Category Archives: 2016 NHL Entry Draft

2016 NHL Entry Draft, 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Boston Bruins prospects, Dante Fabbro, Jacob Chychrun, Jake DeBrusk, Jeremy Lauzon, Mikhail Sergachev, Podcasts, Uncategorized , , , , , 3 Comments

PODCAST: Lauzon & DeBrusk Memorial Cup update and 2016 NHL Draft observations

by

It’s a nice Sunday afternoon…USA fell to Russia for the bronze medal (but Frankie Vatrano netted both USA goals in a 7-2 loss, so there’s that) and Canada captured goal with a rousing win over Finland, denying the Finns the international hockey sweep of World Jr., Under-18 and Men’s World championship in 2016. But, as Meatloaf used to say- “Two outta three ain’t bad!”

I did an audio podcast on the Memorial Cup, which has two Bruins prospects competing for Jr. hockey’s ultimate prize.

In it, I discuss Jeremy Lauzon’s triumphant return to action with the Quebec League champ Rouyn-Noranda Huskies after taking a skate to the neck during the QMJHL playoffs. I also talk about Jake DeBrusk and go on a bit of a rant defending him to the critics. I’m probably doing a little Bill “Thou Doth Protest Too Much” Shakespeare here, but some things just need to be said. With Boston’s goal-scoring woes, it’s surprising the level of criticism he gets from the team’s own fans, many of whom haven’t seen him much outside the occasional highlight. Well, with the Memorial Cup games on NHL Network, you can get an idea. Right, wrong or indifferent- just calling it like I see it.

I touched on how dominant the London Knights have been, even making a Hrkac Circus reference. One thing I didn’t mention in the context of Tyler Parsons’ play this year (he’s a 2016 NHL draft eligible btw) is that even if you get the puck and transition it the other way, without icing it, you have to face him. Fighting Sioux opponents had to go up against none other than Eddie Belfour in net during that magical championship season.

If you manage to make it through my self-indulgence with DeBrusk, I do a Jakob Chychrun-Dante Fabbro analysis of their performance as a D pairing at the World Under-18 tourney last month. Windsor Spitfires star D Mikhail Sergachev also gets a mention, and I share one example of his sublime skill set and hockey IQ for your listening pleasure. I also talk about 2017 draft eligible Eeli Tolvanen (and yes- he played for Sioux City of the USHL this year).

With the bulk of my draft work done for Red Line Report and New England Hockey Journal, I can now devote more time to the blog. Thanks for hanging in there…

Here’s the 30-minute audio file:

2016 NHL Entry Draft, Auston Matthews, Dante Fabbro, Jacob Chychrun, Jesse Puljujarvi, Matthew Tkachuk, Mikhail Sergachev, Olli Juolevi, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Tyson Jost , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

TSP 2016 NHL Mock Draft v 1.0 (non-playoff teams)

by

As we finalize the Stanley Cup semi-finalists, with San Jose and Nashville duking it out in Game 7 tonight on the West Coast, I’ll expand the mock to cover all 30 1st-rounders, but for now, I had done this on another forum and will post it here.

A couple of notes- mock drafts are fun, but this one obviously needs a lot of work and as we get closer to June, certain picks will come more into focus. After all, we still have the Memorial Cup to get to.

In the meantime, a Twitter user had asked me to do something like this, so thank AJ/@fantefuturist for this first of several versions of a mock draft for next month’s big event in Buffalo.

1. Toronto- Auston Matthews, C- The talk about fantastic Finn Patrik Laine being selected here is intriguing, but ultimately, Brendan Shanahan and Lou Lamoriello are all about rebuilding the Leafs franchise- and getting a potential No. 1 cornerstone center is the way they’ll go.

2. Winnipeg- Patrik Laine, LW- The Jets jumped into the top-2 from 6 and the breaks continue to go this franchise’s way. They have one of the more robust scouting staffs and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has been willing to spend a lot of money on drafting and development- they’re about to hit a homerun with a future 40-goal man who will fire up the already fanatical Winnipeg fanbase for years to come.

3. Columbus- Jesse Puljujarvi, RW- Another team to jump up and push the Edmonton Oilers out of the top-three, even if GM Jarmo Kekalainen wasn’t a Finn, they’d be taking this high-end forward with size and skill who is deadly on the PP. Speaking of the GM, some might not remember this, but he was a bit of a thorn in Edmonton’s side when he was with the Bruins for a cup of coffee during the 1989-90 season (11 games), scoring his only 2 goals of the year against Bill Ranford.

