2022 NHL Entry Draft

[Sp3nny]

1 hour ago, hammertime said:

None of the players you mention were 6'5 178 lbs when drafted. 

Laine is currently listed 216 sooo 38lb spread he was 206 in his draft year.

Carlo is 220 so 40+ lbs he was 198 in his draft year

Lowry was 6'2 in his draft year though agreeably slender at 168lbs but he's 210 now maybe your best comparable

 

But my point stands Pickering is gonna have to put on 30-40 lbs can he? Will he? How will that affect him? Is it cause for concern? I like Pickering. 

 

Perhaps where I found the weight was wrong (really who the heck knows other than the players themselves) but it had Laine at 208, Carlo at 212, and Lowry at 210. I didn't pick them for any reason specifically, just what I found first, and I didn't look up what weight they were drafted at.

 

My point wasn't to say he would or wouldn't do it, and I personally don't care what weight he ends up at. Players can play whatever size they want. Yes, it helps to be naturally gifted with an athletic, strong, big build, especially when the player knows how to exploit that. But then the debate starts "is he good because he is bigger and stronger than his peers?" Or "look how good he is now, imagine when he gains 'X' amount of weight?" I think it gets talked about far too much. Does it make a difference, yes. But should it determine if a kid is good at hockey or not? How they utilize that size says it all. How does Pickering play, big or small? I will honestly say I have no idea.

 

Whats Seider's weight? NHL.com says 197lbs. Guy trucks everyone because he is a freak athlete who has excellent spacial awareness and timing, which allows him to play big. Then you have 4"of height and 32lbs more weight in Tyler Myers, who most often plays smaller than he is.

 

It would be interesting to see a list of the biggest 'gainers' since drafted and see what effect it has potentially had on career trajectory. If that is your point, then I understand what you are getting at. But saying "he has to put on 30-40lbs" I don't really agree with.

[hammertime]

45 minutes ago, Sp3nny said:

Perhaps where I found the weight was wrong (really who the heck knows other than the players themselves) but it had Laine at 208, Carlo at 212, and Lowry at 210. I didn't pick them for any reason specifically, just what I found first, and I didn't look up what weight they were drafted at.

 

My point wasn't to say he would or wouldn't do it, and I personally don't care what weight he ends up at. Players can play whatever size they want. Yes, it helps to be naturally gifted with an athletic, strong, big build, especially when the player knows how to exploit that. But then the debate starts "is he good because he is bigger and stronger than his peers?" Or "look how good he is now, imagine when he gains 'X' amount of weight?" I think it gets talked about far too much. Does it make a difference, yes. But should it determine if a kid is good at hockey or not? How they utilize that size says it all. How does Pickering play, big or small? I will honestly say I have no idea.

 

Whats Seider's weight? NHL.com says 197lbs. Guy trucks everyone because he is a freak athlete who has excellent spacial awareness and timing, which allows him to play big. Then you have 4"of height and 32lbs more weight in Tyler Myers, who most often plays smaller than he is.

 

It would be interesting to see a list of the biggest 'gainers' since drafted and see what effect it has potentially had on career trajectory. If that is your point, then I understand what you are getting at. But saying "he has to put on 30-40lbs" I don't really agree with.

I agree with you to a degree and I'm certainly not trying to define a player by his weight there is much more to the picture. I like Pickering if we trade down I would become very interested. Regardless I think it's worth a mention. Certainly not condemning the player by any means. 

[Sp3nny]

28 minutes ago, hammertime said:

I agree with you to a degree and I'm certainly not trying to define a player by his weight there is much more to the picture. I like Pickering if we trade down I would become very interested. Regardless I think it's worth a mention. Certainly not condemning the player by any means. 

Ya, I think we have an understanding of both sides of the discussion. I would agree with you that he definitely seems like a bit of an outlier in regards to his overall size. One of the tall lanky kids I guess. I think the point you were trying to get at is if he DOES end up gaining a bunch of weight, what affect will that have on his mobility/development? And I do think that's valid.

 

I think Shea Weber fit this mold somewhat as he was 6'3 190 ish when drafted if I remember right. He played physical, and ended up around 230lbs which only helped his playstyle.

 

Tage Thompson comes to mind for me in recent memory. H was listed around 6'5, 185lbs at draft. He's now 6'7, 218lbs on NHL.com. I think that transition led to some growing pains in his game early on, but now with time to figure it out, he's blossoming. We're 6 years down the line from seeing the results, which isn't exactly ideal, so it does seem to be something to watch for.

