Obviously at the top end of the draft there can be arguments for several players (outside of Mackinnon and Jones) like Monahan, Lazar, Lindholm and Barkov etc. but the player I think that will eventually be one of the better ones is Jonathan Drouin. Kid is oozing with talent. Strongly believe he has Claude Giroux like upside.
He has bloodlines too , about half the reports , scouting prognosticators have him in the 10-20 range and the other half in the latter portion of the 1-10 range , so he could certainly be in Winnipeg's sights this June.
So far we haven't seen that this incarnation of this organization is not adverse to drafting smaller players , so that is something to yet to be determined. The concensus for scouting is that most misses occur due to negatively undervaluing players with not prototypical size.
I think in this day and age it's entirely nonsensical to not have adequate scouting in all 3 CHL leagues, the US, as well as Euro leagues. I hope we don't become a team that leans to ANY direction, but just drafts the BPA, according to the collective opinion of all the scouting staff, based on sufficient information and viewing of ALL (or as much as humany possible) available players.
NCAA:
No games today but tomorrow:
Serville, Trouba and Michigan hosts Miami
Saponari and Northeastern visits New Hampshire
Cisse and Boston host Massachusetts
Lane and Omaha-Nebraska host Bemidji State
Harstad, Stoykewych visit Cornell
CHL:
Mark Schiefele and Barrie Colts host Brampton Battalion
Barrie Colts 2 - Brampton Battalion 1
Last Updated: Final
Scheifele 1-1-2 +1 2pim
1. BAR M. Scheifele, (8) (R. O'Connor, S. Beyers), 11:20
1 - BAR M. Scheifele, 12:06 - Hooking, 2 min (PP)
OT. BAR A. Ekblad, (3) (S. Beyers, M. Scheifele), 4:33 (PP) Mark 2nd star
NCAA:
No games today but tomorrow:
Serville, Trouba and Michigan hosts Miami
Saponari and Northeastern visits New Hampshire
Cisse and Boston host Massachusetts
Lane and Omaha-Nebraska host Bemidji State
Harstad, Stoykewych visit Cornell
Dale Hawerchuk was on the Rona Roundtable this week and he mentioned he was talking to some OHL guys ( coaches , gm's etc. I would think ) and the consensus was that a lot of guys were not pushing it the same way as they had . Kind of no NHL opportunity malaise as it were. He was quick to point out that wasn't the case with Scheifele as he always works hard. He also mentioned on his strength and skating as improvements and those would continue to improve in his estimation.
Kevin Cheveldayoff is seeing Jacob Trouba this weekend, let's see if the prospects playing very well for the boss continues , kind of think it will.
Dale Hawerchuk was on the Rona Roundtable this week and he mentioned he was talking to some OHL guys ( coaches , gm's etc. I would think ) and the consensus was that a lot of guys were not pushing it the same way as they had . Kind of no NHL opportunity malaise as it were. He was quick to point out that wasn't the case with Scheifele as he always works hard. He also mentioned on his strength and skating as improvements and those would continue to improve in his estimation.
Kevin Cheveldayoff is seeing Jacob Trouba this weekend, let's see if the prospects playing very well for the boss continues , kind of think it will.
Yea I heard part of the interview as well and Dale was pretty happy with Mark's progress in skating. The interviewer was asking Dale about Mark's new found physical edge (in the Canada Russia series) and Dale said something to the degree that Mark use to arrive second to the puck allot but due to his speed getting better he often arrives first now and that changes everything and opens up allot of options. I am not sure exactly how that translated to the question of him hitting more but it was good to here. when i have heard Dale interviewed on the radio (probably 6 times since mark's draft day) he has always been really balanced on his praise and critisizem of Mark's day on day game. Last year in the 2nd half of the season before the playoffs when Mark hit a wall Dale called it like he saw it.....at the time he said exactly that and also that Mark had gotten allot better in his overall game but he was not consistant enough game in and game out at that time to move to the next level. However the one thing he has been unwaivering on in every interview i have heard is that Mark has all the tools and most importantly the attitude and work ethic and HE WILL BE a very good pro.
Dale Hawerchuk was on the Rona Roundtable this week and he mentioned he was talking to some OHL guys ( coaches , gm's etc. I would think ) and the consensus was that a lot of guys were not pushing it the same way as they had . Kind of no NHL opportunity malaise as it were. He was quick to point out that wasn't the case with Scheifele as he always works hard. He also mentioned on his strength and skating as improvements and those would continue to improve in his estimation.
Kevin Cheveldayoff is seeing Jacob Trouba this weekend, let's see if the prospects playing very well for the boss continues , kind of think it will.
Yup, points in 11 out of 14 games. Thats roughly 80%, and he is doing this all the while being the primary shut down target of the other teams. He is the best player on one of the best teams in the league and also just happens to be the top scorer in the league, hes having a tremendous start to the season. Couldnt ask for more if your Jets management.
Yup, points in 11 out of 14 games. Thats roughly 80%, and he is doing this all the while being the primary shut down target of the other teams. He is the best player on one of the best teams in the league and also just happens to be the top scorer in the league, hes having a tremendous start to the season. Couldnt ask for more if your Jets management.
*best forward. Ekbald has been really really good too. Anyone that gets him next year is in for a treat
Nice to see Scheifele at the top of the scoring charts in the OHL. Kosmachuk has snuck into the top 20 as well.
I just looked at the last 10 years of OHL scoring leaders. Their PPG ranged from ~ 1.6 to >2 over a whole season, so Scheifele is not far from the lower end of the band. There are a few outliers, like Patrick Kane at >140 points.