4. Edmonton- Pierre-Luc Dubois, LW- There’s talk that Peter Chiarelli will deal this pick to get some higher-end D help, as the Oilers don’t really need another early draft pick. But if they stand pat, they get a well-rounded forward with a high ceiling that might allow them to move other players up front for a good return.

5. Vancouver- Matt Tkachuk, LW- If the Oilers (or whomever sits at No. 4) takes Dubois, then Tkachuk here is about as no-brainer a pick as there is. He had an outstanding year in the OHL and is a coveted package of productive power forwards and big-name bloodlines. Can’t imagine Keith’s kid slipping out of the top-5.

6. Calgary- Jakob Chychrun, D- At one time thought of as a cinch to be taken No. 2 overall, he’s still the best defenseman in the draft and the top talent available here to the Flames. They don’t hesitate to add a potential cornerstone after falling out of the top-5.

7. Arizona- Olli Juolevi, D- The Desert Dogs address a need and a top player on the board. Juolevi’s buzz is quite high among the NHL scouting community and it makes sense that he goes here. If the Flames opt for Juolevi at 6, then Chychrun is probably the pick here.

8. Buffalo- Alex Nylander, RW- The Sabres grab another high-end winger to go with their marquee center in Jack Eichel. Nylander is a sexy name with a high ceiling, and the Sabres will swing for the fences here, even if Nylander might be one of those players who feasts on weaker competition but has trouble getting it done against better opponents and in tighter checking games.

9. Monteal- Mikhail Sergachev, D- If they don’t take Logan Brown here, the Habs will look to find a potential key D to fill a void if they eventually opt to move on from PK Subban. The Habs like their Russian D and Sergachev has the talent to be better than anyone they’ve had in recent memory.

10. Colorado- Clayton Keller, C- After a strong U-18 performance, Keller’s stock is up and he could end up being the second-best center in the entire draft class when all is said and done.

11. New Jersey- Jake Bean, D- The Devils could use help just about anywhere, but they go high-end scoring defender here…24 goals is 24 goals and he’ll kill the interviews, too.

12. Ottawa -Tyson Jost, LW- The Senators get good value from this electric forward who lit up the U-18s and looks like a future NHL fixture on the left side.

13. Carolina- Logan Brown, C- Just a hunch, but the Hurricanes are hurting for centers, and I could see them being enamored with Brown’s tremendous size and skill set. The ‘Canes are hurting for centers, and their GM (who knows the value of a 2-way guy up the middle) pounce on the Windsor product who was born in NC when his dad played there. Win-win.

14. Boston- Dante Fabbro, D- Even with Charlie McAvoy on the board and a choice between the two similar BU (with Fabbro headed there this fall) blue liners, the B’s will go with the more complete D-man in Fabbro. Assuming, that is, they hold onto this pick and don’t trade it for NHL help at the position.

Guys who could crack top-14:

Michael McLeod, C
Charlie McAvoy, D
Julien Gauthier, LW
Luke Kunin, C
Kieffer Bellows, LW

2016 NHL Entry Draft , , , , 2 Comments

Draft lottery set: Leafs, Jets, Blue Jackets pick 1-3, B’s at 14

by

Well, it was long shot that the Boston Bruins could move from 14 to the top-3, but in the spirit of (Lloyd) Christmas, the Black and Gold faithful were hoping the lottery balls would come up with a spoked-B. The NHL went gaga with its lottery show, but it didn’t do much to generate a lot of excitement when the top-three teams were finally drawn.

Carrey

Boston fans holding out hope for a draft miracle found there was no such luck, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were rewarded with their ineptitude, as they come away with the top choice. They’re all but sure to grab franchise center-in-waiting Auston Matthews.

The Winnipeg Jets continued to have some breaks go their way- a year ago they were an upstart playoff team only to crash to earth this season. They’re going to add another fabulous Finn to the ‘Peg in the form of Patrik Laine. Yes, it’s a different franchise (Teemu Selanne’s records reside with the Arizona Coyotes) but the thought of a Nikolaj Ehlers-Mark Scheifele-Laine line has to be getting the Jets giddy.

Once again the Blue Jackets are picking high and given GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s background, Columbus won’t hesitate to bring Jesse Puljujarvi to the Buckeye State.

