"Son of former NHLer, Ed, he is a long-term project who needs to get quicker all-around. He is strong on his skates and provides a
physical presence, and pots the occasional big goal. Still has a ways to go though to be considered a offensive threat. He may project
to wing down the road."
"Kea is one of those guys who's statline doesn't tell the whole story. On paper, his 3 goals and 14 points aren't impressive at all. But
it's all the little things that add up to a guy who has more value than he appears to. For one, Kea is a really big body at 6'4 and over
200lbs, and he plays center. He's that big, powerful center that a lot of teams are looking for right now. He uses that body very
effectively to clear out space for his linemates, to take the puck hard to the net, and to keep plays alive along the boards. He's also a
strong two way player who sees a lot of time on the penalty kill and who'll block shots and pay the price to make a play. In similar
fashion to Tom Wilson, Kea is also a pretty good skater for a big guy and it's what allows him to be such an effective player in many
situations. Size and speed can be a lethal combo. Kea was absolutely fantastic in the playoffs IMO and he showed some vision and
playmaking ability that he hadn't really previously shown. I think he's a very interesting prospect and someone who could have some
nice potential to improve over the next few years."
"After seemingly sleep walking throughout the OHL regular season, the big Kea turned it on in the OHL post season as he started to
use his frame more effectively and consistently to play a strong power game down low in both zones and dominated along the walls. He
skates well and plays the role of a defensive minded power centre well. He does not have the offensive skill set to become a top six
player but could serve as a strong bottom six complimentary two-way player at the next level and worth a late round selection if a team
sees that potential."
“If you look at his stats, they weren’t very good during the regular season. But (Saginaw) fired their coach during the season, and now
he’s playing for Greg Gilbert, a guy Darcy and I both know. (Gilbert) thinks that he’ll be a good third-liner center in the NHL; a better-
skating Paul Gaustad.”
"[Kea] typically gets thrown into roles with every team that he goes on. This a guy for me that the real first time that I got to watch him
real closely was last year at Canada's U-18 camp in August. He's still very much a work in progress, but I think he's got that true power
forward potential. He's got a great work ethic [and] good physical skill set. He's got really good feet for his size. I love his shot; and he
still has a lot of obvious areas for improvement, which I really like, but this is again, like I said, this a guy that just keeps getting type-
cast into different roles and given the chance to spread his wings a little bit, I think this guy can be a real player, a Johan Franzen kind
of player...so this is a guy I think someone's going to draft him and we're not going to hear about him for a couple years. I don't think
he'll put up huge numbers in junior, but he'll continue to develop and all of sudden by the time he's in the pro ranks, a couple of years in
the AHL and then we'll be talking about this guy, that 'Wow, where did this guy come from?' so definitely a guy to keep an eye on."
"Kea is a player who has some good tools, but struggled to find a role with the Spirit this year. He has the size and mobility to be an
NHL level prospect, but has struggled with the puck all season long. Towards the end of the season and into the playoffs, the Spirit had
Kea play more of an defensive checking role, and is starting to find a role that suits him. He still has to grow his offensive abilities if he
hopes to have a career at the next level, but his development as a player in the second half of the season raised eyebrows. Projects
out as an aggressive defensive forward at the next level, and should be a mid to late round draft pick at the NHL Draft."
Pre-Draft News Articles
Saginaw Spirit sign first round draft pick Justin Kea (M-Live)
Ontario wins gold at World U-17 Hockey Challenge (OHL)
Kea invited to Canada's Summer U-18 Team Camp (OHL)
A6-4 3rd line centermen with an edge. If he skates well what's not to like? Heck if an offensive game develops, great, if not, ok we need big pivot men!
4th line center I'd imagine similar to Gaustad. Has tools to become 3rd line center but must put it all together,
That's the comparison I like: Gaustad. Chain suggested Thorburn. Either way, he could be a 3/4 center with size and some jam. If he puts it together, that's great.
I was amused looking over your draft list to see both Kea and Austin.
They both went to the same high school (the same one I did), in case that interests anyone. My younger brother and Justin have been friends since elementary school, so this is pretty cool for me. The area I grew up in certainly doesn't have many NHL prospects come around, and you guys picked two of them in the same draft. Good luck!
a 3/4 checking center with size and some skating ability sounds good. How good is he on faceoffs ? for that matter how good are Grigorenko or Girgensons in faceoffs ?
