Hi everybody, and welcome back to our look at the 2018 NHL Draft coming up in June.
Today we look at Ty Smith.
Left-shooting defenseman for the Spokane Chiefs, WHL
5'10" 170 lbs
69 games, 14G 59A 73 points
His draft rankings as of today are:
HockeyProspect - #14
ISS Hockey - #11
FutureConsiderations - #7
McKeens - #16
NHL Central Scouting - #14 (NA Skaters)
I wanted to start this write-up off by saying that I'm biased here. Ty Smith is my guy in the draft...as in...if on the off chance he's still available at #17, I would have to imagine the Devils staff sprinting up to the podium.
Anyways let's get started.
Ty Smith was a former 1st overall pick in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft by Spokane. His mobility and skating is exceptional and he is poised and comfortable when handling the puck. His skating significantly helps him and he recognizes how to use it...whether that be using his agility, edgework, and pivoting to cover large areas on the ice...or joining the attack, etc. Whatever needs to be done, wherever on the ice, Smith will be there to either get it done directly or support his teammates. His acceleration is elite and helps him gain separation when walking the blue line in the offensive zone or starting the breakout in his own zone.
Offensively, Smith moves the puck extremely well, and has the vision and smarts to be able to find teammates, and the ability to deliver crisp tape-to-tape passes. Smith has a good slap shot, and he has a strong tendency to not wind up too much for a shot - keeping the puck low in hopes of a deflection or rebound. He's really improved his slap shot strength over the course of the season. This and his excellent wrist shot make him a dangerous option from the point. I also really like his ability as a stick handler who can read the play. He's very versatile and can lead the rush or work in as a trailing attacker. Despite all these very speedy skills, Smith has a very calming presence on the ice. One of the things I like the most about Smith is how doesn't always make the smart play...he makes the *right play*. He's very calculating in his approach to the game, and while some others may not see elite high-end hockey IQ, I would disagree with them. I see a safe player that doesn't take many risks and whose game doesn't require him to take any risks - mostly because he knows where to be on the ice at all times.
While I'm here, before I get into his defensive game, I think the biggest area for improvement in Smith's game is the ability to handle bigger, stronger, and faster forwards on the forecheck. He sometimes struggles against junior players in this regard, so going against professional players could really cause him to struggle. I don't foresee him in the NHL next year, as he'll take one more year to bulk up in the WHL. These are really the only concerns about his game, and one of the alleged concerns is not even one I share. (Actually my biggest concern is that he'll end up playing for NYI, but that's up to the draft gods...)
Ty Smith's defensive play is as close to flawless as you can get for a draft-eligible defenseman. His positioning is immaculate and stick work are exceptional, and his ability to start the transition is fantastic. Smith's defensive play one-on-one is as good as it gets among this class. As you may be able to see from the statsheet, Smith has some muscle to build on his lower-body, which will allow him to be better in the corners and in front of the net. The best aspect of Smith's defensive game is his skating, which helps him with gap control and allows him to gain extra space from attackers when he does get possession of the puck. While Smith is somewhat undersized, he doesn't shy away from gritty, physical play. He's not afraid to take the body, however it's not his initial instinct to do so.
For those looking for buzzwords, Ty Smith's skating and overall game is extremely dynamic. I'm really really surprised that Smith isn't ranked higher up on the main scouting draft boards, but I'll take it. I'm each team's boards vary greatly between each other, and when put up against certain scouting agencies, but Smith, while not a sure-fire NHL player, has a skillset and the IQ to be a contender for the Norris trophy through his career. His stock may be slightly dropping from a non-eye-popping U18 championship performance, but anybody who is making assumptions about his future potential based on this tournament and not his WHL season is sorely mistaken.
Ultimately I think Smith will be taken by Chicago at #8 or by NYI at either #11 or #12. However, if he were to fall to #17, what the Devils would be getting is a defenseman (one of the youngest in the draft...only 21 players are younger than Smith in the draft) with elite skating and definite top-pairing two-way potential. Smith has logged some major minutes for Team Canada at international tournaments before, and has the potential to be able to log 22-23 minutes a game at the NHL level. I try to be as unbiased as possible in my evaluations, but I can't speak enough praise about what I've seen from Ty Smith.
I would love to hear your thoughts on Ty Smith. Thank you so much for reading!
Monday, April 30, 2018
Friday, April 27, 2018
2018 NHL Draft Preview: Bode Wilde
Hi everybody, and welcome back to another look at draft-eligible players for the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas. It continues to amaze me the amount of depth, potential, and differing play styles that the defensemen in this draft have. One of these days, I'll discuss a forward (most likely Vitali Kravtsov), but today we're going to look at another high-end potential defenseman.
Today we look at Bode Wilde.
Right-shooting defenseman for US National U18 Team, USDP
6'2" 196 lbs
59 games, 12G 29A 41 points
His draft rankings as of today are:
HockeyProspect - #13
ISS Hockey - #20
FutureConsiderations - #11
McKeens - #15
NHL Central Scouting - #17 (NA Skaters)
Today we turn to a defenseman who has one of the best set of physical tools in the entire draft class from defensemen. Bode Wilde is a big, strong defenseman who skates extremely well, has a strong shot, and is committed to attend the University of Michigan for the next season after playing in the USNTDP (just like high-end d-men like Jacob Trouba and Zach Werenski in recent years).