Of course- the Edmonton Oilers didn’t win the lottery this time. They’re only picking fourth. They can take their choice of a d-man or stick with BPA and add either Matt Tkachuk or Pierre-Luc Dubois to their growing stable of high-end forwards.

Vancouver rounds out the top-five.

We’re less than 60 days out…bring on Buffalo and the 2016 NHL Entry Draft! (Did I really just say bring on Buffalo?)

2015-16 CHL season, 2015-16 European season, 2016 NHL Entry Draft Leave a comment

Contrasts

by

There were only two games scheduled at the World Under-18 tournament Friday and I was struck at how similar they were despite the great disparity on the outcomes.

Sweden barely eked out a win in overtime against Latvia, while Canada hammered an overmatched Danish squad.

The Swedes were 19.1 seconds away from a disastrous upset thanks to the brilliant goaltending work of Mareks “Mittens” Mitens, who stymied his opponents after Sweden scored twice to take a quick 2-0 lead and appeared to be on their way to cruising to a big win. Alas for the Tre Kronor, though they owned territorial play and a major edge in shots for a large swath of the contest, but allowed the Latvians to surge ahead. Mittens was outstanding, and he turned what many of us thought would be a snoozer of a game into a genuinely enjoyable event.

It took Sweden’s best player in Alex Nylander, and a perfect laser 1-timer to avert what would have been a disastrous loss for them. As it stands, although they won in overtime, the international scoring system means they put themselves at a disadvantage. Full marks to Latvia and Mittens for raising their game when Sweden gave them an opening, but the pace and lack of urgency by the blue and gold (until the veryend)
contributed to the near-upset.

Conversely, Canada found themselves in a similar situation against another lower-end team in Denmark. After surging to a 2-0 lead, goaltender Stuart Skinner gave up two goals on three shots and it was a 2-2 game. Canada would then ratchet up the intensity, crash the net, and pound Denmark into submission. This of course after the lights went out at the Ralph Engelstad Arena just before the start of the second period, causing a more than an hour delay and effectively killing any momentum the Danes might have had. Canada jumped on them, powered by Jordan Kyrou’s four goals and future UND Fighting Hawks centet Tyson Jost’s 2 goals and 5 points in a stretch of about 25 minutes.

Canada scored many of their 10 goals just by crashing the net, and beating the Danes (who were often just standing around) to loose pucks. Canada did what Sweden wouldn’t, and it showed in the final result, as Denmark never mounted much of a threat after scoring twice to tie it in the first period.

Mittens and Latvia will likely get the same treatment from the USA that Denmark got last night, so it will be interesting to see how he fares in net with a team that is not going to give him the clear sight lines and room in the crease that Sweden did.

Select player observations:

Dante Fabbro, D– You can see how smart and mobile he is. Impressed with his lateral movement on the blue line and in getting pucks to the net with multiple helpers. He did whiff defensively on a rush when he tried to play the puck instead of the body and the Danish forward powered through him and right to the net, but overall, he stood out.

Jordan Kyrou, F– Everything he touched turned to gold, as he was engaged and involved, going to the net and getting rewarded for it. He showed off a good stick, especially in close, getting the dirty goals…4 of them to be exact.

Jakob Chychrun, D– You can see why he’s gotten so much attention with his size and skating. He didnt do much to stand out, but the talent absolutely is there.

Alex Nylander, F– Until he scored the tying goal, he was largely uninvolved and not all that impressive. He’s definitely got some wiggle in the way he can stickhandle through traffic, but he was out on the perimeter a lot and not using his teammates much. Then, in a split second, he unleashed a perfect drive and saved Sweden’s bacon.

2016 NHL Entry Draft, 2016 World Under 18 Championship , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Off to Grand Forks for the 2016 U18s

by

Faithful readers, this is the part where the blog starts to segue from the 2015-16 NHL season and looks ahead to late June, when the 2016 NHL Entry Draft will be held in Buffalo.

The Bruins, as of right now and until the April 30 draft lottery, are looking at picks 14 and 19, assuming they don’t hit jackpot and move into the top-3 with their selection (1% chance of landing No. 1 and then minimally better odds at 2 and 3). The 19th pick is San Jose’s and they’re in the playoffs…good gamble and payoff by Sharks GM Doug Wilson, who picked up the right goalie in Martin Jones (Marty we hardly knew ye!) for his 2016 1st and a middling prospect in Sean Kuraly. He’d make that trade 10 out of 10 times.