Rapidly it seems like center is becoming a strength in our prospect pool, considering we have Sundher and Catenacci there too.
a 3/4 checking center with size and some skating ability sounds good. How good is he on faceoffs ? for that matter how good are Grigorenko or Girgensons in faceoffs ?
Rapidly it seems like center is becoming a strength in our prospect pool, considering we have Sundher and Catenacci there too.
At the very least, it's nice to have options. Sundher and Cat can be speedy wingers if the club thinks they lack the hockey sense to be NHL centers. And it's easier to put a center on wing than vice versa.
At the very least, it's nice to have options. Sundher and Cat can be speedy wingers if the club thinks they lack the hockey sense to be NHL centers. And it's easier to put a center on wing than vice versa.
My thoughts exactly. It's great to have center depth, be able to move some to wing and if the injury bug hits... no worries... you have somebody who can at least reasonably fill in on spot duty at center.
My thoughts exactly. It's great to have center depth, be able to move some to wing and if the injury bug hits... no worries... you have somebody who can at least reasonably fill in on spot duty at center.
Bingo. And if Girgensons pans out, he seems like a guy that could play a multitude of roles. Seems like he'd be an ideal 3C, and possibly a good 2C -- we'll have some ability to move him around on the depth chart if he develops well.
Bigger than Tom Wilson. Better defensively, played the shutdown role, killed penalties, plays Center and drafted two rounds later. Wilson has shown more offense so far but I believe he's also had more opportunities and neither really set the world on fire.
Listening to Devine talk in a post draft presser. Mentioned that there was a coaching change mid year and Kea's new coach (Greg Gilbert) was someone Darcy and Devine had played with. He gave them a heads up on the potential of this kid. Devine described him as a better skating Paul Gaustad.
Devine also mentioned 5 of the 6 draft picks today had been at the combine the Sabres held before the draft.
Listening to Devine talk in a post draft presser. Mentioned that there was a coaching change mid year and Kea's new coach (Greg Gilbert) was someone Darcy and Devine had played with. He gave them a heads up on the potential of this kid. Devine described him as a better skating Paul Gaustad.
Devine also mentioned 5 of the 6 draft picks today had been at the combine the Sabres held before the draft.
Good to know we weren't too far off with the Gaustad comparison. Also, if he can be a more fluid Goose, that's a fantastically useful player.
IIRC Ross MacLean of ISS talked of him as a sleeper not too long ago. It's probably in the TPS archives somewhere; I'll put the LINK to the segment here when I find it again.
Here's the interview Kea did with NBC25 after his selection:
Here's the transcription of the TPS interview where ISS head scout Ross MacLean talked up the underrated Kea. You can listen to the segment at 9:14-11:41 of the linked MP3.
"[Kea] typically gets thrown into roles with every team that he goes on. This a guy for me that the real first time that I got to watch him
real closely was last year at Canada's U-18 camp in August. He's still very much a work in progress, but I think he's got that true power
forward potential. He's got a great work ethic [and] good physical skill set. He's got really good feet for his size. I love his shot; and he
still has a lot of obvious areas for improvement, which I really like, but this is again, like I said, this a guy that just keeps getting type-
cast into different roles and given the chance to spread his wings a little bit, I think this guy can be a real player, a Johan Franzen kind
of player...so this is a guy I think someone's going to draft him and we're not going to hear about him for a couple years. I don't think
he'll put up huge numbers in junior, but he'll continue to develop and all of sudden by the time he's in the pro ranks, a couple of years in
the AHL and then we'll be talking about this guy, that 'Wow, where did this guy come from?' so definitely a guy to keep an eye on."
Here's the transcription of the TPS interview where ISS head scout Ross MacLean talked up the underrated Kea. You can listen to the segment at 9:14-11:41 of the linked MP3.
I was amused looking over your draft list to see both Kea and Austin.
They both went to the same high school (the same one I did), in case that interests anyone. My younger brother and Justin have been friends since elementary school, so this is pretty cool for me. The area I grew up in certainly doesn't have many NHL prospects come around, and you guys picked two of them in the same draft. Good luck!
I went to the same school as Justin and Brady also. FFSS, went there for 3 years.
