Brett McKenzie Talk

[Borvat]

Finally some centers and I guess reasonably safe picks as they seem to have somewhat rounded games. If upside doesn't materialize they may still be useful.  I'm hoping Benning has something in the works or we may need to wait until next year for our potential future #1 center.  The clock is ticking.....

 

Boy has he stocked the Goalie and D cupboards and winger depth is starting to round out.  Benning didn't have much to work with as the cupboards were bare when he got here.  Hard to accumulate draft picks when you don't have the assets to trade to acquire them. You actually have to trade picks to get assets. 

 

After all the attempted playoff runs Gillis had left a gap in the late teen to early 20 age range in all positions that Benning has had to fill.  For me the clock now starts ticking on Benning to make his mark on this team with the FA season upon us. Going forward I am hopeful he stops trading picks unless it’s an absolute upgrade, not just a stop gap.

[Baer.]

Considering he's 19, and in the OHL, those stats are rather unimpressive.

[DeNiro]

4 minutes ago, Baer. said:

Considering he's 19, and in the OHL, those stats are rather unimpressive.

Defensive specialist not unlike the Kyle Petit pick.

[Baer.]

2 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

Defensive specialist not unlike the Kyle Petit pick.

And we all know that worked out great.

 

 

Honestly, I don't get why you would take a grinder over a skill guy in the 7th round.

 

Use your 2nd or 3rd to get a legit two way forward. You don't need to draft 4th liners even if you think they will be some sort of faceoff specialist for you or whatever. Those guys can be picked out of free agency.

 

On the same note, we could have just signed Abols instead if drafting him. Wasted a pick.

[DeNiro]

1 minute ago, Baer. said:

And we all know that worked out great.

 

 

Honestly, I don't get why you would take a grinder over a skill guy in the 7th round.

 

Use your 2nd or 3rd to get a legit two way forward. You don't need to draft 4th liners even if you think they will be some sort of faceoff specialist for you or whatever. Those guys can be picked out of free agency.

 

On the same note, we could have just signed Abols instead if drafting him. Wasted a pick.

The odds of a 7th round pick panning out are so low nobody can say a pick was "wasted". 

 

He's probably trying to find another guy like Gaustad who he drafted in the 7th round in Buffalo. That worked out pretty good for him.

[Baer.]

9 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

The odds of a 7th round pick panning out are so low nobody can say a pick was "wasted". 

 

He's probably trying to find another guy like Gaustad who he drafted in the 7th round in Buffalo. That worked out pretty good for him.

But it is wasted, we could have had Abols and another prospect.

[DeNiro]

1 minute ago, Baer. said:

But it is wasted, we could have had Abols and another prospect.

Or he could have been picked a couple spots after or signed with another team once he was a free agent. You really don't know.

 

They wanted him so they drafted him, I don't see what's wrong with that.

[Harvey Spector]

1 hour ago, Hidden Panda said:

Why do people want Ronning? Purely asking out of curiosity.

Cause his father played here...

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

More on McKenzie:

 

Quote

Brock Otten (2015):

 

20.Brett McKenzie - Forward - North Bay Battalion
Another personal favourite of mine for this year's draft. Anyone who is familiar with the OHL knows that Stan Butler eases in young forwards, making sure that they're responsible two way players before unleashing them offensively (see Nick Paul, Mike Amadio, Barclay Goodrow, etc in recent years). McKenzie is no different. A former 1st rounder of the Battalion, McKenzie has done exactly what Butler has asked of him thus far, but has more offensive potential than he has shown to the naked eye. As a midget player, he was known as one of the most skilled offensive players in the GTA, showcasing terrific skill with the puck and a tremendous release. As an OHL player, he's developed into a great two-way player who uses his speed to chase down loose pucks and go hard to the net. He has excelled playing down low, working the cycle and does a great job of opening up ice for his line mates. He's also become increasingly involved physically. Best of all, he was terrific in the playoffs this year, where I thought he was one of the Battalion's most consistent performers. Next year, I expect him to breakout big time when the leash comes off (so to speak) and he's able to utilize his creativity with the puck more.

 

Quote

ISS (2015):

 

“We currently have him in the fourth round; he’s a solid power forward type player that brings energy and size,” MacInnis explained of ISS's draft projection. “He plays a very solid 200-foot game, works hard and he has also got the pro size and he plays physical with it.

“Half the jobs at the NHL level are third and fourth line guys, and that’s what we see Brett developing into,” he continued. “He’s responsible in his own end, he’s physical, he can look after himself, protect his teammates and also chip in once in a while with the offence.”