The IIHF World Under-18 Championship is in Grand Forks, North Dakota this year and man- what a great time to go!

The fabulous Finns- Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi– will be there.

The 2 Jakes- Jakob Chychrun and Jake Bean– will be there (man there are a lot of hockey players named Jakob/Jacob/Jakub or Jake these days).

The Penticton fan duo of Dante Fabbro and Tyson Jost will be there.

Three OHL studs from a trio of different nations: Alex Nylander (Sweden), Mikhail Sergachev (Russia) and Mike McLeod (Canada) will be there.

And then there’s the Americans: BU recruits Clayton Keller and Kieffer Bellows…plus dual citizen Logan Brown. That’s 12 1st-round prospects right there and all off the top of my head. There are quite a few more quality prospects from 2016 who will be competing for the gold this week and next.

We’re also getting a look at late ’98 and 2017 NHL 1st-round prospect Kailer Yamamoto on Team USA. The Spokane Chiefs forward is a small, but dynamic scorer who looked pretty impressive on film at the Ivan Hlinka last August. It will be nice to get some live reads on him.

USA is trying to win a third consecutive gold medal since 2014, when Canada broke the four-year streak. Canada is going  to be one tough nut this year, though- on paper, they are stacked!

Three members of Red Line Report’s staff, headed by Kyle Woodlief, will be at the tourney to take in the action and further refine our list as we build towards our annual June draft guide. You can read Kyle’s columns at USA Today and get free content over at http://www.redlinereport.com, too. We’d love to add you as a subscriber and even if you don’t opt for the monthly service, you can always go a la carte and purchase our draft guide.

I won’t be posting in-depth game reports or anything like the stuff some of you may remember from my 2011 Bruins Draft Watch blog (my work with Red Line precludes that) but I will drop some insights here and there, so I hope you’ll keep checking in.

As we get closer to the draft, I can open the spigot more as interest in the event increases and then TSP will be in Buffalo to break all the action down.

The Bruins might be out of the playoffs, and you might not even be a Boston fan with your team still firmly in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, but you’ll still get a lot of free content here from now through the end of June. So, bookmark it. Subscribe. Tell your friends. What have you…just don’t forget to keep the Scouting Post close!

2015-16 NCAA season, 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Boston Bruins prospects, Danton Heinen , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Danton Heinen leaves Denver U, signs 3-year ELC

by

Heinen

As reported here about a month ago, forward Danton Heinen has given up his remaining two years of NCAA eligibility to sign a three-year entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins after they drafted him in the fourth round in 2014.

Several sources told the Scouting Post that Heinen would not be going back school for his junior season back on March 12, citing an eagerness for him to get started on a pro career. He had reportedly told several of his teammates that he would not be back, and so it was just a matter of Boston waiting for his season to end. With the recent news of 2016 Hobey Baker Award winner Jimmy Vesey declining to sign with the Nashville Predators, it’s a reasonable assumption that if Boston was entertaining the thoughts of talking Heinen into remaining an amateur for one more season, they were all about bringing Heinen into their organization immediately.

The ability for college players to choose their own destinations after four years and choices by Kevin Hayes and now Vesey to not sign with the teams that drafted them means that NHL clubs will not hesitate to bring players out of the NCAA sooner now, and if a kid is not altogether thrilled to be a part of that organization, don’t be surprised to see their advisors (read: player agents) leverage tools like burning a year off the ELC in order to get them to come out on the NHL team’s timeline. The Winnipeg Jets also signed Kyle Connor yesterday after just one year at Michigan and taking the hockey world by storm. Connor is the lightning rod that Bruins fans are using to criticize Boston’s first round choices in 2015. It looks like we’ll soon find out how much the team missed out on by passing on the USHL and NCAA’s top scorer in consecutive seasons. Connor’s signing is one more reminder that the old days of guys spending four years in school is getting increasingly rare (though the B’s duo of college defenders- Rob O’Gara and Matt Grzelcyk– did just that)

Getting back to Heinen- the 20-year-old British Columbia native had a slow offensive start to the season, but erupted over the second half, tallying about two points per game to lead the Pioneers to the Frozen Four before ultimately coming up short against the eventual 2016 champion University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks (PC or not they’ll always be the Fighting Sioux to me).