Edited May 13, 2022 by Sp3nny

[Nucker 67]

1. Yurov

2. Mintyukov

3. Korchinski

 

[hammertime]

3 hours ago, Sp3nny said:

Ya, I think we have an understanding of both sides of the discussion. I would agree with you that he definitely seems like a bit of an outlier in regards to his overall size. One of the tall lanky kids I guess. I think the point you were trying to get at is if he DOES end up gaining a bunch of weight, what affect will that have on his mobility/development? And I do think that's valid.

 

I think Shea Weber fit this mold somewhat as he was 6'3 190 ish when drafted if I remember right. He played physical, and ended up around 230lbs which only helped his playstyle.

 

Tage Thompson comes to mind for me in recent memory. H was listed around 6'5, 185lbs at draft. He's now 6'7, 218lbs on NHL.com. I think that transition led to some growing pains in his game early on, but now with time to figure it out, he's blossoming. We're 6 years down the line from seeing the results, which isn't exactly ideal, so it does seem to be something to watch for.

Bichsel's lookin built!

 

[HighOnHockey]

Been watching some Sweden games. Lots to like about Ohgren. He's kind of a Miroshnichenko-lite. Well, Ohgren is more husky, but Miro is a lean athletic machine. Ohgren likewise has all the natural abilities to go with the size - powerful skater, lethal shooter, good puck skills, some thoughtfulness to his playmaking on and off the puck. Bulls his way around the corners at this level, but one minor concern I noticed is his pivots are not too impressive. Not as important to a forward as to a D maybe, but for a power winger like this, you'd like to see him be able to make evasive manoevres out of the corners. I like him a lot though.

 

Man oh man, has anyone stopped to notice that that USA superteam was beaten by an underdog Sweden, led by one elite forward line and two elite D? And yet those players are still being slept on in the draft rankings.

 

Ohgren - Ostlund - Lekkerimaki

Odelius

Havelid

 

Bystedt, Carlsson, Stenberg, Almgren are pretty good players too, but they were just hanging in against any of USAs top three lines. The Ostlund line was taking it to any one of their lines. Lekkerimaki is a lock for the top ten and I think is better than Nazar. Ohgren should go top 15. Ostlund is a tougher call; he was a driving force for that line, but he's barely 5'10, 160 lbs, and can be a little bit over-enthusiastic with the puck. I'd be somewhat surprised if he doesn't go in the first round though.

 

On the defensive side, Salomonsson and Elias Pettersson are the rest of the top four D, and are pretty good players and prospects in their own rights. Salomonsson should go somewhere in the 2nd round. But Havelid has put up monster numbers at international events all year, at what point do we recognize him as pretty legit? Odelius has got to be a first rounder. I could see him going as high as the early 20s. My one criticism of Odelius is the same as I have for Lekkerimaki, they don't have separation speed. Odelius has a similar fault to Heimosalmi last year, both are highly evasive to beat the first forechecker, but then they too often aren't able to pull away. Lekkerimaki has some of the niftiest skates in the draft - quick as lightning, explosive on the 10-2 and multidirectionally, polished edges, pretty fast, but he just lacks a separation gear at this stage.

Edited May 14, 2022 by HighOnHockey

[HighOnHockey]

10 hours ago, diesel_3 said:

Still trying to gauge who might be there at 15. 

It seems like we keep being tied to Marco Kasper (as per mock drafts).

I might be in the minority but so far from what I have watched or read, I would not mind Rutger McGroarty at 15.

 

We have too many perimeter forwards and McGroarty would add another dynamic to either top 2 lines.

 

"Much like his teammate Cutter Gauthier, Rutger McGroarty is an offensive-minded power forward, who excels at just about everything in the attacking third of the ice. Not only is he capable of using his offensive prowess to generate high-danger chances in the offensive zone, but he makes trying to defend him an absolute nightmare for opponents." - smahtscouting.com

At the end of the day, Canucks need to be harder to play against without giving up much offense and McGroarty fits the bill, just seems like footspeed (similar to the knock on Horvat before being drafted) is a bit of an issue.

 

In my humble opinion, Kasper will be gone before 15. Similar prospect to Anton Lundell. He's nastier than Lundell, and probably a better skater, but he probably doesn't have Lundell's 200 foot hockey IQ. I've mentioned it before but Kasper made the jump almost directly from Austrian junior leagues to SHL, stepping right into a top nine role on the regular season standings leader, Rogle. All-time most points by a U18 in a Champions League tournament, and in an SHL playoffs. As far as more established NHL players, comparisons would be Mike Fisher and Nazem Kadri.

 

Seems like more and more people are coming out as McGroarty fans. Cool to see. Hope to see him go high. I remember following him since his 160 point season in bantam and first watching him at YOGs on a line with Stramel and Snuggerud.