Wilde is projected to go right around the area that the Devils pick, so he's definitely a name to keep in mind. I know I've been wrong in my first round selection predictions for the Devils and I may regret saying this, but there are some aspects of Wilde's game that really do concern me, and I'll get into them later on. All in all though, Wilde has the potential to be the second best d-man in this draft class. The skills are there, and he's done a fantastic job putting them together. In many ways, he's a polished product.
Offensively, Wilde is absolutely stellar. Combining his blistering bomb of a shot at the point with his ability (that will transfer really well to the NHL in my opinion) to not only keep the puck low - to allow deflections and rebounds - but also finding lanes to get the shot through, make Wilde one of the biggest threats from the blue-line. Wilde also has excellent passing, both in the offensive zone and on the break-out from his own defensive zone. His good vision helps him with this. One of the areas he can improve on is his decision-making *(keep this in mind)* and not take as many risks in the offensive zone with making deep attacks past the goal line. These risks, while they may be mitigated on a more structurally-sound team, will be something Wilde needs to work on. However, that being said, when he's past the center-ice line, Wilde is about as close to a complete package as you can get.
Defensively, Wilde reminds me a lot of a Rasmus Ristolainen type player, where he's not that great defensively, but he's pretty physical so it's a bit covered up. That's not to say Wilde is bad defensively, he's just very inconsistent in that aspect. He uses his frame and physicality to shut down opponents along the boards and is quite nasty in the corners. He is strong enough to separate puck-carriers from the puck. When employed on the penalty kill, Wilde excels as a crease-clearer, and is capable of shutting down top forwards. However, his defensive short-comings have been shown a bit more. This most likely has to do with the fact that he's under a lot of scrutiny being that it's his draft-eligible year. He is committed to University of Michigan for next season, and the NCAA (generally speaking) does a good job of rounding out defensive games. One other aspect of Wilde's defensive play is that he goes for a big hit (stuff like this) pretty often, which isn't bad, but sometimes it puts him out of position. This is another aspect of his game that he'll need to work on. The good news is that his defensive game is raw as opposed to bad, and he has the tools there to improve it.
So here you have a big-bodied, thick-framed, graceful skater, with as much offensive upside as any d-man in the draft (other than Dahlin), who likes to hit, is already playing top-pairing all-situational minutes...why is he projected to go around #17? The biggest concern I have about Wilde's game is that I don't know how good his hockey sense is. He takes so many risks that I don't know if he is comfortable taking risks and needs to tone it down in his development, or whether or not he legitimately doesn't get good reads on plays. Like any young, talented player who's confident in his game, Wilde sometimes tries to do too much, and that's not really a concern I have in the long-run (I had the same concern with Hischier in his draft-eligible year). Wilde is a pretty safe pick in terms of his physical tools will get him into the NHL. Where he really becomes a boom/bust is what he can work on between the ears. I question how well he can process the game at high speeds. Now this could all be wildly unnecessary concerns if he goes out and dominates at the NCAA level next year, but there's definitely some concern on my part. The most frustrating thing is that he doesn't even need to turn into a Lidstrom-like thinker to have definitive top-pairing potential. The hope I have is that he just needs to work on his thinking and decision-making (I have no doubt that the coaching staff at U. Mich will spend quite some time with him in the film room working on this stuff, and the sky is the limit for him.
I'm being overly cautious, and possibly sounding pessimistic (or harsh) about Wilde - I don't mean to be. Players like him scare me a bit because there are games where he absolutely dominates, usually going hand-in-hand with the level of physicality he's playing with, but I'm always worried about the "all tools, no toolbox" potential players. I say this because hockey IQ is very difficult to progress in development, but decision-making can be improved, and the majority of the decision-making he displays are not deal-breakers. I'm just trying to be as honest as possible in my assessment of one of the players that we are very much in the running for at this point. In my opinion the decision-making is a weakness of his game, but if he can make steady improvements over the next few years, and turn it average, the sky is the limit for Wilde. And just to be clear again - perhaps I'm being a bit repetitive, but I'm not trying to imply that Wilde is a dumb hockey player, not in the slightest. The rest of his tools and skills are so high-level or have the potential to be really high-level that this one aspect of his game sticks out. In all reality, his decision-making is a little less than average, and he doesn't have far to go to bring it up to the level that will make him a real threat.
I can only see him needing 2 years at most in the NCAA, and he's very noticeable when he's on the ice (mostly in a good way). It's easy to see why some people are really high on him, and others aren't. Wilde definitely has potential to be a #1 d-man, but could likely end up as a #2 or #3. Some aspects of his game need to be more refined than others, but he could very much end up a top-pairing, two-way, all-situational type defenseman. The skills are all there. There are so many top-end defensemen in this draft that Wilde is a bit overlooked at this point (reminds me a bit of the McAvoy situation from 2016). I may be a bit too harsh in my tone on Wilde in this piece, but I really do think he has potential to be a cornerstone d-man for a team, he has that much potential. All in all, I think the Devils would be thrilled to pick a guy like him.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Bode Wilde. Thank you so much for reading!
Today we look at Bode Wilde.
Right-shooting defenseman for US National U18 Team, USDP
6'2" 196 lbs
59 games, 12G 29A 41 points
His draft rankings as of today are:
HockeyProspect - #13
ISS Hockey - #20
FutureConsiderations - #11
McKeens - #15
NHL Central Scouting - #17 (NA Skaters)
Today we turn to a defenseman who has one of the best set of physical tools in the entire draft class from defensemen. Bode Wilde is a big, strong defenseman who skates extremely well, has a strong shot, and is committed to attend the University of Michigan for the next season after playing in the USNTDP (just like high-end d-men like Jacob Trouba and Zach Werenski in recent years).