In two NCAA seasons in the Rocky Mountains, Heinen tallied 36 goals and 93 points in just 81 games. Playing on the Pacific Rim line or “Pac Rim” this season from January on, Heinen simply caught fire. After being at well under a point-per-game just as the calendar switched to 2016, he teamed up with fellow left coasters Dylan Gambrell (eligible for 2016 draft) and Trevor Moore (could leave school as a free agent or return- reportedly weighing his options right now) to finish atop the Pioneers with 20 goals and 48 points, adding to his 16 goals and 45 points from a season ago.

PacRimLine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heinen is about 6-foot-1 and a solid 185 pounds. As a 1995-born player he was passed over in 2013 because he was small and extremely light, but he’s hit an impressive growth spurt since and dedicated himself in the weight room, adding strength and mass to his frame.

A good skater, what makes Heinen arguably Boston’s top prospect along with Zach Senyshyn for the offensive potential both possess, is that he has exceptional vision and hockey sense, to go with one sick set of mitts. He was a center in junior but has been developed as a winger in college under head coach Jim Montgomery, first playing on the left side as a freshman before shifting over to the right (his off-wing) and settling in with the Pac Rim unit. He uses his high IQ to anticipate/read/react and after hitting a lot of posts and not getting much in the way of puck luck in the early going, his talent took over as he racked up the points down the stretch. He’s heavy on the puck and has the intelligence to take on the various responsibilities required of him in Boston’s system.

Heinen is not a flashy or dynamic player who is going to wow you by exploding to top speed in a few strides and putting defenses into near-constant back pedal mode, but what he will do is slow down the play or speed it up depending on the situation. When he gets down below the circles and in between the hashmarks, he’s deadly- either hounding the puck and hitting linemates with accurate passes to set up quality chances or burying goals with a quick release and little hesitation to shoot the puck when the lane is open for him to do so.

Like many young players these days- I caution fans not to jump squarely on the hype train just yet. Heinen is good enough of a player to challenge for NHL duty right away next fall, but that doesn’t mean that the right answer is that he will play in Boston. Frank Vatrano showed that a rookie pro with the right blend of skill and want to can make it with the big club, but we have an extended offseason ahead of us. Before we start projecting what line he’ll be on, how many goals/points he’ll score and whether he should be paired with Vesey (who as of right now until Aug. 15 or unless his rights are traded between now and then is still property of the Predators), let’s take a moment to see how he looks in Providence first. He’s there this week on at ATO (amateur tryout) and his 3-year contract won’t kick in until 2016-17. Let’s see how he looks in his first taste of pro hockey, and then keep in mind that there will be some personnel changes between now and when training camp opens up in mid-September.

I know, I know- what fun is being patient when we can entertain ourselves with endless speculation and line permutations?

For now, Heinen being in the fold is an intriguing step. He’s unproven, but the potential is higher than average and he was a super find by the Boston scouts. For more on him, check out my blog post from before the season began titled “The Curious Case of Danton Heinen” and I walk you down the path of how, as a little known commodity in the BCHL that more than a few teams were quietly tracking, the Bruins appear to have struck gold.

Time will tell…and we won’t know how successful the find was for a little while yet.

2016 NHL Entry Draft, Boston Bruins, Pop Culture , , , Leave a comment

Gong Show at TD Garden

by

It all came down to one last game at home, and after taking a 1-0 lead (on David Pastrnak’s 15th goal of the year), the wheels came off in a span of 8:18 in the second period in Boston’s 6-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Even the depleted NY Rangers did their job, beating Detroit today, but because the Wings own the ROW tiebreaker (regulation and overtime wins) over Boston, they clinched 3rd place in the Atlantic Division and the NHL playoffs for a 25th consecutive season. That’s rubbing salt in the wound, but it’s what even some of the most optimistic of Bruins fans have come to expect from their team this season.

It wasn’t Jonas Gustavsson’s fault- Tuukka Rask would not have made a difference with the egregious number of turnovers the Bruins committed today. But even if we do hang a couple of goals surrendered (Chris Neil, Zack Smith-2, Matt Puempel, Mika Zibanejad, J.G. Pageau tallied including Page’s league-leading 7th shorty on an empty net with some 8+ minutes left) on Gus, the B’s inability to finish their best chances once again came back to haunt them.