Who the heck was Corey Locke??
I just looked at the last 10 years of OHL scoring leaders. Their PPG ranged from ~ 1.6 to >2 over a whole season, so Scheifele is not far from the lower end of the band. There are a few outliers, like Patrick Kane at >140 points. Who the heck was Corey Locke??
Judging from stats alone, I can't tell whether he was an OHL/AHL star and couldn't translate that to the NHL level, or if he just wasn't given a legitimate chance.
And I guess if there was going to be a lockout, the timing is good for us. Scheifele with another year in junior and Burmi down in St. John's. I'm bummed beyond belief but I'm glad there's a bright side.
I just looked at the last 10 years of OHL scoring leaders. Their PPG ranged from ~ 1.6 to >2 over a whole season, so Scheifele is not far from the lower end of the band. There are a few outliers, like Patrick Kane at >140 points.
Who the heck was Corey Locke??
My recollection was that his play just never translated to the NHL, he tore up the A for many years though.
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No video of the Barrie game up on the OHL or Colts websites yet, but I found highlights on the Battalion's website here.
My impressions from watching last nights game (and other this season):
Every time Scheifele gets on the ice, his skating seems to improve. His top speed is much better, and he's starting to look a lot stronger on his skates. Doesn't get pushed around anywhere near as much as last year
His head is constantly on a swivel, looking for a play. That said, he's not afraid to shoot - his one timers are really nice, as evidenced by his goal last night - nice saucer pass from O'Conner with Schiefele sneaking in from the right side to bury it.
Hawerchuk is not afraid to use him in any situation - logged a fair amount of PK time last night, as well as PP time.
Isn't shying away from physical play, as he occasionally did last year
Always dangerous when he's on the ice, and he's getting coverage that's like a wet blanket. His PPG stat with this type of coverage is very good.
Judging from stats alone, I can't tell whether he was an OHL/AHL star and couldn't translate that to the NHL level, or if he just wasn't given a legitimate chance.
And I guess if there was going to be a lockout, the timing is good for us. Scheifele with another year in junior and Burmi down in St. John's. I'm bummed beyond belief but I'm glad there's a bright side.
Plus as I have been mentioning , it is the best scenario for amateur scouting with the extra picks we have and the quality and depth of this draft.
Having coaches from the team like Huddy and Vincent able to scout their area ( expertise and locale ) plus having Cheveldayoff see so many more players more often in person is a huge positive imo.
Big year for draft picks , big year for talent , big year for depth , management and coaches not involved in day to day NHL activities , it really is working in favour in that regard for Winnipeg.
Locke was an exceptionally talented kid but he had two weeks things going against him, one was that he was small and not that strong and two he was a poor skater. Those are the biggest reasons why he couldn't make it.
Forgot to check in to see how Scheifele was doing. Exceptional news to see he's leading in points and sounds like it's not just a "stats only" performance. Doubters gonna doubt, believers gonna believe.
Locke was small and a crappy skater overall. Plus his prowess was in only at one end of the rink from the games I saw.
Quote:
Originally Posted by surixon
Locke was an exceptionally talented kid but he had two weeks things going against him, one was that he was small and not that strong and two he was a poor skater. Those are the biggest reasons why he couldn't make it.
Thanks for the feedback. Interestingly enough, the year that Locke scored 151 points (2.28 PPG), Wellwood scored 100 (1.75 PPG). They are both small, yet here is Wellwood, 10 years later, despite his defensive limitations,with a successful NHL career.
How can you be that small and score that many points without being a good skater?? I'm honestly curious, because, now that my focus is, for the first time, on Junior hockey, I am fascinated by who makes it and who doesn't.
Thanks for the feedback. Interestingly enough, the year that Locke scored 151 points (2.28 PPG), Wellwood scored 100 (1.75 PPG). They are both small, yet here is Wellwood, 10 years later, despite his defensive limitations,with a successful NHL career.
How can you be that small and score that many points without being a good skater?? I'm honestly curious, because, now that my focus is, for the first time, on Junior hockey, I am fascinated by who makes it and who doesn't.
Agreed, it is becoming increasingly interesting to me too.
When you break it down, how well someone does now in Junior, which has a certain system and style, won't always translate.
Many things can cause this and it's not uncommon for say player 'A' to be currently better than 'B', but 'B' is the only one that goes on with a successful career:
certain styles may translate to the higher level better
a huge problem with looking at development with Junior stats is that sooo much context is missing... there's no sh%/shots to see if someone's scoring was inflated, no TOI to see if someone is scoring more just because they are on the ice more, no way to gauge quality of competition to see if the person is lining up against the best (power vs power) or weak 3rd/4th liners (power vs checking), no way to tell how much of the person's stats are inflated by o-zone starts, PP and quality of better line-mates, etc.
A may be better than B but closer to plateauing
certain skills are fixable and can be developed while some are just natural; A may be better than B in the fixable skills but the natural ones will never come to him
it's ignored but politics can have a huge influence to; better oppertunities to develope
slightly off topic, but in my stats course we went over how in every major sport there is a higher percentage of players in the Pros who have birthdays early and closer to cutoff ages in minor leagues; the theory is they are older so more developed when they first start the sport, so they are better and get better developmental oppertunities
I always use this as an example:
I love our prospect Kosmachuk; I think he's guaranteed to be a mid-round gem for us... but, he scored almost the same amount as Yakupov yet every scout knows there is a huge difference in potentials.
