HighOnHockey Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 On 7/7/2023 at 5:01 PM, Odd. said: For defense, Sam Dickinson, and Charlie Elick are some guys I’ve pretty high on this and are potential 1st rounders. Buium, Kiviharju, and Jiricek I expect to go top 15. overall some really good defenseman in this draft. Oh man I'm a big Elick fan too. Still so early but he looks like maybe the best defensive defenseman in the class so far. The others you mentioned are all really interesting too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 (edited) On 7/7/2023 at 7:06 PM, AlwaysACanuckFan said: How's this Levshunov kid? He's got size, can skate, and offense. And he's a RD I wanted to tag @R3aL for this one, as I believe it was him I was talking to about James Hagens, and he said he didn't really notice Hagens at U18s. Like a William Eklund or Matvei Michkov, Hagens' dynamic skating is elite, and while Eiserman's shot gets all the attention, Hagen's shot is actually is pretty stellar in his own right. But the thing that sets Hagens apart from everyone else is his IQ. At U17s he outwitted everyone, every time, all over the ice. So at U18s against elite older players (some close to two years older), it was interesting to see him losing some of those chess matches and he just wasn't quite able to assert his will the way he has at lower levels. I've always said my favorite part of scouting is watching for these head-to-head matchups between top prospects. This game was the first game I saw of Levshunov, who is a little more than a year older than Hagens. To my mind, Hagens should dominate 99.9% of players within a year's age difference from him, so Levshunov immediately gained mad respect from me for this shift, and I'd invite anyone interested to scroll down to the "Full Game Replay" and watch starting around 1:27:58, and pay attention to 54 in white and 9 in black, but more specifically watch how even shorthanded Hagens consistently gets the best of everyone else in black, but how much trouble he has with Levshunov: https://www.usahockeyntdp.com/news_article/show/1255132 Edited July 18, 2023 by HighOnHockey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 (edited) On 7/8/2023 at 1:40 AM, hammertime said: Simon Zether is definitely a person of interest for me this year if I'm looking for a realistic target. Biggest wildcard I think is Cole Hutson how far will he drop due to his size? He could be a special player where he goes will be very interesting. I like his game much more than I liked his brother Lane's at this age. I think you're right. I dunno if I'd say "much" more, as Lane was always sensational in his own right. Cole's game is definitely more refined at this age. I've been watching games here and there and I think I've seen just about every game from this past U17s now, and it would be pretty silly to argue that anyone other than Hutson was the best defenseman at the tournament. Of course that's not the same thing as best NHL defense prospect, but Hutson was right there with Eiserman and Hagens as the needle-movers for that historic NTDP performance. Edited July 18, 2023 by HighOnHockey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted July 31, 2023 Author Share Posted July 31, 2023 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup started this morning. Canada-Finland on now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.I.A.H.N Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 21 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said: Hlinka-Gretzky Cup started this morning. Canada-Finland on now. Thanks for mentioning it! Watching now! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted July 31, 2023 Author Share Posted July 31, 2023 1 hour ago, J.I.A.H.N said: Thanks for mentioning it! Watching now! My sincerest apologies. Yikes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted July 31, 2023 Author Share Posted July 31, 2023 Well no shit Cole Beaudoin was player of the game for Canada. One of the sole consistently bright spots in a pretty uninspired Canadian effort. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite players in the draft. Obviously Suoniemi was the hero for Finland, but Hemming and Miettinen had really strong games, as usual. Looking forward to seeing Adam Jiricek in action against USA (not the NTDP - they send their B team to this tournament) later this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuzy Posted August 1, 2023 Share Posted August 1, 2023 10 hours ago, HighOnHockey said: Well no shit Cole Beaudoin was player of the game for Canada. One of the sole consistently bright spots in a pretty uninspired Canadian effort. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite players in the draft. Obviously Suoniemi was the hero for Finland, but Hemming and Miettinen had really strong games, as usual. Looking forward to seeing Adam Jiricek in action against USA (not the NTDP - they send their B team to this tournament) later this morning. How did Jiricek look? I've been fawning over his brother since CBJ took him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted August 1, 2023 Author Share Posted August 1, 2023 2 hours ago, Kuzy said: How did Jiricek look? I've been fawning over his brother since CBJ took him... Phenomenal. Could end up the best defenseman in the class. Others like Mews and Parekh may be flashier and guys like Dickinson and Levshunov may be bigger and more physically imposing, but Jiricek is an incredible skater, and he's a play-driver; seemed like he must have played 30 minutes in this one and he was everything for his team. He's decisive and assertive in his decision-making, both in terms of deciding to jump into the play offensively and deciding to step up defensively at the blueline. But the most astonishing thing is he's supposedly still listed at ~150 lbs; when you see how well he handles himself in puck battles at the pro level, it's almost unbelievable he's as slight as he's listed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuzy Posted August 2, 2023 Share Posted August 2, 2023 18 hours ago, HighOnHockey said: Phenomenal. Could end up