In a game they really had to have, it isn’t the fact that they lost- it’s the way it happened. Story of the season, really.

Even worse, fans are now reduced to scoreboard watching today and (possibly) tomorrow to see what the Flyers do against the Pittsburgh Penguins (reportedly sitting Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang today) and NY Islanders tomorrow (they have a host of injuries and are resting guys as well). The Flyers must go 0-2 or 0-1-1 and then the Bruins back into the postseason.

At this point, the players didn’t appear to care today, so why should anyone else?

“For Whom The Bell Tolls”- Metallica- from Ride the Lightning (1984)- nathanbehar101

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg92QpjRcJk

I’ll be back after Boston’s final fate is known, but this was such a lousy way to go.

Once we do the postmortem on the season and what’s next for the Bruins, assuming the Flyers do the job Boston couldn’t, then the focus will shift to the 2016 NHL Draft, so all is not lost.

 

2015-16 NHL season, 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Boston Bruins, Ryan Spooner , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Scouting Post founder on TSN 1260 Edmonton to talk Bruins & 2016 NHL Draft

by

I was invited to go on host  on Edmonton-based Allan Mitchell aka Lowetide’s mid-day sports radio show on TSN 1260 yesterday.

Mr. Mitchell is a thoughtful guy with a lot of interest in hockey at all levels. Before the Oilers came along, he was a Bruins guy during their glory years of the early 1970s, so he’s been kind enough to have me on his show to talk Boston since 2011, when he got his own show and has developed quite a following. I do appreciate his kind words about the blog (and me) on his show.

Yesterday, I was asked about Boston’s youth movement (David Pastrnak, Noel Acciari), drilled down on Ryan Spooner’s progress, and an update on the Dougie Hamilton trade. I also talked Riley Tufte, Dante Fabbro and a New England prep sleeper for the 2016 NHL draft.

I hope you will give it a listen. I come on at the 6:55 mark of the SoundCloud clip for a 12-minute segment. And you can follow me on Twitter if you want more: @kluedeke29

https://soundcloud.com/lowdownwithlowetide/hour-2-31016-feat-kirk-luedeke-frank-seravalli

2016 NHL Entry Draft 2 Comments

2016 NHL Draft: The Case for Adam Mascherin

by

Kitchener Rangers wing Adam Mascherin is another proven goal scorer in the OHL who has enough promising potential to be tracking for the late first/early second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. This post will do a deep dive on Mascherin and attempt to make the case for him to land inside the top-30 selections.

Adam Mascherin, LW/C

Height/Weight: 5-9/202   Shoots: L   Born: June 6, 1998 in Maple, Ontario

Current stats Games: 57  Goals: 34  Assists: 41  Points: 75  Penalty Minutes: 12

Background: Mascherin played minor hockey with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and Vaughan Kings. He was the second overall selection by the Kitchener Rangers in the 2014 OHL draft, taken one pick behind Jakob Chychrun. He plays for one of the OHL’s more storied teams, which has been in operation since 1963, beginning existence as a junior-sponsored club of the NY Rangers. The Rangers have won a pair of Memorial Cups in their team history- in 1983 and 2003- and they’re in the running to win the OHL this season and make a run for 2016 under head coach and former NHL defenseman Mike Van Ryn. Some of the greatest players in Kitchener Rangers history: Bill Barber, Brian Bellows, Mike Richards, Larry Robinson, Al MacInnis, Scott Stevens.

Kirk’s film study: Mascherin is a short, but thick-bodied wing whose lack of height does not deter him from making an offensive impact regularly in the highly competitive OHL. He’s not a dynamic skater and has a bit of short and choppy stride, but he gets where he needs to go quickly enough and is slippery elusive in the way he evades checks and darts in and out of skating lanes, forcing defenders to execute fluid footwork and transitions to stay with him. He’s an above average puck handler who exhibits impressive control at speed and especially in tight spaces. Mascherin possesses an exceptional, NHL-caliber shot and release at age 17. He hides his release point and does not tip his hand when firing pucks on net; he keeps his head up and gets impressive flex on his shots, wiring them into the top corners with relative ease. Has that killer instinct you look for in pure scorers- finds ways to get up under guys who are trying to separate him from the puck and will fight through traffic to get shots on net. Has the vision and creativity to set up plays from the wing and makes crisp passes on either side of the stick. Although not tall, uses stocky build to power through checks and low center of gravity means he’s tougher to knock off the puck than he looks. Compete levels can waver at times- needs to keep his feet moving and rev his motor on high to be at his best. Mascherin’s height will scare some teams off, and he doesn’t have the explosive wheels that is ideal in a smallish frame. He makes it all work because he’s so dangerous with the puck on his stick and strong on his skates- he will take hits to make the play and forces opponents to account for him when he’s on the ice.

