincat?

Kupari is the steal of that deal...he already at age 22 is a mature two way center, 50%+ in the faceoff dot, and has the speed and size to be a workhorse center. Still untapped is his offensive skills, he is going to be a guy that contends for the selke in a few seasons. I really wanted him, he is ready to breakout.

If true, man that is a great get for WPG. Kupari is the steal in this deal...he is ready to break out

I have a feeling that the team will go with a forward at number 11. I know we need Defensemen especially the right side, but after the first round that 2nd and 3rd round has a lot of potential to find a dman that they like. Especially with two 3rd rounders close to each other, I think they look for a difference making forward. Allvin last draft wants guys who can be impact players, top six/top pairing kind of players. There are just too many potential difference making forwards. I like Reinbacher, ASP, Willander, and Simashev, but it seems more like the higher end of the draft is with forwards in the first 20 picks and after that you have lots of interesting dman that can fall anywhere in the 2nd and 3rd rounds that have excellent potential to be top 4 dman.

Only really interested in retaining Burroughs. Bear is a meh, rather not sign him and use the salary to find a more meaningful asset. Its going to take him a while to get back up to speed even if he returns healthy in December. Juulsen was a nice call up but he is AHL quality. Watching him in the AHL playoffs, he was solid and a physical force but he got walked a lit to the outside when forwards came down on him, just doesnt have the wheels to keep up eith a fast league. Be cool to retain him to be an AHL guy but he isnt NHL calibre.

Hmm, wonder what that means what they will do with Michael McLeod who is due for a raise and likely wanting an increased role on the team. He would be my RFA target to get for the 3C position.