Wilde is projected to go right around the area that the Devils pick, so he's definitely a name to keep in mind. I know I've been wrong in my first round selection predictions for the Devils and I may regret saying this, but there are some aspects of Wilde's game that really do concern me, and I'll get into them later on. All in all though, Wilde has the potential to be the second best d-man in this draft class. The skills are there, and he's done a fantastic job putting them together. In many ways, he's a polished product.
Offensively, Wilde is absolutely stellar. Combining his blistering bomb of a shot at the point with his ability (that will transfer really well to the NHL in my opinion) to not only keep the puck low - to allow deflections and rebounds - but also finding lanes to get the shot through, make Wilde one of the biggest threats from the blue-line. Wilde also has excellent passing, both in the offensive zone and on the break-out from his own defensive zone. His good vision helps him with this. One of the areas he can improve on is his decision-making *(keep this in mind)* and not take as many risks in the offensive zone with making deep attacks past the goal line. These risks, while they may be mitigated on a more structurally-sound team, will be something Wilde needs to work on. However, that being said, when he's past the center-ice line, Wilde is about as close to a complete package as you can get.
Defensively, Wilde reminds me a lot of a Rasmus Ristolainen type player, where he's not that great defensively, but he's pretty physical so it's a bit covered up. That's not to say Wilde is bad defensively, he's just very inconsistent in that aspect. He uses his frame and physicality to shut down opponents along the boards and is quite nasty in the corners. He is strong enough to separate puck-carriers from the puck. When employed on the penalty kill, Wilde excels as a crease-clearer, and is capable of shutting down top forwards. However, his defensive short-comings have been shown a bit more. This most likely has to do with the fact that he's under a lot of scrutiny being that it's his draft-eligible year. He is committed to University of Michigan for next season, and the NCAA (generally speaking) does a good job of rounding out defensive games. One other aspect of Wilde's defensive play is that he goes for a big hit (stuff like this) pretty often, which isn't bad, but sometimes it puts him out of position. This is another aspect of his game that he'll need to work on. The good news is that his defensive game is raw as opposed to bad, and he has the tools there to improve it.
So here you have a big-bodied, thick-framed, graceful skater, with as much offensive upside as any d-man in the draft (other than Dahlin), who likes to hit, is already playing top-pairing all-situational minutes...why is he projected to go around #17? The biggest concern I have about Wilde's game is that I don't know how good his hockey sense is. He takes so many risks that I don't know if he is comfortable taking risks and needs to tone it down in his development, or whether or not he legitimately doesn't get good reads on plays. Like any young, talented player who's confident in his game, Wilde sometimes tries to do too much, and that's not really a concern I have in the long-run (I had the same concern with Hischier in his draft-eligible year). Wilde is a pretty safe pick in terms of his physical tools will get him into the NHL. Where he really becomes a boom/bust is what he can work on between the ears. I question how well he can process the game at high speeds. Now this could all be wildly unnecessary concerns if he goes out and dominates at the NCAA level next year, but there's definitely some concern on my part. The most frustrating thing is that he doesn't even need to turn into a Lidstrom-like thinker to have definitive top-pairing potential. The hope I have is that he just needs to work on his thinking and decision-making (I have no doubt that the coaching staff at U. Mich will spend quite some time with him in the film room working on this stuff, and the sky is the limit for him.
I'm being overly cautious, and possibly sounding pessimistic (or harsh) about Wilde - I don't mean to be. Players like him scare me a bit because there are games where he absolutely dominates, usually going hand-in-hand with the level of physicality he's playing with, but I'm always worried about the "all tools, no toolbox" potential players. I say this because hockey IQ is very difficult to progress in development, but decision-making can be improved, and the majority of the decision-making he displays are not deal-breakers. I'm just trying to be as honest as possible in my assessment of one of the players that we are very much in the running for at this point. In my opinion the decision-making is a weakness of his game, but if he can make steady improvements over the next few years, and turn it average, the sky is the limit for Wilde. And just to be clear again - perhaps I'm being a bit repetitive, but I'm not trying to imply that Wilde is a dumb hockey player, not in the slightest. The rest of his tools and skills are so high-level or have the potential to be really high-level that this one aspect of his game sticks out. In all reality, his decision-making is a little less than average, and he doesn't have far to go to bring it up to the level that will make him a real threat.
I can only see him needing 2 years at most in the NCAA, and he's very noticeable when he's on the ice (mostly in a good way). It's easy to see why some people are really high on him, and others aren't. Wilde definitely has potential to be a #1 d-man, but could likely end up as a #2 or #3. Some aspects of his game need to be more refined than others, but he could very much end up a top-pairing, two-way, all-situational type defenseman. The skills are all there. There are so many top-end defensemen in this draft that Wilde is a bit overlooked at this point (reminds me a bit of the McAvoy situation from 2016). I may be a bit too harsh in my tone on Wilde in this piece, but I really do think he has potential to be a cornerstone d-man for a team, he has that much potential. All in all, I think the Devils would be thrilled to pick a guy like him.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Bode Wilde. Thank you so much for reading!
2018 NHL Draft Preview: Nils Lundkvist
Hi everybody, and welcome back to another look at draft-eligible players for the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas.