Quote

 

[Borvat]

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

More on McKenzie:

Brock Otten (2015):

 

20.Brett McKenzie - Forward - North Bay Battalion
Another personal favourite of mine for this year's draft. Anyone who is familiar with the OHL knows that Stan Butler eases in young forwards, making sure that they're responsible two way players before unleashing them offensively (see Nick Paul, Mike Amadio, Barclay Goodrow, etc in recent years). McKenzie is no different. A former 1st rounder of the Battalion, McKenzie has done exactly what Butler has asked of him thus far, but has more offensive potential than he has shown to the naked eye. As a midget player, he was known as one of the most skilled offensive players in the GTA, showcasing terrific skill with the puck and a tremendous release. As an OHL player, he's developed into a great two-way player who uses his speed to chase down loose pucks and go hard to the net. He has excelled playing down low, working the cycle and does a great job of opening up ice for his line mates. He's also become increasingly involved physically. Best of all, he was terrific in the playoffs this year, where I thought he was one of the Battalion's most consistent performers. Next year, I expect him to breakout big time when the leash comes off (so to speak) and he's able to utilize his creativity with the puck more.

Bingo was his name oh. Please give me more of these and a number one center and I will be happy.

[Rush17]

3 hours ago, DeNiro said:

Interesting that we went all CHL with our last 4 picks.

 

I thought we'd see some European league content. Guess not.

We got no Russians this year did we. 

 

Hmmmy our poor russan scout lol. Well at least he got tryamkin and zuk. They both look nhl bound.

[Rush17]

Future #1 center!!! :D

 

All kidding aside side looks really promising. Interesting how he was touted as one of the best offensive talents in his region. Really exciting too see some late round studs.

[Salmonberries]

3 hours ago, Hidden Panda said:

Why do people want Ronning? Purely asking out of curiosity.

I reckon Canuck fans are a sentimental lot. They yearn for that nostalgic feeling, connection to a golden past.

 

They are also fond of local 'B.C. boys'.

[alfstonker]

3 hours ago, DeNiro said:

I'd rather they didn't draft players based on the fact that they're kids of former players.

Unless they are mini Sedins.

 

[elvis15]

Interesting pick, and a little more exciting than the Kyle Pettit pick from a couple years ago. I like who we picked up all last draft though so I can't find any fault with us waiting a year then using our second 7th round pick to get him.

[DeNiro]

32 minutes ago, alfstonker said:

Unless they are mini Sedins.

 

I think it's a forgone conclusion that we'll be drafting all Sedin offspring since the cloning experiment was a complete failure.

 

[oldnews]

Good production for a player with his calling card as a solid defensive center that wins draws.

[Canuck Surfer]

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

 

Have to say, however, that it's interesting we're going after 19 years olds. Taking a page out of an old Gillis draft strategy.

 

In 2012 we passed on; Damon Severson, Adam Pelech, Jimmy Vesey, Jon Gillies, Colton Parayko, Matt Murray, Jacob Slavin. We also passed on Shayne Ghostisbehere, but he was an unknown. To pick Alex Mallet as an overager.

 

But that was the second round! Plus we exercised some demons by picking a frickin stud D already. 

 

This was the 7th round...

 

Take the athlete your scouts say is most talented and run to development camp.

 

 

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

5 hours ago, Canuck Surfer said:

In 2012 we passed on; Damon Severson, Adam Pelech, Jimmy Vesey, Jon Gillies, Colton Parayko, Matt Murray, Jacob Slavin. We also passed on Shayne Ghostisbehere, but he was an unknown. To pick Alex Mallet as an overager.

 

But that was the second round! Plus we exercised some demons by picking a frickin stud D already. 

 

This was the 7th round...

 

Take the athlete your scouts say is most talented and run to development camp.

 

 

You know that part of my post was meant to be a joke, right? I kinda figured the  would have been a dead giveaway.

 

But as far as this year's draft goes, I think (with the possible exception of Abols) that these older picks bear more resemblance to Gillis picks like Friesen, Connauton, Cannata, and Grenier than that ill-fated Mallet pick.

 

I have no problem with the 19-year-olds we drafted. I actually really like the Stukel and McKenzie picks. The Abols pick I'm more on the fence with, although I appreciate our club showing loyalty to a guy they've invested time in (just figured he probably could have been signed after the draft).

 

But it just reminded me of Gillis, in a funny way, when three of the six players we drafted this year were age 19, 19, and 20.

 

Which isn't even all that much of a bad thing. When you set aside the Mallet pick (which was simply awful), a couple of those other older Gillis selections still might eventually outperform their draft position (in terms of the predicted mean number of NHL games played).

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

Considering how atrocious our faceoff abilities were this pass season, knowing we have another prospect who is excellent in this department is good to have.

 

Can't draft all top six forwards...you need those guys who can play the bottom six positions well, I like this selection with McKenzie.