Rogers TV has a good profile on Mascherin here:

Statistical outlook: Mascherin is  third in points among the OHL’s draft eligible players with 75 points. His 34 goals are second only to Alex DeBrincat, while 26 of his 41 assists are primary assists. His primary points rank 16th among all OHL players while his primary points per game rank 10th (source: Dominic Tiano). Another undersized forward with a thick build from the Kitchener Rangers- Jeff Skinner– scored 70 goals in his draft year (he went 7th overall to Carolina) with 50 in 64 regular season games with 20 in 20 playoff contests- so Mascherin isn’t at that level, nor is he going to be a top-10 selection in Buffalo. However, like Skinner, Mascherin is criminally underrated by Central Scouting in their mid-term rankings- 57th is pretty low for a player of his offensive acumen. They did the same thing to Skinner in 2010, who was well outside even the most acceptable range of selections and obviously- the Hurricanes made that projection look foolish.

The view from the others:

“When you go to the games and he’s scoring, which is quite a few, you come away impressed with him. But when he’s not scoring, you have to make an effort to find him.”- NHL scout

“Mascherin has an elite level shot. What makes it even more dangerous is that he has the ability to put himself into open ice and use his lightning quick release to get that shot off, and with accuracy. He is a powerful skater with deceptive speed who can move north/south as well as east/west. He has excellent puck possession skills with an ability to slow down the play and create lanes to find teammates.”- Dominic Tiano, OHL analyst

“Pro release/shot. Nose for the net and stronger on the puck all the time. Improved skating. Hates to lose. Smart.”- Mike Farwell, Radio 570 News Kitchener and Kitchener Rangers play-by-play announcer

“Size will be of concern but he is built like a tank and has incredible strength. He uses that strength in spite of his height to win battles along the walls. He is not afraid of the dirty areas and will not shy away from playing a physical game. His defensive game has improved markedly over last season and continues to be a work in progress.”- Tiano

The case for Mascherin: Scoring is king, and this kid provides it.

He wasn’t the second overall OHL draft pick by accident, though the fact that he essentially stopped growing when he reached major junior hasn’t exactly helped his NHL draft stock. Having said that, he’s such an advanced shooter with the vision and creativity to make things happen on every shift. He can speed the pace up or slow things down and has such a quick stick that he’s very difficult to defend against. Even if you try to put the body on him, he’s likely to just bounce off the check or in many cases hit you before you can hit him.

Watch the way he slides through seams on defenses and unleashes rockets and lasers from outside the circles, between the hashmarks, at the top of the paint- you name it. Mascherin’s sublime hands are among the absolute best the NHL draft class of 2016 has to offer.

This guy just seems to ooze the kinds of attributes that the Boston Bruins in particular are looking for these days- a player who can pile on the goals from the wing, but who is versatile enough to play center if need be.

If he isn’t taken on Friday night in primetime, it’s hard to imagine Mascherin not being one of the first three to five selections in the second round. If the Bruins keep both firsts, it makes sense to take the best possible defenseman first, but if Mascherin is on the board for that second selection, then he’s one of those classic upside/swing-for-the-fences type picks.

2015-16 NHL season, 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Boston Bruins, Boston Bruins prospects, Mailbag, Podcasts , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Scouting Post podcast: pre-NHL trade deadline

by

I solicited questions on Twitter and got a lot of solid queries about various topics, much of them related to the Boston Bruins, but some of them not.

The podcast is a little over an hour long, and in it- I address the chances of the B’s landing a younger, higher-end defenseman at the trade deadline, what will happen with Loui Eriksson going forward, whether the team should bring Frank Vatrano back, a few questions about the 2016 NHL draft, and other topics. I close out by answering who I would keep if the Bruins could have just one prospect at every position, which is a much tougher question to answer than you might think.

So, settle in, grab some popcorn and check it out. Or not. An hour is a lot of anyone’s time to give up, but I appreciate the support this blog has gotten since I launched it back in July.