Today we look at Nils Lundkvist.
Right-shooting defenseman for Lulea HF, SHL
5'11" 174 lbs
28 games, 2G 3A 5 points
His draft rankings as of today are:
HockeyProspect - #19
ISS Hockey - #NR
FutureConsiderations - #NR
McKeens - #27
NHL Central Scouting - #14 (EU Skaters)
Before we start getting into the more established players that folks may be hearing (guys like Bode Wilde, Jared McIsaac, and others), I wanted to touch on another quiet riser up the draft boards. At this point, Nils Lundkvist is a bit of an off the radar-type pick, but he's been steadily making himself more present in mock drafts and is becoming more of a dark horse first round pick, especially around the 20 spot. Lundkvist recently won the award for best defenseman in the J20 league for the 2017-2018 season (it's a little odd since he spent the majority of the season playing for the SHL club).
It's been interesting to watch Lundkvist's progression throughout the season, because he's been getting a lot more comfortable and confident in his play in the SHL as a 17 year old (this is his first season with the SHL), and as a result has been joining the offensive play much moreso than earlier in the season (not too surprising but it's still enjoyable to watch).
Nils Lundkvist is an excellent skating, puck-moving defenseman. In his first 13 games in the SuperElit U20, he registered 9 points. He is listed at 5'11", but he has a wide, low skating stance so he looks much shorter on the ice. Lundkvist's ability as a playmaker is excellent, and he has a good eye for finding passing lanes. I'll mention this here before I forget: I'm not sure if the points will ever be high-end. He reads the game really well and he is a smart player, but he strikes me as a Matt Niskanen type player - one who is an excellent puck mover and can help his team break out of the zone, and has some excellent offensive tools, but doesn't quite get on the scoreboard all that often. One other thing to note is that if you're on the ice, Lundkvist sees you - almost as if he has eyes in the back of his head. If he knows you're there, he'll find a passing lane to get you the puck...doesn't matter if he's below the goal or needs to make a move around a defending player...he'll get the puck to you. I love the idea of a player with this quick-thinking and quick/effective passing ability finding our big guns in the offensive zone.
Compared to another player in the draft, like Adam Boqvist, Lundkvist's high-end scoring potential is not as refined - that doesn't mean that scouts haven't taken notice of Lundkvist's game...in fact there have been some rumblings that scouts may not see much of a difference between their games in the long run (especially given Lundkvist's play at the U18 Five Nations Tournament). During the U18's earlier this year, Lundkvist took a lot of risks in terms of reads, pinches, etc. in the offensive game. This is not a bad thing, but rather it was his own recognition of his skating ability, and the two-way ability of the forwards in front of him that helped allow him to make those decisions. I'm saying this because I think he would be in a similar situation here under the "Fast, Attacking *Supportive*" system that Hynes runs.
Defensively, Lundkvist is interesting because he is a very smooth and calm defenseman. He is an average defender and relies mostly on his stick work and really good Hockey IQ to make plays. Sometimes he wanders too far away from his post, but he has performed admirably on the defensive side in the SHL this season. He averaged right around 16 minutes per game this season. This included time on ice in all situations, including PK and Powerplay time where Lundkvist continued to show progression, growth, and confidence. Undoubtedly, Lundkvist's defensive play and board/corner play will improve when he adds some lower-body muscle to his frame.
What you're getting in Nils Lundkvist is a player who doesn't need anybody else to break out of his defensive zone, and can gain the offensive zone with ease. It's not too difficult to see why he's really rising up draft boards, because he is the ideal defenseman for the direction the league is going in - great skating, fantastic edgework, high hockey IQ, alert passing, crisp breakouts, etc. The list goes on.
CanucksArmy Blog refers to a threshold called the 51% rule in regards to SHL players and their chances of getting significant time in the NHL.
>Skaters who played in the Swedish Hockey League at 18-years-old or younger with a points per game of at least .09 ended up playing 200 NHL games or more 51% of the time. Even among players with just a handful of games, the rule applied.
Lundkvist meets those standards (and even produced at a higher rate than Erik Brannstom in his draft-eligible season). Granted there are more to a defenseman than points, but Lundkvist is a player that's going to have a lot of value if he continues to progress in the direction he's headed in. All NHL teams are looking for young, right-shooting, mobile, smart defensemen, and Lundqvist is a player that will out-perform his current draft ranking. I wouldn't be surprised if Ray Shero and Paul Castron, once again, rely heavily on the European scouting department and go with what seems like a bit of an off the board pick in Lundkvist at #17. He seems to be a very safe player with very high upside.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Nils Lundkvist. Thank you for reading!
Today we look at Nils Lundkvist.
Right-shooting defenseman for Lulea HF, SHL
5'11" 174 lbs
28 games, 2G 3A 5 points
His draft rankings as of today are:
HockeyProspect - #19
ISS Hockey - #NR
FutureConsiderations - #NR
McKeens - #27
NHL Central Scouting - #14 (EU Skaters)
Before we start getting into the more established players that folks may be hearing (guys like Bode Wilde, Jared McIsaac, and others), I wanted to touch on another quiet riser up the draft boards. At this point, Nils Lundkvist is a bit of an off the radar-type pick, but he's been steadily making himself more present in mock drafts and is becoming more of a dark horse first round pick, especially around the 20 spot. Lundkvist recently won the award for best defenseman in the J20 league for the 2017-2018 season (it's a little odd since he spent the majority of the season playing for the SHL club).