Edited May 14, 2022 by HighOnHockey

[HighOnHockey]

On 5/12/2022 at 2:28 PM, Bure_Pavel said:

Mateychuk isnt that much smaller than Odelius, its 5'11" 187lbs vs 6'0" 185 lbs. Im not personally sold on Odelius or Pickering, while I see the potential and tools they possess neither has fully put it together yet to the point that indicates they will be able to produce at the NHL level. Pickering is a very boom or bust prospect I feel like. If it comes down to Luneau, Chesley, or Odelius, I hope they go with a RD as all three have untapped potential.

 

I lifted a few plays from a span of 5 or 6 minutes in one game. One per shift or so. Nothing out of the ordinary, just another day at the office for Odelius (#6). Escapability is off the charts.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2022 by HighOnHockey

[Vinny in Vancouver]

On 5/11/2022 at 9:32 AM, Bure_Pavel said:

Just caught the tale end of the Allvin interview on 650, but I believe he was saying there was pretty much one tier for picks 5-16. Not sure I agree about about there not being a larger first tier, but there seems to be a wide deviation between different scouts rankings this year. There will be tons of surprises come draft day I think.   

 

My tiers kinda look like this right now.

 

1. Shane Wright - C

2. Logan Cooley - C

3. Juraj Slafkovsky - LW

4. Simon Nemec - RD

5. Matthew Savoie - C

6. David Jiricek - RD           TIER 1

 

It used to be that Shane Wright was in a tier all by himself. He has fallen a bit. I probably would have Wright and Cooley in their own tier.

[Smashian Kassian]

Every year that goes by is the least I know about the prospects - and I used to love the draft.

 

But I read Daniel Wagner's piece today ('11 prospects to consider'), so now have less than 'the jist of it'. (also heard Cam Robinson & Shane Malloy on local programming)

 

Mintyukov is the name I've heard most. Seems like an ultra skilled D, from the brief clips I saw I wonder about his defensive game. Regardless, a middle pairing OFD with upside is certainly a good selection at 15. 

 

Cutter Gauthier is really intriguing from the 1 paragraph I read on him, plays multiple positions & has size + skill in all areas. Seems like he won't be there for us though. Yurov has some questions about upside from what I've read. Then there's a bunch of other forwards that project similarily if things go right - potential top 6.

 

I heard someone say that Mateychuk just rushes the puck constantly, seems like a red flag to me. Hughes did it often at Michigan but you could tell he had elite hockey sense & his decision making in doing so was great even at that age. Unless you really believe Mateychuk is an impact top 3D I don't think I'm taking him, we have Rathbone who seems comparable in some respects.

 

Ultimately I think there's some intriguing D prospects (beyond the 2 I mentioned) and a plethora of forwards with good potential. So whatever we go with hopefully we find the diamond in the rough, b/c there are always players from 10-20 that hit & are better than players gone ahead of them. 

 

[diesel_3]

10 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

 

In my humble opinion, Kasper will be gone before 15. Similar prospect to Anton Lundell. He's nastier than Lundell, and probably a better skater, but he probably doesn't have Lundell's 200 foot hockey IQ. I've mentioned it before but Kasper made the jump almost directly from Austrian junior leagues to SHL, stepping right into a top nine role on the regular season standings leader, Rogle. All-time most points by a U18 in a Champions League tournament, and in an SHL playoffs. As far as more established NHL players, comparisons would be Mike Fisher and Nazem Kadri.

 

Seems like more and more people are coming out as McGroarty fans. Cool to see. Hope to see him go high. I remember following him since his 160 point season in bantam and first watching him at YOGs on a line with Stramel and Snuggerud.

Great write up, High!

I think the first 3 mock drafts I looked at had Marco Kasper going to Vancouver and the more I dig in, the more he is definitely up there on my draft list. I always put together a top 3 or 5 so that i'm not totally out of the loop on draft day for who we might land (depending on where we pick!). I've been so out of it this season but this thread has had some good conversations to keep me more up to date.

 

I'm excited to see the direction the new regime wants to take and have a hopeful feeling I won't be saying 'who?!' or 'WHY!!!!!???' like in years past haha!

[Isam]

11 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

 

In my humble opinion, Kasper will be gone before 15. Similar prospect to Anton Lundell. He's nastier than Lundell, and probably a better skater, but he probably doesn't have Lundell's 200 foot hockey IQ. I've mentioned it before but Kasper made the jump almost directly from Austrian junior leagues to SHL, stepping right into a top nine role on the regular season standings leader, Rogle. All-time most points by a U18 in a Champions League tournament, and in an SHL playoffs. As far as more established NHL players, comparisons would be Mike Fisher and Nazem Kadri.

 

Seems like more and more people are coming out as McGroarty fans. Cool to see. Hope to see him go high. I remember following him since his 160 point season in bantam and first watching him at YOGs on a line with Stramel and Snuggerud.