the best defenseman in the class. Others like Mews and Parekh may be flashier and guys like Dickinson and Levshunov may be bigger and more physically imposing, but Jiricek is an incredible skater, and he's a play-driver; seemed like he must have played 30 minutes in this one and he was everything for his team. He's decisive and assertive in his decision-making, both in terms of deciding to jump into the play offensively and deciding to step up defensively at the blueline. But the most astonishing thing is he's supposedly still listed at ~150 lbs; when you see how well he handles himself in puck battles at the pro level, it's almost unbelievable he's as slight as he's listed. I did a double take when I saw he was 6'2 150 lbs . He's got a really projectable frame though and being a plus skater at that size will help his draft stock. I've heard some say he could end up better than his brother which would be pretty damn good... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted August 2, 2023 Author Share Posted August 2, 2023 Charlie Elick has continued to prove he's one of, if not the best defensive defenseman in the draft, but the more I see of him I'm not sure he has the offensive skills or abilities that would make him an early first round pick. Ryder Ritchie was a player I thought was noticeable at U17s last fall but didn't quite stand out enough on the scoresheet or by the eye test to warrant early first round consideration. That may be changing this tournament, as he's been one of Canada's best players throughout on arguably the top line with McQueen and Beaudoin. Every year there's those players that were considered phenoms from a very young age but stop growing at under 6'0 or less and it creates a lot of uncertainty with their draft status - see Matthew Savoie and Zach Benson in the past couple drafts. This year that is Berkly Catton. Lots of similarities to Zach Benson in that their main strength is elite 200-foot IQ. Catton looks like an easy top ten pick going by the stats and his play against his peers at international tournaments, but we'll see. I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with Henry Mews' puck management. I said a while back he could end up being a very early pick if he can clean up some things with his decision-making. I know it's early but if this tournament is any indication, I'm just not seeing it. Zayne Parekh has been the more interesting Canadian defenseman so far; he continues to struggle in his own zone but his puck movement and playmaking have been outstanding - such a dynamic skater. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammertime Posted August 14, 2023 Share Posted August 14, 2023 I missed hilinka this year I was in camp out of service but Hemming raised my brow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted August 14, 2023 Author Share Posted August 14, 2023 10 hours ago, hammertime said: I missed hilinka this year I was in camp out of service but Hemming raised my brow. Yeah I caught most of the round robin but then had to work for the medal rounds. I'm becoming a Hemming fan too. He manages and protects the puck so well with his size, but seems to have some pretty legit skill to go with it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Vintage Canuck- Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted August 25, 2023 Author Share Posted August 25, 2023 Just tuned in to the SKA St. Petersburg pre-season game. With all the NHL-drafted talent on that team and not only is Demidov getting a look on the powerplay, he just sniped. Have to think he's got a pretty good chance at making the big club - he's clearly already way too good for the MHL, and a lot more physically mature than Michkov was last year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted August 25, 2023 Author Share Posted August 25, 2023 And he was directly involved in another powerplay goal. Not gonna get an assist for it but if there was such a thing as a 3rd assist that would have been it. He's playing big minutes in offensive situations, can tell they're taking a serious look at keeping him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHockey Posted August 25, 2023 Author Share Posted August 25, 2023 And there's another powerplay assist for Demidov. What the f**k am I witnessing? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post R.Dahlin26 Posted August 30, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2023 I think this is the draft where we could solidify the future of our defence for the next decade. It is looking like an incredible class for dmen. Levshunov Dickinson Sahlin Wallenius Jiricek Solberg Mews Skahan Kiviharju Elick Hutson Parekh Buium Yakemchuk Vaisanen Emery Whipple Assuming we pick 10-20, we’ll get a stud to go along Hughes, Willander, Hronek, Pettersson, Brzustewicz, Hirose. 1 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlippersUp Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 On 8/29/2023 at 11:26 PM, R.Dahlin26 said: I think this is the draft where we could solidify the future of our defence for the next decade. It is looking like an incredible class for dmen. Levshunov Dickinson Sahlin Wallenius Jiricek Solberg Mews Skahan Kiviharju Elick Hutson Parekh Buium Yakemchuk Vaisanen Emery Whipple Assuming we pick 10-20, we’ll get a stud to go along Hughes, Willander, Hronek, Pettersson, Brzustewicz, Hirose. Whipple is obviously the cream of the crop he's going all the way to the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gawdzukes Posted September 14, 2023 Share Posted September 14, 2023 On 8/30/2023 at 12:26 AM, R.Dahlin26 said: I think this is the draft where we could solidify the future of our defence for the next decade. It is looking like an incredible class for dmen. Levshunov Dickinson Sahlin Wallenius Jiricek Solberg Mews Skahan Kiviharju Elick Hutson Parekh Buium Yakemchuk Vaisanen Emery Whipple Assuming we pick 10-20, we’ll get a stud to go along Hughes, Willander, Hronek, Pettersson, Brzustewicz, Hirose. But we want to make absolutely sure we don't get too many good dmen ... right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now