It's been interesting to watch Lundkvist's progression throughout the season, because he's been getting a lot more comfortable and confident in his play in the SHL as a 17 year old (this is his first season with the SHL), and as a result has been joining the offensive play much moreso than earlier in the season (not too surprising but it's still enjoyable to watch).
Nils Lundkvist is an excellent skating, puck-moving defenseman. In his first 13 games in the SuperElit U20, he registered 9 points. He is listed at 5'11", but he has a wide, low skating stance so he looks much shorter on the ice. Lundkvist's ability as a playmaker is excellent, and he has a good eye for finding passing lanes. I'll mention this here before I forget: I'm not sure if the points will ever be high-end. He reads the game really well and he is a smart player, but he strikes me as a Matt Niskanen type player - one who is an excellent puck mover and can help his team break out of the zone, and has some excellent offensive tools, but doesn't quite get on the scoreboard all that often. One other thing to note is that if you're on the ice, Lundkvist sees you - almost as if he has eyes in the back of his head. If he knows you're there, he'll find a passing lane to get you the puck...doesn't matter if he's below the goal or needs to make a move around a defending player...he'll get the puck to you. I love the idea of a player with this quick-thinking and quick/effective passing ability finding our big guns in the offensive zone.
Compared to another player in the draft, like Adam Boqvist, Lundkvist's high-end scoring potential is not as refined - that doesn't mean that scouts haven't taken notice of Lundkvist's game...in fact there have been some rumblings that scouts may not see much of a difference between their games in the long run (especially given Lundkvist's play at the U18 Five Nations Tournament). During the U18's earlier this year, Lundkvist took a lot of risks in terms of reads, pinches, etc. in the offensive game. This is not a bad thing, but rather it was his own recognition of his skating ability, and the two-way ability of the forwards in front of him that helped allow him to make those decisions. I'm saying this because I think he would be in a similar situation here under the "Fast, Attacking *Supportive*" system that Hynes runs.
Defensively, Lundkvist is interesting because he is a very smooth and calm defenseman. He is an average defender and relies mostly on his stick work and really good Hockey IQ to make plays. Sometimes he wanders too far away from his post, but he has performed admirably on the defensive side in the SHL this season. He averaged right around 16 minutes per game this season. This included time on ice in all situations, including PK and Powerplay time where Lundkvist continued to show progression, growth, and confidence. Undoubtedly, Lundkvist's defensive play and board/corner play will improve when he adds some lower-body muscle to his frame.
What you're getting in Nils Lundkvist is a player who doesn't need anybody else to break out of his defensive zone, and can gain the offensive zone with ease. It's not too difficult to see why he's really rising up draft boards, because he is the ideal defenseman for the direction the league is going in - great skating, fantastic edgework, high hockey IQ, alert passing, crisp breakouts, etc. The list goes on.
CanucksArmy Blog refers to a threshold called the 51% rule in regards to SHL players and their chances of getting significant time in the NHL.
>Skaters who played in the Swedish Hockey League at 18-years-old or younger with a points per game of at least .09 ended up playing 200 NHL games or more 51% of the time. Even among players with just a handful of games, the rule applied.
Lundkvist meets those standards (and even produced at a higher rate than Erik Brannstom in his draft-eligible season). Granted there are more to a defenseman than points, but Lundkvist is a player that's going to have a lot of value if he continues to progress in the direction he's headed in. All NHL teams are looking for young, right-shooting, mobile, smart defensemen, and Lundqvist is a player that will out-perform his current draft ranking. I wouldn't be surprised if Ray Shero and Paul Castron, once again, rely heavily on the European scouting department and go with what seems like a bit of an off the board pick in Lundkvist at #17. He seems to be a very safe player with very high upside.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Nils Lundkvist. Thank you for reading!
2018 NHL Draft Preview: Evan Bouchard
Hi everybody, and welcome back to another look at draft-eligible players for the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas.
Today we look at Evan Bouchard.
Right-shooting defenseman for the London Knights, OHL
6'2" 191 lbs
67 games, 25G 62A 87 points
His draft rankings as of today are:
HockeyProspect - #15
ISS Hockey - #6
FutureConsiderations - #10
McKeens - #6
NHL Central Scouting - #4 (NA Skaters)
With a meteoric rise up the draft boards this season, we turn to Evan Bouchard. Before looking at his skillset, the main reason behind Bouchard's rise up the boards is because of the openings left on the London blueline after departures from regulars like Olli Juolevi (went to play pro hockey in Finland) and Victor Mete (played with the Montreal Canadiens), Bouchard had significant opportunity as he found himself slotted in the #1 defenseman position for the Knights. Needless to say, he took the role and ran with it.
Bouchard is a two-way defenseman with good size and skill. He has a fantastic arsenal of shots, be it slap shot, one-timer, wrist shot, etc. He has a great knack of getting the puck to the net. I know there are a lot of buzzwords that are used in draft reports, but what really really impresses me about Bouchard's play is ho poised he is. He is able to bob and weave (not necessarily the best term to use) to open up shooting passing lanes. Bouchard is also extremely smart with his pinches and offensive zone decisions. These skills allow him to be an excellent quarterback on a team's Powerplay. His 87 points were the highest total out of any draft-eligible CHL skaters (first-time eligible), and his 297 registered shots on goal was the 2nd highest in the OHL. I should also note that while his numbers are stellar, they are likely the result of the huge minutes he plays. There is a reason he plays so many minutes, and his offensive skills are highly polished and elite, but it's important to know the context surrounding numbers, especially for defensemen.