I still cant believe people put snuggerud above mcgroarty on certain draft boards, but oh well.

[Hogs & Podz]

Has anyone checked out or discussed Öhgren yet?!  Man oh man, this kid is special all around modern day 200 ft winger.. And may very well be available at 15.  

https://thehockeywriters.com/canucks-2022-nhl-draft-target-liam-ohgren/

Edited May 14, 2022 by Hogs & Podz

[HighOnHockey]

20 hours ago, hammertime said:

Bichsel has been exceling on his off side in the SHL. 

 

 

Another one playing regularly on his off side is Seamus Casey. A little strange, because usually it's LD needing to move over to the right side, but Casey's case is very different. There's been interesting research coming out of USA hockey about defensemen playing their off hand: https://thesportjournal.org/article/utilizing-the-defensemans-off-hand-a-discussion-of-theory-and-an-empirical-review/

 

It's a long read, but to sum it up, the argument is not about whether playing your off side is better or worse, but that there are certain advantages to it, only the problem is that defensemen tend to grow up from a young age so entrenched in playing their "strong" side that it's all they know how to do. The authors are arguing that young defensemen who show the capacity for it should be trained from early on to learn how to exploit those advantages. Seamus Casey has been a bit of a pet project for USA Hockey.

[HighOnHockey]

5 minutes ago, Hogs & Podz said:

Has anyone checked out or discussed Öhgren yet?!  Man oh man, this kid is special all around modern day 200 ft winger.. And may very well be available at 15.  

https://thehockeywriters.com/canucks-2022-nhl-draft-target-liam-ohgren/

 

13 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

Been watching some Sweden games. Lots to like about Ohgren. He's kind of a Miroshnichenko-lite. Well, Ohgren is more husky, but Miro is a lean athletic machine. Ohgren likewise has all the natural abilities to go with the size - powerful skater, lethal shooter, good puck skills, some thoughtfulness to his playmaking on and off the puck. Bulls his way around the corners at this level, but one minor concern I noticed is his pivots are not too impressive. Not as important to a forward as to a D maybe, but for a power winger like this, you'd like to see him be able to make evasive manoevres out of the corners. I like him a lot though.

 

[hammertime]

1 minute ago, HighOnHockey said:

Another one playing regularly on his off side is Seamus Casey. A little strange, because usually it's LD needing to move over to the right side, but Casey's case is very different. There's been interesting research coming out of USA hockey about defensemen playing their off hand: https://thesportjournal.org/article/utilizing-the-defensemans-off-hand-a-discussion-of-theory-and-an-empirical-review/

 

It's a long read, but to sum it up, the argument is not about whether playing your off side is better or worse, but that there are certain advantages to it, only the problem is that defensemen tend to grow up from a young age so entrenched in playing their "strong" side that it's all they know how to do. The authors are arguing that young defensemen who show the capacity for it should be trained from early on to learn how to exploit those advantages. Seamus Casey has been a bit of a pet project for USA Hockey.

I always thought Virtanen was far more effective on his off wing. 

 

I remember doing a montage of Quinn Hughes with Michigan every time he got the pick he would switch sides and rush on his off wing. 

 

Bichsel is very good at getting his wing out and shrugging guys off as he carries the puck up ice on his off side. it's nearly impossible to take it from him with his size and reach unless you're approaching him head on. in which case be prepared to get steam rolled. 

[Isam]

6 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

Another one playing regularly on his off side is Seamus Casey. A little strange, because usually it's LD needing to move over to the right side, but Casey's case is very different. There's been interesting research coming out of USA hockey about defensemen playing their off hand: https://thesportjournal.org/article/utilizing-the-defensemans-off-hand-a-discussion-of-theory-and-an-empirical-review/

 

It's a long read, but to sum it up, the argument is not about whether playing your off side is better or worse, but that there are certain advantages to it, only the problem is that defensemen tend to grow up from a young age so entrenched in playing their "strong" side that it's all they know how to do. The authors are arguing that young defensemen who show the capacity for it should be trained from early on to learn how to exploit those advantages. Seamus Casey has been a bit of a pet project for USA Hockey.

Alot of it has to with systems being coached.  The babcock way, but people have forgot how good the soviets were using dmen on their offsides.

[HighOnHockey]

2 minutes ago, Isam said:

Alot of it has to with systems being coached.  The babcock way, but people have forgot how good the soviets were using dmen on their offsides.

You might enjoy the article I posted. Grab a beverage first though.

[Isam]

As for the canucks, with identifying zone exits and to an  extent controlling the gap, i can see them grabbing luneau a bit early cuz he is the best in the draft at both. He is not the sexy pick but he is the type of pick that gets you the chip.

[Isam]

3 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

You might enjoy the article I posted. Grab a beverage first though.

Read it and was good.