Bouchard is no slouch on the defensive side either. He's been responsible for playing in all situations on the ice for the Knights. In fact, while time on ice isn't an officially recorded stat in the CHL, reports have him playing upwards of 30 minutes a night for London. Defensively, Bouchard maintains good gap control and is able to keep opposing forwards out of the dangerous areas of the ice, for the most part. His defensive zone positioning is excellent. He uses his long reach to help this as well. However, this is where two of Bouchard's most significant areas of improvement are exemplified: his average skating speed and defensive zone decisiveness. Bouchard isn't a poor skating by any means - in fact his overall mobility is excellent -, but I do think that if he doesn't try to get faster, it will significantly hamper him, especially as the NHL continues to get faster. There are a few occasions where faster opposing forwards can breeze by him. He tries to limit this by using his long reach and it works for the most part, but I don't think that will cut it in the NHL, and it may even lead to penalties. His skating is good enough to keep up with the play, backskate, and maintain gaps throughout the play, but this is an area where he can definitely improve. In terms of defensive zone decision-making, Bouchard sometimes has a tendency of puck-chasing as well as knowing what to do when he gets the puck in the slot in the defensive zone, or directly in front of the goalie. I'm definitely not discounting the idea that maybe this is fatigue catching up to him, but with some improved mobility, and more refined decisions in the defensive zone, Bouchard has the potential to be a fantastic defenseman at the NHL level.
Evan Bouchard can play either defensive side, and does really well either way. I like him better on the right side, but that's just my personal preference. Bouchard is is also heralded as practically a "one-man breakout machine". He's stellar outlet passes and decision-making with the puck on his own blue-line will be the biggest asset in his transition to the professional game. Bouchard is a highly-polished offensive defenseman with a stellar defensive game. He is likely to go very high in the draft in June. I can't commend his passing and vision coming out of his own zone enough. One other components that he needs to improve include, like for any young prospect- consistency in his game. Bouchard plays a very pro-ready style game and doesn't shy away from physical contact.
Bouchard has top-pairing potential and has a very high floor as well. He will likely go in the early teens, so I'm writing about him just for the off chance the he does fall to #17. A stylistic comparison for Bouchard would be John Carlson. There are very few holes in Bouchard's game, and he is a very good combination of strength, good wingspan, offensive output, and defensive zone breakouts. What we have here is a player that could step onto an NHL roster as soon as October.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Evan Bouchard. Thanks for reading!
Today we look at Evan Bouchard.
Right-shooting defenseman for the London Knights, OHL
6'2" 191 lbs
67 games, 25G 62A 87 points
His draft rankings as of today are:
HockeyProspect - #15
ISS Hockey - #6
FutureConsiderations - #10
McKeens - #6
NHL Central Scouting - #4 (NA Skaters)
With a meteoric rise up the draft boards this season, we turn to Evan Bouchard. Before looking at his skillset, the main reason behind Bouchard's rise up the boards is because of the openings left on the London blueline after departures from regulars like Olli Juolevi (went to play pro hockey in Finland) and Victor Mete (played with the Montreal Canadiens), Bouchard had significant opportunity as he found himself slotted in the #1 defenseman position for the Knights. Needless to say, he took the role and ran with it.
Bouchard is a two-way defenseman with good size and skill. He has a fantastic arsenal of shots, be it slap shot, one-timer, wrist shot, etc. He has a great knack of getting the puck to the net. I know there are a lot of buzzwords that are used in draft reports, but what really really impresses me about Bouchard's play is ho poised he is. He is able to bob and weave (not necessarily the best term to use) to open up shooting passing lanes. Bouchard is also extremely smart with his pinches and offensive zone decisions. These skills allow him to be an excellent quarterback on a team's Powerplay. His 87 points were the highest total out of any draft-eligible CHL skaters (first-time eligible), and his 297 registered shots on goal was the 2nd highest in the OHL. I should also note that while his numbers are stellar, they are likely the result of the huge minutes he plays. There is a reason he plays so many minutes, and his offensive skills are highly polished and elite, but it's important to know the context surrounding numbers, especially for defensemen.
Bouchard is no slouch on the defensive side either. He's been responsible for playing in all situations on the ice for the Knights. In fact, while time on ice isn't an officially recorded stat in the CHL, reports have him playing upwards of 30 minutes a night for London. Defensively, Bouchard maintains good gap control and is able to keep opposing forwards out of the dangerous areas of the ice, for the most part. His defensive zone positioning is excellent. He uses his long reach to help this as well. However, this is where two of Bouchard's most significant areas of improvement are exemplified: his average skating speed and defensive zone decisiveness. Bouchard isn't a poor skating by any means - in fact his overall mobility is excellent -, but I do think that if he doesn't try to get faster, it will significantly hamper him, especially as the NHL continues to get faster. There are a few occasions where faster opposing forwards can breeze by him. He tries to limit this by using his long reach and it works for the most part, but I don't think that will cut it in the NHL, and it may even lead to penalties. His skating is good enough to keep up with the play, backskate, and maintain gaps throughout the play, but this is an area where he can definitely improve. In terms of defensive zone decision-making, Bouchard sometimes has a tendency of puck-chasing as well as knowing what to do when he gets the puck in the slot in the defensive zone, or directly in front of the goalie. I'm definitely not discounting the idea that maybe this is fatigue catching up to him, but with some improved mobility, and more refined decisions in the defensive zone, Bouchard has the potential to be a fantastic defenseman at the NHL level.
Evan Bouchard can play either defensive side, and does really well either way. I like him better on the right side, but that's just my personal preference. Bouchard is is also heralded as practically a "one-man breakout machine". He's stellar outlet passes and decision-making with the puck on his own blue-line will be the biggest asset in his transition to the professional game. Bouchard is a highly-polished offensive defenseman with a stellar defensive game. He is likely to go very high in the draft in June. I can't commend his passing and vision coming out of his own zone enough. One other components that he needs to improve include, like for any young prospect- consistency in his game. Bouchard plays a very pro-ready style game and doesn't shy away from physical contact.
Bouchard has top-pairing potential and has a very high floor as well. He will likely go in the early teens, so I'm writing about him just for the off chance the he does fall to #17. A stylistic comparison for Bouchard would be John Carlson. There are very few holes in Bouchard's game, and he is a very good combination of strength, good wingspan, offensive output, and defensive zone breakouts. What we have here is a player that could step onto an NHL roster as soon as October.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Evan Bouchard. Thanks for reading!
2018 NHL Draft Preview: K'Andre Miller
With the Devils' fantastic season closing out, my attention now turns solely to the upcoming draft on June 22-23 in Dallas. We still have two prospects playing in their respective CHL conference championship series, and I'll keep you updated on them, but over the next few months I'll be posting write-ups about draft-eligible players. While our draft placement is still undetermined today, we should be somewhere in the 17-20 spot, so I'll go from there. My philosophy is always draft Best Player Available, and chances are it will be a defenseman, so I will focus mostly on defensemen, but there are some really interesting forwards that should be available around our pick as well.
Anyways, now to the main event...let's talk about K'Andre Miller.
6'3" 206 lbs
53 games, 8G 19A 27 points
His draft rankings as of today are:
HockeyProspect - #16
ISS Hockey - #30
FutureConsiderations - #25
McKeens - #17
NHL Central Scouting - #23 (NA Skaters)
I wanted to start with Miller because he's just such an interesting prospect. He was a forward throughout his entire career until the 2015/2016 season, and he is still a pretty raw prospect. He has some hiccups and makes mistakes with his reads regarding passing lanes and pinching up in the neutral zone, however I do chalk this up to him still learning the position.
The first thing you notice about Miller, besides how big of a human being he is, is his incredible skating. This isn't even one of those "he's a good skater for his size" type cliches either. The guy can skate. He likes to rush the puck up the ice and be a team's 4th forward in situations (per this article/interview with him). All aspects of his skating are excellent - acceleration, edgework, agility, etc. Combine this with his powerful stride and strong lower-body, and you also get a player who is really difficult to knock off the puck...as well as easily win board battles (more on that later).
Miller is committed to the University of Wisconsin for next season, which I think is an excellent development path. Should he want to go to the CHL, the Victoria Royals of the WHL own his rights - he was initially drafted by the Saskatoon Blades, but those rights were included in a trade with Victoria. Wisconsin has been rebuilding their program recently, and Miller will be the crown jewel of their recruitment class.
On the offensive side of things, it's easy to see why Miller was a forward all his life. He has excellent puck-handling skills and has settled really well into the role of playing on the point in the offensive zone. That being said, he doesn't have a cannon of a one-timer that some folks look for in their defenseman on the point. He does, however, have an excellent wrist shot. Recently, he's changed the wind-up on his one-timer, which has helped the puck move quicker (as well as giving the opposing goaltender less time to move/prepare for the shot). He's definitely not afraid to take the puck to the net himself if he feels that he has a good lane to the net.
At this point, Miller is projected to go in the 22-24 range, so if that range holds, and assuming Miller is our guy, I can definitely see Shero trading back a spot or two in attempt to recuperate some assets and keep the cupboard stocked.
Miller is an excellent neutral-zone player. He positions himself and his stick really well in the NZ and intercepts a ton of passes there, especially cross-ice passes. His skating then allows him to start a quick transition the other way. His defensive zone outlets are clean (more on his defensive zone play later), but it is his neutral zone play that makes me really think that Paul Castron and Company are really looking into him. The ability he has to be a "snake lurking in the grass" type player in the neutral zone in his fast counter-attack is really promising.
Defensively, Miller maintains good gap control, and has worked well learning to push speedy forwards to the outside of the ice. He doesn't lose his cool and really doesn't take many penalties either. Oh, and he loves to hit...he's really aggressive with his physicality. Clearing out the crease or attacking puck-carriers along the boards, Miller is one of the most physical defenseman in this draft. He's made some real punishing hits. His outlet passes are clean, and he's been improving all season with his defensive play behind the goal line.
What you'll read in a lot of places (including earlier in this write-up) is that K'Andre Miller is a very raw player. I agree, but if you look at his skating, raw athleticism, speed of play, and smarts, I really don't think he's very far off. Steve Kournianos of TheDraftAnalyst says that perhaps his learning curve isn't steep at all. It's also easy for a guy like Miller that is focusing on his defensive game to get overlooked by the other members of the USNDTP defensive corps - who are much more polished puck-movers. Miller is a bit of a boom or bust pick, but I don't think it's to a severe extent (I know this more or less nullifies the term "boom or bust"). However, I will say that those writing him off as simply defensive defenseman are looking at his floor. The biggest question regarding Miller's development is whether he can put it all together - this mainly involves his reading of the play...it's a different point of view from a defenseman, and can his instincts from playing forward all those years not only adapt to a defenseman's game, but also continue to propel his development towards the NHL level. If he can put it all together, the sky is the limit for this two-way defenseman. There is definite top-pairing upside. He reminds me a lot of Brady Skjei from the team across the river (purely as stylistic comparison). Another comparison for his play (this one from LastWordOnSports) include Morgan Rielly.
This draft is really deep on defense. If that's the direction we're going in, you have to make sure you make the right choice. Is K'Andre Miller the right choice for the Devils? I've been watching a lot of footage on him and I like him more and more, but I want to hear your thoughts! I'll have a write-up on another defenseman soon - one who's been rapidly rising up the draft boards lately.
Thank you for reading!
Anyways, now to the main event...let's talk about K'Andre Miller.
6'3" 206 lbs
53 games, 8G 19A 27 points
His draft rankings as of today are:
HockeyProspect - #16
ISS Hockey - #30
FutureConsiderations - #25
McKeens - #17
NHL Central Scouting - #23 (NA Skaters)
I wanted to start with Miller because he's just such an interesting prospect. He was a forward throughout his entire career until the 2015/2016 season, and he is still a pretty raw prospect. He has some hiccups and makes mistakes with his reads regarding passing lanes and pinching up in the neutral zone, however I do chalk this up to him still learning the position.
The first thing you notice about Miller, besides how big of a human being he is, is his incredible skating. This isn't even one of those "he's a good skater for his size" type cliches either. The guy can skate. He likes to rush the puck up the ice and be a team's 4th forward in situations (per this article/interview with him). All aspects of his skating are excellent - acceleration, edgework, agility, etc. Combine this with his powerful stride and strong lower-body, and you also get a player who is really difficult to knock off the puck...as well as easily win board battles (more on that later).
Miller is committed to the University of Wisconsin for next season, which I think is an excellent development path. Should he want to go to the CHL, the Victoria Royals of the WHL own his rights - he was initially drafted by the Saskatoon Blades, but those rights were included in a trade with Victoria. Wisconsin has been rebuilding their program recently, and Miller will be the crown jewel of their recruitment class.
On the offensive side of things, it's easy to see why Miller was a forward all his life. He has excellent puck-handling skills and has settled really well into the role of playing on the point in the offensive zone. That being said, he doesn't have a cannon of a one-timer that some folks look for in their defenseman on the point. He does, however, have an excellent wrist shot. Recently, he's changed the wind-up on his one-timer, which has helped the puck move quicker (as well as giving the opposing goaltender less time to move/prepare for the shot). He's definitely not afraid to take the puck to the net himself if he feels that he has a good lane to the net.
At this point, Miller is projected to go in the 22-24 range, so if that range holds, and assuming Miller is our guy, I can definitely see Shero trading back a spot or two in attempt to recuperate some assets and keep the cupboard stocked.
Miller is an excellent neutral-zone player. He positions himself and his stick really well in the NZ and intercepts a ton of passes there, especially cross-ice passes. His skating then allows him to start a quick transition the other way. His defensive zone outlets are clean (more on his defensive zone play later), but it is his neutral zone play that makes me really think that Paul Castron and Company are really looking into him. The ability he has to be a "snake lurking in the grass" type player in the neutral zone in his fast counter-attack is really promising.
Defensively, Miller maintains good gap control, and has worked well learning to push speedy forwards to the outside of the ice. He doesn't lose his cool and really doesn't take many penalties either. Oh, and he loves to hit...he's really aggressive with his physicality. Clearing out the crease or attacking puck-carriers along the boards, Miller is one of the most physical defenseman in this draft. He's made some real punishing hits. His outlet passes are clean, and he's been improving all season with his defensive play behind the goal line.
What you'll read in a lot of places (including earlier in this write-up) is that K'Andre Miller is a very raw player. I agree, but if you look at his skating, raw athleticism, speed of play, and smarts, I really don't think he's very far off. Steve Kournianos of TheDraftAnalyst says that perhaps his learning curve isn't steep at all. It's also easy for a guy like Miller that is focusing on his defensive game to get overlooked by the other members of the USNDTP defensive corps - who are much more polished puck-movers. Miller is a bit of a boom or bust pick, but I don't think it's to a severe extent (I know this more or less nullifies the term "boom or bust"). However, I will say that those writing him off as simply defensive defenseman are looking at his floor. The biggest question regarding Miller's development is whether he can put it all together - this mainly involves his reading of the play...it's a different point of view from a defenseman, and can his instincts from playing forward all those years not only adapt to a defenseman's game, but also continue to propel his development towards the NHL level. If he can put it all together, the sky is the limit for this two-way defenseman. There is definite top-pairing upside. He reminds me a lot of Brady Skjei from the team across the river (purely as stylistic comparison). Another comparison for his play (this one from LastWordOnSports) include Morgan Rielly.
This draft is really deep on defense. If that's the direction we're going in, you have to make sure you make the right choice. Is K'Andre Miller the right choice for the Devils? I've been watching a lot of footage on him and I like him more and more, but I want to hear your thoughts! I'll have a write-up on another defenseman soon - one who's been rapidly rising up the draft boards lately.
Thank you for reading!
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